The Biggest LOOSER -- running weight loss thread

The older I get, the more I concur.

Can't outrun a bad diet.

 

Same here. I work out like a maniac. Sub-20-minute 5Ker. 3:40 marathoner. The only thing that seems to keep my waistline in check is to clean up my diet.

 

Make it 221.6 now at 36 days. That's down 17.2 pounds. Hoo-ha.

Almost all down by walking and not eating late. Seven pounds to go...

 

I ran my first marathon yesterday. I bonked hard at mile 19, because I didn't have my nutrition dialed in. I forgot I had some Honey Stinger Waffles in my pack and was eating nothing but GU gels. Blew my goal time all to hell.

 

Checking in to note that, since getting on the fitness wagon around Thanksgiving, I am down 13 pounds as of this afternoon. I am lightly proud of this modest yet tangible progress and am dangerously close to going down one big notch on the analog scale. I was doing several miles a week on a treadmill through the first of the year (even ran a mile consecutively for the first time since high school and put in a few under 10 minutes), but light foot pain that I had feared could be a stress reaction but is probably just irritation from the site of a broken foot in college convinced me to shuffle the deck a little. I do a couple spin classes a week (badly), plus occasional days devoted to the treadmill, elliptication or pretend rowing (insert PJ Fleck joke here).

Obviously a long way to go (My long-term pie-in-the-sky goal is to drop about 50 more pounds over the course of the next 16-20 months), but I enjoy the environment at the Y (the people-watching can be a bit interesting, even when there aren't ponytails bouncing around), they have a passable sauna (a must for this born Yooper) and I feel like I'm getting somewhere.

 

Down to 218 this morning. Four pounds to go. Down 21 pounds since December 1.

Imminent divorce is great for getting in shape

 

I'm curious about Dick Whitman's times.

 

Going to share my quick story. Hovered between 175 and 180 through my 20s and early 30s. Gained about 15 pounds around age 34-35, but was semi-intentional since it was mainly muscle. However, my eating went off the rails bad, starting drinking more (not alcoholism, but two or three IPAs are a lot heavier in calorie intake then the Rolling Rocks I used to drink), started running less. Kept gaining weight slowly. Pants sizes kept creeping out. Kept telling myself it was middle age and I was still in good shape. Last fall, it got bad. I really ballooned. Hit 245 and size 38 pants that were tight by end of December (age 39). Made some New Year's resolutions to eat right, run more, caught back on the sugar.... Now down to 190, size 32, back under sub 20 5K, punched out a half marathon in 1:41, planning on a marathon this fall. Unexpected benefits, my blood pressure is back to normal (had been in pre-hyper tension levels), sugar is down, my cholesterol is very low..HDL was 55, LDL was 99. I share because a lot of the stories on here have inspired me, and hope I can inspire someone because if this ex-sports writer living in the South can do it, anyone can.

 

God, if only I could cut back on sugar. My sympathies for people who are trying to quit smoking. Cutting sugar seems to be the one dietary thing at which I consistently fail.

 

Since I don't get over to Anything Goes that often, an update:

At about seven months now since I've been on the fitness wagon. I am down roughly 20 pounds (plus or minus 2-3 depending upon when I ate last and how hydrated I am, I think) and approaching 240 (-24). The weight loss part of it has bogged down a bit in the last couple months, partially because my regimen includes a daily strength program that has made me slightly more muscular and partially because I have not been very good at laying off after-work snacking. However, I now have to wear a belt with just about every pair of pants that I own, so I know I've accomplished at least something. The goal is still to be 200 (-64) by the end of next summer, which is still somewhat doable. In terms of stamina, I've recently recreated the torturous gym class 12-minute run of my youth (on the treadmill) and can cover 1 1/4 miles in that time. (5 laps of the track. I think that might have been good for a B from Coach Mettlach.) I've put in miles under 9:00, but in a town that just had its annual (prominent) summer marathon, I'm well aware that one 8:55 mile is rather weak sauce.

 

Goal was 214.

Just cracked it. 212.4. Ran 12 miles this morning. Yes, a lot of water weight but I love the number.

Lost 27 since December 1. Damn the suits fit great now. Had the newer ones tightened a bit.

Was stuck in the Hell of the Last Five Pounds for three months. Finally broke through.

 

My primary care physician likes to tell me how I can lose 140 pounds in an instant. And after the dust settles, it can really feel like you've gotten a load off your back, not as much baggage to drag around all the time, and your overall outlook on life can turn around and be much brighter. So, my Doc was referring to a lot more than 140 pounds. Everything comes with some form of price to pay, not necessarily measured in dollars... Hope you are doing great!

VB