Crossing the Mendoza Line (on a Stationary Elliptical Machine)

My weight is hovering right around 200 at the moment, having dipped under the double-century mark once or twice. As recently as last week, I was back up around 205 or 206, but I've made significant progress over the past few days. This, despite my eating large bowls of ice cream two of the last three days and having shortened my workouts so that I can have more time at my desk. (I have a big deadline tomorrow.)

Working out means spending about 45 minutes on an elliptical machine—sort of a stand-up bike that allows you to run without putting pressure on your knees. (My knees, as it were, are shot after years of overweight running with substandard athletic shoes.) When I have time, I also do some weights. My intent is not to get ripped but to build a little extra muscle in those areas of my body that have the most work to do when it comes to burning fat. Occasionally—usually on weekends when I'm not alone with Meyer—I ride my bicycle. Though I don't get to ride very often, my strength and stamina on two wheels have improved greatly, presumably because of my elliptical workouts. (A couple weeks ago, I rode 24.5 miles, 8 of which were on the topographically challenging Natchez Trace Parkway, and I didn't even have to walk up any of the hills.)

Of course, if we Americans used the metric system, which would be the logical thing to do, I would have no occasion to post this, as my weight would be hovering around 91.