Today is the six month anniversary of the start of my diet/lifestyle change. Unfortunately, the guy whose plan I was following has run from the public eye after his larger plans failed.

I’ve mentioned before how I started following a plan outlined by Vic Magary and, somehow, managed to stick with it.

I still like his style. Although he’s former military and he called some of his plans “boot camps” and promised to “act like a drill sergeant” if we didn’t turn in our food journals every day, he never tried to be one of those “exercise like a Green Beret/Navy SEAL/Ranger/French Foreign Legion Commando/now you’re ready to go to WAR” types. Instead, he promised to help us reach our goals without gimmicks or hype.

For the most part, that was true, and as of today’s official weigh in, I’m at 82 kilograms (just under 181 pounds) which means I’ve lost 17 kilos or about 37ish pounds since I started. More importantly, for the last month I’ve kept my weight around that number, which means I’ve been able to stop the drop without triggering a rebound. (Although our youngest, who takes notes while watching a Sunday morning medical show–long story–did accuse me of having a rebound after my New Year/in-law visit weight gain.)

I’ve been spotty with the exercise routine recently as my evening schedule has been changed. However, I still drag myself to the tatami mat room in our apartment and exercise at least three times a week. Also, on school days I have a 3ish mile (5 kilometer) round trip walk that I count as exercise even as it destroys my shoes.

My goal now is to work on strength. I didn’t lose any strength as I lost weight–had no where to go but up–but the exercise routine needs to move to the next level.

Unfortunately, Vic’s ventures didn’t succeed the way he’d hoped (apparently not for the first time) and he’s now cocooned back into less risky work. Also, despite student encouragement, he’s pulled all his books from circulation (except one on martial arts). The Facebook page linked above is the last social media he’s kept active, but he doesn’t seem to respond to any posts. All his other websites are down.

Since he’s not around to do it, the only advice I can give is up your protein and vegetables; lower your carbs and liquid calories; replace your between meal snacks with smaller, healthier alternatives; write down everything you eat, about how much and when; do something resembling exercise every day (and write down what you did); and get more sleep.

Oh, and pick one day a week for your official weigh-in. Don’t weigh yourself every day. You’ll be shocked how much your weight moves around from day to day and it will freak you out.