Academic

"How much does hair weigh?"

By Gordon Smith, Christine, Hurt, Vic Fleischer, Fred Tung, Lisa Fairfax, David Zaring

This is another one of my weight loss posts, so don't bother clicking through if that's not what you want to read.

I used to joke about my weight and my poor eating habits. As of last year, however, I decided to do something about it. When we arrived in Utah last summer, I weighed 240 pounds, more or less, and I was feeling horrible about my long-term prospects. So I decided to use the move to Utah as an impetus for change: I started walking to work (three miles, one way), enrolled in a fitness counseling program at BYU, and lifted weights three times a week with my oldest son. By the end of the year, I had lost 30 pounds. Weight loss seemed so easy then.

It took me another three months of waxing and waning to lose 10 pounds, but I had reached my intermediate goal of dipping below 200 on the scale. And I assumed that the heat and increased activity of the summer months would result in even more rapid weight loss. Unfortunately, summer also brought conference season. Lots of airplane travel, restaurant food, conference snacks, and disrupted routines. Suddenly, I found myself gaining again at an alarming weight. By mid-July, I was back up to 208 pounds. Ugh!

With most of my conferences complete, I re-asserted control over my diet and exercise. I cut out desserts for the rest of the summer, ate lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, and started running. Again. I had first taken up running last fall, but I had lapsed. Now I decided to run the three miles to work. Unfortunately, I couldn't run much more than a mile without breaking down. So I did the run-walk as well as I could manage, and after a few weeks, I was running the whole way. Is there any better way to lose weight than running? Well, hunger strike, I suppose. Anyway, in the month and a half or so that I have been running, I have lost 12 pounds, which puts me around 196 and falling. I feel a new wardrobe coming on.

I decided to write this post because I got my hair cut this morning. As I was sitting in the chair at the BYU barbershop, watching my gray and brown hair fall to the ground, I asked, "how much does hair weigh?" When I am in weight-loss mode, I am looking for every angle. If hair made a material difference in my weight, I would seriously consider shaving my head. But the barber didn't know the answer to my question, and by the end of the cut, I was convinced that the answer was, "not enough to justify shaving your head."

If you have ever had to lose weight, you know that crazy things like this go through your mind all of the time. One day last year I asked my wife how much one of my legs weighed. Amputation wasn't a real option, but I was just curious how quickly I could reach my weight goals by shedding body parts.

And, of course, I think constantly of the wrestlers at my high school, who used to run around in sweat suits, spitting to get down to the necessary weight. Spitting is gross. And the effect on weight lasts only until you get to the next drinking fountain. But like I said, crazy thoughts.

My ultimate goal is to weigh between 165-170. One of my neighbors told me the other day not to lose any more weight or I would look emaciated, but he is delusional. My ability to lose weight from doing what I am doing right now will taper off soon, and I will need to redouble my efforts if I am going to reach that goal. The next frontier: portion sizes. I have been working half-heartedly on this one for awhile, but it's time to get serious. If last spring is any guide, it's the last 10 pounds before reaching the goal that are really tough.

Full post as published by Conglomerate on September 09, 2008 (boomark / email).