Many here (probably most actually) don't know me so I will start by introducing myself.
My name is Scott Johnson and I live in Safety Harbor, Florida. About 5 years ago I weighed 258 and was sedentary. I was browsing through a Barnes & Noble bookstore one evening and found Doug's book. I read a bit of it and liked the common-sense way everything was explained, so I bought it. A few days later I started on the eating plan and found it pretty easy to follow. The pounds started coming off!
Along with losing weight, a couple of months into the process I started running again. I always enjoyed running but had not been able to run for 20+ years due to knee pain (extra weight puts a lot of stress on the knees). Started very slowly but made steady progress.
Fast forward - a year later I had lost 80 pounds, and was starting to run longer distances (my real passion). I did my first marathon, the Space Coast Marathon, in December of 2013. A year later (October of 2014) I finished my first ultramarathon, a 12-hour race where I did 40.1 miles.
A few weeks ago, I set a new PR for myself by completing a 100k race (62.1 miles).
My next race is a 12 hour race on February 14, and my big goal race for 2016 is Labor Day weekend, where I will try to do my first 100-miler. Still don't quite have my mind wrapped around that one, but I know this: you and I are capable of much more than we want to believe.
None of this would have been possible with Doug's book and I am forever grateful to him and Umpa for their encouragement all along the way.
So why am I back here now? I want to get back down to 175 for my next race (that's about 2 pounds per week, very doable), and I found one thing to be a key component in my success: accountability. That's what this forum provides. We're all here to help and encourage one another, and also to make sure we all stay on the right track. I will be reporting in each Wednesday at least, with my updated weight and progress as I march toward my goal of 175 pounds.
After that, I want to experiment with getting my weight down in the mid 160s to see how my training reacts to that. I may want to get back up to 175 and keep that as my ideal running weight, but I just don't know for sure without getting to the lower weight first and seeing what happens. But that's down the road. First, onward to 175!
Scott
PS - if anyone is interested in ultramarathons, I do a weekly podcast where I interview regular, everyday people who have actually finished an ultramarathon (any race longer than 26.2 miles). It's at
www.ultrafinishers.com.
