The running man

Finally I got time to sit and post an update! It's really been hectic trying to juggle the many things that are happening in my life at the moment. It almost feels like I'm playing a game of Tetris and the shapes are coming out so fast I can't arrange them...and before I know it , the screen is flashing "GAME OVER!" (with that exclamation mark that emphasizes finality).

So what's been happening? I'm sure the title says it all. I finally have managed to get back into running regularly and I'm just saying "let the good times roll"! The thing is, I did try running when I was over a 100kg .My warped philosophy then was that I would be able to drop some kilos just from running without giving up the food :).As you might have guessed , it didn't work. Thinking about, I'm beginning to understand some of the expressions on people's faces when I would tell them I was into "running". I'm sure a lot of those people quietly said "yeah right" .I must say I didn't enjoy those running sessions for obvious reasons. It was just way too much a torturous an experience it became practically impossible to maintain the routine. Don't get me wrong;I was very very willing. My heart really wanted me to stay on course...you know, get with the program, but physically it just wasn't sustainable. Every session I did was a lesson in oppressive shin splints pain. I hated getting back on the road. Like that wasn't enough, I also had to deal with the burden of my burgeoning tummy. It was like my tummy was on steroids or something. A restaurant manager once joked with me that I shouldn't lose the belly because "it's a sign of good wealth for African man". You can make your own deductions there, but his remark wasn't completely baseless :). Anyway, it's just very hard to run when you're carrying a lot of weight on your tummy. Anyone who has tried this knows the excruciating lower back that's caused by excess weight on the stomach.
The 5.2kg loss I reported 2 weeks ago made it possible for me hit the road again. A lot of that weight came off my tummy. It was just amazing how easier everything became. I started off with 5km runs...I think I did 2 in the first week(the week that ended on the 7th of Feb).Last week I ran 4 times , starting with a 7km run on the Sunday and then had 2x5km runs and then lastly on Friday (the 13th) I ran another 7km.I just felt like I could go on and on , but restrained myself to avoid overdoing it. This week(starting with Sunday , the 15th) I've already ran a 7km and another 6km today(Monday ,the 16th) .I should say however my times are fairly okay and I can only get better at it. I know I will! Maybe I could get into the 10km races later this year.
Running can be a very lonely experience...especially in the beginning when the mind just focuses on the agony of it all. Once you get over that unbearable pain and it becomes an okay experience, then you'll certainly feel an unbelievable sense of euphoria...You got to experience it to know what I'm talking about here :).One of the things you'll find yourself doing is talking to yourself a lot. You got to have something to distract you! I've used all the lines you can think of :) .A sports scientist who was on radio the other day said he once conducted research on the phenomenon of what one could call "runners soliloquy" .Basically the idea was to attach a small microphone on the runner's t-shirt(just around the chest area) and the microphone was wired to a tiny voice recorder (carried by the runner in his/her shorts) .The experiment was done with a large group of runners doing a very tough marathon and then the voice recordings were collected and stored on some computer. The results were astounding. Apparently , these runners uttered all sorts of things...some of which I can't repeat here :).Phew...I felt vindicated just knowing "it's normal" to make these nonsensical ramblings whilst one's resolve is being tested on the road.
Coming back to my weight story , well , well ,well...these last 2 weeks weren't devoid of excitement. They weren't without their serious temptations; thanks to my wife! On 2 occasions she asked me pass by McDonalds and get her some "deluxe meal something" .As always, such requests are delivered via sms, and thus depriving the recipient (read "the man") of any ability for an instant "No!" .Now imagine this: I'm driving home, with the McDonalds stash on the passenger seat, and the whole car filled with that hectic scent of fried chips! How is anyone supposed to stay put in that scenario? Call it the absolute testing of faith. Strangely, I passed the test. I remember a mate of mine saying something like " if you really want to know whether or not you're really committed to eating healthily, take a trip to KFC , go inside and park there for any hour or so, then walk out without having eaten anything " .I haven't tried that ...but the episode with my wife's requests does come close .Nonetheless, I stuck to my game. This whole experience is really about small victories and as often said, "Success breeds more success". I'm seeing this happening to me and it's true about anything we set ourselves to do. It really doesn't matter how small the victory is...eventually the big victory will manifest only as a result of the cumulative effect of the small victories. So, if you thinking of doing this (i.e losing weight) or something else, just do it...just start. It doesn't matter how slow you start. Live the NIKE way. Just do it!
I've had 2 weigh-ins since my last post. One on Saturday the 7th and the most recent on Saturday the 14th.When I weighed on the 7th I had lost a further 0.8kgs in that week and at my last weigh-in on the 14th, I had lost another 1.2kg , bringing my overall weight loss since the 9th of Feb to 7.2 kg. That is 7.2kg in 34 days (i.e just over a month) .I can't believe just about a month ago I was 102.4kgs. Damn :) !
Oh, the pictures, pictures, pictures...My wife has suggested that I only post the "before and now" ones when I've hit the 10kg mark Who am I to question that? Look, I'm just a husband. You know what happens to a man who doesn't listen to his woman. The punishment can be severe...and the sooner any man out there learns that women rule the world, the happier that man is...:) .Unfortunately some poor men spend their whole lives fighting that and finding out the hard way!
Thanks for the encouragement messages and as always…you shall hear from less of me...

Unabated progress

Hmmm...just when you were beginning to think I had bailed out...took the easy way out...slipped up... relapsed , you name it! After all , everyone falls.If you ever watched The Matrix(the first one) , you'd remember even the great Neo didn't get the jump right the first time around. Well , I could not write on Sunday.The heat in Cape Town was just excruciating and the thought of sitting in front of the monitor and let my fingers do their dance on the keyboard was totally off putting.I'm sure you understand.
After my first blog entry last week , I began to have second thoughts about this whole thing.This whole thing of "exposing" myself this way :) . I mean , one of my close buddies remarked that he always thought "WeighLess is like that place where my granny would go for weight management".It sounds funny now , but he couldn't have said it at a worse time. That day my resolve was hanging by a very thin string.I forgive him , because many people do have similar or totally weird misconceptions about the WeighLess program.Ok, let me say this...I'm not a paid WeighLess shill :)...just in case the seeds of that idea are beginning to germinate in your mind.
Seriously , I really thought hard about what he said .You know when you begin to be visited by those "what was I thinking" or "who am fooling" thoughts.Yes, I went through that.
There's a famous quote that says ,

"The important thing is this: to be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become."

famously attributed to Charles Dubois (some claim it was another guy by the name Charles Du Bos) .Just like me , I'm sure you've heard that quote many times before.I heard it before... many many times .However , each time I heard it , I was like "yeah ...it's all easy to talk like that when you're not down in the doldrums and you have really hit rock bottom" .This weight loss thingy has really been a test of character for me.It's really not easy.Not in the sense of the food being different .Different here means less fatty :) . It's not easy in the sense that it touches on the core of one's personality...the depth of one's resolve, issues of self respect , dignity,strength of character ,motivation ,faith ,etc.Hey , the next time you see a CEO of a major cooperate company shedding tears on Oprah because they lost 10 kilos , DON'T LAUGH! It's really a big deal :)...Of course we all want to pack out laughing because it seems totally ridiculous to make sense of it...that such a powerful person who has the power to decide on other humans' fate would cry over such a "minor" achievement!!! I kid you not , it's a big deal.It really is.

Thursday , the 26th of Feb , was just an awesome day.I woke up much earlier than usual and it felt like my body was preparing me for something great.After doing the routine tasks (you know bathing , dressing ,etc) I put on my belt last (I always do that) , and guess what...I suddenly could use the one but last hole on it.People , prior to this ,I had maxed all the holes on belt! I had no "hole credit" anymore.Now suddenly I could fit and actually leave out an extra hole unused. If you think this is not a biggie , think of that time when you were so broke you were considering doing a night vigil at the ATM on the eve of payday ...and then you unexpectedly found a R50 in some pocket of your jacket .Wasn't it an awesome feeling?
I kind of expected it though , because I had been very strict with my eating and never "cheated" :). By the way, who do you really cheat when you slip up ?I really wonder.Even bodybuilders talk of a "cheat day" , which means the day you break off from eating clean and just munch on anything and everything.Well , maybe not everything...I mean , if you completely let loose on that "cheat day" , it could easily end up being equivalent to eating badly the whole week :) . I must say on Friday the conditions at work were just conducive for anyone to easily let go and fall off the wagon.We had an all day workshop and lunch was a variety of toasted sandwiches ...the usually suspects ;ham and cheese , cheese and bacon,etc.I remember I took a couple of seconds staring at these temptation sandwiches.Yes, they were temptation sandwiches..How else would YOU have thought of them?Eat me ...they all said.I'm serious.You know , this is the kind of stuff that brings one's willpower to its knees! I still suspect it was a setup by dark forces :).If you have a political inclination , you probably would prefer me calling them "counter-revolutionary" forces , bend on derailing my weight-loss revolution...

My weigh-in was on Saturday the 28.This was my 3rd weigh-in and I somehow expected the losing trend to continue , but did not expect dramatic results as in the first 2 weeks when my body went through the rapid changes.When I got to the meeting place there was no one else except for the 2 lady group leaders.It's always like this at this group.A lot of the people don't stick around ...they just weigh and leave.I think I'm the only male in the group though.I was told the other guy who used to be a member there lost 56 kgs! That's like losing "another human".That guy apparently now runs ultra-marathons.
I had a quick chit chat with the 2 group leaders...almost playing an act to delay "finding out the truth" :).Eventually I climbed on the scale and once more...I had lost some more..I was again a loser!A drop of 1.2kg , bringing my total in 3 weeks to 5.2kgs .Wow.That's just how I felt....and I still am on that high.This is the concert of celebrating "losing" :) .
So the journey continues, and as promised I shall post some pictures as I progress ..So, until next time....you shall hear from less of me!

First encounters

So the 9th of Feb 2009 was the day! Well maybe not! I walked into a WeighLess group meeting on Saturday the 7th and paid the joining fee.There after the group leader explained how the program works and then proceeded to recording my weight as well as giving me my "file".
However, I could not immediately start eating correctly for the simple reason that my friends from Johannesburg were visiting(I live in Cape Town) and I knew there would plenty of eating out to done :) . Anyway, I took the rest of the weekend as a "farewell to bad food" kind of experience.Ok, let me decipher what that expression means :).I went to a lot of take-away places , the last being a KFC where I decimated a fried chicken and chips meal, an ice cream and a milkshake(for completeness).Yes, that's what I did.I mean, I knew I was gonna be off this kind of food for a very long time(at least not eat as much of it as I was doing). What would you have done?You could think of it along the lines of breakup sex...

Coming to the 9th as the day when it happened...well that's when I really started eating the WeighLess way.I must say I was pretty amazed with the amount of food I could eat in a day...and there was nothing out of the normal food people eat that one can't eat.Normal here means normal :).Potatoes are normal , so is skinless chicken , fish,etc...in that fashion.The thing I noticed immediately was the reduction in my fat intake.I'm still pretty amazed at how much fat I was consuming before "seeing the light".Being so used to to cooking with a lot of oil,I was really afraid of how I would be able to make the food without frying it! A lot of people out there can relate to that fear.Hey, go and invest in decent non-stick frying pan.
Anyway , the first 2 days were the hardest .I was used to binge eating late at night...you know that midnight ham and cheese sandwich or steak pie that enhances the pleasure of watching a late night movie on satellite :)! And there are plenty of those movies...In fact , for me , I used food for many other things...ranging from getting a high when work is not going so well to inducing sleep.I knew I was tumbling down a very slippery and non ending slope.Call it "eating oneself to death".You know , being fat is just not a nice thing.Trying clothes at the shops is a nightmare...you know those "extremely hot" fitting rooms.Well you're the only one asking whether or not the air conditioner is on!Let's not even try to use the "I love you the way you're" or "I don't really care much about your looks, as long as you love me" lines.Please don't get me wrong.Love does indeed transcends all these things , but a person who loves you should tell you that "honey, I love you , but I want you to be in good health so that we can grow old together".It's self defeating to lie about this stuff.I mean , how does one feel when your partner drops dead because of a clogged artery...when you could have saved them by being honest.It's better to try...it's not a sin :).
Having to stop eating at night was just the hardest.The first night I tried to "trick" my mind by drinking lots of water...which made me do the up and down trips to the toilet.So even if I wanted to try and "forget" about the food by falling asleep , nature would call and then bring me back to reality.Food was on my mind!It's hard when you're blessed with a relentless mind that holds on to a thought until you do something about it.My mind just doesn't give up.I just don't give up.That first night was the toughest.It was a real showdown with hunger.I questioned the logic of subjecting myself to this in the first place.I mean, there had to be a better way or the other way..whatever you want to call it.Waking up the next day , and realizing I had "won" , was just awesome.I had beat myself!In a strange and twisted way the positive spin off to that was a new resolve to just get on with the weight loss.I've heard that the last meal for the day in South African and Zimbabwean prisons is at 2 or 3 pm.Can you even begin to imagine what it's like to have your supper at 2 in the afternoon and only get your next meal the next morning at 7? What a mind workout!

Otherwise , it's been great and not as hard as it was back in 2003 when I lost 8 kilos.Last night's supper alone included chicken,veggies(cooked and raw) and 200g of baby potatoes( which is 2 carbohydrates in Weigh-Less speak) .200g of baby potatoes is a lot!Initially I thought I had read the one page guide incorrectly...and the joy of realizing that it was correct...priceless.I'll admit it...I now appreciate every gram of food I eat.Maybe that's what the world needs to get us out of the food crisis.Hey, the next time you order that "quad patty " double cheese burger from McDs , please think of me :)!

Almost every meal I eat now has lots of greens.I'm finding this easier to do than I initially thought it would be...and lo and behold! the after dinner cravings have completely vanished.I repeat , the after dinner cravings have completely vanished.I haven't eaten anything after dinner since I started on the 9th.

I went for my second weigh-in on Saturday the 21st of Feb (2009) and my weight had already dropped by 4kgs in just 2 weeks.I lost the first 2kg in the first week(weighed in on 14 Feb).This is big for me because for the first time in a long while, I don't weigh over 100 kg anymore.My starting weight was 102.4 kg!That's a lot of weight for someone standing at a mere 1.7m.
So that's been the experience so far in the first 2 weeks.I'm in my third week and I'm now more determined than ever!I will be posting my starting pictures and the ones I'll be taking every week or perhaps every 2 weeks.So, until next time....you shall hear from less of me!