50+ Pounds Lighter, I'm Done Losing Weight

In the fall of 2007 I had my physical and was told I needed to eat better and exercise. Same advice I've been getting for 20 years. My eating habits weren't that bad. I don't care for red meat, don't drink, might eat 2 candy bars a year and I cut out soft drinks in late 2007, unless I am flying and get thirsty - then I might get a Ginger Ale. My exercise routine consisted of running every morning - from the bed to the bathroom. It wasn't much, but it was heartfelt.

My cholesterol is ok, except the good cholesterol, which was too low and the only way to get that up was to exercise. Same story for years.

Not sure why I decided to start exercising this time, but I did, about two weeks before my 2008 physical. I probably did it so I could say I was exercising. We have a treadmill my wife purchased used. For the first week, I couldn't jog a quarter mile. I used it 20 minutes a day at least 4 days a week. Early on, I did maybe 3 minutes of running somewhere in there. It wasn't until late December I could run the entire time, save for my 2 minute warm up and 2.5 minute cool down. Now I run between 20 and 30 minutes a day, putting in mostly 10 minute miles up a 5 degree incline, though I might go for an 8 minute mile if feeling particularly good.

As for eating habits, I don't count calories. I just cut out most bread and ate more salads for lunch. Loaded salads, with sun dried tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, pistachios, raisons, red or black grapes, mushrooms and whatever else I might have been in the mood for that morning when fixing it. I love pistachios. I have eaten no less than one pound a week this past year.

In December we got a Wii Fit. I didn't use it much and still don't, maybe 4-8 minutes a day, but that darn body test with the chart, that motivated me to move the graph down. I got addicted to running and for 100 days, ran 7 days a week save one day I was so sick I could only walk for 20 minutes.



Now that I've lost the weight, and after talking to an uncle that has run for 30+ years, I am only running 6 days a week, giving my body one day to heal. I usually do it on the treadmill, but if it is the weekend and I have the time, I'll go running in the neighborhood where I run for much longer than 20 minutes, partially because I get lost.

Before I started exercising and weighing myself, I was right at 220lbs from my 2007 doctor visit. I shed over 50 pounds between October 5 and today, where I weighed in at exactly 164 lbs, which is a BMI of 22.9 for my height. The Wii Fit says my BMI needs to be 22, which is only 157lbs, but that is too much. There just isn't that much fat left on me, and besides, what fat I do have is slowly but surely being replaced with muscle. Emphasis on "slowly" though. Now I just have to modify my eating and exercise habits to maintain, not lose or gain.

As a side note, about a week and a half ago I quit using running shoes. I now use Vibram Five Fingers. My calves were killing me after the first two days, but now I feel better than I ever did with running shoes. Our feet were not designed to operate with shoes, and using running shoes puts undue stress on your knees.