One Year on WW

Well, yesterday was one year on weight watchers. I finished the year down 89 pounds from my starting weight last December 29th. I was basically the same weight from September through Christmas. From September through last week I had stopped tracking everything I ate, and was focusing on fitness. I signed back up for WW online and I am refocused and ready for the new year. I plan to reach my goal weight by July.

Looking back over the last year, it is hard to believe that last year I went from a couch potato to a man who walked 1,483 miles, ran 407 miles, and cycled 592 miles. I feel great and I am very pleased with my progress. I thank God for the changes He has made in my life this past year and look forward to the changes He has planned for me in 2009.

Running Again!

After not running since November 9th due to a pulled hamstring, I ran this morning.  It was only a 4 mile easy pace run, but it felt great to be running again!  I an really missed being able to run but in a way it has been good for me as I have been more focused on riding my bike, which I also really enjoy.  It is hard to imagine that 11 months ago, I was so inactive and would never consider running or riding a bike.  I can't see myself ever going back to a sedentary lifestyle.

I did not renew my subscription to WW online tools this month.  Since the first of the month, I have been following the plan on my own.  I still check in daily with the GoaD discussion board, but I am no longer as connected as I was.  It is going well.

One surprising aspect of the hamstring injury and break from running is that my weight loss rate increased.  After losing little during September and October while training for and running the half marathon, my weight loss rate has ramped back up since the activity level as lessened slightly.  I am not sure why this has happened, but I am glad for it.

I am going to limit my running to about 20 miles a month until I start training for the next half after the first of the year.  I also plan to ramp up the cycling miles so that I can complete my first century ride in the late spring or early summer.

I will post some additional update pictures in the next week or so.  

Update Pictures

In posting earlier about the half marathon, I realized I had not posted an update picture in a while. Here are a couple of pictures taken a couple of weeks ago.

Louisville Half Marathon

I ran the Louisville Half Marathon this morning as part of Team Goad in the World Wide Half.  My goals were to finish in under 3 hours, to finish strong, and to finish wanting to run another soon.  All my goals were met.  I finished in 2:42:49. I finished strong and I can't wait to run the "Run to Victory" in NC on December 7th.

Sundays and Wednesdays

My scheduled rest days from exercising are Sundays and Wednesdays.  It is becoming increasingly more difficult for me to not exercise two days a week.  These two days are prescribed in the half marathon training plan I am following.  I am going to have to find something I can do which gives my legs a rest on these two days but still gives me a good work out.  I have been thinking about starting to use the Bowflex again.  Now may be the time.  Currently, I have been biking for at least and hour Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.  I have been running Monday, and Thursday with a long run on Saturday morning.  I think I will start using the Bowflex on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.  I am not sure however, that an upper body workout on the Bowflex will give me the exercise "fix" that my body now craves daily for the two days per week that I am not running or cycling. 

Progress Picture and Picture of New Surly LHT

As of my weigh-in this morning I have lost 90.6 lbs.  I am posting a picture taken this morning.  I am actually wearing a polo shirt rather than a button down shirt, something I haven't done in years due to my size and my being self conscience.  I lost 4.2 lbs. two weeks ago and 3.8 lbs. this week.  My weight loss rate has increased from my previous average of 2.6 lbs. per week since I have started bike commuting two weeks ago.  If the current rate of loss continues, I will make goal in early January rather than mid March as previously forecasted based on the 2.6 lb/week loss rate.

New Bike

I have been riding my bike quite a bit more lately so I decided to buy a decent bike to replace the Target special I purchased back in February.  After looking at the Trek 520, a Kona, a Specialized Tri-Cross, a Cannondale Touring 1, and a Surly Long Haul Trucker, I decided on the Surly.  I wanted a touring bike so that I can both commute on it and do self-supported bike tours.  I picked up the bike late yesterday afternoon, it finally came in after a week and a half waiting for it.  It is very nice.  I rode it to work today and my pace was 3 mph faster than on my old bike with less effort (lower heart rate average).  I will post a picture of it soon.

Bike Commuting

Well, I finally began commuting to work on my bike this past Wednesday, 8/13. My start was delayed due to a broken spoke this past Sunday which was not repaired until Tuesday. Things went well on Wednesday. I took the longer "back" route in and the more direct major street route home. It is definitely safer to "take the lane" on a major road with narrow to no shoulder.

I did not commute yesterday. I took a day of vacation to attend the funeral of a dear friend from my church who passed away on Monday morning.

This morning, I took the major road, direct route in. Again, I "took the lane" in the two places where the shoulder disappears. I averaged 11.8 mph in which is not bad considering the hills and the traffic lights.

My quads were sore yesterday from the 12 miles round trip on Wednesday, but the soreness was minimal this morning and did not hinder my run yesterday morning. In fact, my run yesterday was a personal best for my speedwork day.

I am excited about riding the extra 48+ miles per week by bike commuting at least four days a week. I still am not sure if I will bike commute on Wednesdays due to making it to church on time. Although, if I can get an early start the way I did this week, I will have plenty of time.

Bike Commuting

I have decided to try begin commuting to work each day on my bike.  It is only around a six mile ride each way but it is on very busy major roads with heavy traffic.  I test road part of the route this morning.  Very little traffic at 6:00 am on a Sunday morning, but a got a feel for the route.  It is so different on a bike than in a car driving.  I plan to ride in my regular work cloths and take it slow so that I do not heat up.  My only real concern at this point is of course staying safe and possibly over training, as I will be riding on days that I run as well.  My normal "off" day from training is Wednesday.  I have not decided yet whether I will ride to work on Wednesdays or drive to maintain the off day.  We will see.   

Update and Promised Progress Pictures

This has been a great week.  I have completed the first week of my half marathon training program and had a great run this morning.  As of my weigh in this morning I am down 78.4 pounds.  Although my loss rate has slowed this summer, I am still amazed at how God is transforming my body, my health, and my outlook.  He so amazing! (Psalm 104.1-2)

The promised progress pictures:

This picture, with my daughter, is from last fall and shows me at my WW starting weight of 336.

Late January or early February, down around 25 lbs. at this point.

July 19, 2008, down 78.4 lbs (257.6).  Only 72.6 lbs left till I reach goal of 185.

Progress Report

I haven't posted very much this spring.  I need to do better at keeping this blog up to date.  Well, as of last Saturday, July 12th, I am down 75 lbs.  My experience this spring has been amazing.  God has been teaching me so much about Himself.  He has also been teaching me much about myself.  

Since last  updating in February, I have ran several 5k races.  I actually won my age group in one of them.  I also entered and ran in the Bluegrass 10K on July 4th.  I had a great time.  On July 3rd I entered a half marathon in Randleman NC on December 7th.  Yesterday, I began a half marathon training program.  I am using John Bingham's Marathoning for Mortals half marathon training program.  I will update often on my progress.

Here is a picture of me approaching the finish line at the Bluegrass 10K:

I will post some before and progress pictures soon...

Run/Walk Method

In my last post, I commented on the interval training I had just started. Well last week after following the program for three days, I was injured. I injured the Iliotibial band in my right leg. So, since the 8th I have been limited to slow walking and strength training as I work to strengthen and heal the ITB on my right leg. I hope to be able to resume running next Monday. During my down time I have read two very good books written for beginning runners. The first was written by Jeff Galloway and is titled Running: Getting Started and the second was written by John Bingham and Jenny Hadfield and is titled Running for Mortals. Both advocate a run/walk interval method. Galloway's is more conservative and I think the better approach for me going forward to prevent injury from running as I lose the excess weight.

I lost 4.4 lbs last week, bringing my six week loss to 28.4 lbs. I still am having difficulty eating all of my points each day. It seems like I am eating every two hours all day long. But last week I averaged more points eaten per day than the previous two weeks and my loss increased. Seems wierd to me, that by eating less I will slow my weight loss. However, I am now a believer, and I am doing my best to eat all my points each day.

Five Weeks

I lost another 2.6 lbs last week for a five week total of 24lbs. I am really pleased with my progress so far. In fact, last week I was able to stop taking one of my blood pressure medications as my blood pressure has gone down significantly over the last five weeks. I am never hungry and I have finally adjusted to eating 8 servings of fruits or vegetables daily. I am still eating well below my target points, but most days I am unable to eat all that it would take to hit my points target.

I have also been attempting to get at least 10,000 steps a day. Some days this is a challenge due to my job and travel schedule. However, since starting 15 days ago, I have averaged 6,734 per day and have walked 47.2 miles.

I discovered an interval training podcast that I used during my workout last night and I was amazed that I was actually able to run for the first time in 16 years. As a result of the intervals, I ran for about 15 minutes of my 90 minutes on the treadmill. 15 minutes total out of 90 minutes may not seem like alot now but I felt really good about it given that I stopped running 16 years ago when I left the Army. I have often missed running since then. I ran at least 5 miles a day, 3-4 days a week for the 9 years I was in the Army.

You can download the podcast at Itunes. It is called "Podrunner: Intervals." This is a link to the Podrunner website for those who do not have an IPod: http://www.djsteveboy.com/podrunner.html

My goal is to have lost enough weight and trained so that I am able to complete a half marathon, with a respectable time, by the summer of 2009 and to do it without injuring myself.

Four Weeks

It is hard for me to believe that it has only been four weeks ago today that I made the decision to begin living a healthier lifestyle. In the last 4 weeks I have lost 21.4 lbs. More importantly I have radically changed my eating habits and activity level. I have gone from little to no activity to exercising an hour per day. My blood pressure has dropped significantly and I have not felt this well in years. I do not feel like I am deprived of anything following Weight Watchers. In fact I am not viewing it as a diet. I can follow this plan indefinitely.

WW in 2008

I made a decision to join Weight Watchers online for Men on December 29th. Two weeks later I already feel better and I have lost 14 lbs. I hope to lose weight as a result of learning to eat healthier, to become healthier. At this point, my motivation level is high and the online GoaD (Guys on a Diet, hence the name of my blog, I am just a Guy on a Diet) community at WW online is a very supportive group. I think that this support network will be critical to my success as the months go by. My goal weight, 185 lbs., is 151 pounds lower than where I started, 336 lbs, two weeks ago. It is hard to believe that I have gained 151 pounds over the past 17 years. My goal is to lose 2 lbs. a week. I have rapidly lost weight, as much as 60 pounds, twice over the last 5 years by fairly radical diets. The problem was that as soon as I went off of the diet, I gained the weight right back, and then some. My focus now is to permanently change my eating habits and therefore the longer it takes me to get to my goal weight, the more likely the change is to be permanent.

I started this blog to post my progress on this journey. I will also occasionally post about my work as a safety manager and my studies as a seminary student.

I am optimistic about 2008 and the positive changes God has planned for me.