I actually started back in December, when I weighed in at...
Starting weight: A hundred and ninety-two pounds!
(~178 @ beginning of March)
Goal for the Month: <175
Overall goal: 53 mountains, all over 14,000ft altitude, and a total of around 100 mountains over 13,000ft altitude. "Ultimate XC" 10-mile race in Moab in October (maybe). Seeing ghost towns by snowshoe in winter. Hike-in backcountry snowboarding. That oughtta put me down around 155-160#...if I keep it up, 150# is probably the lowest I'd want to see.
Weight loss to date: 15#-ish
Biggest Challenge, Fitness: Few, now...but back in December, it was cold and dark, everything hurt when I ran and would hurt for days, hard to stay just this side of the "injury" line. Got a headlamp to make 2-hr runs easier after dark. Found more places to trail run. Sitting in the hot tub more after running. Stretching more. Getting more sleep. Now, my biggest challenge is balancing time between exercise (which I love) and other things, like finishing the truck!
Biggest Challenge, Diet: I am generally on the see-food diet :elkgrin:. Donuts, girl scout cookies, ice cream...but I have cut back on all of the above, and my diet has vastly improved since December. More fish, red meat, chicken, tons of fruits and veggies, less junk. I'm exercising enough that I feel I'm ok eating whatever I like, as long as it's not overboard.
Plan of Attack: Trail running 6 days a week, 1:00+/2:00/1:15+/1:45/1:00+/3:00, and now that surgery is healed
I'm adding upper body in the gym to the three short days. Also walk 1/2hr in to work every day...I just get dropped off a ways from the building.
Day of Weigh In: Usually Saturdays or Sundays.
Tips for the Fat of the Land:
Think tortoise, not hare. If you can just barely talk normally (not short of breath) while you're exercising, you're in the ballpark. This helps build endurance and burn fat, rather than just burn what you ate for lunch...it is a long-term solution for massive endurance and efficient physiology more than simply a fat-burning process.
Start slow. If you're really heavy, running will probably hurt more than anything else...take a walk, maybe with poles (skiing, hiking, whatever...cheap poles is all you need, mine cost eight bucks), very slowly add jogging if you like, and if it's your goal, work gently up to full-time jogging.
Avoid pavement! Physically it's nothing but bad news, and for me it's mentally bad news as well...I just don't like the view. Find a trail in the rough somewhere. If you don't have a trail, run on the grass. Don't go running on rough, rocky surfaces until your ankles are strong, or you'll be waiting six weeks to start over. I suppose it goes without saying on the Expedition Portal that we oughtta get outside and avoid the gym, but it's easy to equate "exercise" with "gym" and that's a great way to get in a mental rut.
Eat healthy. That doesn't mean all the "diet" foods, it means eat fresh, natural foods. Seasoned meat (seafood, meat and fowl), salad with oil+vinegar+sour cream+herbs dressing, steamed veggies with real butter and salt, homemade BBQ sauce, good cheese, corn tortillas and homemade guac, cheeseburgers with lean meat+tomatoes+lettuce, stuff like that. If the ingredient list says "high fructose corn syrup", "water added for volume", "color added", or that cut of meat is red on the outside and brown in the middle (ie it was dyed to appear fresh), find an alternative that's as close to fresh as possible. Don't forget fresh spoils faster, and don't be afraid to eat! You must eat to drive all this exercise, and if you don't, you'll get weak and injured. You're looking to burn fat. If you don't eat healthy, your body will get the nutrients it needs by (more or less) eating itself. Don't worry about vitamins, supplements or voodoo...just eat healthy. Most scales measure only total weight, and it's very, very important to make sure you're dropping fatty weight rather than muscle tissue. Some scales can estimate body fat percentage, they're a good tool.
It goes on slow, it comes off slow. How many months/years did you spend inactive and chowing Doritos? Don't be discouraged, and don't overdo it...a healthy fat loss rate is about 2#/week. Yeah, you can go faster by working out more, but is it sustainable, balanced in with the rest of your life? Make it a habit, not a focus for three months that you drop once you're at your target weight. It helps a lot if you're working out with an ultimate goal in mind other than a weight number.
Take one day off a week, and one week off a month. Not completely off...just take it easier. Switch your usual exercise to goofing around with something totally new (but take it easy!)...go for a bike ride instead of running, or play some racquetball or shoot hoops. Take a kayak lesson. Go bouldering. Eat and stretch like you normally do. Just give your body a week off, once every four weeks, to recover a little. Your weight may creep up a pound, or it may not...the important thing is your body (and mind) are ready for the next 3-week attack, after your regular rest day at the end of the week.
Hope that helps everyone. See you on the trails
.
-Sean
