Caradac - Member

Caradac

Joined November 2010

Posts

368

Following

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Weight History

Start Weight

304.2 lb

Lost so far: 58.4 lb

Current Weight

245.8 lb
Performance: gaining 0.8 lb a week

Goal Weight

220.5 lb

Still to go: 25.4 lb

So, how did I end up so overweight? Until the mid-80s, I never really paid any attention to what I ate or drank as neither seemed to affect me. I'd say it was about then that my metabolism changed and I also started full-time work which meant that I could afford food AND drink. Add to this a long-term relationship with a partner whose response to any crisis was to feed people and there it began.

Why do I want to change? Well there hasn't been any kind of epiphany. I've just gradually become less able to hide from what I am doing to myself and from the effects it has on my family.

So I have started to tweak my lifestyle into a better shape this summer (2010).

I began to walk to work in July. By September, I was just breathing harder as I walked uphill rather than being exhausted. Next, I started to cycle and walk a short route twice a week. By the end of October, I didn't have to stop for a rest on the cycle ride.

In November, I started to jog a little as well and by March 2011 I completed a half-marathon. September saw me complete a marathon and in March 2012 I ran a 50 mile Trail finishing at the Eiffel Tower.

I'm moving into a weight maintenance phase now. Slow, incremental weight loss is a nice-to-have but it's not my main focus. Eating right, exercising regularly and enjoying time with my family are the sustainable benefits I have achieved and I really want to hold onto them now.

Progress updates:

31 Dec 2010 Weight lost: 15.5kg Jogged a full 5 miles for the first time. Non-stop.

16 Jan 2011 Weight lost: 18.5kg Jogged 9 miles non-stop.

6 Mar 2011 Weight lost: 25kg Ran a half-marathon.

9 Sep 2011 Weight lost: 36kg Ran a marathon.

24 Mar 2012 Weight lost: 40kg Finished an 80km (50 mile) trail run.

Caradac's Weight History

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Caradac's Latest Member Challenges

409

Lose 30 pounds by June!!!!

status:	Completed
ended:	06 May 12
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15lb Festive Weight Loss Challenge

status:	Completed
ended:	26 Dec 11
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Caradac's Latest Posts

Is anyone else finding a new love for jogging?
I'm on the journey to running and it's been hard but rewarding so far.

I started out as a complete couch potato and after 6 months of applying myself, I am now able to jog slowly for 2 hours or more quickly for an hour.

This isn't running yet as I'm barely making 5 mph even on the "fast" sessions but I can see gradual improvement. When I can get to the point of doing 6 miles in an hour or 11 in 2 hrs, I will have arrived at my running goal. Everything beypond there will a bonus.

It's taken me a long time because I have deliberately set a slow pace, I only run outdoors (no access to a gym or treadmill) and I have had a couple of injuries along the way. Oh, and yes, everyone else at the Park runs faster than me. It doesn't bother me because I am just a beginner (as well as being much older and heavier than most of them). I am improving week on week so one day I hope that other beginners running where I do will be saying to themselves "If that person can do it a their age/weight, surely I can."

What keeps me going is simple disbelief that I have achieved what I have already. If you told me last year that I would now be able to jog uninterrupted for 9 miles and not be a physical wreck afterwards, I would never have believed it. In fact, I'm still not sure that I do.

I was expecting not to be able to do this at all as I have a pre-existing knee condition. For me, it seems that this was massively aggravated by my weight and as I have lost the pounds, it has become less problematic.

To keep motivation, I only keep in mind short-term, easily achievable goals and if I don't meet them, I don't beat myself up about it either. Nor do I let myself make excuses because, after all, I know when I'm doing that, don't I?

On each run, I try to set myself three goals: a minimum, a desirable and a happy goal. For example 3 laps of the park minimum, 4 desirable and if I make 5 I will be happy. This really works for me because it means that if I am sore, tired or otherwise not enjoying it, I can listen to my body and stop without feeling I am cheating. On the other hand, when all is good, I can get to my stretch goal and come away very satisfied indeed.

What I don't do is tie arbitrary rewards to meeting certain goals. I know this works for some but it just doesn't do it for me.

For those who think they probably can't do it, I would say this: You probably can, actually. But you need to take it slow and easy, not trying to progress faster than your body tells you to.

posted 21 Jan 2011, 05:39

Tips for keeping hydrated?
I log the water I drink in my Food Diary here. Each time I drink some, I also see how much I had today and then I know if I'm on track.

I don't actually like drinking water much so I have 2 ways to make it more palatable. The first is simply to chill it well (and apparently this has other benefits). The second is that, rather than drinking a cup of orange juice in the morning, three times a day I have a third of a cup made up to a pint with water. Much easier to drink for me.

posted 16 Nov 2010, 03:05

How Often Do you weigh yourself?
I'm new to weighing myself. I got my starting weight from the scales at my doctors while receiving another gentle prod from him that I was doing myself harm. I then weighed in a couple of months later while on holiday. On some pay-to-weigh scales. On a pier. So that will have been super-accurate, then.

Having seen some reduction, I bought some scales (the first I have ever owned) and have started to weigh myself every day. I find the fluctuations fascinating (rather than depressing or annoying) as I try to figure out what causes them.

Once I get to my target weight/fitness levels, I will try to cut back to weekly or fortnightly checks just to see if things are staying OK. But for now, tracking the daily changes is fun... Smile