Category Archives: running

Day 656: [HEALTH UPDATE]

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[HEALTH UPDATE]

So I don’t have hip bursitis like I thought (don’t self diagnose folks) I actually have arthritis in my left hip and my left knee. Nothing life threatening and I can still run a half marathon but I need to alternate it with other stuff.

The first thing he asked was if I had had any significant weight loss not knowing that I was a weight loser. Come to find out the arthritis was from all of those years of being obese. I am so thankful that I started my weight loss journey when I did, because the prognosis could have been much worse.

 For all those years I thought I was relatively healthy. I still exercised pseudo-regularly and my cholesterol was actually pretty normal. I hid behind those two pointless factors even though I was rapidly eating myself to death. In hindsight, I wish I would have gotten a physical when I weighed 357 to find out what was all wrong with me. I know my blood pressure was terrible and odds are (between my weight and family history) I probably had some type of diabetes or was at least on the road to Diabetesville.

What I’m trying to say is if you are thinking about losing weight and have put you keep putting it off, start today. Eating brocolli instead of Whataburger is way less painful than hip arthritis. Trust me. Make a change people! Even if it’s just going for a walk or drinking water instead of Dr. Pepper, do something that your future self will thank you for later. Get to it. See ya tomorrow.

Day 652: Tuesday Run and Stuff

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Let’s keep this brief. I’m tired and I want to sleep.

Breakfast: I had some delicious oatmeal with almond slices and craisins. Magical.

Lunch: Megan made yet another amazing Skinny Taste recipe. This time, Megan made a lightened up version of Arroz Con Pollo. It is crazy how flavorful and delicious a light recipe can be.

Dinner: It was leftover night so I had a fish taco and a bowl of chili. Awesome combination I know.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Run: Today was the first day of my run training. Tonight we went to Southwood to run and luckily it had poured so it had actually cooled off. Oh yeah, and we made friends with an armadillo.

Post Run: I just had a turkey and swiss sandwich.

All in all, pretty awesome day. Love eating well. See ya tomorrow.

Day 650: Weigh In Day Yo!

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So yesterday was an epic turn in our weight loss. Megan and I have re-comitted ourselves to weight loss and the importance of heathy eating. No better way to start off this new chapter in my weight loss journey than with a loss! I lost 2 pounds this week! I am back in to the 230’s to stay. It was pretty cool because yesterday morning I was 242 so it feels like I had lost even more! I can’t wait to see what will happen at my next weigh in!

Breakfast: I switched up my breakfast routine with a breakfast burrito with two egg whites and one whole egg! We actually bought these La Tortillas that are 45 calories and 7 grams of fiber, making them 0 points! It was perfect with some of our homemade salsa. 4 points.

Lunch: After church, most of our young pro’s group went to Jason’s for some healthy deliciousness. Most of us are trying to lose weight so we talked about how we can hold each other accountable. Some of us are actually going to start training for some half marathons down the road. There is a Disney Half Marathon on the weekend of my birthday in January so I think I’m going to DESTROY IT!!!! Anyway, I made an epic 15 point salad with a 3 point ice cream dessert. Hooray for healthiness!

Snack: I had a glass of milk with coffee ice cubes. It was 2 points.

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner: I had a leftover burger and instead of a side like fries (which is what I wanted) I decided to heat up some brussels sprouts and ate them instead. It was awesome and so filling. 6 points

Run: Megan and I decided to go for a walk/run since our pool was brotastic and annoying. We ended up going for about four miles. There was a lot of sweat involved, but at least it is cooling off in the evening.

 

 

 

 

 

Snack: When I got done, I went to town on some watermelon while dicing up my finger in the process because I’m awesome like that.

So today I got to around 30 points and with the exercise I am in good shape. 

Tomorrow I start my new job! So stoked for all of the awesomeness that will ensue. See ya tomorrow

Day 647: Thursday Run and Stuff

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Today was a day of getting stuff done.

You know the kind I’m talking about. When you go all Tasmanian Devil on your house and donate the majority of your old fat clothes to Goodwill and run six miles? Yeah, it was one of those days.

Run and Stuff: So this morning I just had a two pieces of toast with peanut butter, a cup of coffee and a glass of water. I would go on to greatly regret that I did not eat more around mile 3 of my run when it felt like I was literally running on empty.
For those of you who are new to the blog (if so, welcome!) I live in Florida, where the humidity is above 100% more than 90% of the year (why yes, that is a made statistic I just made up.) I decided to go on a run since I had taken a gander at the weather and it was suppose to be in the 90’s the majority of the day. So, I suited up… in to my workout clothes… and took it to the streets! (Michael McDonald style!) My first two miles were both under 10 minutes and then the someone turned up the heat in Tallahassee [insert global warming joke here] and it got brutal. I pushed myself like crazy and it paid off. Lately I have been battling with the mental aspect of the weight loss game. When you’ve been “dieting” this long, you begin to rest on your laurels and think of it all in some formulaic way that takes the passion out of it. Today, I put my heart back in to it and it started with conquering this run. So, my time wasn’t too bad considering the heat and the hills. I obviously want to get better, but that will just come with time. I also burned a crapton of calories which was awesome as well.
One thing that did suck was that my hip/left leg started to give me trouble again. It was fine during the run, but later in the day it would hurt to walk. It felt like it was seizing up or something. Whatever it was, I wasn’t a fan of it and I need to go get it checked out soon. Either way, I got my SAWS in today which is what matters!

Post Run Re-Fueling: When I got home, I immediately drank a ginormous glass of water followed by a glass of chocolate almond milk. I have always heard that drinking chocolate milk after a run was good for you, I just figured that almond milk would do the trick too. Anyway, I also made salad with peppered turkey deli meat, a cap full of olive oil, a pinch of parmasean and some balsamic vinegar. Needless to say, it was delicious.

Lunch: Megan, being the awesome wife that she is, made some French onion soup with low fat swiss. It was epic and really hard to describe. You’ll just have to come over sometime and try it yourself!

 

 

 

 

 

Smoothie Time: Megan is the Smoothie King Queen of the household and since it’s summer, she whipped up some of her classic super berry smoothies! It was actually more a delicious sorbet so I ate it with a spoon. All she did was put a banana, frozen mixed berries and a little orange juice in our Ninja and whipped it up! Awesomeness!

Dinner: For dinner tonight, I whipped up some quarter-pound burgers and cooked them on my grill pan. I also ran over to Wing Stop and ordered one basket of fries and had them as a side which is only 5 points for half a basket which is a normal point amount for a side. The burgers turned out amazing. Not to mention we just used low-cal bread instead of a bun. Pretty awesome “cheat” day!

So overall, today was pretty good! I’m going to try to swim or some sort of exercise for the rest of this week to drop some pounds! See ya tomorrow.

Day 631: Back on the Horse Edition

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I have been in a whirlwind of emotions dealing with my weight loss for the past few days. A lot of self doubt, a lot frustration, and a lot of thinking “why do I keep having this conversation with myself?” Every time I see an ad or an e-mail that says “Drop 30 pounds in 3 months!” I immediately click on it to find out what theircureis. The thing is that I know the cure: diet and exercise. I’m proof that it works! And I think when I get these negative thoughts in my head, I need to sweat them out of my body. It’s amazing how much clarity you gain from exercising.

So today I was really good with my food. Yesterday, I went on a mini-binge of “healthy” carbtastic snacks in the 3:00-4:00 window. It’s part hunger, part boredom and part lack of discipline. Today, I made sure that didn’t happen! Here we go~

Breakfast: I had the standard peanut butter and toast with banana.4.5 points

Lunch: I was on the run this morning, so I pulled a Lean Cuisine Chicken Enchilada Suiza out of the freezer. I usually get the Smart One version, but I thought I would give the LC version a shot. It took 9 minutes to microwave (which made my co-workers incredibly jealous because it smelled so good) but it was worth the wait. It was pretty impressed! 6 points.
I also had a 40 calorie Dove Chocolate and five M&M’s .5 points.

Pre-Run Meal: Instead of eating junk food after work, I had a salad with a little lunch meat, a cap of olive oil, some balsamic vinegar and a sprinkle of Parmesan. It was only 5 points and then I had 3 points of almonds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Run: #FFK Tip of the Day: if you are scoping out a run on Google Maps, be sure to look at is from every angle. What goes down must go up… in a very steep fashion.

I decided to go for a 5 mile run since Debby has finally decided to peace out of Tally. It was cool for the first mile, but then it got super humid. My first mile was a solid 9:25, but then I hit a lot of hills on some roads I haven’t been on before. It turned out to be a rough, but exhilarating run. Between the run and the cool down, I burned 950 calories total. The issue is my left hip has been acting up a lot which has made my running a little painful at times. I need to look in to that.

 

 

 

 

Dinner: I came home to delicious tacos and plenty of water. They were epic and around16 points(4 points a taco.) For dessert I had a banana and a large Tervis full of hot green tea. Pretty delicious stuff.

So today, I got to 35 points and with my run and doing pushups, situps and squats during the commercials of Extreme Weight Loss, I am in good shape. I have set a good example for the rest of the week, and it feels great. See ya tomorrow.

Day 616: What A Beastly Monday

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(The Kings just won it. What an awesome series and season of hockey.)

Today has been awesome. I feel like I am back to where I was before my vacation. I might not be down to where I was before (since I just wrote about that yesterday) but it feels like I’m back on the right track and it feels awesome. Alright, let’s talk…

Breakfast: I had two pieces of toast with a tablespoon of peanut butter. I then had a little Dove Chocolate that said “Happiness looks good on you” late at work. Good stuff.

Lunch: I didn’t bring a lunch (which I will start doing again) so I just walked across campus and had Pollo Tropical, which is quite possibly the best on campus restaurant in the nation (hyperbole aside… and except for the Taco Cabana that’s on campus at the University of Texas.) Anyway, usually this comes with a roll, but I immediately threw it away to stave off any temptation of eating it. What an awesome lunch.

The Rundown of the Run… Down: I didn’t run in the morning… and I immediately regretted it. I ran 5 miles this afternoon when it was cooler (cooler being 90-something with a heat index of 8000 degrees.) I found this new trail that goes from my place right on to campus. Anyway, mile 1-3, I was running 10 minute miles exactly, but the heat and the sweat searing my retinas was really getting to me. I also thing I pseudo-strained my left groin muscle a few weeks ago so around mile 3 or so , my body gets mad at me. It totally worth it though, I ran 5 miles in 53:31 and burned 926 calories. I have already gotten some of my running swagger back which is awesome. Last Monday I ran 4 miles in 48:30 so I’m already shaving time off like a boss. SAWS!!!

Dinner of Awesomeness: For dinner, Megan made her awesome not fried fried chicken with squash and acre peas. It was magical. Then, she made this awesome blackberry cobbler from the Pioneer Woman blog. It was perfect with a scoop of Edy’s Slow Churned.

So that’s it for the day. Here’s to another awesome one tomorrow.

My gift to you: the Alabama Shakes. You’re Welcome

Day 610: Terrific Tuesday

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So I know yesterday’s post was a little crazy and a little womp wompy, but I am finally out of it. I have changed my outlook on life a little bit to make it more positive. Life will be okay, it always is. Anyway, what made life even better today was I was asked to have my story submitted for this awesome blog Transformation Pics which required, you guessed it, submitting a before and after picture. I came across the picture on the left. I remember when this was taken. On the inside I didn’t think I look that bad, but then I actually saw myself in the photo and what a hot, big mess I was. Little did the Nathan in that photo know that awesome things were on the horizon. At that point, I didn’t know I was going to get in to grad school, I didn’t know I was going to meet certain people in Tallahassee that would make this journey so much better and I didn’t know that losing more than 100 pounds was even possible. All I knew was that life was wide open and in a way, I was looking in to the future. (I was actually just trying to look artsy, but that’s beside the point.) Now, that old me is looking at the new (much lighter) me and he is saying “Keep up the awesome work kid!” I may not be perfect. I still eat a lot of BBQ and I still get tired of counting points, but I have come a long way since then and I feel dang proud of it. Thank you all for the encouragement and the 138 Likes of this picture on Facebook. You all rock.

Well it’s late and I’m going to run a 6 miler tomorrow morning so I need to sleep. Overall, today was pretty normal food wise except for the fantastic pork chops we had at Julie’s house tonight. They were freakin’ fantastic. I’ll post some pictures in tomorrow’s Wordless Wednesday post. See ya tomorrow.

Day 609: A Super Case of the Mondays and a Weigh In Edition

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Have you ever felt like your life is just passing you by? That everything is going in fast forward and you have no control over anything?

That is exactly how I feel this week.

Job hunting is such a waiting game that makes me so frustrated, confused and frankly a little scared.

I know that something will work out and that the right door will someday open up, but in the meantime I am just excerified (yes, that is the combination of excited and terrified.)

With all that being said, I have felt really held back this week. For the first time in a long time, I feel fat. My the button-up shirt I’m wearing is pulling for the first time, I feel lethargic and I abso-freakin-lutely hate it. Well I should feel fat. I deserve to. I somehow gained 14 pounds on my vacation! What the crap? I mean yeah, I did eat a lot of BBQ, I did enjoy myself but 14 pounds? Are you flippin’ kidding me!?!?!?!?!?!?

Well, luckily (and I use that term loosely) a lot of that was retained water, so when I weighed yesterday (sorry about not posting last night. That was wrong and dumb.) I still am up 7.2 pounds from two weeks ago. This is not okay with me. What makes it even worse, I have no one else to blame but myself. I should cut my portion sizes in half, I should have exercised more, I should have done a thousand things differently. But there is nothing I can do it about it now except learn from it and move on. My addiction to bad (but delicious) food is still far from over. I need to keep at it. I have high goals for myself and I aim  to reach them and beyond. Time to get to work.

Breakfast: I had two servings of the always awesome Kashi Go Lean. Awesome and filling.

Lunch: I had the last SmartOne that we had in the freezer. It was okay, but not the best choice. The one delicious thing about lunch was eating cinnamon roasted almonds and biting in to an apple at the same time! It was awesome! It was a symphony of awesomeness in my mouth. Fantasticness.

Snack: I had some chips and a few wasabi peas. Nothing special

Dinner: Tonight we had Uncle Jim’s chili, but better. Last night, Megan soaked the beans instead of using canned. It made all the difference, it wasn’t near as salty as it usually is. It was even better with some rice, some cheese and sour cream, not to mention some fantastic green Tabasco sauce. Yumtastic.

Run Time: A little after dinner, I went on the first run of my 10k training. Tonight was a 4 miler and it was brutal. Thankfully, it wasn’t 97° outside like it was earlier today. The wind was cool and the humidity was low. I ran a new route tonight that I can’t wait to go run again. Like most trails in Tallahassee, it was hilly and beastly. So much sweat and some many calories burned (710 to be exact.) I love running, and even though my time was meh (48:30) it was a stepping stone for a better time soon. At this point, it’s all about building that endurance back up to where it was in the fall.

Oh, and one more thing… celery is awesome.

So that was my day. A lot of highs and lows but it ended well. Tomorrow should be better. It always is. See ya tomorrow.

Day 595: The One Where The Fotographing Fat Kid Went To Boot Camp Fitness

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cIt’s Monday. Monday. Gotta get down on Monday!

Today was pretty good stuff! I ate well and worked out like a boss.

P.S. I’m addicted to Downton Abbey. Does anyone else think that the theme song kind of sounds like the X-Files theme song? Anyway…

For breakfast, I had two eggs seasoned with pepper and cayenne, two breakfast veggie patties and two pieces of dry toast. For some dipping, mixed some ketchup and sriracha. A lot of spicy deliciousness.Between breakfast and lunch I had an apple and a banana. It kept me full all morning. Awesomeness.

 

 

 

 

 

 


Lunch: For lunch, I just had a Smart One Chicken Suaza which was as good as a frozen meal can be. For dessert I had two fat free Fig Newtons which were awesome. For a snack after I got off work I had some of the epic salsa that Megan had made this morning.

(I know the food part was short so I could get to the fun part!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bootcamp Time!: So last week I called Laurel over at Boot Camp Fitness and Training about trying out their classes for a trial run now that I don’t have Leach to rely on anymore. Megan and I then signed up for a week free trial. Boot Camp is located in a warehouse off of Capital Circle and has been open since 2005! The facilities are really nice and definitely get the job done. While there are 5:30 and 6:30 am sessions, we opted for the 5:30 pm class which was the much hotter decision. When we got there, we Laurel and the other instructor Dave showed us around and gave us the rundown of Boot Camp. I felt like a kid in a candy store (no, I’m not trying to promote childhood obesity with that simile) beteween the kettlebells, the TRX setup and the boxes, I knew I was going to have a blast with this. There were around 25 of us in the class and we started out with stretching as a group, then we numbered off in to two groups. Then, there were two decks of cards in the middle of the room. Come to find out they would be the death of us for the next 45 minutes. On the wall (which all of the walls were whiteboards where you could write down quotes and your goals for the 4 week session. Such and awesome idea!) there where the card suites with a workout next to it. For example, a Diamond would be a TRX Row. You had to do as many reps as the value of the card. Faces were 10, Aces were 11, but Jokers… were wild. If someone in your group got a Joker, then you did suicides outside in the parking lot! So you would pick a card, do the reps (the lowest value in the deck was 9) and sweat like you were in a sauna. Although I have done Insanity and personal training, it was brutal but so much fun. Dave and Laurel were super nice and helpful. There were there to give you encouragement and help you out if you were doing something wrong. There was no yelling or any of those weird drill instructor hats and no R. Lee Ermey did not show up and ask me if I could suck a golf ball through a garden hose. It felt like a bunch of friends going through a really hard workout. Kind of like pledging.

Although I’ll have some more later in the week (the classes are Monday, Wednesday and Friday) so far I have been really impressed with Boot Camp! Most of the people there have been doing the four week sessions for years, including a lady who has been there since day one! So far, it was the best workout environment that I have ever been a part of. I can’t wait to go back!

Okay…

So for dinner, Megan made a jambalaya recipe from the 100 Days of Real Food website which promotes… real food. It was full of deliciousness from andoullie sausage to shrimp to brown rice. Unlike most Cajun food, it almost light and it wasn’t sodium stacked at all! After that beastly workout, two heaping helpings of it really hit the spot.

So that was it for today. Overall, it was pretty epic. See ya tomorrow.

 

Buying New Running Shoes? Here Are Some Things You Need to Know!

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I love infographics, especially when it’s from a company that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Thanks REI for making something so awesome!              Are you looking for shoes? Did this help? Let me know!