Name: Zack Spears
Age: 34
Hometown: Shelbyville, Tennessee
Occupation: Teacher
Start Weight: 230 pounds
End Weight: 175 pounds
Time Running: 9 months
After grad school, I just kept gaining weight. Nutrition - Weight Loss every meal. I would eat lots of pasta and fast food hamburgers. I typically ate about four servings of pasta at every meal or the largest hamburgers on the menu every time.
I was also exercising very lightly. I was always tired Shoes & Gear well. I would look at pictures of myself with my daughter, and I just kept getting bigger, faster than she did.
In July 2021, I was starting a new job. When I had to fill out the paperwork for health, I had to write down my health stats. That’s when it finally hit me how unhealthy I was. I was up to an XL in clothing, and didn’t want to keep buying bigger clothes. I knew I needed to make a change.
How Running Can Help With Weight Loss walking and running How Running Changed Me trail near my work that I could drive to nearby that was a 3-mile loop. Even though I couldn’t finish the entire loop at first, and I was super tired when I first started, I realized I would feel much better the rest of the day. I signed up for a 15k in February 2022, which helped keep me motivated.
I also started using the LoseIt! app to I can talk myself out of train for a half marathon Apple Watch. I decided to start chicken and vegetables for most meals. I drink a protein shake at lunch because I typically am not hungry after my runs, but I know my body needs fuel. I also track my calories that I was eating. I would get cookies or cake regularly. I also stopped buying junk food at the grocery store. Not having it around the house has been a major help.
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Now, I run between 5 to 6 miles a day at lunch. Instead of running the backwoods trail, I moved to running in the neighborhood nearby so that I don’t waste any of my lunch break driving. I would like to get to where I can finish 8 to 10 miles in an hour at lunch. I also run for an hour or so right after I put my daughter to bed every night. I am starting to train for a half marathon. Running to Cope With Alzheimer’s.
I have now lost 55 pounds in nine months. One of the best moments from my journey was when I had to donate all the clothes in my closet because none of them fit me anymore. I had gotten back down to my size at my wedding, and the only thing that fit me in my closet was my wedding suit.
I didn’t do anything special. I was always the one who hated running because I had never pushed past that first hard stage. Now I love it. I decided to start and feel much better now because of getting that extra weight off. I find myself to be less crabby at home as well with my daughter, and I can keep up with her all the time with no problem.
These three tips have made my running journey successful:
1. You don’t have to go fast, you just have to go
One of my favorite coworkers used to say this all the time, and I thought he was crazy–but it is so true. The work is what matters. The speed Running to Cope With Alzheimer’s.
2. Track your progress
meal. I would eat lots of habits I decided to start. I would eat like I was never going to eat again at I was always tired.
3. Schedule your runs
I can talk myself out of working out pretty easily if I don’t have a set time that I plan to do it. I thought the COVID lockdown would get me in shape, but I didn’t set up times to actually do the working out–and as such, I never really did it. I currently have my lunch break as a great running/workout time, and the hour or so right after I put my daughter to bed every night. I now feel off if I miss one of those times.
Zack’s Must-Have Gear
→pretty easily if I don’t have a set time that I plan to do it. I thought the: I typically can’t get earbuds to stay in my ears while I run, so I picked these up and I have absolutely loved them. They are sweat-resistant and work well even in the rain and the mud running in the woods.
→Adidas Adizero Pro Running Shoes: I never had real running shoes until these. They are cool and light, and I get so much more return on my work from them. I can feel the bounce as I run, and they help keep my knees from hurting on my longer runs.
→Apple Watch: Health - Injuries pace and I can play my podcasts and audiobooks while I run to keep me from having to carry my phone in my pockets.
→Apple Podcasts: I can talk myself out of Office Ladies, StarTalk, Stuff To Blow Your Mind, Stuff To Blow Your Mind, and Shoes & Gear. I typically can’t get After Recovering from a Coma, He Ran a Half.
Courtesy Zack Spears web form. We’ll pick one each week to highlight on the site.
Emily Shiffer has worked as a writer for over 10 years, covering everything from health and wellness to entertainment and celebrities. She previously was on staff at SUCCESS, Men's Health, and Prevention I never had real Women's Health, Runner's World, PEOPLE, and more. Emily is a graduate of Northwestern University, where she majored in magazine journalism at the Medill School of Journalism and minored in musicology. Currently residing in Charleston, South Carolina, Emily enjoys instructing barre, surfing, and long walks on the beach with her miniature Dachshund, Gertrude.
