Don't ask me what that title refers to, I just felt like using it.
Week 3 of my half-marathon training program started today. I did it. Another 25-minute morning run. The bulk of the program consists of runs from 25-45 minutes long. I'm a little nervous for when I'll get to the 14-week component, but in the 6-week component (the first part of the training), the longest runs are 55 minutes and a test 10 km at the end, but I've done 10 km many times.
As for my dad's bootcamp... he's doing really, really well thanks to and in spite of my mother. My mom basically executes most of my "demands" (buying bread with no enriched anything in it, and using sea salt/fleur de sel instead of table salt / cutting portion sizes) since she is the head of the household. However, she disagrees with me that weighing himself every day is a good idea, so I'm having a hard time knowing if he's making progress. I kindly urged my dad to ignore my mom (not to sound condescending, but why do people so easily ignore the advice of people who have succeeded and instead listen to people around them who aren't in their shoes??!!).
I believe that if you are like me (and my dad and brother have the same food issues I do), it's important to weigh every day, as long as you do not let your weight define your outlook. Weight doesn't matter, it's how you feel and also how you look, but it does provide some indication as to whether you're moving in the right direction. I encourage him to take measurements once a week and weigh every day. This gives him a weekly focus, instead of trying to maintain his willpower for months on end with the goal so far into the future it's easy to lose track... Staying focused on little, everyday goals and victories helps you develop the habit of thinking "this choice DOES matter". So you may be less inclined to eat that little snack, in my dad's case fries, and carry on fighting to get to the finish line.
No matter how good it will be for your health, there are always people resisting the change. Even though my mom is fully enabling my dad's weight loss, in some ways she is also resisting (but I can feel her giving in). She also appeared to have some difficulty dealing with me losing weight too, but after years she is acting normal around me again. It's not just her. While so many random people were impressed or inspired or at least happy with what I was doing, just as many people have commented on my eating habits, exercise, weight, etc. I don't take it personally anymore because I know this happens to a lot of people for different reasons. The real issues are that people 1) project their insecurities onto you; 2) are resistant to change, even in another person; and/or 3) do not understand YOUR situation and the effort/dedication it takes to do the work every day. But that's part of the process for the person losing the weight... learning to do things for themselves and putting their own self-perception above the opinions of others: if you can feel proud of yourself, you don't feel so bad when people bring you down.
These are all things I've said over and over but it's still true. In my case, things have changed because the people around me, and I, too, have gotten used to me as a less large person. Now I am seeing the same things happen with other people who try to get in better shape and it's obviously easier to see what's really happening.
Okay, so on another note, here are the many instructions I've given my dad to date, and he's decided his cheat days will be whenever he is invited to someone's house. Bear in mind, he exercises like crazy so I don't tell him what to do in that respect:
No pop (soft drinks)
No more cookies/scones at his pickleball games
If he buys fries, ONLY once a week and only a small
No more than a pinch of salt on his food (I recommended he use fleur de sel, which goes further with less)
Homemade salad dressings only
Smaller portion sizes
Replace salted nuts with plain nuts for snacks
Eat fruit instead of drinking juice
Drink more water
Weigh-ins once a day at same time / measurements 1xweek
Eat as many veggies as you like (apart from avocado and cut back on bananas)
Natural PB and a more natural jam
Bread with no enriched ingredients
He's lost a few pounds already and I'm pretty proud. :)
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