For those of you who have been a pretty consistent reader of my blog, well, obviously, I haven't posted recently. In fact, it's been about 10 weeks, sadly. The reason? I started up with Zoo Camp, and let me tell you, it's exhausting. I just haven't gotten around to taking care of a blog post, even though I have had plenty to talk about. In terms of the main parts of this blog (exercise and health), I haven't been doing quite so well, so regarding that department, there hasn't been much going on unfortunately. But oh well, let's get started. I'll probably have two blog posts to cover this summer, one more about my health, and another to talk about how the summer has gone in general. This one will be about my health, and my next blog post (which will be soon) will be about non-health things like camp, my new computer, etc.
So I left off two days prior to my 21st birthday back in mid-June, so I've got a fair amount to cover. At first, I was running a bit consistently, not necessarily long runs, but at least getting outside and getting some exercise. But then camp started. I love camp, but it's so damn exhausting. My time to run is always right after work, before I eat dinner, at about 5:30. Unfortunately by that time, I'm done for. I've used up all my energy at camp, and all my body wants to do it rest in order to prepare for the next day. So the frequency of my runs quickly diminished, so that I was only getting a couple runs in a week. Bummer.
The good news is that Wednesdays (Frisbee day) is when I'm most active. Not only am I running around at frisbee, being the fact that we have 10-16 people playing ultimate (and I can actually run with some stamina during the game, considering that I've gotten into considerably better shape in the last half year), but I'm also running down to the field, which is about 2 miles. It's a pretty easy run along the road, but I generally push the pace for some of the runners, making it quicker than it normally would be for some of us. So it's quite an intensive hour of running and playing ultimate. Let's just say that by the end of the night on Wednesdays, I am WIPED. My first week, I literally came home and crashed by about 9:00, which is so crazy for me.
But like I mentioned, my running has become less frequent, and when I do go out for a run, it's usually just a quick mile run to get moving and my heart pumping. And because of it, I've put some weight back on. I really hate that I've let myself go some, but it's just the way it is. It also doesn't help that I don't eat all that well when I'm back home, partially because I don't have 100% control over all the food that is in the house, but also because I use up so much energy at the zoo with the campers, that I need more food to bring my energy levels up. The problem with that is that I'm burning less calories than I'm ingesting, just because I'm not really burning that many while working (definitely staying active by doing lots of walking), however, it's hard to keep your energy levels high while working with 5-6 year old campers all day. I hope that makes sense. Nonetheless, I'm eating more than I should, and I'm not exercising nearly as much as I should be, or as much as I was prior to camp.
So this is where I hope to change things up. Starting today, I'll be running more, and getting out for exercise more, to focus on losing back this weight that I've gained this summer. Oh, and within the first week of summer, I went back up to 205 just because of lots of eating and drinking due to birthday celebrations and what not. And since then, I'm probably between 210-215. It's hard to guess, since my scale is not even remotely accurate. I'd love to be back to 205 by my doctor's appointment (it's not set up, but I will be setting it up, to see how I'm doing, get a blood test, etc. in a few weeks). I don't know if that's too optimistic or not, since I'm not 100% on my current weight. But I'd like to lose 5 pounds before then at least. The idea behind having my appointment at the end of the summer was that I was hoping to lose more weight during the summer, thinking that I'd continue a good eating pattern, and be working out more as well, plus lots of walking at the zoo. Obviously that kind of backfired on me, which is something I was worried about.
Today, I did go for a run. It was short, just one mile. My time was 7:05 which is pretty quick for me. I had a PR a few weeks ago that was 6:58 which is nice to get a sub seven minute mile. The first 1/2 mile was great, but due to my energy levels this week (haven't been sleeping much) I wasn't able to finish strong. Otherwise I probably could have gone for a 6:45 or so mile if I could have finished strong. My plan to continue running is to keep doing mile runs, and every so often add in a longer run, until I've built up my stamina. Plus camp is done next Friday, so after that, I should be able to run much more often and for longer periods of time due to not being fatigued as much from camp. But tomorrow is frisbee day, so that's 2 miles (downhill mostly). Thursday I'll do another 1 mile (and when I say 1 mile, it's always going for a PR, so it's quick), Friday a break since we often eat food right after work. Then on Saturday 2 miles, and I'm unsure about Sunday - just depends on how I'm doing. But that's my tentative schedule for this week.
That's all for now. I'm hoping to write my next blog post this weekend. Not sure when, maybe Friday just because it's Fancy Friday after all, but more likely Saturday or Sunday would be my guess. Until then, I'd appreciate it if you stayed fancy.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
YOLO
You Only Live Once.
Commence the eye rolling. So for anyone that isn't aware, a recent phrase - YOLO - has become quite popular. It's typically used by people who are about to do something stupid and defend their next action by saying that you only live once; so you should enjoy yourself while it lasts. However, I view it differently. You only live once, which means you better damn well take care of your body, or else your one life is going to last a hell of a lot shorter than it could. You only live once, so you should take the best care possible of yourself. And you know what? I've been doing that. And for a matter of fact, I've drastically changed my life during this school year. The day that started it all? October 15, 2011. This was the day of my very first blog post, and let me tell you, being able to put all my thoughts down in this blog, plus being able to communicate to many of my friends and family has been a great way to get motivation. I constantly get questsions and comments about how my weight loss is going, and how I look so great now. Just yesterday, my dad said to me, "Hey Skinny" as he was going to ask me a question. Skinny? Not yet, but it I am significantly thinner than October.
I can't thank those who have supported me this whole time enough. Do you know what it feels like to hear the words, "Wow you look so great! How much weight have you lost?!" I just feel so much better, not just physically, but emotionally and socially as well. And to top it off, it's now my summer break, which is my favorite time of the year. AND my birthday is on Friday. This week is awesome.
But there's more to it than just that. As of Tuesday afternoon, I weighed in at 199.5 pounds!
I reached my goal by my birthday, in less than 4 months!
October 15, 2011 Starting weight: 255
February 19, 2012 Weight: 250
June 12, 2012 Weight: 199.5
Want to know the last time I weighed under 200 pounds? Well, 5 years ago, I was 5'9" and weighed ~228 (medical record). The previous year I was probably around 200, but was a bit shorter, and I also played a fair amount of Soccer so I stayed active. So basically, the last time I weighed this much, I was probably about 5 or 6 inches shorter. I'd say that's a big difference.
As I mentioned, I'm back at the Zoo as of today for Zoo Camp training, and camp begins on Monday. I finished my finals on Monday and Tuesday and my summer break has begun. I'll be working with 1st graders (Tiger Camp) and I'm stoked, as usual. Our camp crew will be amazing as well, to top it off. But something truly amazing happened today. On top of the numerous people mentioned that I looked great from my weight loss, I decided to try on a Large camp shirt (rather than XL) to see how it would fit. And let me tell you, it fit. That was honestly one of the best feelings of my life, right there. I have XXL shirts in my dresser (that I barely wear). I wore XL for quite a while, but some shirts that were of lesser quality, I would prefer XXL to make it a bit baggier (on purpose) as well as in case it shrunk. But now? Large. This weekend I need to go clothes shopping, because basically everything I own is too big for me now. I'd say that one day, maybe I could wear a medium, but I doubt it would have the length due to my height. Nonetheless - Large. So amazing. Maybe I can start to wear shirts that have always been too small for me now!
I think that's all I will say for now. It will be a busy weekend with my birthday on Friday, and celebrating it with different people throughout the weekend. Plus with camp starting up on Monday. Stay fancy everyone. I expect it on my birthday.
Commence the eye rolling. So for anyone that isn't aware, a recent phrase - YOLO - has become quite popular. It's typically used by people who are about to do something stupid and defend their next action by saying that you only live once; so you should enjoy yourself while it lasts. However, I view it differently. You only live once, which means you better damn well take care of your body, or else your one life is going to last a hell of a lot shorter than it could. You only live once, so you should take the best care possible of yourself. And you know what? I've been doing that. And for a matter of fact, I've drastically changed my life during this school year. The day that started it all? October 15, 2011. This was the day of my very first blog post, and let me tell you, being able to put all my thoughts down in this blog, plus being able to communicate to many of my friends and family has been a great way to get motivation. I constantly get questsions and comments about how my weight loss is going, and how I look so great now. Just yesterday, my dad said to me, "Hey Skinny" as he was going to ask me a question. Skinny? Not yet, but it I am significantly thinner than October.
I can't thank those who have supported me this whole time enough. Do you know what it feels like to hear the words, "Wow you look so great! How much weight have you lost?!" I just feel so much better, not just physically, but emotionally and socially as well. And to top it off, it's now my summer break, which is my favorite time of the year. AND my birthday is on Friday. This week is awesome.
But there's more to it than just that. As of Tuesday afternoon, I weighed in at 199.5 pounds!
October 15, 2011 Starting weight: 255
February 19, 2012 Weight: 250
June 12, 2012 Weight: 199.5
Want to know the last time I weighed under 200 pounds? Well, 5 years ago, I was 5'9" and weighed ~228 (medical record). The previous year I was probably around 200, but was a bit shorter, and I also played a fair amount of Soccer so I stayed active. So basically, the last time I weighed this much, I was probably about 5 or 6 inches shorter. I'd say that's a big difference.
As I mentioned, I'm back at the Zoo as of today for Zoo Camp training, and camp begins on Monday. I finished my finals on Monday and Tuesday and my summer break has begun. I'll be working with 1st graders (Tiger Camp) and I'm stoked, as usual. Our camp crew will be amazing as well, to top it off. But something truly amazing happened today. On top of the numerous people mentioned that I looked great from my weight loss, I decided to try on a Large camp shirt (rather than XL) to see how it would fit. And let me tell you, it fit. That was honestly one of the best feelings of my life, right there. I have XXL shirts in my dresser (that I barely wear). I wore XL for quite a while, but some shirts that were of lesser quality, I would prefer XXL to make it a bit baggier (on purpose) as well as in case it shrunk. But now? Large. This weekend I need to go clothes shopping, because basically everything I own is too big for me now. I'd say that one day, maybe I could wear a medium, but I doubt it would have the length due to my height. Nonetheless - Large. So amazing. Maybe I can start to wear shirts that have always been too small for me now!
I think that's all I will say for now. It will be a busy weekend with my birthday on Friday, and celebrating it with different people throughout the weekend. Plus with camp starting up on Monday. Stay fancy everyone. I expect it on my birthday.
Friday, June 8, 2012
It's Been a Little While - One Week to Go!
I had totally meant to post an update before now, but I never felt like I had much to say. Oh well, now I have a lot to talk about!
So, unfortunately, my running hit a roadblock. I just couldn't seem to get the energy and stamina to last any longer than 2 miles. Who knows why, but that's just the way it was. So I decided to cross train for a while, and basically, I've only run a few times since my last post. I can say I won't be hitting 5 miles by my birthday, but that's okay. My main goal is my weight right now. I'd rather hit my weight goal, than my running goal if I had to choose one. I will be focusing more on running this Summer, as I won't have a gym to go to, and I won't have my bike with me either. So no worries in that department. However, since I've had a problem with my running progress, I decided I won't be running the July 4th 5k. I'll get to a 5k when I'm ready for it.
Well, last I mentioned, I weighed in at 210. And with 7 days before my birthday, I am now 202 pounds. Whew, so close! And being only 2 pounds off my goal, I can easily achieve this in a week. However, a problem that has arisen: I leave Corvallis on Tuesday to go back home, which means my last chance to weigh myself is Tuesday, and that only leaves me 4 days until my last official weigh in. But, I'm going to see if I can acquire an accurate scale on the 15th, so I can do a last weigh in, in case I don't hit 200 by Tuesday. Even if I don't quite hit 200, that will still be 53 pounds that I've lost since the beginning of this blog; 48 of which in the last 4 months. I'm pretty damn proud of myself. And I still have more weight to lose!
Now because I haven't been running, I've been spending a lot of time at the gym. And typically, I've spent my time on stationary bikes, a bit of time on elipticals and treadmills, as well as shooting hoops. But I generally do at least 45 minutes of fairly intense cardio, unless I'm lacking energy that day. I've also done a few short runs, 2 miles or less, and walking a bit on days when I have very little energy, or on rest days. Also, one day last week, I ran sprints. Wow, that was tough. It was basically 15 seconds of a maximum sprint, followed by 45 seconds of walking. After 15 minutes of that, I was DONE. I can see the benefit of sprints though, and will definitely incorporate them into my running this summer. I've also tried to do a bit more work on my core, but I can't say I've done that much. Just more than usual.
I've also been very strict with my diet. Usually I've been keeping to less than 1500 calories a day, and my BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) for a day is about 2,100 calories I believe. So that's a deficit of about 600 calories just from diet. Add in an extra 500 calories burned just from working out (on average), then that's about a 1,00 calorie deficit each day - 7,700 each week.That's at least a rough estimate. It might be a bit more, especially considering that often I'm losing 3 pounds in a week and that only accounts for about 2.2 pounds. Nonetheless, I cracked down on my diet a bit more in the last couple of weeks, in order to be able to reach 200 by my birthday. It'll be a close call, but well deserved if I reach it.
And not much else has been happening lately. I got sick on Saturday, the same day I went to the Prefontaine Classic (track and field meet in Eugene) with my brother Adam and Hannah. So I didn't do much in terms of exercise from Saturday to Tuesday, which is a big reason why I included walking as part of my exercise, since that's about all I could do for a few days.
I have finals on Monday and Tuesday, and then I'll be doing my final weigh in at the gym, and then head home basically. Wednesday-Friday I have training for Zoo Camp (I'll be working in Giraffe B Camp! Which is 2nd grade for those who don't know). Technically it's Monday-Friday, but I can't get out of taking finals those first two days. And of course, on Friday, I'll be 21. What a great week this will be!
I plan up writing up a post either Friday or Saturday (preferably Friday) about how the week went, my birthday, and of course, what my final weight is. I look forward to our next meeting, and until then, stay fancy.
So, unfortunately, my running hit a roadblock. I just couldn't seem to get the energy and stamina to last any longer than 2 miles. Who knows why, but that's just the way it was. So I decided to cross train for a while, and basically, I've only run a few times since my last post. I can say I won't be hitting 5 miles by my birthday, but that's okay. My main goal is my weight right now. I'd rather hit my weight goal, than my running goal if I had to choose one. I will be focusing more on running this Summer, as I won't have a gym to go to, and I won't have my bike with me either. So no worries in that department. However, since I've had a problem with my running progress, I decided I won't be running the July 4th 5k. I'll get to a 5k when I'm ready for it.
Well, last I mentioned, I weighed in at 210. And with 7 days before my birthday, I am now 202 pounds. Whew, so close! And being only 2 pounds off my goal, I can easily achieve this in a week. However, a problem that has arisen: I leave Corvallis on Tuesday to go back home, which means my last chance to weigh myself is Tuesday, and that only leaves me 4 days until my last official weigh in. But, I'm going to see if I can acquire an accurate scale on the 15th, so I can do a last weigh in, in case I don't hit 200 by Tuesday. Even if I don't quite hit 200, that will still be 53 pounds that I've lost since the beginning of this blog; 48 of which in the last 4 months. I'm pretty damn proud of myself. And I still have more weight to lose!
Now because I haven't been running, I've been spending a lot of time at the gym. And typically, I've spent my time on stationary bikes, a bit of time on elipticals and treadmills, as well as shooting hoops. But I generally do at least 45 minutes of fairly intense cardio, unless I'm lacking energy that day. I've also done a few short runs, 2 miles or less, and walking a bit on days when I have very little energy, or on rest days. Also, one day last week, I ran sprints. Wow, that was tough. It was basically 15 seconds of a maximum sprint, followed by 45 seconds of walking. After 15 minutes of that, I was DONE. I can see the benefit of sprints though, and will definitely incorporate them into my running this summer. I've also tried to do a bit more work on my core, but I can't say I've done that much. Just more than usual.
I've also been very strict with my diet. Usually I've been keeping to less than 1500 calories a day, and my BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) for a day is about 2,100 calories I believe. So that's a deficit of about 600 calories just from diet. Add in an extra 500 calories burned just from working out (on average), then that's about a 1,00 calorie deficit each day - 7,700 each week.That's at least a rough estimate. It might be a bit more, especially considering that often I'm losing 3 pounds in a week and that only accounts for about 2.2 pounds. Nonetheless, I cracked down on my diet a bit more in the last couple of weeks, in order to be able to reach 200 by my birthday. It'll be a close call, but well deserved if I reach it.
And not much else has been happening lately. I got sick on Saturday, the same day I went to the Prefontaine Classic (track and field meet in Eugene) with my brother Adam and Hannah. So I didn't do much in terms of exercise from Saturday to Tuesday, which is a big reason why I included walking as part of my exercise, since that's about all I could do for a few days.
I have finals on Monday and Tuesday, and then I'll be doing my final weigh in at the gym, and then head home basically. Wednesday-Friday I have training for Zoo Camp (I'll be working in Giraffe B Camp! Which is 2nd grade for those who don't know). Technically it's Monday-Friday, but I can't get out of taking finals those first two days. And of course, on Friday, I'll be 21. What a great week this will be!
I plan up writing up a post either Friday or Saturday (preferably Friday) about how the week went, my birthday, and of course, what my final weight is. I look forward to our next meeting, and until then, stay fancy.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Twenty Six Days Left
Most people would just assume I'm counting down the days until I can legally drink, but I really don't care much about that. But I'd have to say I care a hell of a lot more about reaching my goals. Twenty six days, that's 3 weeks and 5 days, or approximately 4 weeks. I can do this... Not much time left, but I can do this.
Friday, I had planned on attempting a 3.5 mile run, again. My previous attempt only got me to 2 miles, so after a late night workout at Dixon, Thursday night, I didn't have much confidence that day. However, some how, I managed to finish 3.5 miles. Phew, that was tough. And I felt great that I finished, albeit really sore legs for the next 24 hours. I ran it in 40 minutes, which isn't great, but once again, I really don't care about my pace. I just want to complete the distances that I set for myself for now. Once I hit 5 miles, I'll start working on pace more. Anyways, the first 15 minutes were fine, and then I started feeling like I wouldn't hit my goal for the day. But I kept pressing on, and tried to keep my mind preoccupied, so that I didn't think about how exhausted I was getting. By 25 minutes, I doubted I would make it, but once I hit 30, I knew I was so close, there wasn't a reason to stop. Then finished it, and now my next step is 4 miles. I might attempt 4 miles tomorrow, as I kept today's workout pretty light, but no promises. I will definitely be doing no less than 2.5 miles.
Saturday, saw The Avengers, and then went to a BBQ. Ended up being busy all day, so never got a chance to go to Dixon as I had hoped to in the evening. I was, however, able to go to Dixon today. So I kept it light, as I had mentioned, and just shot hoops for a bit, and then did 30 minutes on a bike. Still some good cardio, but wasn't much strain on my body. The great news though, is I weighed in at 210 pounds. Whew!
Remember, I originally weighed 255 pounds back in October, and was at 250 back in February when I started losing weight quickly. My original goal that I set back in February, was 220 pounds, and I easily crushed that. So I decided to set 210 as my realistic goal, and 200 as the ultimate challenge for myself, by June 15th. Well, with 26 days to go still, I hit my realistic goal of 210. Just 10 pounds in 26 days to go! It should be tough still, but it's nice knowing that it's a bit more realistic than say, two weeks ago when I was losing 2 pounds per week.
Well, that's all I have to say for now. Stay fancy.
Friday, I had planned on attempting a 3.5 mile run, again. My previous attempt only got me to 2 miles, so after a late night workout at Dixon, Thursday night, I didn't have much confidence that day. However, some how, I managed to finish 3.5 miles. Phew, that was tough. And I felt great that I finished, albeit really sore legs for the next 24 hours. I ran it in 40 minutes, which isn't great, but once again, I really don't care about my pace. I just want to complete the distances that I set for myself for now. Once I hit 5 miles, I'll start working on pace more. Anyways, the first 15 minutes were fine, and then I started feeling like I wouldn't hit my goal for the day. But I kept pressing on, and tried to keep my mind preoccupied, so that I didn't think about how exhausted I was getting. By 25 minutes, I doubted I would make it, but once I hit 30, I knew I was so close, there wasn't a reason to stop. Then finished it, and now my next step is 4 miles. I might attempt 4 miles tomorrow, as I kept today's workout pretty light, but no promises. I will definitely be doing no less than 2.5 miles.
Saturday, saw The Avengers, and then went to a BBQ. Ended up being busy all day, so never got a chance to go to Dixon as I had hoped to in the evening. I was, however, able to go to Dixon today. So I kept it light, as I had mentioned, and just shot hoops for a bit, and then did 30 minutes on a bike. Still some good cardio, but wasn't much strain on my body. The great news though, is I weighed in at 210 pounds. Whew!
Remember, I originally weighed 255 pounds back in October, and was at 250 back in February when I started losing weight quickly. My original goal that I set back in February, was 220 pounds, and I easily crushed that. So I decided to set 210 as my realistic goal, and 200 as the ultimate challenge for myself, by June 15th. Well, with 26 days to go still, I hit my realistic goal of 210. Just 10 pounds in 26 days to go! It should be tough still, but it's nice knowing that it's a bit more realistic than say, two weeks ago when I was losing 2 pounds per week.
Well, that's all I have to say for now. Stay fancy.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Long Term Goals
So Sunday, I had finished my last 5k101 podcast run while in Lake Oswego, and then after a wonderful dinner, in honor of my brother's and aunt's birthdays, I went back to Corvallis. Monday, I wanted to do a 2 mile run, nothing special, but something to keep me active, since I knew I wouldn't be up to a long run. I started, and quickly realized that I was not going to do so well that day; I decided to quicken my pace and just go for 1 mile instead. I made it 2/3 of a mile and gave up. Was just too tired and couldn't manage anything else. Well, shucks. I made sure to do very little on Tuesday, in order to rest as much as possible. Wednesday rolls along, and I decide to go for my longest run yet, 3.5 miles, without walking (none of my runs from now on will involve walking, unless I can't manage to keep up my pace on a run, or if I'm purposefully doing intervals for more anaerobic training).
Three and a half miles, just keep a steady pace, and it shouldn't be a problem. First mile, perfect. Pretty decent pace. 1.5 miles in, starting to feel it, but still doing well. I noticed my pace slowed down a lot after my first mile, a little slower than I had hoped. And then I'm just a minute or two away from 2 miles, and I realize all my energy and strength has been depleted. So I finish up 2 miles, and walk the rest of the way home, saddened by the fact that I failed pretty badly at my attempt of 3.5 miles. Oh well. Friday then!
I wasn't planning on anything today (Thursday), but Nick asked me if I wanted to go to Dixon tonight. We weren't sure if we really wanted to go, but with my lazy Tuesday, I didn't really want to have another lazy day this week. So we ended up going. I spent 30 minutes on a bike, doing an "aerobic" workout as they call it (pre-set workout). But it was basically like doing hills. Was pretty good, although I wouldn't be surprised if my legs are too tired for a 3.5 mile attempt tomorrow... But who knows. I'll just have to try my best. We then took a bit of a break, in hopes to get a basketball and a basketball hoop, but we finally resorted to ping pong until something opened up. Then shot a few hoops, and we called it an evening. Minus the biking, was pretty relaxed. I weighed myself at 212, but I don't know how accurate it is, considering I've eaten today, it was at night, with clothes on, and after my workout. So we'll just have to wait until Sunday (busy Saturday, so will do my weigh in on Sunday morning instead) and see where I am. I think if I do a long run tomorrow, workout Saturday evening, and control what I eat pretty well, I could end up at 210 by Sunday, which would make 200 possible in ~4 weeks.
Whew, I expected to talk about my week much quicker than that. Nonetheless, my long term goals. So these last few months, I've been only focusing on losing weight. And the best way to do that is by minimal muscle gain, and lots of fat loss, since muscle weighs more than fat. But I want muscle. So ultimately, I want to weigh as low as my body can handle (basically a plateau), while still building up muscle. Now, most would think just do a combination of weight lifting, as well as cardio, and you'll achieve your goal. But the problem is that when you're gaining weight back with weight training, you don't see as much weight loss, which can be discouraging (even if your body is doing terrific), and it's hard to judge just how much muscle you're gaining, besides by doing regular body composition tests. So I want to focus solely on fat/weight loss first. This way, I can regularly keep track of my weight and see how well I am progressing, but also, if I have the motivation, and the momentum of losing so much weight, why not keep it up? If I were to start throwing in weight training, it'd deter me a bit, since I wouldn't lose as much, as fast as I am now. So I'm figuring that once I hit a comfortable point in my weight, I'll start transitioning over to weight training. Maybe gradually work into it by doing something like, 25% weight training, 75% cardio, then work to 50-50, then eventually up to 75% weight training, 25% cardio. Something like that.
However, that's not all the details. I've decided I'm first going to continue to run and workout, and eat healthy, until I plateau. And when I say that, I mean that I hit a point where just losing 1 pound is difficult. Where using my current plan, that losing weight seems nearly impossible. But once I hit this point (I'm guessing it'll be around the beginning of next school year, in the fall, but who knows), I will then increase my efforts in order to lose another 5-10 pounds (depending on where I plateau). This means I'd have to really pay attention to how much I eat, and be very strict, as well as doing a lot more cardio than I usually do, in order to burn more calories. I don't know any exact numbers, since it completely depends on when and where I plateau, but after I've lost just a bit more weight (and this could take months and months to do, who knows, just for 5-10 pounds), I then turn my attention to weight training. My goal will then to basically gain back the weight that I had just lost, but with muscle. I'll have to still be on a strict diet during the first little while, so that my weight gain is primarily through muscle, and not through fat gain. But I figure this way, I'll be at a point where my body is a comfortable weight, but with a low body fat percentage, plus I'll have the motivation to keep losing weight until I plateau, and then I can take my time to build up the muscle that I want.
So that's the basic idea behind my long term goals. If I were to give a hopefuly timeline, I'd say that I'm hoping that by the end of next school year, so about 12-13 months from now, I'll be at that point. But you never know, these are just estimates. And I could always change my thinking behind all of this. At least, these are my preliminary thoughts on how I'll accomplish my long term goals. Until Sunday, stay fancy. Then after Sunday, I don't care how fancy you stay.
Three and a half miles, just keep a steady pace, and it shouldn't be a problem. First mile, perfect. Pretty decent pace. 1.5 miles in, starting to feel it, but still doing well. I noticed my pace slowed down a lot after my first mile, a little slower than I had hoped. And then I'm just a minute or two away from 2 miles, and I realize all my energy and strength has been depleted. So I finish up 2 miles, and walk the rest of the way home, saddened by the fact that I failed pretty badly at my attempt of 3.5 miles. Oh well. Friday then!
I wasn't planning on anything today (Thursday), but Nick asked me if I wanted to go to Dixon tonight. We weren't sure if we really wanted to go, but with my lazy Tuesday, I didn't really want to have another lazy day this week. So we ended up going. I spent 30 minutes on a bike, doing an "aerobic" workout as they call it (pre-set workout). But it was basically like doing hills. Was pretty good, although I wouldn't be surprised if my legs are too tired for a 3.5 mile attempt tomorrow... But who knows. I'll just have to try my best. We then took a bit of a break, in hopes to get a basketball and a basketball hoop, but we finally resorted to ping pong until something opened up. Then shot a few hoops, and we called it an evening. Minus the biking, was pretty relaxed. I weighed myself at 212, but I don't know how accurate it is, considering I've eaten today, it was at night, with clothes on, and after my workout. So we'll just have to wait until Sunday (busy Saturday, so will do my weigh in on Sunday morning instead) and see where I am. I think if I do a long run tomorrow, workout Saturday evening, and control what I eat pretty well, I could end up at 210 by Sunday, which would make 200 possible in ~4 weeks.
Whew, I expected to talk about my week much quicker than that. Nonetheless, my long term goals. So these last few months, I've been only focusing on losing weight. And the best way to do that is by minimal muscle gain, and lots of fat loss, since muscle weighs more than fat. But I want muscle. So ultimately, I want to weigh as low as my body can handle (basically a plateau), while still building up muscle. Now, most would think just do a combination of weight lifting, as well as cardio, and you'll achieve your goal. But the problem is that when you're gaining weight back with weight training, you don't see as much weight loss, which can be discouraging (even if your body is doing terrific), and it's hard to judge just how much muscle you're gaining, besides by doing regular body composition tests. So I want to focus solely on fat/weight loss first. This way, I can regularly keep track of my weight and see how well I am progressing, but also, if I have the motivation, and the momentum of losing so much weight, why not keep it up? If I were to start throwing in weight training, it'd deter me a bit, since I wouldn't lose as much, as fast as I am now. So I'm figuring that once I hit a comfortable point in my weight, I'll start transitioning over to weight training. Maybe gradually work into it by doing something like, 25% weight training, 75% cardio, then work to 50-50, then eventually up to 75% weight training, 25% cardio. Something like that.
However, that's not all the details. I've decided I'm first going to continue to run and workout, and eat healthy, until I plateau. And when I say that, I mean that I hit a point where just losing 1 pound is difficult. Where using my current plan, that losing weight seems nearly impossible. But once I hit this point (I'm guessing it'll be around the beginning of next school year, in the fall, but who knows), I will then increase my efforts in order to lose another 5-10 pounds (depending on where I plateau). This means I'd have to really pay attention to how much I eat, and be very strict, as well as doing a lot more cardio than I usually do, in order to burn more calories. I don't know any exact numbers, since it completely depends on when and where I plateau, but after I've lost just a bit more weight (and this could take months and months to do, who knows, just for 5-10 pounds), I then turn my attention to weight training. My goal will then to basically gain back the weight that I had just lost, but with muscle. I'll have to still be on a strict diet during the first little while, so that my weight gain is primarily through muscle, and not through fat gain. But I figure this way, I'll be at a point where my body is a comfortable weight, but with a low body fat percentage, plus I'll have the motivation to keep losing weight until I plateau, and then I can take my time to build up the muscle that I want.
So that's the basic idea behind my long term goals. If I were to give a hopefuly timeline, I'd say that I'm hoping that by the end of next school year, so about 12-13 months from now, I'll be at that point. But you never know, these are just estimates. And I could always change my thinking behind all of this. At least, these are my preliminary thoughts on how I'll accomplish my long term goals. Until Sunday, stay fancy. Then after Sunday, I don't care how fancy you stay.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
5k101 Podcast Graduation!
Ah, finally. I'm done. It only took 12 weeks to finish an 8 week podcast (due to illnesses setting me back), but I'm done. And I feel wonderful. Starting tomorrow, I will begin my own schedule, to work towards running 5 miles without walking. It'll be tough to complete, but I'm looking foward to the challenge.
To cover the last week, on Tuesday I went to Dixon with Nick for a light workout. Just did 20 minutes on a bike, and then lifted weights for a bit. It was more of to relax, hang out, and still be a bit active. Wednesday, completed the first day of my Week 8 podcast, which is 30 minutes without walking. Thursday, I went to Dixon again, and weighed myself. And in 5 days, I had only lost 1 pound, and I began to panic a bit. It meant that my weight loss is finally starting to slow down. I knew this would happen, but I thought I'd easily hit 200 by my birthday. Now, I'm hoping for 205. So due to my panic, it meant that I ended up doing 80 minutes of fairly intense cardio on bikes and a bit on an eliptical. I was pretty exhausted, but I managed. Friday, I did the second day of my Week 8 podcast, and then went on a bike ride to Philomath with Nick, Maddie, and Maggie, the ol' freshman crew (group of friends from Freshman year). Ended up being about 12 miles, which was pretty tiring after my run, but I was doing pretty well. We ended up at Flat Tail Brewery in downtown Corvallis, and I got a massive burger (I had only eaten about 300 calories prior, and had 2 workouts - I deserved it). It had a 1/3 pound patty, grilled onions, bacon, peppered turkey, a fried egg, and avocado. Wow, so good.
Saturday morning, went to Dixon, weighed in at 214, so 2 pounds from the previous week (meant that I lost 1 pound from Thursday to Saturday), and did about 70 minutes on a recumbant bike (was too sore for an upright bike), but was not doing an intense workout. Just wanted to keep myself a bit active. Went home that afternoon to Lake Oswego, to celebrate my brother's and my aunt's birthdays this evening (Sunday), so I stayed the night. Went for my final 5k101 run this morning, and it went pretty well. Was beautiful, and I got to run along the riverfront, and encountered a lot of people out and about. And the day couldn't have gone any better.
Tomorrow, I think I'm going to run 2 miles to help my body recover some from the last few days, and Tuesday, I either won't workout, or will do something very light at Dixon. I might instead do a small workout in my apartment on Tuesday. Either way, on Wednesday, I'm hoping to pull off 3.5 miles, so I can start working on my 5 mile goal.
I have 5 weeks now, to lose 14 pounds... Bit unpractical at this point, if I'm struggling with just 2 pounds per week. It's still possible, but unlikely. Luckily, I'll be happy no matter what, as I will for sure be under 210, and will be at least very close to hitting 200.
Weight loss since Februrary 19th, 2012: 36 pounds
Weight loss since the beginning of Junior year: 41 pounds
Total weight loss since Senior year of high school: 56 pounds
I've pretty much decided what my future plans will be, through the summer and during next school year, but I'll talk about that in my next blog post. Until then, stay fancy.
To cover the last week, on Tuesday I went to Dixon with Nick for a light workout. Just did 20 minutes on a bike, and then lifted weights for a bit. It was more of to relax, hang out, and still be a bit active. Wednesday, completed the first day of my Week 8 podcast, which is 30 minutes without walking. Thursday, I went to Dixon again, and weighed myself. And in 5 days, I had only lost 1 pound, and I began to panic a bit. It meant that my weight loss is finally starting to slow down. I knew this would happen, but I thought I'd easily hit 200 by my birthday. Now, I'm hoping for 205. So due to my panic, it meant that I ended up doing 80 minutes of fairly intense cardio on bikes and a bit on an eliptical. I was pretty exhausted, but I managed. Friday, I did the second day of my Week 8 podcast, and then went on a bike ride to Philomath with Nick, Maddie, and Maggie, the ol' freshman crew (group of friends from Freshman year). Ended up being about 12 miles, which was pretty tiring after my run, but I was doing pretty well. We ended up at Flat Tail Brewery in downtown Corvallis, and I got a massive burger (I had only eaten about 300 calories prior, and had 2 workouts - I deserved it). It had a 1/3 pound patty, grilled onions, bacon, peppered turkey, a fried egg, and avocado. Wow, so good.
Saturday morning, went to Dixon, weighed in at 214, so 2 pounds from the previous week (meant that I lost 1 pound from Thursday to Saturday), and did about 70 minutes on a recumbant bike (was too sore for an upright bike), but was not doing an intense workout. Just wanted to keep myself a bit active. Went home that afternoon to Lake Oswego, to celebrate my brother's and my aunt's birthdays this evening (Sunday), so I stayed the night. Went for my final 5k101 run this morning, and it went pretty well. Was beautiful, and I got to run along the riverfront, and encountered a lot of people out and about. And the day couldn't have gone any better.
Tomorrow, I think I'm going to run 2 miles to help my body recover some from the last few days, and Tuesday, I either won't workout, or will do something very light at Dixon. I might instead do a small workout in my apartment on Tuesday. Either way, on Wednesday, I'm hoping to pull off 3.5 miles, so I can start working on my 5 mile goal.
I have 5 weeks now, to lose 14 pounds... Bit unpractical at this point, if I'm struggling with just 2 pounds per week. It's still possible, but unlikely. Luckily, I'll be happy no matter what, as I will for sure be under 210, and will be at least very close to hitting 200.
Weight loss since Februrary 19th, 2012: 36 pounds
Weight loss since the beginning of Junior year: 41 pounds
Total weight loss since Senior year of high school: 56 pounds
I've pretty much decided what my future plans will be, through the summer and during next school year, but I'll talk about that in my next blog post. Until then, stay fancy.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
New Running Record
Without walking or stopping, my new record is a 32 minute run that I accomplished today. I've been struggling with moving on in my runs, and improving, and I realized that during my intervals, I lose lots of momentum whenever I walk. For example, last week I started a week 7 run, and did the first 12 minutes no problem, then 3 minutes of walking, and as soon as I started to run again, my entire body just hit the wall. My legs got super stiff, it felt as if I had never gotten a break after all, and I just lost all the motivation to keep going, being as uncomfortable as I was. So I decided that I wanted to change up my running, and steer away from the intervals, since the recovery intervals were hindering my progress.
Friday (May 4th) I ran a fairly easy 2 mile run without any breaks, at a 9:45 pace (started at my regular 9:30 pace and slowed down to a 10 minute pace by the end of it). Then went to Dixon on Saturday to just shoot hoops for a bit, and do my weekly weigh in. Sunday, I had meant to run, but I never had a decent oppertunity to do so due to a baseball game, and eating at certain times of the day, as well as when I woke up (woke up at 11, rather than 9, as I hoped for). Nonetheless, I got out there this morning, and wanted to try something longer than 2 miles, in hopes that one of these days I'll be ready to consistantly run 30 minutes without breaks. I wouldn't settle for less than 2.5 miles, but I was really going for 3, and just push myself extremely hard to finish it. And let me tell you, physically, I was done at 2.5 miles, as I got extremely exhausted by that time (right around 26 minutes or so). But mentally, I wanted to finish at least 30 minutes. And if I was going to do 30 minutes, why not just run the extra minute or two and finish off 3 miles (since my pace slowed down to about 11 minutes by the end, was 10:34 overall)? So, barely, I managed to finish, but I did it. Just over 3 miles in a little more than 32 minutes. Toughest run, BY FAR, that I've ever completed. I was afraid that if I didn't stop a couple minutes prior to 3 miles, that I might collapse - somehow I got through it though. It was actually funny, with about 3 minutes left, I crossed paths with an older man, and he gave me this look of pity, it seemed like. Almost as if he knew just what I was going through, and gave a bit of a smile. It was the look of, I'm sorry you're struggling this much, but you can do it. I know, that was a lot to interpret just from a look, but it really felt that way.
I'm thinking that I'll continue this, and start doing the week 8 podcasts until I'm ready to step up my game more. It's 30 minutes straight, but Wednesday, when I run next, I'll probably start my pace a bit slower, around 10 minutes, to make sure I don't overexert myself too much. I can see 5 miles without breaks in my future, and hopefully before my birthday, but it will sure be difficult to reach that point. I'll probably be asking my brother to help build a running schedule for me, to increase my mileage to 5 miles, in the next week or two.
I had mentioned my weigh in at Dixon. Down 3 more pounds to 216. 16 more pounds to go, in just 7 weeks! That's averaging 2.3 pounds per week, and so far over the last 11 weeks, I've lost 34, which is an average of about 3.1 pounds. Very doable. And as my birthday approaches, I will probably crack down more, to ensure that I reach my goal. Nonetheless, I'm positive that I'll reach 210 by my birthday, which was the realistic goal that I set (after making 220 my original goal). It'll be interesting to see where I'm at by the end of the summer, assuming I'm around 200 at my birthday, and then working and continuing to work out and eat better throughout the summer.
Besides all that, nothing really happened last week, and this weekend I'm going home to celebrate my brother's and aun't birthday on Sunday, but I'm still going to Dixon on Saturday morning for my weigh in and be a bit productive as well. Also, Wednesday will be making a vegetarian chili recipe that I found. Pretty easy, few cans of beans, few cans of diced tomatoes, bit of produce like carrots/celery/onion, and a bit of seasoning. I've always wanted to make chili, but some of the recipes can be quite complicated, or require plenty of ingredients. This one is quite simple. Also I'll be making some minestroni soup at some point, and found a good looking recipe for a cajun dirty rice dish. All vegetarian, but I don't mind. Trying to slowly reduce my meat intake, specifically with red meats anyways. Oh and I've recently been making some stir frys, just a pack of frozen stir fry vegetables, add in some cooking teriyaki sauce and sriracha hot sauce, and quite a good, low calorie dish.
I guess that's about it. 'til next time, stay fancy.
Friday (May 4th) I ran a fairly easy 2 mile run without any breaks, at a 9:45 pace (started at my regular 9:30 pace and slowed down to a 10 minute pace by the end of it). Then went to Dixon on Saturday to just shoot hoops for a bit, and do my weekly weigh in. Sunday, I had meant to run, but I never had a decent oppertunity to do so due to a baseball game, and eating at certain times of the day, as well as when I woke up (woke up at 11, rather than 9, as I hoped for). Nonetheless, I got out there this morning, and wanted to try something longer than 2 miles, in hopes that one of these days I'll be ready to consistantly run 30 minutes without breaks. I wouldn't settle for less than 2.5 miles, but I was really going for 3, and just push myself extremely hard to finish it. And let me tell you, physically, I was done at 2.5 miles, as I got extremely exhausted by that time (right around 26 minutes or so). But mentally, I wanted to finish at least 30 minutes. And if I was going to do 30 minutes, why not just run the extra minute or two and finish off 3 miles (since my pace slowed down to about 11 minutes by the end, was 10:34 overall)? So, barely, I managed to finish, but I did it. Just over 3 miles in a little more than 32 minutes. Toughest run, BY FAR, that I've ever completed. I was afraid that if I didn't stop a couple minutes prior to 3 miles, that I might collapse - somehow I got through it though. It was actually funny, with about 3 minutes left, I crossed paths with an older man, and he gave me this look of pity, it seemed like. Almost as if he knew just what I was going through, and gave a bit of a smile. It was the look of, I'm sorry you're struggling this much, but you can do it. I know, that was a lot to interpret just from a look, but it really felt that way.
I'm thinking that I'll continue this, and start doing the week 8 podcasts until I'm ready to step up my game more. It's 30 minutes straight, but Wednesday, when I run next, I'll probably start my pace a bit slower, around 10 minutes, to make sure I don't overexert myself too much. I can see 5 miles without breaks in my future, and hopefully before my birthday, but it will sure be difficult to reach that point. I'll probably be asking my brother to help build a running schedule for me, to increase my mileage to 5 miles, in the next week or two.
I had mentioned my weigh in at Dixon. Down 3 more pounds to 216. 16 more pounds to go, in just 7 weeks! That's averaging 2.3 pounds per week, and so far over the last 11 weeks, I've lost 34, which is an average of about 3.1 pounds. Very doable. And as my birthday approaches, I will probably crack down more, to ensure that I reach my goal. Nonetheless, I'm positive that I'll reach 210 by my birthday, which was the realistic goal that I set (after making 220 my original goal). It'll be interesting to see where I'm at by the end of the summer, assuming I'm around 200 at my birthday, and then working and continuing to work out and eat better throughout the summer.
Besides all that, nothing really happened last week, and this weekend I'm going home to celebrate my brother's and aun't birthday on Sunday, but I'm still going to Dixon on Saturday morning for my weigh in and be a bit productive as well. Also, Wednesday will be making a vegetarian chili recipe that I found. Pretty easy, few cans of beans, few cans of diced tomatoes, bit of produce like carrots/celery/onion, and a bit of seasoning. I've always wanted to make chili, but some of the recipes can be quite complicated, or require plenty of ingredients. This one is quite simple. Also I'll be making some minestroni soup at some point, and found a good looking recipe for a cajun dirty rice dish. All vegetarian, but I don't mind. Trying to slowly reduce my meat intake, specifically with red meats anyways. Oh and I've recently been making some stir frys, just a pack of frozen stir fry vegetables, add in some cooking teriyaki sauce and sriracha hot sauce, and quite a good, low calorie dish.
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