Uberwalkers, Eating Theory & A War Story: John Joseph, Part 2

John Joseph is a WalkIcon worth knowing…and not just for his quick wit. The insights he shares are based on good times had while on the walking trail as well as his own hard work to get fit. John has successfully used walking to regain health and satisfy his love of friendly competition—with others and with himself! Here, John shares his ideas about his relationship with food, volksmarching uberwalkers, and his own walking ‘war story’.

::: There’s Healthy Eaters and Then There’s The Rest of Us

Walktopia: Tell us more about you and food. There's wisdom there for all of us.
John Joseph: Everyone who struggles with weight might do well to remember, nutritionists have been eating like they’re supposed to their whole lives. They’ve never had a weight problem. They’re giving you advice but it’s probably easy for them. They’re into serious good habits.

I had a roommate once, who was razor thin. I watched how he’d eat a full meal but never snack. What I learned was, just eat when hungry. To people like that roomate, food isn’t a great joy or a great attraction. It’s not comfort food. They only eat a certain amount and you never see them “pigging out”—not at Thanksgiving or whatever the occasion is. I had to realize that, for me, food is something enjoyable. I’m celebrating Thanksgiving every day! If I’m at Hometown Buffet I say I’ve got to try everything then go back for thirds. Consider this: people who don’t have a weight problem say, “I’m not hungry any more. I don’t want anymore.”

:::Managing Food

Walktopia: What tools can us food-a-holics use to get back on track and curb overeating?
John Joseph: There’s a book called The UnDiet that talks about the newest thing in nutrition--constantly eat a lot of healthy food. According to the book, starving yourself is a trigger that leads to bingeing so the books recommends bulking up on high fiber--carrots and the stuff you don’t like. If I’m really hungry, I can eat veggies. One of the best things we can do is have a veggie tray.

:::The Walk Ahead

Walktopia: Armed with those insights about eating and nutrition, what’s your next goal for the walking and fitness side of things?
John Joseph: It’s easier to ‘talk the talk’ than ‘walk the walk’ but my goal is to drop another 50 or 60 pounds over the next year.

But, it’s important to admit that exercise alone doesn’t work. Walking can’t always create the whole dietary deficiency (calories out) you need. If I had to walk my excess weight off, I’d have to walk to Denver! And, it’s not just about dieting either. Overall, it’s the whole process of stabilizing yourself.

Right now I’m at 265 and I want to reach 200. Without working out and all the walking I probably would’ve gained back 50 pounds in no time.

:::John’s Walking ‘War Story’

Walktopia: How was your ultravolkswalk in Oregon?
John Joseph: We turned a 2-day special volkssport event along Oregon’s Columbia River into a one-week vacation! Here’s what happened on the 10K walk option I chose.

The walk follows a trail that zig-zags to an overlook of a famous falls. Everything is gorgeous…just like a travelogue…but you can’t get any speed on those worn down trails. The only thing you walk on is exposed rock. So, we’re all laughing and saying, “hold onto the rock”.

Fortunately, I had a walking stick and I really needed it to be sure I didn’t lose my balance. My modified hiking shoes did okay but after a while I got overanxious to get back downhill. On the way down, my toes were pushing into my shoes but because of diabetic neuropathy, I didn’t notice. That shoe was whacking into that big toe and by the time I hit bottom, I had a huge blood blister behind the nail. Half the nail had to be removed and it took 2 months to heal. The kicker is, I enjoyed the walk so much that I went on another 10K volkswalk in the next day’s events!

Volkswalkers were the biggest group at the hotel where we stayed (it was sort of in the middle of nowhere). On the last morning, we went to the free breakfast and joined in the conversations. Turns out, there were 15 walks offered during the 2-day event and these folks had done every one of them! They were the ubervolkswalkers. While they talked about their walk books and awards all I could think was, “I should at least get a medal for toe injuries.”

:::Accomplishments

Walktopia: What other sports do you enjoy?
John Joseph: I used to golf but I was terrible at that, too :D.

Walktopia: What is your biggest walking accomplishment?
John Joseph: I climbed Mt. Shasta once but even then, I remember a couple of 80-year olds passed me along the way… Oh, well :D!

Read the other parts of this WalkIcon series here: Part 1, Part 3, Part 4

Tags: John Joseph, WalkIcon, Volkswalk