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Jan 8

Weight Loss Transformation Jack Arnold Running to Lose Weight – Runner’s World

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Name: Jack ArnoldAge: 45Occupation: Assistant District AttorneyHometown: Kingston Springs, Tennessee

Start Weight: 240 poundsEnd Weight: 175 poundsTime Running: Two and a half years

I got out of the Army in 2009. After years of exercising daily, on my own or with my unit, I just slowly stopped before I was done. By the time I left, I was hovering around the maximum Army allowable weight for my age, gender, and height at 183 pounds. That only climbed as I took on a career in law. Before I knew it, I had ballooned up to 240 pounds by the beginning of 2011.

There had been times when I fiddled with diets and cutting things out of my life like drinking, but I never exercised. My weight would go down at times from eating better, yet it always drifted back up. It really became an issue when my wife and I decided to have our daughter, Alice, in 2012.

For the first years of her life, my health was a mess. By the time she was about 5 in early 2017, my annual physical had become a routine song and dance with my doctor: Dont medicate my blood pressure or cholesterol just yet, Doc. Its the weight. I know. Give me another shot to get it off. Thats when I did the math.

By the time Alice graduates high school, I will be at least 55 years old. Could I honestly say that I would likely live that long, as bad a shape as I was in? My dad died before I graduated high schoolfrom ALS, and that was pretty rough on me. I didnt want Alice to share that experience.

Besides, if I really did the work, maybe I could not only be alive when she graduates, but also be healthy, vibrant, and able to participate in her life. Maybe I could see her graduate from college and get married. Maybe I could do my job better and still come home and be engaged with my family. So, I made the decision: I wanted to be healthy again.

The diet was my go-to strategy to start. Cutting my calories down got me to around 200 pounds, but Id always get stuck there or go back up. I needed something else. It turns out that was running.

I had no idea what I was doing at first. Back in my prime in the Army, I could do 7-minute pace for 5 miles. So, when I started again, I figured I needed to just go as hard as I could every time I ran, even on the more-than-a-decade-old treadmill at home, which was my primary running spot then.

When the tread broke while I was running on it in 2017, I took my efforts outside. I enjoyed it more, but it wasnt until I got a trainer that I discovered why running far was so hard for me. After hiring a trainer through a running program, I learned that I was going too fast. All of my runs were at 100-percent effort. My trainer quickly corrected that by filling me in on easy runs, which he said should be about 80 percent of my miles at 77-percent effort maximum.

With that change, I found out that I loved going farther now that I could slow it down. Thats not to say it was easy. It was actually miserable, but it got easier the more I ran and the more weight I lost.

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By the end of 2017, I weighed 175 poundstotal weight loss of 65 poundsthanks to running and eating healthier. Ive maintained that weight as Ive gone farther with my running goals, including completing my first marathon this past fall at the 2019 Chicago Marathon.

With the Coros Pace watch I got per a Runners World recommendation and a marathon-training book I borrowed from two ladies who run from my church, I found out I had the mileage needed to complete the race. So, with the help of a training partner, who slowed down to my pace thanks to a running stroller, I did my long runs and prepared myself for the longest distance of my life.

Race day came, and problems arose quickly. Early on, I had to pee and stopped half a mile in. After that, I freaked out and tried to make up the time over the next 15 miles. That was mistake. I hit the wall hard and my mind settled on the thought that maybe 26.2 miles was not a good distance for me. I turned a 2:03:55 first half into a 4:40:16 marathon finish.

I reflected a lot after the race, and by the next morning, it became clear: I bet I can do this better next time. At the moment, Im thinking the Nashville Rock n Roll Marathon in April.

My journey hasnt been easy, but its true that anyone can do it. Youre going to get a lot of advice during your first weeks and months as a runnerlike run slower. Heed it! That was huge for me, and taught me that if you dont like it, slow down. Walk some, even. Give it time. If you get sick or injured, you can ease off until youre better. If you slow down, you might love it. If you love it, you might stick with it. If you stick with it, it might just change everything.

Also, dont skimp on shoes. Go to your local running store and find a pair that are good for your feet.

We want to hear how running changed you! Send your story and submit your photos to us via this web form. Well pick one each week to highlight on the site.

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Weight Loss Transformation Jack Arnold Running to Lose Weight - Runner's World

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