Hit my goal ! 45 lbs 7 mos

Yesterday my scale read 185.0, my MFP goal weight ! My start was somewhere around 230 in August. No pics yet, b/c I've decided I'm going to lose another 10 lbs. A little bit of pudge left here and there.

It's been 7-ish months, and TBH, I kind of forgot about the goal. I decided early on to just work on making this a habit : eating reasonably, recording my calories, and most importantly, not forcing myself to make any sacrifices I didn't think I could maintain in the long term.

Diet-wise, I mainly just cut out carbs. To me, carby foods are the least *satisfying* (i.e., they just produce cravings for more mindless shovel-eating). And I learned to gently moderate the foods I really, really love : ribeyes, red wine, sausages, cheese, cream, butter, and so on. Eat enough to feel content, and then stop.

Exercise-wise, I stuck to my commitment to NEVER go into a gym or do any awful, mind-numbing cardio. Almost all my physical fitness comes from one wonderful activity : WALKING ! TBH, although I started out pretty modestly, I've gradually raised the stakes to where I walk lots of miles really fast. But as the months went by, my body became more efficient at walking, so the calories burned per mile weren't as great. My weight actually started to climb a bit before I figured this out.

[HINT : If you aren't too freaked out by it, weigh your self every single day first thing in the morning, and LOOK AT THE GRAPH ! Every time you enter a value into MFP (calories consumed, calories burned) it is almost certainly incorrect. The only way to know if your numbers are in line with reality is to compare your MFP target weight loss to your real-world, actual weight loss. Your weight goes up and down a whole bunch (pounds !) from one day to the next, so the graph will be very jagged, but over a 1-week or 1-month interval, you should definitely see an overall trend that matches your target. If not, its time to double-check the values (calories consumed, calories burned) that you are using. Cause they're wrong !]

Anyway, once I discovered that my around-town brisk walking wasn't burning enough calories, I started to add in more adventurous hikes in the mountains. This definitely did the trick, and allowed me to keep grilling up those tasty rib-eyes. And even the hiking became more efficient, so I could go faster, up steeper grades and be breathing "just hard enough". Every weekend, I'd push a little faster, a little farther, whatever made it feel challenging but not unpleasant.

Oh, and another miracle discovery : TREKKING POLES. They make you feel like somebody is pushing you up hill, and you get a fantastic upper-body workout and burn more calories while feeling less tired.

So now comes the confession. I promised myself when this all began that I would NEVER, EVER start running, no matter what. I ran (jogged) in high school 30+ years ago, and hated it. Well, because of my geographical good fortune and love of hiking fast up hill, I made the outrageous decision to enter the Pikes Peak Ascent (half-marathon) in August. In reality, for most of the lowly mortals in the middle to back of the pack, its really mostly walking. But in order to qualify, I have to run a 10-mile race in under 2:30 in early June. So the fun begins.

In the past week or so I've started mixing in some running to my walks, and made a surprising discovery : It feels GOOD ! I'd still recommend that people spend months and months just walking, and walking more and walking faster and just enjoying it, without any real goals about running. You can burn up calories, lose weight, get your body (legs AND core) in great shape, and have fun the whole time. And only then, after you're completely prepped, just try running a little bit. No need for all the pain and suffering that so many joggers force themselves into. Only do as much as feels good, and know that even that is *more* than you need. Once the morphine hits your brain, you may decide to stick with it.

Well, suffice it to say I'm feeling pretty good these days. I hope this protracted gloat is inspiring to people who (like me !) never thought it was possible to be fit and healthy again. It *is* possible, and its totally worth it. And if you make a point of it, you can even enjoy yourself along the way.

Good Luck !