Hiking Training Plan: Week 7 Recap

Week: July 29 - August 4
Miles Hiked (Week): 1.00
Miles Hiked (Month): 1.00
Miles Hiked, (Month Goal): 15
Miles Hiked (Yearly Total): 26.05
Pounds Lost (Week): 2.2
Pounds Lost (Total): 17.6

Well, this week was certainly a mixed bag. I did fairly well in regards to hitting my calorie goals, but not so much with the weekend hiking. In fact, only two trips around the Volo Bog Nature Trail and Boardwalk kept this weekend from being another shutout. I guess they can't all be like last weekend.

Although this was always going to be a down weekend, I had no intention for it to be this devoid of hiking. Most of this was caused by me tweaking my back while getting ready for work Wednesday morning. It is feeling considerably better now, but it kept me from doing too much walking until the weekend. I have slowly started working my way back up, but I don't think I'll be pulling off 40 mile hikes any time soon.

I'm hoping to add to that hiking total this weekend, as I go down to Missouri to visit Erin and camp out in Mark Twain National Forest. Here's hoping I can keep up the momentum, and that my body continues to cooperate.

Hiking Training Plan: Week 6 Recap

Week: July 15 - July 21
Miles Hiked (Week): 8.02
Miles Hiked (Month): 17.51
Miles Hiked, (Month Goal): 10
Miles Hiked (Yearly Total): 25.05
Pounds Lost (Week): 5.2
Pounds Lost (Total): 15.4

Week 6 was a good week. I hit my monthly hiking goal, lost weight, and save for dinner on Friday and Sunday did pretty good overall. I hope to have more weeks like this one than the previous week.

The biggest part of that hiking was done on Saturday. I walked at two different places in Wisconsin, the loop around the John Muir Memorial State Natural Area and three loops of varying sizes at Horicon NWR*. Neither were too bad as far as terrain or footing goes, and it was a perfect day for hiking. I capped off the weekend with an easy 1.5 mile walk to and from the Fox River at Chain-O-Lakes State Park in northern Illinois.

Because of my hiking, and because of an overall moderation of food, I actually lost a small amount of weight over the weekend. Hopefully I will be able to make it two weeks in a row. This will be the last weekend in a while I won't be going somewhere or doing something, so I need to be careful that I don't wreck it with junk food and sitting still. There are plenty of places close to Schaumburg I can go to hike, so I'm not too worried.

*Both will be featured in their own posts as part of Wetlands Week.

The Journey: My Hiking Training Plan

As the handful of longtime readers may know, I started a "regular" feature called "The Journey". It was an attempt to share my triumphs and tribulations as I worked to lose weight and become a better hiker. Although I made several posts and lost some weight, I never kept up with it as regularly as I would have liked, particularly after I fell down walking in June of 2012.

After about a year of no real forward momentum in my efforts to lose weight and get in better shape, it was time for a change. Starting on June 17 of this year, I began a hiking training plan. The goal is within one year to be in good enough shape to tackle a multiday backpacking trip. In two years, the goal is to be good enough shape that I could hike a long-distance trail such as the Appalachian Trail.

There are two parts to my weekly plan, the weekday part and the weekend part. Because I have to work during the week, the weekday part is mainly built around hitting calorie goals and walking at least 60 minutes every day (sometimes fewer, if I'm taking a rest day after a weekend). I've been using MyFitnessPal.com to keep track of my calories and my exercise, and it has worked out pretty well. I have a clearer picture of the caloric cost of what I eat, and have made better decisions because of it. I don't always hit the goal, but I usually come pretty close, at least during the week.

On weekends, it becomes a different story, as I use most Saturdays and Sundays to get out on the trails. Starting with 10 miles in July, I am setting a mileage goal every month. Although that is a fairly low goal, it will accelerate sharply as I go through the next few months, until tailing back off during the winter.

In addition, I've also been camping to get used to sleeping in a tent. My goal for this is about one or two nights a month through October (maybe November if I find somewhere to the south a bit to camp). As of right now this is car camping, although I am hoping to spend at least one night this season on the trail. It hasn't gone that well so far, at least as far as getting myself to sleep. However, with enough time I am confident I'll get used to it.

Starting next week, I will make updates about my hiking training plan a regular weekly feature on here. So please come back every week, and feel free to leave comments.

The Journey: Up and Down

Dates: August 9 to August 22

Weight Change (Period): 0 lbs

Weight Change (Total): -19.4 lbs

Although the result for the past two weeks was no change from the previous weight, that hides the actual truth of the past couple of weeks. It was a tale of going up the first week, and then struggling to come back down this week. Last week was my birthday, and two days of celebration took its toll. Because it was the day after my birthday, I decided to use my birthday prerogative and skip recording last week. Let's just say I was up considerably last Thursday.

Fortunately, what went up then came down, as I got back to the business of not eating quite so terribly. After a short period of entente with McDonald's, I bid it farewell again, already seeing dividends of doing so. I (gasp) might even start incorporating vegetables again to my diet.

Circumstances these past couple of weeks have left me unable to do any hiking, which is a shame because the weather has been mostly gorgeous the past couple of weeks. Still, we inch closer to the cooler temperatures of September, and the beginning of my fall hiking season. Here's hoping that I'll be back out on those trails.

Andrew

The Journey: Still Up

Dates: August 2 to August 8

Weight Change (Period): +2.6 lbs

Weight Change (Total): -19.4 lbs

So, yeah, I went up this week. However, I'm not too concerned about that fact. Considering the week before I had apparently lost about 12 pounds, actually gaining back a bit of the weight reassures me that there wasn't something wrong.

Still, it could have been a better week. I could have used more exercise, and again I can't say I did very well in the whole nutrition thing. All I can say to that is I can improve, and will attempt to this week. I did keep up my no potato chip ban, which has actually been surprisingly easy to do.

As summer winds down, it will be time for the fall hiking season. While I don't expect a result like last week from subsequent hikes, I can't imagine that it will hurt either. We'll see how things go.

Andrew

The Journey: Whaa??

Dates: July 26 to August 1

Weight Change (Period): -12.8 lbs

Weight Change (Total): -22.0 lbs

Sometimes I wonder what (if any) margin of error my scale has. For instance, I kind of wonder if it was a bit high last week. The reason I wonder is because this week certainly seems far too low. It just doesn't seem likely that I've lost 12.8 pounds in one week.

Granted, I did take a 7.3 mile hike during this period*. However, I took almost seven hours to do it, so it wasn't like I was tearing through the forest. Also, it was the only bit of exercising I did during the week, other than a WiiSit session last night.

It wasn't like I did very well in the eating department, once again failing to adhere, or even create, a menu for the week. I suppose I didn't eat as much as I had the previous week. I've kept up my potato chip ban for the most part, other than a few chips I ate at a party Saturday evening. As it was a special occasion, I don't feel too bad about it, although the fact that my ban completely slipped my mind until after I had eaten them is a bit disappointing.

Anyway, we'll have to see how this week goes. I won't feel too bad if next week ends up with a increase instead of a decrease. On the other hand, if I have another decrease like this week, I'm going to be worried something is going on. Stay tuned...

Andrew

*Keep an eye out for this account, coming in the next few days!

The Journey: Hmm....

Dates: July 19 to July 25

Weight Change (Period): +3.0 lbs

Weight Change (Total): -9.2 lbs

What can I say? This is definitely a reversal of fortune, after the last two weeks as seen decent progress. I can't point to any one reason why this happened, although I suppose I maybe ate more than I thought this past week.

The menu worked for about three days, before events popped up that kind of threw a wrench in my ability to plan meals. Had I been doing it for several weeks, I figure I would have had the discipline to adapt the plan. This was the first week, however, so it was far too easy to stray. We'll see how this week goes.

On the positive side I was able to stay away from chips. In fact, I barely missed them. Also, I walked a dirt trail with small hills and everything, a first since I fell a few weeks ago. The next day I followed that up by walking down and up seventy stairs at Turkey Run State Park in Indiana. It wasn't exactly Amicalola or anything, but it was a start. Weather should be nicer this weekend, so I'm thinking about trying to hike sometime either Saturday or Sunday.

As discouraging as that number is, it would have been wrong for me not to have shared it. All I can do is look at that and recommit myself to not repeating next week. I've done it before, I'm sure I can do it again.


Andrew

The Journey: I Can't Only Eat Just One

Dates: July 12 to July 18

Weight Change (Period): -1.8 lbs

Weight Change (Total): -12.2 lbs

Well, another week, and another net loss. I chalk it up mainly to an increase in exercise. Most of exercise was of the WiiSit variety (with the bicycle and boxing exercises creating most of the activity), but I did do some walking in place and some strength exercises while I watched Breaking Bad. Had I not enjoyed so many chips that week, my loss would have likely been better. Outside of chips, though, I think I did ok as far as eating is concerned.

I have to admit I kind of splurged on chips the past week, mainly because I knew what was going to happen come today. After the success of my McDonald's ban, I decided I would try a month without chips, and see how that goes. As much as I like them, I think I'll be able to get along without them. Besides, without chips I won't be eating dip, which just helps out there as well.

It's not a full potato ban. I figure I might eat a baked potato here and there, and I don't eat fries regularly enough (since McDonald's is out anyway) that they aren't a big deal. I suppose I won't buy any tater-tots or fries to fix at home, but it isn't like I do that a lot anyway. I also will be cutting potatoes out of breakfast, when I eat it out. By accident I didn't order potatoes with my omelet one day, and I found that I didn't need them anyway.

I'm not a big believer in permanent bans on certain foods. In my mind, if you ban something entirely, you are less likely to follow your regimen. Ideally I'd like to reach a point where I can have a Big Mac once in a while, but I can't have one every other day, or even every other week. These month long bans are more like experiments to see how well I function without them. So far the first experiment is going well, to the point that I'll probably just continue it another month.

Besides extending my experiment to potatoes, I also am trying to introduce planning of menus for my meals. The idea behind this is if I plan my meals, I won't be tempted to just get something quick and unhealthy. So far I've succeeded in following through on lunch, and am currently in the process of following my dinner menu. I'll let you know next week how well this goes.

-Andrew

The Journey: A good week

Dates: July 5 to July 11

Weight Change (Period): -4.0 lbs

Weight Change (Total): -10.4 lbs

So I guess getting rid of McDonald's is working out pretty well, eh? Granted, I've not given up all fast food (just the Golden Arches and a few of the other most egregious offenders), but that has to have helped. I've only done the one walk (detailed in my previous post), and a couple of "WiiSit" sessions. Honestly I think it comes down to a cut in the calories of taken in, and a few good decisions here and there.

I doubt that I can keep this rate up week in and week out. If I only lose a small amount in the upcoming week, it will be a bit of a letdown, but not much. After all, that would still make three weeks of decrease in a row.

I guess if I started with giving up McDonald's, I can move on to making a different change this week. Perhaps I'll add one more vegetable per day, or commit to eat nothing after 8:00 pm. Whatever it is, I'm sure I can do it, and help me continue on the straight and narrow. Which is good, because as experience has taught me, this path is as narrow as a knife's edge atop a ridgeline.

Andrew

The Journey: Lurching Forward

Dates: June 28 to July 4

Weight Change (Period): -0.8 lbs

Weight Change (Total): -6.4 lbs

First off, the good news. Despite there being a holiday in this week, I actually lost weight. Considering I attended a party on Saturday and a cookout on the actual Independence Day, replete with the usual grilled meats, sweet treats, and cold beers, this counts as a minor miracle. I must say I am proud of my restraint yesterday, limiting my celebrations to one beer and one plate of food. Let us hope this is a trend.

Now the bad news. On Monday my daily walking came to a temporary halt. As we were turning towards home, my foot must have hit a irregularity in the road and my ankle did a little roll. I lurched forward, appearing to catch my balance. Unfortunately, my ankle disagreed with me on this, deciding to roll a second time. Unlike the first time, I had no hope of catching my balance again, this time falling over. The result was a sore ankle, a sore knee, and an ugly series of scrapes up half my leg. All of this happening on the leg that was just getting over my hellatious looking (yet not that damaging) fall on the AT at Grayson Highlands.

Fortunately, it doesn't appear that I did any permanent damage. I'm already moving much better, and I suppose I could get back to walking by next week. At least I can, assuming I can get myself to do it. It seems rather pathetic that I have to overcome a significant amount of trepidation just to walk a little more than one mile. Perhaps I just need an ankle support, or wear shoes with higher tops that can support the ankle.

Oddly, I'm not too worried about this affecting me while hiking. I've never had the issues with ankle rolling out on the trail as I do walking in the morning. Perhaps it is the shoes I wear (which aren't really ankle supporting), or even the socks. Perhaps I'm just more careful with my foot falls, or maybe my trekking poles help. Whatever it is, this isn't something I'm that worried about when I try to hike a long distance, such as the AT. Nonetheless I have to be able to walk on roads if I want to get some aerobic exercise in there. We'll just have to see how it goes.

Andrew

The Journey: Going in Reverse

Dates: June 7 to June 27

Weight Change (Period): +2.6 lbs

Weight Change (Total): -5.6 lbs

When I started my journey to lose weight, I had hoped every post would be a steady march of positive results. However, I also understood that reversals would happen. Expecting them doesn't make them any less discouraging.

I had hoped that a week along the Blue Ridge (including a hike to the AT at Grayson Highlands and a walk up to the ATC Visitors Center in Harpers Ferry) would help out. After all, the bulk of my previous loss happened due to my trip out to Yosemite. Perhaps it did, and prevented my awful habits during the other two weeks of this period from making that number even worse.

Once again it comes down to my woeful eating habits. Far too often I find myself taking a trip up to McDonald's to get my meal, probably because it is too easy. It isn't that it takes a huge effort to fix a meal, particularly for one person. It is just that going through the drive-up is just that much easier. I just have to break that habit, there is no other way around it.

On the positive side, I am still down for the three months of this journey, so I can take some comfort in that. I've made a pledge to give up the Golden Arches for one month, just to see if that has any impact. Also, starting next week I'm going to plan my breakfast and dinner meals, as this will prevent me from relying upon the fast food crutch so much.

It appears we are now in the midst of our first real prolonged dangerously hot period here in Central Illinois. Unfortunately that means getting out and hiking or walking will be much less likely, as I really don't want to be out there in this heat. It isn't that I can't do it (it was plenty hot in Harpers Ferry, and we somehow made it up and down that damn hill), but that it becomes harder to do it. Looks like I'll have to break out my Wii Balance Board and bench and get some serious WiiSit* action in until cool weather comes back.

Finally I think I need to recommit myself to posting this every week. I admit I've let it slide to two or three week increments in an effort to catch up, or because I was away from my scale on Weigh-In Thursday. Doing this weekly is a way to keep me honest, and to keep me thinking of the overall bigger picture. I clearly stumbled these past three weeks, now the trick is getting back up and continuing on.

Andrew

*Due to me being larger than the max weight for the balance board, I engineered a compromise situation where I can still get some benefit from WiiFit by sitting on a tall bench with my feet on the board. It's not perfect, but it's better than nothing, and has worked for me in the past. Of course, there are a couple of exercises (tricep extensions, and the jogging in place one) that I can do as it was intended.

The Journey: Weeks 7,8, and 9

Dates: May 17 to June 6

Weight Change (Period): -0.2 lbs

Weight Change (Total): -8.2 lbs

Don't be misled by that small total loss, as the past three weeks were a study in contrast. After one week I was actually down even farther, looking really good. Then the Memorial Day weekend hit, and a combination of eating, drinking, and lack of consistent exercise wrecked week 2. Fortunately, I was able to recover somewhat in week three, bringing myself back down to just below where I was in the middle of May.

What to do about those pesky holidays? So far during this journey I've faced two holidays (Easter and Memorial Day), and failed miserably at controlling consumption. I guess all I can do is start establishing better habits and work at sticking to them, even when the lure of grilled meat, beer, and tasty treats is at hand. It's about four weeks until Independence Day, so we'll see how that goes.

Game on.

Andrew

The Journey: Weeks 5 and 6

Dates: May 3 to May 16

Weight Change (Period): -3.6 lbs

Weight Change (Total): -8.0 lbs

Not much to say about the past two weeks. With a few exceptions I have continued my daily morning walk, which has certainly helped me keep my weight down. I went golfing one day during the period, walking all nine holes, which was good exercise. From now on I'll walk the course, unless it is in the dead of summer when a cart would be justified.

Unfortunately I haven't been able to get any hikes in since I got back from the trip. As I move forward, I'm hoping to get at least threes hour of hiking in every weekend. During the week, I intend to continue my morning walk, and supplementing that with other exercise throughout the day.

On the ever important diet front, change is at best glacially incremental. I have begun drinking more water, which is a good thing. I made some better choices throughout the week, even eating carrots instead of something less healthy for a snack one night. I've also eaten less fast food, which I'm sure has played a big role.

1.8 lbs per week isn't my ideal rate, but at least it is still going down. Here's hoping I can make another small leap forward at my next milestone.

Until Next Time,

Andrew

The Journey: Weeks 2, 3, and 4

Dates: April 12 to May 2

Weight Change (Period): -6.0 lbs

Weight Change (Total): -4.4 lbs




As you can see, this is the first post in over three weeks for The Journey. The biggest reason was I was away from home on a trip to the Grand Canyon, Sequoia, and especially Yosemite. Since my scale is rather bulky, I didn't take it with me, so with no way to record my weight change, I just decided to skip a couple of posts and merge them into one giant post.

As you can see from the results, perhaps I should skip posts more often (yeah, I'm sure that's the reason). I chalk the success of the past three weeks up to an increase in physical activity for the most part. We took some walks and a couple hikes on the trip (stay tuned for posts about these hikes), which I'm sure played a part. Since I returned from the trip I've walked every weekday morning save for May 3, and I mowed with a push mower that day. I still need to add even more activity than a 20-25 minute walk every day, but it definitely has helped.

On the other side of the equation, I can't say I've done as well as I could. I guess we did keep from overdoing the snacks on the trip, and I have added more fruits (if not vegetables) to my diet. However, I'm sure my total loss would be greater if I hadn't indulged in In n Out (ANIMAL STYLE ALL THE WAY), Whattaburger, and some unholy omelet concoction at Denny's that had five different types of meat in it. Nevertheless, this still marks an improvement over Week 1. I expect Week 5 to be better.

One thing from the trip I wanted to add to this is about the nutritional values being shown in the menus at IHOP and Denny's. I don't know if that was a CA regulation, or just the restaurants getting ahead of the curve, but it was interesting to see the calories in some of my favorite foods. I can't say it changed my choices, as the five meat omelet was obviously not on the healthy side of the menu. However, it did make think twice about ordering my overstuffed breakfast, and made me a better informed consumer. I shudder to think what some of the values for things I eat at other restaurants are.

Until next time,

Andrew

The Journey: Week One

Dates: April 5-11
Weight Change (Week): +1.6 lbs
Weight Change (Total): +1.6 lbs

So, uh yeah, that didn't go as well as I would have hoped. I suppose I shouldn't have started this journey the Thursday before Easter, as peanut butter eggs, jelly beans, and other sugary treats were far too tempting. This was coupled with a significant lack of exercise, at least through the weekend, a big disappointment considering the exercise I got on my trip to the Appalachians. All in all, it was not a good week.

However, it could have been worse. Starting on Monday, I began taking a morning walk with my father through the cemetery in Ridge Farm and back to their house. It's only about a 20-25 minute walk for about 1.15 miles, but it is a good start to the day, and has helped out. The walking, plus some slight improvements in my diet the last three days of the week did limit the weight gain to what is effectively within a margin of error.

Looking ahead, I am taking off on another trip this weekend, this time to Yosemite and other points west. I hope to be getting plenty of exercise and attempt to eat healthier if not completely healthy. My sister will be going with me, so I'm hoping maybe we both can inspire our better angels to take control on the road.

Until next time,

Andrew

The Journey: Getting in Shape

I'm a very big person.

I mean, yeah, I am a very tall person, about 6' 6''. But I also mean I am fat. Very, very fat. Naturally this causes me issues when I go out and hike. For instance, being as badly out of shape as I am makes walking up even the smallest hill takes my breath away. It means I take longer getting up to the top of a ridge, and causes me to be out of energy when I get there.

In addition, being big and walking up and down hills causes issues with my knees. Think of all that weight bouncing up and down on knees that have already had their share of turmoil, and you can see why I get apprehensive. Trekking poles help immensely, but I've only used them on walks of a mile or two.

Fortunately, this is something that can be changed. In fact, if I am to ever complete a long walk such as the Appalachian Trail, or any trail beyond the River Ridge Backpack Trail, it is an imperative that I change. I've tried several times with some success. However, I always seem to have found an excuse to revert to my bad habits. It's been really frustrating, to tell the truth.

This time I am going to try public shame. Well, I suppose shame is a bit strong. More accurately, I am going to use keeping a regular journal of my fight to get in shape to keep me honest and on mission.

This will be honest, no punches will be pulled. If I have a triumph, I will share it here. If I backslide or fail, it will also be here. I don't expect to succeed 100%, but I do expect to succeed in the long run.

The one piece of information I won't share is my actual weight, at least not for right now. This information is for myself alone. However, each week I will share how much I've lost (and hopefully not gained), so it shouldn't be too hard to suss out I'm a big guy from these early numbers.

At the very least this will be a weekly post, given every Thursday, which will be the end of my exercise week. I may share more throughout the week, but expect at least one every week. If you don't see this post by 9:00 CDT/CST (This week excepted), please let me know. Also, please share your encouragement/discouragement/statements of neutrality in the comments.

Here's to the journey.