I have a goal for the 2017 Chicago Marathon to be the lowest weight I’ve ever been for a race.  I do not really have a “runner’s build” and weigh between 215 -220 lbs, but it fluctuates out of that range at different times of the year. 

For the first Chicago Marathon that I ran, I got down to about 202 lbs.  and for Marine Corps Marathon, it was around 208lbs.  For 2017, I have a goal to be around 190 and currently weigh around 220 – marathon training just started (Week 1 is here now).   So I would like to lose about 30 pounds. 

A lot of people, such as friends, family, and co-workers, think this should be easy an easy task.  I can see why they would think that.  I will be running like crazy most days.  But articles have been written about it, and I know from experience that it’s harder to lose that you think. I’ll be burning all those calories and dropping weight but with that also comes a voracious appetite!  And the thinking that I have some sort of “calorie deficit” of 1000s of calories after all those runs, and a bag of chips with 300 calories wouldn’t even dent that deficit, nor a 200 calorie beer to go with it.    I’ve found that this way of thinking is part of the problem.  But the real problem is increased appetite after running.

So I will keep a journal and post regularly on how this goes!  I want to be accountable to my readers, and maybe I will succeed in the weight loss goal for my Marathon.  

Also, feel free to comment on your stories of training and ironically not losing weight. 

-EJW