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New member, ran in HS 30 yrs ago, want to lose weight NOW (Read 173 times)

    Hello. Here's my story. Age 48 average older dad of a 3rd grade boy. I've gained weight over the years, up to 225 at 5.9 height, around June 1st. Play soccer with boy, got winded, exhausted. Decided to change. Quit diet soda. Then started to run (slow jog). Practised soccer more to join an indoor team of dads. September 1 was down to 212. First game of soccer in the league was still a wake up call. Started a diet. Decided to get ready for a 5k, goal is to run non-stop, no walking it. Wife has started doing 5k's this past year, too.

     

    Currently 194 as of November 1st. Soccer is going well. I'm old, fat, and slow, but have fun and it inspires me to lose more weight and get in shape and run more. Can now jog 3 miles non-stop at 35 minutes. 5k is December 22, I think.

     

    Have sore left heel, but not bad. Stiff some mornings or after sitting. Had a sore right hamstring from soccer, but after one week of rest it was ok, just tight. Stretched better, and have played couple games since and no problem there anymore.

     

    In HS I ran cross-country as a freshman (maybe 21 minutes for a 5k course), then did soccer and track rest of HS. Did 110 and 400 hurdles. Had sore heel back then too, and shin splints, but never missed a meet. Those were not a problem in soccer, but only in track. I don't want shin splints ever again. Maybe they were more from the hurdles, and not from how I run ( fingers crossed).

     

    Current exercise is: day 1 run 3 miles; day 2 calisthenics 15 minutes; day 3 run 3 miles; day 4 calisthenics 15 minutes; day 5 soccer game; day 6 rest; day 7 calisthenics 15 minutes.

     

    My plan is that as I lose more weight I can run more, and faster. But I want to avoid injuries, so will be cautious. I run on grass and dirt Live in rural area.

     

    I'd love to someday run a 21 minute 5k. First goal is to run non-stop. 35 minutes, or whatever I'm down to by December 22nd will be fine, and I'll be happy just to finish. Next goal, for the next race after that will likely be to go sub-30. Weight goal is 165. As senior in HS I was 145 at same height as now. That was a very fit 145, don't know if I could ever get there again, so 165 seems reasonable.

     

    Any advice? About anything? Diet is based on no soda, and no junk food, and reducing breads, grains, and wheat products. Reducing starchy veggies such as corn, potatos, and rice. Reducing, but still having, milk, cheese, and yogurt. Keeping meats. Increasing veggies a lot. Using whole fruits as snacks. Reducing juices and beer to almost none. Increasing water a lot.

     

    Thanks for reading Smile Any comments welcome.

     

    I need to soon increase my running.
      Figured out how to fix the paragraph spacing I initially had with my post. Hope it displays the correct way to others for all types of browsers/gadgets!

        My advice is to keep your activity enjoyable.

        I view activity as a lifestyle, and do not have traditional goals such as "sub 21:00 5k" or "sub 165lb".  From my perspective, if and when you attain those goals, you'll feel complete, and may back off from your activity.  If you do not attain those goals, you'll feel incomplete, and work harder and harder and may injure yourself.  When you get close to an event (ie. your December 22 race), you can have a goal for that race, but don't set a goal for your running career.

         

        You're on a path to being able to do so much more than you can currently do.  I caution you from trying to quantify what is really an unknown for you at this stage.

         

        With that being said, soccer can lead to injury.  Avoid it unless you're playing with your son. Smile  Old people run for a reason.  It's straight forward without pivots, start/stop, high acceleration/deceleration, etc.

         

        Welcome to the forum.

        Cheers,

        Life Goals:

        #1: Do what I can do

        #2: Enjoy life

         

         

          Have you read this thread?  (You'll need to join the Beginners and Beyond group if you haven't already.)  Just for inspiration.

           

          Otherwise, I'll repeat what's been said many other places on this forum.  If losing weight is your number one goal, running won't necessarily help.  Depends if you are the kind of person who finds vigorous exercise to be an appetite suppressant or appetite enhancer.  It's very easy to eat back all the calories you burned and more.  Exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, but balancing your food intake is what takes the pounds off.

           

          For the speed goals, the key is to not be in too much of a hurry.  Increase miles and intensity slowly.  Running every other day like you are is a great example of this.  Keep it up, nice and easy, through the winter, and I'd put money on the sub 30 5k next spring.  Push yourself too hard and get injured, and you'll be recuperating all winter and back where you started in the spring.

          tom1961


          Old , Ugly and slow

            You need to run more days.

             

            You should add to days of weightlifting.

             

            I am trying to lose another 15 and know how hard it is.

            first race sept 1977 last race sept 2007

             

            2019  goals   1000  miles  , 190 pounds , deadlift 400 touch my toes


            Latent Runner

              Hmmm, oldfatslow, hey I resemble that remark!  Smile  My story and situation mirrors yours in many ways except that my soccer playing son is now joining the Navy and I'm eight years older than you.

               

              In my case I'm 56, 5'8" and as recently as this past April I was tipping the scales at 250+ ( don't know how far on the "plus" side I was because I was too chicken to get on the scale).  I started running (again) in mid-April (after having started, gotten injured, and stopped more times than I care to remember), and decided to do one thing, and only one thing.  The thing?  To run slow on a dirt trail, and each time I started feeling like my chosen distance was getting easy, instead of speeding up, I went further, and further, and further still.

               

              • Good news #1: I didn't get hurt.
              • Good news #2: I typically run six days per week and by mid-June I was running about six miles at a crack, by August I was running at least eight miles, and by late September each run was ten or more.
              • Good news #3: Since mid-April I've logged 1,170 miles, including three 5Ks, a 10-Miler, and six legs of the Reach the Beach - NH Relay which totaled 32.8 miles in about 26 hours.
              • Good news #4: I lost weight, a lot of it; I'm down to about 190 at this point with about twenty to go.

              Lessons learned:

              • Running on dirt and grass absorbs lots of shock and stress and allows the body to get conditioned with a lower likelihood of injury.
              • Going slow and gradually increasing distance is the way to maintain running without getting hurt and as a side benefit, Long Slow Distance (LSD) is considered by many to be the best way to lose weight.
              • The respiratory, circulatory and muscular systems seem to develop faster than connective tissue (ligaments and tendons), joints and bones.  By constantly going for speed (when I was younger) instead of distance, the muscles would quickly start to overpower other parts of my body and just like that, I was hurt and wasn't running any more.

              Fat old man PRs:

              • 1-mile (point to point, gravity assist): 5:50
              • 2-mile: 13:49
              • 5K (gravity assist last mile): 21:31
              • 5-Mile: 37:24
              • 10K (first 10K of my Half Marathon): 48:16
              • 10-Mile (first 10 miles of my Half Marathon): 1:17:40
              • Half Marathon: 1:42:13
              kcam


                Diet is based on no soda, and no junk food, and reducing breads, grains, and wheat products. Reducing starchy veggies such as corn, potatos, and rice. Reducing, but still having, milk, cheese, and yogurt. Keeping meats. Increasing veggies a lot. Using whole fruits as snacks. Reducing juices and beer to almost none. Increasing water a lot.

                 

                Thanks for reading Smile Any comments welcome.

                 

                 

                Great story!  Keep at it.

                 

                What you wrote above is the most important part of losing weight.  Two things I'd add to that: 1 - NEVER go out to eat, eat at home (that includes lunch - bring your lunch).  2 - "Using whole fruits as snacks. Reducing juices and beer to almost none."  Don't go overboard on fruits - they are still packed with sugar.  Zero out ALL fruit juice.  

                  My advice is to keep your activity enjoyable.


                  With that being said, soccer can lead to injury.  Avoid it unless you're playing with your son. Smile 

                   

                  Welcome to the forum.

                  Cheers,

                   

                  While I've seen a lot of soccer injuries, I think in the OPs case, soccer is the most enjoyable activity and a great motivator for getting healthy.

                     

                    While I've seen a lot of soccer injuries, I think in the OPs case, soccer is the most enjoyable activity and a great motivator for getting healthy.

                     

                    I understand.  I agree.  But, the rationale for the suggestion is in the deleted part after the smiley face, though.

                    I remember by overweight and diabetic years having 'sprints' of activity playing hockey, tennis, water skiing, and softball.  In all 4 instances, I was sidelined with challenges (hamstring, achilles, ankles, etc).

                    Then, I found running in 1999, and haven't had any issues since then.

                    Life Goals:

                    #1: Do what I can do

                    #2: Enjoy life

                     

                     

                      I understand the concerns about soccer.

                       

                      It is good advice.  But as someone else mentioned, it is a good motivator.  There's a lot of running in it.  I also ski, and have done a lot of horseback riding.  Balance is key in all those things.  I win at soccer if I can run around and not have a heart attack.  Beyond that I do want to get lighter and quicker on my feet.  I do want to manage the starts and stops and quick turns.  All within reason, but I do want that agility.  I've done backyard soccer over the years, so am not completely out of touch.  But as my son got older, he got better, and he started to tire his old fat dad out.  Joining a team gave me a reason to run up and down the field and finding myself completely winded and thinking "crap!".  I'm not sure if I play soccer to run, or run to play soccer, or run to diet, or am dieting to run.  They all go together.

                       

                      Next I want to do hurdles.  I don't know when.  When I get down to 165 pounds I will see how I feel.  Maybe I'll want to lose more weight.  155 maybe.  At some point, I wouldn't mind running the 400 hurdles again.  That's crazy talk, but it is a distant dream.  The high hurdles in the 110 would require a lot more flexibility that I might never get back.  They are more demanding on the body.  But the 400 hurdles, I believe, can be done again, as they are more about overcoming the exhaustion.  First I need to run a 400 smoothly.  So if that doesn't happen, then the hurdles will be out of the question.  These are just dreams, but something to work toward.  I want to teach my son hurdles.  Crazy dreams.

                       

                      Right now my focus is on losing weight and running my first 5k (first 5k road race ever, not counting cross-country).  The focus there is on running the whole way and finishing.

                        I understand the concerns about soccer. .....

                         

                        Next I want to do hurdles.  I don't know when.  I want to teach my son hurdles.  Crazy dreams.

                         

                        Right now my focus is on losing weight and running my first 5k (first 5k road race ever, not counting cross-country).  The focus there is on running the whole way and finishing.

                         

                        Soccer is awesome. While I enjoy the scorecard type nature of running and other individual sports, team sports are fun in a different way. Being committed to the team helps other supporting exercises be consistent, and there is strength you get from playing soccer that you can't get from running and lifting.

                         

                        That being said, you're doing calisthenics - I assume you're doing body weight exercises. I'd recommend a little bit of plyometric exercise on one of those two days, and slower strength/endurance on the other. Getting them both is important for injury  prevention in soccer - I coached competitive kids for a couple years. If you can, adding even a mile of easy running on one of those body weight exercise days (the day you do plyo is good for getting accustomed to running on muscles after max effort) you'll see a big gain.

                         

                        I've had soccer injuries in the past, and typically they've only kept me from playing soccer. I've only had two major ones - I coached because I couldn't play for 2 years after a really bad ankle sprain - happily it had no effect on running except it possibly made me faster, based on race results at the time. That and an elbow to the face that cracked two teeth this season has been it. I'm a baker's dozen years younger than you, but I play with guys in their 60's too - you'll adjust your game, I have already and will further as I get older.

                         

                        The impact of what kind of running shape you're in has much less impact indoors where you're playing right now. If you play full-side outdoors in the summer, you'll get more out of it workout-wise AND you'll get more bang for your buck in better soccer from running training.

                         

                        Good luck!

                           

                          . . . you're doing calisthenics - I assume you're doing body weight exercises. I'd recommend a little bit of plyometric exercise on one of those two days, and slower strength/endurance on the other. Getting them both is important for injury  prevention in soccer - I coached competitive kids for a couple years. If you can, adding even a mile of easy running on one of those body weight exercise days (the day you do plyo is good for getting accustomed to running on muscles after max effort) you'll see a big gain.

                           

                          My calisthenics are old school.  Sit-ups, push-ups, jumping jacks, squats, bends, twists, 8 pound lifts with arms, leg lifts, that kind of stuff.  Mixed with stretching for agility (range of motion).

                           

                          What is "plyometric exercise"?  I will google it, but trying to figure out the contrasting exercises you are referring to.

                            A jumping jack is plyometric, for instance..... so are burpees.

                             

                            For soccer, quad strength and quickness is one of the most important things you're looking for (more for outdoor than indoor, but shot power is always helpful)

                             

                            I've used a one legged jumping squat, hopping up stairs, and the standard soccer warm up stuff - high knees jogging, tapping the top of the ball with alternate feet hopping, etc.

                             

                            I'd say start with one legged jumping - squat as low as you can on one leg, jump as high as you can, land on the other leg (easier to land on the other leg without falling over) Doing this taking off from your heel instead of the ball of your feet is good for getting your quads and glutes doing the work, I like to do them both ways.

                             

                            You might want to do it in private, you'll look funny.

                             

                            My other favorite, but to me it has more to do with improvement in running than the soccer stuff, is my old coach's 'stairs' workout.

                             

                            We used to do this after a run. Find a good long staircase - without landings if possible. Stay on the balls of your feet.

                            1. Run up the stairs - jog down easy
                            2. Run up the stairs skipping steps
                            3. Hop up the stairs with both feet together
                            4. Hop up the stairs on one foot
                            5. ... other foot
                            6. (intermediate) Hop up the stairs with both feet together skipping steps
                            7. (advanced from here out) Hop up the stairs on one foot skipping steps
                            8. other foot skipping steps
                            9. Repeat entire process

                             

                            Upper body plyo includes things like sit up headers - even sport skill specific (someone drops a ball at your chest while standing on your feet, you head it back at them while doing a sit up), clap push ups, etc.


                            Dad on the run.

                              Awesome start Oldfatslow! I was 28 with a one year old when I decided to change my life and make sure I could always keep up with my child (soon to be children) and never be that parent that sat on the sidelines. I've lost about 50lbs and been running a year and a half and have taken up weight lifting as well. I went from a gaming junk food funkie to something I never thought I would be. I know exactly how you feel and I commend you for the journey you have embarked on!

                               

                              Also I have to second what Granite said, come join us in the Beginners and beyond group Smile We love new people!

                               

                              My favorite Pylometric is box jumps!! Unfortunetly I don't get to do them nearly as much as I would like...

                              Chasing the sub 20 5K.