08/24/2026
My Weight Loss Journey — Before Running & With Running
When I was in Tokyo in November 2025, I was around 202 lbs.
When I came back from Japan, I started dealing with a lot of stomach and acidity issues that felt similar to gastritis.
For the next few months, eating became pretty basic.
It wasn't some weight-loss strategy I decided to follow. At that point, I was just trying to eat foods that wouldn't irritate my stomach while still getting enough protein and continuing to train.
It wasn't until around late February 2026 that I finally started feeling like my stomach was getting back to normal and I could slowly become more flexible with what I ate again.
My training was still focused on lifting, and I had become extremely consistent with my nutrition.
By the time I started running again in April, I had already lost a significant amount of weight and inches off my waist.
I started Running Again in April and gradually went from getting my running fitness back to training for my half marathon.
As my running volume increased, my nutrition had to change with it.
For most of my half marathon training, I was eating around maintenance calories, and on my longer-distance days I would actually put myself into a calorie surplus to make sure I was fueling and recovering from the amount of running I was doing. And I still ate out here and there.
My lifting eventually dropped down to maintenance as running became the priority, but I continued getting leaner throughout the process.
From around 202 lbs in November to the low 170s, with my lowest weigh-in just under 170 lbs.
My waist went from around 36 inches to 30¼ inches — almost 6 inches off my waist.
Before running: nutrition and lifting were my focus.
During half marathon training: I ate more, fueled my training, maintained some strength work and let running take priority.
Two different phases required two different approaches.
And after everything I went through with my stomach, I also know something about myself:
If I ever need to get back to that level of discipline again, I know I can do it.