Thursday, December 15, 2011

New Year's Resolu...

Nope. I don't believe in them and I don't do them. A resolution, despite it's root word being resolve, is nothing more than a wish with about as much substance as a dream. By the end of the day you rarely can remember the dream. And by the end of the year you probably remember back in January when you resolved to do something that you probably didn't do!

There - I said it!

I do, however believe in goals. A goal is a plan. With an action list, a  deadline, and thoughts toward whom and what can help you achieve that goal. A goal is something you can find a way to track, either by checking off the action list as you step forward, or ticking down the countdown, as you shed the pounds or get closer (and fitter) for the race.

So here's a FEW of my goals for 2012, related (obviously) to getting and staying fit and healthy:

#1 - Get the weight down to 198 by April 14. I'll be 50 years old and - if I succeed - I will be 90 pounds lighter than I was in April 2010. (I have 29.5 pounds to go by then - I CAN do it!)

#2 - Run a 50K "combo" (see my earlier post regarding the April Challenge) in the week before and including the day of my birthday. And then P A R T Y like a 35-year-old*!!

#3 - Run a Marathon. Not sure when or where yet, but this will be the goal behind the mini-goals of the Get Lucky 7K, the St. Paul Running Opener 10K, the Apple Blossom 10K, the Minneapolis Half Marathon, the Minneapolis Duathlon, and the Monster Dash Half-Marathon. (See all those measurable steps I can check off as I approach the Marathon goal?)

#4 - Most importantly, continue - and in fact expand - my role as a model to my son, who will be 12 next year and growing ever closer to the "tough years of teenage".

I would say "Wish me luck" but I don't need luck (another thing I don't believe in!). Just faith, hard work and dedication. Join me!


*I say 35 because that's about the age I was when I discovered "fine ale" as opposed to "get drunk beer". Fine Ale will be featured at my 50th birthday party!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Now That THAT's Done...

So after running the MonsterDash Half-Marathon, I was all gung-ho to run every Team Ortho race in 2012 – think of all the cool medallions! I already have a Get Lucky and Monster Dash.



Well, maybe not the Duathlon, because my knees are too precious to my running self to risk them on a bicycle race (hopefully I will get over that phony theory some day).
Then I realized the Polar Dash 10K is on January 1, and we have a family get-together that day (not to mention that last year it was -15 degree wind chill!) and I’m not going to put a crimp in family plans. So, I plan to start my “2012 Running Season” on March 17, with the Get Lucky 7K race (the same one I did in 2011 that started all this running madness for me). That’s a good start to get me ready for my April challenge…

THE APRIL CHALLENGE
April 14, 2012 is my 50th (gulp) birthday and to commemorate the fact that not only am I still alive, I am actually LIVING, I have decided to run 50K in April! There is a 50K UltraMarathon that day on the paved and unpaved trails that run up and down the hills of Hyland Park…

But I am a reasonable man, especially after running 13 miles last month, so I know that 31 miles is more than just a convenient writer’s palindrome. So the plan is to spread the 50K out over the 7 days leading up to and including my birthday. Here’s the plan:
April 7 (Saturday) – St. Paul Running Opener 10K around Lake Phalen
April 9-13 (Mon- Fri) – local 7K route run each day (total of 35K)
April 14 (Saturday) – easy 5K run ending at our home for a birthday bash!
Total April distance = 50K!

MAY - NOVEMBER
In May, Minda and I will run the Apple Blossom 10K in Hastings which is a beautiful race with about half the course running on trails through the woods.

June will be my last run before the summer heat sets in, with the Minneapolis Half-Marathon (Team Ortho!) on June 3. After that 13.1 miles, I will be taking it easy and indoors on the treadmill (probably) until…
October when the 2012 Monster Dash Half-Marathon (Team Ortho!) returns. The goal for 2012 will be to sprint that last ¼ mile and beat this year’s time.

And of course the annual Turkey Trot 5K in Minneapolis has become a tradition for Minda and I and that will draw an end to the 2012 Racing Season for me with a projected total of 114K! Piece of cake!
What I would like to see is several of you WIIL-ers running these races with me, with encouragement, practice runs, and challenges to make it fun and rewarding. You only have bad health and excess weight to lose! Who’s with me?

I’m not looking for a commitment at this time, just a show of hands to start encouraging each other during the “indoor” season and remind each other about the registration deadlines. We can also plan on training runs as the race dates get close.

Monday, November 7, 2011

Thanks Minda!

Another goal checked off the list. And this was a BIG one. I mean, 11 months ago I sort of joked that I was going to run a 7K race. I meant to try to run it, but I didn't think I really would. And then I did. A month later it was a 10K and 2 weeks later, another 10K. All of the sudden, I realized I was serious about running.

So when Minda suggested I run the MonsterDash Half-Marathon, in lieu of the MonsterDash 5K I was planning on, I joked that maybe I might just think about considering that idea.
Just before the start -
13.1 miles ahead of me
And then I did it.

It was not a great finish for me, though I did in fact meet my goal of under 2.5 hours (officially it was 2:31:53, but I am "officially" deducting 5 minutes for a very long porta-potty line at mile 4).

I hit no mental walls along the way - once I started, I knew I was going to finish - and in fact, I felt great for the first seven or eight miles. By mile nine, I was tired but going strong. At mile ten or eleven (they kind of blurred together) I was greeted and cheered on by good friends Mark and Anna and their lovely daughters, Ellie, Tabby and Malia.

Here I go - 13.05 miles
ahead of me.
About a half-mile down the road, my lower left leg started squeaking...and then screaming! I started jump-drag-hobbling. And then my right leg started whining about the added work it was having to do. And then they both threatened to quit on me!

When Minda joined me -
about 1 mile to go.
And then I heard a familiar voice: Minda cheering from the sidewalk! She jumped off the curb and started running with me - in her suede boots and carrying my bag of "stuff". I told her what was happening and that I was angry at my legs - I wanted to finish STRONG!! I wanted to do that last 1/4-mile sprint at the end that I have fallen in love with: passing people left and right, shaving seconds off my time, sucking wind like it's IPA-flavored.

But for the first time, I started doubting I was going to even make it to the finish line. What if my leg really did collapse? Minda would hear none of it!

"Come on, just tell your leg it has everything it needs - blood, oxygen, nutrients - and keep going. You're going to finish - tell it that." And I did. And Minda ran that last mile with me.
Finished! And (technically) under my goal time!
Thanks Minda for encouraging me all summer to do this - and pushing through with me to the very end!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Oh Yeah, Remember?

With all this running and pound-losing and preparing for a half-marathon and talking about running and pound-losing, it's easy to believe that that's all this blog is about. But it's about so much more.

It's about digging out those forever-dreams that I buried long ago in the detritus of survival. Forever, because most of my dreams/goals have been a part of me since I was young:

Entrepreneurial - I was mowing lawns for money at 12 and dreaming up other businesses with each pass of the mower. Heck, when I was 9 or 10, my sister and I put together magic shows in our basement, charging admission and selling popcorn and lemonade for a little spending money.



Writing - I've been writing stories since my 4th grade teacher told me I had a gift for the written word (pardon the cliche, but she really did!). I have three finished novels collecting dust on my back burner. And when I ruminate on one or the other, I get excited about their stories and characters all over again. They may not be publisher-worthy quite yet, but each one has potential...to touch lives, move emotions in some way, thrill a reader.



Every time I see a hawk sitting on a pole or streaking through the trees of the neighborhood chasing sparrows, I remember how alive I felt when I was a falconer. It's been six years since I flew a hawk, but when I see one, I think, I could do that now...I'm healthy enough to keep up with a goshawk! (Well, relatively speaking - I'm healthy enough to handle the long jaunts through knee-deep snow to recover a goshawk plucking a pheasant a mile from where she first left my fist.) Or follow a crazy squirrel chase through the woods with a fierce and determined Redtailed hawk.



And my newest one, which is really a return to the days when I was a big fan of Backwoods Home magazine, but actually makes even more sense in this crazy world we live in today, becoming more self-relient. I want to grow my own food - vegetables, herbs, fruit, maybe even eggs - and can it, and brew my own beer, and hunt my own meat (another long-held dream - arrowing a deer).



These dreams are all a part of living, living my life, which is what this blog is all about: truly living, not just surviving. Ignoring the naysayer at the back of my mind telling me I'll fail, or it's not good enough, or it's not worth the trouble, and doing something because it's what I was born to do. And because putting off everything until "one of these days" may just take too long.

I need to remember that.

Do you have dreams that are in the "One Of These Days" files? When are you going to get them out of the file and start doing them?

Monday, October 17, 2011

12

It's down to 12 days from the Event Of The Year for me. The Monster Dash Half Marathon.


In preparation, this past Saturday I joined 50 or 60 other Team Ortho folks to run a practice run on the actual course. We ran the first 6 miles, then turned and ran back to the start - 12 miles.

Yes, I told myself, you just ran 12 miles in 2 hours and 22 minutes at an 11:09 per mile pace! With very few walk breaks and only one porta-potty break. (I passed it by on the outrun, but on the way back, at mile 8, I had to stop - coffee is a blessing and a curse, you know.) And I burned 2800+ calories doing it - enough to justify McDonald's, Wendy's and a Snicker's bar. (I did have the Snicker's bar at work).

Thirty minutes after my 12-mile run, I worked a 12-hour shift at my job driving a computer. It was a fairly slow day, so I had plenty of time to reflect. On how good the overall soreness felt. And how my knees were not screaming, but my toes were. How deserved the sleepiness was that kept stealing over me and giving me "Locked Eyeball Syndrome". How when I stood up and stretched to shake off the fugue state, it hurt so damn good. And on how amazing this accomplishment felt: it wasn't even the main event! Twelve miles was the longest distance I have ever run in my life. But two weeks from now, I increase that to 13.1!

I thought back to 12 months ago...I was at least 60 pounds heavier, my knees and ankles hurt most of the time (because of the extra weight, not because I pounded pavement for 2+ hours), and I could barely walk to the park bench to watch my son play on the swings.

I also slept with a face mask on to keep me breathing, I was on at least year seven of daily Prilosec intake (who knows what that stuff does to the rest of your body?) and my wife and son had a ticking time bomb slouching around their house.

That Monster Dash Finisher medal with the skeleton has even more meaning to me now - What if I lived? I'm living and loving it. Bring on the 13.1...and whatever comes after it!

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Liar!

When I first started losing pounds - after the first ten or twelve easy ones - I was amazed to find myself appreciating the "hunger pangs" I occasionally felt. They were honest; they were not a blood sugar crash precipitated by an unbalanced, crappy meal and an out of whack insulin response. Hunger was empowering and invigorating.

Hunger was an affirmation that I was accomplishing a long sought-after goal.

But I'm struggling these days - still healthier than ever, still running and training for a half-marathon (32 days and counting), still love seeing the thinner, vibrant face in the mirror - but damn I am slipping back into the old habit of kow-towing to my hunger!! The slightest twinge of hunger and I start thinking of food.

And of course work time is the worst time: even when I have healthy meals and healthy snacks available to me, I still manage to down a few handfuls of candy, a brownie...even a good old fashioned sugary Pepsi! The food culture where I work is very generous to a snack-junkie. It's a good thing I only work four days a week!

I'm even back to lying to myself: if I don't eat that extra piece of pizza now, I'm just going to get hungry later and eat twice as much. If I allow today to be a "treat day", I'll get back in gear tomorrow...or maybe the next day. Hell, it's the weekend, I'll get my focus back on Monday. A Snickers bar will make me feel all better after that last ugly phone call...blah, blah, effing blah.

Liar!
I want my focus back - NOW; I want to get back in gear - NOW; I want the good hunger pangs back, the ones I called my friends. I want the unerring strength and power those hunger pangs gave me, the feeling of subjugating a transient and false craving in service to a slimmer, stronger, healthier body.

I want to stop lying to myself and get back to fixing myself - inside and out.

Monday, September 5, 2011

Love That White Powder


No, that was 30 years ago. But the magnetism, the ability to damage my health, the ability to derail my life, and the loss of integrity and self-respect is the same.

This...


Sugar. I love it. I hate it. I hate to love it. And sometimes, it owns me.

It boggles my mind how I can be perfectly satisfied with a good, filling, healthy meal...and 5 minutes later start considering a visit to the candy machine at work. Maybe I'll have an apple or grapefruit instead. I love grapefruit. And then five minutes later...M&Ms? A Twix bar? Maybe a 4-pack of chocolate Zingers??

Hi, my name is Scott and I'm a sugar-addict. I let sugar control my life. I have even let it affect my health, my relationships, and my job.

My job is where the cravings hit most often. Which is a good indicator that it has nothing to do with hunger. It's the false sense of contentment, euphoria, and pleasure that comes with a mouthful of sugar. And it evaporates the second I'm back at my desk with phone ringing.

I need to work on this...and I know I can't do it alone. Help!

Friday, August 26, 2011

Done and Done

Two of my goals for this year are completed. And, just for something different - they don't even involve me!
Minda now has new eyeglasses - and she looks (and sees) sharp!


Andrew's upper palette has been expanded and four weeks from today, he will have the bands for his braces installed. The neat thing was to see him embrace the fortitude to do what had to be done (once daily turning of a crank that basically spread the bones in the roof of his mouth a quarter-millimeter each day). After a few days of Papa doing it for him, he took over and did it himself most mornings. And the results were impressive.




Yes, those catty-wampus (TexanSpeak) teeth are just a step in the right direction toward a beautiful smile!

And though I suspect I won't reach my goal of dropping 82 pounds by November 1, I am down 62 pounds from my all-time high of 288 pounds. And I continue to run (averaging 20 miles per week). And I am training for my first half-marathon in October.


And most importantly, I am LIVING and, God willing, I plan on living a long, healthy and enjoyable life!

Now on to the Finish Line!

Finish line for the Apple Blossom 10K race Minda and I ran in May 2011.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Great Article

Here's a great article on Ben Davis of BenDoesLife, the initial inspiration for me to lose my fat and find my life!

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

First Meeting - Done!

Sunday, Minda and I met Jody, Jessica and Vivian at the Lake Harriet Rose Garden. We waited 15 minutes for any latecomers, then headed off around the lake. Pretty hot and humid, but we walked and talked and then veered up into Linden Hills area for an iced coffee (Infinite Black - mmmmmm!) at the Dunn Brothers.

We talked about some of the things we struggle with and what we hoped to accomplish by banding together under the "What If I...Lived"banner. Mostly support, ideas and suggestions. Also want to get the WIIL FaceBook page up and running and an email chain to keep everyone informed.

We'll firm things up at our next meeting which is tentatively scheduled for after Labor Day.

Sorry for the rough post - typing it on the keyboard of the Google TV device we just picked up. The real computer is down for now, so this will have to do!

Friday, July 1, 2011

Time To Start Living!

If you’re looking for a way to get your life under control, lose a few pounds and reclaim the health you once enjoyed, I have no magic bullet to get you there. But in my own journey to lose 53 pounds (and counting) I have learned that you have a better chance of succeeding if you have a team rooting for your success and struggling alongside you with their own goals in sight.

And that’s where What If I Lived can help – you and me. I know that by helping others achieve their goals, I will stay focused on achieving my goals. And it works both ways!

Please join my wife, Minda and I on Sunday July 31 at 2:00 pm at Lake Harriet to find out more!
WHAT WE WILL DO:
*Share ideas for exercise, eating, and other aspects of healthy living.
*Encourage each other in our pursuit of healthy lifestyles – and balanced living.
*Plan healthy outings – an active day at the park with fresh air and healthy picnic beats an afternoon in front of the television ALMOST any day.
*Encourage each other to make changes in our lives.
*Encourage each other to set goals to achieve – and celebrate achieving those goals.
*Encourage each other to believe in ourselves.
*Affirm and re-affirm that we are NOT our past, our bad habits or our negative beliefs. We are all worthy of respect, friendship and happiness. And a long life!
WHAT WE WON'T DO:

*Plan a diet for you and enforce it,
*Belittle each other for failures,
*Force philosophy or dogma on each other,
*Expect you to follow a specific exercise or diet plan,
*Give up on you -- even if you do!

WHAT WE PLAN TO DO:
*Meet at Lake Harriet Rose Garden entrance on Sunday July 31st at 2:00 pm and:
*Take a pleasant stroll around the lake to:
*Discuss ideas for future meetings,
*Schedule a weekly exercise outing for those interested,
*Plan future outings,
*Discuss goal-setting and goal-achieving ideas and methods, and
*Discuss and encourage everyone to train for and participate in the Monster Dash 5K Run on October 29th. This is a fun, costume-optional Halloween-themed walk-run that all of us CAN complete. Doesn't matter if you run, walk, or hobble.
More importantly, setting the Monster Dash as a goal and spending the three months gearing up for it, can be an integral part of starting your journey toward believing in yourself and LIVING! It worked for me. And yes, three months is enough time to get ready to complete a 3.15 mile race.
WHAT WE SUGGEST:
Before diving into any health improvement plan, you should visit your doctor for a health check-up. And while you are there, ask the doctor for a game plan to get you free - forever - of the need for pharmaceutical visits. Specifically, what do you need to do in order to dump the prescriptions for blood pressure, cholesterol, anti-depressants, diabetes, etc. And if he tells you it's not an option, FIND A NEW DOCTOR!!



Please email me at bellsong1 at gmail dot com and then join my wife, Minda, and I on Sunday July 31 at 2:00 pm

Saturday, June 25, 2011

What If I...

What If * I... Lived?

*instead of growing old and giving up,

*instead of staring at the television for 4 hours each night,

*instead of a half-gallon of ice cream,

*instead of surfing the internet all night long,

*instead of cookies, cakes and candy,

*instead of driving to the grocery store – or Dairy Queen,

*instead of yet another reality TV show,

*instead of a whopper and fries,

*instead of making excuses,

*instead of doctors, drugs and medical devices...

In other words – what if I take charge of my life and live. Live healthy and wisely. Move, balance, choose intelligently. Walk instead of drive; run instead of walk! Set goals, strive for goals, and achieve goals. Don’t settle; don’t surrender – to age, weight, mental health or medical issues.


What if you do too?

I want to start a movement . I want to stir up a groundswell of friends helping friends get healthy and stay healthy. For the rest of my life. Their lives!

We just finished up a "Biggest Loser Weight Loss Contest" where I work and the net result is a couple of us lost a good amount of weight and a few of us lost a few pounds. And most of the contestants have accepted their failure to lose more than a pound or two and gone back to their way of life – which is not much of a life. Even the ones who lost a good amount of weight are ill-equipped to maintain or further that success if they don't stay focused (me included!) It was just a contest after all. I fear for them and me in the weeks ahead.

What If I... Lived is not a contest or a diet plan or a club. It is a lifestyle of support, encouragement, ideas and forgiveness. The ultimate goal is enjoying healthy, happy and fulfilling lives. If we lose weight along the way, so much the better! If we learn how to accept our flaws and still enjoy life, that is success. And if we encourage each other along the way, that helps us succeed!


Thursday, June 23, 2011

Why Run?

I've been reading an awesome AWESOME book called "Born To Run" by Christopher McDougall. Did I mention this is an awesome book?? One of the scientists profiled in the book is so convinced - and convincing - that humans are designed for long-distance running that he believes if more people ran, there would be dramatically less cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc.

But if those esoteric reasons aren't enough to convince you you should be running, here are a few more:
(borrowed with permission from the website: Half-Marathon Running)

1. Lose weight
Running gives your body a complete cardiovascular workout. This is most effective in losing weight – particularly in the waist and hips area. In fact, after you start running, you will start to shed inches from these areas. A lot of people take up running just for the sake of losing weight and stay with it because of the other benefits they receive.

2. Relieve stress
Your body will get into its own rhythm while running and the fresh breeze of air flowing against your face will send you in a different state of mind. Running helps to relieve stress and is in fact suggested by some experts as a cure for depression. While your body is concentrating on the run itself, your mind is in a relaxed state and looking for solutions. You will find that you get a lot of answers about your current issues while the mind is in a relaxed state. Serenity brings peace and relieves stress.

3. Connect with nature
Running will take you to the most beautiful parts of the world and give your eyes a feast of the scenic beauty around. Even if you run outside once a week, you can pick a different route every week to enjoy the beauty of nature. Just as the road seems different when you drive on the same road while coming and going, it will seem different when you are running. Running will connect you to the natural beauty around you, which you will not be able to identify while driving.

4. Delay Aging and Fight disease
Research has shown that the pace of aging depends on the level of physical activity. Regular physical activity such as running delays the aging and the age related changes in the nervous system - in particular - the reaction time. Running is said to reduce heart attack risks by strengthening the heart and lowering the blood pressure. Running also produces a stronger cardiovascular system and lowers cholesterol.

5. Increase social connections
Lot of running groups are available – many through your local running store and some through other running organizations. After you join one of this groups, you will meet a lot of runners who are passionate about the sport and increase your social connections.

6. Travel to different places
If you like to travel to different places, you are in for a real adventure. Running will take you to a lot of places. You can explore new places either during your training runs or your races. If you enjoy traveling, you can run a race in a different state or even run races in different countries.

7. Build confidence
Running builds a lot of confidence in people. If you lose weight by running, it boosts your confidence and increases your self-esteem. You are willing to run the extra mile the next week – not only in running but also in other aspects of life. If you look at what you have achieved when you first started running and compare it to where you currently are (see photo below), you will have an increased amount of self-confidence.


In six months of running - I lost 53 pounds!

8. Runners high
Ever heard of the famous runners high? It is pleasant state of euphoria achieved by runners. It is most commonly experienced during distance runs, which are a test of endurance. When the body is pushed to its limits in endurance runs, it produces endorphins to alleviate pain. These endorphins have different effect on different people – but they mainly send the body to a euphoric state.
[More recent studies show that it is not endorphins but a substance called endocannibinols - produced by the human brain and chemical cousin to the active ingredient in marijuana - that causes the runner's high. And it IS legal!]

9. Improve self
Running teaches about focus and determination. If you start running and building up on your runs every week to get into distance running, you will need a lot of determination and focus to run the last few miles. Increasing the mileage every week contributes to your focus and helps in improving one’s own self – it benefits the body, mind and the soul.

10. Connect with the sub-conscious mind
Running helps in connecting with the subconscious mind. When you are running, your body is doing all the work of propelling itself forward. Your mind is at peace and working to suggest solutions to questions or issues that you may have at hand. The best way to trigger the sub-conscious mind is to submit your question to your sub-conscious the night before the run. Sometime during the run, you will get an impulse of a thought. This thought may be the answer you are looking for or a path that will lead you to your ultimate answer.

Friday, May 6, 2011

2000 Calories?? I'll Starve!

I am amazed that at the end of the day, a 2000-calorie lifestyle is satisfying, sufficient and perfectly tasty. This coming from a man who could easily consume 3500+ calories in a day, back in the day.

There were many days—sometimes consecutive—when I would eat McDonald’s drive-thru for breakfast (2 sausage biscuits, no egg, hash brown, and a sugar-Coke), Burger King drive-thru for lunch (bacon double cheeseburger, large fries, sugar-Coke) and Taco Bell—drive thru, of course—for dinner (6-pack of crunchy tacos, a Mexi-melt and a sugar-Pepsi). Seriously. And I won't mention the DQ drive-thru!


But those days are history for me—52 pounds ago—and I haven’t tasted fast food in months. The closest I come to FF is Chipotle’s barbacoa bowl with extra lettuce, half-the-rice, pinto beans and cheese. And extra hot salsa. We’re talking fancy taco salad with 525 calories. It’s not petite, but it’s better than a 980-calorie cheeseburger, without fries! And it has healthy beans, lettuce, beef and a touch of cayenne-heat to stoke the metabolism up.


A more typical day consists of a breakfast stir-fry of sliced sausage link (Andouille is my favorite), low-cholesterol egg beaters (1/2 cup = 2 eggs), a handful of chopped up arugula lettuce, a sprinkle of cheese and salsa or pico de gallo. And I try to have this AFTER my morning run on the treadmill—research shows that you jump right into fat-burning mode when you exercise on an empty stomach.

A banana with low-fat yogurt makes for a great mid-morning snack. For lunch I'll have a LARGE salad with chopped-up meat—chicken Caesar salad is good with low-fat dressing and a squeeze of lemon juice. I’ve also had a salad with Indian-spiced chicken. And almonds!

One vital ingredient for salads for this former-burger-muncher: Quinoa. Pronounced KEEN-wah, this tiny grain-like seed boils up like rice with lots of flavor—and lots of protein and fiber, unlike rice. It has a nutty, earthy flavor and adds a whole new level of flavor to the salad. And lots of protein and fiber!



Dinner at home can be BIG. Curried chicken on quinoa and turmeric-fennel cabbage. Steak, salad and steamed veggies with a slice of homemade (bread machine) whole wheat bread. On the nights that I work, I usually take a meat-infused salad, yogurt and lots of fruit to lure me away from the snack machine int he break room.

Looking at my food diary, the last few days have ranged from 1918 to 2104 calories. I’m sure that’s a conservative number—I tend to look askance when I measure (or don’t measure) my portions. I usually mentally add 10% to my calorie count. But I know for certain I am well under 3500 calories. And most if not all of my menu is healthy and  balanced (I tried the low-carb route once upon a time and it worked – until I grew sick of it and went back to eating like a human! I'm reserving that plan for when I hit my "last 10-pound plateau").

If anything, I could probably cut down on fruits and up the veggies and fiber intake. But I’m not in a race to lose this weight. I have given myself until October 1 to reach goal weight AND change my eating habits. I’m well on my way to both goals with 35-ish pounds left to go and a newfound love of healthy eating. And quinoa. And occasional “bad days”. But no Fast Food!

Saturday, March 19, 2011

I Hate(d) Running!

All my life if I could avoid running, I would. I loathed it. I despised it. If I was being chased by a grizzly I believe after 10 yards I would stop and try to reason with her.

But today I ran the Get Lucky 7K. Not only did I run it, I ran the first 3K non-stop, I slowed to a walk for a total of maybe 2 minutes, and I still finished it in 47 minutes 34 seconds. Me - the fat and 48 year-old guy. Here's the proof:


Notice the cool medallion hanging around my neck? Notice the sweat on my shirt? (and it was under 40 degrees outside!) Notice the beer nearly gone? Notice the fairly slim body - Holy Cow!!! - I just noticed the fairly slim body!! I look gooooood!

Anyway, the whole point of this post is this: as much as I hated running most my life, after 2.5 months of training for this, I have discovered that my muscles actually want to run. Hard. Fast! Unfortunately, my lungs are still trying to keep up - but I'll give them the practice they need. Eventually they will be able to keep up.

I know this because I know Who is in charge. And since He can make my muscles want to run, He can make my lungs want to supply the oxygen needed to run that hard. I'll just keep practicing while I wait on Him to provide the lung power to keep up.

This is me living. Not giving up. Getting healthy - I'm down 32 pounds since January 1! I am so enjoying the life God gave me to enjoy.

Even enjoying running.

Here's another picture of me - with my muse, Minda: