Brian’s fitness journal after a brain stroke
After finishing this morning’s usual lawn-mowing session, I stepped onto the scale and was greeted by some encouraging news. I had gained a little more weight.
For the first time in quite a while, I found myself almost exactly in the middle of my target weight range. That may not sound particularly exciting, but after spending much of the summer trying to keep my weight from drifting downward, it felt like a genuine victory.
Around our house, mowing the lawn is less of a household chore and more of an endurance event. Our backyard sits on a fairly steep hill, which means every pass with the mower feels like a workout. Even though I use an electric mower, it still takes five or six hours to finish the entire yard if I attempt it all at once. I’ve learned that’s not a particularly wise idea. Instead, I divide the work over two days. My legs, and probably my back, seem to appreciate the compromise.
Even so, mowing burns an astonishing amount of energy. It has become one of the main reasons my weight fluctuates throughout the summer.
Before I took over the job, my wife handled the mowing herself with a hand-push mower. Looking back, I honestly have no idea how she managed it while working full-time. She also divided the work into several sessions. Even then, she insisted it felt like running a 10-kilometer race at full speed.
Having now inherited the responsibility, I’m no longer in a position to question that comparison.
In fact, I may owe her an apology for ever doubting it. Because all of this extra activity burns so many calories, I’ve been making a conscious effort to eat a little more throughout the day. The balancing act is delicate.
I need enough calories to maintain my weight, but I also have to respect the dietary restrictions that come with my kidney condition. So far, the strategy seems to be working. My recent lab results have remained stable, which is reassuring. Of course, maintaining weight isn’t something you accomplish once.
It’s something you accomplish again tomorrow. And the day after that.
If experience has taught me anything, tomorrow morning’s weigh-in may tell a different story. The day after mowing is often when I discover that several pounds have quietly disappeared.
At least now, I have a little room to spare. My hope is simple. I’d like the scale to decide that staying put is perfectly acceptable for a while. After all, sometimes the greatest fitness achievement isn’t losing weight or gaining weight. Sometimes it’s convincing the scale to stop being so adventurous.