Archive for the 'weight loss' Category
MASTER KEY ERIKB WEEK 17 – DRIFT
Great blog from my buddy Erik
The Old Blueprint has given me a real shot in the last 10 days or so. As much as I would like to tell you different, I went ahead and jumped right on in, too. I would also love to be able to tell you that I handled it rearing its ugly head with equanimity. However, that would be a lie.
Of course, the whole drift started with some insignificant items, one being a small tiff with a former co-volunteer, who was inconvenienced by something I did differently than he might have, a couple of frustrating and completely illogical time consuming breakdowns; one being my internet service and the modem I use, another a seeming meltdown of business processing at an otherwise reliable source. Add some very minor family drama and an incipient lecture from a completely unqualified and ignorant self-appointed authority (whose ministry I avoided, at least I didn’t sign up…
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We Have Moved
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We have moved to a hosted site.
Please visit us at http://thepurposefulrunner.com
I prepped all my stuff tonight that I didn’t mail ahead of time for my big 24 hour race this weekend. I head out tomorrow for the race and I am ready as I can be for it. My goal is to go beyond 63 miles for this race because it is actually kind of a training run for my favorite and big goal race in May, but I am not tied to the outcome so much. Hell, I mean the journey to get here alone is life and body changing. If I hit my goal……AWESOME……….if I don’t……….AWESOME. I put the work in for this and should be able to get it but stuff happens in life and running but knowing that I did my best and kept my promise to train and get to the starting line means the most of all. Which brings me to the most wonderful discovery of all.
- I/We are capable of so much more than we think at a particular point.
I am doing this, I did the training, and I used to be just some dude that never exercised and ate fast food all the time. Don’t believe me, check this out. I started at some point not ever having run before and had no idea that I could do this but I worked hard for my future self so that he could be the best he could be. I know you may not want to run 25, 50, 63, or 100 miles but what DO you want to do. I bet that you can do far more than you think right now. Just chip away at your vision……..your goal, with an open heart that keeps the ultimate goal of personal growth as the foundation. YOU CAN DO THAT THING YOU DREAM OF!
You can check out a little more about how I stay mentally tough in life, training, and this race here.
Most of you would probably laugh if you could hear what song I was listening to. I only know of one person who knows the song other than me. HAHAHAHA.
Anyway, I am in a place I never would have dreamed I would be. Tonight, I have found comfort in that there are many of you who are at a place where you never thought you would be right now. Life happens, things get all out of hand, and then the dust settles around you while you think, “Damn!!! What the heck happened”. HAHAHAHA. Sometimes we do this to ourselves and sometimes others do it to us. As I showered tonight I pondered on the similarity of experiencing an affair and obesity. I found one common thread, they lead you to a moment in time where you are in a place you never thought you would be. This is how it goes. We eat and we grow and we eat and we grow. We never dreamed of one day being BIG or FAT or CHUNKY! That is not what we aspired to. Nor did I dream or hope for what I went through. I guess I am just trying to say that I had a tiny revelation that me, you, people, often times find themselves not being the person they wanted to be. Or maybe just being the person they didn’t want to be. Or one day we might just have this tiny moment where we see with such clearity that we know we aren’t where we are at but we also see that there is a way to where we are going.
Right now is right now. We are here. What can we do about then! THere is so much hope. There is so much promise for our futures. There will still be many more valleys, and mountains, and hurts, and a pains. But we don’t need to eat over them. We don’t need to give up over them. If you find yourself in the wrong painting or in a circumstance of life that is not anywhere near what you dreamed of, do not give up hope. You may be big right now. That is ok!!! You are you! And I know you don’t want to be big but it will take time. It is going to be ok. THis can be done. You are in a place and now you are going to a place. A new place.
I love Pink Floyd. I was listening to Comfortably Numb today and it hit me that me, people in general, stop dreaming. Towards the end of the song the lyrics say “The child is grown the dream is gone”. Since I have been working deep into my first week of my MKMMA scholarship, I have really been putting a lot of thought into my dreams, my life’s vision, and what my purpose is. It hit me pretty hard that most people stop dreaming when they are very young.
Can you remember what you wanted to do when you were a kid? Can you remember when you would do new things it if you messed up there was nothing to be embarrassed about? Can you remember when you believed that things would be ok and you were not “weighed down” with all kinds of negativity and bad thinking?
Well I can. The lyrics rang true that often times when the child is grown the dreams are gone. What if you could have your dream of running? What if you could have your dream of being the person you know you really want to be inside? EVERYTHING starts with a dream, with a thought…………..Just some food for thought
The funk hits sometimes
Today I was just in a funk. Finished off a great training week with 10 hours out there on the road. It was tough but it felt really good to make progress in my conditioning. Often times what happens after such a physical output is that I get bummed out the day or two after I finish it. I don’t like that but it seems to come with the territory. I accept it………I just wanted to spout off about it to get it out there in the open so that I don’t keep dwelling on it like it is some kind of bad thing that reflects bad on me. Like something is wrong with me or whatever. So I am here to say to myself that I am OK, I am doing the right things, and I am achieving my goals
Today is one of those days. I did everything I was supposed to do and I should feel good about that but I don’t. Sometimes it just happens that way. When I feel like this I often will play this video to get inspired and realize that things get tough, that it’s not easy, and that really it is just a journey of persistence. Check it out.
Inspired, excited, enthusiastic, driven, unstoppable, fearful, anxious ………..all of these things are commonly felt by people at the beginning of their weight loss journey. Sometimes these feelings resonate strongly within us but only for a moment, sometimes they last a few months. But what are we to do when the emotions subside and we find out it is just plain work??? Now that is a very important question to ask yourself. Often times inspiration and motivation are not long-lasting, sustainable, or constantly with us. It’s ok, this is normal and should be expected. If you are experiencing a dip in your excitement about your journey (regardless of what your journey may be) you are not alone. In the previous post I talked about having routine to get you through to the finish line but even routines/habits get boring. Here are some simples action items that will help you when you feel that your path is old and boring:
- Remember that it is normal to lose some excitement and motivation. Don’t give up because you are not extremely pumped about your journey. Even those you know who have gotten their goals have experienced similar feelings.
- Celebrate what you have already achieved even if you perceive that you are SO far away from your ultimate goal
- Constantly set new “baby step” goals. It is exciting to achieve our goals and that is why it is so important to set smaller goals that you can achieve and celebrate on your way to your main goal
- Write down your own personal reasons for having your goal in the first place. Your reasons are your deep down gut feelings of why it is so important to you to get what you want. Read these reasons to remind you of why you are doing what you are doing as often as possible
- Finally, realize that it is not excitement or inspiration that gets you to the top. It is persistent and consistent action.
As the tress in the picture border and frame out the pathway, routines can become one of the most important pillars that will hold you up until you achieve your weight loss goal. And again like the picture, your routines can frame your path to success. I believe to achieve weight loss without consistent routines is very difficult. Think about it…………you have to exercise consistently, then you have to slowly ramp up the exercise consistently, you will have to have a pretty consistently healthy diet where you eat less than you burn, and you will have to weigh consistently. Each of these things will have a routine with it. For example, I weigh myself once per week on Monday’s and ONLY Mondays. That is my routine and it has a purpose (weighing more often than once per week can breed trouble and discouragement due to normal fluctuations). I also have exercise routines that I do on a consistent basis. I am changing these routines up now but once I get the changes made I will have developed a new routine that I will perform on a consistent basis.
Another thing that a routine can do for you is give you something to look forward to, or measure, or beat. It gives a person a good feeling when they do something that their routine calls for. When you are supposed to work out after work on Wednesday and then you do it, it builds up confidence in you. Confidence is often built upon what YOU DO. This is why I think the main focus, especially in the beginning, is to develop a routine that you can consistently follow. One that if you do it, it will be impossible not to succeed as long as you have patience. Routine, habit, consistency…………..I guess you can call it by many names. Just KNOW that doing the right things over and over will get you to where you need to go. It won’t always be at the speed you want and sometimes it may be faster, but having the endurance to keep on keeping on will get you a win.
HOW DO YOU DEVELOP A ROUTINE?
- Write down you goal
- Read that goal daily
- Write a daily “to-do” list of things that you have to do to achieve that goal (stay within weight watchers points, calories, exercise today).
- Be persistent and develop patience
- Watch yourself achieve your goal
- Be thankful
5k record
Today I got out despite a lot or turmoil and discouragement in my day. I walked at lunch which is a fantastic mental therapy for me and it gives me time to escape and think. Later on in the day I had a 30 minute run where I was supposed to push myself. I am happy to set that I beat my current fitness record. It is exciting to see myself beat my own records because it is a secondary concrete way to observe changes in my fitness. If I don’t lose weight one week but I beat a record I know that I am doing what I am supposed to. Another cool thing is that when you may get discouraged it is always awesome to look at the trend in your weight or times of specific runs.
image credit:
To Run or To Walk
A lot of people ask about whether they should be walking or running. You know when you are bigger running feels like it is impossible especially if you have never really exercised. A major cause for the run or walk question is that it is widely believed that running is “better” than walking. Now don’t get me wrong, running will burn more calories per hour and it gives you the best opportunity to really ramp up your fitness but it is not the only way. Especially for someone just starting out on their journey to lose weight. Even though it may seem like running is the best way it can be hard to get over the mental aspect of it being so hard. And it doesn’t ever get easy but it does get easier I think.
Here is the real deal: The better choice is the one that will help you feel good about getting out and doing it. If walking is something you like more than running then by all means walk. Doing the exercise that you will do the longest is the best choice in my opinion. When I say “do the longest” I don’t mean each bout of exercise, I mean long term success. If you hate running but you know you can burn more calories do it………what does it matter if you end up quitting it because you hate it. If you like to walk and keep doing it for ten years the calories that you don’t burn as compared to running are made up for by the fact that you did not quit.
You can always mix both of them together which is my favorite thing to do. Also, if you enjoy walking try to pick up the pace. If you can get more into a pace below 15 minute miles you will begin to burn closer to what you would running. I believe that you have to get done to around 12 minute mile pace or lower to start burning about the same because it is not efficient to walk that fast. I know that the race walkers at the Portland marathon will finish the race sub 9 minute mile pace. THAT IS CRAZY.
Key things to note
- The most important thing is consistency. Getting out there day after day, week after week, and month after month.
- Injury prevention is super important to keep up your morale and keep you moving more consistently
- Do something that you like. LOL. I know that is a hard one since most of us don’t like any exercise at the start but that is what consistency builds
- Run or walk??? Do what you feel best about and always remember to push your limits either way.
The picture above is my lawn. To me……..today……..this pic represents a fresh start that is based upon YEARS of hard work and planning. It’s spring and summer time. The lawn is looking its best but it is because of the work put in prior. I know it is just a lawn but the meaning behind it is so powerful. This lawn has taken money, huge amounts of time, hard and difficult work, plenty of planning, and a mass amount of maintenance. I will go as far as saying that it is a good representation of life and what so many of us aspire to. Not that everyone aspires to have a beautiful time consuming lawn, but what we do aspire to takes the same types of efforts and focus. Weight loss is one of those things. It takes money, huge amounts of time, hard and difficult work, plenty of planning, and a mass amount of maintenance. It is a goal and achievement not easily won, but IT IS POSSIBLE.
I am back to this blog after a long, long time away but I have never stopped striving and working on myself to get to where I want to get. I have gained some weight back, I…..with much gusto……..let some bad habits back in, I didn’t exercise for a long time, and I just did a lot of things that I knew would not help me to achieve my goals. I didn’t let it all go though.
Anyways, it is good to be back. I am not sure if anyone will still read any of it but I most certainly need it AND desire it. Writing gives me great avenues to express myself in a healthy way which reminds me of where I want to go and who I want to be. Hopefully over time others will get some benefit from it.
Going short-sighted
It has been my normal “MO” to chart out my goals a year at a time or so. I would have a big goal, then a set of biggish goals to get to that BIG goal, then monthly goals to reach the biggish, then weekly to reach the monthly, and daily to reach the weekly. LOL. This has worked in the past VERY VERY well but the way things are right now and where I am at with myself, I don’t think that old way is going to work. I am going short-sighted.
I have decided to SOMEWHAT do away with the intensive goal setting that I had previously practiced due to my perfectionistic nature. Of course, I still have a few BIG GOALS for the future in the back recesses of my mind but my path to these goals is going to be organized differently. You see, I can discourage myself pretty bad when I don’t feel I am doing perfectly. Yet I know that things don’t need to be perfect to achieve my big goals. So……………………………..I am sticking to daily goals that will bring me to a weekly achievement basically. I figured why the hell should I get discouraged by a so called “failure” because I perceive it as making it impossible to reach the big goals when I can be happy for successfully achieving these smaller daily/weekly goals. And by accomplishing these daily/weekly or easier goals I know for a fact that the big goal will come but with much MUCH less pressure.
So for now I am not going to worry too much about the fear of not reaching big goals and exchange that for the happy feeling of achieving the small goals.
Chix and spice
So I ate good today and I exercised both in my yard and at the gym. I made my lunches for the entire week so that I won’t really have any seemingly legitimate excuse to not eat healthy. It was a rainy day today but working out in the yard felt good and I got some stuff done that I have been putting off for a long time. Exercising at the gym seemed kinda hard today mostly because I was lifting weights a lot which I don’t normally do but hope to keep at. My dinner was right on as far as points go and I was full from it too. The pic of the Tabasco stuff at the top I wanted to share. It is super-dee-duper good. I love it. I know that many on their healthy journey limit sodium, I am not one of those. I love that tabasco salt and it just add the perfect kick to beef and chicken. It makes me happy to eat healthy so why the heck wouldn’t I use it. lol.
Aside from working at being organized for my journey, I took about an hour out of the day to truly and deeply relax and this felt great. Something I rarely do. And heck, I even got some good time in with my hobby too.
Injuries and the rest of it
It’s been a while since I posted. I have written some posts but I am keeping those set to private. The health journey has been a long one for a while now. It has been pretty easy logistically since I have not really been too strict on staying at it. Where it has been hard is emotionally and mentally. I am used to winning. I am used to succeeding. Haven’t been experiencing either one for a while now but then again this could just be a matter of perception. Perhaps if I changed my perspective I would feel that in actuality I have been winning this whole time. I guess I will make that change right now so that I can “reframe” it in a more positive way. LOL.
The pic above is my old dog that I had to put to sleep. He was in pain, injured in some ways, and just tired. I picked this pic because I FELT that way for a bit. A while back I broke my foot which as you would think hindered my running which in turn hindered my eating which in turn hindered my weight journey. Not that this injury HAD to effect the other things but I sure allowed it too. It took around three months for it to not ever hurt while walking or running. My foot is good now. Three weeks ago I hurt my Achilles and actually went to the doctors which is something that I never did for my foot. I also injured my back doing who-knows-what. It all hurt my running which was on a a really good path up to that point. But hey, at least nobody put me to “sleep” like I had to do with my dog. HA.
Things are looking up in the health department though. I got back into an older habit of buying ALL my food for the week on sunday, planning my meals, and cooking what I can so it will be readily available for me. I look forward to this week as I know it will be a good success. I haven’t felt successful a whole lot regarding my health journey but it doesn’t have to stay that way to be sure. I went out and bought some clothes today that fit my nicely and that felt good. This alone boosted my confidence and good feeling significantly. I have a great group of family and friends to help me along the way which is also really nice and encouraging.
Seems like the normal post title might be “Starting out a new………” or something like that but that just isn’t the case today. I have never stopped. I have never given up. The journey changes all the time. Goals are re-assessed. Timelines are moved forward. Lots of things change but just because things change or things don’t go OPTIMALLY doesn’t mean that I have stopped being on my wonderful journey.
Fat guy with the "fat" mind. My inspirational before pic. I guess I AM WINNING!
Couple yard pics
This is the horseshoe pits and badminton court that I built and worked on over the summer. I even got to use them with family and friendsThe plants have grown a lotJust another after pic showing plants growthThe plants have grown a lotJust another after pic showing plants growth
As most of you know I love my yard. So much has happened in it…………nature really took over and helped the plants this summer. It has been a great joy to see how well everything is growing and filling in. I really enjoyed it all this summer as did many other people who came over for fun and food.
Well today was a day filled with glorious donuts. Yes…………I LOOOOOOOVE DONUTS. I ended up eating 5 all together. I spent the better half of the end of the day trying to talk myself out of counting them for WW because I run. Yup, I was trying to convince myself that because I run I can eat 5 donuts without counting them. Since I have been on this “I don’t want to do it Maximum Perfect”, I have given myself lots of liberty as long as I count. However, today I just wanted feebies.
In the end I counted them. I went well over my daily points but am a far cry from finishing off my weekly allowance or activity points. I think I made a good decision to count even though the decision to eat 5 probably wasn’t the best. One probably would have been enough. 🙂
Lots of hils on this long run
Doesn't look long or steep but it was
Lots of creeks on my long runs
Short out and back that I like to do on long runs
I finally reached 20 miles again. I hadn’t gone this far since around October 2010 I think. It seems like forever ago but I still had it in me. I was surprised that it was not to bad at all and actually enjoyable. I was not hating ever nor was I so fatigued that I just didn’t want to keep on. It was a great run and I am so proud that I got it in. This puts me one step closer to getting to the Strolling Jim 40 miler this May. That is of course my favorite race and I would be bummed out to miss it.
I also stayed on WW pretty darn good this week and had another loss. I have not tried to be extremely perfect lately on my eating which has slowed the weight loss down some but I think it is healthier for me in the long run to stay more balanced and realistic in this area. So far so good on my health journey. I plan to keep on keeping on and make it to my starting line that much lightier and in better shape
Another pretty successful week on Weight Watchers. I ended up losing a pound and moved my long run up by 2 miles. I was not super happy with the loss or the run but I took it as a great and fantastic victory. Sometimes on the time when I feel I have only made tiny strides forward I have to inundate myself with positive talk about it. Encouraging myslef that I did great. I can’t remember if I told you guys but I did register for my favorite race in Tennessee. It’s the first Saturday in May and it’s called the Strolling Jim 40 miler. There is no time limit thank God and I am sure it will be my slowest and most painful one yet but I plan to finish that 41.2 miles.
This week I focused big time on finding and perceiving those “cues” that send me off into unhealthy auto-pilot. Lots of things do it but for the most part my cues are work related and dealt with relationships at work. Those are my most difficult hang ups in my life. I also tend to get an empty feeling about my work as I don’t feel that it is up to my potential or doing any good for anyone. That’s hard and it is often why I get deeply involved in things like running and other stuff. All of this is a constant work of art for me.
I am also starting up with a few projects in my yard. This is always very stressful to me as it gets my yard in a mess for a bit but it is worth it in the long run.
Thats all for now
My angle on weight loss 