I wanted to quit intermittent fasting within a few hours of starting. But it didn’t end there—the second day, I wanted to drop off the kids at school and head straight to McDonald’s for my “normal” order: two sausage McMuffins, a hash brown, and a large mocha. (Normal doesn’t mean daily, but it’s what I usually go for when I stop there.)
This is the exact pattern I’ve faced so many times before. I’d say, “I’ll start Monday,” but by dinner time that very same Monday, I’d already fallen off. Sometimes I’d make it through the day, only to grab a candy bar at the grocery store, eat it on the drive home, and toss the wrapper in the outdoor trash can so nobody would know. If I made it past Day 1, it usually held for another day or two—then it all unraveled.
This time was different. I held it together.
The running has been a pleasant surprise, but I know it’s 100% mindset that’s pushing me through.
9 days of diet complete. 3 runs complete.
Weight Progress
- Starting Weight: 320.3 lbs
- Week 1 Weigh-in: 312.3 lbs
- Loss: 8 lbs
The first week almost always shows a big drop. Less eating out, fewer calories, cutting salt, moving more—all of that usually means a lot of water weight. So I’m not overly excited yet. If you’ve ever watched The Biggest Loser, you know Week 2 is usually the wake-up call.
Run 1
Run 1 details were covered in a separate post, so you can head over for the full details of that run.
Run 2
- Conditions: 68°F | 94% humidity | 65° dew point | 4 mph breeze
- Distance: 1.78 mi
- Pace: 15:30
- Elevation Gain: 70 ft
- Avg HR: 143
- Cadence: 125
- Music: None
Thoughts:
This was planned as a 1.8-mile walk/run (2 minutes run / 1.5 minutes walk). The humidity didn’t feel nearly as bad as it looked. My watch glitched and only played one song, so I ended up running mostly without music—which sounded awful at first but turned out to be exactly what I needed.
It helped me focus on my breathing and match it to my stride. At first I tried too many steps per breath, but I eventually settled into 3–5 steps per inhale. Once locked in, I found myself running way faster than expected—my last two “laps” were close to a 12:00 pace.
Honestly, I’m baffled that I feel this good this early. Huge diet change, no eating out, new running program, high humidity—it doesn’t make sense compared to past struggles. Maybe it’s mindset. Maybe it’s the accountability of this blog. Maybe it’s the weather. Probably all of it. Whatever it is, I just want to keep replicating it.
Run 3
- Conditions: 60°F | 87% humidity | 54° dew point | 5 mph breeze
- Distance: 1.86 mi
- Pace: 15:06
- Elevation Gain: 71 ft
- Avg HR: 138
- Cadence: 127
- Music: None
Thoughts:
What…is…happening?
It shouldn’t feel this good. Nobody should expect it to start this way, and you definitely shouldn’t feel discouraged if it doesn’t. But this run was fantastic. For the second time, no music—and I might stick with that for a while. Hearing my breath and footfall is what I need right now.
This was a 1.5-minute walk / 1.5-minute run split. My watch showed my pace during each run segment, and here’s how they looked:
- Segment 2: 11:52
- Segment 4: 11:33
- Segment 6: 11:14
- Segment 8: 11:37
- Segment 10: 10:53
- Segment 12: 11:05
For context, when I was running regularly, I averaged 11:00–11:30 per mile, with the occasional mile at 10:30. Even my recent “comeback attempts” usually started at 13+ minutes per mile.
So seeing these numbers, this soon, is astounding. I couldn’t hold 10:53 for a full mile yet, but the confidence this gives me is huge. And my heart rate. I ran harder, and had a lower average heart rate. Fantastic!
Even though nobody is reading this right now, the thought that someone might is part of the accountability that keeps me going. That has me inspired to write a post on mindset and motivation—maybe even a bonus Sunday entry.
