Last Updated on October 6, 2025 by Michael Brockbank
Well, despite not putting in a ton of effort to lose weight this first week, I still managed to lose 3.6 pounds. It’s not the windfall of fat that I was hoping for, but it’s forward progress.
Losing 3.6 pounds is nothing to scoff at, really, especially considering how I wasn’t as active throughout the week as I wanted. Essentially, this week’s loss was mostly due to reducing my intake.
In fact, my average daily calorie count was less than 2000, with my average burn at over 3200. So, despite not putting in as much physical activity as I would have liked, I still lost a bit of weight.
How I Lost 3.6 Pounds This Week
Like usual, I came out of the gate relatively strong on day one. I racked up 12,156 steps between a couple of walks and a round of the Oculus. Then, the effort kept shifting from one day to the next. Most of that is simply due to my extremely busy lifestyle.
Sometimes, there are just not enough hours in the day to do what needs to be done. But at least I tried to get some kind of movement in throughout the week.
As I said, losing 3.6 pounds this week was mostly centered around my eating habits.
The Physical Activity
I only played the Oculus once this past week. The rest of the steps I made were from walking in the backyard along the little trail I’ve carved out for myself. Not to mention parking on the other side of the universe when I went to school one day. It was a bit of a jaunt to get to class.
I had a goal of hitting an average of 10,000 steps per day. Unfortunately, I came up short at 8,722 steps. I suppose that’s better than what I was doing the last few weeks. Still, I know I could have squeezed out a bit more here and there instead of doomscrolling on Threads.
The world is in such a mess nowadays.
The Diet Plan
Although I indulged a few days this week, I still kept the calories relatively low. Even with a serving of poutine while I was at the book event on Saturday, I only had 2361 calories that entire day. Then on Sunday, I didn’t eat much at all, only consuming 1115 calories.
I wasn’t really all that active on Sunday, which is why I didn’t get many steps. Plus, I still kind of felt full from the day before. That poutine really sticks to your ribs for an extended period.
In all reality, I’m quite proud of the fact that I recorded everything this week (including the poutine) and kept the average intake under 2000 calories. I would like to try to keep the calorie goal green in MyFitnessPal more often, but I can’t argue with the results so far.
Goals for Week Two
This month is going to be maddening on many fronts. I have a lot of things going on throughout October. Midterms, vacations, publishing my next book, and trying to work on some Halloween content are just the tip of the iceberg.
However, I think I can keep everything from going kaput this week. I don’t want to lose the momentum of losing some fat. According to the End of Year spreadsheet, I’m on track to weigh 211.2 pounds by January 1st, but I think I can improve on that.
10,000 Step Average
Getting more than 10,000 steps is an indicator that I’ve been somewhat physically active, compared to the lethargic lifestyle to which I’ve grown accustomed. Remember, steps are recorded for any physical activity through the Fitbit. Even cleaning the house will burn calories and rack up the step count.
With the weather changing a bit to the cooler side of things, I’ll have to rely more on indoor activity. That means more Oculus, Bodyblade, using the Zaaz, and anything else I can do to dial up the heart rate.
I’m quite disappointed that I didn’t ride my bike more often throughout the summer, though. Actually, there are a lot of things I didn’t get around to doing this year, such as playing more golf. Nonetheless, I’ll see what I can do about getting out more before the snow falls.
Not Stress About Midterms
This week is all about the midterms, as I work toward my bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. The Storytelling course should be relatively easy, but the English Comp midterm looks a bit more convoluted. I’m sure I’ll do fine, but one of my goals was to remain on the Dean’s list throughout my scholastic career.
The problem with stressing out is that I am a stress eater. Meaning that it’s incredibly easy for me to get some dopamine by downing an entire box of Costco chocolate chip cookies. Instead of snacking, I’ll try to convince myself to play Beat Saber or do some other physical activity.
After all, exercise is known to improve mood. It’s all a matter of convincing yourself to do that instead of pigging out on sweets. And when you get to a certain age, remembering to do specific things gets tougher. I am closing in on 50, don’t forget.
More Walking, Less Doomscrolling
I wind up chewing away a lot of my day by going out back for a break and then doomscrolling on social media. What I need to work on is spending less time on Threads and more time relaxing.
Not only would I shave about five to 10 minutes off of every break so I can get more work done, but I’ll feel better overall. So, let’s see if I can just leave my phone on my desk when I take a break unless I plan to walk. Then, I use the phone for music.
Getting Back to the Gym
I’d like to start going to the gym again. Since the weather is cooling, now is a great time to do so. What has stopped me from going lately? It’s getting more difficult to pry myself up out of bed in the mornings. I’m getting older, and certain tasks are taking more effort. Plus, I get sidetracked with various things in the morning, such as social media or YouTube.
I’ll see if I can start developing the habit again, starting Wednesday. I don’t have time today (Monday), but I have a 20-pound set of dumbbells and the resistance band, so I might be able to crank out a few reps here and there at the house.
Instead of a 20-minute walk during a break, I can complete three sets of an exercise.
Anyway, I want to find a way to start getting back to the gym. I wanted to see the difference in physique at 220 pounds between pure cardio and a weight-training mix. I already have photos from when I weighed 220 pounds back in 2018, when I focused mostly on cardio workouts.
A Christmas Present to Myself
Initially, I was setting up a Christmas fitness challenge as a present to myself. Looking at the spreadsheet for the End of Year challenge, it looks like I’ll be at roughly the same weight I was when I bought my house – 213 pounds by Christmas.
Let’s do a sidequest for this challenge. One of my secondary goals as a present to myself is to weigh as much as I did in 2020 by Christmas. Based on my current progress, that shouldn’t be a difficult goal to achieve.
The only thing I can think of that would derail this sidequest is the fact that I intend on going back to the gym. Since I didn’t have as much muscle back in 2020, I don’t know if 213 pounds is going to be a realistic weight. I’ll know more when I get under 220, but I gain and keep muscle relatively well thanks to genetics.
Either way, I’ve set it up as an extra motivator for the End of Year challenge.
Can I Keep from Stress Eating This Week?
This entire month is going to be dialed to 11 in terms of stress. Perhaps the two most stressful are midterms and trying to publish my next book. I’m looking forward to my four-day vacation after midterms, but I suspect the stress is going to be prevalent all month.
On the upside, I’m feeling pretty good about losing 3.6 pounds this first week. I just need to keep the mindset of ending the year in an epic fashion. There are so many things I still want to do, but I need to take care of myself better if I want to do them.
The last thing I want is a heart attack while in the middle of a golf course.
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