Christmas Rewards

Merry Christmas to all the people who take the time to read my blog. I hope you have a very warm and fufulling holiday with family and friends. I am very pleased to have given myself the early gift of making my weight loss goal for 2006! I am now down to 228 pounds. I have lost 40 pounds since September 6, when I started working on this goal! My goal over the next week is to maintain my position and keep working out, although not as rigorously as to provide myself with somewhat of a "break" before the new year. I will be doing some thinking about making some new short term goals in an effort to get to my long term goal of losing 48 pounds next year by July. I'll post them after some thought.

One other Christmas reward is that my 6 year old son has finally lost his first tooth today. So it looks like Santa and the Tooth Fairy will be making a stop at our house tonight. Between these two things, it's been quite a day. And tonight is gonna be a busy one as well! Take care.

Ups and Downs

Christmas is looming; and I am feeling the emotional weight of this time on my shoulders. I have been very strong and disciplined for many, many months now, but I have been feeling myself getting to a breaking point. And I don't want to lose it and let it all go. I am not good at moderating what I do, and I know this. This time of year is all about over-indulging and under-exerting; that message is everywhere you turn.

I have been feeling slow, lazy and less motivated. At first I thought it was because I was not getting enough sleep. After catching up on that, I still felt blah. Last night, I decided I better just take a needed break. I have been a total diet Nazi; controlling everything I eat very, very well. So, I decided I would treat myself and get this feeling of diet oppression out of my system. I had a BBQ pork sandwich (prepared lean by Lori and on a whole wheat of course) with Cheetos! and a rum and Diet Coke. Man, I was in heaven. I treated myself, and I felt like I had totally splurged. I even had dessert, albiet a Healthy Choice ice cream bar. I thought I would be totally paying for this today, but I have felt pretty good.

I also decided to shake up my workout this morning. Instead of the strength workout I was scheduled for, I ran. Well, my interval walk/run, but to me it's a run. I was able to knock out 2.91 miles in 42:30 before I had to hit the shower and get to work. I think I may do this on Wednesdays for a while to shake things up and also to build my running strength. This discipline is by far my weakest when it comes to triathlon. As I write this, I feel rejuvinated both with my diet and exercise, and hopefully this will be the push I need to get myself through these last two, and most difficult weeks of this year.

So, I guess what I am getting at is two-fold. One, this is a difficult time to stay healthy, whether you are trying to or not. Good choices are just hard to come by; you really have to plan well and work harder to seek them out more so than normal. Try your best and remember, you're not the only one struggling in this area.

Secondly, treat yourself. When you are working so hard, and controlling your intake and making exercise a priority day in and day out, it can get tedious. Remember to treat yourself sometimes. Sometimes is the key. A treat today, shouldn't turn into another tomorrow and a couple more the next day and so on. If you are truly eating well and committed to staying active, a treat once in a while will keep you mentally satisfied and is not going to kill you in the long run. Importantly, you should treat yourself when you feel you need it. You don't want to go over the edge and binge because you have felt deprived and haven't treated yourself in too long. Take care of yourself, both physically and mentally, and you'll be successful and keep moving forward.

This is a lesson that I am practicing learning. It all rolls back around to moderation, which I am also learning. I am not a machine and I need a break sometimes. Most times, I am so scared to break, because I don't want to impede my progress. And that's because I want it NOW. But I can't have it NOW. It took me a long time to get this out of shape, and it will take me more time than NOW to get back into shape. If I practice moderation when allowing a break or treating myself, and get right back to discipline with diet and exercise, it'll be alright. I have to continue to remind myself of this.

My First 5K

I recruited Lori and Sienan to run this second race with me. It was the Sacramento Fleet Feet Holiday Run and it was a 5K. This was my first time doing an actual 5K. My ending time was 42:55, which was pretty good for me. That puts my pace at about a 14:20 minute mile or so. The last time I was timing things, I was hitting about a 20 minute mile, so this is a huge improvement for me. Lori hung back with Sienan as this race was longer than the last one and he just tired out. They finished about 10 minutes after me. Thanks to Lori for letting me go ahead so I could set the 5K benchmark for myself to work from in improving my time. The race was fun, and it was really cold this morning. But, no rain and I was thankful for that. The next one is on New Year's Eve so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for no rain then too. Thanks to everyone for your comments and support. As an update, I've lost a total of 4 pounds this week and I am down to 231. Woo Hoo! I haven't been down to this weight for about 1 1/2 or 2 years. Man am I excited and I feel really good.

Tip of the Day: Do something today to move your body, no matter how small. It'll make you feel better.

Inspiration

OK, I am revealing what a total pop culture junkie I am, but did anyone else follow The Biggest Loser? I've never watched this show before, mostly because I was in denial about my weight and didn't want to get depressed by watching others doing something about theirs while I wasn't. Anyways, as part of my motivational sphere of influence I have created around myself, The Biggest Loser has been a show I've enjoyed watching. I was amazed and inspired by the will and determination of some of these contestants to lose as much weight as they have. Erik, the winner, was amazing. Losing over 200 pounds!!! Watching this made me want to get up and do something. So I happily got up this morning and swam with zest. 1100 yards, putting in good effort and having a good time moving my body. The show is total pop culture junk, but there is certainly a motivating and inspiring aspect to it. Way to go you big losers! I'll be joining you soon.

Quick Update

I just wanted to put up here quickly about how it's been going. I am really psyched because the new workouts at the gym and the new challenges in the pool have been paying off for me. I have been staying off the scale for the most part at the request of my gym trainer Sharon, but I also just dont have as much time anymore. I haven't been doing my weigh-ins on such a regular basis anymore. So last night, I took a quick peek, and to my excitement, I'm down 2 more pounds to 233 and the week isn't over. I have just 5 more pounds down to 228 to reach my goal of losing 40 pounds this year. Man, it's so close I can almost taste it! I'll keep doing everything I can to keep my metabolism kicking and the fat dropping in these last few weeks of the year.

Update

Going well, just pretty tired. Life is starting to get in the way for me but I refuse to compromise with my exercise. Exercise has been going well nevertheless. Today was swimming and I swam my first 500(continuous yardage). It was tough. Afterwards, I sprinted a 50 twice and got :54 and :53. Yay. I'm very proud of my progress with swimming. The gym workout is also going well. I've adjusted to it somewhat and I'm not in as much pain. As days go by, I'm feeling stronger and stronger. At work, on each break I've also been going walking. Just doing whatever I can so that I don't feel so sedentary now that I have a deskjob again.

My body is changing steadily. Alot of my clothes are becoming too big and that's just great. I'm trying to wear my new work clothes as much as possible, because they aren't going to last much longer at this rate.

The Emotional Struggle Of My Journey

Yesterday when I was swimming during my workout, it just hit me how much I have changed in the last few months, and I love it. I am not talking about my pant size here. Something inside me has changed. I have spent a lot of time writing about exercise and time or distance, weight, whatever. What I haven't spent a whole lot of time on is the emotional journey I am going through. I tend to hold this kind of thing very close and don't advertise it a whole lot.

This all started a few months ago when I was inspired to seriously lose weight and work towards competing in a triathlon. But this experience is really changing who I am as a person. This weight loss journey has been a segway into much more than I initially anticipated. I have just been changing so much as a person and it feels so good. In the past, I had spent a long time hiding behind excuses and fears and my size. Telling myself that I can't do a particular thing because I was too out of shape, or too inexperienced or too whatever. I have historically had a problem with goal setting and this really played into my past failures. I was afraid to fail and therefore afraid to try at all. I created a person that I didn't like being. And through the weight loss journey, without trying to change or fix anything else intentionally, somehow it is all falling into place. I am building my goal setting skills. I am building confidence. I am happier. I am motivated and positive. I am starting to feel like a whole new person inside and out and it is really amazing.

I have been listening to Dave O from Zap120 alot lately and I think I need to stop holding back on this part of my journey. There are alot of feelings attached to this process and they aren't all the good ones that I normally share. Fatigue, frustration, impatience, self doubt, dips in confidence, self consciousness, anger, futility. These all go through my mind at different times during this process and I am just learning how I can best deal with them and stay positive and getting better and better at it as time goes on.

I am really enjoying the change my body is going through. Truthfully, it can't happen fast enough. I have always played off the fact that I was fat. I would tell myself I don't care, or it doesn't bother me, or I'm not that fat or that unhealthy. But I was lying to myself. I was watching the Biggest Loser last night and I realized, like Erik, I am sad being fat. In fact, I hate it. On my previous attempts at weight loss, I don't know what it was, but I didn't have it. No weight loss mojo or whatever. This time, I am committed. And I have engaged every possible person I come across to pull them in as support. It helps me keep my chin up and keep me focused and accountable during those moments of fatigue and struggle. Thank you all for helping me become a new me.

Ending update: I am now up to 33 pounds lost! I have 7 more pounds to lose and I will have met my goal of losing 40 pounds this year. With my new workout and my commitment to my diet and exercise, I should get there no problem. I stopped watching the scale so much, partly because I was told not to by my trainer, and partly because my schedule has changed and I am so busy. I have noticed my clothes are fitting much differently. I actually sighed relief that a pair of new pants shrank in the wash so I could wear them longer.

Keep Moving!

Well, I dragged my booty back to the gym today to keep working on the workout that Sharon gave me now that I actually have control of my limbs again and I don't limp with pain. This time I didn't get to the point of vomiting, so I guess I'm improving. It was a good workout although I felt some discomfort in my right pec, so I eased up on those exercises. I had a little diet breakdown yesterday and had Mac and Cheese for dinner and a Hershey bar after with some nuts. Not totally bad, but I just needed to chew on food rather than sucking it through a straw and I just needed a sweet fix. Hopefully it doesn't set me too far back; it shouldn't.

Swimming was good yesterday. Working on the distance still. Trish says Thursday we'll start doing some sprinting and timing with 50 yards. Should be challenging. I will probably only work out 2 more days this week, which is cutting it one short for me. I had my first of two A+ certification tests on Monday and then next tomorrow. I passed on Monday with flying colors, and I have my fingers crossed for tomorrow. I've been jammin' away at my new job as well, learning a new software. This, of course, required a total schedule change in my life. I am really committed to working out though, and getting up at 5:30 to make it to the gym doesn't seem unreasonable to me at all. All the extra studying and demands on my time in conjunction with the new, challenging workout are just zapping me. But, if I take one more day off this week, I should be able to be back up to normal speed next week. Ahhh, next week, can't wait to get there and things calm down a bit...

On the last note, Dave O at Zap120 has had some really inspiring things going on in his podcasts lately, as well as Scott with Motivation to Move. Thank you both for what you do. And if you, dear reader, need some motivation and inspiration, check these two out. Cheers!

Our First Race!

Sienan and I went downtown this morning to participate in the MaraFunRun as part of the California International Marathon activities. This was the first race for both of us. It was very exciting. The morning was cold, but it turned out to be great weather for running. Or in our case, jogging and walking. Sienan had a great time, which is what I was shooting for. He swears that next time we should relay the whole marathon and he can surely run 6 miles. I know he had a good time because he got tired and started struggling after about 6 blocks, but in the end, next year he plans to run 6 miles in a relay. :o) I also had a great time. It was my first ever experience with a race and it was a good one. We ended up taking around 33minutes for the 2.62 miles. We hung around after our run and watched the exciting finish of the full marathon. It was very cool and inspiring. I have two more little races that I plan on attending this year and Sienan wants to go to. Maybe we're onto something here... Hope everyone had a great weekend. Ciao.

Another Milestone; And I Can't Believe It!

Well, I planned my Thanksgiving all out to try and stay ahead of the weight gain possibilities and offset it and I succeeded. Yay for me. But, I also slowed down in progress and plateaued a little bit, not gaining, but not losing either. I got a little down on it for a few days, but I stuck with working out and eating right, even though I was straying from my Beginner Triathlete plan because I was bored with the bike. So much biking.

Anyways, I got a job, rather suddenly, and that has kept me very busy and I have not had much time. I also have my first test for the A+ certification coming on Monday, so I have really been stretched to the max and just trying to hang in there with all this change and fluxuation. I haven't been watching my weight or been as focused on tri, just trying to continue working out and eating right. Lori and I had our first meeting with our personal trainer, Sharon, this past Thursday. Part of the Club membership includes a trainer to work with you towards fitness. In our case, she has been pretty flexible with tailoring our program to our strengths, weaknesses and goals. She has been awesome so far. I discussed my plateau with her and she said that likely it is time to shake it up. My body is used to what I have been doing, and it's tapering off in weightloss because there's not any more challenge.

So, we went in this morning to start on a different routine of strength training to get the body shocked again and started into significant weight loss progress. I am rejuvenated and excited with a new workout. It was very humbling though. I had a hard time today with things I thought would be much easier. They were probably not much harder, just different. We started out with a 10 minute cardio warmup getting to our target heart rate. Mine happens to be 145-155 for weight loss and 155-165 for aerobic. We then did a full body workout that logically worked muscles in a complimentary way. The whole thing should take 45 minutes. I ended up getting really nauseous from working so hard. I had to leave the workout floor, go to the locker room and cool off with the blow dryer on cool and just sit for a bit. I seriously thought I was going to hurl. But, as soon as I cooled down, I went right back out and finished. A very humbling reminder that the war of my weight loss is not over, the first battle was won and its time to continue the fight. I have decided to change my workout in the week to the following:

Mondays: 10min cardio warmup, strength training
Tuesdays: swimming
Wednesdays: 10 min cardio warmup, strength training
Thursdays: swimming
Fridays: 10 min cardio warmup, strength training
Saturday OR Sunday: bike riding around Lake Natoma

I'll be following this for the next month or two until it is time for a change again.

So, moving onto milestones. I really hadn't been paying attention to the scale, because I didn't want anymore disappointing news after the Thanksgiving plateau. And I was just way too busy. Well, I checked in yesterday, and again this morning to verify it. I have lost 4 pounds this week. That takes my total weight loss to date to 31 POUNDS!! So, I have passed the 30 pound milestone. My goal this year was to lose 40 pounds, so I am going to keep on plugging away and see if I can do it. I still have 4 more weeks within which to give it a shot.

Happy Thanksgiving: Did You Survive?

I think I did the best I could. So, yes, I think I survived. On the big day, I restrained on portion sizes. I had foods that weren't on my approved foods list, but I limited them. And I had to have a piece of pie. But I savored every bite.

To balance it out, I exercised A LOT. I got up and did my normal Thursday routine of going swimming, only this time I had Lori and Sienan in tow and we went a bit later. I broke a distance record and swam 1300 yards by following a workout that Trish had created for me before she left for her Thanksgiving trip. After getting dinner going, Lori and I took Zoe for a walk around Goat Hill Trail, which is adjacent our house and is quite a hilly challenge. Lastly, after dinner, Lori, Sienan, Zoe and I went for a short walk around the block; not to be dismissed, because it also is very hilly. Wagons and skateboards are not recommended. :o) We had fun jogging around, chasing Zoe and her chasing us, as well as playing catch with the football.

The next day, I had leftovers, but I ate less of the non-approved foods than before. I exercised some more by rowing and working weights. Yesterday, I swam yet again. I then spent the day putting up Christmas lights. Up and down the ladder, back and forth to get the thing you always need when you get the farthest away from where that thing is. One thing I am quite proud of is that I took off the shelf Christmas lights and cut and rewired them to customize a fit to our house. Also, I was up high in those gables attaching lights and combating my slowing increasing fear of heights. I'll have to take a picture of the house.

So, at the end of the week, it may be simply a no gain week; if I am lucky, I may lose a pound. I'll keep plugging away with the exercise. I am heading off for my ride around Lake Natoma after I finish this. I'll keep plugging away with diet. Yesterday was a good day. I knew I needed to move on past Thanksgiving because the bad food was affecting my energy level and noticeably in the pool. So yesterday it was back to the usual. Protein rich, low fat breakfasts, salad for lunch and a balanced and low starch dinner. So, I'll just keep plugging away and move beyond the challenges and temptations of Thanksgiving and onto leaner, healthier days.

Still Love Swimming

Man! I still do. I really didn't want to go today. I didnt get enough sleep last night. And I am a little out of my groove because I didn't work out yesterday because of other obligations. It was cold. Wa, wa, wa. I've just gotta get up and do it. And so I did. But once I got there I had a good time. I really don't think I would have as much of a good time or make as much progress without the direction and motivation I am getting from Trish at El Dorado Hills Sports Club. Kudos to Trish. Today, I completed 1200 yards, which is a personal best for me so far in distance. We practiced a drill called Distance Per Stroke for the first time. This is a drill where you are breathing every 3rd stroke for a lap, then every 4th, every 5th and finally every 6th stroke. It was challenging and interesting to see how I did. Then we did a pyramid of increasing intervals that peaked and then decreased. In the end, I was tired, but I felt great. Trish wrote out a workout for me for Thursday (yes I will be at the pool on Thanksgiving morning) and an additional one to try out if I want on an off day. I just think I might. Have a lovely day! :o)

Got my Bike Back!

Hey! I got my bike back from the shop with a new stem and boy am I happy. I have been getting so used to the gym bikes, but they just aren't the same as a real bike. So, what to do but take it out for a spin? Lori and I went for a 13.25 mile ride around Lake Natoma on the American River Parkway bike trail system. Man! I can't believe that I haven't done that yet, it was so beautiful. The ride was challenging, because I moved my saddle up to the height it should be at and that means I am working my legs differently and I haven't been on my bike for a while. It was great.

Another thing that was new was that I tried aerobic rowing on Friday. I allowed yesterday off to see how it impacted my body, which I think was right where I need it and I'll get to that in a bit. Aerobic rowing on an "ergo" is something I haven't really done before and it definitely takes some getting used to. Form is everything in rowing, and you have to be careful about that because you don't want to hurt your back. Talk to a trainer or rowing expert to find out more before you try it if you don't know what you should be doing. Rowing is great for the whole body as well as the heart for cardio. So, for me, rowing is hitting me right where I need it. I had a good workout Friday night at 30 minutes of rowing. I felt it yesterday in my hamstrings, glutes and abs. This is an exercise I think I will work on cultivating. It's low impact and works my extra fatty areas that need more work.

OK, that's all for now. Have a great rest of the weekend. :o)

Building Endurance

I love triathlon training. I'm sure I've said this before, but it is a great way to get and stay healthy. Triathlon training is about consistent workouts that may increase gradually, never suddenly. Slow and steady wins the race. I correlate it to the tortise and the hare fable. This is doing wonders in reprogramming my thinking. I've always been intense personality, figuring it was all or nothing. In the past, if I had a moment or a week of weakness in my diet or lack of motivation in my workout, I just figured I had slipped that far, no point in continuing to try to get healthy. Not true! Triathlon, and other motivational sources are teaching me that slow, steady moderation can and will get the job done. And I am trying to carry over this concept into other areas of my life.

On this note, today I worked on endurance in the pool. Today was not about speed, but about going the distance. And this is something I am eager to work on in preparation for the triathlon. We are starting it out slowly, and Trish knows just how far to push me so that I am challenged but I can likely do what she is asking. It's awesome. Today, I practiced slowly pacing myself so I could go longer distances, and with shorter and shorter rest periods. It was fun. I am looking forward to making more progress in this aspect.

Now for the HOLIDAY TIP: I heard this one on the Motivation to Move podcast. Find some time on Thanksgiving morning to get out of the house and workout, perhaps a little longer than you normally would. Most gyms are open in the morning, or you can go it on your own outside or at home. Additionally, a few days before Thanksgiving, "average" your calories. Even if you are eating sensibly, (please don't consume the average 7000-8000 calories that the average American does on this holiday) chances are you are going to consume more than you normally would. So, what I mean by "averaging your calories" is eat less than you normally would so that you can "average out" those extra calories on Thanksgiving. Getting in a workout together with averaging your calories can help you sail safely past Thanksgiving and stay focused on your health and fitness. Good luck.

Wednesday's Update

Hi everyone,
It’s hump day, as they say. How’s it going out there? I have had some professional struggles as of late that have sort of taken the wind out of my sails a bit. But, I have to get through it and not let it affect my workouts. And I think my workouts are going pretty well.

Swimming is going great. It looks like in my sprint practices yesterday I was able to maintain the 23 second speeds that I was putting out last week. Nope, it wasn’t a fluke; it was all me. And I noticed a cool feeling when I was out there sprinting. I wonder if professional swimmers feel this way… So I know I have been building up my upper body with all the swimming, weights and so on. But yesterday, I felt so strong. With each stroke I took, I felt like when I was pulling my stroke through the water, that I was grasping an imaginary rope and pulling myself along it. I felt “propelled”. Cool.

As I was warming up in the Jacuzzi after my swim workout, I spent some time speaking to a woman who is a swimmer, a physical therapist, a triathlete and was in a car accident injuring her hips and back. (For those who do not know, I was in a motorcycle accident 3 years ago and I fractured my acetabula in my pelvis. My recovery from that was fine, but I would like to get that area back into the best shape it can be.) She was telling me about ways to do my kicking only sets during swimming in such a way to build back your hip muscles that are damaged in that kind of injury. She also mentioned aerobic rowing as being great after that kind of injury and just overall as it works your entire body and is a low impact aerobic exercise. That’s not something I had thought about, but I may consider. Biking is losing it’s excitement for me. Either I am making it too hard or I am just tired of it, because it seems hard and it is getting difficult to keep the momentum going with that. I plan to look into rowing as we have a few of those machines at the Club.

So, another thing she was telling me about was your bike, and getting it “fit” for you. I have heard of this, but hadn’t done it before. I just got on my bike and rode it. But, having your bike fit for you can reduce the chance of injury and make you a much more efficient rider. When I get mine back after getting the handlebar stem replaced, I will definitely look into it. So now it’s time for the holiday tip.

HOLIDAY TIP: When going to a party where you cannot control the menu or cannot be guaranteed there will be enough healthy choices for you, eat something healthy before you go so you will not be hungry there and won’t succumb as easily to temptation. When you are asked if you would like “x, y or z”, politely decline and say you are saving room for dessert. No one will hassle you for that. Now whether or not you actually have dessert is another story. Also, here is a tip on buffets. Fill your plate with healthy foods while at the buffet and walk away. Do not graze or hang out by the buffet! This is an easy way to over consume. Simple but easy strategies. Try them out. Good luck.

I saved the best info for last. As of today, I have lost 27 pounds! That is 10% of my starting weight! YAY for me. It’s been hard, but here I am, truckin’ away. If I can make it through the holidays at my current pace, then I should be able to lose 40 pounds this year. With support and discipline, I can do it! Thank you everyone for your comments and support. If you have any healthy holiday strategies or recipes, please let me know via email or in the blog comments. Stay healthy and talk to you soon.

Success, Rewards, Temptation

Wow! Its been a challenging past two days. My host sister and mother from Japan were here visiting and as you know, sometimes when you have company, that just throws the routine out the window. Friday's workout was pushed to the evening because I had to make the trip out to SF. But, I was committed to get to the gym and complete Week 3 training. I had a great sweatfest on the upright bike for my long ride of the week and worked my chest to keep the swimming progress cruising along. Through the past two days, I have (sparingly) eaten things that were made for me that may not normally been on my diet. And they were tasty; thank you. I also indulged slightly with a beer, and a bit of a Pizzookie from BJ's. I did well though. Before, I would have just gotten lots of deep fried things and a few beers and a hefty desert. This time, and here forth, I ate smart, thinking about calories, starches and at the end of the meal, I felt good.

Checking in this morning, I am happy to report I am up to 25 pounds of weight loss. Yay for me! Because I missed my walking/running workout yesterday, I did it today on what is normally my one day in the week that I rest. It was a good time. I am at 28walk/2run on my 30 minute exercise time. I went down to the high school to use the track for a change of pace. I was surprised to find about 60-70 geese hanging out on the field along with about 15 wild turkeys. They were just hanging out, eating grass. The turkeys made a move over to the trees behind the home side and took up position on the limbs and began to argue with the smaller birds. It was a brisk 40 degrees, so that got me moving quick so I could wam up. In the end, I had a 16:41 mile. I want to start tracking my progress with the mile, so here's a start.

It's a Breakthrough Week

I'd like to update what's been going on this week, and then I'll move into exciting news in swimming. Since my last post, I have bumped up my workout just a little bit. I have been working on an 8 month program from Beginner Triathlete.com that starts out a non athlete, and pretty much works you into one after 8 months. In a nutshell, for this month I have been doing cardio on the bike Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in an increasing time each day with varying objectives such as a target heart rate or a specific interval program or resistance. Additionally, on those same days after cardio, I have been weight lifting. It is mixed up so that all muscle groups get worked on one of those days, but not more than once a week. The plan changes and progresses to include more triathlon disciplines and more challenge, but it is all gradual. It was my decision to take on swimming on Tuesdays and Thursdays to get started on what I felt was a weak area for me, and I think it has been going very well. I don't feel overtrained or overtired.

After reading Slow Fat Triathlete, I felt more motivated (I didn't think that was possible). I was considering what I now consider my weakest discipline: running. If I want to get to my goal next summer, I'm gonna need some time to work up to it. I love triathlon for this reason. It is all about slow and steady progress, just keep moving forward. I am not the best at moderation and pacing myself; it's always all or nothing. So I think this training will not only help me with eating and exercise habits for life, but also perhaps in adopting an attitude of moderation. Anyways, I found a program on BeginnerTriathlete.com called Couch to 5K, which is a 7 or 8 month approach to getting from all walking to all running. So I decided on swim days, in the afternoons, I'll also do my Couch to 5K, which is a 30 minute session of walking/running that will gradually become running/walking. The first day went well. It seems like every time I exercise, I look forward to what I can do next.

So, with swimming, I am just having an awesome week. I am so proud of myself. I thought I had really achieved something great on Tuesday, and I did, but today I one-upped myself. To start, my total yardage was up to 1050. I can't believe it. The more I do, the more I can do next time and it just feels amazing. Additionally, today I was doing sprint drills on the 25. I practiced "good wall", by leading off in a strong, streamlined position with good form and taking the first few strokes before your first breath, taking the middle easy, and working out the last few strokes for a strong, stretched finish touching the wall. Building on that, next was a slow beginning and then sprinting out the last 1/2 to 1/3 of the lap. Following that was the opposite, sprinting out and then easing in to the far side for a stretched finish touching the wall.

The last set put it all together: "good wall" and sprinting the whole way down the lap. I put in a :26, :24, :23 and :23. 23 seconds! I couldn't believe it. In the beginning, I was stretching to get :32. Even with paddles (that add resistance but allow you to really propel yourself) I was only getting a :28. And that was like last week. I am so amazed and so proud of myself. I am also so thankful to be working with Trish at the Club. She is a great motivator and teacher and knows when I can do more and pushes for it. Thank you Trish!

As always, please feel free to leave comments on my blog or send me an email. Thank you each and every one who sends me comments and emails. You have no idea how much I appreciate it and how much it motivates me. THANK YOU!

New Milestones

This morning was Master Swim class and I had an awesome workout. For the past few times, I have been totalling 800 yards in my hour workout. Today, I got to 850! I had been doing my drills and stroke practices on the 25 yards, which is an out, not back. This means I would swim from one side of the pool to the other and then rest before starting out again. My best time for those so far was 27 seconds.

Today, I decided to try bumping it up to 50 yards, or out and back, before resting. It was a huge challenge for me. I could tell because on the third and on 50 yard set, I was sputtering, not getting enough air and forgetting my stroke count. But I was getting around 1:02 for the 50 yards which is pretty good for me. I was feeling a little beat up, especially after a few times of doing better and better. But the reality of it is, 25 yards had gotten too short for me. I was seeing that 50 yards is quite a challenge, but I needed the challenge. And I think with my coach there to encourage me and push me the right amount, I can do it.

So after sputtering and floundering a bit, on my last set of 50, I decided in my head that I was not going to wimp out on this last set. I dug deep, focused on being very controlled and as fast as possible. I pulled through and in 59 seconds! WOO HOO. I am proud of myself. I know from now on I'll be doing at least 50's and working up from there. I had a great time today really pushing myself even when it looked like I couldn't do it. In the end I have the huge reward of knowing if I really try, I can do it.

Slow Fat Triathlete Plug

OK, I have had lots of surprised, (but supportive responses) to my goal of losing weight and using a triathlon as my vehicle. That's OK. I am very optimistic and motivated to get fit and lose this weight that has been bogging me down for years. I have no doubt that I can do it, but I have been a little concerned about where I'll be at by the time next year rolls around. I have been surfing the web for resources for "beginners", "overweight" triathletes and long term training plans. In that search I came across Jayne Williams and her concept of the Slow Fat Triathlete. She started out pretty much where I did at my peak weight, plus some injuries. She lost a bunch of weight and began competing in triathlons irregardless of her shape or jiggly-ness as she puts it. She wrote a book which I picked up at Borders yesterday (along with a running and cycling magazine). I love her sense of humor, her realistic attitude and helpful hints. She is definitley inspriational in fighting the fight, despite being fat or slow. Check her out at: http://www.slowfattriathlete.com/.

Week 2 Has Flown By!

My apologies for not posting throughout the week. There have been some larger issues in my days like babies being born, Halloween, coordinating landscaping things, having company and looking for a job that have consumed my time that I would normally post. Nevertheless, the workout has not suffered; I have been forging ahead with it.

This week has been a little rough because we had company, which always challenges your ability to stay committed to an eating plan. Additionally, this week was the first week in the beginning of the worst season of the year for those like me, who are trying to get rid of their addiction to foods that are bad for them in order to get fit. We did a good job of keeping the candy bagged up and not opening it until Halloween. I did succumb to 3 snack size candies on the night of Halloween, but I have been clean since. ;o) It just takes so much will power to stay away. I have tried different tactics to keep myself focused. I worked out. I worked on the hill in the backyard. I listened to podcasts. I cleaned. I took another look through all of the emails and comments everyone has sent my way. (THANK YOU SO MUCH!) I ate good helpings of vegetables and lean meats to fill myself up with good food in order to not feel hungry anymore and kill the cravings for the bad stuff. It's been working! Yay! I just have two more months of serious temptation to go...

The workouts went great this week. I have discovered that I am enjoying swimming the most out of the three disciplines at the moment. Currently, I am working swimming Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 6am to 7am, rain or shine. This week, I have gotten up to 800 yards in my workout, with varying exercises and drills. It's great. The rest of the week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) I've been working on the upright bike and with weights. With each day that goes by I am increasing my time, distance or weight with the exercises that I repeat and that is so exciting. At the end of the day's workout, I've been very dilligent about stretching out. This has prevented further muscle soreness problems. We capped off the week this morning by taking Zoe, our little pug, for an hour walk on the hilly trails around our neighborhood. She misses these walks because before we joined the gym, she used to go everyday. I think we miss these walks too because we tried to sleep in and ended up getting up at 7:05am feeling ready for exercise. It is nice to know that my body is establishing a rhythm and routine of waking early and yearning for exercise. I love it.

So, as I mentioned, the emails and comments really help keep me motivated. If you have time in the day, where you have nothing to do, then send me an email or post a comment. If you have strategies for staying lean and healthy during the holidays, let me know. I can sure use them. :o)

A Day of Celebration

Today is a day of celebration for me for two reasons. The first reason is because as of today, I have lost 20 pounds! When I looked down at the scale a few months ago, I was surprised to see that I weighed 268 pounds. I knew I had been eating poorly and being pretty inactive short of a few intense activities around the house once in a while. But 268 pounds?!? This is when Lori and I kicked into action. She also was unhappy with her weight and we decided to team up in a challenge against each other to eat healthy, exercise and get fit. Well, week by week, the pounds have been coming off. Even though it may not so fast, I feel great! I know I have a lot of hard work ahead of me, but with focus, perserverence and support; I'll get there. I have 68 pounds to go, and with any luck, they'll all be gone before time for the triathlon. Thank you to everyone for your comments via email; feel free to leave comments on my blog also.

The second reason for celebration is that I have selected and registered for a triathlon. YAY! I was concerned that I shouldn't bite off more than I could chew. Biking I knew I was fine. Running I know I can work up to. Swimming was the last area I was just not sure about because all my swimming had been recreational until now. After doing some training in all of the disciplines for triathlon to see where I stand, I decided to take the challenge of completing a Sprint Triathlon. It will take place on my birthday next year, July 14, 2007 at Rancho Seco Park at 8am. The race will consist of 1/2 mile swimming, 16 miles biking and 3 miles running. If you would like to see the details, they are posted online at: http://www.tbfracing.com/events/tri4fun2.html.

Finally, yesterday was the last day of my first week of triathlon-focused training. Aside from the overtraining I subjected myself to on Wednesday as mentioned earlier, I am feeling great. Today I plan to take a long walk with the dog because now that I'm at the gym for cardio, she's missing her daily walks. Well, thanks again to everyone for your support and comments, it really makes a positive difference for me, so keep 'em coming! Take care and have a great weekend.

Support is the Key

Any time you take on a challenging endeavor, a big factor in your success is your support system. That support shows it's face in different ways. And everybody has different needs when it comes to support. Today I would like to talk about my support system and what helps me. These examples are from my weight loss plan, but I think they can apply with any situation you may face.

First and foremost, my biggest support is my partner, Lori. She is behind me 100% in my efforts to lose weight and participate in a triathlon. She also keeps me balanced so that I don't burn myself out. She cooks my meals and makes sure that they are healthy and nutritional. Lori wants to lose weight herself and we have a competition going at home to keep it fun. We joke about who did better on nutrition that day or offering a challenge to stay on track. Lori is the bomb and I just wanted to call her out on the support and let everyone know about how great she is.

Other ways to get support are through the people in our lives. Working out with friends or coworkers who are also working towards similar goals helps you both reach the goals, build relationships and have fun. Running into neighbors and acquaintences at the gym and sharing a smile or a word of encouragement is another example. Talking with others with similar goals and struggles definitley help out. Support also comes from the countless people you know who can help you with encouragement as well as those you'll run into along the way and who will have an encouraging word or gesture.

Surround yourself with positive and motivational resources, people and media. I have been watching TV shows and reading magazines and newspaper articles relating to others' success stories with their weight loss or their first triathlon experiences. I am going to be volunteering for the racing association that sponsors many of the local races to get exposure to the experience and network with others. I started listening to podcasts related to weight loss and triathlons. For where I am in my journey, I have found two great resources: Motivation to Move and Zap120.

And now, to update my progress, I spent an hour in the pool today working on the things my swim coach taught me such as strokes, breathing patterns and keeping moving when I get tired. It was a good workout and definitley had me huffing and puffing. Tomorrow will be the last day I workout this week. Talk to you then.

Day 3: Working Your Muscles to Failure

Today was my third day of working towards my weight loss goal and towards training for my triathlon next summer. Today, I worked longer (35min) and harder (hill setting with more resistance) on the upright bike and worked my upper body, to the point of failure. This means I lifted as much as I could until I could not lift anymore at all. I had a hard time lifing the water bottle up to get a drink out of it. This made me giggle at myself in the locker room; I could barely open my locker let alone get my bag out. I am still very excited and I have been very motivated by another podcast I wanted to mention: Zap120. This is a podcast by a real guy, Dave O, who wants to lose 120 pounds. When I say a real guy, I mean a normal, overweight person trying to improve their health, not an exercise maniac who has been fit their whole life. What I like about it is that he is human; he recognizes people are gonna slip, but provides a motivating and encouraging attitude of: Keep on trying! In other news, I joined the master swim class for 3 months at the Club. This means on Tuesday and Thursday morning, all winter long, I'll be in the pool learning and practicing from 6am-7am every week. Wish me luck.

My First Swim Class

The alarm went off at 5:40am and it was time. I was thinking about hitting snooze, but then, I've done that for so many years and that's what got me here in the first place. It's time for a change. So I got up, into my suit, gathered my things, and went into the Club where I have started my training. There was a class I wanted to try out for swimming; at 6am. As I took some suggestions on what to start with from the teacher, I was excited and optimistic. I've been swimming since I was a kid, this should be easy.

Well, after "warming up" with 200 yards of swimming, I got really tired out. I had gulped and sputtered a little bit of water at times, my arms were tired and I started thinking I was not so sure about this swimming part. But my swim teacher was encouraging and pointed out some things I had been doing great, such as stroke form, alternate breathing and keeping my head up, which I found out in the pool is not so great, but for something like a triathlon, is perfect. I started feeling much better. She gave me some pointers and suggested we practice them then. We practiced head position during push off, stroke frequency for breathing and alternating in a side kick. We left it at: I'll be coming in once or twice a week to practice these things and doing 3 or 4 sets of 100. That felt good and doable.

I am as excited as ever about the triathlon. In fact, I'm reconsidering the Super Sprint (the shorter race at 400yds swim, 8mi bike, 2mi run) and considering doing a Sprint (.5mi swim, 16mi bike, 3mi run) instead. After guaging where I am at with swimming today, I feel more confident. The decision will be made shortly and registration will be sent in. I'll post it soon, in case you might want to join me. (smile) I finished the morning by spending some time listening to 2 of my favorite podcasts about weight loss and triathlons that I enjoy and get something out of: Motivation To Move podcast and the Tri Talk podcast. Check 'em out if you're interested!

Triathlon Training Has Officially Started

Thanks for visiting my blog. My name is Liz Love. I'm 31 years old and anywhere from 65-85 pounds overweight depending on which Ideal Weight Calculator you use. I live in the Sacramento area of Northern California, US. I created this blog to chronicle my progress as I tackle an endeavor that is very important to me: losing this extra weight and training for a triathlon along the way. Today I started training for a triathlon. To commemorate starting my triathlon training, I have created this blog. This year, I came to a realization; I'm just tired of being overweight. My partner, Lori, and I started working out together and focusing on a good diet modeled after the South Beach Diet, but not so strict. Just common sense nutrition, and portion control; nothing crazy.Over the last 7 weeks, we have had a little challenge going on in the House of Love. I've lost 16 pounds and I'm lovin' it!

To keep motivated, I have been reading others' success stories and listening to their podcasts. One story I read that really inspired me was the story of Kevin Clayton, a local Folsom man who just participated in the Ironman World Championships this past Saturday and finished well at 11:38:59. He lost over 100 pounds in order to get healthy and began racing and participating in triathlons. I have been very inspired by him. I thought that by training for a triathlon it would be a fun way to get the weight off as well as make friends and explore new places and things in the world. If you want to read about Kevin, check out this link: http://www.news10.net/storyfull2.aspx?storyid=20122. I have also been inspired by my Dad, Mike. He has modified his diet and begun an exercise routine that he has been very dedicated to. In the last year, he has lost over 60 pounds and he's still counting.

So, I am making the commitment to myself to lose the weight necessary to get myself back to a healthy weight and keep it off. Thinking back on Kevin, and my Dad, I decided I just needed to do it. If he could, then I could. To keep myself focused and disciplined, I have committed to participating in a triathlon. Although I haven't signed up yet, I have located a Super Sprint to participate in in August of next year. It's located nearby, do-able and it looks fun. When the paperwork gets in the mail, I'll post the details.

I have always tried to hide my weight with bigger clothes or bad posture. But, who am I fooling, what you see is what I am: overweight. I have tried to keep any efforts to lose weight in the past under wraps, feeling that if I didn't brag about it, and if I failed, there would be no need to save face. Well, this time I am throwning down the gauntlet. This is a goal I would like to accomplish in my life. Something I have wished I had the stamina and commitment to complete for the last 10 years. I'm gonna do a triathlon! So, I would like to invite your comments and support as I start this journey for a lifetime change. I know I'm gonna need it. Here's a mugshot: for kicks.













Thanks everyone for your comments and encouragement!