Marshall Ramsey

Goal Weight: 195 lbs.

Today’s Weight: 208 lbs.

Our dog Banjo’s diabetes flared out of control last night. His blood sugar spiked, meaning he constantly wanted to drink, pee and vomit. And when I wasn’t dealing with him (we tag teamed), I was awake thinking about my brother-in-law Adam (who is suffering from ALS) and my sister Stephanie.  All and all, my wife and I only slept three hours — and most of it in thirty-minute intervals.  When I did sleep, I had nightmares about my job.  Around 3:30 a.m., she said, “you should skip your run and sleep another hour.”

I told her no.

I had to run this morning. Heck, I already knew I was going to be exhausted. There is no way around it — I have 12 hours of work ahead of me on no sleep.  But I knew that if I didn’t get out there and get the run in, I wouldn’t be able to handle whatever today throws at me.  I had to have the endorphins. My time out pounding pavement in the neighborhood is my Prozac. My Xanax. My Celexa. My Valium. I had to get my 4.5 miles in.  I had to conquer the hills. I had to release my fear, my anger and my frustration. My lungs had to burn. My legs had to ache.

Banjo is going to the vet. I pray they can get his blood sugar under control. He is my best bud and losing him right now would hurt beyond words. I pray work is OK –it’s in God’s hands now.  And I hope I get some sleep eventually. My schedule over the next month involves a lot of travel.  But no matter what, I will keep exercising.  It’s to me what spinach is to Popeye. It gives me strength during impossible situations.

And that’s why I run.

Goal Weight: 195 lbs.

Today’s weight: 209 lbs.

Two weeks left in Fit4Change and not all of the days are workouts.  I’ve lost 34 pounds on their books and I’d love to break 40 pounds total for the program.  That’s three pounds a week.  Doable — but considering how I have been plateauing lately, one that I will have to really focus on.  That means tweaking my diet. And adding more exercise into the mix. My spin bike that I bought will be the new component. I’ll ride it every night before bed.  I’ve also added nightly pushups and sit-ups.  Last night I did 50 of each.  My goal is to do 100 every day.

My oldest son was sore last night from the race. I’m sure my middle son is, too. I’m not.  But that still doesn’t mean that I’m not going to rest my legs today.  No long runs. No sprints. I will mow the grass and wash the car.  And thanks to my workouts, doing both will be much easier.

We went to the grocery story yesterday afternoon (yeah, I know how to party).  It was funny, but the stuff that I used to crave when I went in there (like Little Debbies, sweet rolls, sodas, and other processed foods) did not look good to me at all.  I kept getting attracted to the produce section thinking, “I’d love some fruit to snack on.” or “What can I add to my diet?”  I had to smile.  Twelve weeks has changed me more than making me skinnier.

The challenge for me has been changing my diet, adding exercise and changing my behavior and still being able to pull of a 60-hour-a week work schedule.  My bread and butter (which I really don’t eat much of anymore) is my creativity.  My creativity was being propped up on sugary drinks and food.  By cutting them off, I was risking cutting off my creativity.  And I’ll admit, it has been a struggle.  The fatigue also affected it, too.  But over time, I got more energy.  And that energy burned cleaner and allowed me to handle the long hours I’m putting in better.  Am I totally there yet? No.  People poo-poo my weight loss and tell me I shouldn’t lose any more.  But they don’t understand why I am doing this.  To quote my cousin, “I am living like no one else so I can live like no one else.” At the 10th of 12 weeks, I realize that I’m not running a spring on this one. I’m running a marathon. This is a lifetime change. And I’ve only made the first steps.

BEFORE: October 2011. About 240 pounds.

AFTER: March 2012. 207 lbs.