A new way to workout

It started after the return from my trip to Italy in February. We had walked a ton of miles and eaten very little. Neither my sister nor I are foodies, so we had no urge to sample all the local delicacies. (Note: This does not include Grom, the local awesome ice cream. THAT we sampled... liberally.) I was gone ten days and returned to find I had lost 10 pounds. This was partially due to the fact that I wasn't working out for ten days either. Any time life takes me away from the gym (It happens, but it's rare), I inevitably lose weight because I'm not packing on muscle and eating the associated foods that would allow those muscles to grow.

If I stop working out, I stop eating. It's that simple, and it's not a pro-active decision on my part. I'm just not that hungry, so I don't think about as much.

But, now that I'm into this GORUCK insanity, I talk more and more with people that treat exercising as importantly as I do. So, everyday, I hear motivation. I hear others talk about their workouts, what they're eating, and what challenges they have coming up. Because of things like this, I am encouraged to challenge myself. I started watching what I ate. Instead of heading out to a restaurant after the gym, I head home to small portions of foods that taste great and are still better for me. I walk up the stairs at work now (a noteworthy thing now that I've moved up to the 6th floor). I've started running seriously again and have an insane fall and winter planned.

I have - seriously - ten half marathons in the next 6 months or so... not counting the training going along with those. I pumped out 10 solid miles last night and feel great. With the possible addition of two full marathons in the spring, it makes for a lot of running. But, fortunately, my lifestyle and circle of friends now encourages that. I ran a 5K in 23 minutes last weekend, and that's something I thought I'd never do. The days of me crossing the finish line for those short races in 27 minutes, exhausted and drained as my girlfriend screamed at me to pick it up and not be such a wuss? Those are behind me. I wonder what she'd think of my running now...

I've dropped about 35 pounds in the last four or five months, and it shows in the strangest ways. My wrists are thinner. I know, right? Suddenly, I can twist my watch around like it's some kind of damn wrist hula hoop. I've lost considerable amount of mass up top, but I'm lifting more than ever, so the muscle is certainly still there. I've actually become lean. I'm thinking I should go down another ten pounds, but the key is that I'm healthier than I've ever been.

Now, when I throw on that brick-laden ruck for GORUCK, I'm simply putting the weight back on my knees and joints that used to be there in the form of body fat. I never did a body fat comp test, but I'd say I'm down 7-8%.

And, it's all because I just decided to eat less. Be hungry every now and then. Don't eat when soceity tells you to... lunch time... dinner time... right after working out. Eat when you're hungry... and even then, wait a while before digging in. Given where our country is going and current cultural trends, this won't catch on and I'll watch as society spins around the drain into the darkness of Obesityville. But, when we've become the civilization portrayed at the end of Wall-E, with people zooming around on hover chairs, shoveling food down their throats and fatter than Limbaugh on a bad day (topical political humor!), don't come crying to me.

My friends and I will be living off the land, high in the mountains with bricks on our backs and energy in our souls. And, there's no crying in the ruck.
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