Blogging Weight Loss Challenge: Day 5
April 14, 2009 Posted by Tyler CruzA couple days ago I went on my second walk/jog around Westwood Lake for my Blogging Weight Loss Challenge. Since my feet and calves were absolutely killing me the first time I went and my time was 6 minutes slower than my best time in 2007, I prepared a bit better for my second “run”.
First, I went and bought a new pair of running shoes, thinking that my shoes were part of the problem. Secondly, I brought my Blackberry headphones with me and downloaded some music to listen. I did forget to stretch beforehand though.
Unfortunately, the new shoes didn’t help one bit, and they actually got really muddy since we went after it had rained and it was quite muddy in some areas. I guess my feet (and shins and calves) are just out of shape and need to get used to walking/jogging long distances. At least, I hope that’s the case, because I don’t know what else to do about them. They start hurting after the first KM and by the fourth I’m straining to walk. By the time I get home I can seriously barely walk up the stairs because one or both of my feet are in such pain.
I was a little bit more out of gas cardio-wise this time, but I’m pretty sure that’s because I jogged a couple more stretches than I did last time. It’s a shame my feet hurt so bad because there were 2-3 places where I could have done short stretches of jogging which would have cut a couple minutes off my time.
I think part of why my feet hurt so much is that it’s not all flat and there are some hills since it’s a trail. Plus, there is a beast of a steep incline at the beginning followed by a steep decline which always manages to kill my feet.
I ended up finishing at 1:05:33, which is about 30 seconds off my previous time. I’m actually surprised I managed to beat it since my feet were really killing me and even made me stop 2-3 times for short breaks (I didn’t need to stop last time). Lisa went ahead of me and actually managed to finish in 56:30 which is 9-minutes faster than me, so I need to catch up.
And tips or comments about the hurting feet? Will they get better over time?
Westwood Lake Time
| Date | Time | Comments |
| My 2007 Best Time | 1:00:34 | My record to beat… |
| April 8th, 2009 | 1:06:00 | Feet and calves absolutely painful |
| April 12th, 2009 | 1:05:33 | Feet, shins, and calves still absolutely painful |
Current Weight Status
Starting Weight: 206
Current Weight: 205
Goal Weight: 195
Days Left: 65
Don’t Forget to Participate to Win an Easy $100
Remember, all you need to do is blog about my Weight Loss Challenge with Jonathan Volk and predict who you think might not make the challenge to be eligible to win a possible $100. Full details can be found on the original post.
So far nobody has blogged about it, so if your prediction ends up being correct and that person loses the challenge, you could walk away with an easy $500…
What kind of dietary changes have you made? I’m assuming all fast foods and packaged foods have been axed? Drink lots of water… like ridiculous amounts of water. I ended up losing 50 lbs by simply doing 1 hour of cardio and drinking 2 L of water every day for about 4 months.
Nope, I’m being stubborn and am not changing my eating habits unless I don’t see any change in weight around the halfway mark.
That’s bold Tyler. In the end, you lose weight by either reducing your input calories or by increasing the amount you’re burning.
A nice combination of the two is definitely huge.
I’m with Chris though! Make sure you drink lots of water, and good luck! I hope it goes well.
The word to remember is STRETCH!!
Your shins and calves MUST be stretched before you workout. This is the #1 reason why it’s so painful for you right now. Take 15-20 minutes (and I mean a solid 15-20 minutes… don’t skimp!) to stretch before you go on your next walk.
As for your feet hurting (the bottoms?), this can be either because they’re simply not used to the walking, or, you may have flat feet. If you have flat feet, then you should discuss this with your local sporting shoes shop and they’ll hook you up with some shoes that will provide extra support.
Good luck!
Any advice on how I should be stretching my feet, ankles, and calves?
I’ve never really understood stretching, lol…
Definitely.
The shin stretching is the most important, I think. You’ll end up with dreaded “shin splints” if you don’t.
There’s quite a few simple shin stretches you can do that don’t take a lot of effort. Check out this site:
http://www.walkinghealthy.com/WalkingHealthy/Stretching/Stretching.asp
If you click the “more” button, this site has some decent photos to show exactly how to stretch the shin and calf.
The stretching will be a little painful but if you do it slowly (remember: 15-20 minutes) and with lots of repetitions, you’ll be golden! 🙂
My shin pains aren’t nearly as bad as the bottom of my feet and ankles/lower calves. I’ll take a look at that site and a few others and try to remember to stretch a bit before my next “run”. We’ll see if it helps!
It sounds silly, but have you tried buying cushion inserts for your shoes? Might make your feet feel a bit better.
Agreed on the cushion inserts. It could also be that you’ve got a funny way of landing on your feet, which is putting more pressure on them. I had a friend with issues like this and she had to buy a specific type of shoe just to reduce the pain.
Hi Tyler,
From what I can see you are jogging for around an hour? I can understand the fatigue. Have you considered HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) such as sprinting? It takes much less time (around 20 minutes) and is proven to be great for weight loss. Just a suggestion my friend 🙂
I’d have to agree, if you’re after good weightloss I’d reccomend doing some HIIT every day, it doesn’t have to be sprinting but just varying. Like do 2 minutes of walking followed by a 30 second RUN as opposed to a jog.
I’m certainly not jogging for an hour. I’m walking fast for 96% of the hike and jogging for the rest. Also, keep in mind that I’m only going about once every 5 days…
When trying to lose weight, dieting is as important as exercise, if not more important. If you’re still eating fast food, candy and junk foods then it’s all for nothing. You may drop 10 pounds, but you’re still killing you’re heart and clogging arteries at the same time.
I’m not sure how tall you are, but with proper dieting and exercise you should be able to lose 2 lbs a week.
I know, and I agree. I’m just being stubborn. But I also think it’s more realistic for me to focus on just one thing (exercising) before going all out (dieting) as it’s a lot easier to stick with.
Hey Tyler. Good to see you getting onto a healthier track! If I may suggest, you should swimming rather than jogging. Jogging/running can be very hard on your body (bones, joints, etc) whereas swimming has very little impact in terms of stress to your body. Also, you gain more in terms of a total physical workout. An added bonus: you get to see hot chicks at the pool (don’t be shy!).
Good luck to you Ty!
I don’t go swimming anymore unfortunately. I used to as a kid but I don’t like the crowds anymore…
You definitely should try eating 4 small meals a day to get that metabolism going.
In the Philippines they eat 5 times a day, basically always snacking/nibbling throughout the day. It is indeed very healthy to do that.
And my eating habits in terms of how many meals and what times I eat the is absolutely horrible. I should try to to work on that for sure.
I’d say if you’ve been doing nothing and then you go straight for a 1 hour jog, that might be too much.
Why not do 20 minutes a day, and add 2 minutes a day. Give ur feet/ankles shins time to adapt.
As far as the eating goes, you don’t have to make major changes to see a benefit. But if your drinking regular soda, juices you can save a TREMENDOUS amount of calories by switching to diet or water.
Try to make 1 smarter choice per meal.. ie- if you go to macdonalds , get a grilled chicken, eat half the fries.. etc…
You think a lot like me…
I’ll be sticking with the full “run” though because I’m stubborn and want to try to work on my time each iteration. I have been letting them rest before going out again though.
I do drink quite a bit of pop and juice, although it used to be worse about 3 years ago when I almost literally lived on it. Right now I drink about a 2L which lasts me roughly 3 weeks, pop or iced tea 90% of the time when I eat out or pick up food, and then maybe 3L of juice (for the 3 weeks). I actually don’t drink very much period, which is kind of weird.
The good news is that the pop is the main source of my sugar. I do not have a sugar tooth, prefering savoury to sugar.
When I pick up fast food, I do try to avoid buying the pop and fries these days, opting only for the burgers as I feel they are healthier than the fries.
trying upping your sodium (drink a Gatorade for example) to compensate and lost when you sweat. This can help with the cramps and reduce them.
sore feet – I have then when I start running in a new pair of shoes….do they have good arch support also? if you have fallen arches, you will have pain after a while unless your supporting them.
Like others said, stretch well before and after to improver recovery. It should get better over time.
Surprisingly, I actually didn’t get a single cramp from any of my walk/jogs. It’s probably because I’m not jogging the whole way I’m assuming.
Jump in a dry sauna and sweat regularly that will help lose weight …
“the biggest loser” affiliate style 🙂
God dang how I remember how difficult it was for me to exercise when I was weighing at 205-210 pounds 🙁 I’m now down to 148 pounds and trying to gain some back, but it’s hard to gain weight as it is to lose! lol.
-Mike
Ty, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but if you want to lose weight you are going at this COMPLETELY WRONG.
Losing weight is a 2 part plan
– Good diet (80% of it is diet)
– High intensity workouts 3x per week
Walking/running long distances is not going to get you anywhere when it comes to losing weight. Slow cardio being good for weight loss is one of the biggest myths around (http://www.gymjunkies.com/fitness-myths/)
I highly suggest you get your diet in order first… both of these articles are simple and straightforward…
http://www.gymjunkies.com/weight-loss-diet/
http://www.gymjunkies.com/healthy-eating/
After that I would suggest some strength training at the gym or at home… Here are some good workouts PROVEN to work and already written up for you from our site…One is for the gym and the other is for home workouts…
http://www.gymjunkies.com/strength-training/
http://www.gymjunkies.com/home-workouts/
Let me know if you have any questions, Id be glad to help ya out!
– Justin
Tyler, Tyler, Tyler as a former Personal Trainer and Fitness Manager I will tell you that the first commenter is ABSOLUTELY correct. Your eating habits bro.
Nutrition usually counts as 60% of achieving your weight loss or weight gain goals. Now if you do the math, 60% is a D in most schools, so you add in Cardio and definitely resistance training and when necessary supplementation (not always necessary, depending upon your caloric intake) you get the who package, but even if YOU ONLY did the others and ignored Nutrition you’ll get at best 40% of your potential, and since you’re a numbers guy, why waste your shins, calves, dignity, etc. for only 40% success?
You are better than that, and take care of the very vessel that makes you your money. Eating small, nutrient dense, meals every 3-4 hours is good. The three squares a day is GONE.
PublicRecordsGuy is correct.
I started at 202 and got down to 181 in 3 months (before / after pic here) http://www.bodygain.com/images/profile-pics/19_1233210468_1_full.jpg
If you want to maximize your efforts of fat loss, you need to focus on 3 things. Diet, resistance training (Freeweights / machine resistance), and cardio.
For the diet, all I did was focus on eating no more than once every 3 hours. Each meal = smaller portioned than usual, and strayed away from eating crap most of the time. Get up, eat some grapes, popped 2 raw eggs in my mouth, little bit of OJ.. next 3 hours, 6″ oven roasted chicken breast on wheat from subway (most of the time), etc.. You don’t have to go 100% strict, you can have cheat meals / cheat days, as long as you’re staying on the correct path the majority of the time. Of course, drink lots of water too.
For training.. Get a membership at a gym. 3 days on, 1 day off, 3 days on, 1 day off.. Hit up some resistance training first (get a good routine split going, chest tris one day, back bis the other, shoulders / back, etc.. Then hit up some cardio. Mix cardio up with interval training, like get on the stair climber for 12-15 minutes and just go all out.. Try interval training with sprints on the treadmill. 60 second sprint, 60 second walk around 3-3.5 mph, do that 6 times and you’re done.
Doing extended amounts of cardio beyond 20 minutes actually puts your body into a state in which it holds onto fat. It thinks to itself “Hm, long durations of cardio, I need to hold onto this fat as much as possible.” Research interval training, it works much better, it might be more intense but it’s a lot less time spent training. 😉
Damn, wish I could edit my comments here. Just wanted to point out the justification for doing resistance training..
The reason you want to perform resistance training is because it increases your BMR (basal metabolic rate). BMR = how many calories your body burns in and of itself within a 24 hour period. Check out my site http://www.healthygo.com/analysis.php – put in your info and you’ll see what your BMR is. So, brain function, heart beat, digestive processes etc = a part of your BMR.
Now when you build muscle by resistance training, you’re increasing your BMR. It takes more calories (energy) to maintain more muscle. So when your BMR raises, the amount of calories you burn per day raises as well.
If you drink sodas, cut that out and you’d be amazed by how much weight you can lose. Soda, tea, juices, etc. Lots of water.
And I agree with everyone, eating healthy is important. But if you’re not, just eat in moderation. Remember you only lose weight when you burn more calories in a day than you take in.
And to add, go to a running shoe store or somewhere where they can tell you the type of foot you have. If you have high arches or not. Where you land first when your foot hits the ground. They can fit you with the proper shoe. don’t just go into a store and buy a shoe that looks good and feels okay. That should help out your feet.
anyway…you look great..the most of bloggers are big guys:-)
I’ll agree with what Gary said above regarding the 20 min of cardio.
I’m around the same weight right now, I started higher and do only about 20 min of running every other day. I’ve managed to lose almost 30 pounds in 3 months.
I didn’t realize you lived in Nanaimo, you should check out Buttertubs Marsh, it’s very close to Westwood (down by the aquatic center/NDSS high school). That is where I usually do my running.
I think you’ll see some very good results if you try that and focus on running the entire distance and avoid walking. Plus it won’t kill your feet as much.
Buttertubs Marsh isn’t a bad idea since it’s so flat. It’s 2.1 km around right?
While I don’t like the big hill at the beginning of Westwood Lake, I do prefer the forest-type environment as its more enclosed and generally cooler.
I doubt I’ll ever be able to run or jog the entire thing due to my heart but I can certainly improve on the amount of jogging:walking ratio I’m currently doing.
Are you the assistant coach of Nanaimo soccer team?
Buttertubs is somewhere between 2.1 and 2.8km I think. I know what you mean about the forest, I’ve run westwood a few times and it is great, just don’t try it in the winter when the trail is frozen 🙁
I think even a very light jog is great, if you can manage it the whole way around. The way I was taught was to basically run/jog at a speed you can manage for the entire run, even if it is almost a walk. I was taught this method of running by a local gym called fitness edge (on nicol st. i think.)
I’m not the assistant coach of the Nanaimo soccer team. Just another guy who makes his living online, haha.
Good luck with your weightloss challenge.
Thanks. If you see someone panting up a storm and dripping buckets of sweat around Westwood Lake, you’ll know who it is 🙂
Good luck on your weight loss challenge!
You should definitely hit your goal if you stick with it.
Watch a motivational movie if you need some help!
When I usually stretch I take a 10sec stretch on every move so when you release you are relaxed. Good exercising dude!
Successful internet marketers gain a little weight but hey at least they are successful.
I would gladly put on 20 pounds for a 20 percent increase in monthly revenue! lol