I have this beautiful friend Kristi who recently lost a bunch of weight by eating less and running! I was so inspired I asked her if I could do a little interview. Here it is...
Me: Tell me your story.
Kristi: I think that what happened is that I got a real job – you know you get married and you get a real job and you stop doing the things you do. I got out of my routine - my healthy lifestyle routine. And then when you're poor – you know, eating veggies and fruit – that's expensive. So when you're young and poor you start eating bad alternatives.
Me: Did it happen slowly?
Kristi: Ya, you gain five pounds and then another five pounds. And then you turn into that person. You just kinda wake up and say to yourself, "How did I get here?" And I would work on it for like three months and then give up and then start over again six months later – but then five years passed. I was just looking for a quick fix.
Me: What was the breakthrough moment?
Kristi: When I saw this picture of myself and I thought, “Who are you?” And also I ran into an old friend at Disneyland and she looked so good and then I wondered if someone saw me would they even recognize me? Would I recognize myself? Then who am I? So I said to myself, "That's it – this is the year I will finally change it." I made a goal to be healthy, not to lose weight. It was easier and simpler. I also thought I couldn't let myself down since healthy is really broad. So I set small goals like "change the way I eat" and "stop eating after 7 PM" and "exercise". That was it really.
Me: When you say change the way i eat what did that mean?
Kristi: Eat more vegetable, more protein, and less carbs. I also cut soda. Before I was drinking maybe 1 a day which is like an extra 160 calories.
Me: And did it work right away?
Kristi: It actually didn't not right away but I knew if I kept doing it something would work. It was prob 2 months before I noticed. I wasn't weighing myself so it took me a while to realize the results. My clothes fit differently and i wasn't so "bulgy".
Me: Were you exercising at this time?
Kristi: Only walking for maybe 30 min at a even pace.
Me: You did this for two months?
Kristi: Yes, through November and December of 2008 then Ashley(her sister) came for New Year's and my goals changed.
Me: Ashley is a personal trainer?
Kristi: Yes she's really great at it. She helped me set goals and gave me pointers and exercises. She taught me basic pilates mat excercises and yoga, weight training and cardio programs.
Me: And so what did she suggest for you?
Kristi: One thing that she sent was
the self challenge. I'm a believer in self magazine now. They have great cardio and weight training programs for you to follow spice up your work outs. And that's when i began running. I started out slow. I was basically walking fast and going maybe 2 miles. It took me a while to build up my stamina so I would work on my endurance with "hard days" and and easy days and interval training. My "hard" day(Monday) I would run 3 miles no matter what - coughing, sputtering, it was my goal and I was going to do it. Then I would take it easy and do 2 miles on Tuesday. Then to increase my pace I would do an interval training on Wednesday. And then Thursday 3 miles and Friday 2 miles. Then I took the weekend off but would usually end up doing a fun run - whatever I wanted for however long or fast just so it was fun.
Me: That's a great idea!
Kristi: By mid February I was in love with runnning but then I got injured.
Me: Tell me about your injury - how did it start?
Kristi: I have low arches and I've been told that's what causes shin splints. So I had very bad shin splints and strained my arches. I didn't see a doctor, I just went to the runnning store instead and they helped me with
the tape. I was told not to run for 2 weeks but I was too afraid to stop and lose my momentum so I just ran through it. And I'm glad I did. When I felt better in March I increased my hard days to 4 miles and my easy days to a 5k. That's the same for me now i haven't changed it since.
Me: Tell me about the weight loss.
Kristi: After running for 1 month it just started falling off. I decided to get new pants and in 4 weeks they didn't fit - it was a great problem. I think it was the combined diet and exercise. The no eating after 7 thing is really important and the most difficult. I actually got around it by putting in bleach trays at 7 PM. I couldn't eat with them in so it was killing 2 birds with 1 stone. I'm still trying to improve but I'm pretty happy with my results so far. I wish I could say it's easy but I can say it's well worth the effort.
Me: You look amazing! So, all in all, how long did it take?
Kristi: I want to say 10 months
Me: So, what now?
Kristi: Keep working - I want to be healthy. I want to be an example of health to my family. I want my boys to find a sport they love and we can share together. Being healthy brings us closer. I'm going to start a new regimen soon.
Me: Well, that is one inspiring story Kristi!
Kristi: Thank you!
Today I was really excited to go running. I thought I'd go further, faster, and have more fun. I mean it - I really felt that. I got my ipod stocked with some good tunes, put on my new gloves, and not to mention I got 9 hours of sleep. Seriously - I went to bed at 10:30 PM and didn't have to get up until 7:30 PM. Thank you children! Anyhow, I went out and it was going well until it was time to turn around - and the BAM! the wind hit. I knew it was gonna be bad because it was literally pushing me on the way out, but I had no idea it was going to be so bad. It was like crazy wind - like, spit in the wrong direction and you are in trouble wind. So I died on the way back. Bring on that snow storm, crazy wind!
