How it is going so far

Dave59

I've been mostly a lurker since joining here in the middle of January, but I appreciate how encouraging everyone is to everyone else. This is a great place to browse for a boost.

My weight has bounced back and forth between 210 and 225 for the last 20 years or so. I ran in high school (cross country & track) and still like to run, so over the years I would train for a specific event, start losing weight, run the event, and put it all back.

Last December I put a bid on a 3-month gym membership (in a radio station auction) and won. During my "free fitness evaluation" I was talked into signing up for a few sessions with a personal trainer. That turned out to be the first turning point for me. Instead of a rigid routine, the trainer ran through a whole bunch of exercises and now all I do when I get to the gym is do the ones I feel like doing and workout by time (10, 20 30 minutes or so per visit.)

Second turning point was seeing the gym owner demo MFP to a couple people. I was intrigued and signed up. That was January 19th (I think). What I love is that I eat whatever I feel like. I don't have to count carbs, or protein, or fat or fiber. Just stay close to my daily numbers.

And now 2.5 months later, I am down 23 pounds. I weighed 199 this morning, which is the first time I have been under 200 in the last 20 years. Didn't think it was possible. Feels great.

Reading about everyone's success and struggles along with all the encouraging feedback is a huge help. Keep it up!

up2me2lose20

Congrats! It's a great feeling, isn't it?

lajuice24

Congrats on your weight loss. Your story is motivation to me! Keep up the good work!

scoboli

Congrats! I entered Onederland today also. Its great to be here again.

Dave59

Congratulations scoboli! I see your goal is 185. I have been thinking of adjusting mine down to that as well. When I signed up, I didn't put a whole lot of thought in the end goal but now I am thinking about it more.

scoboli

Well, that weight is what my ideal weight is from my doctor. Im 6 feet 1/2 inch tall. I am in my realistic weight, but I want my ideal weight. I find that running helps me. I hadnt run long distance since I was in highschool cross country and track. Its fun to be able to do that again. But again, I am in the same area as you are. So keep up the great lifestyle change( I don't say work, because I want it to be a habit, not a job).

Dave59

I'm about 6'1" and 189 would put my BMI in the healthy range. BMI is going out of style lately. 185 would be ideal.

I ran cross country and track in high school and I still like to run. If you can run a 5k in 20 minutes, you could certainly do a half marathon a lot faster than 2.5 hours! My goal is to get my 5k to 22 minutes. It's been about 7 years since my last 22:00. I ran 22:57 last weekend, but the improvements on that will take some work.

Last year I kept getting hurt after every half marathon (I ran a few of them). Nothing serious, calf strain type stuff. Then at a 20k in July I got a freakish foot injury and ended up with surgery. The podiatrist said he'd never seen it before. He called it compartment syndrome.

So this year is the year of the 5k and 10k for me. But since I am losing a bunch of weight I have started to entertain the idea of some longer events again. Maybe by fall I will be ready to try.