As I’ve mentioned before, I made a big commitment – a New Year’s resolution, really – to get myself in better shape starting in 2009. Since January 1, I’ve lost 42 pounds according to my trusty scale, and a big part of that was dietary changes. Instead of eating junk food and gobbling up tons of fattening homemade dishes, I’m learning what healthy foods I like – beans, rice, spinach, and lots of seasoning – and I’ve completely replaced all soda with water.
In February, I started attempting to work out, but this past winter was something of a “lost winter” – I spent much of the season quite ill and the training died off pretty quickly.
In late June, though, I decided to give it another shot. My big impetus this time was that I realized my weight was beginning to plateau around 300 pounds (don’t gasp – I’m 6′6″ tall and have really broad shoulders, so although I look overweight, it’s not nearly as obvious as it is on a shorter person with a smaller frame).
To put it simply, I needed to get more active. I wanted to raise my metabolism level, lower my blood pressure, and lower my resting heart rate, and the only way to do that is to exercise.
So I made a commitment to run a 5K by the end of the year. Given that I’m going literally from a couch potato state to this level, it’s a pretty big leap. Here are some things I’ve learned to help me get going.
First, Nike+ iPod has helped a ton with motivation. And I’m about to give myself some more motivation – here’s my Nike+ iPod running data. Having such a detailed record of my information – and being able to set short-term goals for me to achieve – has been hugely motivational, as has the ability to share that data with friends. Nike+ is basically my running coach.
I didn’t buy special shoes for this. Instead, I just used a simple elastic pouch to put the sensor on the shoes I already like for running.
Second, the “afterglow” is the reason to exercise. I usually don’t really want to exercise at all, and I often really want to stop when I’m exercising. I keep two motivations in mind. First, to get myself out the door, I keep the “afterglow” in mind – I feel tremendous after getting exercise. Second, to keep myself going when I’m out there, I have a goal in mind whenever I go out there. I mix up those daily goals – sometimes it’s just to walk three miles, while at other times I do some interval training. I just keep that day’s goal in mind when I’m out there.
Third, I don’t overdo it. I’m not doing long sustained runs (yet). Instead, right now, I’m alternating days – one day, I walk some prescribed distance (usually three miles) and the next day, I do intervals – I run for a minute, then walk for a minute, then repeat nine more times.
Each week, I’ll make the running days slightly tougher. My first week, for example, I walked for a minute, then ran for thirty seconds, then repeated nine times. Next week, for example, I’m going to walk for a minute, then run for ninety seconds, then repeat nine times. Remember, these days are interspersed with days where all I do is walk.
Fourth, it’s a lot of fun to see yourself getting slowly better. When I started this two weeks ago, I couldn’t make it thirty seconds without blowing wind. Just this morning, I ran nonstop for almost two-tenths of a mile – albeit not at a fast pace, but still. I was proud of myself and of my progress to this point.
Am I seeing weight loss benefits? Not yet. I’ve noticed two things, though.
One, I’m hungrier and thirstier than I was before I started, which makes sense – I’m obviously consuming more calories than before. I’m striving to find a balance between this higher need for calories and a desire to eat well. My guess is that over time, this will all balance out.
Two, although I’m not strictly losing weight on the scale as of yet, it seems as though my body is slightly changing shape. My belly is a bit smaller, while my legs seem a bit thicker. My guess is that I’m actually losing “fat” weight in my belly and replacing it with “muscle” weight in my legs, which is a good step, I would think.
What’s next? As I said, one of my big goals is to lower my resting heart rate, and after doing some research, it seems clear that one of the best ways to do that is to hop on a bicycle. I’m going to try bicycling around the neighborhood a few times a week to see how that helps things. I’m also going to dabble with a few other exercises, using thirty day trials to see how they work for me.
To put it simply, I was a couch potato (and I still would be in that class in the eyes of many athletes), but I’ve discovered that if you don’t go out there and kill yourself, exercise can be fun and it can make you feel better.
13 Comments
First, a quick note based on leaving a comment: It’s confusing to have the title of the previous post in big bold letters above this comment box. It makes me think I’m commenting on your summer reading list instead of your couch potato-i-ness.
Second, good work. If you read Get Fit Slowly, you know how I struggle with this same sort of thing. I’m an on-again/off-again fitness guy. I go gung-ho into running but then get hurt and do nothing for the rest of the summer. I’m in the middle of trying to pull myself out of a downward spiral right now!
I just wanted to offer you some words of encouragement. And to leave a comment. (Your first here?)
Hi, Trent.
I have a question about the “afterglow” of exercise. It’s something I read about pretty much everywhere, but I’ve never experienced it. I used to think maybe I was taking it too slowly (a long, leisurely walk is great, but it’s harldy getting the juices flowing), but even when I *do* get the juices flowing, I feel *miserable* — heart pounding, breathing heavily, sometimes a little nauseated, and more often than not rather upset that so little work made me feel so bad.
I suspect it’s just the other side of the endorphin/adrenaline “coin”, but what can be done about it?
Thanks!
Congrats on the weight loss Trent! I’ve lost about the same exact amount as you have. I started eating better and taking walks at work during lunch and walking the stairs at breaks.
I find running on flat ground extremely boring. I don’t know how you feel about it but if you get to a point where you’re looking for a more intense and fun interval workout, find a retention basin, tobbogan hill, or some other steep incline to run up and down.
It hurts so much but when you’re running up a hill you have instinctual motivation to get to the top. Stair climbing is very similar and is also very beneficial to fitness.
Good luck with the body comp. transformation!
I started an exercise routine early in the year, not to lose weight but for health reasons. I’m not ill, but the thought of being unable to grow old with grace bothered me enough to motivate me. I am still young, only 26, but I feel as though I can sense age creeping up on me. I’m not as flexible as I used to be, not as fast, I don’t have as much endurance I used to.
I needed to make some changes so I made a goal of visiting the gym 3 days a week. I stuck with it until school ended and my membership stopped. I bought myself a road bike but took a pretty hard fall, hitting a tree, and I haven’t been on since.
A friend of mine is really trying to get me back into the swing of things, encouraging me to participate in a mini-marathon as well as a triatholon, which I was supposed to do the week after I hit the tree. Needless to say I was not in the shape to perform. I am finding it incredibly difficult to find the motivation I need in order to successfully accomplish these 2 upcoming events. Even though I know I need to train, I’m not.
I think my major hurdle is just getting my foot out the door. After that its cake. Damn inertia anyways! It sounds like you’ve got your program in order, hopefully I can follow suit soon.
Hi Trent
I also am trying to lose weight- so far down 60 pounds since last summer- and I too didnt lose weight right away when adding exercise. Try adding gatorade at least on the days you go running- you may be doing enough exercise that your body needs the added electrolytes. I found switching to a sports drink instead of water on my workouts kept the cravings for food at bay.
Boy Trent, I need to get myself out of my couch potato lifestyle. I work about 60 – 70 hours a week, and then blog after hours. I really have a hard time dedicating time in my long work day for exercise. If I don’t do it first thing in the morning, then I am too tired and hungry when I get home from work at about 7:00 pm.
Excellent work, Trent. Keep it up.
Do you think the Nike+ sensor is as beneficial if you’re going to be doing more walking than running?
At this point, running us still very challenging for me.
Also, did you wean yourself off the soda, or go cold turkey?
Cheers,
Aaron Kulbe
Congrats! I just started a very similar training program called “Couch to 5k” in June (www.c25k.com), and have been using an application on my iPod touch to guide me through each workout. I remember barely making it through the 60 second intervals, and I completed my first 20 minute run just last week. My goal is to run a 5k this fall. You can do it!
Awesome Trent! I am also finally getting serious with my diet. I am one of those recovering sugar/carb addicts. I love junk food and sugar (chocolates!). As a result, I have been facing challenges getting back to the original weight I had in my 20’s — that would be minus 30 lbs. I think that 7 years is a long enough time for making excuses for this! So I’m on the fitness track as well, and so far, I’m doing well. In a few months, I hope to be as svelte as I once was….
lol. I agree that watching yourself melt away the extra poundage is awesome!
My secret so far — to keep getting so hungry — is to really go heavy on the salads: the fresh leaves seem to keep me full and I’m able to ward off unwanted cravings. I’m now on a low carb diet and that has helped control the binges/sugar cravings by helping me maintain healthy blood sugar levels.
Good luck to us!
Trent, this is awesome. Congratulations on setting such an ambitious goal and sticking with it to see SUPERB results. I especially like how you’re taking the gradual, long-term approach. Well done.
Saw the latest picture of you at the part with your family. You look like you’re making progress with the weight loss.
Keep up the good work. I hope your running is okay.
I’m currently on day 2 of no caffeine. My head hurts, even after taking aspirin.
The soda has been my biggest vice, and I know that just by stopping drinking the soda, I’ll end up losing some more weight.
Last check, I was down 31lbs. since 5/29
Trent, I recently ran my first 5k, the Sausage Run the loops around Miller Park in Milwaukee, and finishes by going through the actual MLB (it was a very neat experience.) I didn’t train nearly as much as I should have, but I’m not terribly out of shape either, so I thought I did pretty well. Two weeks later I ran another 5k (my girlfriend is prepping for a marathon, so me running the 5k while she does the 10k helps with her training), and I managed to shave 5 minutes off my previous time, finishing in 27:12. Not spectacular by any means, but I did exactly what I hoped to do: Improve.
Keep up the hardwork, you’ll do great.
Post a Comment