It’s Christmas Day.
Merry Christmas.
Get back on the horse tomorrow. Today, eat, drink, and be merry. Celebrate with family and friends if you can. If you can’t, know that someone, somewhere loves you and wishes you were spending Christmas with them.
Don’t concern yourself with your weight today. Just have fun and make smart decisions where you can.
And if you can’t? Big deal. Christmas comes once a year. That horse is still waiting for you tomorrow to get back up onto it.
Well, 174.2 lbs, actually. I blew past 175 and into 174’s. I know, the stars aligned and conditions must have been perfect, because I lost 2.8 lbs this past week alone after going months with that much total.
175 lbs was my initial goal when I started before I reduced my goal weight to 165 lbs. 175 is still a big deal to me, though. It is the max allowable weight as a Marine according to MCO P6110.3 (the Marine Corps Order on body composition and military appearance), and at a minimum, I wanted to be within the order. Now that I’m there, I will continue to work to 165 lbs. If I get there, I’ll be happy. If not anytime soon, it’s okay. It’ll be my goal to hit at some point, but I’m not going to go through any crazy lengths to get there. 175 lbs is a good weight for me, and I’m okay with it. My clothes all fit nicely, I feel good, and I am getting more and more fit by the week.
So, it was happy dance time for me on Saturday (when this actually happened). I almost cried. Yes, it was a big deal. Before Whole30 and Paleo, I never thought I’d be this light again. Ever.
Yet, here I am.
It feels good. Really good.
I did it!
This morning, in an uncharacteristically cold 39 degree morning in The Woodlands, TX, I completed my first official 5k run: the Jingle Bell Run benefiting the Arthritis Foundation.
We got there at 7 am and while Sherry went to the area to wait up for some employees of hers to show up, I waited in the car to keep warm. It was VERY chilly out there, and with the wind chill, it felt like 24 degrees!
I headed back into the cold to stand in solidarity with her at around 7:30 am, and I kept warm by doing push ups. I did 70, and yes, it did warm me up!
After getting the preliminaries out of the way, the run began and I started off strong with a first half mile pace of 8:16. I kept below 9:10 for the first two miles and let my pace slow a little for the final mile to a 9:42 and a 9:30 with the last little bit down to a 7:31 pace. In the end, I finished at 27:37.5 with an average pace of 8:55/mile. These are all personal bests for me, and I’m very proud of the numbers considering I had to lay off running for almost two weeks. Had I not had that break, I’m sure my time would have been much better.
But, it is what it is. I’m proud of my accomplishment in running a 5k after starting running exactly three months ago today. Sherry and I were talking about how she ran this last year (she had a personal best today as well!), and when she suggested that I run this with her this year, I told her back then, “I don’t think I’ll ever do one of these.” After today’s run, I told her about some more that are coming up that I want to do.
It was a good time, and it felt good to be out there among the other runners. I haven’t run with that many people since I was in the Marines. It felt good to be back.
As anyone who follows this blog knows, I’ve been sick for the past week. I had a very bad cold and sinus infection which took me a long time to recover from and kept me from running. While I wanted to run each and every day I was sick to keep from losing the progress I’ve worked so hard for, I was too weak, felt too badly, and was suffering from a lot of pain. I also didn’t want to stress my body to the point where it lengthened the duration of my recovery or made matters worse. So, I did the smart thing and waited it out.
I will admit that each day I didn’t run added some anxiety. I thought about how bad my legs would hurt when I finally got back on the road. How they would feel like concrete. How my joints would ache, and how I would feel like quitting after every step. I worried about my ability to get back on the road and run a decent pace and not have my heart jumping out of my chest. I mourned the loss of all the time and effort I put into getting to where I could run a comfortable pace for a decent distance without over-exertion. I thought it was all lost.
It turned out that I worried for nothing.
It wasn’t my fastest or longest run, but it was close to my fastest. I decided not to look at my watch for split times and just run; let my body dictate how fast I ran. I wanted to be able to get back to it without trying to push too hard. I was surprised at how fast I was able to run with comfort. I think I know how horses feel when they transition from a trot into a gallop. At a few points during the run, I didn’t actually feel like I was running. I felt like I was gliding on a pair of legs that were beneath me without being really attached to me. It was kind of surreal, and I liked it.
In the end, I finished my 3.51 mile run with a 9’48” pace overall with a time of 34:30. I’m very okay with this result, and I am no longer worried about lost progress. Turns out, the body bounces back pretty well if you allow it to heal. Also, there’s a chance that the week off from running helped my legs heal up a bit. Not that they were hurt or injured, but I’m sure the muscles had a chance to rebuild and prepare for my upcoming runs a little better. I was also able to start with my 50 push ups. I was worried I would have to bump back down to 40, but that wasn’t the case. I actually feel like I can bump it up a bit next time.
It feels good to be back on my feet again.
One of my major goals when I began my weight loss and fitness journey was to once again fit into my Marine Corps dress blues uniform in full compliance with MCO 1020.34g (that’s the Marine Corps Order on uniform regulations) and wear it to the 241st Marine Corps Birthday Ball in 2016. Being in full compliance means being in height/weight compliance as well as ensuring all aspects of the regulations are met. As a Marine who was discharged honorably, I am permitted to wear any Marine Corps uniform at any time as long as it is within compliance with the aforementioned Marine Corps Order. It is customary for us old Marines to wear our dress blues at Birthday Balls.
When Sherry and I were doing our first Whole30, we were making goals, and one of the things that came up was that she was sad that she never had an opportunity to go to a ball or military function with me. This gave me an idea: why not try to get back into dress blues and take her to a Birthday Ball? I told her that I wanted to take her to the next birthday ball and that I would wear my dress blues, and she thought that it was a great idea, but that it was far-fetched. I have to admit that I was with her on that; it was a good goal, but one that had (I thought at the time) little chance of happening. I was over 130 lbs overweight from Marine Corps standards, and losing that kind of weight in 14 months is very hard to do.
During the past 14 months, there were times when I thought that I wouldn’t make it. I was making great progress, but it never quite sunk in that I could do it. It wasn’t until around June when it looked like it was actually a possibility. Then, when August rolled around and I was so close, I figured it was time to start looking at uniforms. I measured myself and found that I was easily within the size I wore when I left the Corps, and actually even thinner.
In early September, I purchased a full set of dress blues and tried them on. They fit, and I was ecstatic. I took my glasses off and stared at myself in the mirror. I looked like my old self, even in uniform. It was a moment of victory for me, and I savored it with a quick selfie.
The final moment when I realized that I’ve accomplished so much in a year came when Sherry and I walked out of our hotel room and walked downstairs to the ballroom. There were other Marines standing around in their dress blues, and as I walked up, they greeted me. I stood there with them, talking, and the old feeling of camaraderie and brotherhood came back. I was among my own, and I deserved to be there in my uniform. I did’t look or feel out of place, and I was honoring the Marine Corps by following the MCO on uniform regulations to the letter, as any Marine should when wearing our uniforms. It felt amazing.
Sherry and I had a wonderful evening. She enjoyed the ceremony, the dancing, and talking to other former Marines. My good friends Steve and Anita were there with us, and the evening was truly special because of them. I did drink a fair amount of alcohol (as did most of the other Marines there) but with the exception of a headache the next morning, I’ve suffered no ill effects. We have decided to make this an annual thing, and we are already looking forward to the next one.
This weekend, my wife and I attended the Texas Renaissance Festival, as is our tradition every year since we met. This was our 14th visit to the festival together, and also as is our tradition, we did it in costume. Last year, we went in Scottish garb; I wore the Marine Corps tartan kilt with accouterments while Sherry made her dress from a pattern of a traditional Scottish dress. Needless to say, we’ve both lost a lot of weight since last year, so we both needed to make adjustments.
For me, I had to buy a new shirt (down from XL to M) and a new kilt (down from 44 to 32). Fortunately, the belts were adjustable and everything else fit properly, if not better (like the socks which were not stretched over my over-sized calves). Sherry had to do more work, as her dress was handmade. She expertly took in the shirt and the dress and they both looked amazing on her!
We had a great time with our good friends Kenny and Elaine. We even had some cider and ate some of the fair food which consisted of sausage, red cabbage, and sweet potato tots. We even split an order of potato pancakes which were delicious! With all the walking we did, we both did great on the scale the next morning; she lost a pound while I stayed exactly the same weight as I was on Friday.
Eating Paleo at a festival like this is pretty easy as a lot of the foods are pretty basic. Sure, there are burgers, hot dogs, quesadillas, etc that are definitely not Paleo, but there were more Paleo-friendly foods than not, which was a nice change.
It’s okay to go out and have fun on Paleo, or even on your Whole30. Just be smart and make good decisions. Neither Sherry nor I felt like we couldn’t enjoy the festival in any way. As a matter of fact, it’s one of the more Paleo-friendly venues to visit. We highly recommend it (and stay for the fireworks show, but get a seat early).
I did it. I made it out for my second day of running. Notes from this run:
If runs can feel like this every time, it might not be so horrible.
I was explaining this to Stevie this morning on our way to work while stuck in traffic in the carpool lane, and I realized that I have a plan that just might work this time. I run as hard as I can without going past “easy.” When it stops being easy, I stop. I’m not interested in beating anyone in a race, or in getting to some super-fast speed goal. I don’t care about bulking up, or losing weight through running (which I know isn’t a thing). I’m after getting in better shape, using up some extra calories, and building stamina. By pushing past “Easy” a little at a time, I won’t be breaking any speed records in how quickly I will get into shape, but I am hoping that this plan allows me to get in shape without getting injured and without hating it every step of the way.
Some people really enjoy pushing themselves and “Feeling the burn.” I’m not one of those people. I enjoy a more leisurely pace when it comes to my exercise progress. I don’t dislike progress. I do like that. I just don’t enjoy pushing myself to a failure point like others do.
So, I know: running under 2 miles isn’t impressive. Running sub-11 minute miles is not impressive. But doing that after not running 100 yards in the past 20 years is a big accomplishment for someone who was over 312 lbs just a year ago. I’ll take that as a victory and continue on with my slow pace and try to enjoy it along the way.
This is a big one. I was hoping to get this one two weeks ago, but as it officially happened this morning, I’ll take it. Since September 1, 2015, I’ve lost over 100 lbs (101.5 lbs, to be exact!).
That brings my overall weight loss to over 120 lbs since my heaviest.
I’m really, really proud of this achievement. I never thought I would be seeing this. I hoped and I was optimistic, but I think that I was also cautiously guarding my optimism because I had failed so many times before in trying to lose weight and to adopt a healthy lifestyle.
So much of what I learned (heck, just about everything) as a kid about nutrition has turned out to be wrong. Even as I was losing weight in the first few months, I was telling Sherry that it all somehow felt wrong. I was eating foods that I was told as a kid in school were bad for me, yet I was feeling better and losing weight. What’s more, the blood test I had after just two months already showed immense improvements in my blood chemistry.
Now, after ten solid months of living the way we do, I can’t see myself ever going back. I don’t ever want to lose control of my health again. I don’t want to return to fat E.J. As my mom pointed out to me last night, I cant’ reverse time or stop aging, but I can keep myself healthy and maybe hold off some of the effects of aging that are accelerated through poor nutrition choices.
And therein lies the most powerful thin about what I’ve been able to accomplish: it was all done through choices in the food I eat and nothing more. Literally. I did the least amount of work I possibly could in an effort to prove to myself that it can be done, and it worked.
Current stats:
Weight: 188.4 lbs (Started 289.9 lbs on 9/1/15)
Body fat: 19.7% (Started 47% on 9/1/15)
BMI: 29.6 (Started 45.4 on 9/1/15)
Being almost 100 lbs lighter and back into the “Average” size and weight category has opened up a lot of new opportunities for adventure for both Sherry and I, and this week on my birthday, we partook in one of those: indoor skydiving. It was something that Sherry has been wanting to do for a long time, and I’ve been intrigued by it as well. I didn’t expect it to be so fun.
I had a silly grin on my face the entire time I was in the tube. What was actually really cool was after I made my first trip in the tube, when I got out, the instructor got out with me, took off his goggles and asked me if I was joking with them when I said I’d never done it before. He said that I did amazingly well, and that he’d never seen anyone do so well on their first trip in. He was introducing me to a bunch of other people who worked there, telling them how well I did. I think being a pilot helped since I understand how control surfaces work; I used my arms and legs as such.
My second and third trips in the tube were equally as fun, and I used that time to try to learn to control myself better and more accurately. I scheduled some more time for both Sherry and I next week to get some more practice. Since it’s so hot in Houston in the summertime, this is a great indoor activity for us to do. It’s physical, but not overly so. It’s a rush, and really a lot of fun. It’s also something I wouldn’t have been able to do a year ago.
Not just fitting into the flight suit, but I was physically too heavy before to go in the tube. There are weight limits, and I exceeded them mightily. Now, I’m well under, and the experience was memorable.
These are the types of experiences and opportunities that drive me. When I woke up this morning and saw that the scale was not my friend (and reading heavier than I had been in a while due to all the eating this past weekend), I reminded myself that it was a holiday weekend, and that this always happens after a holiday, and then I also reminded myself that there are more adventures ahead. That helps me steel my resolve with eating right and not getting depressed about it. It’s a mission, and one that I will not fail. I’ve done this before, and I’m still on the journey to 165 lbs, so it’s just a sidetrack I must navigate.
If you’re wishing you could do stuff like indoor skydiving but can’t because you’re physically unable to due to weight, there’s good news. There is a solution, and it’s not impossible for you to do. I know first-hand, because I did it myself, and I am on that journey as I write this. I have two words for you: Whole30 and Paleo.
On Sunday, Sherry ad I went to the outlet mall because I needed to get some new suit jackets and sport coats. I’ve lost more weight and lost size, so all of my current jackets are too large. We found that I can now comfortably wear size 42R Slim Fit jackets, and we bought three of them. What I wasn’t prepared for was that I am now comfortably wearing medium size shirts and shorts.
This is a huge achievement for me. I wore mediums in high school and for the first few years in the Marines. Now, I am able to wear mediums again. That explains why so many of the shirts in my closet blouse at my waist so much when I wear them. These medium shirts look really nice on me now. It was exciting, and I had a moment where I took it in and it was more emotional than I would have expected. It’s like I’ve reached a place I haven’t been since I was in my 20’s that I felt comfortable at.
When we got home, I spent some time cleaning out the closet once again and I found an old 46″ belt of mine. For fun, I put it on over my waist to see how large it was. I wasn’t prepared for the difference:
I still have a ways to go with the last 26 lbs I have left to lose to my final goal, and that should allow me to lose another 2″ to a final 32″ waist. I am hoping to hit that final goal by September 1st, my one year anniversary since my first Whole30.
Paleo Marine 