As you can see I don’t actually update this site too much anymore. Been so very busy the last couple of years. In fact you might have noticed I just published a post I wrote last year, making it about two years since I updated anything here. (I decided to publish that post without really proofreading/fixing it.)

This last year I lost and regained about 10 more lbs, dropping down to a low of 208.9 in August just before running another San Jose Rock and Roll Half Marathon (2:11:44 slightly faster than last year). Post Marathon I put all the weight back on and I’m back up to 220ish. This year I’m planning to run the San Francisco Rock and Roll Half Marathon in April and I need to get back on track with my training. I injured myself in December and had to take a month off running, so I only have a couple of months to get myself back up to 13.1 miles.

Probably the biggest factor in my slip was that rather than doing long runs or bike rides on the weekend I’ve been looking to buy a house here in the Bay Area. To that end I’ve spent several hours each weekend looking at houses in my price range trying to find one I like. So far I haven’t had any luck, and the prices are just going up, up, up here. Coming from the midwest it’s so painful to find out that if I want a home with a reasonable commute I’m looking at spending $600-800k for a 1,300 sq ft house.

Besides looking at housing I started “hoarding” beer this last year and have quite a collection of craft beers. I probably should start reviewing them here so I have an excuse for the collection. I sadly need to start actually drinking some of these beers before they get bad, which sort of goes against my goal to lose weight.

My goal for the next couple of months is to get on track with my health again and should start sharing my weight log/graph on this site and logging what I’ve been up to to keep myself honest. I just have to figure out how to link this from Google Docs.

In addition to all the extra curricular activities I’ve been a lot busier at work this last year. I got a “promotion” to a lead position which basically means I’m now doing everything I used to do plus another person worth of work. This plus the house hunting has left me with no time to play any games or see many movies this last year.

Well I can’t believe it’s been almost an entire year since I last posted to this thing. Originally I had hoped to be making a post within a month or so of my last one with the news my weight loss had continued and that I had moved out of the “obese” category and become only “overweight”. Sadly that was not to be as I’ve had a busy year and haven’t been able to keep up with my diet.

So what has happened with me over the last year? So much I’m not even sure where to start. Probably the biggest news is that in late February of last year I met a wonderful girl who’s company I enjoy greatly. This turn of events has taken up quite of bit of my time over the last year so I haven’t done too many long bike rides over the last year. Just not enough time on the weekends to spend 2-4 hours pedaling around the bay. I think this year I need to try and make some more time for biking since I still want to try to bike to San Francisco from San Jose. Though I also have to balance this with finding time to hang out with my Girlfriend, since she’s not the biggest fan of two wheeled vehicles (though she does like that whole running thing).

I did continue with my plan to go running and have managed to go from not being able to run for more than 10 seconds in Nov of 2010 to finishing all 13.1 miles of the San Jose Rock and Roll Half Marathon with a time of 2:12:58 in October 2011. That’s a about a 10 min/mile pace. The 10k I mentioned in my last post was my first run (and was really the Bay to Breakers 12k), and there I managed 7.46 miles in 01:23:25 (11:12 per mile).

In addition to running I did a couple other outdoor activities this year. I went skiing a couple of times last winter. I also took a couple lessons and actually learned how to “parallel” ski instead of just do a wedge down the hill. With a couple lessons I went from being afraid of the “blue” hills in Tahoe to managing a trip down a Black Diamond rated hill.

Once it warmed up a bit I went backpacking with my Girlfriend and a few friends and we did the Skyline to the Sea Trail through Big Basin State park. This was a lot of fun and I’d love to do another backpacking trip this year. I just need to go find myself a pack.

I bought a Motorcycle which has been fun to drive for those occasions where my bike is a bit far/slow for where I want to go and I don’t need the extra space of my car.

I did manage to lose another 10-20lbs but I’ve been stuck around 225 for the last year. Hopefully next year I’ll make some more forward progress.

So I’ve been a large person for many years, one year ago today I decided to start recording my weight and do something about it. My original goal was to lose about 100lbs in a year. To attain that goal I made some changes to my diet, and added a lot more physical activity to my life. I now eat a lot more  vegetables and I’ve cut a lot of unhealthy food out of my diet.  I also bike 3 miles to work everyday, fit in a 20-40 mile ride on the weekends, jog a couple times a week (hoping I can run a 10k in May), and lift weights 3 times a week.

Despite all that it turns out losing weight is hard and one year later I didn’t hit my original goal, though I do feel a lot better than I have in years. In the last year I went from 289lbs down to 234lbs, a net loss of 55lbs over the course of a year. I’ve also shaved 6-8 inches off my waistline since I started last January.

Not my original goal, but still within the “healthy” weight loss rate of 1-2lbs a week. Looks like I have another year or so to go to hit my final goal, though perhaps I can do a bit better in this new year.