May 12, 2017

The Last Four Years (not a political post)

Today, I hit a significant weight loss goal. And I’m going to use this as the main event to start putting significant effort back into TheWalkingGuy.

So with this “reboot” of TWG, here’s a summary of my last four years.

Starting in February 2013, I lost alot of weight. It was awesome. It was preceded by years and years of trying and failing to lose weight. I found strength and motivation that I had not had before, and I lost 158 lbs in about 9 months. WOW.

Then, a few things happened (not all of equal impact, but all significant):

I lost my mother to lung cancer, preceded by months of her health declining – and I am so thankful she did get to see me lose that weight the first time
I started a very challenging job – more stressful than average, with lots of travel
I encountered other significant challenges in life – and I’ll leave out those details, because I know all of you reading each have your own Significant Challenges

I almost gave up, got lazy, got off track – I’m not really sure how to characterize it. The net result was that I started gaining the weight back, eventually gaining back about half of what I had lost (approx. 80 lbs).

I never stopped walking, although I did lighten up and became less consistent. The big problem was that I went off track with my eating. Tracking my food is a leading indicator for me – if I stop tracking, I get off track (pun completely intended).

(BTW, I understand that this is TWG. But it’s not just about walking – it’s about eating and more as well. If I called this TheEatingGuy, that would just sound… weird).

So, I tried to restart several times. I tried the Inova Medical Weight Loss program again, albeit unsuccessfully. It wasn’t a problem with the plan (it’s a great program and was very helpful to me in 2013); because of travel for work, the weekly meetings didn’t fit my schedule. I realized that I needed to do this myself.

Throughout 2015 and 2016, I realized I was avoiding my annual physical because I knew that would be bad news – I’m sure this pushed me to get back on track. There is a particular very persistent receptionist at my doc who JUST WOULDN’T STOP CALLING. And when I didn’t call back, she would CALL MY WIFE. And that was all actually very very helpful.

Finally, in late 2016, I made up my mind to recommit to my weight loss leading up to New Year’s weekend 2017. I’m not sure what the final straw was, but the planets just lined up again, similar to Feb 2013. (Please note that I use that phrase “planets lined up” in the astrophysical sense – an extra pull of gravity due to the alignment of planets. I’m not 100% clear on the science behind this, but it sounds really cool. I am clearly not an astrophysicist, nor do I play one on television).

Once I was back on track in earnest, I finally scheduled that annual physical – 2+ years late – and it went well 🙂

In January 2017, I went back to a low-carb, low-cal regimen, consuming about 1500-2000 calories/day (keeping closer to 1500), limiting my carbs to fruits and vegetables (raw and cooked). I have been “informed” by Paleo plans, especially Whole30, but I can’t say I’ve been strictly following any particular plan.

I have really reduced dairy as well. That was not a goal, but it hasn’t been as bad as I thought it would be. I still love dairy

Oh yeah – and I’ve been walking ALOT.

Since making those changes in January 2017, I’ve managed to lose almost 60 lbs. I just hit the goal of 250 lbs that I set in January, and I am very motivated to keep going.

Lessons learned:

(0) Don’t ever give up. Ever. (Yes, this is the 0th entry in this list).

(1) I’m still learning how to manage weight (in particular, eating) through life adversity. It’s a skill I need to continue to develop. And those adversities are not accidental – they are all with purpose. More on that in future posts.

(2) Even when you fall off the wagon, getting back on will always reap benefits. I feel so much better this year. This time, I want to stay down and not have to lose it all over again. STAY DOWN.

I don’t like to toot my own horn, but I know many people appreciated and were encouraged by my stories in 2013, so I’m hoping to do more with this in 2017 and beyond. I’d like to create a place where people can share stories, helpful hints, etc. There is much to be gained by a community pooling ideas together here.

So – let’s get back to walk. That’s where I’m heading right now 🙂

Yours truly,

TWG

November 2, 2013

Stress Reduction

Cutting wayyyyy down on stress is one of the many unexpected benefits of doing alot of walking.

If you watch this blog over time, you’ll see me call out MANY of the unexpected benefits of losing weight and getting fit. My motivations were all negative, and I have been so amazingly blessed and surprised by all the positives I didn’t see coming.

I used to be a pretty stressed out dude. I did my best to hide it, but that was probably not successful in the eyes of most people who know me.

And I may still be a little tightly wound, but I am MUCH less stressed than I was 8+ months ago. I sleep so much better. I worry so much less. I have a much easier time letting go of the little things. I don’t have a perfect handle on this (and never will in this life), but I’m heading in the right direction.

I have some big things going on in life right now. A year ago, I would have been sleepless as a result of them. They do weigh still weigh on me, but not nearly as much.

I also don’t think it’s just a physiological response. I don’t deny the reality of the physiological benefits, but I feel as if getting healthier through my walking has really helped me see things more clearly – that I am not in control of most things in life, but God is in control of ALL of them, and I really can trust him. “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” Luke 12:6-7 (ESV).

This has also helped me focus on moving the levers I can control and not worry about the things that are out of my control. The discipline of getting healthier is pretty straightforward – you have two major levers at your disposal: what you take in (eat) and what you burn (exercise). I had to learn a new measure of discipline on both those counts. Sleep is arguably another lever here, but in my experience, getting better sleep has been largely a function of the Eating and Exercising levers.

One other important spiritual impact here is simply the time to pray. This is a discipline that I am quite poor in. But being out in God’s creation (versus on the treadmill in front of a TV) simply provides great clarity of though and appreciation for all that he’s placed around us. Walking is not as “efficient” as running in terms of calories burned per hour, but it has the incredible benefit of helping me to slow down, appreciate things, think, and pray. I find that when I plug in, I lose that benefit. So I get outside when I can and enjoy the sights and sounds around me, and the clarity of mind I get that draws me closer to my creator.

All that said – it is a gorgeous Fall day here, and I am heading out with Yankee. Enjoy the day!

October 24, 2013

Tools I Use

Here are some of the most helpful tools I use to keep me walking. Nothing here is a paid product endorsement – I’ve just found them very useful. I’m sure there are other good tools out there – please share them if you have suggestions.

Fitbit – http://fitbit.com

It’s an awesome pedometer and helps you figure out how much sleep you’re getting. At first, the pedometer shows you how inactive you really are. Then, it motivates you to get moving. It has a great smartphone app (I use the one for iPhone) and very good web tools to show you how you’re doing. I also track all my food with it. Getting enough sleep is very helpful for losing weight, so this helps there. But I wasn’t interested in calling my blog TheSleepingGuy.

MapMyWalk – http://MapMyWalk.com

This is one of a family of apps that use GPS to actually track where you’re going and how much distance you’ve actually covered (compared to Fitbit, which is an estimate of how much distance you’ve covered).

BTW, both of the above apps have social networking aspects – you can have Fitbit Friends and MapMyWalk friends. Fitbit friends are fun because you can Cheer and Taunt them. MapMyWalk friends give you motivation to get out of bed and keep up with them.

There is a world of opportunity for apps that can take data from apps like these, correlate that data, and help make useful suggestions. Young Comp Sci majors who may be reading this – hint hint!

Clip-on lamp – as Fall sets in and it’s dark in the AM and PM, this is very helpful. I have a very small LED one by Cyclops (I think) that at least makes me a little more obvious to the cars that drive too fast in my neighborhood at 5:30 am and 9 pm. I found multiple options for these clip on lamps on Amazon.

Good Sneakers – and lots of them. Walking about 70 miles a week or more, you can wear out a pair in about 3 months. I have a large foot (15 4E) and the best thing for my shoe shopping has been the Internet. New Balance seem to fit my wide feet well most of the time, but not always – so buying a few pairs at a time with Free Return policies give me a better chance of finding what I need and sending the rest back with minimal hassle.

Music player – well, not really. Since I have been walking outside, I have really been enjoying being unplugged – not being in front of the TV on the treadmill. I guess as I age and my hearing is not getting any better, I feel the need to be more aware of what’s going on around me (note the reference earlier in this post to cars that drive too fast). And since I’ve been doing that, I’ve really come to enjoy hearing the birds, the other dogs as they bark at Yankee, and even meeting people in my neighborhood. More on this in the “Unexpected Benefits of Walking to Lose Weight” some other time.

What tools help you get out to get fit?

October 23, 2013

Making it Work

I’m on business travel this week. Wherever I am, I still try to get lots of steps in. I’m just over 20k for the day, so I think that qualifies for today.

Here’s how I do it, even when away from my “normal” environment and routine.

I aimed to get up at 5 am and get a good hour in. Was not successful with the 5 am thing. But at about 5:30 am, MapMyWalk told me a friend had just finished a workout, and that got me moving. I still got in about 45 minutes of walking on the treadmill – so not a horrible start.

I’m staying at a hotel close to the office I’m working at this week, along with a restaurant where I like to meet with my engineers and managers. I’m walking between all three locations.

During a break in the meeting this morning, I knew the rest room would be packed (it’s a big meeting), so I walked down to the first floor to use the facilities there. No waiting, plus extra steps (and stairs).

After lunch, I got in about a 15-minute walk and a friend went with me. More steps there.

We had a team social event tonight almost a mile from the hotel, but I walked to and from it. A little chilly, but another way to get steps in.

BTW, I do get some comments on walking (Colleague: “You’re walking? Seriously? I can give you a ride across the street.” Me: “Thanks, but I like to get my steps in.”). I was jokingly (I hope) accused of being a bully on a business trip earlier this year by encouraging my colleagues to walk. That’s OK – losing a ton of weight is worth the comments 🙂

I ended the day on YACC (Yet Another Conference Call) and I paced in my hotel room for 30+ minutes. The new bluetooth headset has better range than I thought.

So – that’s how I do it, and how you can do it too. Find ways to do some extra walking in during the day. It’s really not that hard.