So 272 is the number, which is pretty fucking awesome. I followed that up with a 1,500 calorie Saturday (though no ellipticising), and an 1,800 calorie, 30-minute elliptical Sunday. I am going to weigh myself again on Monday, and then wait until Friday. By that time, I should be well under 270, and out of the woods as far as taking an off-day and not nudging myself back over the 270 mark.

So tentatively, my 100 pounds party will be held on Friday, and none of you are invited. In fact, it will be a gory, but savory, series of meats, cheeses, and possibly hookers. (I’m not saying I am going to buy some lube and a hooker. It’s actually highly unlikely. I’m just saying that there is probably a better chance of that happening on Friday than on almost any other day.)

But there are two other things that I want to talk about on this Monday. We’ll break them up with numbers

1. Exercise. I used to say that a person can lose weight without any exercise at all. The science backs me up there, since losing weight is really only about burning more calories than you ingest. However, the idea of exercise has been shockingly reinforced in me with this latest weight loss. Let’s compare Thursday and Friday with the week before it.

The week: Three bad eating days, followed by three good eating days, but no exercise at all. I gained 1.4 pounds.

Thursday and Friday: Two good eating days, with the added benefit of 30 minutes of exercise each day. I lost 3.4 pounds.

So it is obvious to me how much power exercise has. It also serves as a psychological boost because it is the one thing I can truly control about my body. I can eat well on any given day, but I really don’t have control over how my body reacts. But if I exercise and know from the elliptical machine that I have burned 530 calories (on average) for 30 minutes of work, I have taken things into my own hands, and I know for certain that my body has just burned those calories (or something in that neighborhood, if you don’t trust the digital display). Eating right is the more passive aspect of a diet. But exercise is hands on, a way of taking control of my own destiny.