Sustainable weight loss and athleticism: three pillars that worked for me in the last four years.

I’ll try not to be narcissistic in this story. I am very proud of the journey that I started four years ago. During the pandemic, I increased my running. I turned forty then. I wasn’t on a mission and didn’t have any goals, but I developed the habit of running every day. By the late fall of 2020, I had dropped about 25 pounds. I then lost a little more weight and have maintained that weight — about 155 pounds (70 kg) — ever since. This note is not a prescription. Also, my method is by no means easy; it requires a huge amount of work. As a sub-2:45 marathoner, I run at least 65 miles every week.

• Consistency. I don’t miss daily running. I just don’t. Other than an injury — I had a couple of minor ones — nothing can prevent getting my daily run in. Whether it’s a good day, a bad day, scorching heat, or a storm, I run. Nothing eye-opening here — much has been said about the importance of consistency. But I want to emphasize the obvious — I burn 800+ calories every day by exercising.
• Interval training. While I run a lot of easy miles, it’s the interval training that has been a game changer in my journey. It’s incredible how much fitness one can gain in just 25 minutes. When I was starting my journey in 2020, I’d head out to a local high school track and do 400 and 800-meter repeats, about twice a week. I was losing weight every week, and my fitness skyrocketed. I now do intervals once a week and some of my workouts are really…