I've been walking with Lyn quite a bit lately, but haven't been adding those walks to the "official" total, which only counted the walks I've been taking with Scott. As of yesterday, I'm adding a new section to the spreadsheet and will be tracking all the miles I walk. Scott's gotten busier and we can't walk as many times a week, but we are still walking and still continuing toward our goal of 5300 miles. We usually still get in at least two walks per week for 20+ miles today.
It's been really nice walking with Lyn, gives us a chance to spend some time together without any distractions and just kind of enjoy the time and talk about life. We usually do 3-5 miles at a time, either in our local area or some destination we choose. Lyn likes to window shop, so sometimes we "mall walk" someplace like IKEA so she can look around while we get our exercise. She came on the Purple Stride walk with me too.
Some days I'm also going to walk alone. I am trying to get at least 3 miles per day.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Walking with an agrarian, Bulgarian Librarian.
Scott's lovely wife, Elena, has been joining us on some of our walks. She's trying to get in better shape, like the rest of us. She has been walking the first five miles with us, ending up back and their house, and then Scott and I go out for five or six more. She joins us when her busy schedule permits, as she is in her final semester at OU and will be graduating in December.
I gave her that name because she hails from Bulgaria, was working in the library of her former college in Chicago when Scott met her, and previously attended Bulgaria's Agricultural University, hence, the "Agrarian Bulgarian Librarian". She's lots of fun and it's great to have her on the walks.
By the way, if anyone else wants to get in on the act, the more the merrier. I'd love to end up like Forrest Gump with a thousand people following me for no apparent reason. Would do wonders for my small, dainty ego.
I gave her that name because she hails from Bulgaria, was working in the library of her former college in Chicago when Scott met her, and previously attended Bulgaria's Agricultural University, hence, the "Agrarian Bulgarian Librarian". She's lots of fun and it's great to have her on the walks.
By the way, if anyone else wants to get in on the act, the more the merrier. I'd love to end up like Forrest Gump with a thousand people following me for no apparent reason. Would do wonders for my small, dainty ego.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
New Distance Record
Today was the first of our new 15 mile routes.
Three miles earlier with Lyn.
15 "official" miles with Scott.
18 total miles walked today.
Three miles earlier with Lyn.
15 "official" miles with Scott.
18 total miles walked today.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Stats
Highest weight ever: Approximately 405.
Weight as of August 2010: Approximately 385.
Target Weight: Approximately 220.
Miles walked to date: 161
Calories burned walking so far: Approximately 42,950
Weight at last weigh in on 9/6/2010: 372
Pounds lost since August: 12
Pounds down from high: 32
Weight as of August 2010: Approximately 385.
Target Weight: Approximately 220.
Miles walked to date: 161
Calories burned walking so far: Approximately 42,950
Weight at last weigh in on 9/6/2010: 372
Pounds lost since August: 12
Pounds down from high: 32
Tools
Since the majority of this is walking, I'm not relying on much in the way of equipment. But here's what's been helpful so far.
Shoes: This will pretty much be a hodgepodge of footwear, because I wear a size 16EEEE shoe and I pretty much have to buy what I can find and afford. But right now I'm using a New Balance 587 that seems to be working well. Back pain, foot pain, and blisters are way down from when I started.
Exercise: I'm adding in some exercise as tolerated. I've had good success with an old, out of print exercise book called Staying Hard: The Only Exercise Book You Will Ever Need by Charles Gaines. He did a lot of work with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 70s and 80s. I bought three of them when I found it used, since it's really hard to come by. It was a big part of the weight I lost in the late 80s to get into the Navy.
I'm tracking my food and weight loss at The Daily Plate on Livestrong.com, which is Lance Armstrong's web site. It's a lot like Weight Watchers online, but free. I think it's a little less user friendly, but you can't beat the price. Looking at what you eat every day is essential to keep yourself accountable. It turns out that before I started doing this I was eating from 5000-8000 calories every day. I am now at or below 2600, which should cause me to lose about three pounds per week at my current size. That will adjust down as I get smaller.
Cool tracking spreadsheet We made a Google Document so you can follow with us and see how far we've come. So far we're at about 3%.
Shoes: This will pretty much be a hodgepodge of footwear, because I wear a size 16EEEE shoe and I pretty much have to buy what I can find and afford. But right now I'm using a New Balance 587 that seems to be working well. Back pain, foot pain, and blisters are way down from when I started.
Exercise: I'm adding in some exercise as tolerated. I've had good success with an old, out of print exercise book called Staying Hard: The Only Exercise Book You Will Ever Need by Charles Gaines. He did a lot of work with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 70s and 80s. I bought three of them when I found it used, since it's really hard to come by. It was a big part of the weight I lost in the late 80s to get into the Navy.
I'm tracking my food and weight loss at The Daily Plate on Livestrong.com, which is Lance Armstrong's web site. It's a lot like Weight Watchers online, but free. I think it's a little less user friendly, but you can't beat the price. Looking at what you eat every day is essential to keep yourself accountable. It turns out that before I started doing this I was eating from 5000-8000 calories every day. I am now at or below 2600, which should cause me to lose about three pounds per week at my current size. That will adjust down as I get smaller.
Cool tracking spreadsheet We made a Google Document so you can follow with us and see how far we've come. So far we're at about 3%.
Inspirations
So, what led me to this? A few things, really.
First, I'm really tired of being this big. It's not healthy, and it's not who I want to be. I have been trying to lead a more active live the last little while, and it is far from easy while carrying almost 200 extra pounds. My brother has bought a great piece of land in North Carolina, and it's really hard to enjoy it when I have so much trouble going up and down the hills there. Sometimes I just sit in the barn and read a book or something while everyone else is up on the hill doing things. Eventually they come down and the fun resumes, but I don't want to be that guy.
Not so many years ago, I was in really good shape. I did martial arts regularly, had (and still have) a great mountain bike that I loved to ride, went running, lifted weights, and pretty much did anything physical that I wanted with relative ease. I was not great at any one thing, but I could do a little bit of everything.
The last time I played football I spent two days in bed. A recent series of beach volleyball games on a camping trip had me walking like an old man for days. Hiking causes me to stop and take all kinds of breaks, which means I either end up by myself behind everyone or they all have to wait for me. Enough.
I had three friends who have had successful weight loss surgery. Two with the Roux-en-Y procedure, and one with the Lap band. They are all very happy with the result and have had dramatic weight loss. This is what led me down the road of exploring this option, and I was about to go in for the surgery when I decided against for my own reasons. But I'm still really grateful to them for answering my questions and getting me to think about whether or not it was right for me.
Another inspiring guy is a blogger named Tony Posnaski. His blog is called The Anti-Jared. This guy lost over 200 pounds in a year by exercising and eating better. He also considered, and rejected, weight loss surgery. I stumbled on his stuff a while ago and have been keeping a close eye on him. I am trying to do something similar to this, maybe a little slower, but he's been a great inspiration.
First, I'm really tired of being this big. It's not healthy, and it's not who I want to be. I have been trying to lead a more active live the last little while, and it is far from easy while carrying almost 200 extra pounds. My brother has bought a great piece of land in North Carolina, and it's really hard to enjoy it when I have so much trouble going up and down the hills there. Sometimes I just sit in the barn and read a book or something while everyone else is up on the hill doing things. Eventually they come down and the fun resumes, but I don't want to be that guy.
Not so many years ago, I was in really good shape. I did martial arts regularly, had (and still have) a great mountain bike that I loved to ride, went running, lifted weights, and pretty much did anything physical that I wanted with relative ease. I was not great at any one thing, but I could do a little bit of everything.
The last time I played football I spent two days in bed. A recent series of beach volleyball games on a camping trip had me walking like an old man for days. Hiking causes me to stop and take all kinds of breaks, which means I either end up by myself behind everyone or they all have to wait for me. Enough.
I had three friends who have had successful weight loss surgery. Two with the Roux-en-Y procedure, and one with the Lap band. They are all very happy with the result and have had dramatic weight loss. This is what led me down the road of exploring this option, and I was about to go in for the surgery when I decided against for my own reasons. But I'm still really grateful to them for answering my questions and getting me to think about whether or not it was right for me.
Another inspiring guy is a blogger named Tony Posnaski. His blog is called The Anti-Jared. This guy lost over 200 pounds in a year by exercising and eating better. He also considered, and rejected, weight loss surgery. I stumbled on his stuff a while ago and have been keeping a close eye on him. I am trying to do something similar to this, maybe a little slower, but he's been a great inspiration.
Partner in Crime
This isn't the first harebrained weight loss idea I've had. Some of you may remember my "walk across the U.S.A" idea a couple of years ago. I think I made it about to Macomb County before that one died out. But this time, I had a critical component for success........someone else dumb enough to try and walk 5000 miles!
My lifelong friend Scott is doing this with me. He and I have been walking around for 25 or so years now. Ever since high school, we would take long walks and explore new places while having conversations about all aspects of life, many of which made no sense at all to the casual observer. We both have some weight to lose, he much less than I, and we had been taking walks at night anyway after not seeing much of each other for a couple of years, so we figured why not? He came up with the starting point of Plovdiv, as it's the hometown of his wife. He lives near me, so getting together is easy, and we know the surrounding area pretty well.
We're on for at least 10 miles three or more times per week, and then we're planning some longer walks as well.
We did the Purple Stride for pancreatic cancer this past September 12, which was 5k.
The first big walk will be home from the campus of Oakland University, a distance of about 25 miles. We'll be tackling that around the end of October.
My lifelong friend Scott is doing this with me. He and I have been walking around for 25 or so years now. Ever since high school, we would take long walks and explore new places while having conversations about all aspects of life, many of which made no sense at all to the casual observer. We both have some weight to lose, he much less than I, and we had been taking walks at night anyway after not seeing much of each other for a couple of years, so we figured why not? He came up with the starting point of Plovdiv, as it's the hometown of his wife. He lives near me, so getting together is easy, and we know the surrounding area pretty well.
We're on for at least 10 miles three or more times per week, and then we're planning some longer walks as well.
We did the Purple Stride for pancreatic cancer this past September 12, which was 5k.
The first big walk will be home from the campus of Oakland University, a distance of about 25 miles. We'll be tackling that around the end of October.
Another brilliant idea
Ok, I've suggested this before, but it looks like I'm actually doing it this time. Novel concept, I know.
Some of you may know that I was recently approved and in the process of scheduling Lap band surgery to lose weight. I've tried pretty much every diet over the years, with the net result of gaining 195 pounds during my adult life. My highest weight was 405. I managed to get down to 384 with no particular program, and I have weighed that much for about two years now. It was getting very apparent (duh) that it was time to lose some weight.
I had pretty much given up on being able to do it myself, so after a few friends had pretty successful weight loss surgeries, I decided to go for the Lap band. I got all the way through the process, then decided I wanted to do something less extreme that did not involve surgery and the lifestyle modifications it would cause me to make.
In true Jim fashion, I decided to something so ridiculous that a normal person would never attempt it. I decided to harness my lifetime love of walking to take off the weight, by walking the distance between Plovdiv, Bulgaria (The hometown of my friend Elena) and Capetown, South Africa (a convenient point on the map and sort of close to where my friend Priscilla currently resides). This is a distance of 5267 miles. We are doing it currently in chunks of 10-11 miles, three or more nights per week. Longer routes soon to come as we get in better condition.
Details to follow.
Some of you may know that I was recently approved and in the process of scheduling Lap band surgery to lose weight. I've tried pretty much every diet over the years, with the net result of gaining 195 pounds during my adult life. My highest weight was 405. I managed to get down to 384 with no particular program, and I have weighed that much for about two years now. It was getting very apparent (duh) that it was time to lose some weight.
I had pretty much given up on being able to do it myself, so after a few friends had pretty successful weight loss surgeries, I decided to go for the Lap band. I got all the way through the process, then decided I wanted to do something less extreme that did not involve surgery and the lifestyle modifications it would cause me to make.
In true Jim fashion, I decided to something so ridiculous that a normal person would never attempt it. I decided to harness my lifetime love of walking to take off the weight, by walking the distance between Plovdiv, Bulgaria (The hometown of my friend Elena) and Capetown, South Africa (a convenient point on the map and sort of close to where my friend Priscilla currently resides). This is a distance of 5267 miles. We are doing it currently in chunks of 10-11 miles, three or more nights per week. Longer routes soon to come as we get in better condition.
Details to follow.
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