Down 26.6 lbs in 26 weeks

Well since I have reached the official 6 month point into my weight loss journey, I figured I would give a little update on my progress. First of all I have lost 26.6 lbs in the last 26 weeks which means at the very least I have been consistent. I didn't start using MFP until 10 weeks ago, but nearly half of what I've lost so far has come off in these last 10 weeks. And on top of the weight loss, I have achieved several NSV's.

On 1/10/11 I started training for my first marathon. On that morning I weighed in at 218 lbs. In the 16 weeks of training for the marathon I lost 13.8 lbs and I ended up finishing the Hawaii North Shore Marathon on 5/1/11 in 5:34:32. I ran more miles in those 16 weeks than I have ever run in a whole year before.

On 5/2/11 the marathon training was over and I didn't want to gain back any of the weight I lost so I started using MFP. I weighed in on that day at 204.2 lbs. The first week I was trying to get a feel for it, I ended up going over on several days and was over my net weekly goal. I didn't gain or lose anything that first week which was big for me since I was recovering from the race and was trying to ease back into weight training. Then as I got better at staying under my goals on most days and then overall for the week, the weight starting coming off. As I started gradually increasing my running mileage again and weight lifting more regularly, the fat started melting off.

This morning (7/11/11) I weighed in at 191.4 lbs. I am down 26.6 lbs overall and down 12.8 lbs since starting MFP on 5/2. I have gone from a size 38 to size 34 pants. My shirts have gone from XL to Large, but now I'm starting to fit mediums. My running has gotten much better and I have gotten a lot faster. I have been running for several years and at the beginning of the year my normal running pace was about 10 mins/mile. In June I achieved a new 10K PR with a 54:52 (8:51/mile pace), and just yesterday I achieved a new 8K PR with a 42:06 (8:28/mile pace).

How did I do it? Weight loss takes hard work, dedication, and discipline. There is no quick fix and those looking for a quick fix are doomed to keep riding the weight roller coaster. The more you work at it the easier it gets and eventually you don't need motivation to do your workouts. Getting to do them becomes the motivation. I run 15-20 miles per week and a couple weeks ago I started doing StrongLifts 5x5 for weight training. I sit at a desk all day at work and I only workout 3x per week . The other 4 days I take it easy (aside from walking the dog for about an hour). Diet is key when it comes to weight loss. MFP has helped me to understand how many calories I was eating compared to how many I should be eating. I eat back my exercise calories because I actually care about my workout performance. It's not only about losing weight for me. I want to get stronger and faster too.

I have reached 6 months now but I am by no means done. I plan on continuing SL 5x5, and next month I start training for the Honolulu Marathon in December. I have 16.4 lbs to go to reach my goal weight but when it comes down to it, I am motivated by my overall fitness improvements more so than any number on the scale.