Wednesday Weigh In

     Today I made a little more progress towards my goal of 173lbs.  I weighed in this morning at 203.6 which I round to the nearest half pound so my official weight for the log is 203.5lbs.  My short term goal is to get to 199 or under by April 4th for my Ragnar Relay Race in Southern California (more about that later).  I am in a weight loss challenge with some of my teammates and I don't like to loose money so I am really trying to get there!

    
     I had a great week of running and stuck to my eating plan except for one meal.  Sunday, Mandy and I were out running errands and checking out the Winterfest ice sculptures, which took a little longer than expected and we were getting a little hungry so we decided to stop at chili's for lunch.  Eating out for me is really hard because of how picky I am when it comes to food, which is a story in itself, so I will leave that for another post.  I settled on trying the Parmesan Crusted Grilled Tilapia w/ tortilla strips and chipotle butter sauce, which I got on the side because it said it was spicy, me and spicy don't mix, plus I wanted to control how much of the sauce I ate.  For my sides I got the loaded mashed potatoes and rice, I know loaded potatoes wasn't the best choice but it sounded and tasted good.

As I am writing this and being new to the blogging world, I realized I probably should have taken a picture of it but sadly I didn't so I grabbed pic off the internet, while it really doesn't look like what was on my plate, and they never do, I wanted to give you some sort of visual of it.  I will say the fish was great and of course the potatoes were awesome but I wasn't diggin' the rice.  It had a weird flavor and it had corn mixed in it, but all in all I would get it again if we were to go back there.  With my eating habits and tastes, for me to go out to eat and stay under a 1000 calories is a win and this one came in at 790 calories so a big old pat on the back for me.

     Do to my work schedule, Wednesdays are also my long run days, and thanks to the freakin' freezing cold temps I have done almost all my running indoors since December.  My local YMCA has a nice indoor track that I use, because I can't stand feeling like a hamster on a wheel when I run on a treadmill.  Today was no exception, at 12 degrees, my wussy ass was staying indoors.  I am training for the  half marathon at the Toledo Glass City Marathon and my SoCal Ragnar Relay.  I will be writing a special post to talk in more detail about Ragnar, but in short it's a 200 mile relay race that I am running with 11 other people.  My three legs of the relay add up to a little over 21 miles, so on my long run days I split up my mileage to try and simulate what Ragnar will feel like.  Today I had 12 miles on my training plan so I ran 8 miles this morning and I went back to the track to do another 4 miles.

At my track, you have to complete 9 laps to equal 1mile, so this morning I completed 8 miles at 72 laps and in the afternoon I completed 4 miles at 36 laps for a grand total of 12 miles at 108 laps.  I just keep telling myself it could be worse I could be on the treadmill!! I took a panoramic of the track to show off were my winter hibernation running takes place.

     Coming up I will be getting into my diet and nutrition, so you can see just how hard this is for me and why I have such a hard time trying to eat healthy when we go out.  I will also be posting a Ragnar Relay preview, to share what Ragnar is and how I got involved with one.  Then in early April I will file a race report from warm sunny Southern California!!

Motivational Monday / Winterfest

I'm always like looking for a little extra motivation each week and I came across this little gem

What gets you moving each week?

 

     Had a chance to sleep in yesterday, so I took full advantage of it.  My gym opens at noon on Sundays, and even though it was warm enough to run outside I decided to run the indoor track, I paid to use it so I might as well get my moneys worth, right?  I had 5 miles on the calendar, which means 45 laps on the track.  Run went great, I felt good the entire time and finished really strong with a avg pace of 9:09 per mile.

      My hometown of Perrysburg, Ohio had their three day Winterfest event this past weekend.  This year they hosted the National Ice Carving Championships. Unfortunately we couldn't make it out till Sunday afternoon, with most of the event over and some of the carvings not quite looking their best, there was still some cool stuff to look at.

 We had a little fun with a couple of the sculptures.  I was a nice snack for a crocodile and Mandy turned into a cute little Eskimo.

We walked down to the Maumee River to get a closer look at all the ice that has piled up.  It looks like you could walk right across no problem.  The pictures really doesn't give you the true feel for how cool it was.

My Story

  

     Yep, that's me to the left, when I was that size I never felt like I was that big.  I enjoyed life like I was "thin" and never felt like it was a problem.  My wife loved me, I had a good job and no one ever made a big deal about it.  Well something finally clicked.  My story isn't a page turner or filled with personal tragedy that could be considered an acceptable reason for why my weight became such a problem. I AM LAZY pure and simple and this is my story...

      Over my entire childhood I was always considered the chubby one, a little bigger than most but it never really got out of hand.  Pretty much like every other kid I played football, baseball, soccer and basketball, I was always doing something.  If I had to put my finger on the main reason for my size would say my diet had a lot to do with it.  I was "addicted" to sugar, candy, Pop, cookies, donuts, etc. along with burgers, fries, pizza, fast food and having no concept portion control you can see why this is where I ended up.  
    When I started in high school I was right around 200 pounds, I know this because I decided to go out for freshman wrestling and when I was a freshman weighing 200 and up was the heavyweight class.  After a month of getting my ass handed to me by 6 foot 300 plus pound kids I talked with my coaches about cutting weight.  A month later I was weighing in at 175 and was actually winning a few matches.  The summer prior to my sophomore year I turned 16, I traded my bicycle and skateboard in for car keys, gave up wrestling for what I look back now as stupid reasons, to which I now mark as the exact moment my current struggles with weight began.  All through high school and college I continued my eating habits that I am sure was coming in around 3-5000 calories a day combined with little to no exercise.

Savannah, GA 2006

By the time I married my wife in 2004 I was probably hovering around 250-260, and that is when the proverbial shit hit the fan, and before I new it I was tipping the scales at 317 pounds.  2007-2012 was a weight roller coaster for me, I tried every fad diet in the book from protein shakes for breakfast & lunch to Atkins to the HCG plan. The lowest I ever got down to was 247lbs while on HCG, but the minute I stopped and had one cheat day then another and then another which snowballed back into my old ways of candy, fast and fried food, late night nachos and donuts I ballooned back to 293 by the end of 2012.

     What was my aha moment? well there wasn't one. Not even after I went to see my doctor for a routine check up and blood work. Those test came back with some red flags and he ordered more tests. By the time all the tests were done my pocket was $1200 lighter and I was standing on the edge of the diabetes cliff and the need for medication. 

     My Doc gave me two months to try and change my diet and start exercising to reverse the damage or he would recommend medication. So for the first month feeling depressed and I did what most anyone would do, NOT A DAMN THING.  I finally got around to getting a gym membership and spent the next month going 2-3 days a week, which was a huge accomplishment for me, but I wasn't really putting in a ton of effort while using the weight and elliptical machines. The gym has an indoor track and one day while on the elliptical, I was watching the runners and walkers through the glass, I thought screw this, I'm gonna give jogging a try. Even though I couldn't even make it anywhere close to a mile I enjoyed it and for the first time felt like I had a quality workout, so 2 days later I did it again and continued every other day.

     The indoor track takes 9 laps to make a mile, and as I was making progress towards achieving that first mile, I started to get really interested in the topic of running, and when I get interested in something I research it to death. While in the Itunes store I came across an awesome podcast called Runner Academy, and found the host Matt Johnson to be very informative and helpful. The episode I have listened to the most and I think really kicked me into high gear is #8 which was all about two of the Fat to Finish line documentary teammates. That episode gave me the inspiration and the confidence that I could lose the weight, and do it with running. My plan was simple, to run for exercise and reduce my caloric intake to around 2000 calories. 

     I track everything I put in my mouth with the My Net Diary App on my phone.  I set my first goal to break 247lbs and run a 5K, when I did that I set my next to hit 225lbs and run a 10K. As I reach goal then I move on to the next. As I write this today (2/22/14), I have been able to completed multiple 5Ks, a 10K and two Half Marathons at a current weight of 205 with my next weight goal to break 199 and my next running goal to run a my first full marathon and 1:59:59 or better half.    I have gone from a snug 46 waist to a comfortable 36 waist and down to an XL from a 3X size shirt. 
     My original goal was to stop when I reached 193lbs but I think that just is still a little to heavy so I decided that my finish line is my freshman year wrestling weight of 175lbs. Once I get there I will re-evaluate how I look and feel and see if I need to drop or add weight to get to what feels good for me.  I know I still have a long way to go but, my confidence seems to grow every day, with the knowledge that if I put in the effort and have the desire I can accomplish anything. 
      I now live with the mantra “Only the Committed Will Survive”, and for me to succeed I must stay committed. Matt from Runner Academy always says "you never know where running will take you" and he is right, without running I would not be writing this and I would not have met and made some amazing new friends.
     Below is my 100 pound loss comparison photo that I created for my friend and Ragnar Relay teammate Katie Foster who writes the very inspiring blog Runs for Cookies and asked to share my story and progress on her blog.  I now use it to remind myself of how far I have come and that I will always be a "Fat Guy" fighting everyday to be the best healthy fat guy I can be.

Paying it forward

       Hello to all and welcome to Running in the Fat Lane.  I created this blog with the intention of "paying it forward" for all the help and inspiration I have received over the last 16 months in my weight loss and running journey.  

Let me begin by introducing myself.... 

      My Name is Dean.  I am 35 years old, married for almost 10 years to my lovely and supportive wife Mandy. Our children consist of two chihuahuas, Stinka and Widdle and a big old fat kitty cat named Harley. I am the Parts Department manager for a Harley-Davidson Dealer in North West Ohio and have been with Harley-Davidson for 12 years. When I am not working, the wife and I love to go for rides on our motorcycle (a Harley of course), watching movies, reading sci fi novels, getting tattoos and cooking on the grill are just a few joys in my life. When it comes to sports I love hockey and football, I follow the Detroit Red Wings and the Cleveland Browns.  I know, why the Browns, I always say that I can never be accused of being a fair weather fan when you pick to root for the Browns.  I have other interests but we'll save those for another time.  

So the genesis for this blog was the thought that this would be the best way to keep myself committed to my own goals and help inspire others who need to know they are not alone in their weight loss struggles.  The main thing I have learned is there are no short cuts, no fad diets and no magic pills that can achieve sustainable success.

This is me when I thought I was happy!

This is me actually happy!

     So what can you expect from Running in the Fat Lane, well currently I plan to bring you progress reports of my weight loss and how my weekly eating habits effect it, my training to prepare myself for races, race reports and any other info that I feel is worth sharing.  But to be honest, I really don't know where this blog is going to go and how it will evolve, but I feel this will be my best outlet to give back to the community that has helped me.

     I also created a Facebook page to go along with my blog, Click Here to stop over and say hi!