Revel Canyon City Marathon Training - Let's Talk Weight.

I'm now four weeks into my training program to prepare for the Revel Canyon City Marathon in November. And so far, it's great. Not only am I running farther and faster each week, but there's also a very tangible benefit.

As of this morning, twenty-eight days after starting my training program, I am no longer carrying the equivalent of these three things:

Each of these - the bag of sugar, the sack of potatoes, and the two-liter bottle of soda - weigh approximately five pounds each. Combined, that's a total of fifteen pounds. And that is the same amount of weight that I have dropped since hitting my high of 235 pounds on July 19th.

Think about that for a moment. Every single day, all day long, lugging these things around with me. Running with them. Walking with them. Heck, just carrying that weight as I try to sit comfortably.

And now, those fifteen pounds are gone. In case you're wondering, yes, I feel pretty great about it!

Now, let's take a look at how they came off. Because weight loss works like a science but shows itself much less specifically. I have been doing the right things each day, being more active and reducing my overall calorie intake. You would think that my weight would drop a little bit every day. But that's not how it works.

Here's the chart showing the number of pounds I've lost over the the last four weeks. First thing you notice is that there is a lot of give and take. I weigh myself the same time each day, so all things in my control are the same from day to day. And yet, I lose a little, gain a little, lose a lot, gain a little, lose a little, etc.

Why am I showing all of this detail? Because I think it's important to be honest with myself AND because I think it can help others who may be discouraged on the days they gain a pound or two. I am proof that weight fluctuates even when a person does all the right things. That's no reason to give up or to feel like a failure.

I still have eighty-three days before my marathon and nearly eleven months before my self-imposed one year weight-loss deadline, and I have already dropped 20% of my overall goal of seventy-five pounds.

Think about that, too. In four weeks, I've dropped fifteen pounds. I only have sixty pound to go and I have forty-eight more weeks to do it.

Does that mean I will lose it all faster? Perhaps. But I know there will be plateaus. There will be setbacks. There will be days when I am doing all the right things and the weight stubbornly hangs on.

When those things happen, I will look back on these early blogs and find comfort. They will remind me that weight loss comes in waves, not necessarily equal measures.

And I will press on. I will not give up. I will have faith in my training and nutrition plan and I will push on.

Because I didn't put the weight on overnight and it won't come off that way, either. But I am worth all the effort it will take. My health is worth it.

Right now, though, I'm going to just enjoy the moment.

Because this:

makes this guy very happy.