Snow shoeing

I am super late blogging this week. It was a short work week and I had a lot to get done. I also forgot to weigh on monday tuesday and Wednesday and weighed late today. So this report will have to do.

I ended up buying some snow shoes and have gone twice already. I enjoyed both trips. I had Gordon with me today. He had fun as well. You go half the distance and get a great workout.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

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Quick Report

Weekly Stats
Current: 215.0
Weekly Loss: 0
To Go: 40
Total 110

Not a lot to talk about this week. I have been quite busy trying to juggle things this week. I pretty much stayed the course.

My plan to back off a bit on exercising seems to be a working. My leg has not bothered me a bit. I still am putting in about an hour each time and exercised five days last week and then again this morning. Two more weeks of easy does it and then try ramping back up again.

How are the rest of you doing? I do know that Hillary is still maintaining. Nicely done! Kelly is back down to one more pound to go until she is at her pre-pregnancy weight! Way to go Kelly! Hang in there and I will too!

"Are You Going To Finish Strong?"

Weekly Stats
Current: 215.0
Weekly Gain: 5.6
To Go: 40
Total 110



I am glad I ran into this video half way through my tough week. I was all over the place. Most of it was my fault. I didn't watch was I was eating very well. Most of it could be classified under the category of "mindless eating." I wasn't purposefully trying to be really bad, but I wasn't being very careful either. 212 would have been bad enough, but when I stepped on the scale on Monday, I was 215. How in the world could I have gained nearly 6 lbs back! Normally, I blog on Monday's so that is the weight I usually go with. I got on the scale this morning and I had dropped back to 212. I know I didn't do anything to merit a 3 lbs loss in one day. I am back to being all over the place again.

I don't know if my body is super stressed out or what, but I have been wondering if I didn't recover properly from the half marathon. I probably should have recovered by doing less stressful things considering what I had put my body through and by getting injured either from the fall at the first of the run or all of the extra downhill on the run. When I got up at 5:15 this morning, I felt terrible. As I tried to talk myself into exercising, I was wondering if my body just needed a time to recover. I don't mean no exercising, but rather choosing to exercise at a less strenuous rate for a few weeks. When I thought about that and what I could do to modify the routine this morning, I found that I could get up off the chair in the bedroom and head down to workout. I have several DVD's that I fall back to on either cold days of on off-running days. I found a 15 minute routine to work on legs and abs, stayed at a moderate pace as I followed along and then got on the elliptical for 20 minutes. That was doable and I didn't feel any stress either physically or mentally.

So here is my plan for the next few weeks. No running. I still am feeling the effects from the half in one of my legs that has been slow to get better. I plan on walking on my usual running days. I will spend as much time exercising, just not running. I tried that on Monday and was able to do a 4.5 mile loop with no pain at all. I will also keep any high impact exercising to a minimum and so if my over-all health will be better as I take stress off the body and the mind. It takes a lot of mental effort sometimes to push yourself to your limits. I will keep you posted on how I am feeling over the next few weeks. That will get me to the first of the year, hopefully healed up and ready to "stand up and finish what I started!" (Bob Harper) I still plan on not going over 215 over the holidays and complete my no weight gain goal over the holidays.

Great job to all of you who have maintained/lost weight during the challenge. Chris, Hillary, Martha, Gordon (I think), Rachel!! (stand and delivery method!), and me (even with all of the up and down). Sorry if I missed anyone else who is on the challenge. Hang in there and I will too!

Here are some thoughts from watching the video.

Time to finish strong. Finish strong in the month of December, don't give up keep trying. Finish strong in 2011. Finish strong the rest of my life. What are you going to do to finish strong. If he can get up, so can I from my struggles.

Snow Workout

Weekly Stats
Current: 209.4
Weekly Loss: 1.2
To Go: 34.4
Total 115.6

Sunday is usually a rest day for me, but we got about 6 inches of snow. Earlier in the week they predicted a blizzard and we got zero inches. This time no blizzard warning and we get a good dose of snow. You all know what that means. SNOW WORKOUT!!! I can always tell when we are going to get a good snow storm because when my neighbor goes out of town, it usually snows hard. We watch out for each other when it snows and so I got a double dose of the workout.

It has been cold the past week and the streets were snow packed this morning. I bought a pair of rubber cleats that fit over the bottom of your shoes. I put them on not knowing how well they would work and I was pleased. I had good traction the whole route. Most of the route was plowed, even most of the river trail, but as I got close to the canyon, I had to trudge through the snow. It was a good workout on the legs and it got me excited to try snow shoeing in the near future.

How did you all do during the holiday? I know Martha did another tread mill torture the day after. Good job Martha. I myself ate a little too much at Thanksgiving dinner, but I did workout and ate good the rest of the day. Hillary is doing well. Rachel will soon have a big weight loss (couple days past her due date!). Hang in there and I will too.

A Pleasant Surprise

Weekly Stats
Current: 210.6
Weekly Loss: 4.4
To Go: 35.6
Total 114.4

The pleasant surprise this week is when I stepped on the scale, I was down 4.4 lbs. I think I can attribute this to two things. Most days, I was very frugal on eating. I tried on those days to eat every three hours, but tried not to go over 300 calories for each meal. This kept me at about 1800 calories on those days. The other thing, is with the colder weather and trying to get my leg better, I mixed up my workout routine a bit. I had bought some Bob Harper workout DVDs and they are quite the challenge. Even the people that he has one to put through the workout struggle, moan and complain at times. I can't do all of the workouts, but I can do most of them and keep up for the hour. Mostly it has been fun. I also was able to run a bit further on each run until I needed to rest my leg so that was good too. I am hoping by the end of the week to be up to four miles straight.

Cold weather has taken a firm hold. We have snow on the ground here. I am better equipped to run in the cold, wet weather this year. The run this morning went well. I stayed nice and warm most of the run. When we get some more snow, I have plans on giving snowshoeing a go. I'll let you know how that goes.

Shout outs to Hillary this week. She has kept her weight off and has even lost a bit more. Whoooooohoooooooo! Way to go! Andy had another good outing with his cross country team! Nice job coach. Martha, Hillary, Chris and Rachel, I trust that you are all doing well on the no weight gain challenge. It's not to late for anyone else to commit about not gaining any weight during the holidays. Get yourself weighed before Thanksgiving, write it down and then weigh back in during the first of the year. The official weigh in will be between Jan 1 and 5th to determine if you made your goal. Hang in there and I will too!

Stabilization

Weekly Stats
Current: 215.0
Weekly Gain: 0
To Go: 40.0
Total 110.0

I said last week that I was only going to post my weight, but my friend David, who is an accounting junkie says he missed the numbers. Fair enough I will keep posting the stats partly because of David and partly because I said I would at the beginning.

The meaning behind my title is that my weight did not jump all over the place. I saw consistency throughout the week which is great. I am still hampered by my a couple of nagging injuries that aren't serious, but prevent me from running as far as I would like. This morning was my best distance since the half. I was able to go about 2 1/4 miles before I needed to walk it out. That is a mile better than last week. I walked and ran the rest of the 4 1/2 miles. As hard as it is to be patient, I need to not push it too hard or it will take longer to heal up.

I took the Scouts out camping this weekend. The only thing I miss about my former weight is the insulation. It was cold and I had to throw on a lot more clothes than I used to and my feet were cold all through the evening. I guess the price of some good insulated boots will be worth the it compared to the cost of being overweight and out of shape!

A shout out to those who took the no weight gain challenge from last week. Rachel, Hillary and Chris are on board. Still time to weigh in and commit to no weight gain over the holidays. Bill is happily running again! Keep going Bill! David said he was going to start back at it. Go David! Hang in there and I will too!

Reset - Onward and Downward

Current Stats
Current Weight - 215.2

You noticed that I didn't post any other info other than my current weight. This is for several reasons. First of all, my weight is still all over the place. I weighed in anywhere from 210 to 219 during the week. Even though I it was birthday celebration on Friday, there was no way that I ate enough extra calories (or cut back for that matter) to justify 9 pounds up and down. I am going to go with my weigh-in weight from this morning and use it as a baseline. This may all be related to the half-marathon.

During my last few weeks of training, I was all over the place as far as weight goes. I felt that when the race was over, I could get right back into the regular routine which was working for me, but I have been surprised about my recovery. I went out for what I thought would be an easy run for me last Monday. I thought I would be a bit sore, but I would be fine. I had run 12 miles the week before and was able to not only do my taper training the next week, but felt good going into the race. After talking to a couple of runners, they said that the downhill was probably pretty hard on me. It really was quite a drop during the first 5 miles of the race. I probably did a little damage. I have also read that recovery days from a long run can take as long as a day per mile. So for a half marathon, to expect 13 days of recovery time. That advice may not be far off for me. Here I am at day 9 and I still had some hip and knee issues this morning. I had to alternate running and walking this morning because of it. I just need to be patient.

For the next two weeks, I am going to focus on portion control and get back into some good habits. Hopefully this weight roller coaster I've been on will stabilize and I will start heading down again. Until I get back down into the 190's I am going to just post my weekly weight and get back to that 130 lbs lost and keep going.

I would like to throw out a challenge to anybody that needs a little motivation. Make a goal not to gain any weight over the holidays. We have been challenged at work to that goal and I am going to take it further by getting to 200 lbs by the end of December. Sound hard? It can be, but it is harder to take off an extra 5 - 15 lbs that I could gain instead. I don't want to go there, do you? What it takes is to be mindful of what you are eating. Allow yourself a little treat now and then, but fill up on healthy alternatives when they are available and make sure you exercise! If you want a little accountability, post a comment about your commitment and we will all keep each other motivated!

Great job Hillary! Looking good! Bill is back running and happy about it! Way to go Bill! Saw my neighbor, Lynn, getting his bike ready for a ride! Great job! Hope to catch the rest of you doing your great things as well! Hang in there and I will too!

Thirteen point one and done!

Current Stats NA

I was planning on weighing in this week as a baseline, but my weight once again varied a whole bunch this week. I will eat right this week and establish my new baseline next week.

I had a great experience running my first half marathon. Not that it was easy, but I am glad I reached what I thought was unreachable goal for myself. I learned a lot about myself along the way and even during the race.

It all started out early Saturday morning. We boarded buses to take us up to the start line. Barbara was good enough to get up early and drive me there. I really appreciated the support. This race ended up have close to 3,000 people enter. There was a line of buses and I got in the line and got on board. The bus was full and there were many who were excitedly chatting while others were sitting quietly. For me it was a lot more emotional than I thought it would be. It was hard not to cry as we drove on some streets that I had done my prep work on, realizing I was on my way to face a big challenge that I had been training for for weeks. This meant I lot more to me than I had realized.

We got off the buses at Theater in the Pines parking lot, not far from one of the Timpanogos Trail Heads. It was quite cold and there was still a bit of snow around from a storm that had come through earlier in the week. Here I was at the start, but I still had about two hours to go until the starting gun sounded. They had a heated tent that filled up as the morning went on. I found a place near the back and waited. A lot of people wore costumes. This was the Halloween Half and costumes were encouraged. I am not much of a costume wearer anyway, especially not in my first half marathon!

After a long wait, both for the start and the lines for the bathrooms, we were all ready to start. I lined up near the back were there was a pacer for a time of finishing in two and a half hours. That's the quickest I thought I could finish, but I would be happy if I was done by three hours.

Between a late start and all of the runners, I didn't get past the start line until after 15 minutes of when we were scheduled to start. Not far from the start, I could tell that someone had fallen. I was trying to watch out between all the people around me, not to step on the downed runner when suddenly I went down in probably the same big hole she fell in! Luckily, I had my running gloves on and long running pants and averted disaster myself. I got scraped up a bit but was able to get right back up. The girl that went down was being helped off and I heard her say, "I heard something pop!" I knew what that meant having heard that noise come from my own ankle before. I felt bad for her, having to drop out of the race before it even started and was grateful I had avoided the same fate!

The first part of the race was quite steep. I was glad I had put duct tape on my feet as suggested. I think I would have had blisters coming down at that incline if I hadn't. I passed my pacers without much effort realizing that I would slow down later. It was a quick run down past Sundance and to the intersection with the Provo Canyon road.

As many of you know, Provo Canyon is a well traveled highway. They had been stopping traffic to get the runners over to the other side of the canyon. By the time I got down there, they made the runners stop to get the backed up traffic a chance to get my. We waited quite a while until they stopped them again and they let us cross to continue the race.

We ran on the road for a bit until we hit the tunnels. Some of my neighbors were helping at the aid station there and it was fun to see their surprised faces as they handed my water. It was a bit of a lift. We then headed down to Vivian Park to where we were directed onto the Provo River trail for the rest of the run.

About a mile down from the park, I kept leap frogging a runner who would run and then walk. I tried to encourage anyone I passed my telling them they were doing good. We were about half way at this point and fatigue was setting in to many. After passing her another time, next thing I knew, she was running along side me and without saying much we paced each other. After about a mile, I struck up a conversation and found out that she lived just a couple of streets away from me. We stuck together for several miles and chatted which helped both of us take our minds of the pain. With about two miles left, she had to stop and walk, so I slowly went on. I had another conversation for a while with a guy about my age from Heber. Those talks really helped! As I was approaching the last mile, I was really bonking bad and it was all I could do to move my feet, when much to my surprise, the girl that had been running with my pulled even with me. It really helped us both I think to turn out of the canyon and make the homestretch down to the finish line. As I approached the finish line, I became emotional as I could see not only the finish line, but my sweet wife and my youngest daughter. I didn't have the words to explain how much it meant to me to have them there!

Running has become an important part of my life. I have learned a lot about myself and have learned that I can do much more than I thought I could. For me, running is a way of looking at yourself. It strips you down to your emotional and physical limits. You get a glimpse of what you are really like deep down inside.

Thanks for all of your encouragement. I have said this quite frequently, but it has made a big difference for me. More than once during the race, I thought about being able to report back to you all that I had finished the race! It was quite motivating to keep going! Andy and Bill, thanks for supporting all of the runners on the race! It was nice to know that friends we helping to make it happen. Great job Hillary on keeping after it! You look great! Hope the rest of you are doing what you need to to keep yourselves healthy and happy! Hang in there and I will too!

Countdown to Half Time!

Current Stats - N/A

I am on one week reporting hiatus since I am focused on the race this week and once again my weight was varied up and down six pounds this week. Next week I will do a reset and start the last leg of the weight loss journey.

I have been trying to decide if I should run a marathon. My decision will be based on two things. 1) How I feel after completing the half-marathon this Saturday. 2) If I am going to to run a marathon, I need to be at least at my goal weight. I think it would be too taxing on my body if I trained at a heavier weight than that.

Last Thursday, I did my last long run for training. It was 12 miles. I had a better perspective of how far 12 miles is because I decided on the fly to take a different route. I headed down 8th East and then ran down University Parkway. I turned back north at the intersection of University Parkway and University Avenue and headed over to the mouth of Provo Canyon. I still had about 3 miles left to do after all that distance! It made me appreciate how far 12 miles is when you are running.

My long run was a bit early in the week. That's because we took the Scouts to Goblin Valley. It was fun to be in shape to explore and have fun with them. There was also a ultra-marathon going on and a 10K run as well. We tried to encourage the runners as we encountered them. It was extra hard among the hoodoos because recent rains had turned the clay in to a slick and sticky mess. I slipped once just walking and can imagine that the runners really had to watch their steps.

Wish me luck for the run this weekend. Excited and nervous all at the same time. Shout outs to all those who ran the race down at Goblin Valley! What an inspiration! Thanks to Andy who came with us on the Scout trip and gave me lots of great pointers for the upcoming half! Hang in there and I will too!

The Long Haul

Weekly Stats
Current: 204.0
Weekly Gain: .4
To Go: 29.0
Total 121.0

Bad news on the scale again this week, but the gain was not as dramatic as last week. I am still focused on the training for the half on the 30th.

I ran 11 miles for my long run on Saturday. It was a tough run, but I made it and am optimistic for success when I run the real thing. I need to run a 12 miler for my last long training run. I would normally do this on Saturday, but we are taking the Scouts out this weekend and won't be getting back until early evening on Saturday. I would be a mess if I delayed the run until then. So my plan is to do my long run early Thursday morning.

I almost signed up for a marathon last week, but it filled up 6 hours before I was ready to click the button. There is another marathon a few weeks later, but this one doesn't fill up as quickly. I will make a decision on whether to run a marathon or not after I have run the half. Anyone out there had any experience running a full marathon?

After the half, I am going to focus on getting the rest of this weight off. It will be good to get it off. I feel so much better now having over 120 lbs off and I know that getting the last 30 off will be even better. It is weird to say, but I am actually looking forward to losing the weight in spite of the pain involved.

A shout out to Janet and her husband for getting back into getting the weight off. It's hard to start back up after a diversion! Way to go! Bill ran the St. George in spite of an injury! Nice Bill! Hillary is looking great after her weight loss! Whooohoooo! Hang in there and I will too!

Nothing to Lose

Weekly Stats
Current: 203.6
Weekly Gain: 1.8
To Go: 28.6
Total 121.4

I am still up and down on my weight. Can't seem to get down below 200 again. Though I am looking forward to the half marathon in a couple of weeks, I will be glad to get back into an increased emphasis on getting my weight down. I seriously will bounce up and down from 5 to 8 lbs each week since I started training. You would think with as much work as I am putting in that the pounds would melt off, but it's not the case. I have a feeling that once I get back into my previous training and mix it up a bit that things will be more consistent.

I was going to hike Timp once last time this last Saturday, but we had a cool-down in the weather. Timp has had snow on the top for several days, not a whole lot, but it would probably would have been a bit sloppy. I decided to hike Big Baldy going up Dry Canyon and coming back down Battle Creek. I estimated about 10 miles and it ended up being over 11.5 miles. I think that this hike is harder than Timp. Even though it is less mileage, it is quite steep and the heart rate is high most of the time.

Thanks again for the encouragement. Keep up the good work everyone! Hang in there and I will too!

Hiking in Circles

Weekly Stats
Current: 201.6
Weekly Loss: 0.6
To Go:
26.8 Total 123.2

I have to make a disclaimer on my weight. It is still jumping around quite a bit, so I am taking my best weight loss day over a four day period (Friday - Monday). I have logged my food intake this last week and it has really helped.

I ran 10 miles on my long run on Saturday. I was concerned going into this run weather it would be tough like my eight mile run or great like my 10 mile run. It turned out to be a mixture of both. Between mile two and three, I did not feel good and thought it might last the whole time, but as soon as I hit the canyon and headed up things started getting better. By the time I hit my turn-around point and was able to go downhill from there, I felt pretty good. I even had an eye opener for me.

I had been reading some other blogs and saw how many focused on just the physical challenges of losing weight. Many challenged themselves to a certain amount of miles over a stated period of time, but not many set many dietary goals over the same period. I had a epiphany about when people get lost, they tend to travel in circles. This happens because we usually have a dominant leg. One leg is usually stronger than the other and without a sense of direction the one leg over the course of time leads us back to where we started from.

I think this is true if we dominate on either diet or exercise without setting goals in the other. We can make great headway with our health and fitness by lifting or aerobic exercise, but if we don't watch our diets, our appetites increase and it doesn't take much to undo the calories we burned while exercising. The opposite is true as well. If we just focus on dieting, we lose weight, but we suffer physically because we lose not only fat, but muscle as well. When the diet is over, we can gain the fat back, but not much muscle in the process so we are worse off than when we started. We need to stay balanced on both fronts. We need to have good physical goals and challenges, but we need to watch what is going into our bodies as well. Feed your body what it needs, in portions that are appropriate for you height and weight.

Shout out to Hillary who reached her weight goal. Great job! Bill H. completed the St. George Marathon (his 7th!) in spite of having a recent injury! Wow Bill, way to go! Thanks Mom for the great article on Drew Carey! He is inspirational in what he has done. Thanks for keeping mee motivated Mom! Hang in there and I will too!

9 miler

Weekly Stats
Current: 202.4
Weekly Loss: 0.2
To Go: 27.4
Total 122.6

It has been hard to lose weight with the extra training that I have done. I am trying to keep my body fueled and repaired with the extra work, but it hasn't led to much of a weight loss. I am going to commit to keeping track of my intake with a food journal for the next two weeks to make sure I am not eating too much. I do need to be careful though that I am eating the right types of food as well. Hopefully next week will see better progress in losing weight. I read a little blurb that said that tracking calories has a much bigger impact in weight loss than exercising does. Exercising is essential, but the calories that you burn in a workout can easily be undone by unwise food choices.

Two weeks ago, I ran eight miles for my long run. It was the hardest run I have done in a long time. Friday, my nine mile run was just the opposite. It was a challenge, but I felt good most of the run. I kept hydrated and also kept fueled. It didn't take much to keep my energy up and it sure helped me keep going.

A big shout out to Hillary! Lost 10 lbs and looks great! Way to go! Proud of you! Phil is keeping after it and seems to be enjoying life! Bill, I hope you heal up quick and can run this weekend! Good luck. Keep working hard everyone. Hang in there and I will too!

Timp II

Weekly Stats
Current: 202.6
Weekly Loss: 0.2
To Go: 27.6
Total 122.4

Saturday was my official hike Timp day. Last spring, I had about 5 people express interest in hiking, but by the time the hike came, no one could go. I just felt like I needed to stick to my commitment of hiking. I blogged earlier about the hike I did a few weeks back on the Aspen Grove trail. This Saturday I went up the Timponokee trail. It is amazing how many people hike Timp from this trail head. I got there shortly before 6am in the dark and the lot was already full. I parked out on the road and had to hike to even get to the trail head. The first part of the hike was with a headlamp on. After about 45 minutes it was light enough to see without it and I was able to see the fall colors. It was a beautiful morning and I made good time without having to stop much. This trail was not as steep, but it was a bit longer. I made it to the summit about 10am. Even though the day was forecast into the 90's, it was still cold as the wind blew up on top. I ate a sandwich and headed back down. I figure I cut between a half to a full hour from my last hike. I was glad I went. The biggest contrast for me between the two trails was, the Aspen Grove hike left me exhausted, but very sore. This hike left me sore, but not near as exhausted.

I have not given up on my goal of getting down to 175. I have found though that when you are training at longer distances, that it is hard to cut back much calorie wise. You put the body through so much, that it needs to be fueled during training and recovered from what you are asking it to do. I need to be patient and make sure that I continue to eat right. After the half marathon I can focus in a bit more on losing this last 25 or so lbs.

Things are kind of quiet on the shout out end of things. It's not that people aren't doing great things I'm sure. It's that I just haven't heard about them. I did notice that Phil is continuing to log great workouts. Great job Phil!!! Thanks as always for the support and encouragement. So many people have been kind to me so a big shout out to you all! Hang in there and I will too!

Training

Weekly Stats
Current: 202.8
Weekly Loss: 0.2
To Go: 27.8
Total 122.2

I stayed on track this week on my training for the half marathon. Saturday was my long run and even though it was a struggle I was able to go 8 miles. First time that I had to deal with my legs tightening up. Not enough to stop me, but I could tell that they were thinking about cramping. Could have been a lot of factors. I took the scouts out camping the night before and so I was a little out of my routine. I also carried a water bottle of Gatorade and tried sipping on it, but my son-in-law thinks that I might not of had enough regular water to go along with it. According to the training schedule that I have been following, I am scheduled for a 10K this Saturday, but I am doing the official Timp hike this week. I know that will be a good workout as well. I will give a full report next week on that.


Shout out to Barry and Sue who I saw up on the trail as I was running. Great job! Sue has lost weight and Barry said she put in 40 minutes on Saturday! Barry is getting better after a few things that set him back and didn't go as far as Sue, but put in the time. Way to go to both of you! Haven't heard from my usual running neighbors this last week. Hope all is well with them! Corey and Emiy continue to put in the time running and walking this last week as well. I am proud of both of you. Barbara is focusing in on eating right again and she continues her workouts like she has done for years! Great job sweetie! Hang in there and I will too!

Heading Back Down

Weekly Stats
Current: 203.0
Weekly Loss: 0.8
To Go: 28.0
Total 122.0

Things finally turned back around this last week and I am posting a loss! Yea!!!! I was a bit worried about the gain. Hopefully I will trend back down.

This week's training for the half marathon went well. I went on a 7 mile long run on Saturday. It was a bit of a challenge cause I had to start later in the day than I usually due. I wasn't ready for the warm day that it was, but I still was able to complete the run. I was tired after though, but I still got a lot done around the house after so all in all it was good. All of my other runs went really well and I am still enjoying the running.

Today is Labor Day. Hope it is good for everyone. Maybe summer is officially over on the 21st, but for me, this is the last hurrah. Here come the cooler temps, the changing leaves and hopefully the falling pounds!

Couple of my running friends in the ward are struggling with running injuries. Here's hoping for a quick recovery for both Bill and Todd! My brother Gordon is struggling with his back as well. Hope that heals up all the way for you as well. Congrats to my cousin Lisa who just got married over the weekend! She has been constantly cheering for me from the beginning. Thanks to the rest of you as well!
Hang in there and I will too!

Reset!

Weekly Stats
Current: 203.8
Weekly Gain: 0.0
To Go: 28.8
Total 121.2

I am going with my weigh in from yesterday. I am leveled off which is great except overall the weight gain was alarming! We said goodbye to my daughter Sarah and her husband Mike. We had a great time with them here. It am now also saying goodbye to late nights and not watching my portions. I am also saying goodbye to several unhealthy food choices. I am ready to get back serious at all of this and stay on track.

I did stay true to my workout last week. I think that I mentioned that I am started training for a half marathon last week. I followed the training schedule and had a good workout week. This Saturday will be a good test with a 7 mile run. That will be the longest run I have done since I started back running this year. My next few weeks, I will be posting my training results. Wish me luck in my training! October 30th here we come!

At work, they have a Wellness program where they encourage you to exercise and also one other health goal. This time, besides 30 minutes of exercise, they are giving us the opportunity to set our own goal. They have challenged us to use the SMART method to reach our goal. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Target Date. So my goal is:

I will run a half-marathon on October 30, 2010.

I will do this by following a training schedule. This way my goal will be attainable. I am being realistic because I have been training and a few of my running friends think I am on track to be able to do it. It's definitely measurable with the distance. I guess I better register! :)

Great job to my friends who ran the Hobble Creek Half! That is one I may do next year. See you there I hope! Keep up the great work everyone. You are all an inspiration to me in a lot of different ways. Some by the way they workout. Some how they are struggling like I am to lose weight and get in better shape and a lot of you by encouraging me to keep after it. Thanks to my family who have been so supportive as well. Next week, I will tell you about Ragnar! Hang in there and I will to!

20 miler

Weekly Stats
Current: 203.8
Weekly Gain: 4.4
To Go: 28.8
Total 121.2

First the bad news. Still not understanding this weight gain over the past two weeks. I am up 11 lbs! I haven't backed off of my workouts at all, as a matter of fact, I have really been doing a lot lately. I haven't been perfect on eating, but I know that I haven't consumed enough extra calories to gain 11 lbs in so short a time. I just need to be patient, make sure I am eating right, get good rest and keep up the exercising and it will come back around. Saturday was an endurance hike, maybe the body is all inflamed from the near death experience! Like I said, I just need to be patient and things will come back around.

As I have mentioned before, I am a scoutmaster and we have been working hard on the hiking merit badge. Last month, we completed our set of five, ten mile hikes. Saturday, we were able to all go on the last big hike of 20 miles. We all met at my house at 6am, wiped the sleep from our eyes, and headed off to Vivian Park. We went via Riverwoods, Will's Pit Stop and then doubled back to Provo Canyon. Nine hours later, we had hiked the scouts 20 miles and I gratefully made it back home. I was tired, but the biggest problem for me was blisters. I had four big ones by the time we were done. It's interesting because I had used the same shoes and socks to hike Timp a couple of weeks back and made it 14 miles without a blister, but I guess this hiking was a lot harder on my feet for some reason. Luckily, I recovered enough to get my training in this morning.

Speaking of my training, today started my official training for a half marathon at the end of August. I have been thinking about doing one and as I looked at training schedules, I am right on track with my current weekly mileage to be ready by then. I will have to get registered for it before to long. My daughter Sarah and her husband Mike are in town for the week. Mike went on the run with me this morning. I don't often train with someone else, so it was nice to have someone come with me. My blisters and generally being beat of from Saturday didn't hinder me too much and I was able to train how I wanted for the 3.5 miles this morning.

Shout outs to Bill and Todd who ran the Hobble Creek Half Marathon on Saturday. Great job to all the scouts and Alan T. who did the 20 miler and earned their hiking merit badge. Great job Phil in working out this week! Hillary! Great weight loss! Keep up the good work! Mike and Sarah continue to work out and are keeping in great shape. Hang in there and I will too!

Holy Cow!!!!!!

Weekly Stats
Current: 199.4
Weekly Gain: 6.6
To Go: 24.4
Total 125.6

Let me say this again, HOLY COW!!!! I didn't expect to have a loss this week and wouldn't have been surprised with a slight gain, but 6.6 lbs gained was not expected! Looking back over the week, I can say I had a good workout week. I didn't miss a workout and I felt pretty good all week. I did miss out on a super long hike this week, but I still got a 7 miler in on Friday morning and did a three other 6 mile runs during the week so I put the effort in. From on eating standpoint, I did rather well most of the week except for Friday night and Saturday when we were at a reunion, but I didn't eat 6 lbs extra of calories. Just have to chalk it up to a weird week and hopefully it will come right back off.

Speaking of reunions, one of the benefits of losing weight is the compliments that you get when people haven't seen you for a while. To be honest, I have enjoyed it, but I also realize that the time will come that the praise will stop and I will have to stay motivated for more personal reasons. I need to keep that in mind. I need to enjoy how much better I feel, how much more I am able to do now and to never forget how hard it was when I weighed to much. One of the downfalls of having a weight loss goals is when you reach it, you need to have long term goals and a plan to achieve them. If not, it is too easy to fall back into bad habits. I know one guy who made a deal with his wife that if he last X amount of pounds that he could get an iPad. He now has his iPad and some of his lbs have started creeping back on. I know another who had a heart attack and needed to lose weight, so that scared him into to doing it, he did the HCG diet, lost a bunch of weight and it is now creeping back on. It is one of my biggest fears is that I will let up once I reach my goal. I really do want to stay healthy! I need to face the fact that this will need to be a life long habit of eating right and exercising. I'm going to do it! I've got to do it! Let's keep encouraging each other!

Shout outs to Bill and Andy who ran the Epic relay this weekend from Logan to Jackson Hole! I don't know if Bill and Andy are on the same team, but Bill's team took 2nd overall! Nice job!!!! I talked to Wayne who lives a bit west of me yesterday and found out that he has run 7 marathons!!!! Wow!!!! Phil keeps working out! Way to go Phil! Hang in there and I will too!

Timp!

Weekly Stats
Current: 192.8
Weekly Loss: 0
To Go: 17.8
Total 132.2

After last week great loss, I am grateful to have broken even. It took a lot of work to break even, more than I had even planned on.

Last week, my daughter and here family was in town. We had a great time being with them and it was a good reminder of what is important in life! They had an early flight home on Saturday, so I decided to go on a hike after I dropped them off. Originally I planned on driving down to Boulder and hiking Calf Creek. But as I thought about it, it would take quite a bit of driving to get there and back and I thought I might as well spend the time hiking instead. I thought it would be fun to hike on the Timpanookee trail and see how it was, but by the time I got there at 7am on Saturday, the trail head was already full and people were parking clear up the road. I decided to hike on the Aspen Grove trail instead. I got there about 8 and got the last spot at that trail head. I made it to Emerald Lake about 11 and was hungry enough for lunch so I sat down behind the TERT shack and looked up and saw the shed at the top of Timp. I still felt like I had a lot of energy to make it up in spite of the steep climb up the Aspen Grove trail, so off I headed for the summit. I was still game when I made it to the saddle, so I called home and said I would be later than I thought getting home and up I went. It took me about 5 1/2 hours to make it to the top, but I did it! That makes two of my three summit goals. The only one left now is King's Peak next year. I still plan on hiking up the Timpanookee Trail in September. It will be interesting to see how it compares to the Aspen Grove trail. It is supposed to be easier. We'll see.

The last time I hiked Timp, I was much younger and it seems like it took me about 12 hours to complete. I remember getting cramps in my thighs as I hiked. Not this time! I felt pretty good in spite of it being steep. I made it in about 10 hours so I am happy with the time as well! By coincidence, my neighbor Bill H, ran to the top via the Timpanookee Trail in a little under 2 hours and made it back down in about an hour! Holy cow! I think those days have passed me by. It was all I could do to hike it let alone trail run! Great job Bill!

Great job to the rest of you as well! Hang in there and I will too!

Discouragement

Weekly Stats
Current: 192.8
Weekly Loss: 2.2
To Go: 17.8
Total 132.2

As I listened to the radio this morning, the morning show host were talking about a story by the AP that stated if we keep talking about the dreaded double digit numbers in the economy, that it just might happen. The point being that consumer confidence in the economy in the factor if it does well or not. If we keep hearing that things are bad with the economy and it affects how we spend, then it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy! I think the same is true of most everything in life.

I was a bit discouraged this weekend. I have really pushed it hard the past few weeks with scout camp, family in town and the usual ups and downs in life. Even the scale was not giving me good numbers. (Stress plays a part in weight loss.) It would have been easy to give in this weekend and not worried about what I was eating. Two things helped. Even though we were camping as a family on Friday night into Saturday, I still got up early and went on a hike. It was a tough climb up a beautiful trail and I got a great workout. After breakfast, we packed up and got home and I kept busy the rest of the day getting things put away and doing yard work, so by the end of the day, I had done a lot of work. Having things to do helped me not give up. Another thing that helped was Sunday was the first Sunday of the month and if you are LDS you know that means it's Fast Sunday where we don't eat for two meals and donate the money to help those in need. That in and of itself helps you see outside yourself, but another great benefit is to get out of the habit of eating whenever your body tells you to. It takes a bit of discipline to not drink when you get a little thirsty or stick something in your mouth because your body says it's time to eat. It helps me to see food from a different perspective. I find it a great time to pray for help to overcome problems that I have had with food. I still worry about how easy it would be to slip back into old harmful habits. I acknowledge that I have serious problems with food if I am not careful. I need help beyond my own at times and I find prayer is a great means to reach out for help. I have been blessed with His help many times! After a discouraging weekend where I just felt like I had lost ground, I woke up this morning, went on my usual Monday run. When I got back, I got on the scale for my weigh in and saw a weight loss that I haven't seen in quite while. 2.2 lbs for the week! I had to weigh twice before I would believe it! This was another reminder of how important it is to keep pushing through, even when you are discouraged. As the character, Rocky Balboa, told his kid, sometimes life is not how many times you can hit, but how many hits you can take and not give up! Great advice!

I need to be careful about getting enough sleep as well. When I get tired, it is much easier to let down my guard. I have been getting less than my goal of seven hours each night lately. I need to get back into some good sleep habits again. A good night's sleep is imperative to renewing your body and getting things back into balance each day. It is something that is sometimes not given enough attention when it comes to weight loss and overall health.

Great job again this week to my heroes and inspirations. Great job Todd and Bill. I don't know how you can put in such great mileage with such great times! You are both amazing. Keep up the great work! Gordon keeps up on his biking and puts in some great workouts. Troy impressed me with his ability to hike with me on Wednesday! I can tell he has been working out as well! Thanks for the fun time hiking and fishing! Lisa, Chris, Hillary - Thanks for encouraging me every week. I really appreciate the support! It has helped in ways that you will never understand. Lastly, thanks to Barbara for the listening ear! It is good to have someone to lean on as good as you! Hang in there and I will too!

50 Miles Later

Weekly Stats
Current: 195.0
Weekly Loss: 0.4
To Go: 20.0
Total 130.0

Back from Scout Camp almost half a pound lighter than I started. I thought I might have lost a bit more, but the payoff of being able to hike 10 miles a day and complete the fifty miler with the Scouts was reward in and of itself. My feet took a bit of a beating even though. As most of you know, I have been hiking quite a bit in the past year, but not five back to back ten milers. Other than that, I feel pretty good and was even able to get back out this morning and run my usual 6.2 mile Monday route.

I do need to give a shout out to the scouts and Alan T. who went on the summer camp. The boys impressed me with getting up at 6am each day and heading out for another ten mile trek each day. They all struggled at one time or another, but none of them gave up or refused to go on. They inspired me and it left us all with a lifetime of memories of accomplishing something that was hard. They were all great!

When I started this journey over a year ago, I had no idea that I would be able to do what I am currently doing. I was hoping to take off the weight and get in better shape, but looking back, it is even hard for me to believe what I have been able to accomplish. I really do have to look heavenward and give thanks for the additional help I have received from the Lord and from a lot of you as well. I have felt nudged to do certain things. I have been lead to read and learn a lot about nutrition. I have been encouraged and strengthened when I have struggled from many of my friends who have followed either this blog, Facebook or on Daily Mile. Thanks again to all of you. I hope to be able to pay it forward as I go along.

Shout outs to all of you who are continuing to work hard! Gordon put together a good week of riding! Way to go! Bill and Andy put in 19 mile training runs and Todd continues to increase his distance and speed! Way to go guys! Phil is keeping at it to with impressive workouts. It will be fun to see how he has changed since I saw him last. Keep up the great work Phil! Hang in there and I will too!

10 Down - 20 to Go!

Weekly Stats
Current: 195.4
Weekly Loss: 2.0
To Go: 20.4
Total 129.6

I guess I am celebrating a little early with a 10 lbs star, but it is so good to see 195 on the scales and I lost 2 lbs! Also, I won't be posting anything next week since I am headed out to summer camp with the Scouts early Monday. By the time we are done, we will have hiked 50 miles in the beautiful Uintahs. I should come back a little lighter with all of the hiking we are planning on doing and with a big smile on my face as well!

I didn't take a break from working out even though I ran a race last Monday. Since I usually run that distance on Monday anyway, I just kept up the routine. I am trying to get biking into my training, but I have been having lots of fun with my bike. Tuesday, I got a flat with no spare, pump or cell phone. Walking the bike back 3 1/2 miles was not what I had planned on, but I guess I still go a good workout in. Thursday I tried again. This time the stem broke on a brand new tube. I was prepared this time with a pump and a spare so after a repair stop, I was able to ride home this time. Hopefully this won't happen again. I have yet to have a blow out on my running shoes!

See you in two weeks with a brief trip report from a week of hiking! Bill and Todd continue to post great mileage each week. They are a great inspiration for me. Phil continues to amaze with his dedication to working out and eating right. The pounds are coming off my friend! Way to go! Gordon still looks great! Keep up the good work the rest of you. Hang in there and I will too!

10K!

Weekly Stats
Current: 197.4
Weekly Loss: 1.0
To Go: 22.4
Total 127.6

We returned home from vacation late Wednesday night. Usually when I come back from vacation I have eaten way too much of the wrong thing. But as I posted last week, Rachel and Sarah made sure that I was well taken care of with lots and lots of healthy choices. Thanks again girls! Having lost a pound after being on vacation is a great success in deed!

I raced my first 10k at the Freedom Festival today. I was a little nervous going in just because it was my first race in a long time and I knew there would be a lot of people, but I got there in plenty of time and got lined up at the starting gate in a good place and took off with the several thousand other runners. It was a bit congested at first, but before long we all had more than enough space. I was glad I had my Garmin watch. It helped me keep my pace at a reasonable rate. I wanted to finish somewhere in the 60 - 70 minute range and my unofficial time was 65 minutes. I was cheered on along the parade route by people I knew mostly from work. It was fun. I got high fived several times as well. The last part of the race was uphill and my trail running paid off. I was able to maintain my pace even at the end and was able to pick it up when thing leveled off the last quarter mile or so. I was glad I ran it and would be willing to do it again. Thanks to Bill and Todd who have been encouraging me to enter the race and have given me great running support as well!

It's always good to have a goal to work towards. This 10K was a short term goal. Our scout summer camp where we will be hiking 50 miles during the week and also hiking Timp in September are still ahead! Set some goals and keep going! Hang in there and I will too!

Home Away From Home

I am on vacation this week. I didn't pack my scales with me since I wasn't sure if it was on the TSA approved list for carry on. I will post my current stats next week.

We will head back tomorrow. We have had a great trip. I thought that I would have to fend for myself on the meals here at my daughters, but Rachel and Sarah came up with a great menu for the entire time! Vegetables, whole grains, fruit, healthy fats and proteins! It has been wonderful!!!! I don't know how I could have tailor made a better solution myself. Everyone has really enjoyed the healthy meals as well. I will have a whole new set of recipes in my arsenal when I get through. Thanks Sarah and Rachel! i can't thank you both enough!

I have exercised every day that I normally would, plus we have been active most days sight seeing and hiking. It has been a lot of fun. I have had fun running around with my grandsons as well!! There is no way I could have done even half of this a year ago. The biggest challenge has been dealing with the humidity! Yesterday when I finished up my run, I was stretching when my son-in-law came up and asked if I had got caught in the rain. Nope just 110% humidity!

Just some encouragement to us all. Even when you are away from home on vacation, work or whatever the reason, if you will think things out before you go, you can have a great time and still keep up your fitness goals. You will feel better while you are gone and have no regrets when you get back! Hang in there and I will too!

Celebrate successes

Weekly Stats
Current: 198.4
Weekly Loss: 0.2
To Go: 23.4
Total 126.6

I'm a little disappointed in the loss this week. Last Wednesday, when I weighed in, I was at 195 so I thought this week would be a decent. Wednesday for some reason is my lowest weigh-in day so it isn't unusual to go back up just a bit. Just not this much! Having expressed my minor disappointment, brings me to me topic of the week: Celebrate successes!

I have a few things to celebrate this week. I took the scouts in our troop out on an overnighter. We had fun, worked on advancements and had a great campfire! The scouts surprised me when I only had to ask them once at 6am to get up to go on a hike. They got the camp broke down, we had breakfast and then headed to Stewart Falls. None of them had been there before. I really enjoyed the hike. I couldn't believe how much easier it was for me and it was fun to see the boys see the falls for the first time. It was indeed a celebration for me! I was able to come home after dropping the scouts off and spent the rest of the day working in the yard. That would have been impossible a year ago. Hiking to Stewart Falls would have taken it all out of me, but I had plenty left in the tank after this hike! Another success to celebrate. This morning was another celebration as I ran my fasted Monday run of the year and felt great most of the way. I have been training to get a bit faster and it paid off! Yet another celebration! Yesterday, one of my daughters in her Father's Day card said how proud she was of me that I had lost all of that weight. She is one that I want to inspire. She is working on eating better all the time! A huge success to celebrate! I rewarded myself last week by signing up for the Freedom Festival 10K. In the past this would have been a punishment, but I am really looking forward to running in my first race in many years and my longest race ever! Hope to see some of you either running one of the races or along the parade route.

Shout outs to all those who ran Ragnar/Wasatch Back this weekend. What an impressive run. Bill and Andy's team three-peated their division this year and came in 7th overall. Matt N., Todd and Ellie A, Leslie and Roger K also ran. Great job to you all! Maybe one day for me too! Thanks for all the support you all give me! Keep up the great work everyone. Hang in there and I will too!

Get Real

Weekly Stats
Current: 198.6
Weekly Loss: -0.4
To Go: 23.6
Total 126.4

Had a small gain this week. I think I know what the problem is and more importantly how to fix it. I have been struggling with keeping track of my calorie intake. I found a program called Calorie Counter for my phone and it syncs up online. Just from breakfast this morning, I found out that I was eating too much of a good thing! By just measuring what I ate and tracking the calories, I figured I saved myself about 200 calories. I was way off in estimating this particular breakfast! That adds up quick even if you do exercise a lot. I will let you know (or you will see in next weeks weight loss) how it goes. Other than that, I had a great week. My back, though still a bit tender, is doing a lot better. I am careful in how I run and make sure I stretch the particular muscles that are giving me grief and that helps a lot. I had a great trail run on Friday and a great hike on Saturday. I took my trekking poles with me on Friday to give my back a break. I thought I wouldn't like having them, but it made the run fun! It was like a combination of skiing and running. My back felt good after as well. My hike on Saturday, was a 10 miler and I enjoyed it as well. I missed out getting wet in the rain as my timing was perfect in between storms.

One point of motivation is being realistic. Today's weigh-in has a couple of reality checks in it. Even though we may want to lose 10 lbs a month or run a half-marathon or what ever motivates you, there are going to be stretches when it is hard to stay on course. You might get sick and not able to work out as much as you would like. Perhaps you hit a plateau and are not on track to lose that 2 lbs you had hoped for this week. These things are going to happen. The biggest obstacle to overcome is discouragement. Hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst! Don't fall back into to bad habits because you are discouraged, fight through the obstacle and find a way up, over, around or through! Forward is the direction that you want to be headed. Choose feeling better, being more healthy. Take a deep breath and look back over the ground you've covered up to this point. I have learned that from my hiking. I will be tired from a long, steep climb, but if I take half a second and look back, I will be amazed at how far I have come! Catch your breath and move on. You can do it!

Keep up the great work everyone. Phil keeps pushing his exercise and eating right and is seeing great success in losing weight. Bill H and Todd A ran some great mileage this last week. Todd also had a great race! Hope the rest of you are having great success as well! Hang in there and I will too!

Sugar Roller Coaster

Weekly Stats
Current: 198.2
Weekly Loss: 1.2
To Go: 23.2
Total 126.8

I was happy to see a weight loss again this morning. I worked really hard this week, but the scale was all over the place. I am dealing with a slight injury as well. Usually when I have back problems, it is my lower back, but this time it's my upper back right around the shoulder blade areas. If I don't concentrate on my posture when I run, it gets really sore by the time I am done, especially on a longer run. My daughter who is a massage therapist said that the muscles up there are quite tight. She showed me a few stretches I can do and an exercise that will help. She also gets a much awaited chance to work her old man over tonight! I'll try to remember to let you now how that goes.

I thought I would briefly talk about a principle that I believe is crucial in weight loss. I have mentioned this several times before but it bares repeating. Last October I was on a very restricted calorie diet. Maybe not the best way to approach weight loss, but it was better than gastric bypass in my opinion. Why? I was eating small portions of healthy food. No refined sugars at all. The first week was a killer as I felt those sugar cravings appear as "almost" headaches. The brain was used to getting the instant hit of sugar and it wanted more. For me it was like coming off a drug addiction! This may sound extreme, but I really believe that there is some addictive quality to sugar. I am no expert in the field, but from the amateur research that I have done, I have read how after you eat sugar, it hits the blood stream. The body needs to compensate for it by releasing insulin. In a relatively short period of time, your blood sugar level goes down and before long, you need another hit to get your blood sugar level up. The brain itself, as an organ, runs off this and when the blood sugar gets low, it lets you know it. The fix is simple, but the first week or so is hard. Limit simple sugars as much as you can! It will make all the difference in the world once you get past the initial craving. Does this mean no sweets at all? No way! Just get them as nature provides them. Fruits are great! The contain fiber and nutrition that you need. It takes the body a bit to break them down and so the release into your blood stream is at a more manageable rate. White bread and pasta has had a lot of fiber refined out of them as well and so they can have a similar effect on blood sugar as well. That is one reason that whole grains are so much better for you. That extra fiber and bran also contains important nutrients as well as slowing the digestive process. Get off sugar for two weeks and you will notice a big difference! It will cut your craving down a lot! Your chances for weight loss have increased dramatically as well!

Keep up the great work everyone. Bill H still amazes me with his running abilities! Todd A keeps making great progress coming off an injury. Phil gets the Mr. Persistence award for hanging in there. Nan gets a nod for her great support of Phil! Lisa H. 5K!!!! Great job. Jean W. - Wow a 5K for you too! Thanks to the rest of you for your constant support, encouragement and inspiration! Hang in there and I will too!

Back to the Future

Weekly Stats
Current: 199.4
Weekly Loss: 3.6
To Go: 24.4
Total 125.6

I gave a sneak preview last week on FB about my being below 200 lbs. I have reached the point where my weight bounces around a lot so I would have been happy just to have stayed at that point. That's what happened! I did see 198 on one weigh in, but I often bottom out mid-week so I wasn't sure how things would come in. After last week's mini-gain this was good news!

Sorry about not posting yesterday. We were gone for the holiday weekend and for some reason forgot to take my scale with me for the Monday morning weigh-in. :) Things went well. I planned in advance and took both the right food and my exercise gear so I was good to go. I was able to get a good hike in on Saturday and a run in yesterday! Both went well and I had fun.

Last week, I posted several things that have helped me lose weight and get fit in the process. I would like to focus in on one of the most important ones: Forget the past and forgiving yourself. Thinking about this, I think I would modify this to Remember the past and forgive yourself. The past is filled with both regrets and accomplishments. The past can help motivate us in both areas. I was not happy where my past actions had gotten me to the point where I was in such dire straits. I was 325 lbs (I actually had been 330 at one point!), I was ducking out on things I normally like to do, because it was too hard for me physically. I was unable to do several things that used to be easy. I felt physically terrible a lot of the times and would use food to help me feel better (short term fix, long term consequences).

On the other hand, I had had many fun and rewarding experiences in the past when I was in good shape (and not so good shape!). I have hiked many great areas in this beautiful state of ours and have many lasting memories hiking with friends and family. It has been a great sense of motivation to be able to have more of these experiences and it has already happened. Scott and Gordon have contributed to those growing good memories! And now the scouts and Corey are adding to them as well. I want this to continue for a good long time. I am also adding to my pile of good memories of finding that I am able to do far more than I ever thought I could in the last year. I actually am enjoying trail running along with the regular road runs. I didn't know the journey could be so great!

One more use of remembering the past is what I still need to do. I am going to create a little poster that says "Choose this, not that!" (You've probably seen the book), and put a before and after picture of me and put it up in several strategic places, (like the fridge), to remind me of how I used to feel and how I now feel. I could have done this with two pictures in the past using both good and bad to help motivate me as well, but now I am getting close, I really do want to stay here!

This brings me to forgiving yourself. What has happened has happened. No sense beating yourself up. Find a way to let it out. If you can talk to someone, tell them. If you like to write, pour your heart out in a letter to yourself. Let out those negative feelings quit talking negative to yourself. You wouldn't talk the way to someone who needs your help the way you talk to yourself. Help yourself and tell yourself you can do it. Acknowledge the help you need beyond yourself. I found prayer worked miracles for me. The weight wasn't magically taken off, I had to work hard, but I found ways to accomplish what I wanted to do and needed support in hard times though prayer. Talking to Barbara about what I was going through helped a lot too.

Thanks for all the great motivating support on Facebook and DailyMile. Both have been really helpful to me. Shout outs to Todd A who continues to improve after an injury slowed him down. Bill H. didn't let a sore knee slow him down. Phil continues to crank in the workouts and dropping pounds! Way to go Phil! Gordon has kept the weight off in spite of a difficult change in his work schedule. Keep it up bro! Andy J. - thanks for all the great advice! Hang in there and I will too!

Motivation

Weekly Stats
Current: 203
Weekly Loss: -0.8
To Go: 28
Total 122.0

After a great loss last week, I would have been happy with a small weight loss, but it turns out that I gained a little. My first time since last November. Am I disappointed? Yes. Am I discouraged? Not at all. Here's why. I still feel great! I didn't gain weight by eating the wrong things. I still ate very healthy the whole week. I was also encouraged by a Friday night overnight backpacking trip with the Scouts. I carried probably the heaviest pack I have ever carried up some steep climbs. (The Scoutmaster's pack tends to be the heaviest pack). It was hard, but I made it with energy to spare. Not only was I able to set up my tent and make sure that everyone else was doing ok, we headed out for another hike after dinner and I had fun doing it. (So did the scouts!) As I hefted that pack on at home, I got on the scale and realized that with the pack on I weighed as much as I did last November! I sure am glad I am not carrying two packs around anymore. I don't want to go back to that!

I had a question on my ping box that I wasn't around to answer, so I thought I would answer it here.

Hey Bruce:
... I have to ask if there was one thing, something that jump started you to get healthy?

That's a great question! I would have to say that there was not one thing but actually several things that helped me get off my dime, start and stick on this journey. Here is a list of things that helped. I will just briefly describe each one this week and then make each a separate discussion point over the next few weeks.

1) Others – Having someone to talk through issues that you have really helps. Confide in someone who accepts you where you are now and yet will support you in your struggle. It helps to talk it out.
2) Inspiration - Find sources of inspiration. Talk to others who are where you would like to be. Tell them what you are trying to accomplish. I have picked up great training suggestions from my neighbors who run long distances. Shows like Biggest Loser also help inspire me.
3) Accountability – Wanting to make the change enough, to hold yourself accountable. This one is big and I have talked about it before. Get up the courage to go public with your problem. Find a forum and report on a regular basis. I used Facebook and a Blog for my accountability. The great side effect is all the support you end up getting.
4) Goals – Find something that you would like to do but have not been able to because of your weight or your health. For me my three peak challenge. I really want to accomplish this goal and am having fun trying to reach it.
5) Small steps and milestones. Realize that this won't come all at once. Just start where you are and try to do just a little bit more each time. I was Barely able to hike up Dry Canyon a quarter of a mile when I started on my Saturday hikes. By adding a bit on each week, I can now do 10+ miles in our foothills (and really enjoy it!)
6) Looking beyond the finish line. Think about what you are going to do after you reach your goal. As you progress, you will begin to see what is working for you, and what is improving your health. You need to keep doing these things for the rest of your life. You don't want to go back to where you were! Make life-time changes along the way!
7) Marshmallow– Giving up something now for something you want later! How does the saying go? "Eating never feels as good as thin does."
8) Celebrate successes. As those inches and pounds come off celebrate the success. Just don't do it with food. A new shirt, a fun night out at the movies with friends or family. Do something that you wanted to do, but couldn't because of your weight.
9) Be realistic. Be tough. Don’t give up!
10) Get off the sugar roller-coaster! – For me it was a killer (almost literally). Simple, refined sugars are dangerous. (I'm not kidding!) You don't have to avoid sweetness, just get it from unprocessed fruits (apples as opposed to apple juice).
11) Get rid of the past. Don’t look back. What ever caused you to get to where you are, it is time to forgive yourself, move on and do what you know needs to be done. Do it today!

Thanks to all the inspiration you give me. Great job Phil! Keep up the great work. The lbs are coming off. Great job, Bill H., Todd A., Andy J. and Jeremy T, out neighborhood runners who are an inspiration! Thanks Joanne J. for cheering me up and on Monday mornings. Thanks Gordon and Scott R for being great hiking buddies. MusicMom, you can do this! Hang in there and I will too!

10K - 10 Pounds

Weekly Stats
Current: 202.2
Weekly Loss: 4.4
To Go: 27.2
Total 122.8

A great week all around! I had a good weight loss this week. I have been struggling to drop lately, so it was nice to see a good number! I also got another 10 lbs star. I have less than 30 pounds of that 150 total left to lose. Plus the 200 lbs goal is in sight! That will be a great milestone as well.

I enjoyed my workouts this week. Last Wednesday, I made it all the way to the Dry Canyon parking lot from home! Hard but rewarding. My Saturday hike with Scott and Gordon was fun! Scott went most of the way with us as we went from the Water Tower road, up and over to Dry Canyon and then across the face of Big Baldy! Gordon and I went a little further and ended up logging about 11 miles total. Lastly my run this morning was my fastest pace since I started and I covered a 10K distance in the process which is the furthest I've run since I started back up.

Shout outs to Bill H who decided to run the Ogden Marathon 2 days before it started. He felt so good that he when he finished he went back on the course and did a total of 30 miles! Wow!!!!!!! On our hike Saturday, we ran into one of Gordon's biking buddies, Steve W. who tore his Achilles tendon a while back. His doctor gave him the go ahead to ride his bike on the road, but knowing that Steve loves to hit the dirt told him he could do it if he left his boot on. So we saw Steve heading up the trail on his bike and wearing his boot! He was the first up the road! That's dedication! Great job Scott in hanging in there with us on the hikes. You get better every week! Todd A. is back training again despite having an injury that slowed him for a bit. Way to be patient Todd! Way to cross-train as well! Lisa H. thanks for your support! Hang in there everyone and I will too!

One Year Later.

Weekly Stats
Current: 206.6
Weekly Loss: 0
To Go: 31.6
Total 118.4

Tomorrow marks one year since I began my goal to lose 150 lbs. I think it's a great time to reflect on the past year. This will help me to stay committed to my goal as I look back and see how far I have come. Here is a snippet of my first blog entry:

I have been thinking lately about what I have done in the past that have been successful. One of these has been accountability. I plan to use this space to come clean of where I am at, what my goals are and give a regular report of my progress. My main goal is to help me reach my goal, but a hoped for side effect is to motivate others to reach their goals, not just weight loss, but other areas that you have dreamed of doing, but for one reason or another have left undone.

That being said, here is my initial attempt of being accountable to myself and to those who might want to follow along.

Baseline (this is a hard thing to admit to, but is part of the accountability)
5/11/2009 - Weight - 325 lbs, Exercise - Very little other than doing what needs to be done around the yard.
Goals - 1) Ending weight - 175 lbs. 2) Lose at least 2 lbs a week. Total weight loss - 150 lbs. 3) Exercise a minimum of 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.

I am so glad that I had the courage to be accountable. It was so hard for me to post that first blog, but I sure am glad I did! I am also glad I stuck to my commitment to report weekly on my progress. It made a big difference. I can't tell you how grateful I am for all of the support I have received in positive feedback. Some have been consistent week after week in urging me on. Thanks to you all!

So, even though I am not at 175 yet (and I didn't think I would be at this point), I am close to losing 120 lbs. I have been able to lose more than 2 lbs a month, 2 1/4 lbs average), and do well over an hour of exercise 6 days a week. Even though I have a little over 30 lbs more to go, I feel great! I am looking forward to how much better I will feel as I lose the last 30. I have been slowed down a bit the last month or so, but I am going to keep at it and make it!

I think the most dramatic thing I can do though is show you some pictures from the last year. It wasn't until Christmas or so that I can tell a big difference. I am glad I didn't get discouraged and give up.


Once again thanks for all the encouragement! Not done yet and I am excited and motivated to keep going. My last two workouts, I felt really good. Kind of a payoff for all the hard work! Shout outs to Bill who puts in amazing mileage every week! Todd, way to not give up in spite of an injury. Great job to the rest of you are keeping up on your workouts! Hang in there and I will too!

One Half

Weekly Stats
Current: 206.6
Weekly Loss: 1.8
To Go: 31.6
Total 118.4

The weight loss is being more consistent the past couple of weeks. Even though it has slowed a bit, losing about 2 lbs a week is a good way to go. I am getting close to another 10 lbs star and should hit that in the next week or so. I'm hoping for next week since it will be one year since I started.

Great workout week. My daughter Sarah and her husband Mike have been training for a half-marathon. Rachel had planned on running with them as well, but her doctor advised her not to run that far of a distance while she is on the nest. I told Sarah that I would hike at least that far before they ran their half-marathon. I was able to do that a while back, but as the time of their race approached, I decided to do a personal half-marathon myself. I haven't been specifically training for a half-marathon and I knew I couldn't run the whole way, but I have been jogging over five miles on my weekday runs. I thought that I could walk for a half mile and jog for a half mile the whole time. So that was my plan. I took off at 6am our time to coincide with the 8am start time in Columbus. My calves complained a bit, but I started off from the house and worked my way up to the canyon and headed up the trail. I turned back around after 6.55 miles and was spot on by the time I got back home. My plan worked out well. I was aiming for somewhere around three hours and got finished at about 3:10, tired but happy. Sarah and Mike did well and I am proud of them for all of their hard training to be able to finish.

Another shout out to Mike and Sarah! Woohoo!!!! You did it! A shout out to Rachel, who ran the first mile with Sarah and then caught her with 2 miles to go and finished out with her! Way to be supportive Rachel! Bill H. ran the Provo half marathon and then pushed on for several more miles!!!! WOW! Todd A. has picked up the training as has David W. Great job guys!!!!! Phil and Nan, WAY TO TRAIN!!!!!! Phil is making remarkable progress since he held himself accountable. Keep it up Phil, you are doing great! I suspect Hillary is doing something too, she looks like she has lost weight! To the rest of you who are working out, keep it up!!!! Hang in there and I will too!

Big Baldy!

Weekly Stats
Current: 208.4
Weekly Loss: 2.0
To Go: 33.4
Total 116.6

Finally had a decent weight loss this week. I decided to take a different approach on counting my calories. I basically just took my goal calorie intake for the day and divided it by five. The five comes from three meals and two snacks. I took a bit from the snacks and added them onto the meals. I then just focused on the individual meal and made sure I didn't go over for that meal. I didn't have to keep track of what I was consuming through out the day. Instead I just focused on the meal at hand. A little change in mentality, but it seemed to help.

I had a great visit from my Woodbadge buddy, Phil, and his wife on Friday. Phil has had a bit of a struggle with his weight and wanted to know some specifics on what I had done. It was good to see him and to meet his wife. I'm glad he came because it helped keep me motivated as well! Thanks Phil! You can do this too!

Saturday my brother, Gordon, hooked up with Scott and I for a hike up Big Baldy. We knew we would run into snow and mud, but we wanted to see how far we could get. After a bit of slogging and steep climbing in the snow, we made it to the saddle. I have been there a few times and with the summit within reach, Gordon and I were ready to take the challenge. There were two younger guys who caught up with us and had the same goal. To that point, we had followed the trail and footsteps in the snow, but no one had been up the the summit since it had snowed last week. Scott started with us, but he knew it wouldn't be a good idea to keep going for him so he headed back down. Gordon and I blazed the trail part of the way and then the two younger guys passed us and blazed the rest of the way for us. That really helped. Before we knew it, we were up on top. I sure was happy to make it to the top of the first of three peaks that I had for my hiking goals. Timp is next later this year. I can guarantee that Timp will not be a snow hike! I am crazy, but not quite that for gone yet!

Saturday, I plan on doing a self-guided half marathon. Sarah and Mike will be running in the Columbus, Ohio 1/2 marathon. They take off at 8am EDT, so I will leave my house at 6 AM MDT and start out for the canyon. I am sure they will finish way before I do, but it will be fun to do the distance at the same time they do. I plan on walking most of my distance Good luck Sarah and Mike. Rachel, I think you made a good decision not to do it this time. There will be other opportunities for you and you still gained a lot from your training which will help you in the future! Hang in there and I will too!

Here are a couple of pictures from the hike:


Scott and Gordon closing in on the saddle.


Me and my brother at the summit.


Snow along the summit ridge.

Squaw Peak

Weekly Stats
Current: 210.4
Weekly Loss: 0.2
To Go: 35.4
Total 114.6

Not my best week ever, but I still lost a little. I think there are a couple of factors on my slow-down. First, I'm not sure if it's allergies or a three week cold (I tend to think allergies though). I haven't been achy and stuff, but I sure have had a froggy throat and stuffy nose that I have been dealing with. The reason I think it's allergies is that while we were down in AZ, the symptoms went away. Still I have been dragging a bit. Second, I haven't been getting 7-8 hours of sleep on a regular basis and that can have an adverse effect as well. Third, I haven't been logging my calories for a while. Even though I am eating healthy, I might be creeping up on my intake. I started back up today logging what I am eating. Fourth, I had to shorten a couple of my workouts due to early morning commitments. I just need to make sure that I get up early enough to do my full work out.

I have had some great successes in the workout area though. Saturday's hike was great! I went up Rock Canyon. I didn't have a definite plan on what the hike would be. I played it by ear. There is a split in the trail about a mile or so up where the trail to Squaw Peak heads off to the left. I had run into some snow up to this point, but nothing too bad. I headed up the trail and ran into snow fairly quickly, but others had blazed a trail so I followed along for a while. I just kept climbing and climbing until finally, I was at the top! I was pleasantly surprised! I gave a little fist pump having made it to the top of a place I'd always wanted to hike, but never had. I loved the view. I could also see Baldy, my first of three summits, that I have in my sites. It didn't look all that much higher that the elevation of Squaw Peak. I took some pictures with my cell phone. They turned out pretty good considering. Hope you don't mind a few.


You can see how much snow there still was. Cascade in the background.


Another angle with Timp in the background. If you know what you are looking for, you can see Baldy as well.

Sarah, Mike and Rachel are still training for the 1/2 marathon. Great job! Less than two weeks and they will be running it. Bill H. ran a half and then continued on and did about 20 total! Amazing! Great job to the rest of you who are working out and eating right. It pays! Hang in there and I will too!

A Change of Pace

Weekly Stats
Current: 210.6
Weekly Loss: 0.6
To Go: 35.6
Total 114.4

Going on vacation, even for a few days like we did, can cause havoc with your weight-loss goals. Fortunately I had a lot of support. If you can go on vacation and still have a modest weight loss, then I consider that a victory. We headed down for a couple day visit to Coolidge, AZ with our daughter Hillary and her family. We had a great time! I did make sure that I got up early on our travel day and went for a 4+ miler before we headed out. I also got in a 2+ miler and a 10 miler hike as well when I was down there. It sure was nice to be outside in the warm weather. It just whetted my appetite even more for the warm weather to finally settle in up here. It was good to have a change of pace as well. It helps you to regroup. Hillary was good to have lots of healthy food for me to eat while we were there so I wasn't faced with difficult choices.

Sarah and Mike did a 12+ mile run on Saturday. They are just a few weeks away from their half-marathon. Rachel put in about 8 miles. Scott put in a hike on his own up Dry Canyon and did well on that. Bill continues to put in the killer miles and Andy is getting back into long-distance running by doing 8 miles as well. Great job to you all who put in the miles/workouts this week. Hang in there and I will to!

Double Y!

Weekly Stats
Current: 211.2
Weekly Loss: 1.4
To Go: 36.2
Total 113.8

The way the week started off, it looked like I was going to have a killer week. By Wednesday morning I was down to 210.2 However my body found out what was going on and decided not to cooperate any further. I climbed up to 214 before things settled down and I started losing again. Part of the ups and downs (literally) of weighing every day. I still stand by opinion that daily weighing for me is the best way to go. I need the constant feedback and don't need to guess where I will end up by the end of the week. It also keeps me in closer touch on how what I am doing on a daily basis effects my weight.

My Easter basket was quite different this year. The bunny brought me a DVD and that was it. There was not one piece of candy. I wouldn't have even been tempted to eat it if there was. I had just a small portion of most everything that everyone had made. I was really aware of what I was putting on my plate this year. I didn't feel deprived at all and was glad I didn't overeat. Sugar and loads of fat just don't appeal that much to me anymore. (Did I just say that!?!)

I had another great hike on Saturday. As in the past several hikes my friend Scott joined on for part of the fun. Together we hiked the 'Y' and then headed over to Slate Canyon and back. He needed to head back home, so I hiked the 'Y' one more time and made it to the top with only stopping once to talk to some guys that were hiking it as well. I can't believe how much different it was to hike this! When I have done this in the past, I have had to stop what seemed like countless times. I never made it past the trail to the bottom of the Y and would be exhausted by the time I got back to the lot. Doing it twice seems like a miracle to me! I even put in some additional mileage by hiking over to Rock Canyon and back for a total of 11 miles. Not as far as the last two weeks, but considering how steep the Y trail is, I expended a lot of energy for sure.

Mike and Sarah did an 11 mile run on Saturday. I think Rachel was going to do it as well from her place. Great job! They will be running their half-marathon on May 1st! Keep up the great work everyone. If something is holding you back, recommit yourselves and keep moving and eating right. It's worth it! Hang in there and I will too!

Triple Play

Weekly Stats
Current: 212.6
Weekly Loss: 3.2
To Go: 37.6
Total 112.4

Another great week! I was able to pass the three milestones I referred to last week. First, I got another 10 lbs star! I passed from the BMI obese category to overweight! And lastly I am 75% to my weight-loss goal! Yippee!!!!!!

I am really happy with my workout this week as well. This mornings run I went just a bit further and was able to job the 5.3 miles without walking (except for warm-up and cool-down) and I jogged about .2 miles an hour quicker. I also enjoyed my Saturday hike putting in another 14.17 miles. Here are the details if you are interested.

Thanks for all the support! Sarah and Rachel posted another great run this weekend and are both on track for the half marathon in about a month. Great job to both of you! Bill continues to put in his killer miles! He is amazing! Great job to the rest of you and your work-out efforts. Hang in there and I will too!

Makeup Day

Weekly Stats
Current: 215.8
Weekly Loss: 4.6
To Go: 40.8
Total 109.2

This week was a payback week for last week's no loss report. I was afraid that I might be hitting a plateau (and who knows when that might happen). But much to my surprise when I got on the scales this morning, I saw a number which made me do a little fist pump! I am getting close to several milestones. At 215, I get another 10 lbs star. At 214, I drop from the obese classification to over-weight on the BMI charts (BMI is a bit controversial) and at 213, I will be at 75% of my weight loss goal of 175! These are all good and should happen in the next few weeks.

I also had a great workout week. I really enjoyed using my Garmin to chart my progress this week. I did my usual 5+ mile outings last Monday and Wednesday. On Saturday, I was planning on doing 12 miles, but by the time I got home, I had walked 14.2 miles! I was a bit tired, but I wasn't dead tired so that was great! My friend from work, Scott, joined in for 7.25 miles and he was surprised by his progress as well. We did Dry Canyon up to the snow at the Curly Springs trail and then headed back down and hiked from the Bonneville Shoreline trail from Dry Canyon over to Battle Creek. This is where we put in more miles than we expected, but it was a fun trail and we got in a great workout as well. After we got back to Dry Canyon, he headed home and I hiked over to Orem and back home.

Great job Sarah, Mike and Rachel for putting in the miles this last week. I told Sarah that I would complete at least 13.1 miles before they did their half-marathon on May 1st. I ended up accomplishing that a little earlier than I thought! Kudos to the rest of you who are keeping at it. Hang in there and I will too!

Even Steven

Weekly Stats Current: 220.4
Weekly Loss: 0
To Go: 45.4
Total 104.6

It's been since mid November since I haven't reported a loss. I guess I was due for a week like this. I am not as discouraged as I was a couple of weeks ago because I had some great success in the workout area. I was also down 2.2 lbs mid-week, but things came back up for some reason. I think I will see a good loss next week.

Why am I so happy about the workouts? I had several great ones. Thanks to Rachel's comment on the blog last week, I looked into getting a gps tracker. It didn't take long to find that people love the Garmin ForeRunner 305. It isn't the latest model, but it still gets great reviews. After using it for a few workouts I can see why. It has been great to see how far I have gone and to also keep track of my heart rate, speed, elevation and lots of other stuff.

Saturday, Scott, from work, and I went up Dry Canyon as far as we could. I took off from my house and found out that it is three miles from the front door to the mouth of the canyon. Scott met me there and we headed up the canyon. We didn't run into much snow until we hit the Curly Springs trail. Since the visible snow level on Baldy is above the trail, I thought that the trail might be good, but much to our surprise the trail still had at least a couple of feet of snow. We hiked along the trail on top of the snow. Much to our surprise, we didn't break through the snow much due to being considerably lighter. We were going to go all the way across to the Battle Creek lookout, but it was quite slow going so we decided to try again after a couple of weeks warmer weather. We headed back down and it was actually pretty fun walking down the snow trail letting our heels sink in just a bit in the snow. We got down quite quickly. We were both amazed at how much easier it was to hike. I probably could have made it to the Curly Springs trail without stopping, but we stopped a few times just for fun on the way up. I am probably 80 lbs lighter than I was when we last went up.

I told Scott goodbye at the parking lot and then I headed south on the Bonneville Shoreline trail over to the water tower road. I wanted to get in a few more miles, so I headed up the road. Once on top where it flattens out, the road got really muddy. I had a choice to go back down the road, but then I saw Timpanogos Park down below and several bike trails leading down so I headed down there and navigated down to the park and then headed down the Provo River Trail and back home. By the time I was done, I had put in eleven miles. Even though it started raining, I was plenty warm and just happy that I could put in the miles that I wanted to.

This morning, I took my usual Riverwoods loop and I was able to jog most of the way. Looking at my heart rate from last Friday's workout, I could see that I was maxing myself out, so today, I concentrated on slowing it down a little and it helped me to jog longer. As I drop more weight and I get used to the extra jogging time, the speed will come naturally. I went 5.4 miles and was quite happy with the outcome.

A shout out to Rachel, who last week reached her marriage weight after 2 1/2 years of working towards it. WOW!!!!! Great job!!!!!! Bill continues to impress me with his mileage week after week! Keep up the great work everyone! Hang in there and I will too!