Halloween update

My experiment with not tracking my food intake is going pretty well.  It's certainly easier to not log all the food I eat, and I have not gained any weight as a result. Having said that, I have not lost any weight either.  I can't totally blame my eating habits as I significantly cut back on the amount of exercise I was doing.  Between the need to take a bit of a break, the shorter days and crappy weather it was a pretty easy decision.  The last two days I have been back at it and it does feel good to exercise again.  I guess on some level I did miss it.  Crazy, right? Not really!  From WebMed:

Improved self-esteem is a key psychological benefit of regular physical activity. When you exercise, your body releases chemicals called endorphins. These endorphins interact with the receptors in your brain that reduce your perception of pain.

Endorphins also trigger a positive feeling in the body, similar to that of morphine. For example, the feeling that follows a run or workout is often described as "euphoric." That feeling, known as a "runner's high," can be accompanied by a positive and energizing outlook on life.

So, there is scientific proof you do feel better after exercise.  That must explain it why I missed it!

Next week I will most likely track my food and concentrate on good workouts as the following week both will be hard to do.  But more about that in my next post!

Weight loss and marketing

For the past couple of weeks I've been hovering around the 40 pound loss mark.  43 pounds one week, 39 pounds another week...it's all good, because during that time, I've continued to exercise and to eat right (most of the time!). I've mentioned in the past here on the blog, and to people that have asked me in person how I did it, about my need to track everything that passed my lips.  Whether I was being good or bad, the need to track it was important to me. This was reinforced recently at Content Marketing World during a talk by Ahava Leibtag.  She was discussing "Put your content on a diet" and mentioned the "5 Rules for Behavioral Change", abstracted from Weight Watchers.  Point #1 was "If you bite it, write it". Documentation in marketing is just as important as documentation in weight loss. Point #2 was "You can choose not to count it, but it still counts" True statement, and I chose to count it so I had no one to blame but myself if I did not make my weekly goals. It has also taught me a life lesson on how many calories are in food, but also what portions of that food I should be eating, and what, at the end of the day, would satisfy my hunger. Points 3-5, "Schedule it in your life", "Find a strong support group" and "Make it a lifestyle change"are equally important, but 1 and 2 have been my mantra during this time.

Last weekend I went back to Marietta College for homecoming.  When traveling and eating out, it is always a struggle to log the food I've eaten.  So I decided to take a break from it.  On Monday, I decided to continue not logging my food.  It's been harder than I thought. The good news is I still think as if I need to log it, so when considering seconds or grabbing that Mallomar, I think about what impact those actions will have on my weight.  My official weigh in is always on Monday morning, so I'm not sure how this experiment will end, but it has been a great experience knowing that I can do this and not be so anal about logging everything, every time.  Having said that, on Monday I will probably start tracking my food again!

I still have 15 pounds to go to my final weight, so I need to be focused on that, but I know once done, I can put the food scale and FitBit app away, and keep the weight off based on the lessons I've learned.

Blogger of the year?

Posting blog posts once a month will probably not earn me blogger of the year recognition (if there is such a thing), so I will try to be more active...
I think where we last left off I was maintaining my weight loss post accomplishing goal #1 of losing 30 pounds.  Still true. I've been maintaining 35 pounds lost for a couple of weeks now.  It's been hard to lose weight when there are parties, cookouts, brunches, making Sean's favorite meals before he goes back to school...but I'm in a good place of balancing all of that with exercise and (still) tracking everything I eat.  I know once he goes back, I'll be able to settle into a better routine of cooking better meals for Rose and I.

Today I ran in my 4th race.  The 5K for JA Donut Run here in Hudson.  It was a nice, small (101 runners) event starting at the new green in downtown Hudson.  I came in 14th overall, 4th in my age group.  Who knew 50+ so was competitive?  There were 5 of us in the top 15 overall! I'm gonna have to up my game if I want to win my age group! I felt pretty good and the weather and temps were perfect, so unlike the Winking Lizard "Shot in the dark" 4 mile race last month when it was in the 90's, I was able to finish with no walking and actually felt pretty good.  I missed a PR by 17 seconds.
So, all caught up...hope everyone is having a great summer, and I hope to be a bit more active in the upcoming weeks.

Weight loss update

My last two posts focused on the race I participated in (which is great), but I haven't talked about my weight loss since the end of May. I did meet my initial weight loss goal as of my weigh-in on June 1st (woo hoo John!). Since then I have managed to stay under that weight except one week when my parent's were here visiting.  Here is my Fitbit chart from that time frame. 

Suffice it to say, 3 full meals a day, afternoon cocktails, decadent deserts and limited opportunity to exercise took it's toll on my balanced calorie plan! Typically, my week is more yellow and green then red.
Having said all that, I'm still exercising regularly, eating better than I was last year, and on target to get to my final weight (and still below goal #1).  Also, I have 2 races planned in the next two weeks. If you had told me that a year ago, I would have laughed at you! So here's to continuing the downward trend...

Race results

Prior to Saturday's race I posted a picture of the finish line on Instagram with the caption "My one and only goal"

Since I had not run 3.1 miles consecutively, either on the treadmill or outside, I really was not sure how I was going to do or if I could run that distance without stopping.  My training consisted of mainly interval work on the treadmill; 90 seconds walking at a 16:40 pace, followed by 30 seconds at a 8:32 pace, usually for an hour or 90 minutes.  If I wasn't doing the intervals, I would walk for an hour or more at the 16:40 pace.  Sometimes I would go longer, 5-10 minutes at the faster pace, but never for a full workout.  Honestly, during training, I was a bit scared to go out a run...I wasn't sure how I would do...I did run outside twice, but I had to walk off and on, although not to the extent on the treadmill.

My initial goal in January did not have a race in it at all.  My goal was to lose weight, while continuing to drink craft beer.  This race thing was a "nice" outcome of my training. I was pretty nervous before the race.  I was glad only 150 had registered.  It was a nice size group running through the neighborhoods of Westlake.  I had picked up a Garmin Forerunner to track my training, but it was really helpful during the race, knowing what my pace was, how far I had gone. I had, of course gone out a bit fast, you know, all that adrenaline, but I felt good, and kept it up.  Mile 1 and 2 went by rather easily, but then I got tired.  I thought about walking a number of times, but I kept looking for people in front of me to target to catch up to.  I remember Coach Roth (HS cross country coach) telling us to pull them in, like on a rope.  40 years later that's what I did, one by one until I could see the finish line.

When I was done, I looked at my watch - 24:05 - holy crap!  I called Rose, I ate my banana, I drank my free beer (The best friggin' beer ever!) and I talked to some people I knew.  I was exhausted, I had nothing left in me.  I had a 45 minute drive home I had no idea how I was going to do :-) There were some issues with the official timing of the race, so they did not have the results after the race. Today they posted the official results and I finished 2nd in my age group and finished 23rd overall.  The chip results from the race had me at 24:09, I'll take it!

I plan to run in a couple of more races this summer.  I'm not sure I can replicate this accomplishment, but I know that it's all about the PR, bettering yourself each time you go out, so here's to a 24:00 in my next race!

Running a 5k tonight

Last night I picked up my number and race swag for having registered for the Black Box 5K today. It's been almost 20 years since I've run in a road race.  I'm a bit nervous.  Pre-race jitters. I shouldn't be. Honestly, this is an outcome of exercising and losing weight I had not anticipated.  The good news is I got a cool beer glass and this shirt out of it.
The better news is that instead of ordering an XL, that I've worn for years to try and hide my fat, it's a large, and it fits!
Wish me luck, and I'll see you at the finish line, where they will be serving beer! (Yes, beer. I am the Craftbeerloser guys!)

Goals....

If I behave myself today, I should officially weigh in tomorrow at or under my initial goal of 200 pounds.  30 pounds lighter than when I started.  The last 3 weeks I've been close, and during that time I have been under 200, but the official weigh in day is Monday, it it doesn't matter what I weigh on any given day...except for Monday...
While I've struggled the past couple of weeks to lose the last couple of pounds, there's been vacation in Florida, stress at work, a tweaked calf muscle, Memorial Day weekend (and ribs, and coleslaw, and, well, you get the idea!), I've managed to stay focused on the end goal.
I've realized that I enjoy the exercise (and can certainly see and feel the results) and I'm ready for the next part of the plan. I've signed up for the Rock 'N' Hops: Black Box Brewing Co 5k run for next Saturday.  I'm pretty excited.  It's been a long time since I've run in a race.  I'm not sure I'll be able to run the whole thing, but it's all about getting to the finish line. Without dying. Right?
So stay tuned for the results.  Either way, I'm excited for the next part of the journey. 175 here we come!