While in college I managed to lose some weight (via low carb) and keep it off for a few years. I lifted weights and jogged regularly during that time. But I never ran in any official race. In 2016 I did my first ever 'official' 10K after not having jogged a step since college (nearly 30 years ago). With only 1 month of prep I managed to jog every step. Muscle pain? Yes. Joint pain? Not much. Even though it took a day or two to recover from that event it was so worth it. I had done something that was unimaginable for most of my adult life. Much to my surprise, I've kept on doing it. Next month I'll be running my 4th annual Richmond 10K.

Frankly, I'm shocked on so many levels. I can't believe that I've taken up jogging again. The last thing that I want in life is a knee replacement. I did that first 10K thinking that it would be a one-and-done -- a bucket list thing. I worried about what running would do to my knees at my age (52 at the time). But it went so well that it has became an annual tradition. For the 2017 & 2018 10K's my times were a little faster than 2016 and the recovery time after the race was much less. I've now made jogging a regular part of my fitness routine (2 or 3 times per week). Yesterday I jogged nearly 8 miles on paved roads. No joint pain today and really no muscle pain to speak of. Yes, the legs are a bit sluggish today, but that is about it. I may still be technically "overweight", but I have not been this "running fit" since the mid 1980's. Currently a 10K distance feels like just another workout. So again, where is the joint pain? If I were doing damage surely I'd be feeling something by now. I have injured myself lifting weights since going LCHF. I have not had any joint issues at all, even with all of the pavement pounding that I am doing. If issues come up I'll stop. So far... nothing bad has come from it.

My doctor (a jogger herself) is fine with me taking up jogging. However, several family members, neighbors and friends (many of whom have had knee replacements) have warned me that I'm not doing myself any favors by taking up jogging. Based on my experience, I think that they are wrong. I've read news articles that blame the 1980's "jogging craze" for the myriad of knee replacement surgeries taking place in recent decades. But I'm more inclined to believe that a bad diet of excessive carbs (sugar & grains), processed food & vegetable oils are more to blame. Straining your joints while eating a highly inflammatory diet appears to be a bad thing to do. Minus the inflammatory diet, moving appears to do a body good. That's been my experience so far.