By Jake Foster, PA

I got a wild hair at the beginning of this past summer (the irony of a bald guy “getting a wild hair” is not lost on me), and decided to sign up for an ultra trail run in Southeast Idaho. Trail running is something I’ve done a little bit of over the years, and I figured a little 21 mile race would be just like the good old days. I thought, heck, why couldn’t I jump back into something I hadn’t done for 10 years or more? Turns out I may have not been the best judge of how I was going to do. I showed up to the race ready to kick some butt, and instead got mine kicked. By about mile 10 my body was screaming that it was time to turn in and soak in the local stream to cool of my aching joints and muscles. Needless to say the last 10 or so miles of the run, and several weeks after that was plain and simple miserable conversance with musculoskeletal pain.

It turns out that I had “wintered” the covid years pretty well in that I had somehow gained several dozen extra pounds of fluff. I had let my condition slip and I paid the pain price on that trail run. It was time to re evaluate and make some changes.

When it comes to weight loss, there really is no magic bullet or magic pill to get you there. It really does come down to a simple equation: calories in must be less than calories out. There are 2 ways to work this equation in your favor: 1) eat less, 2) exercise more. Easy, right? Yeah right!

Most of the problem that people run into when it comes to trying to lose weight is the #1 above. We eat too many calories. Plain and simple. You can be very good and keeping your exercise goals every day, but it is super easy to out-eat even the best exercise program. For example, a guy my size can eat a medium sized candy bar that has around 250 calories in it. If I wanted to burn off that amount of calories, I would have to run a very hard 1 mile run, hard enough to sweat and be out of breath. Which is easier? The run or just not eating the candy bar? Eat less, simple, right?

We all know this is a major challenge. But I have 2 little pieces of advice that might help. Start measuring your portions, and keep track of how many calories you are eating in a day. There are a lot of great apps and programs out there that can help you do this, and even calculate what your daily caloric needs for weight loss are. It really can work.

I am happy to report that the butt kicking on the mountain in June sparked a good change in me. I changed the way I have been eating. I have been logging my calories. I have been careful with what goes in my mouth. And I have exercised more (more on that topic later). As of today, I have reached my weight loss goal and I feel better than I have in almost 20 years. I’m looking forward to attacking that trail run again in June, and I look forward to hopefully experiencing a great deal less pain after mile 10!