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.