Thursday Weigh In / Boy Are My Legs Sore

     Hey everyone, I am pretty damn happy only to have gained a half pound considering a couple of issues I have had this week.  I have been a little susceptible to binge eating, but haven't let it control my life.  I guess I can be happy that my binges haven't been on junk food, I just have been eating a little more than I should have.  The other reason is due to my own stupidity and not listening to my body; because of that I have only been able to run 2.5 miles since Sunday, which I'll explain later.

4/2/15 official weigh in

174 lbs

Total loss from heaviest:  143 lbs

Current BMI:  27.2 (overweight)

     Like I said I have hardly run any miles since Sunday, and I owe it all to my interval training.  Sunday I had strength training and intervals on the agenda, so I did my strength training early before I went to work.  Now keep in mind we had a major three day weekend event at work so I have been on my feet 9-10 hours for a solid two days up to this point.  After work I got home and headed out to get my intervals done.  This was a step up day, meaning that my plan stepped up the intensity, so my workout looked like this:

          2 minute warmup at 10min pace

          6:30min pace for 1 minute x8 reps

          9:00min pace for 2 minute x8 reps

          2 minute cool down at 10min pace

     I was doing just fine till I finished number six.  At that point I started to feel my hamstrings getting sore.  I kind of thought they were just getting a little tired, but didn't think it was a big deal.  My mind kept saying quit, you have done enough, but being a stubborn runner, I pushed through it and finished.  I could barely walk after I was done and knew immediately I had over done it.  Monday was a schedule rest day and thank God, because my hamstrings were super tight and hurt so bad when I would try and stretch them out.  Tuesday I think was the worst day of it.  I had Mandy try and roll them out and man did it hurt.  She couldn't get over how I was reacting with how little pressure she was placing on them.

     Wednesday I decided to give a short 3 mile run a try, at a super slow pace for me.  I got to the halfway turnaround and realized I was probably not going to be able to finish.  I pushed on, but told myself if the pain and aching got to a 4 out of 10 then I would stop.  I quit at mile 2.5 and walked the last half mile home.

     As I sit here and type this, I have yet to try another run today, and am definitely skipping my 11 mile long run I had on tap.  It has been raining all day and is looking like it may clear out around 7ish so I might give it another go with a 3 mile easy run, but I might just wait and do it in the morning.      

Jedi just wanted to say "Hi Everyone"

Thursday Weigh In and THE Results!

     To say I am excited by what transpired this morning would truly be an understatement.  To be totally honest I wasn't really expecting anything this morning, maybe a half pound change, but definitely not what appeared.  Yes that picture below says 173.6 which is just a number to some, but to me it means I am a half pound away from my goal.  A number that in September of 2012 felt like a pipe dream, and now that dream is close to becoming a reality.

  

3/26/15 official weigh in

173.5 lbs

Total loss from heaviest:  143.5 lbs

Current BMI:  27.1 (overweight)

     Today's long run was done quite a bit later than usual due to this lovely weather we are having.  I woke up around 7:30am to cold rainy morning.  I check the forecast and what I found was rain early, followed by snow and low 30s in temps and finally around 3:00 the rain and snow quit and the temperature climbed to a balmy 41 degrees.  I don't really like waiting so late, it makes it easier to just skip it, but I like food and 1300 calories burned will let me splurge a little bit ;)  Once I got out on the road I was feeling really good.  My training plan called for a 15 second per mile increase for this week's long run, which I thought might be a problem, however my legs had no problem with it.

     The results for my blood work came back and I thought I would share them.  Back in 2012, when this all began, my blood work results were the catalyst to take the first step in this life long journey.  Each year since then I was to be tested to see if I made any progress.  To be honest I was given the opportunity, but I never made the time until know.  

TEST                         2012          2015

Cholesterol                 156            106

Triglycerides              142             37

HDL Cholesterol        34              46

LDL Cholesterol        94               28

Glucose Fasting         100             88

  Insulin Level              18.93          2.78

Avg. Glucose             108             85

    

     I understand that the change is so dramatic being that there is a three year difference between them, but it does illustrate what one can achieve with hard work and better nutrition.

Thursday Weigh In At The Doctor's Office

     Well since Sunday I have managed to keep my head in the game this week with my food and my workouts.  I have had to make some minor adjustments but I have done everything in my plan except one yoga session.  I didn't have a big loss this week, but I am proud of myself for making the choice to get back on track.  

3/19/15 official weigh in

176 lbs

Total loss from heaviest:  141 lbs

Current BMI:  27.5 (overweight)

     Today was my long run, but before I got that taken care of I had my yearly doctor's appointment.  I new I was going to be asked to get some blood work done so fasting was on my menu last night.  I would like to say my appointment went great, but I got a little annoyed with my doctor's nurse.  She was doing the whole pre-consultation stuff, you know, blood pressure, pulse, height and finally weight.  She had me step on the scale, which read 182, as she was recording it, which she recorded as 192, she made mention of my weight from last year. She says you use to be 217 and that I was doing a good job now that I weighed in at 182. I responded and said thank you and that I use to weigh 317 a little over two years ago and the first words out of her mouth was "wow did you have gastric bypass surgery?".  Really?  Is that the world we live in now?  That is now the norm for weight loss in America.  Don't get me wrong, there is a place in this world for GB and those that do it have made that choice, but she seemed floored when I said no I did it all on my own.  WTF She acted like it was just crazy that someone could lose weight through hard work and dedication. 

     Again, if you are reading this and you have used lap band or gastric bypass for your weight loss, I understand your choice. God knows I have thought long and hard many times about heading down that path. Ultimately I decided that I was not the right person for that kind of sacrifice. It has taken me a long time to get the motivation to start what I did two years ago and I know it will take a lot to maintain this for years to come, but that is the path I have chosen.

     Lastly, I also picked up a copy of my lab work from 2012 that was the genesis for this journey.  I wanted to be able to compare today's blood work to where I was at back then.  I am hoping and assuming things will be good, but you never know these days.  I will keep you posted once I have the results.