GMoney, I just read Rudolf's post - I agree with him. For reason's we don't always understand the changes that you are making to your lifestyle and the physical transformation that you are undergoing can be perceived as a threat by our spouses and/or friends. Your wife's negative comments about you being too thin or boney or whatever the choice of word should probably be taken as her voicing her fear of what this means in her relationship to you. Are you going to think she too needs to loose weight? Are you going to ask her to change the ways she eats? Is she going to look fat next to you? Are you going to look at women who are more slim or slender and compare to her? I am very fortunate that I am married to a man who has never been afraid or felt threatened by all the changes I have made and gone through. He is now married to a woman who has no fat tissue left (size AA Bra Cup ) - he still doesn't use negative words like too thin or too bony or anything like that about me. He has never said he prefers "softer" women - a phrase I have heard other men use. Yes, we are still married GMoney, do not be afraid of loosing weight. You do probably need to make sure she understands that you adore her ever more and always will - we women are often very insecure and need a lot of confirmation. Congratulations with your successful weightloss - you are doing wonderfully.

No, rest assured that my wife's comments aren't going to distract me from my goal. I think she's concerned for my health because I appear to be dropping weight more quickly than I ever have before. As I've told her I think that's more a product of my motivation than of a health risk. She may have perceived that comment as a shot at her - which wasn't what I intended at all. I don't ask her to do anything that makes her uncomfortable. Unless there was a very clear, very high medical risk of what she was doing I wouldn't ask her to change how she eats, looks, or acts. Part of married life - trying to make the one you love happy without giving up the things that are important to you.

Myths: eating Before Bed leads to weight gain. For your perusal. I was looking this up as I saw a show on obesity on Discovery. They mentioned the belief that eating close to bedtime can lead to more fat gain. --JJimmyy

Bizzare - 169.0 lbs, 16.5 neck, 33.5 waist, 13.0% fat. Weight went up yet waist went down. I think this is one of those times it pays not to get too caught up in a particular metric or in the week-to-week changes in the numbers. Gonna call last week a "recovery week" and see what I can do better to avoid another mixed result this week.

Thanks for the link. Interesting read. I've read a fair bit now about CR (calorie restriction) and IF (intermittent fasting) and that's a pretty fair summary of the perceived pros and cons. I do wish that the term "fasting" wasn't applied to what I do. The connotations of "fasting" can confuse people and make them think that I do something that I don't.. What I'm really doing is just - eating when I'm hungry and not eating when I'm not.

Congrats, Bob. That's a very inspiring story. Keep up the great work. I think I've mentioned it in this thread before, but "phase 1" of the South Beach Diet is essentially identical to Maffetone's "two-week test" program. Seems like you have found a plan that works for you and helps you make progress. If your biomarkers are improving (as they seem to be) then you're on the right path. I lived near Miami for about 12 years before moving to Virginia (where I now live). Easy to find flat events there, but not so easy to find trail runs. Now I'm in completely the opposite situation - lots of trails but everythings very bumpy. From what I understand, Tampa has a somewhat more active trail racing community, but there still aren't a ton of trail races there that I'm aware of. Some Half-Marathons that I can recommend are - Key West (Conch Shell) in January, Miami in January, and Space Coast in November (the full marathon's a little boring but the half is fun). If you're into Disney then I hear the half there (January) is alright. Disney was my first marathon, but, personally I don't see any need to run it again. My favorite Florida race of all time, though, is the Seven Mile Bridge Run in April. Nothing else like that anywhere.

Hi Bob, Your story is amazing - you have taken charge of your health and it is beginning to pay big dividends How did you "run" into the MAF training? You have been walking 5-6 days per week, 1 hour at the time for a couple of months now, right? And the weight is coming off. I know the weight loss is probably due to a combination of changes you've made, walking just being part of the picture and dietary changes being another major part. You should be very proud of yourself You and I have about the same MAF, mine is 126 = 180-age-5 (for being injured) There are many other members of this forum that do a lot of walking. I know LG (Lowgear) walks many miles every day and he has reported that he lost, I think it is 45lbs., while taking up walking. He now runs too - I actually don't know for how long he has been doing this; perhaps he will care to tell you his story himself. I have been inspired by the people in this forum and by many of the recommended books to incorporate walking into my running program. I have been maffing since mid-January. I really enjoy the walking warm-ups and cool-downs and also taking walk breaks during my runs in order to bring my HR down. I think walking is a great angle to come at MAF training from - good for you! If you want to start running you should do it ever so gradually - after warming up by walking for 20-30 minutes start jogging while keeping an eye on your HR monitor; when you run out of breath or when your HR exceeds your MAF you will want to start walking until things are under control, then do a little jogging again, repeat this pattern until it is time for cool-dwon. See if this works for you. If you feel pain, stop running and start walking. You may become sore in some muscles the day after or even 2-3 days after your run - this is delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) - it is normal; I find walking to be a good way to deal with this soreness, rather than taking time comepletely off to rest. Walking just warms up the muscles and gets the blood circulating to help restore the microtears in the muscles and also to clear away "waste products" and bring oxygen to your muscles. Please, let us know how you progress. You can ask all the questions you wish - none are too silly