Week 6: Down 10 pounds!!!

This morning the scale said, 212.6. That's 10.3 pounds of weight loss in 6 weeks! Here is my starting picture and current picture. I probably should've smiled, but it was early. Here, I'll throw in this smiley face to make up for it. :)

Starting picture at 222.9. Refer to my first blog post: http://brandonfitwin.blogspot.com/2016/03/some-ten-years-ago-i-found-myself-at.html

Perhaps I should smile or something. I mean, I did lose 10 pounds. What I can see so far is that my face is thinner and my torso seems to be carrying less weight. The separation between my pecs is more visible now and everything is just less "blobby". 

Trail running brings me more joy than any other type of exercise does. On a pretty day, there's nothing like power hiking a steep climb, bombing a downhill, jumping off boulders and having conversations with friends. Now that I'm down in weight, I can trail run again and it absolutely fills my soul with happiness. This week was a reminder in how much difference ten pounds can make. At 222 pounds, I felt awful. I feel for people my size and bigger who make the effort to run or hike in order to lose weight and change their lives because frankly, it hurt. It still hurts, but not nearly as bad.

I'm about a quarter of the way through my weight loss journey back to having a fit body and I'm starting to feel "normal" again. It's a beautiful thing. I love feeling my body become strong again. I still have a long ways to go, but I'm loving finally having some sense of my fit body back.

I try to only run in beautiful company. :)

My first trail run in a while. It felt so good! 

What's a hike without a group selfie?

Such a fun trail with trees down and beautiful patches of snow.

We're hiking in the trees!

Exercise Log: 

Wednesday: .77 mile run at park at 8:42 pace. Walked another lap at a fast pace afterwards. I'm still not keen on running a lot on concrete at this weight. Over 10,000 steps for the day.

Thursday: 3.04 mile trail run on Eagle bike trails. It was at a 14:23 pace so there was definitely some hiking, stopping to take pictures and some jogging/running. Over 10,000 steps for the day.

Friday: Home strength training with 10 pound dumbbells (All rounds with no rest).
3 rounds of 15 push presses, 10 one-arm-one-leg dumbbell rows each side, 30 second planks, 20 heel touches, 20 marching bridges
3 rounds of one arm tricep extension and single leg alternating dumbbell curls
9,000 steps for the day.

Saturday: Lots of walking and an afternoon hike. Over 14,000 steps for the day.

Sunday: AM Strength session. All exercises for time. I did as many as I could in a minute, then went on to the next exercise. No rest at all, well no scheduled rest. :) 3 Rounds total. Step up to press with 10 pound dumbbells, cable rear delt flies or face pulls, back extensions, crunches and stair lunges.
Afternoon hike: 9.33 miles, over 1,500 feet elevation climbing at Stack Rock. Slow pace, lots of stopping for bathroom and photo sessions. Over 30,000 steps for the day.

Monday: Active rest day. I tried to walk a lot. Over 14,000 steps. I think I might've pulled a hip flexor muscle by jumping back into running too early.

Tuesday: Rest day. Over 10,000 steps. Nursing some kind of hip flexor pull or tenderness from falling back in love with trail running too quickly. :) 

Approximate Total Exercise Time: 4 hours. I separate deliberate exercise from physical activity. Meaning, I don't count my walking because I feel like I should be getting in 10,000 steps no matter what. It should be what I do as an active individual.

Calories were pretty on point this week. Sunday was high, but recovering from a 9 mile hike/run will require more food.