Wednesday, April 22, 2015

You can't outrun your diet! (Or can you?)

      I don't know why, but this week I have listened the same thing over and over: You just can't outrun your diet! And seriously, I don't know. I've outruned my diet three times. But then again, when I stopped running my weight eventually caught up. Maybe that's what they mean. Not that you can't lose weight or even that you can't reach your ideal weight mainly by exercising, but that it's unsustainable. Either you change your diet or eventually you'll go up again. 

Anyway, for me it has always been easier to loose weight by exercising than by dieting. I think that it has to do with my anxiety issues. Working out makes me feel better, empowered, freer. Losing weight this way is easy, it comes as a consequence. I don't even have to watch too closely what I eat. "If losing weight by exercising is so easy, then why stop? Why are you stuck at 251 pounds (114kg)?", you may ask. Well, let me tell you:

1st time:
 The first time that I lost weight by exercising was when I was about sixteen years old. I became part of a running team and would spend all of my weekday afternoons running. Rain or shine, hot or cold I would run; even on Fridays. I was pretty good at it. I could run 5k (3 miles) in less than 25 minutes. My weight was about 130 pounds (60 kg) So, what happened? College. When I got into college I was positive that I would be able to keep up with my training. The truth is that it turned to be harder than I expected and I completely stopped running. By the time I began my last year of college I had gained more than 66 pounds (30 kg). That's when:

2nd time
I went to Spain and lived there for 5 months. Living away from home, in another continent for the matter changed all of my habits. I had no car, so I walked a lot. I had to buy and cook my own food, so I tried to keep it healthy, and I had little money to spend. I preferred travelling than eating so it was six months with little to no fast food for me. Then I began swimming. When I came back to Mexico I had lost about 40 pounds (20 kg). What happened that time? I came back and lost my way. I realized that everything kept changing and everyone had continued with their life. I tried, unsuccessfully, to get a job and to write my thesis so I could finally get my degree. Things kept adding up and each day I found harder to get out of bed. After a couple of years I had some sort of breakdown ( I had a panic attack) and searched for psychiatric help. I began taking antidepressants. My weight up to that point was similar to my weight now. Several months later I began working out again. Then something great happened:

3rd time
My boyfriend of seven years asked me to marry him! I felt great, had a great motivation and I found a sport I loved. A friend of mine took me to an Ultimate Frisbee training session and I absolutely loved it. I was never good at the actual game, never completely understood it, but I loved training. So, Monday to Friday mornings I would go to the gym for some cardio and weight training and, twice a week, during the afternoons, I would visit the Ultimate Frisbee trainings. During that time I ran my first, and so far the only, 10K (6.2 miles). For my wedding day I had once more lost about 50 pounds (22 kg). 

After getting married lots of things changed. I think I have let the happy married life to be too hedonistic. I've eaten lots of sugary things that I shouldn't (like froot loops, krispy kreme, ice cream). Ordering fast food or eating out became usual for the weekends. I've let myself drink more alcohol and more frequently than before and I've been sleeping in for a year and a half. 

4th time? maybe?
In october I enrolled to a new gym. I began working out after work. The first two months were hard. I could mostly walk on the treadmill. I began with interval training. I would jog for1 minute and walk for another minute. Five intervals, seven, ten until I was able to complete half and hour. Then my walking intervals began getting shorter. About a month ago I finally could jog for 30 whole minutes. I began training harder and set an objective: To run a 5k before the fall ends. 

About two weeks ago I began to incorporate weight training into my workouts. I have begun losing weight. Let's see how it goes this time. Maybe, just maybe, I will be able to outrun my diet. Maybe not. Either way, stay tunned because it will be an interesting journey.

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