Secrets to Sticking With It

Keeping your resolve to be healthy, active and a person of constant improvement can test you in many ways!  Our culture wants the "Secret to Overnight Success!" or "Three Simple Ways To Cheat Your Diet and Still Lose Weight!".  Losing 30 pounds in 3 months is much more appealing to most people than in a year.  When I first started running, it took 5 months to lose a mere 15 pounds!  It was excruciatingly slow!  Having a goal in mind is a good thing, but expecting overnight success is not fair!

I have a few people around me at all times who are attempting the next fad or wave or trend in weight loss, in health inprovement, mostly at the expense of their pocket books and waist lines.  The problem is this:  making weight loss alone  as my goal for me just will not work!  Numbers are an obsession for our culture.  But in reality, to be overall healthy, numbers are just a side effect of overall healthier living, and in much more long term beneficial ways will only change slowly over time.  

The challenge for me in this and perhaps for you who may be starting running, is that my draw for my attention has to become about the enjoyment of change, of taking better care of myself, of resolving through the discomfort of activity into the euphoria of achievement and endorphins!

Here's my recommendation:  ditch the daily weigh - in.  Keep your pocket change.  Put on a pair of runners and run  on  a regular basis, eat good portions and love the investment of health in your life.  Check the numbers occasionally (monthly?) , talk to people who have long-term success in change of health and know your are getting somewhere at your body's own pace.  

Starting A Running Program

Turkey Digested?Good, lets run! I am getting re-inspired for my runs.  For those who might be looking at a change for their lives, who have to start something or face consequences of poor choices in activity levels or nutrition, a way to begin would be to talk to someone who has made those choices and succeeded before.  There are so many fads and regimes that come and go.  Running is a simple way and really, the most tried and true way for many people historically, so if you are contemplating starting something, go for it!

Some Tips For Beginning a New Running Pattern In Your Life:

1. Start slowly.  I am one who needs to still tell himself over and over that lasting change happens gradually.  This is true for running.  This is also true for achieving a healthier body.  It took you this long to get where you are now, so giving yourself space and time to immerse in change is also necessary.  Overnight miracle cures to obesity can be dangerous and short-sighted!  I have burned myself out too many times going whole hog.  Here is a site that will help you achieve realistically.            Here is a snap shot of the ten weeks they outline for beginners:
2. 10-WEEK TRAINING SCHEDULE
   
   Week 1
   Run 2 minutes,
   walk 4 minutes.
   Repeat 5 times.
   
   Week 2
   Run 3 minutes,
   walk 3 minutes.
   Repeat five times.
   
   Week 3
   Run 5 minutes,
   walk 2.5 minutes.
   Repeat four times.
   
   Week 4
   Run 7 minutes,
   walk 3 minutes.
   Repeat three times.
   
   Week 5
   Run 8 minutes,
   walk 2 minutes.
   Repeat three times.
   
   Week 6
   Run 9 minutes,
   walk 2 minutes.
   Repeat twice, then
   run 8 minutes.
   
   Week 7
   Run 9 minutes,
   walk 1 minute.
   Repeat three times
   
   Week 8
   Run 13 minutes,
   walk 2 minutes.
   Repeat twice.
   
   Week 9
   Run 14 minutes,
   walk 1 minute.
   Repeat twice.
   
   Week 10
   Run 30 minutes.
   
   Note: After completing week 9, if you feel tired, repeat this week of training before moving on to week 10.
3. Eating to Fuel.  This is a challenge for me even now after years of good choices and poor ones.  Resetting the internal gauge can take perseverance and insight.   I recommend trying to drive out most simple sugars if you are a snacker for a time.  Starting a running routine means your body will need appropriate fueling,  Thinking of your body as a machine, we need to put the right gas in it.  Crash diets do not help overall the patterns that have taken years to establish.  I am currently looking at what has crept back in to my regime and if it is necessary.
4. Do what is enjoyable!  If running is not going to be appealing  over time, try a  few things to find out what works for you.  If repetition annoys you, shake it up, but with a plan in mind all the time of constant activity in the week.  Cross training is great for that.  Hitting the weights alongside running helps build muscle tone and increases you expenditure of energy, Thus improving BMI results more efficiently.
5. Speaking of Body Mass Index (BMI), get calculated and know what your goal for you is.  This link will calculate your BMI for you.
6. Last thing to say about the process to change is this:  It is not about the numbers.  It is about being healthy!  Enjoying yourself is therefore paramount.  It took me 6 months to lose a total of 16 pounds when i started running.  It was a slow start, but it was the activity itself that I had to focus on finding joy in, making as a part of the regime.  I still do this today, reevaluating my enjoyment of the sport, finding inspiration and new goals to reach.  It is always changing, just like me!  It took over a year to find that my BMI was in a state of maintenance rather than recovery.  This could be longer or shorter for you.

Jan 1, 2008 - a runner - not a jogger - is born

Okay, so I like the idea of blogging, but am never sure what I could continue to write about. Then I am realizing, how writing about what I love, what I am passionate about, is the best chance that I will continue to update it.

I have not been a self- proclaimed athelete, but have always tried to be active. I did the gym 'beef-up ' thing, played a little b-ball and v-ball and soccer growing up. These all came and went for good reasons.

It had been almost 8 years since I had been physically active. I have jogged on and off my whole life, but it wasnt until Jan 1, 2008 when I realized my dream of being a bonified 'runner' was embarking.
I was at 201 lbs. I am 5'9", so that on a BMI scale was considered nearly obese! Obese!!? Flashes of my health going easily where I dreaded suddenly solidified all the daydreams of me running with abandon as I had done my whole life. It was no longer an option for me; I was about to begin a very personal journey. My father passed away suddenly at age 54 due to a mysterious heart attack right after a run. He had adult-onset diabetes, and had bought himself 9 years by getting the weight that had crept up on him in his adult life in control. This flash of fear in me made me realize how easy and sneakily my health issues were coming just as they had for my father, whom I miss everyday, as do all the peopple who knew him.

So out on the road I began, with a good friend who was already on the road to running regularly to encourage me. I started a regiment of nutrition overhauling, regular treks into the neighbourhood panting and wheezing and sweating all the way. It was tough to get into gear! From "couch potato, consume whatever was in front of my face" to "today no nachos - tomorrow the WORLD!" mentality.

Here I sit, a year and a half later, currently weighing in around 155 pounds, my more sane Body Mass Index intact, and I really want to put out my thoughts on this journey. I have learned a lot, reflected a lot, pushed through a lot, and achieved a lot. I am a runner.