Wednesday, June 20, 2012

The Quest to Lose A Marathon

I'm on a misson to LOSE a marathon and could not be more excited!  I have nearly 800 online friends in the fight with me. With that kind of support, I know I can succeed... and so can you! This little challenge has grown way beyond my wildest dreams - in just a matter of days. It's a powerful reminder of how many people are struggling with weight issues. I know firsthand how disruptive obesity can be in all aspects of life. My work, personal relationships, and overall character suffered as my weight soared. I turned things around the day I started to run... and this summer, I want to finish the job by reaching my goal weight before the Air Force Half Marathon on September 15.

Registration for the Marathon Weight Loss Challenge is still open to new participants until June 25. You can sign up here.

I'm ready to start the challenge!
Rarely will you convince an investor to back a new endeavor without a business plan. The same holds true with weight loss. The more you plan, the better chances for success.  A plan provides direction to keep you on track.  It helps to identify your objectives and outlines how best to reach those goals.  Poor planning is one of the top reasons for failure.  No plan is foolproof and it should adjust when necessary.   The mini challenge in week 1 is to MAKE YOUR PLAN, so here is mine!

My plan to Lose A Marathon
I want to lose 26.2 lbs to feel healthy, strong and confident in my own skin. Losing weight will also help me run faster... which is just more fun!


FOOD. I will count calories by journaling my food intake on My Fitness Pal because what gets measured gets managed.  I've also had a lot of success with a Photo Food Journal, taking a photo of everything I eat. My goal is to stay at 1200 calories each day - allowing for 3 real meals with 2 snacks. I will focus on consuming lots of fruit and vegetables throughout the day. Carbs are runner's fuel, so I allow whole-grains through lunchtime and then limit them in the backhalf of the day. Meal planning and preparation are the key to my success. The question "What's for dinner?" sneaks up on me and we too often resort to takeout meals like pizza or chinese. Sitting down to eat as a family is very important to me, so my dinner creations must also be 'real food' that the whole family can will eat. I aim to drink at least 96oz of water each day, three refills on my big water jug.

EXERCISE. This really hasn't been a problem for me in years.  I love to sweat! My problem is that I overeat afterward because I "earned it". I will continue running roughly 30 miles each week.  I also plan to increase the frequency of my cross training - biking, Spinning, swimming, boxing and lastly strength training (which I totally slack on). In the past, I found Two-A-Days have really helped me lose weight. Two-A-Days are simply two workouts in one day - one in the morning, one in the afternoon/evening. Each time you workout, your heart rate increases (burning calories) and tapers off gradually after the workout conclusion (still burning calories at a faster rate than normal). So by doing Two-A-Days, I take advantage of two heart rate spikes and tapers, increasing my overall calorie burn.

MOTIVATION. My best friends these days are my fitness friends. They are daily encouragement to make the right choices. And now I have another 800 online friends to keep me accountable too!  I will also have a visual display of my progress sitting in my kitchen with a new GOAL JAR.  Every time I lose a pound, I get to add pebbles to the jar. You know I don't want to take any out!

How would you like a GOAL JAR like these?
Check out
RunnerDecals.com.  Susan made custom decals specifically for this challenge that can be applied to any vase, jar, or cup.  Click
here if you have a 26.2 goal or here for a 13.1 goal.  They are $5 each and come in a variety of colors to choose from. She has also donated some of these to be the Challenge Prize for week 1!  Winners will be announced on June 26 - so don't miss the first weigh-in!!

I feel ready to go with this plan.  Writing everything down certainly focused me... and taking those dreaded 'before' pictures definitely motivated me. Ick!  I have my plan... now it's time to work it.  Good Luck to everyone!

"Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, 
but anyone can start today and make a new ending."
~Maria Robinson


Note:  I'm getting bombarded with emails this week with the start of the challenge.  Please be patient with me as I try to answer everyone's emails. My food prep and workouts must come first. In the meantime, please read over the week one newsletter HERE. It will probably answer your question and save you an email.  Thank you so much!  
Reminder - Your starting weigh was already recorded at sign-up. Your first weigh-in is not until next Monday, June 25.


28 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for the hard work, Jess!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I as actually told by my WW leader last night to work out less. I stay under points and have gone down 2 sizes in 2 months but I have also been stuck in the same 5 pound window during those same 2 months so I should stop working out?!?! What, have you heard this before?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gigi - I don't agree - if you've lost sizes, you've lost fat weight. I bet you've gained muscle weight from working out and that is a good thing :)

      Delete
    2. I have heard that before. Personally, I like to workout. I also like to eat & drink. So it balances things out I guess. I have a friend who has lost huge weight and never worked out... all by food control. I can't do that, but KUDOS to those who can!!

      Delete
    3. I know I try to focus on the inches lost but I am so scale obsessed....I have lost weight the food control way before but then it just all comes back so this time I wanted to do it the way I had never (honestly) never done and that was eat right and exercise. I "know" I am getting smaller...but I really wish the scale showed it too.

      Thanks guys!

      Delete
    4. I have been told that as well by WW but feel that it is not a great thing to tell people. I did talk to one person about a month ago there who said they normally don't have people who work out like I do (which isn't crazy much) but that it is important to eat back some of those points. If you are not, your body will not lose weight. So now, if I am over 8 activity points, which isn't that hard to do, I make sure to eat at least half of those points.

      Delete
    5. Yay can't wait, a marathon is exactly what I want to lose but I'm exclusive bf'ing so might be a bit too much but still I'll start my healthy eating and I'm starting running on Friday.
      One thing to consider though is checking out fat2fit radio (it's a podcast) I've listened to almost all of them. Too many people eat below their bmr (which is the calories needed to maintain your weight if you were in a coma). Eating too little while it may help at the beginning you will eventually cause plateau's and can damage your metabolism.

      Like I said I'm just a marathon from my final goal weight and I will be eating over 2000calories. May not make final weight by end of the challenge but I'll make it soon enough.
      http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

      Delete
    6. oops sorry didn't mean this as a reply :)
      thought I added a new comment

      Delete
    7. What you may need to do is use a few more points plus during the day. I found that occasionally I didn't lose when I was not eating enough. Sounds odd, but true.

      Delete
    8. It has to be diet and exercise.....and the same for me....my nutritionist told me to cut down on the exercising...but, honestly, I feel better mentally and physically....it is just that the person telling you only knows how to make you lose weight by food consumption....they don't know much about exercise. So if you can log into a site like my fitness pal and log in both your food calories and your exercise....it will work for you!! Good Luck....

      Delete
  3. thanks for this challenge!! You are awesome!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. You freakin' rock! I'm so excited and motivated, and I really need the motivation! Thank you so much for all you're doing!

    ReplyDelete
  5. If you need help with answering emails or something, let me know. Larisa
    zerototwentysixpointtwo@gmail.com

    you rock by the way, love the challenge:)

    ReplyDelete
  6. You've put so much hard work into this challenge and it is appreciated. Thanks, Jess!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks for the motivation. I honestly pushed myself 2.5 more miles on my bike today thinking about the challenge. I ordered the awesome decals, I have done that in the past and love the visual!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I focusing on losing a 10k, so my pebbles would be pretty meager lol BUT I may do this with/for my SIL who has more I'm the line :)
    Thanks for the extra boost to stay on track w/my fitness thru the summer!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm really excited about losing a marathon! My first challenge though, will be surviving vacation next week! We leave for San Antonio on Sunday morning. I am seriously going to try to lose though!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks for the challenge. You are quite the inspiration!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Good luck with the challenge! I am finally seeing the goal of my last 8 lbs so 26.2 wouldn't be a good loss for me! I wish everyone good luck in the challenge!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Good luck! What an inspiring and motivational post!

    I'm at my original goal weight, but now am thinking maybe just a few more pounds?? :)

    I'm not going to sign up for the challenge (since I'm doing a reading challenge right now!), but I think I might want to lose a 10k! :)

    Shannon
    http://www.irunreadteach.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete
  13. I have the same issue - I love to workout and run, but I also love to eat. I need to use these 13 weeks as a chance to find a healthy balance.
    Abby
    http://backatsquarezero.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  14. This is such a great idea for a challenge and I wouldn't be surprised if you ended up with 1000 participants!

    ReplyDelete
  15. you have a very solid plan. this is good- you can do it

    ReplyDelete
  16. What a great idea! Good luck with your plan and to all of those who follow it with you!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Really enjoying all the support out there, but really have a burning question, should we eat the work out calories or not?

    Would love your opinion and anyone else's as well.

    ReplyDelete
  18. HOW do you find time for two-a-days??? I need to increase my cross training also....but I'm finding it hard to train for the Chicago marathon AND get in two-a-days!

    LOVE those jars, and absolutely love the amount of time and talent you have put in with this! Thank you!!!

    ReplyDelete
  19. As soon as I saw the first post from another friend on Gather.com, I just had to sign up and found some of my other Gather friends as well, I feel really motivated to make the goal. Thank you so much for doing this challenge and inviting others to do it with you. Kudos.

    ReplyDelete

I appreciate your feedback and comments!