Rayo Runs to his Yearly Goal

Eugenio Rayo was a man looking to redefine himself. His goal for 2021 was to lose 140 pounds and he began his weight loss journey in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic by October he ran his first half marathon, The Middle Half, which is held in Murfreesboro.

This half marathon was a big milestone in his journey. At the moment he hit the finish line Rayo felt all the emotions and could take a deep breath and know all the hard work he had been putting in was worth it.

“My kids were there, and I wanted to cry. I am not a person who cries a lot but it was really emotional. Because never in my mind would I think I would have been doing a half marathon, especially back in January. It changed my life,” he said.

On average it takes at least six months to a year to lose 140 pounds, a feat that requires changes in all aspects of life.

Rayo began his journey with a gym-free and home-based routine. He started by walking every day at the park. He said, “I got into a routine, I would walk three miles in the morning and try to jog three to four miles in the afternoon.”

There are many ways in which one could choose to start their weight loss journey, and Eugenio Rayo had a complete change of mind and body. He wanted to be a better person for his children, wife, and himself.

One important part of his journey was his diet. “With my eating, I began with a lot of salads and cut out all sodas and soft drinks and cut alcohol out of my life that made my life easy to lose weight and I was really strict on my diet.”

Cutting alcohol out of his life was important. He said, “I stopped drinking, I was on rim of becoming a heavy drinker, I could never think that I could stop drinking. But now I changed my health and eating habits and then I stopped drinking and I decided I didn’t need that in my life.”

He even made changes within his usual cultural food choices. Rayo was born in Mexico, so he was accustomed to eating food such as tortillas but this did not exactly fit into the diet plan.

“For us the tortilla is really big, you want a tortilla on every meal but I cut the tortilla out of my life. I have it occasionally now but when I started it was like zero soda, zero tortilla.”

Cutting out unhealthy food from your diet is important on a weight loss journey, and finding new little recipes and snacks you like can help this process.

Rayo found his healthy snack food “chia seed pudding with berries.”

There was a good amount of preparation for Rayo before running his half marathon. This included him eating better and exercising. He had the support of his wife through the process.

Rayo met his wife 13 years ago. She had lost weight herself and started running marathons. In ways this inspired him to be able to run his first half marathon.

“I was intrigued, she loves to run. She does 5ks and 10ks and just this year when I was losing weight she asked me if we should do it as a couple, a half marathon.” At this time he had already started losing weight, and would continue to so he would be able to be prepared to run this Half Marathon.

From the time in which they signed up, Rayo gave himself almost four months to lose more weight and get ready for their first marathon together.

He explained, “Back in June, we were available to sign up and I did it. I was like well I’m sure by that time I can lose more weight. Hopefully by October I will have lost a significant amount and be able to run with you.”

This half marathon gave Rayo something to look forward to within his weight loss journey. He was able to hit one more of his goals in October by reaching the finish line. He is now continuing his job and living a healthier lifestyle.

“I'm still in progress, I have a higher goal, but right now I am happy where I am at, just because I am busy at work but I am happy.”

He has reached a point in his life where he lost weight, ran his half marathon, and is now just continuing his journey. A journey that has forever changed his life.

“It is a hard journey, I'm not going to say it was an easy journey but it is not impossible. What I always say is that everyday is a new, fresh start. If you think you failed yourself but you have tomorrow to start over.”