a year and a half on MFP ran a marathon! Pics!

bubbaduts

I'm writing this as more of a motivation for me than other people I started MFP in October of 2010 weighing in at 252 lbs which was not my heaviest but that was after me trying to starve myself or skip meals. I had no idea what health and nutrition was. A year and a half later i have gone through so much and want to let everyone know there will be bumps it is worth it and eating low calorie isnt a lifestyle but learning how to eat and exercise regularly is. When i first started i worked out on the eliptical around 10 pm for an hour and ate low calorie not really healthy but low calorie. That worked to lose the first 40 pounds then i hit a plateau which was rough but i decided to start running which was a life changer for me I starting thinking about what i ate as fuel not food. I ran a half marathon is june of 2011 and i had hit a plateau really hard then it was because i was still eating low calorie and not thinking about the fuel my body needed because i so desperately wanted to lose the last 30 pounds. I kept up running and exercising on a regular basis and started eating more food but i was eating real food whole grains no processed etc.... I decided during this last winter i was going to run a marathon i trained and i ate like i was training i didn't gain a pound! during this time i watched a movie that changed my life forever! Food inc i switched my family and i to all local and organic produce and meat and wow what a difference i have felt when i ran the marathon i never felt better in my life. Unfortunately around mile 24 i pulled a meniscus i finished the race barely walking but i didn't go that far to not finish. The point of this is i have hit a rough period in my weight loss journey i can't do the one thing i found that i love doing more than anything because of an injury and that hurts more than anything has ever hurt not physically but emotionally and even after a year and half i havent banished emotional over eating! I have gained 9 of the 77 lbs i have lost back because i have been depressed and making excuses as to why i can't exercise and eat my sorrows away even if it is healthy food its the quantity that hurts me! I am done making excuses and i need people to hold me accountable! All this because this morning i ripped a shirt that fit me fine last month! I'm done with excuses today is the day i start my weight loss journey again!


Half marathon

full marathon

painful finish

DMUND

You can do this! Just listen to your body. Don't let the 9 lbs. get you down, instead I believe you are doing what you need to...using it as motivation to get back out there!! I can't wait until I can say that I "Love" running!! You look amazing! You worked hard for it, keep it!

Curvimami

Congrats!!! What a great success!! :happy:

Jking826

WOW...Loved your story.... You are inspiring.... I'm training to do my first half marathon. I'm not a runner but I want to be. I already registered for the run in September so I believe I CAN & WILL do it.... I was doing SO good (up to 8mi) till I went on a week vacation a few weeks back now I'm finding it hard to get back there but I WILL....Thanks for your story you look great and DONT GIVE UP....Feel free to add me if you need extra support

bubbaduts

Thanks! liking running took some time for me the first time i ran i threw up and didn't go back to the gym for 3 days! There is a point where you feel like you can't live without it.

hidyhidyhi

Give yoga a try. I have never felt so strong as when I started doing yoga - it is all about your own strength and abilities. You have control over your muscles, your breath and your brain if you're doing it right. I also struggle with emotional eating and using food as a stress reliever but yoga helps because it reduces stress and when you're done you feel grounded and at peace (at least until you leave the studio and the real world hits you again) and if you can get that feeling just for a little while it will help with your whole outlook. It may also help with your injury since a good yoga instructor will never make you do what is not comfortable and should suggest ways of altering poses that will take your limitations in consideration.

Food, Inc. is a great film. Try reading Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan

bubbaduts

I really liked yoga while i was running because it helped with my sore muscles but havent really enjoyed it since. I love that book as well!