Greg Nilsen

So, it’s been two weeks since I updated the log, but I am still making progress.  Over the past 7 weeks, I have managed to drop more than 7 pounds.  Granted, it’s not a ton of weight, but it’s been consistent and I don’t feel like I’m in danger of suddenly regressing and putting that all back on in a week.  I really do feel like I could keep doing this at this rate for a number of months and drop the 30-40 pounds I was hoping to.

I’ve definitely made some changes that are for the better in addition to the exercise.  I’ve been committed to packing myself a relatively healthy lunch each day (Peanut Butter and Jelly [well, orange marmalade for now], chips/pretzels, and a yogurt [preferably cherry, and not the Light crap that only saves you like 30 calories]) and drinking more water.  We’re also eating out less, and I’m eating more appropriate portions for dinner.

I’ve also made the occasional exception for my exercise, as there has been a lot of yard work to do in the last few weeks as we dug trenches to lay new drainage pipe in our yard.  I did notice that the last two times I was out running (Saturday morning in Williamsport at my mother-in-laws, which was at least flat and the first time I’ve run a route besides my normal loop, and back at home tonight) that I didn’t have the same stamina as I did when I was keeping up with running three times a week.  I’ll have to get back to that, especially if I’d like to do some 5k races, but I am continuing to lose the weight nonetheless, thankfully.

Of course there’s still a long way to go, but that’s a challenge I look forward to now, and don’t dread the way I once did.

Yes, the weight loss efforts do continue, even though it’s been almost two weeks since I updated the blog.  I had a few weekends of trench digging and yard work, so I really haven’t done too much running in the last two weeks (only last Friday and tonight since the last update).  Part of that has been the effort I put into that (I spent around 16 hours digging a trench for a drainage pipe in 85+ degree heat, so I figure that counts for something), and I’ve also been trying to give my knee a break since it was getting sore on me back on the first of July.

I have been taking a glucosamine supplement the last few weeks to try and make my joints a little more flexible.  Hard to tell how much of a difference it’s making, but coupled with the rest, it’s helped a lot.  Tonight, I managed to pound out my 3.3 mile loop in 39 minutes with no more than a half-mile of that in a single stretch at a brisk walk.  At the end, my body really wanted to just let up and stroll into the finish, but I pushed through it and managed to make it to my end point (at the bottom of our hill…walking up that is my cool down).  Considering the amount of running I’ve been doing lately, I was very happy to see a sub-40:00 time for my run.

As for the weight loss, as of Saturday I had lost almost another two pounds since the end of June.  And I’m almost amazed at that because last week was a pretty bad one for me in terms of eating.  Work has been really stressful lately (currently at 4 guys running a 5-man team, and two of them have only been on the job for two months, so I’ve been doing the work of at least two people), and when I get stressed out I want quick comfort food.  So, last week included Wendy’s, Taco Bell, pizza and Quaker Steak & Lube.  Sure, it tasted good, and each of those on occasion is fine, but throwing all that into one week is a bad idea.  I really need to watch myself and put the extra effort into making my lunches for work so that I’m lest tempted to run out and grab something bad for me.  It truly is a discipline issue that I need to work on, both in terms of managing my stress and how I deal with it.

In the end, I’m still making progress, though my meal choices have been limiting the potential of that progress.  It’s time to focus on better controlling my diet, as difficult as that may be.