Diet Update: 10/04/13

The last thing I imagined when I wrote my last update that I would have another monster bounce. The good news is that this morning I finally dropped to a new diet low, an initial weight target (which is still 50 pounds above my doctor's target). How bad was the bounce? Nearly as high a peak as the last bounce's, 6 pounds higher than this morning. September was a disappointing month, all but flat, while I minimally hoped for a good 6 pounds or more on a healthy 1.5-lb. loss clip. It could be that I haven't completed my current whoosh, and I've finally broken resistance, versus bouncing back, and will make up for lost time during October.

On a more positive note, I noticed a favorite pair of slacks I haven't worn in several weeks are now looser and I was able to take my belt in a notch. I remember worrying before the new diet about buying bigger slacks and belts. I had also noticed my workout t-shirts are looser. I have to admit, though, I'm somewhat disappointed that I haven't seen more dramatic visible results after a 36-lb. drop year-to-date. I'm not even the champ in my family circle; one relative noted that she was able to lose 100 lbs. (and counting) after a long-overdue diagnosis of an underactive thyroid. I believe my dosage is higher; I went without a prescription for 2-3 years, which could explain much of my interim weight gain.

Not a lot I've noticed on the nutrition front over the past week, although there was a New York Post piece reporting that the number of obese city resident had gone up nearly a quarter during outgoing Mayor Bloomberg's 12-year tenure. Bloomberg along with the city's health department has promoted a number of public policies, from new bike trails to sugary drink restrictions. As a libertarian, I have reservations about paternalistic government (see my flagship political blog), but if I was going to propose a policy, it would be to provide more of a tax incentive, e.g.,  for a physician's validation of healthy weight loss or being in a healthy weight range for one's body type, participation in sports activities or health club membership/visits, waiving sales taxes on exercise DVD's or home exercise equipment, etc.