From alpha testing to the QUERCUS 200

Thanks a lot LJ! We make a great team and we can all get there together.

Thanks LaMa! You've helped me through this food junk too. Misery loves company, but fortunately so does success.

Thanks Stacy! I have been growing out the beard and hair. The meanest de-motivational quote I've heard was a play on Gump. "Life is like a box of chocolates. It doesn't last as long if you're fat" So mean. Let's keep that off the shirt.

So 4.44 miles for day 444. Hilly road miles in 57:05 with a 147 bpm average heart rate. I was able to go faster down hill without it hurting which was a first. Hopefully the knees hold up okay.
 
Thanks Cate! I really appreciate your sticking around here. I intend to do the same. You have been such a great example and supporter. We are quite a team!
 
So 248.4 this morning is a slight uptick put still below my previous low (248.8) and still below the 250s. I'm hoping that I may have left the 250s behind for good like I left the 300s behind in May 2014. In reality this is probably the last big milestone weight to leave behind. I don't think at 6' 3" that 200 is a mark I will or need to stay below and I might decide to never even go there (doubtful). I'll need to get at least 5 pounds below the 250 mark until weight variation is eliminated as a factor. Then it is all up to me to never return. I don't worry about being 300 again. I know I won't let it happen.

I feel it's time for a little reflection on my time here at WLF. I've been here for 3 years and 1.5 months. I've disappeared periodically and derailed countless times, but here are the facts. In 3 years and 1.5 months I've gone from a digest of 349.2 pounds on the day I joined to an all time low of 247.8 yesterday. I've gone from a user of tobacco and alcohol that ate meat with every meal, and couldn't run to catch a bus to a daily running vegan that hasn't touched tobacco in years and is permanently off the sauce beginning by choice (Nov.) and eventually by allergy. So I've gained way more health than I've lost weight and I've lost 101.4 pounds so far. So by yesterday's weigh in I'm just shy of another 50 to lose to not be overweight by any measure (hopefully).

Here's my first log when I was happy to be away from the 350 mark.

http://weight-loss.fitness.com/threads/the-big-oak-quercus-needs-to-drop-some-dead-limbs.56548/

So with all of the ups and downs, regains and ill-conceived plans, and straight up derailments I've lost 0.62 pounds a week. So even if I maintain that same rate of loss I will be 198 summer of next year. I fully anticipate the rate to be much better. My allergies keep me from being able to derail on my diet or go back to drinking and I absolutely love running. Doubling that rate of loss is totally doable in a healthy manner and that would have me done before the years end.

So let's make it a goal: 198 by December 7, 2016

What a great way to celebrate my 3 year WLF anniversary. That will be a 1.19 pounds/week average.
 
Nice recap of your journey Quercus...truly impressive and life changing. I am so incredibly happy when I hear stories like yours, it's a reminder that YES, it does take determination...but it can certainly be done if you have the right mind set. Losing weight is nice, I am sure that having quality of life and being healthy FEELS EVEN BETTER. Congrats and I am sure you will keep pushing to a better you! That December goal of yours is promising AND doable! ;-)
 
Quercus said:
I've gone from a user of tobacco and alcohol that ate meat with every meal, and couldn't run to catch a bus to a daily running vegan that hasn't touched tobacco in years and is permanently off the sauce
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I have loved sharing your journey Q & continue to do so. It is wonderful! xoxo
 
Thank you Stacy!
Thanks Caligirl!
Thanks Cate! You give me confidence.
Thanks LaMa! I love causing happies.

So 250.4 the last two mornings. I ran 2 miles Sunday and 2.4 miles last night. Day 447 of the runstreak today. I ate right below 2,500 calories last night. I don't know why I was so hungry, but that's the worst I've done in a couple weeks. I'll try to keep it to 2,000 calories today.
 
Congrats on all the successes Q. It is a little odd to think back to where you were a few years back and to see how far you've come. You do kinda feel like two different people...
 
I like the abstract of your journey diary. Very impressive changes, and I need to remember for myself that you didn't do them all in one day.
 
Thanks Vee. It's a bit surreal. I've never felt more like me, yet I'm so different than I was before. It makes me have some long thoughts on the fleeting glimpse that is self. I've thought of myself as a static thing that's unchanging. Reality is the opposite. You only exist in the moment and you are how you act and think. Your physical self is the culmination of all of those past moments and so it lags behind your self-conception. If you know that and you keep your focus on the only place it matters (now) then eventually your physical self will catch up. Right now I'm a reflection of improvement mixed with doubt, but from this point forward I will strive to focus each moment on progress. I like the new me and I'm really excited about who he is becoming.
 
Damn straight LJ! From what I just wrote you could say that I didn't do it all in one day, but I did do it all in each moment. I've realized that I'll always be a work in progress, but that's because I'll never stop trying to improve.
 
Great progress and efforts Q!

If you're trying to shred weight through running and are occasionally gaining from water retention, have you ever considered doing interval sprints? Any interest in that? Back when I was racing and training a lot, I found it the most effective running workout for burning calories, sweating off water weight, building power and explosiveness, increasing speed, and hitting that addictive runner's high in even less time. If it sounds at all appealing to you, I highly recommend it. Fantastic workout, and it mixes up your runs instead of doing the same pace endurance run every day.
 
Quercus said:
Damn straight LJ! From what I just wrote you could say that I didn't do it all in one day, but I did do it all in each moment. I've realized that I'll always be a work in progress, but that's because I'll never stop trying to improve.
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That's what I need to do - focus on each day, and improve on the previous one. If there's a stumble, so be it, keep on going.
 
Thanks Cate!
Thanks LaMa! It was midday for me.
Thanks Baboon! I try to vary my intensity, but running every day makes sprint intervals risky. I'm not too concerned with water weight gains so long as the overall trend is loss. I do intense intervals just in a more organic, fartlek style. I'll keep them in mind as I progress as a runner.

There will be stumbles LJ, but it's the fall down 10 times and get up 11 attitude that will get us there.

248.8 this morning so it's trending back down.
 
Great news on the loss!

Running every day is no reason not to do intervals. Not enjoying them or preferring long runs is another thing, but if you do want to try them running every day isn't going to stop you. When I raced track and x-country in high school, I ran every single day for years. During the season, we all had to do intervals (way before HIIT became a fad). We'd just alternate between sprints one day and long slow runs the next day (e.g. Mon/Wed intervals, Tues/Thus long slow recovery run, Fri regular run, Sat hills, Sun long endurance run). It gives the body time to recover while still letting you run every day and giving you the power boost. There's probably much better information about options available somewhere on the internet! When I started doing road races and marathoning later in life (after getting injured, then out of shape, then losing weight), I started doing intervals again. Most traditional running groups just do long slow runs and hill training. Doing intervals gave me faster gains, particularly helping me cut my 5k and 10k times down very quickly. A lot of recent evidence is showing HIIT to be a really efficient way to boost cardio and improve fitness. Anyway, if it's not your cup of tea that's totally fine. Just pointing out that it doesn't have to clash with running every day if you mix up your workouts well.
 
Okay Baboon you're going to make me say it. Sprints are great and have all of the benefits you mention. I'm too fat, old, and broken at the moment to do them without risking injury that could end my run streak. It's not a matter of not liking them. It would be akin to saying I don't like marathons because I don't run them. I am just not in a place where they are a good idea, but I'm working toward both being options. I love running all out as fast as I can, but my knee (bursectomy 2014) and sciatic (1 ruptured and 1 bulging disc) don't do well with it.
 
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