Nine months is a good time to update on the Getting Healthy project. I guess I should start with some stats, which is basically 33 pounds / 15kg since October 2008. That’s over 21% of my starting weight.

Yes, I have acted nonchalant about it, saying simple things like, “oh, i just go running” when people comment on the weight loss. But I’d be cheating myself if i didn’t come clean and say, yes, i put a lot of effort into it. And I’m happy and proud of the result.

Been reading a lot of the NYT Health section, and this article about the cost of weight loss resonated. This is what they say about potential cost,

How ready are you? The more committed you are, the less you will need to spend.

The hardest is the $0.00 DIY approach — count calories, exercise, change lifestyle by yourself. This is the approach I took. Registered on tdp, started running. Ate out less, made more salads. I suppose if i had to place a monetary value, it’s the $30 I spent on the Nike+. More about that in a bit.

For those people who need more help than the DIY approach, the costs go up as more help and professionals get involved. Buying a diet or exercise book is low cost, as is joining a group or a low cost gym. But then it gets serious. Hospital programs, personal trainers, nutritionists. There is no end to the amount of money one can throw at the ultimate goal of losing weight.

In MBA school we were taught opportunity costs. There is general consensus that even if we had to spend money now on things like Weight Watchers, exercise equipment, or the perceived increased cost of healthier food, at the end of the day there is a HUGE potential savings in terms of avoided healthcare costs. As one of the commenters said

What’s cheaper — $13.00 a week to attend a lively, educating, and motivating Weight Watchers meeting; or 100.00 a month on cholesterol lowering drugs; insulin or the oral equivalent, blood pressure meds, and other obesity related illnesses?

I didn’t seek out any help or enrolled in any support group. In a way, I was arrogant enough to believe that I had sufficient commitment to motivate myself. Plus, until recently, i viewed this journey as a highly personal and private one. What helped, was that I didn’t set a fixed goal. I didn’t say lose x pounds by y date. I only set a rough target of around 8 to 8½ stone, all i wanted is to get under 120 pounds / 55kg. The key was as little pressure as possible and set small goals. More recently, i’ve given myself more slack in the calories front. If i had a weekend of overeating, then so be it. It’s no big deal.

That said, I’m glad that I’ve found friends who are also on the same journey. I should have known that having support and feedback would result in even more motivation and encouragement. I get a buzz every time I tweet my runs and someone likes or, better, comments, on my fb status. So thank you, friends.

And it brings me to this long, interesting Wired article on the data effect of Nike Plus. I can say it’s the best investment I’ve made in this journey. I don’t go running without it. It’s so simple, giving me great tracking data that satisfies on a deep, deep level. No, it’s not only because I’m a numbers person, an excel geek — 1.2 million runners, 130 million miles run attest to that.


So here is my Nike+ chart. The stats at the bottom say: 109 runs, 69 hours, 620km, 40684 calories burned. More stats: longest run 11.7km, fastest 5k @27.22min. On average i’m running 2 times a week, and I run most on a Monday. To which I say, i’m committed to keeping it up.