My Weight Goal Is Met

So as the title says, I've reached my weight goal, so here is photo of myself taken at December 26th 2015 at 69.3 kg / 152.8 lb:

It has been almost 2 years long road to walk (all the way from January 27th 2014 and 99.3kg / 218.9lb) starting at:

69.3 kg / 152.8 lb

Finally I made it under 70kg / 155lb.

70.6 kg / 155.6 lb

Not too bad considering holidays and less exercise.

10km Mark Passed

I was running yesterday my usual 6km, and I didn't feel too tired at the end of it so I decided to go for more and see if I can get it to 10km, and I did. So it is official now, I can do 10km:

Probably not for every run, but just once in a while when I feel like it...

71.0 kg / 156.5 lb

Just one more kg to go...

CW-X Insulator Stabilyx Running Tights

We have been blessed with sunny fall this year. Not rain at all so far, all though temperature started getting close to freezing point in the morning. And winds are getting pretty cold also. With all of that, I started gearing up.

My this week discovery are CW-X Insulator Stabilyx Running Tights. I took for a run first time today morning at sunny (45F/7C) and windy (10 mph/16kmh) Ohio weather and couldn't feel anything other than being comfortable, supported in all the right places, warm and cozy.

There are a lot of science put into supporting of joints, core, muscles in these tights. And they are made of temperature-regulation fabric. If interested, see detailed info about these on CW-X website.

PS. I still need to master the process of putting them on: size M (for my 5'8"/173cm and 157lb/71kg) with all the compression and support things is a bit of the challenge to get them on. But one thing is for sure, as soon as they are on, I don't want to take them off. Definitely a keeper. Yay!

Making and Drinking Raw Juices

A little bit more than a year go, I got my hands on "Fresh Vegetable and Fruit Juices" book written by Dr. Norman W. Walker after a friend of mine recommended it to me. I read and re-read it couple of times. It did change the way I eat and think about my food for sure.

If you are thinking on getting into raw juicing or raw food in general, I highly recommend to start by reading this book. It explains basic principles, provides helpful info on various fruits and vegetables and also has recipes.

At this time, I begin pretty much every day with a glass or two of raw freshly squeezed juice to give my body all the nutrients it needs to begin the day.

71.5 kg / 157.6 lb

And I am back on track, yay!

Runner's Best Friend: Muscle Mauler Foam Roller

I didn't run while I was abroad for a month on a business trip and didn't have chance and time to run there. I was pretty eager to get back to running when I came back. So as a result I overdid it and my left hip started hurting after each run.

I guess it shows that I still need to work on my running technique. And also need to not skip warming up before the run and stretching after (the time is tight in the mornings sometimes so I was allowing myself to neglect these from time to time).

For professional help, I am seeing both a massage therapist and a chiropractor. So my hip has been improving and I am back to running on somewhat smaller pace and timing, but I am happy to run again.

Interesting enough at very beginning of massage sessions my therapist suggested me to add a foam roller to my daily routine.

73.8 kg / 162.7 lb

Got some of my weight back, probably due to less running as I am trying to recover my hip a bit. But still need to get back on track. I am working on it!

71.6 kg / 157.9 lbs

72.7 kgs / 160.3 lbs

73.2 kgs / 161.4 lbs

Saturday's weight in:

How I Started Running

Ever since I was at school I knew I can't run. Every time they made us run in fitness class I was imagining how miserable I will feel by the end of it (that is if I make it till the end)...

So with all that said, running wasn't really my first thing to try to lose these pounds I needed to lose.

I tried some programs and classes and had some results with them, but I wanted more. So I started asking fitness savvy people around me: "What can I do in addition to what I am already doing to shed these pounds off my body?" In many cases the answer was: "Start running".

Starting Running

Now, it isn't that easy to start running (and I think in some cases it maybe also damaging to joints) when you are overweight. So for me it was important to start slow and make sure I don't get anything injured in the process (and stop running all together). According to my instagram log I started running a bit more than a year ago, and I was 92 kg / 202.8 lbs at that time.

I was very unsure if I could do this all together (remember, I can't run?), but I had great help from a friend (long time runner and healthy eater) who stayed with us for few weeks back then and basically got me started till the point I could continue the path myself.

So here are few tricks which helped me to start.

75.0 kg / 165.4 lbs

I can't believe that 2 weeks has passed already, any way, here is my bi-weekly weight-in photo:

Why Food Tracking Is Important

Tracking what I eat not only gives me an idea of how much calories are consumed during the day (that goes hand to hand with tracking daily activity). It also helps keeping diet in balance to make sure that no important nutrients miss my plate.

It is Important to Not Starve Yourself

I think a lot of people who want to lose weigh (myself included) go through this phase of "fat comes from food, and if I don't eat at all, I will lose it eventually" thinking.

The problem with this is that not only fat comes from food, all these nutrients your body needs to maintain its wellbeing (fat including) come from what you eat.

And all though body can survive w/o important nutrients for some time, after that it will not be able to. In lucky case, you will be back to square one starting it all over again (eating all fat back, filling hungry forever and being miserable), unlucky one may result in getting sick.

It is important to eat and and it is important to eat right. It is also important to know what is too much and what is too less. This is where food trackers come in handy.

75.5 kg / 166.5 lb

Quick weight in results for today:

Don't mind the arrow up, my scale at first decided to show and record 64kg, which made the follow up re-weigh to look like an increase...

What to Eat for Lunch

My answer to "What to Eat for Lunch" question is: a handmade raw vegetable salad you put together yourself. And this is not only for when I am working on losing weight.

Benefits of it are quite easy to guess, but I will list them anyway:

• I always know what is in my salad and how much calories I just ate.
• Fresh vegetables are good source of all the nutricional goodness: vitamins, minerals, fiber, all the other things my body needs.
• I use mainly uncooked raw vegetables, so most of nutrients make it there unharmed.
• I can eat a big bowl of vegetable salad, get full and still be under the calorie limit I set for my meal.
• It takes 15-20 mins to throw a salad together, and yes, I can do it at work as well as at home.
• It doesn't cost a fortune even if I use organic ingredients, it is still cheaper that average lunch meal I purchased before.
• I always eat something different, changing ingredients slightly doesn't let me to get bored with what I eat.

A Start to Eating Better

Food: what I eat, when I eat it, what I don't eat and when I don't eat - one more challenge to overcome on a way to become healthier and more fit.

I had my ups and downs with this one and this is what I learned.

Dieting in its broad understanding of restricting yourself from eating certain food at certain times for limited amount of time starting from day X - doesn't work for me. I am constantly hungry, sleepy, powerless and counting seconds till the time it is over to stuff myself with foods the diet didn't let me eat.

Now slowly changing my diet from eating less of things which are not good for me to more of things are good for me, slowly reducing amount of calories to first match and then go below the amount of calories I use in a day that works.

The emphasis is on slowly, allowing body to adjust.

Weight Loss: Tracking Activity

In my today's world getting active doesn't mean starting running marathons from next Monday (yea, even if Mondays are these magical days which can give you these sort of powers). It is about doing enough activity to cover (or over do) the amount of energy I eat during the day.

Whatever it is running, or walking, or cleaning around the house, or moving... Anything will do.

How do I know if I have enough activity in my life? I track it. Steps is probably easiest thing to track, there are so many step tracking devices on the market at this moment. Some of them also measure distance, calculate calories, pock you when you are not active, store logs of activity, etc. For more advanced stats there are trackers which can link to you phone or have GPS for calculating speeds and location. These on top of the line also have HR monitors.

Most of them come with some kind of account there activity information can be stored, some will have website to see your account info or phone app to do so, or both. Some will also have a way to sync data from/to various tracking tools.

I did try few.

Weight Loss: How I Started

I knew I was (and still am) overweight for quite some time. But at some point amount of all these cool clothes which either didn't fit anymore, or were barely fitting (and looked funny) started growing exponentially. I was about US size 10 when we moved to USA 7 years ago. And last January had to get myself a pair of 16 US size jeans to not feel bad about not being able to get my 14th buttoned up. I boxed up all clothes I couldn't use anymore with a thought to donate them eventually.

But I had to see these 99.3kg (218.9lb) on my scale to realize that I am few steps away to be over 100 kg... Which for me is a lot and scary. This was good kind of "scary". It motivated me to do something about it.

I am closing to US size 8 now, 77.3kg (170.4lb), that is 22kg (or 48.5lb) less comparing to when I started back on January 2014. Feel free to follow my progress of weight-ins and exercise log in motivatemyself2014 Instagram account.

Hello World!

I guess saying "Hello" is a proper way to start new blog :) not that somebody is reading it or something, but just in case...

I will use this blog to share things and tips which worked for me on my way to get fitter and healthier and don't get discouraged in the process. Since starting this journey in January 2014 to today (May 2015), I have lost about 48lb, that is from 99.3kg / 218.9lb down to 77.3kg / 170.4lb, and I am 5' 8" tall.

Just to illustrate what I am saying, this is me in January 27th 2014 at 99.3kg / 218.9lb: