I cleared my closet of some shorts and pants I no longer wear because they do not fit me anymore. It has been a long time since I could fit into a size 30 waist. I looked at some pants I had set aside a long time ago and decided to try them on, since their waist size was 33. It amazed me that they now fit. I wondered why, and then I realized that while I may think that the scale at the Y is often wonky–which it is–registering me at different weights (sometimes varying by over two pounds in successive days), the fact that I can fit back into a formerly too-tight pair of pants tells the real story. My peak weight, back in February 2020, was 187.6 pounds. I know that I had more body fat back then, since I had a body mass index measurement taken. However in the past year and a half, I have ridden my bike to my new work location, which is a forty-minute trip each way. That increased cardio activity must show for something, as my body fat has been reduced by 2%.
I think I look much leaner, especially in the arms and shoulders. I see cords of striations in my deltoids, and that’s not even when I am specifically training them. Most men–and I have heard them talk at the gym–would rather look leaner, or more cut, and weigh less, versus weighing more and having a higher fat percentage. My last scale measurements varied between 181.0 and 182.0 pounds last week. So I have the solid evidence that I am in fact lighter than my peak weight. It’s not that the scale is so inaccurate that it won’t register me back in the 187 range where I used to be. I can fit into size 33 pants again because I have lost a bit of flab around my waist.
I was sorting through the clothes to give to Mark so he could drop them off at the Salvation Army near his place, yet fished out two pairs of jeans at size 33 because I can continue wearing them. That saves me from having to buy them again in a bigger waistline.