It’s been a while since I posted a milestone update; I’ve been stuck at the same weight for over two months.

I know I need more resistance training to add upper body muscles, and I am still behind on that (though I’ve been doing some crunches). But I still think most of weight loss is based on what you eat. I think dieticians will largely agree with that. Ultimately it’s calories in vs calories out.

So I gave some thought to what I’ve been eating and decided I’ve been underestimating the impact of my homemade “Doug’s Healthy Salad Dressing” and have been abusing it, since it tastes so good! It’s made from soy milk, grated ginger, grated “yuzu kosho” (a Japanese condiment made from a citrus fruit), nutritional yeast, and balsamic vinegar. In addition to pouring it over my regular large salads, I’ve started pouring it over carrots that I snack on. I did some calculating and decided to restrict my use of the dressing to just meal-time salads.

All of a sudden my weight started coming down again and today I finally broke through the 75 kg barrier for the first time in my adult life. As soon as I entered 74.8 kg (164.9 lb) into MyFitnessPal (streak day 2988) it popped up with the congratulations banner you see in this post. I had forgotten that I had set this as my “dream goal weight” 8 years ago!

So my milestones today are (1) reaching “goal”, (2) getting under 75 kg, and also getting under 165 lb. I’ve now lost a total of 54.2 kg = 119.5 lb (another milestone is on the horizon). I’ve lost 42% of my total body weight, and my BMI is 24.7, in the normal range.

Yet… my stomach still sticks out some. And while in the U.S. I know I can fit into M size jackets (I got two recently from my friend, Dave, who passed away in April), here in Japan I’m still an LL size. So I think for my next goal I would like to get under 70 kg. I’m not in any hurry. Time is passing whether I’m dieting or not, and I actually like eating this way. My blood sugar and all other blood values are in the normal range now, I’m off of blood sugar medication completely since last November, my cholesterol level is fantastic, my blood pressure is excellent, and I have no food cravings.

Here’s an older picture of me, and one from a few weeks ago trying on the M-size jacket from Dave.

Just to remind people what I eat, it’s whole food plant based, essentially vegan, no added oils, minimal added sugars, minimal added salt, and for weight loss I restrict very high calorie density foods like breads and nuts. For example, for breakfast just now I had a big salad and a large amount of baked potatoes. Very filling.

And onward…