Making progress…

by Matt Stratton on July 22, 2009

Things are progressing nicely with my fitness/weight loss program. I am into Week 4 of Couch to 5K and have been eating reasonably for a few weeks as well. I’ve also been educating myself and reading a lot of nutrition literature – as well as a lot of really useful comments I got from you, my loyal readers in reply to my last post.

Weight-wise, I’m trending well. As you may recall, when I started this journey, I was at 238 pounds. After going Up North for Memorial Day, I hit a high of 243 pounds. Well, as of this week, I am down to 233 pounds - a net loss of 5 pounds, but ten pounds since July 6! Here’s a nice chart to show that (although it seems to be missing the 238 weigh-in):

I have no idea what "goal line" is trending from

I have no idea what "goal line" is trending from

I know that the scale is not the best metric to use, and I am planning to switch to waist inch measuring starting next Monday. So a new report will be coming in a while too.

Now, as to my fitness…as I mentioned, I’m on Week 4 of my program. Yesterday was the first day I ran that program, and it was tough – first time I had five minute run intervals, and the first time that the time running exceeded walking. That being said, I felt good while going through the workout, and tomorrow morning should be easier than yesterday was. Next week will be the real challenge; the last workout of Week 5 includes a 20 minute run! My pace generally improves every run as well, which I think is a good thing. One definite improvement – last week I went to Naperville Running Company, and got new running shoes that were properly fitted to my feet…plus shoes that were the right kind for how I run and what my foot type is. This has made a HUGE difference – I feel much better after every run since I got my new shoes! If you want to be my training pal, check me out on Dailymile.com.

workout

All in all, things are going at a great pace (no pun intended). My goal is to run a 5K by September – although the race that I want to run is actually an 8K! We’ll see if I can make that. I’ll never know if I don’t try.

Tagged as: Fitness

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Marcelo-Teson/3400134 Marcelo Teson

    Awesome! It’s always good to see some real progress. I remember when I first started losing weight, I was weighing in daily and freaking out about gaining a little more here and there every now and then, but then I looked at my trendline after two weeks and saw a very clear descent. It was eye-opening and made me tolerate the occasional weight gain as long as the trend lines were good.

    And progress for me is a feedback loop, when things are going well it makes me want to keep going and push further. The waistline test is awesomely fun, and seeing myself look smaller and smaller in the same clothes (and then having to buy new smaller ones) was one of the happiest moments ever.

    Keep it up! I’m glad you like running because I can’t stand it. Brisk walking is enough for me.
    .-= Marcelo´s last blog ..MTeson: Trying out twitter extensions on Safari =-.

  • Jodie

    Matt, as the daughter of a dad who never took care of his health (and is suffering the consequences now) I give you so much credit for doing this. And it will mean the world to your kids (and Carrie!) to have a healthy Matt around for a long, long time. Not to mention it will be that much easier to run around after them and be a good example by taking care of yourself. Keep it up! I’ve been back on the exercise bandwagon for a few months and I can totally feel the difference…

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  • http://curiousillusion.com Ari

    Great job Matt, that’s fantastic progress! Makes me wish I could have something to brag about…

    Keep up the great work!
    .-= Ari´s last blog ..Just blah.. on disappointment and pain =-.

    • Matt Stratton

      Don’t forget, Ari…you’re smaller than me to begin with! So my “progress” is more noticeable. It’s the one actual benefit of being a big fatass – we can lose five pounds and it’s the same as someone like you losing 1/2 a pound…but the number just sounds better with us bigger guys :)

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  • http://www.davidhalpernmd.com/Liposuction-Surgery-Tampa.htm Geoffrey Lelia

    You’re almost there, Matt! Just a little more and you’ll have the body you’ve worked hard for! I’m sure you’ll achieve your objective, specially with that kind of dedication and passion you’re showing to all of us!

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