PhoneBoy Says

For the last week and a half, I've been doing my daily jog(s) in these:

Specifically, they are Cloud Barefoot Sandals from Xero Shoes. They are fairly thin-soled sandals that are about as close as you want to be to jogging barefoot. Several of you asked me: why?

Honestly, there’s someone I know from a particular Facebook group who lives nearby who occasionally posts pictures of his runs in sandals. It appealed to my inner hippie. Also, the thought of being able to pack something for running that took up less space than a conventional pair of shoes appealed to me. You know, for when I can travel again, whenever that is.

It turned out to have a couple of other important benefits also. First, these sandals (or really any sandals designed for running) are generally a LOT less forgiving of bad form. Land on your feet wrong and it’ll hurt. I got blisters on my heels the first couple days because that’s where I landed. It also explains the wear patterns on my running shoes.

Naturally that led to the next benefit: slowing down. I generally try to keep my heart rate in Zone 2, which is where fat-burning happens. Having to effectively re-learn how to jog meant slowing down.

It also turns out: jogging in sandals is a bit harder on your legs. My calves are getting a much better workout now. And it also led me to something I need to be better about: allowing my body to recover. I was doing two jogs a day there for a few weeks. My jogs usually aren’t short, either.

A few days ago, I was finally getting the hang of it, I was getting into a groove, the music was right, and I broke into a sprint: While it wasn’t the fastest mile I’ve done, it was quite a bit faster than I usually manage:

The day after that, when I completed my jog, I was exhausted in a way I hadn’t been in quite some time. I didn’t do a second jog that day and I haven’t since to give my body some time to get more used to this and recover.

In any case, I’m going to continue running with sandals for the time being. I can always go back to traditional running shoes if I change my mind. Or maybe get some sandals that are more geared for trails, which I occasionally run on.

In the journey to better health, there's often a lot of focus on what you weigh. And while it's always great to see the scale move in the right direction, it's not the only thing that changes. Sometimes, it's those other things that will change before the number on the scale does.

I'm quite happy with the progress I've made on my weight, going from 300 pounds (150kg) to 185 pounds (84kg). However, I've been tracking other measures as well.

While I've long gotten rid of most of the clothes I had from when I was at my largest, I kept a belt. This belt was for a 54 inch waist and even the last belt hole was a tight fit. As I started losing weight and the belt became too big, I bought a leather hole punch from Amazon and used the belt as a way to track my progress.

Tonight, I punched two more holes in the belt and realized I passed a milestone. I'm now 24 inches (61 cm) less around the waist. Two whole feet.

When the scale isn't showing progress, check your waist. It can show progress sometimes when the scale does not.

It's been quite a while since I've put virtual pen to paper in longfom about my health journey.

I've heard about the Covid-15, namely the 15 pounds you'll gain as a result of being sheltered in place during Coronavirus. Me? I'm down weight since early February, which is the last time I was out of the area.

That means, from my high of over 330 pounds (150kg), I am now down almost 140 pounds (63.5kg) I presume my A1C is still out of the diabetic range but my new doctor won't see me until June because of the local restrictions in place because of Covid-19.

According to the BMI charts, and depending on when I weigh myself, I am either at the top end of the overweight category or at the low end of the obese category, Considering I've been (morbidly) obese since high school, this is quite an accomplishment!

Part of the recent weight loss I attribute to the fact just about the only way I can get out of the house on a daily basis right now, thanks to the shelter in place orders, is go for a jog. Sometimes twice a day. This resulted in over 280 miles on my shoes in April alone and, as I write this, more than 1100 miles jogged in 2020.

I wouldn't be able to do this if I ate poorly. In fact, on the days I do eat poorly, I can usually feel it in my joints the next time I jog. Inflammation is real, yo!

So what do I eat? No sugars, no grains, no seed/vegetable oils. Meat and occasional veggies. Coffee with heavy cream. Lots of eggs. I cook with butter and/or animal fats. It doesn't work for everyone, but it works well for me!

And really, I didn't start jogging until early last year when we got a treadmill and I had lost 100 pounds. I started out slowly, working my way up to the point where I could jog while keeping my heart in Zone 2 (180 beats per minute - age + 5). When I started getting more serious, I got an Apple Watch.

Today, I'm able to go farther and longer while staying in Zone 2 the majority of the time. I also make sure I get adequate rest (sleep in particular), which is also important.

But really, I don't want Type 2 Diabetes to come back. Or Sleep Apnea. I also want to keep Hypertension at bay as the doctors discovered I had an aneurysm when I went in for a calcium scan a year ago.

I like being able to buy normal clothes in normal stores. I never thought in my life I'd be wearing medium anything, and yet medium shorts fit me pretty good now. For shirts, I still need to lose a little more belly fat, but even larges are starting to fit well. Not bad for someone who needed 4XL or 5XL shirts a few years ago.

I still have some weight to lose. My previous doctor suggested 175 pounds as a target, but I think I'm going to aim for 165 now. I'm not in a hurry to do so, and I know weight loss gets harder as you get closer to a normal weight, but I would love to be able to say "I am literally half the man I used to be" and not be lying.