Like many middle aged men, I've gained a bunch of weight over the years. I'm not obese or anything, but I'm definitely a little chunkier than I'd like.
As my waist size hit 38, I decided to draw the line and start on both. Over the summer, I started watching my diet, using the guidelines suggested by the Abs Diet which seemed pretty reasonable (cut simple carbs, avoid extra fats, eat more smaller meals, etc.) and lost about ten pounds right off the bat. Good start.
My weight loss stopped there, so I figured I needed to add working out. I started running and biking on and off, but I knew I needed some more motivation and accountability to get me to stick to it. As a result, I've roped a few of my colleagues into running a road race in a few weeks. I'm hopeful that the combination of peer pressure and a date will help keep me exercising where willpower alone might falter. (This public blog post to the entire world helps too.)
So, we've picked the Woodinville Country Slough Run on October 9. It's a flat 5K, so it shouldn't been too hard. I'm running two mile stints pretty well now and am reasonably confident I can get to 5K (3 miles) without much ado if I stick to it. The only risk for me is that I'll be travelling for almost two weeks between now and then so I need to keep exercising on the road. We'll see how that goes.
Anyway, wish me luck!
(BTW, if you're from the Woodinville Country Slough organization committee, fix your damn site. The link to the signup form is broken. Besides, who doesn't have web signup anymore? It's 2005 for Pete's sake!)
Update: the site is fixed. You can download the PDF signup form now.
Tone E Reply
38? Dude that is close to obese. What was your high school waist size? 32? I maxed at 36 back in my consulting days. I took 6 months off and worked out for 2 hours a day and lost the 10 pounds of weight like you and nothing else. No matter how hard I tried, 10 pounds was it. It seems like a common event. Atkins was the only thing that did it for me. Whether you think it's healthy or not it works quickly as long as you are hard core about following it to the letter.
Tony Reply
Yeah, 38 is pretty bad. I'm back down to 35 now and trying to work down more. I actually did lose a bunch of weight on Atkins a few years ago, but I didn't like how it left me feeling.
Connie Reply
Hopefully this slough is mosquito-free, unlike the one where you enjoyed Andrew's birthday? Or else that's incentive to run FAST! :-)
Marcus Reply
Hey man, it was good catching up with your exercise adventure here, but the posts on excercise seem to have trailed off...Congrats on the IE7 launch, well done to you and the team!
Tony Reply
Thanks, Marcus. We've missed you on the IE team.
Hopefully, now that we've launched, I can get a little more exercise in...
Kate From Diet Myths Reply
The best way to lose weight is to accept that calories count. Many people believe that if they eat healthy and exercise, they will lose weight. Unfortunately, eating healthy foods is not enough. Creating a calorie deficit is an essential part of losing weight.