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Home » Long Term Weight Loss » ‘Every new day you have the opportunity to change’ – Woodstock Independent

A common stereotype is for retirees to seek leisure and relaxation, but the sedentary lifestyle was not on Paul Rauschs radar when he stepped down from his 33-year career as the choral director at Woodstock High School in 2017. Instead, he got right to work getting in shape.

After losing nearly 50 pounds and rebuilding muscle through disciplined weightlifting, he has rediscovered his love of running and said, Im in better shape now then when I was in my 20s.

Cameras dont lie

Always an active person, Rausch said energy was never a problem. But something was holding him back. A sobering look at his image in current photos revealed the truth.

I was overweight, he said. It was not the mental image I had of myself.

Accepting that realization, Rausch committed to getting back in shape, starting by attacking weight loss. He reached out to an acquaintance who he recalled had achieved significant weight loss. He learned it involved the Optavia Diet, a plan that combines prepackaged food, meal logs, recipes, and coaching to target and reduce fat.

He chose Ash Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020, as his start date, and by June he had achieved his weight loss goals. Weighing 208 at his heaviest, he dropped to 161, a weight he has maintained for about five months now.

Thats almost a block of salt or six gallons of milk that Im not schlepping around, said Rausch.

Hes seen direct health benefits, including improved cholesterol numbers, reduction in blood pressure, and elimination of reliance on a sleep apnea machine.

Finding the positive in a negative situation, he said the limitations of the pandemic were actually beneficial by eliminating the temptation of dining out.

Return to running

Rauschs affinity for running began back in high school. An accomplished track and field athlete, he was the first in his school to qualify for state in all three relay events (100-, 400- and 800-yard relays) as well as the 300-yard hurdles.

He continued with rigorous workouts into his 20s and, in retrospect, he realized that soldiering through calf pain caused by jumping rope created a long-term problem. Scar tissue caused his calves to seize up with vigorous work such as running. The weight hed added over the years caused additional stress and pain, so he gave up his first love.

His recent weight loss, as well as learning to listen to his body and not push through pain, has allowed him to successfully add running back into his fitness regime. On Nov. 21, he posted his accomplishment to Facebook:

Excited to hit a milestone today that I never thought Id be able to get to. I ran 5K in under 30 minutes, actually 29:35, then continued and ran a total of 5 miles in 49:47.

Driven by his recent success, Rausch has committed to do the Lands End to John OGroats Virtual Run/Walk, which entails logging 874 miles of running/walking in a year. With the support and encouragement from a couple of friends who joined him to participate as a team, he has already logged more than 50 miles since the Nov. 24 start date.

The power within

Always a very positive person, Rausch has a mantra for success, something he often told his students, advice that was pertinent whether they had a bad semester grade or found themselves going down the wrong path in life.

Every day you can start again, he said. You do not have to be defined by what you did in the past. Every new day you have the opportunity to change.

The attitude lends itself well to health and fitness goals. Bit by bit, start the journey, he said. When theres a time you stop, tomorrow get back on. Its never too late to make a change.

He also found inspiration in a book, Younger Next Year, by Chris Crowley which talks about healthy habits.

I plan to be active into my 80s, said Rausch, who admits that retirement has afforded him more time to pursue his goals.

Good health is paramount to his retirement goals as he said there are a lot of things he wants to do that require activity from ambitious hikes to enjoying his grandchildren.

Referring to the photo of him holding grandson Callihan, he said: That little sweetheart is a big reason I want to be around for a long time.

See the article here:
'Every new day you have the opportunity to change' - Woodstock Independent

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Home » Long Term Weight Loss » ‘Every new day you have the opportunity to change’ – Woodstock Independent