Know how I know?  Because I counted them this moring as I walked up them.  While I was skipping the escalator completely.  And not getting winded.  The equivalent of 9 flights (13 steps=1 flight) of stairs, from the center of the earth to the street, and I didn’t get winded.  That’s such a great feeling.

I remember  a few years ago, when I was at my heaviest, I lived in an 11th floor apartment.  I had to stop and catch my breath walking up those steps.

Not anymore.  No joke, my eyes are a little moist.

Yesterday, I read this:

And while scientific studies have shown that there is a method that can increase lifespan up to 50% in lab rats and chimps, it turns out that method happens to be a strict calorie-reduced diet and intense exercise regiment.

Yeah, I’d have to say “increased lifespan” is definitely high on my wish list. 

I ever started picking up new, good exercise habits.  Now I ride a bike to the train instead of driving (saves on gas, too!).  I’m still working out.  I may want to schedule an appointment with the nutritionist to go over some things.  Although I’m pretty sure I know what she would tell me: “stop eating so much, stop eating carbs and focus on your protein.”

Apparently, easier said than done.

I clearly am doing something wrong.  For three weeks, I bounce between the same 4-5 pound range.  I have a good day, exercise, and drop a couple.  I have a marginal day, add a couple.  I have a bad day, add a couple more.  Push back, drop a couple.

But I can’t sustain the loss.  Too many marginal/bad days in a row.  Because the eating.  The eating is really giving me trouble.

Three problems: I’ve figured out a way around the band, I haven’t fully submitted myself to the band-eating regimen and I’m giving in to mouth hunger as opposed to stomach hunger.

Maybe because I’m bored at work, maybe because I’m making bad food choices, but things I do that I think will end up good, backfire.

For instance, I figure I won’t eat breakfast, instead I’ll just have a Balance Bar when I get to the office.  OK, but I get so hungry on the train in.  So I’ll just take a bar with me on the train.  But then I also have a bar when I get to the office, or a little after, some time in the 10 am hour, because one bar between 6:30 and 10:30 (with 40 minutes on the elliptical thrown in) doesn’t stop the appetite.  So I have another bar.

Then I try to just have frozen yogurt for lunch (no fat, low in calories, always gives me a full feeling regardless of the band) but that fullness doesn’t last, so I end up having another bar midday.

All of a sudden, I’ve had three “meal replacement” bars in addition to lunch and dinner a fruit for snack (and maybe another snack) thrown in, and before I know it, I’ve eaten between 1500-1700 calories for the day (maybe even more….I haven’t been tracking, which is bad).

The problem is, I’m not sure how to change it.

Of course, Sunday was Father’s Day, and everyone came over for a BBQ, and Monday I had leftovers from that for dinner and last night I went to the Yankee game and had some peanuts (everything else was fine that I ate) and beer (which makes me extremely gassy, but I’m not sure if that has to do with the band or not) and suddenly, I’m a couple of pounds over that number.  Of course, it’s still a few pounds down from my last official weigh-in and the low number isn’t “real” or official (for a lot of reasons, which is why I only count the once-a-week weigh-ins), but still, it would have been great to keep that going.

And that’s my real problem.  I can’t sustain the momentum.  I’ve been exercising, being “good” food wise for most of the day, and then one meal blows the day for me.  Or one day blows the week for me.  And then I spiral downward, and let it go.  If I could sustain the two or three good days I have in a row for a few weeks instead, I could drop some serious weight.  But I can’t.  And I’m hovering around this 50 number for too long.

I was all set to do liquids for a couple of days to kickstart myself back downward, and then work intervened.  It’s hard to be on liquids while I’m at work, but I can do it for a regular day.  But last night I was here until almost midnight, and I needed some dinner.  And there went liquids.  At least I shaved a little off from the Wednesday morning high.

Which means I need a new show to watch while I exercise.  I was hoping for it to be The Wire, which is next on my Netflix queue.  I started the show last night, but I’m worried it might be a little slow to exercise to. 

Any thoughts?  Is The Wire a good exercise show?  Any other suggestions?  (I have Prison Break on the queue, would that be better?)

Meanwhile, this week I was a bad boy.  Wednesday night I went to the Met game with a couple of friends and had some carvel, a hot dog and a hot pretzel.  Definitely not band-smart food.  Forget band-smart, not health smart.  Then this weekend, we had company again and my wife made a lot of food that was very yummy.  Anyway, barring some miracle, I am almost certain that I will see some gain at tomorrow’s weigh-in.  I guess that means I get to reach my 50 lbs goal again the week after!!  Yay for silver-linings.

Last week I brought 4 pairs of pants to the tailor to get taken in and bought myself a new belt.  Now I feel like much less of a shlump when I go to work (my pants were bunched quite ugly-ly).

What’s different about this than any other time I’ve lost weight, is that this feels more real.  I’m not doing some sort of fad or gimmick or plan.  I’ve simply lost weight by eating better, eating less and exercising.  Yes, having the band has helped with not being hungry while eating less.  But since one of my problems was eating when I wasn’t hungry to begin with, I feel like I’ve overcome a lot that the band can’t really help with.  I don’t want to talk like I’m done, because I am by no means done.  But I’ve got momentum, and a goal, and I can see it.  I have no idea what it looks like (I’m approaching weights I’ve never been at in my adult life), but I can see it.  I’m halfway home.

After 50, my next goal is a minor one (rolling back a number in the tens column) and after that, it’s another big milestone: rolling back a number in the hundreds column.  I can hope it’ll be quick, but it’ll probably be a couple of months.

Before the Band, one of my many attempts to lose weight led me to Weight Watchers.  There, I weighed in before my weekly meeting, and that was in front of people.  Since I went to meetings Sunday mornings, I was always cognizant of having to weigh-in during the weekend, and tried to limit salty foods (that would make me retain water) from a couple of days beforehand.  Don’t want to skew the scales, ya know?

Anyway, the reason I mention this is because despite being down one tick from last week’s weigh-in, I had sushi last night for dinner, which means Soy Sauce, which means all the water I drank yesterday is hanging out in my kidneys for a couple of days longer.  Once I pee it all out today, I have a feeling the scale will be lower.  I’m excited for that.  I really, really, REALLY can’t wait to get to my half-way point.