New User - Lose Weight/Half Marathon in October

Jordan_Gregers

Hi,
I'm Jordan I'm 33 years old and 216lbs. In my teens and early 20's I was about 30-40 lbs overweight, started running and dropped it all (and more, but also lost a lot of muscle). Bounced back up to 30lbs over until recently when I got on a scale and realized I was 5 '10 and 240lbs. Have started running again, down to 216lb currently and want to get back to 165-170.

I really want to be sensible about what I do this time around, rather than spending 3+ hours on the road everyday and logging over 150 miles a month, I want to approach my weight loss from a more holistic perspective. Which means dropping pounds slower, weight training in the gym more often (so I don't lose all my natural muscle mass) rather than just abusing my knees and ankles on the road and getting skinny.

My mum and mother in law passed away last year and my partner and I started drinking heavily and eating junk, this is what pushed me up above my normal overweight-ness into more obese territory (although I wear my weight fairly well).

I want to cut back on my drinking and start eating in a way that will bring joy to my life, rather than just shoving garbage in my mouth at the end of the day.

I'm a social worker/therapist and I see how trauma can affect people, either with substance use and/or food abuse. I'm pretty sure this is what's going on for me. I also want to inspire my partner to feel better, whether that means getting on the road with me, or just doing things that make her feel healthier and happier.

I know I'm at my happiest when I'm running. A couple days ago I finally hit 5 miles for the first time in years, and the feeling was incredible, other runners know what I mean, the hair stands up on the back of your neck, and you feel like you want to cry. I love that feeling.

So my running goal is to finish a half-marathon at the end of October and get back to my ideal weight of 165-170lbs by the end of the summer. I want to do it without losing too much muscle mass, and stay injury free. Most of all I want to learn to have a better relationship with food and alcohol, so that when I do get injured, or have to take some time off from intense cardio, I don't just slam the weight back on... this is something I didn't change last time I lost weight, and I paid for it by quickly putting the pounds back on when I stopped running after injury.

I'm also a heavy smoker, which, contrary to popular belief does not make running impossible (hear that other smokers?). But I also want/need to change that in my life. My entire family has died from smoking related illness (mostly heart disease and stroke, no cancer thankfully) and I don't want to carry that legacy on for my kids.

Anyways,
Cool to see such a big and helpful community here, I'm hoping that I can use this site to SENSIBLY lose weight and get back to doing what I love well (which is running!)

Cheers,
Jordan

djacksonunlv

Hi Jordan,

Similar story for me. I started my journey almost three years ago. I was tipping the scales at 300 pounds and knew I needed to start running to lose weight. I went for a jog at my local track and couldn't get around it once without a walk break. I bought a little running pedometer and told myself, "just get a little better every time out." A couple weeks later, I ran my first mile, then two miles a couple days after that. I battled for a month or two, but eventually worked up to 6 miles. My brother gave me a great piece of advice and said, "if you want to inspire/improve your training, sign up for a race." So, I found a local 10K and gave it a go. It was the single best decision I've ever made. I've now run over 100 races, including 28 half-marathons and 7 marathons. I've even been able to get my last three half-marathons under 2 hours (not bad for a 6'4'', 225 lb runner). I look forward to hearing about your success story in October. Who knows... you might surprise yourself and find a half-marathon sooner. My advice would be to definitely ditch the cigarettes, log your calories, and cross train with weights/running/elliptical, etc... Feel free to add me!

RinnyLush

Hi Jordan! Nice to meet you.

I joined MFP in August of 2013 and am down 25 lbs so far, with another 15-20 to go for my weight loss goal. My fitness goal is ALSO a half-marathon in October! I too love running very much. I am scheduled for a 5k in march, and a 10k in June to propel me towards my goal. I can already run 10k, but am starting the step by step training to build up my speed and endurance. I don't just want to finish, I want to rock it! Send me a friend request if you'd like a buddy! :flowerforyou:

Jordan_Gregers

Thanks for the replies

I also decided to sign up for a 10k in May, which I know is still quite far away, esp as I know I could run 10k now and make it past the finish line, but again it's not just about finishing, it's about rocking it! My speed training for the 10k starts in March and is about 2 months long, so I've decided I will give up smoking when I start that. I've tried a lot of different ways to quit, but I figure that if I have some tangible reason to quit, even for just 2 months, it might help more than just sitting around trying not to think about cigarettes.

I've been logging my calories meticulously and WOW the calories that I add at night with alcohol are unreal, last night was about 800 calories just from alcohol, but I still managed to hit my target, what that means is I'm actually totally undernourished because I'm replacing nutritious food with alcohol, even though I'm maintaining my calorie goal. When I actually break down how much I drank yesterday I started to see the problem. This wasn't a night out, just a quiet Sunday watching the FA Cup and going to the gym for an hour and a walk after dinner. In that time I had:

A beer
A 6oz Gin Martini
3 Whiskey & Diet Soda's
2 Glasses of wine

Considering alcoholism runs in my family, as does heart disease, stroke and smoking, this just sets alarm bells ringing for me.

I'm finding the reduced calorie diet fairly easy, I feel full and don't get hungry, but the alcohol consumption is brutal.

I love talking to other runners about how it's helped them focus, thanks!

melzenitram

My plan for this year is to run a 5k every month through at least april...so far those are the only races i've found locally. i'm going to use the hal higdon half marathon training plan for the rock and roll half marathon in san antonio in december. i turn 40 in nov. so i'm really excited about reaching this goal. anyone who wants to add me please feel free to do so!

reggie2run

Hi Jordan. Welcome to MFP. Its a great place full of supportive, motivational and enouraging people. So glad you made the decision to join us.

I've done 5 Halfs, numerous 10 mile races and various other distance races. Running is such a natural high. Makes one feel awesome especially when you accomplish a goal you've set for yourself, be it a adding an extra 10 mins to a run or crossing the finish line of a race you've always wanted to do.

If I can help in any ways, please let me know. Feel free to add me.