It’s natural at the end of a year to reflect on what one has accomplished during the year. As I reflect on 2006, I have a feeling that 2006 is going to end up being one of those pivotal years in my life.

If at the end of 2005, someone told me that I was going to do any of the following, I would have laughed at them:

• Moved from S. Fla to Texas
• Start a running program
• Run continuously and regularly for 6 months
• Be able to run 10 miles without stopping or walking
• Wake up at 5:30am and run in sub-freezing temperatures
• Lose 50 lbs

Well, I wouldn’t have laughed at all of the above. I may have believed that I would have started a running program, but that’s about it. After all, I have tried running in the past, but I usually ended up abandoning it after 2-3 weeks.

I think the move to Texas was a big part of the year. It was the perfect opportunity to start fresh.

The things I have accomplished were no where on my radar in 2005. I can only imagine what I can accomplish in 2007 now that I actually have goals and dreams. That marathon doesn’t seem so impossible now. Losing 20 more lbs seems like something that is definitely achievable. Running further and faster is something I expect to happen once I keep training.

To everyone out there, I’d like to wish you a Happy New Year and especially, an Injury-Free Year. Dream big, work hard, be diligent and your dreams just may come true…..

Posted by derek as Training, Weight Loss at 12:50 PM PST

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I’ve worked for my current company in FL for the last 10.5 years, but earlier this year, I moved to TX and I have been telecommuting from home since then. I do fly back to FL once every 3 months, so since I started losing weight, I’ve been back twice and I had lost 25 lbs each time. Since my co-workers see me so infrequently, my weight loss was very noticeable.

Some of the questions I get asked all the time by co-workers, friends, and family include:

• How did you manage to lose so much weight?
• Are you on a special diet?
• What is your secret?

I thought it would be great to explain what my secret is, if you can call it that.

Well, sorry to disappoint all you folks, but there is no secret. To lose weight, you simply need to ensure that the calories you expend during the day exceeds what you take in. Once you expend 3,500 more calories than you take in, you will lose 1 pound. I don’t believe in fad diets or the multitude of schemes out there. On my last trip back to FL, I was at the company Christmas party and a couple people told me about a diet they did where they lost something like 10lbs in one week. They seem convinced that it wasn’t water weight and that they actually lost that weight. There are no shortcuts to losing weight and the sooner you can accept that, the quicker you can begin your journey.

To help me lose weight, I started to record everything I ate. If it’s pre-packaged food, then it’s easy. If it’s something home cooked, I would add up all the individual ingredients. To help with this, I would suggest you get a good kitchen scale. This is the exact Salter model I have, but there are others that will work just as well.

I would also record the calories I burned. This is made up of two components: calories that are used by your body to operate (Basal Metabolic Rate) and the calories you burn from any exercise.

You can Google BMR calculator and you should find a suitable one. Be sure to choose sedentary lifestyle to get your BMR, even if you are actively exercising. That is, choose the lifestyle that matches your lifestyle if you weren’t exercising. Someone that does manual labor for a living would choose one of the non-sedentary settings. Be sure to calculate your BMR as you lose weight as it does depend on your weight. As you lose weight, your BMR will get lower. This is one reason that it’s so much easier to lose weight when you have a lot to lose.

For any exercising you do, again, you can usually find a calculator that would tell you how much your burn. For my running, I used the Runner’s World Calculator.

Early on, I made every effort to have a 1,300 calorie deficit each day. These days, I aim for a 1,000 calorie deficit. You will need to find what you can live with.  The general recommendation is a 500 calorie deficit so please take that into consideration.  If in doubt, consult with a Doctor.
Once I can calculate my deficit, I then eat what I want. On the days that I run more, for example, when I do a 10-mile run on Sundays, I eat more. I haven’t deprived myself of anything as yet. I just eat less, or eat it less frequently. I’ve had burgers, fries, Buffalo chicken wings, pizza, etc, etc all while continuing to lose weight. Some days and weeks are harder than others. E.g, when I travel on business, I tend to have to eat out a lot more than I would like. Thanksgiving and holidays are tough, but even if you falter, you just need to get back on the horse the next day.

While the formula for losing weight is simple, the actual task is not and anyone that tells you it’s easy would lying. I already mentioned some of the things that are hard above, but other things to look out for are:

• Plateaus: These are really discouraging, but it’s almost a fact of life when it comes to losing weight. I was luck in that my plateaus didn’t last long, only a couple weeks. Some people may not even classify it as a plateau as it’s not in the 4-6 week range.
• Temptation: They are all around us, and even I have succumbed at times. If you falter, just forget about it and move forward.

Some of the foods that I ate a lot of (and still eat) are:

• Watermelon: This is a great snack since it is so low in calories. When it was in-season, I used to eat 2lbs of diced watermelon as a snack
• Ravioli: I love cheese ravioli with pasta sauce. The calories are pretty low, it tastes great, and it’s very, very low-fat
• Potatoes: I would slice them up and bake them in the oven. I would either use a spicy seasoning, or sprinkle grated cheese on it during the last 2 mins while it’s cooking.
• Chicken Breast: 6ozs of boneless, skinless chicken breast is my standard lunch. I rub a spicy Chicken Rub on it and fry it in 1 tbs of Canola oil.
• Popcorn: This is great snack. I would eat a whole bag of popcorn. I especially like the Orville Redenbacker Shakeables popcorn

So, to summarize my secret, here is what I did:

• Found the right motivation. I turned 38 and I wanted to be in the best shape of my life by the time I was 40.
• Keep of a record of all food I ate
• Calculate BMR and all calories from exercise
• Ensure I had a deficit at the end of each day
• Ensure that I ran regularly to burn calories and also to keep my metabolism up
• Didn’t deny myself any of the foods I like. Just enjoyed then in moderation.
• Find high-volume/low-calorie foods that I enjoy and can eat on a regular basis.

Remember, losing weight is not easy, but it’s definitely not an impossible task. Simply take it one day at a time. Do some exercise and end the day with a calorie deficit, and over time, it’ll add up.

Posted by derek as Weight Loss at 2:28 PM PST

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Today I have reached my first weight loss goal which was to lose 50 lbs by the end of the year. I did it in exactly 5 months. I now weigh an even 180 lbs.

The chart below shows the progress. The initial part has a lot of straight lines since I only weighed weekly. The tail end has a lot more ups and downs since I started to record daily weights.

Next goal….160 lbs

Posted by derek as Weight Loss at 8:17 AM PST

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