Running: A Fever

We live in a world of abundance. Don’t be afraid to share your ideas. No one is going to steal your idea and make it into something big. Because it is not only the inspiration, but the perspiration that makes an idea into something great. Just do it. Just share it. Do the hard work. If you can come up with a plan for fitness and execute it, you can do just about anything. Have you?   Weight (change since Jan 2018): 220 (-49) Workout time: 87 Minutes Total Distance (total since Nov 2017): 3.59 Miles (98.76) Steps: 18,398 Goals: (1) Run 10.5 miles in one day by 11/18/18 (2) Lose 100lbs by 12/25/18

Medical Department: My general practitioner looked at the special Neck x-ray that I had done recently, and said a bunch of words like “degenerative” and “calcification”. Words over five syllables just sound scary. So the next step is to see a Neurosurgeon – stay tuned. I am wearing sunscreen today, so you can do not only as I say, but as I do. I have fair skin and if you do too, you’ll want to be especially protective of your skin. Most people out on the trail are in their own microcosm. They listen to music or a podcast or a sermon or all of the above on their earbuds. They may not notice me or hear me say “Howdy”. And we may never see each other again, or we may meet on the way in the opposite direction or on the other side of the lake. I also see at least three people apparently having phone conversations.

Work can be a distraction, even though it is an important and integral part of my life. I’m very grateful to be employed, but life is more than work. I need to remember that. It is late in the day, but it is the time of year when I need to wear sunscreen when I go out. Skin cancer is a danger associated with exposure over a long period of time, and in the past it was thought that such exposure was healthy. Fit people seem to also have a healthy confidence, have you noticed? I certainly feel better about myself now than I did last year and I think my health has something to do with that.

I have started going to the gym and did a new exercise on a machine that builds hip muscles using resistance and leg-spreading and leg-closing movements, as well as some weighted ab work. I did not do any upper body exercises due to the pain in my right arm. And I was quite sore after the first day. From the medical department -- I got more x-rays after a review of my scoliosis x-rays and found, as expected, that I have more curve in my upper back than I should have. Fashion-wise, I am wearing a new pair of extreme compression pants that feel great. It also seems from my limited research that the safest route is to treat them as underwear and wear shorts over them. Expensive, but very nice and high tech. Here’s a link: https://amzn.to/2KRXag8 Weight (change since Jan 2018): 219 (-55) Workout time: 58 Minutes Total Distance (total since Nov 2017): 2.09 Miles (92.77) Steps: 14,244 Goals: (1) Run 10.5 miles in one day by 11/18/18 (2) Lose 100lbs by 12/25/18

“Death…not really a goal.” We want to live as long as possible because we love our lives. But death comes to us all. If you want to read a brief biography of a regular non-celebrated person, check out the obituaries on your town’s website or in the newspaper. This is a recollection, written by a friend or family member, often with input from others, of the person’s family, work, and community life. Now is the time to write our own obituaries. Not because we expect to die soon, but because we want to have a full life. What would you like to be in your obituary? A big family? Lots of friends? A long list of places you visited? A charity you founded? Whatever you want people to read about you after you’re gone, now is the time to make it happen. I make progress today as I reach a maintenance caloric intake of about 1500 per day, and I’m getting used to the 3-mile workout. So go write your obituary!  Weight (change since Jan 2018): 211 (-63) Workout time: 57 Minutes Total Distance (total since Nov 2017): 2.84 Mil

How often have you heard someone (or even yourself) say “I’d love to X, but the reality is I am,” as if to say that a door is closed to one? For example, “I would love to lose weight, but the reality is that I’m fat. I’ve always been fat, never been able to lose weight – it’s just reality and I have to accept it.” Or “I’d like to go to college, but the reality is I’m just not smart enough.” Poppycock! Nothing in the future is reality until it happens. Challenge “reality”. Question it. Make your own reality. Nothing is impossible.

I start at Veteran’s park, where trees are blooming. There seems to be a discrepancy in the mile markers. One of them says the whole loop is 5.25 miles, and it marks the 5.28 mile point? It’s a beautiful day and I discover a new part of the Lake Fayetteville trail. Lack of sleep changes my resistance, both mentally and physically. I’ve been a little short of sleep lately and find myself indulging in some big high-fat meals. If you can catch up on sleep, that’s what I’ve been doing.

This is the time when diets and whole health plans go wrong. I’ve lost a lot of weight quickly and my metabolism is shot. I can’t eat more than about 1200 calories without gaining. Perhaps the hardest part of this process is fine-tuning my diet. It’s not easy to move just 60 calories more or less, but I need to make small adjustments now. You can avoid this by not losing weight so quickly! As hard as it is for most of us to lose weight, it is tempting, once you get in the groove, to move too fast.

It’s a great spring day, so I am sorry if you are reading this in the heat of August wherever you are. Just think of me as a breath of crisp spring air in your sweltering day. And you can gloat when it’s August for me and you’re enjoying crisp fall weather!

I lost 1.8 pounds last night. It’s a constant battle trying to increase the calories I can burn in a day. It’s the Battle for Metabolism. I acquire an inversion table and try it out. It feels amazing, really unlike anything I’ve ever felt. I meet my friend Brittany on the trail without even recognizing her until after she has past. And get closer to some ducks than humans should be allowed to get. A beautiful spring day on the trail at Lake Fayetteville. Enjoy. Weight (change since Jan 2018): 215 (-59) Workout time: 47 Minutes Total Distance (total since Nov 2017): 1.85 Miles (75.93) Steps: 14,486 Goals: (1) Run 10.5 miles in one day by 11/18/18 (2) Lose 100lbs by 12/25/18

I keep close track of calories, trying to slowly cut to a point that would level me out at 204 pounds, the weight I was at the end of the contest, but without starving and dehydrating myself to that point. Weight (change since Jan 2018): 215 (-59) Workout time: 40 Minutes Total Distance (total since Nov 2017): 1.87 Miles (74.08) Steps: 14,117 Goals: (1) Run 10.5 miles in one day by 11/18/18 (2) Lose 100lbs by 12/25/18

I see my general practitioner, who breaks down the possible causes of my arm pain. He also displays his artistic skills on a sheet of exam table paper, preserved here as the featured image. The problem is with a pinched nerve in my neck. It also may be complicated by scoliosis, because it seems my shoulders are unbalanced. Lots of good information here. Weight (change since Jan 2018): 212 (-62) Workout time: 0 Minutes Total Distance (total since Nov 2017): 0 Miles (70.65) Steps: 4105 Goals: (1) Run 10.5 miles in one day by 11/18/18 (2) Lose 100lbs by 12/25/18

I visit my doctor and get some information about what might be happening to my back and causing the arm pain that I have been experiencing. Heading out under the light of the moon on an early Saturday morning, I ponder moving forward with my health after the weight loss contest. I talk about my “cheat meal” and, with all the things going on with my body right now, decide not to run again for a while. The effect of 60 hours of fasting was an 8-pound loss, prior to the final “biggest loser” weigh-in. I gained it all back in one night. Much of the food and water in my system just wasn’t there. I probably lost a half-gallon of water in that time. I now begin the process of slowly increasing my caloric intake to rebuild my metabolism. Plenty to work on and a feverish pace to keep! Weight (change since Jan 2018): 214 (-60) Workout time: 33 Minutes Total Distance (total since Nov 2017): 1.56 Miles (72.21) Steps: 5353 Goals: (1) Run 10.5 miles in one day by 11/18/18 (2) Lose 100lbs by 12/25/18

Today I learn something from Dave Jackson’s Logical Weight Loss podcast: calories burned depends on, among other things, total body weight. So I’ll be getting more accurate information from my fitness watch now as I periodically update my weight in the app. The end of the “Biggest Loser” contest at work, which I am going to win by the way, is so close I can taste it, and I plan to immediately resume a more reasonable weight management diet and exercise plan after the final weigh-in. I saw, in the grocery store, a Weight Watchers brand scale that provides BMI, body fat percentage, weight of fat and lean body mass, and possibly even more. So for cheap, you can get this information and track it. As body composition, not weight, is a healthier way to judge overall fitness, I think this is a valuable thing to have. Equally valuable to me is having a log in which I track my caloric intake. An official “Hello!” to all my Swedish listeners, and thanks for tuning in! Weight (change since Jan 2018): 210 (-64) Workout t

I start the workout coming straight from the grocery store, which makes an excellent opportunity for an accurate diet report. I discover my medical mantra, which is “Take care of yourself, your body is your most important asset.” Oatmeal, the superfood, comes in flavors that add 30-100 calories, but provide a little variety. Edamame is available in the area of the frozen foods section where natural foods are found. It’s important not only to think positively but to talk positively, because psychologically they are the same. Saying things like “I’ve always been overweight,” or “I’ve never been able to stick to an exercise program,” are examples of the opposite. If we say these things enough times we start to believe them, and it is near impossible to accomplish something I don’t believe I can do. Using my left hand to operate my mouse at work has been life-changing. It is difficult and weird to use the mouse, but other things are also affected. Using the keyboard feels different. I hesitate when performing som

I find myself a twelve-hour away from home on a short trip to the east. In a hotel that is way too hip for me, I find a gym and record the first ever Running: A FEVER episode from a treadmill. This is a good example of a situation that makes exercise and healthy dieting inconvenient. I find some ways to deal with this, though. The trip is short, so I just bring most of my food with me in a cooler. I have a Wendy’s chili, 350 calories, on the way. The neighborhood is not conducive to walking outside, but the hotel had a small gym and I have it all to myself. I hit the treadmill and mentally make my plan for the rest of the trip, which includes abdominal strength exercises the following morning before I hit the road for another twelve hours. I have some fun describing the video feature of the treadmill, and enjoy the view through a window, which features snow on the ground. All in all, this is a successful trip and my health routine gets me through it with flying colors. Weight (change since Nov 2017): 219 (-50

It is the first day of spring and a beautiful one, though it was freezing when I left for work this morning. I give a full definition of anabolism and catabolism in the first ever Chemical Biology section of the Medical Department report. Two things happen when you have enough water and are not dehydrated. Anabolic hormones are released causing growth of muscle tissue vs. destruction (catabolic hormones) due to dehydration. And fat cells more easily release fat into the bloodstream. So it’s important to hydrate before and after strength training. Confession time again. I’m overdoing my exercise and still on the starvation plan to win the contest, but it is the last week and I will soon be able to go back to a healthier level of intake and work on my health and trying to return to a normal metabolism. Resources on metabolism, anabolism and catabolism: http://www.ergo-log.com/anabolism.html http://www.rsc.org/Education/Teachers/Resources/cfb/metabolism.htm Stats as of March 21, 2018: Weight (change since Nov

In addition to trying out my rain suit for the first time on the trail, I present a lengthy hydration report including a reference to what bodybuilders call anabolism, which, per BioNinja.com means “the synthesis of complex molecules from simpler molecules including the formation of macromolecules from monomers by condensation reactions”. Translated, this means basically building, as opposed to catabolism, which refers to breaking down, and which the same site refers to as “the breakdown of complex molecules into simpler molecules including the hydrolysis of macromolecules into monomers. I have found a couple of new diet options: 99% lean turkey, which has a higher protein/fat ratio than chicken, and diet fruit juice, just 5 calories per serving. My metabolism is still very low and I am strictly counting calories, but on track to finish strong in the weight loss contest at work. Weight (change since 11/20/17): 223 (-46) Workout time: 30 Minutes Total Distance (total since Nov 2017): 1.26 Miles (62.67) Run Di

The MOVE! Program at the VA is “a weight management, health promotion program designed to improve the lives of Veterans. MOVE!’s core ideas—encouraging healthy eating behavior, increasing physical activity, and promoting even small weight losses—are easy to follow and based on the latest in nutrition science. With the help of your MOVE! Care team, you can reduce health risks, prevent or reverse certain diseases, improve your quality of life, and even live longer!” Source: https://www.move.va.gov/ Statistics for March 12, 2018: Weight (change since Jan 2018): 225 (-44) Workout time: 27 Minutes Total Distance (total since Nov 2017): 1.09 Miles (58.77) Run Distance: 0 Miles Heart Rate (min/max all day): 51/96 Steps: 10616 Goals: (1) Run 10.5 miles in one day by 11/18/18 (2) Lose 100lbs by 12/25/18  

I take a walk on breaks at work on an early Sunday morning when no one else is at the office. As the biggest loser contest draws to a close I begin to reflect on the journey we have taken together so far. I recognize the importance of setting a goal, the concept of a motivating factor that is not just the destination, but a passion that drives the daily grind of making my way to that goal.  Statistics for March 18, 2018: Weight (change since Jan 2018): 220 (-49) Workout time: 26 Minutes Total Distance (total since Nov 2017): .84 Miles (61.41) Run Distance: 0 Miles Heart Rate (min/max all day): 49/79 Steps: 5675 Goals: (1) Run 10.5 miles in one day by 11/18/18 (2) Lose 100lbs by 12/25/18