So many inspirational stories on Twitter of people who are being #runningbears and changing their lives, step by step.   Am looking forward to meeting hundreds and thousands of people who are sharing their journeys with the world. If you have a weight loss story you want to share with me — tweet me @zdgober. Might even write a spotlight about it on this blog.

‘Nuff said.

4 days of the year. 4 days of winning. Staying positive, continuing to win, and most importantly moving forward and enjoying every step.

In the spirit of being a Greatist, I’m going to make these 10 small changes in my life for 2012 and see what happens!

1) Stop putting milk or half+half in my coffee. Dairy a) is insulinemic, especially skim milk and b) makes it easier to drink too much coffee.

2) Turn off all electronics and go to sleep when I get home from work. I usually get home very late and I need all the sleep I can get!

3) Pack fresh veggies and fruits for snacks at work. When I moved into my apartment, I got all of this Tupperware, and I should make use of it! Peanuts are and cashews are good to snack on, but for the same quantity of food, celery and carrots have a lot fewer calories.

4) Get up early and get on the treadmill once a week. I know I’m tired, but just walking at a slow pace at an incline can help get a good sweat going, start the day right, and get those calorie-burning wheels turning!

5) Avoid eating bread at restaurants. Be patient. The food will come. Water is a lot better for your appetite and has a lot fewer calories (100% fewer!)

6) Eat more for lunch and less for dinner. Even though its a Chipotle salad, digesting two of them is not an easy task for your body to complete at 7pm.

7) Find a reason to smile every time I notice that the clock is at the 27-minute time (12:27pm, 3:27am etc). Not really sure how this one is going to work, but I know smiling is good for you!

8) Listen to more jazz music while I’m working. Who doesn’t like jazz music??? Better yet, Brazilian jazz.

9) Micro-manage my day more. If I give myself time limits on things, I’ll be more likely to complete them effectively. Gcal / Outlook, where are you?

10) Drink 96 ounces of water a day. Water is a key ingredient for fat loss! We are dehydrated a lot more often than we think!

Excited to see how these go. Thanks for the inspiration, Greatist.

1) See the positive in every experience. Do not dwell on the negatives. Do not dwell on the fact that you’re dwelling on the negatives if you happen to be dwelling on negatives.

2) Learn something from every experience.

3) Stay focused and dedicated to all of your goals by reminding yourself of them each day and having the courage and the strength to pursue them each day.

4) Be able to see your abs for the first time in your life.

5) Make better use of free time by exploring New York City and doing lots of fun, perhaps even #Greatist, things.

6) Make good choices and treat yourself well.

7) Go to Brazil, at least to visit. (Gotta keep it interesting!)

There you have it. Lots of exciting things coming.

There’s a lot I want to write on here — a lot I want to say. But I’m still thinking about it, still formulating it in my mind, still trying to figure it all out. Running forces you to think. It forces you to write. I’ve run 6 or 7 miles over the past two days and now I’ve got a lot of thoughts in my mind. I’ll let them simmer. But what I can say is that the things that matter to you in life, the things that you’re truly passionate about — there is no substitute for them. There is no substitute for them. They reside in a distinct pocket of your soul and if you don’t nourish them, there will be emptiness in your soul that you will not be able to fill. And when those things return, the things that you’re truly passionate about, the things that stop you in your tracks, take your breath away, and make you thankful to be alive, the emptiness slowly but surely dissapates.

Right now, that’s me. I’m in an excellent place right now and I’m running, doing what I love, and raising money to help make the lives of others better. In the silence of winter, I will run through the streets of Manhattan, logging miles, prepping my body, and anticipating incredible hot showers. I plan to log between 300 and 400 miles over the next few months with the intent of completing the NYC half marathon in quicker than 1 hour and 30 minutes. It’s an ambitious goal, but I want to do it. I believe I can do it. I’m ready.

I’m happy and thankful to have this blog and to be writing on it again.

Zack Gober

In other news, I just signed up to run this race (and raise $1600 toward finding cures and treatments for leukemia and lymphoma):

To donate to this cause, click here: http://pages.teamintraining.org/nyc/halfnyc12/zgober

Also, if you have any questions, email me at zdgober@gmail.com.

Zack Gober

I have been absurdly busy over the past few months, so it has been a lot harder than I expected to post on this blog, but I had to take two minutes to post about this site that I discovered today. The above link is chronicling the journey of a personal trainer who is getting as overweight as he can in 6 months, after which he will take the next 6 months to lose it all to show people that it can be done.

For some reason, this site really struck a chord with me. I was shocked to see how this guy, who was normally healthy, has developed food addictions, cravings, a lack of appetite for healthy food, turbulent moods, and poor physical and mental health in general.

I’m not sure why it resonated so much with me — but maybe it reminded me a lot of my past… or of the idea that it is possible to live without cravings or food addictions or a positive mindset that isn’t dependent on what you have eaten that day. He has inspired me in a truly new way to lose the remaining pounds that I have towards my goal.

What does all of this mean for this blog?

Well, I think it means that I’m going to write more here. It means I’m going to share more stories with you. To succeed, I will have to. I need your encouragement, your strength, and your support to really crush through this final and long held goal. I need to share with you how I resisted cravings, how I crushed workouts, how I stayed positive, how I won the day, how I inspired others, how I decided what I wanted and got it, and how I learned from previous mistakes and changed my behavior accordingly.

I have to do it because that’s the only way I’m going to be accountable. That’s the only way that I’m going to grow — that this blog will grow. It’s time for the Running Bear to get ferocious. It’s time to take a stand. It’s time to win the future. For guys like Drew Manning of Fit2Fat2Fit who inspire others and want themselves to be inspired to achieve their own goals.

Are you with me?

Zack Gober