Maintaining weight is extremely hard. This is my approach.

I just don’t understand how other people maintain a healthy weight. I run 65+ miles a week, and I still have to be extremely aware of the risk of overeating and gaining weight.

I started running consistently in 2020 and lost about 30 pounds over the course of five months. It was a virtuous cycle: I started losing weight, felt lighter when running, and became more conscious of my nutrition, realizing I could become an even better runner. I also attribute the dramatic improvement in my fitness to doing intervals. It’s amazing what you can achieve in just 25 minutes of running intervals.

I’ve managed to maintain my weight ever since, but I don’t take it for granted. The effort I put into maintaining my shape is extraordinary. I don’t say this in a narcissistic way, but it’s so hard that I empathize with people who struggle. I’m fortunate to have achieved uncompromising consistency with my exercise routine, but it’s hard! Every day I purposefully do difficult things to prevent weight gain. The time I invest in my fitness often comes at the expense of other useful or meaningful activities I could be doing — work, for example, or spending time with my family.

Right now, I’m injured. I’ve had running injuries before, but the current situation is more serious — I was diagnosed with a small fat-containing inguinal hernia. For many weeks, during some of my longer or more intense runs, I was bothered by discomfort in my groin. When I finally saw the doctor, the results…