Inspired by Breaking 2

Last night, I was very intrigued by the Nike Breaking 2 event. Nike live streamed the event on Facebook, and I caught the last half hour of it. Breaking 2 was Nike's attempt to have a runner (decked out in all Nike gear, of course) run a marathon in under two hours.

Now, this wasn't going to be an official world record if any of the runners had been able to do it. They waited until weather conditions were just right, they used pacers that worked to eliminate drag for the main runners. They used motor bikes to deliver nutrition. All of that made it not a legal event. And yet, it was thrilling to watch the runners make the attempt. Watching anyone push the limits of the human limit is inspiring, and this event, even with all of its "cheats" was no exception.

In the end, the best effort missed the target by about 26 seconds. But, still, it was thrilling to watch. My heart was racing at the end, hoping that the runner would find another gear and break the two hour mark. But, when pushing yourself to the limit for 25 miles, finding a little bit more in the final 1.2 miles is hard to find.

Still, I was inspired. One of the commentators (dressed in Nike gear, of course) talked about how she was inspired. She made an excellent point, saying that in our lives we all have our own two hour mark. And this shows, even if the runner didn't make it, that the impossible goal is achievable.

Now, you might have to do some unusual things to achieve that. Use pacers, motor bikes, all that. But, it's still achievable. Your impossible task is within your capabilities.

One of the more interesting statistics that was mentioned during the broadcast is that by some metrics, people didn't think a person would break the two-hour mark until the year 2070. The world record for the marathon keeps getting shaved further and further down, but still, this barrier was going to be a long ways off. So, Nike rigged up a system, gave it a best shot, and missed by 26 seconds. If anything though, there may be a belief, maybe from the official runners, the pacers, or other high end competitors, that they could break that two hour mark. It's been shown to be doable, even if it hasn't been done yet.

For me, this two hour barrier is my weight. I don't remember the last time I weighted under 200 pounds. The lightest I had been in years was a few months ago when I weighed 235 pounds. I sort of abandoned my weight loss goals and have ballooned back up over 250. It was a wake up call that I needed to get back to it. My doctor had told me that I should get under 200 to be healthy. I want to get down to 200 just for my own health. It has proved to be elusive.

But, I also know its doable. Every month, Men's Health features a story from a real guy who has lost weight, looks muscular. There are many examples of people doing this. I don't want to do anything crazy (no surgeries or anything). I feel that with watching food intake and dieting I can make a serious change.

This is my version of Breaking 2. It won't be telecasted, it won't be sponsored, and there will definitely not be any Nike products involved (they are a bit too expensive for my taste. I'm more of an Adidas guy anyway.) But, it will still be worth it.

In a way, my own past lets me know that it's doable. When I was down to 235, I had lost 22 pounds. Not even half, but still, I was making consistent gains with my weight loss. I know I can get back to it, and I know that this time I can finish the job.

I decided that when I watched the event, that once I did get to 200, I would dedicate myself to running a marathon. Running a marathon has always been on my bucket list. I once had a goal of running one before I turned 30. That has come and gone. But, once I hit 200 pounds, I'll feel like I can start racking up the miles and train for a marathon. I won't get anywhere close to breaking the two hour mark, but it will feel just as good for me when I cross the finish line for my first marathon.

There may be a correlation between posting and weight loss. Let's test it.

I've neglected this blog since February.

I've gained a lot of my weight back since February.

Coincidence?

I could make this a fitness blog where I only talk about my successes, but that isn't fair to you, the reader. It isn't fair to me either, as it gives me the false impression that I'm doing everything right.

I've gotten kind of lazy about working out. My good Lose it habit (which got over 70 days) has fallen by the wayside. I'll be good on working out on Monday (start this week off right!) and then decide I'd rather sleep then get up. I even let my Fit bit streak end,  because why not take this spiral for a good, long ride?

Back in November, I went to a conference and saw some people for the first time since I started up again. At that time, I was down 20 pounds. They noticed the change right away. Getting that recognition helped a lot. I had some plans to really blow my family away come Easter. If my trend continued, I could be 200 pounds when I stepped off the plane in Portland. That would be nearly 60 pounds lighter. 

Then I hit a plateau, where working out didn't help me as much. This is normal, from what I've read, but it was frustrating. And then, well, the stress of teaching and a busy winter set in, and I let things go.

I stepped off the plane in Portland having gained 10 of those pounds back.

So, here were are in May. I'm not quite back to square one, but it's closer than I'd ever want. I'm ready to change that. So, here's the plan...

1) Get back on Lose It. Tracking food is a big part of this, and knowing where I stand calorie wise is a big deal. I know it had helped me make better food decisions in the past.

2) Work out. Don't hit snooze on the alarm clock. I had been getting up at 5 for a reason.

3) I'm going to do 10 minute abs from my Fitbit each day this month. See what happens.

4) We are finally getting good weather, which means I can bike again. I think I was getting bored of doing the same things. Biking will help.

5) Blog about it. If I'm more active on here, then maybe, just maybe, I'm being better about things on the fitness end.

Let's see how this shakes out. Today, I did the warm up and 10 minute abs on my Fitbit, then a 20 minute kettlebell workout. I should feel that work all day, which is a good feeling.

I'll keep you posted, hopefully on good returns.

Steps can't do it all.

My name is Alan, and I am addicted to my FitBit.

I am one of those people who is obsessive about wearing their FitBit, making sure it is charged, all in the name of 10,000 steps.

Yes, your daily step goal should be 10,000 steps, or about 5 miles. And I love getting there. I've done all 10,000 in one go (Soccer matches are good for this) and I've done bits and pieces of the goal through the day. I've managed the 10,000 step goal each day since Christmas.

But, when it comes to losing weight, it isn't enough. I know this, as a doctor once told me this. But, there's still that temptation to think that you've been active and things will take care of themselves.

It does not work that way.

As winter has set in, I find my bed harder and harder to get out of in the morning. So, I sacrifice my workout time for more sleep. I get my steps, but it's not enough. My weight has stayed steady or even ticked upwards. So, it's time to refocus.

This morning, I forced myself out of bed at 5:00, grabbed a kettlebell,  and put in 20 minutes. Tomorrow, I'll force myself out of bed to ellipticize.  I might do yoga tonight. I'll still get my steps, but I'll add to that activity with more focused workouts. I know these work (that's how I lost 20 pounds in the first place) and hopefully, it will work again.

My Sweaty T-shirt: 2016 in review

It was requested that I update here at My Sweaty T-shirt, so here we are.

My latest bout of fitness was inspired, if you recall, by a visit to the app TimeHop, in which I noticed that over the years I had made various attempts to lose weight and get back in shape. Right after the New Year, I saw another post. That one from the beginning of 2016. It was a screen shot of Lose It, with the caption "Slowly but surely." The graph depicted a slight decline in weight, with me coming in at 250.

I didn't keep up with it. By the time summer hit, I was still at 250. By the time August rolled around, I was up to 257. I wouldn't be surprised if I was at 260 at some point. So, the first half of the year was not great. But then...

I'm a school teacher and one of the interesting things about being a teacher is that the beginning of the school year is a time where you can renew resolutions. Sure, you have goals for the school year, but it's also a time for you to reflect on personal goals. You can look at those New Years' Resolutions and really, you've got 4 months to accomplish them. So, I began to work out.

I want to run again, but am too heavy to do so. Them's the facts. But, we have an elliptical. So, I started using it every other day. I experimented with weights to vary things. I even did some yoga. And I started to see results. I used Lose It, and said my goal was to lose 2 pounds per week. I got up early to ellipticize before school for an hour. I'd make myself do yoga after school. I found what people usually find when they undergo a new fitness routine: I had more energy, I felt pretty good about things, and the scale began to change. The two pounds per week came off. Things were good.

Around 245, I hit a bit of a plateau. But, I kept at it, and broke through. By the time November rolled around, I had dropped 20 pounds, weighing in at 237. I went to a national conference in November and traveled there with a couple of my former professors. They noticed my weight loss right away, which was a huge boost of encouragement. I kept at it, and got down as far as 233.

Then the Holidays happened. I wasn't as good as tracking my food (honestly, over Christmas, I simply didn't want to. Partly because I didn't want to know how many calories I was consuming, and partly because I wanted Christmas to be stress free.) I kept getting steps, but working out didn't happen as much as it should. The weight ticked back up to 239.

Which is where I stand. And honestly, 18 pounds since the beginning of August is good. I'm happy with what I accomplished. My eventual goal is to get under 200. I know there's a road ahead, but I feel it's doable. After all, I've lost some already. I know I can do it. Weight loss is not one of those mystical things that eludes me. With hard work and diligence I can get there.

Some short term goals is to get to a healthy weight so that I can resume running. Personally, I want to be below 220 pounds to do that. If anything, being able to run will give me some much needed variety to my routine. There's no rush though, as this past week one day saw a high of negative 10, so it's not like I'd be running outside anyways.

I want to get back into yoga. Not that it's the biggest calorie burner, but it was relaxing and I felt good doing it. I've found a few dumbbell workouts to throw into my routine to ensure I don't get bored. Adding that variety will be key as I continue on.

I think my biggest goal though is to impress family and friends. I live a fair distance away from where I grew up, and haven't seen my family in person since July. I hope to make a trip home around Easter. I want to show up and hear the comments about how much I've lost. Not going to lie, I sometimes look at how many weeks it is until then, and think how much I could lose. Not that weight loss is linear, but it's a fun thing to think about.

That's my 2016 in a nutshell. Here's to more workouts, weight loss, and overall fitness in 2017.

A little hiccup and now back to it

Thanksgiving can be rough for those trying to lose weight. Throw in a four day conference with that, and it's just asking for weight gain. 

Check.

When I started my weight loss goals anew for the zillionth time, I had already eyed the end of November as a possible trouble spot. The week before Thanksgiving, I was to go to Atlanta for a national conference. Then, of course, comes Thanksgiving, a holiday where your average meal is 2,500 calories.  I went into this two week stretch weighing 234. My honest goal: not weigh 240 when I got out of it. 

It is so hard to eat right on the road for two main reasons:

1) You are eating out basically every meal

2) Social drinking is fun, but does nothing for your weightloss goals.

What can I say, I enjoy a good Old Fashioned. One of the main reasons for my success thus far has probably been cutting way back on alcohol (one drink per week). In Atlanta....well, that changed. 

I did work out while down there, getting on my hotel's exercise bike and elliptical. But, still, I got back from that weighing 236. 

Thanksgiving did much of the same, despite a devotion to my in-laws' treadmill. I came back from that at 238. 

Today though, I got back on my own elliptical and will start again. After all, the main thing I've noticed throughout this process is that weight loss is not linear. You'll always go up and down with weight, sometimes throughout the day. And while I "cheat" and only log the lowest weight I can in Lose It, I've learned to not let the ups and downs get to me. 

(For the record, I did log in 238.) 

The other thing that I have going for me is a couple of goals, and they are in sight...

~Lose a tenth of my original body weight by the end of the Semester. I originally weighted 257.2. A tenth of that would bring me down to 231.5. It'll be close, but I should be able to get there by the time the semester ends on Dec. 19. 

~My Lose It goal is 215. I have been losing two pounds per week. If I can keep that up, I will get there in 12 weeks.  That's early February. It seems like a long ways off, but...12 weeks if I maintain pace! This is also the weight I want to be at before I resume running (probably on a treadmill, because of the weather). Since this started out as a running blog, I cannot wait to get back to that.

~My overall goal is 200 pounds. At two pounds per week, I get there the first week of April. Plus, maybe the snow will be gone (one can hope) and I can run outside. Under 20 weeks away! 

These seem like a long ways off, but I've tried to frame this as a lifestyle change. I'm not trying to get to 200 pounds because I want to throw back double cheeseburgers again. I'm doing this to be healthy for a long time to come.

With that on the line, who can let a two week hiccup stop them? 

Knocking on the door

They say that when dieting and trying to lose weight, it's good to have goals. It can be hard and frustrating to lose 57 pounds (as I ultimately am trying to do). While my overall goal is to get to 200 pounds, my goal in the Lose It App is 220 pounds. Having little goals to bridge the gap can help.

I am coming up on an unofficial goal: getting under 240 pounds.

It has been about two years since I was that 'light'. I remember that I had gotten the flu and had dipped below the mark. After I recovered, so did my weight, and it continued to climb upwards.

Last year, when I had started in on a weight loss plan, I got discouraged after hitting a plateau around 242. This time around, I also saw a plateau. I wondered if  I couldn't get under that level.

But then, with some extra work and really watching food intake, I ticked down to 240.

Watching the scale go down has been exciting. I try not to get hung up on when it goes up or stays the same. I have seen the downward trend and have started to trust the process a bit. When it ticks down to 239, I will know I've broken through one barrier. And then it's on to the next.

Holding pattern

For the first time in six weeks, the weekly scale check has not yielded progress. I have held steady at 246.8 pounds.

OK, so I check my weight a lot. It has become a go to activity that I do when waiting for the shower to heat up, and so it's not unusual to weigh myself twice a day (or more, just for curiosity's sake). One thing that has struck me during the process is how much your body weight fluctuates during the day. I remember one day I weighed myself to find that I had gained two pounds, and then after a work out at the end of the day, had lost four pounds from there. So, I don't put a lot of stake in the daily ups and downs, as long as the general trend continues.

It was a bit odd to see the scale stay the same. I felt like I had done my usual routine and had been ok with my food (I am not exactly on a strict diet). But, I did continue on with workouts and steps, and will continue to do so.

Overall, I've lost ten pounds so far. I'm hopeful that I can continue to lose weight at about two pounds per week. And here's hoping that next week, the downward trend continues.