Category Archives: Transparency

How I Lost 25 Pounds by Being a Manager

5 Replies

5 Rules of Change

In July of 2006 I weighed around 185 lbs, about 25% of which was pure fat. I wasn’t happy about that and some other things, so I set a goal to get to 10-12% body fat and run the NY marathon in November 2007. To do this, I’ve been applying approaches I’ve used as a professional manager, and to myself.

Specifically, I’ve always believed in 5 Rules of Change whenever I’ve tried to change teams and organizations. Here are those rules, with the posts explaining the detailed thoughts behind them, and how they’ve been helping me lose weight and change my life:

The Rules

The Summary

How I’ve Used The Rule To Lose Fat

Know What You’re Changing

Understand and measure what you want to change.

I measure body fat and weight every day, and post results each week to this blog.

Less Is More

Make the easiest change you can, but make sure it’s a visible change to you.

I first started counting calories I ate, without a target level of calories, because I knew just counting would make me think about what I ate.

Evolution not Revolution

Try to make a small change to how things work today, rather than change the world overnight.

The first small change I made was set a calorie target (in addition to counting).

Round Wheels Work

Look for people who have similar goals to you, and do what they do

Based on success stories I could find, I then started eating 6 times a day, drinking more water, etc.

Iterate, Iterate, Iterate

Continually make small but risky changes; don’t be afraid of failure – failure can guarantee success with the right mindset.

I look at my measurements each week, and adjust something (add more exercise, increase calories, rest, etc.) if I’m not hitting my targets

Results So Far

I could give you lots of colorful charts, but I won’t. (See the Nude Numbers posts if you actually want numbers.) Instead, some people asked for photos to track progress.

Well, here’s a “before” photo I posted a few weeks ago…

…and here’s me at a family reunion 3 weeks ago

185lbs @23-25% BF versus 160lbs @ 15-16% BF. Not exactly a butterfly and still some way to go for the goal, but heading in the right direction I think.

Closing Thoughts

My point is I do believe in the methods I’ve outlined over the past few weeks. They have worked for me professionally and now they’re working for me personally.

Hopefully you’ve enjoyed reading this series of posts. I know there are many ways to change, and this just happens to be mine (and I can’t claim it’s rocket science or that I succeed at it all the time). I’d love to hear from anyone out there who has tried changing aspects of their lives (either with different methods, or these methods).

Part of what I’m trying to do on Running Naked with changing how I run my life is to become a better person through sharing my experiences and learning from the experiences of others. Your feedback is invaluable to me in that.

Thank you for your time,

– Art

Help me raise over $10,000 to help people suffering from cancer

Good news and bad news…

2 Replies

Pain

I finally got in to see a sports MD yesterday and get some x-rays of my leg.

So here’s the bad news: looks like I have either a stress fracture or tendonitis in my right fibula (lower leg).   Either way, the treatment is the same: I’m in a boot for the next 3 weeks with instructions to rest it and stay off the activity that caused it, so no running.  That said, if it’s a stress fracture (I hope) I still have a shot at the marathon (but it just got way more difficult).

And here’s the good news: I just found out I can save a ton on my car insurance!

Wait, no, that wasn’t it.  I don’t even own a car…

The good news is the ton of suggestions and encouragement I’ve gotten from everyone out there.  Popular consensus is to make sure I keep going to the gym, and try swimming to maintain endurance.  I don’t know how to swim efficiently (I taught myself how to swim in a river in Ireland, and so don’t know how to breathe), so this should be fun to learn.  I’ve got to figure out how to keep my right lower leg immobile while doing it, but it’s doable.  I’ll work a trainer this week to figure it out.

Stay tuned…

Nude Numbers (#5)

2 Replies

For reference, here’s last week’s data.

Summary

Not a good week for training. I’ve sustained a potentially serious injury and marathon and bike-ride plans are in jeopardy. Read on…

Subjective Data

  1. My IT-Band (or whatever it is) injury got markedly worse on Tuesday. The pain area is on the outer-right leg, about half way up the calf-muscle. I did a 2 mile on Tuesday (fast run) and afterwards it got hard to walk. I’ve been limping since then.
  2. Secondly, I kept eating as though I was running and biking at the same pace, so weight crept (way) up.
  3. And then lastly, my general bummed-outness about this meant I skipped the weight-room.

Objective Data

Click here for a PDF version of my dashboard.

Assessment

Not a good week at all and the low point so far since I started this transformation effort last July.

My right outer leg is sore to the touch, which could be several things, none of which are good. I have an ortho appointment on Monday the 16th to see what’s going on. To make matters worse, I kept eating at the same pace as before, even though I wasn’t working out as much, and weight crept up.

Essentially, big piles of suckage!

Of course, I’m running naked which makes this both harder and easier: Harder, because I have to admit in front of a public audience that I overdid it. Easier, because I can ask for your help and support.

To that end, any suggestions readers have on things to do or try to hasten my recovery are really appreciated (can’t guarantee I’ll try everything, but I do want to get safely recovered as soon as possible so I still have a shot at the marathon). You can leave a comment, or reach me at “art (at) abclarke.com.” See my current plan below.

Plan

  1. See an ortho specialist this week to figure out what actually happened, and what sort of recovery time I’m looking at. I’ll keep y’all posted.
  2. Rest, rest, rest. No running or biking until I know what’s going on. That pretty much restricts me to upper-body and core work in the gym.
  3. That said I’m going to try to be good about going to the gym so my upper body remembers what that’s like.
  4. Cut back on calorie intake to 2,000-2,250 calories-per-day target to get weight back under control.
  5. And lastly, smile, because although it does suck, I’m still alive, mostly healthy, and (despite this minor setback) still one of the luckiest guys in the world.

Presentation Notes

I now have copies of bike and run targets (in gray) in dashboard. As with last week, data is presented in SOAP Note format.

Nude Numbers (#4)

Leave a reply

No changes to presentation this week. For reference, here’s last week’s data. As with last week, data is presented in SOAP Note format:

  1. I’m still lacking copies of the bike and running training plans (hence no gray areas).

Subjective Data

  1. Got eating back under control – targeted 2,500 to 2,750 calories a day.
  2. My right IT-Band has been acting up for 3 weeks now.
  3. Lower running mileage this week as per Team Continuum training plan – but much faster than normal.
  4. I didn’t get a long ride in on Sunday because… well, I didn’t get to bed on Saturday night until 4am. I had tons of fun, but I’m not young enough for that J
  5. No spinning on Thursday because I took my wife out to dinner instead.

Objective Data

Click here for a PDF version of my dashboard.

Assessment

Well, couple of observations:

  1. Good: weight-room work-outs were good this week. Core getting stronger.
  2. Good: put life ahead of training on Thursday and Saturday (biking mileage is down as a result, but “Happy Wife” == “Happy Life”) and this was good.
  3. Good: running speed continues to increase. I did the race part of my long run (8.6 miles) in 71 minutes, which is fast for me.
  4. Watch: Weight is up but body fat percentage is declining which suggests I’m adding more muscle than fat (but still need to watch here).
  5. Bad: My shoulder injury from some weeks ago is still there. My friend JK suggested I get my bike fitted, so I’m doing that this Thursday.
  6. Bad: My IT-Band on the right side is quite sore. I bought new shoes (3rd pair in 3 months) on Sunday to see if that helps. I’m also taking Monday off to let it rest.

Plan

  1. Keep constraints on eating, at the range to 2,500-2,750 calories per day. Keep body-fat at current % level or below, and focus on abs/core in weight room.
  2. Give IT-Band some time to heal, lightening up on running if necessary.
  3. Get at least one long bike ride in this week.
  4. Get copies of training plans so I can show targets for run and bike.
  5. Start taking photos to track progress (as per a few requests), and if I get brave enough, actually post them.

Nude Numbers (#3)

2 Replies

Couple of changes to presentation this week. For reference, here’s last week’s data. As with last week, data is presented in SOAP Note format:

  1. I’ve added gray areas in the weekly graphs that show the target where the lines should be. I don’t have targets yet for bike and run, but hopefully will have them next week.

Subjective Data

  1. I really relaxed my eating this week (ate whatever I wanted) and my energy level was way higher. This is good, that said…
  2. I got very unrestricted later in the week, and averaged over 3,000 calories a day and body fat crept up slightly. I’m now in danger of missing my November 10-12% target, but…
  3. I used two other alternate measurements of body-fat this week. On the Tanita “Athlete” setting on my scale, I’m getting an 8% measurement. At the gym using the caliper method, I’m getting a 10% measurement. Lastly, using the “mirror” test, I’m happier with my overall fat composition, but my abs/core need work.
  4. My shoulder hampered me on my long ride on Sunday, so I cut it short from a 65-mile target to a 38-mile ride.

Objective Data

Click here for a PDF version of my dashboard.

Hit two personal bests this week. Longest run (Saturday): 10.18 miles. Fastest 4-mile run ever (Friday): 4 miles in 30’20” (with half-mile warm up and cool down).

Assessment

Well, couple of observations:

  1. Good: 2 personal bests! It appears that upping calories was a good call.
  2. Good: Back in weight room which was a miss last week, and abs / core are definitely getting stronger.
  3. Watch: Need to start watching calorie intake again, but increasing my target is the way to go.
  4. Bad: My shoulder injury from some weeks ago is still there. Not much I can do here except work on my core/abs to make sure I have good support during rides (keep shoulders relaxed), but this is an injury I’m just going to have to grit out.

Plan

  1. Put constraints back on eating, but up my calories officially from 2,000-2,250 range to 2,500-2,750 range.
  2. For now, keep body-fat at current level or below, and focus on training over body-fat for a few weeks to see if abs/core work gets me where I want anyway.
  3. Get copies of training plans so I can show targets for run and bike.