Week 23 of my journey to better health included the biggest roadblock so far: the Taste of Hamburg-er Festival. Would my splurging on gourmet burgers derail my plan? Read on for this week’s update.

The Successes

Once again this week, there wasn’t a lot of opportunity for outdoor activity but I found ways to get my exercise.

Julie and I snuck in a short walk on Monday evening. Afterward, I spent 45 minutes trimming shrubs.

Tuesday and Wednesday I went 0-2 on exercise, but I still managed to hit my calorie goal. Thursday, on the other hand, was more interesting.

Part of my real job, in addition to the digital marketing that I do on a day-to-day basis, has been to serve as the best friend of Monty the Fox, the official tourism ambassador of Montgomery County.

On Thursday, I spent the day with Monty for a photo shoot. We explored the towns of Narberth and Ambler, riding SEPTA’s regional rail system between the two towns. I estimated we walked for three hours, stopping to pose for pictures at various businesses along the way.

That was fine with me as it allowed me enough extra calories to enjoy a peach shortcake for dessert Thursday night.

I spent two hours on Friday cleaning up rooms of our house, then walked for an hour on Saturday (see more on that below) and 25 minutes more on Sunday.

The Challenges

Saturday marked our annual pilgrimage to the Taste of Hamburg-er Festival. It’s probably the least diet-friendly event that we attend every year.

But from a calorie standpoint, my estimate is about 1,500 calories eaten during lunch. I bookended that with cereal for breakfast and dinner (and walking around the festival has to count for something) so it ended up being an OK day.

Friday was actually the worse day for net calories, as I came in more than 200 over my limit.

It was a rare weekday off and Julie convinced me to go to Boehringer’s for lunch. OK, so it didn’t take much convincing as it was my only visit of the summer to the Adamstown restaurant.

I had a hamburger, fries and a milkshake, not exactly the healthiest choice at an estimated 1,300 calories.

We followed that up with dinner at Mangia where I actually made surprisingly restrained decisions, opting to share a 10-inch pizza with Julie with a wedge salad to go with. Lose It estimated the meal at 800 calories for a total of nearly 2,500 calroies going in.

The Results

Current Weight: 164.2
Weekly Weight Loss: 0.0
Total Weight Loss: -25.2

A good beginning to the week followed by a not-so-good close to the week turned into a wash. I honestly believe that if the week had played out in reverse, I would have seen some better results.

The Week Ahead

As I write this, Labor Day has already passed and those calories will be reflected in next week’s update. I think I did well, but the scale on Monday will tell the tale.

It’s also been a rainy start to the week, but the sun looks like it’s going to be here to stay for a while so I will be looking to get outside and burn some calories between now and weigh-in day.