There has finally been some positive movement in terms of my weight. It was stalled at 415 for a few weeks, but I got on the scale and it said 410! That is a 5 lb. loss and I am happy with it. That puts me down 48 lbs. so far.
On the movement front I didn't improve on my step average. Last week I averaged only 4,496 steps per day. That is below what I was aiming for by a large amount. This week I will do better. In terms of calories, I was much better.
Looking ahead it is going to be a busy time as we prepare to move into a new place. The lease on our current place is expiring the end of July and they are wanting to raise our rent $50 per month. On top of that we don't need that large of a house so we are looking for a new place and will end up moving in the next 5 weeks.
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Monday, June 27, 2016
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Week 11 Report
Ok, I'm late with this week's report. I apologize. You see I'm just not motivated to write it this week since it seems my consumption of salty foods has led to a small and temporary reversal on the scales. This is also why I didn't put the word 'progress' in the title of this post. The fact of the matter is that according to the scale there is no progress to report this week. Rather it shows I gained 3 lbs. I know it is temporary and that I can recover from this little bump, but it still makes me loathe to post about it.
On a different note, the national Bike Challenge starts on Sunday. It runs from May 1 through September 30. I made it my goal in 2014 to ride every single day during the challenge and I did. Last year I didn't ride but a handful of times. This year I hope to equal the frequency of ride that I accomplished in 2014, but I already know there will be some missed days as there is some travel planned in June and August which will preclude riding. Those days aside, I will endeavor to surpass at least my mileage total for the 2014 challenge.
On a different note, the national Bike Challenge starts on Sunday. It runs from May 1 through September 30. I made it my goal in 2014 to ride every single day during the challenge and I did. Last year I didn't ride but a handful of times. This year I hope to equal the frequency of ride that I accomplished in 2014, but I already know there will be some missed days as there is some travel planned in June and August which will preclude riding. Those days aside, I will endeavor to surpass at least my mileage total for the 2014 challenge.
Monday, April 4, 2016
Week 8 Progress
It has been a good week. I've been fairly good with my eating and have gotten in more steeps on a few of the days and I guess it all adds up. I got on the scale yesterday and it read 426 lbs. I am very happy with that. That gives me a 32 lb. loss over the 8 weeks since I made my personal goal. That is an average of 4 lbs. per week and that pace is right where I want to be.
While I am happy with my progress towards my weight goal, my activity level is still below where I think it should be. I really need to get into a routine where I can increase my activity, both walking and on the bike, in order to start reaping even more benefits from the weight loss. I am noticing a difference in my body and how my clothes are fitting but I need to start building the muscles as well as stamina. I need to get my mind into an active lifestyle mindset where I am focusing more on doing things and less on just watching my diet. The diet is still a priority but while it it is a major part of the equation, it is still just a part of it.
Looking ahead to May and the National Bike challenge, my goal for this year is to beat my 2014 total of 3,136 points and 336.5 miles. I know that the only way to do this is through consistency and effort. During the challenge in 2014, I rode every single day. If I am going to beat my point total, I will need to do the same this year and increase the distance per ride. Who will join me for the challenge?
While I am happy with my progress towards my weight goal, my activity level is still below where I think it should be. I really need to get into a routine where I can increase my activity, both walking and on the bike, in order to start reaping even more benefits from the weight loss. I am noticing a difference in my body and how my clothes are fitting but I need to start building the muscles as well as stamina. I need to get my mind into an active lifestyle mindset where I am focusing more on doing things and less on just watching my diet. The diet is still a priority but while it it is a major part of the equation, it is still just a part of it.
Looking ahead to May and the National Bike challenge, my goal for this year is to beat my 2014 total of 3,136 points and 336.5 miles. I know that the only way to do this is through consistency and effort. During the challenge in 2014, I rode every single day. If I am going to beat my point total, I will need to do the same this year and increase the distance per ride. Who will join me for the challenge?
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
I'm back and getting fit
Last week my wife and I spent a wonderful 7 nights cruising from Long Beach down to the Mexican Riviera on the Carnival Miracle. We stopped at the three ports of Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta. We loved it! I highly recommend it!
That's not to say there aren't some things to watch out for on a cruise, when one is trying to get their body into a healthier shape. The two biggest threats to progress in this direction are food and drink.
OK, I know that these are daily obstacles and challenges one must contend with when on a journey to a healthier lifestyle, but let's just say they are magnified in the microcosm that is a cruise. Take Food, for example.
When you are home you can exert a pretty high degree of control over the food that you eat, primarily by limiting availability within your household pantry, or mostly by cost when you go out to eat. Not to mention that if you eat at home, there likely isn't a huge variety nor quantity. Not true on a cruise. Let's look at all of the food options while on a ship:
First and foremost there is the dining room. Its pretty straight forward with set times and menus to choose from. You have either Breakfast or Brunch, and then dinner. Where at home most people don't usually have multiple courses, every meal in the dining room consists of Starters, Main Entrees and Dessert. Add to that the fact that you can choose multiple items from each category if you so desire and you can see how this is a very dangerous place.
Just to illustrate my point, I'd like to share what I had on our first Formal Night of the cruise. For starters I had the Beefsteak Tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella and then the wild mushroom soup. My entree was the Prime rib of beef with baked potato and broccoli. Then there was dessert - Cherries Jubilee and date and fig cake. What is important to understand is this was just a typical meal.
Then there is the buffet which is open most of the day and evening. There were stations with rotating cuisine like Chinese, Italian and Caribbean. Then there were what I think of as the staples: hamburger, hot dogs, chicken finger and fries. Let's not forget the deli with made to order sandwiches, either. Most of these were open from the morning until 9:00 at night.
Add to all that the 24/7 options of soft serve ice cream cones, pizza and room service where there is a wide selection of starters, entrees, sandwiches and breakfast.
As you can see, if you are hungry on a cruise its your own fault.
Then there are the drinks. Everywhere you go on the ship there are bar waiters offering various mixed drinks or bear and wine. Sure you have to pay for them, but they are such and integrated part of the cruise. On sea days, when we headed to the show room early, we would often get a double Bloody Mary. at meals we drank water or iced tea, but then in the evening it was usually couple of beers or mixed drinks. Nothing excessive or out of the ordinary for a cruise, but it all definitely adds up.
All that being said the common belief is that people gain as much as 10 lbs. during a one week cruise. That is a lit for such a short period of time, I know, but with all of the food and drinks that are consumed, not entirely out of the realm of possibility.
One way to combat that is to have a plan - decide ahead of time what you are going to eat and stick to the plan. Every day you can go on your stateroom TV, or head by the dining room and see what the menu will be for dinner that evening. Stick to the healthier choices, or if you must try all of the great food, split the meal with someone or limit yourself to just half of the dish.
Another way is to utilize the exercise room on board or just get out and walk! The ship we were on is 959 feet long and 105 feet wide. It has 12 decks and lots of stairs. Just walking from end to end along one of the interior corridor would be about 900 feet. With 5280 feet in a mile, if you walk it 6 times you've walked a mile. If that isn't what you want to do, walk the stairs up and down from the lido deck (deck 9) to the restaurant/showroom on deck 2. Beyond that there is also a track you can walk or run up on deck 11. All of this is available even on sea days while you are moving from port to port.
Then there are the ports themselves - great opportunities to get out and explore another country or world and many of them involve physical activity. There is everything from snorkeling to horseback riding to a canopy adventure with a ropes course to just walking and sightseeing. Of course there are also the excursions where you ride a bus and drink tequila (mas tequila) which I have to say has been one of my favorites.
What I'm trying to say here is while a cruise for many (including me this time) can mean a bit of excess eating and drinking and lack of activity, it doesn't have to. There are opportunities galore to enjoy yourself and also burn off many of those possibly excessive calories.
MOVING FORWARD
So, the cruise is behind us and all that's left are the memories and the few extra pounds. Its now time to get my butt back to the task of getting myself in a better, healthier shape. To that end I have been thinking about what I want to do this year and have come up with several goals to move me in the direction I want to go.
First and foremost I need to lose weight. that is a given because the extra weight is really starting to take its toll on me and I'm tired of it. To this end I've adjusted my diet to a low-carb diet which I know will allow me to quickly get started on losing pounds. My goal is to be at 360 lbs. on January 1, 2016. I finally got the scale working this morning and it showed 463 lbs. so, 103 lbs. to lose.
Second, I need to get more active. Obviously the more active I am, the more weight I can lose. To this end I have established 4 goals. Two of the goals are for distance, two for frequency, Two for cycling, two for walking/running.
I plan on cycling at least 1500 miles this year in at least 300 rides with several key milestone rides mixed in: a 25 mile ride, a 50 kilometer ride, a 50 mile ride, a metric century and a century.
I plan on walking/running at least 300 miles this year in at least 180 walks/runs. I also have specific distances here: 5K, 10K and Half Marathon this year.
To keep track of all these goals and my progress towards them, I will be putting together a chart listing the goals and weekly progress and posting it in the right margin of this page. I know I can do this. I know I need to do this. I will do this.
What are you doing to get healthy in 2015?
As always, Get on your bikes and ride!!!!!
That's not to say there aren't some things to watch out for on a cruise, when one is trying to get their body into a healthier shape. The two biggest threats to progress in this direction are food and drink.
OK, I know that these are daily obstacles and challenges one must contend with when on a journey to a healthier lifestyle, but let's just say they are magnified in the microcosm that is a cruise. Take Food, for example.
When you are home you can exert a pretty high degree of control over the food that you eat, primarily by limiting availability within your household pantry, or mostly by cost when you go out to eat. Not to mention that if you eat at home, there likely isn't a huge variety nor quantity. Not true on a cruise. Let's look at all of the food options while on a ship:
First and foremost there is the dining room. Its pretty straight forward with set times and menus to choose from. You have either Breakfast or Brunch, and then dinner. Where at home most people don't usually have multiple courses, every meal in the dining room consists of Starters, Main Entrees and Dessert. Add to that the fact that you can choose multiple items from each category if you so desire and you can see how this is a very dangerous place.
Just to illustrate my point, I'd like to share what I had on our first Formal Night of the cruise. For starters I had the Beefsteak Tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella and then the wild mushroom soup. My entree was the Prime rib of beef with baked potato and broccoli. Then there was dessert - Cherries Jubilee and date and fig cake. What is important to understand is this was just a typical meal.
Then there is the buffet which is open most of the day and evening. There were stations with rotating cuisine like Chinese, Italian and Caribbean. Then there were what I think of as the staples: hamburger, hot dogs, chicken finger and fries. Let's not forget the deli with made to order sandwiches, either. Most of these were open from the morning until 9:00 at night.
Add to all that the 24/7 options of soft serve ice cream cones, pizza and room service where there is a wide selection of starters, entrees, sandwiches and breakfast.
As you can see, if you are hungry on a cruise its your own fault.
Then there are the drinks. Everywhere you go on the ship there are bar waiters offering various mixed drinks or bear and wine. Sure you have to pay for them, but they are such and integrated part of the cruise. On sea days, when we headed to the show room early, we would often get a double Bloody Mary. at meals we drank water or iced tea, but then in the evening it was usually couple of beers or mixed drinks. Nothing excessive or out of the ordinary for a cruise, but it all definitely adds up.
All that being said the common belief is that people gain as much as 10 lbs. during a one week cruise. That is a lit for such a short period of time, I know, but with all of the food and drinks that are consumed, not entirely out of the realm of possibility.
One way to combat that is to have a plan - decide ahead of time what you are going to eat and stick to the plan. Every day you can go on your stateroom TV, or head by the dining room and see what the menu will be for dinner that evening. Stick to the healthier choices, or if you must try all of the great food, split the meal with someone or limit yourself to just half of the dish.
Another way is to utilize the exercise room on board or just get out and walk! The ship we were on is 959 feet long and 105 feet wide. It has 12 decks and lots of stairs. Just walking from end to end along one of the interior corridor would be about 900 feet. With 5280 feet in a mile, if you walk it 6 times you've walked a mile. If that isn't what you want to do, walk the stairs up and down from the lido deck (deck 9) to the restaurant/showroom on deck 2. Beyond that there is also a track you can walk or run up on deck 11. All of this is available even on sea days while you are moving from port to port.
Then there are the ports themselves - great opportunities to get out and explore another country or world and many of them involve physical activity. There is everything from snorkeling to horseback riding to a canopy adventure with a ropes course to just walking and sightseeing. Of course there are also the excursions where you ride a bus and drink tequila (mas tequila) which I have to say has been one of my favorites.
What I'm trying to say here is while a cruise for many (including me this time) can mean a bit of excess eating and drinking and lack of activity, it doesn't have to. There are opportunities galore to enjoy yourself and also burn off many of those possibly excessive calories.
MOVING FORWARD
So, the cruise is behind us and all that's left are the memories and the few extra pounds. Its now time to get my butt back to the task of getting myself in a better, healthier shape. To that end I have been thinking about what I want to do this year and have come up with several goals to move me in the direction I want to go.
First and foremost I need to lose weight. that is a given because the extra weight is really starting to take its toll on me and I'm tired of it. To this end I've adjusted my diet to a low-carb diet which I know will allow me to quickly get started on losing pounds. My goal is to be at 360 lbs. on January 1, 2016. I finally got the scale working this morning and it showed 463 lbs. so, 103 lbs. to lose.
Second, I need to get more active. Obviously the more active I am, the more weight I can lose. To this end I have established 4 goals. Two of the goals are for distance, two for frequency, Two for cycling, two for walking/running.
I plan on cycling at least 1500 miles this year in at least 300 rides with several key milestone rides mixed in: a 25 mile ride, a 50 kilometer ride, a 50 mile ride, a metric century and a century.
I plan on walking/running at least 300 miles this year in at least 180 walks/runs. I also have specific distances here: 5K, 10K and Half Marathon this year.
To keep track of all these goals and my progress towards them, I will be putting together a chart listing the goals and weekly progress and posting it in the right margin of this page. I know I can do this. I know I need to do this. I will do this.
What are you doing to get healthy in 2015?
As always, Get on your bikes and ride!!!!!
Monday, January 5, 2015
Holding pattern
Ok, I know its not much of an excuse but I know me so it's pretty valid. I'm holding off starting any real plans for getting healthy and losing weight this year until after my cruise next week. Yes, I said my cruise next week.
The wife and I are heading out of town on a big boat full of lots of enticing food for a 7 day holiday in celebration of our 20 years of marriage. I could spout off how I'm planning on watching what I eat and limiting my intake over those seven days but I would just be setting myself up for disappointment, having been on several cruises in the past. I know the siren song of the buffets and the ice cream and the wonderful foods at dinner will be hard to resist and I will fail to resist.
Instead of making promises to myself and to you that I know I won't keep, let's just say I will limit myself to not eating myself into a stupor and look to get at least some exercise every day while on vacation. That is something I can do. Then, when we get back it will be time to start seriously taking care of business in terms of getting healthy and losing weight.
Part of this cruise will be to relax and refocus myself on what needs to be done. I will be formulating a plan and posting the details of my goals for this year when I get home. I do know that 2015 will see me getting much healthier and more fit, no exceptions.
I hope you will also set and meet your goals for the new year.
The wife and I are heading out of town on a big boat full of lots of enticing food for a 7 day holiday in celebration of our 20 years of marriage. I could spout off how I'm planning on watching what I eat and limiting my intake over those seven days but I would just be setting myself up for disappointment, having been on several cruises in the past. I know the siren song of the buffets and the ice cream and the wonderful foods at dinner will be hard to resist and I will fail to resist.
Instead of making promises to myself and to you that I know I won't keep, let's just say I will limit myself to not eating myself into a stupor and look to get at least some exercise every day while on vacation. That is something I can do. Then, when we get back it will be time to start seriously taking care of business in terms of getting healthy and losing weight.
Part of this cruise will be to relax and refocus myself on what needs to be done. I will be formulating a plan and posting the details of my goals for this year when I get home. I do know that 2015 will see me getting much healthier and more fit, no exceptions.
I hope you will also set and meet your goals for the new year.
Thursday, May 15, 2014
A Personal Biking Challenge
I find I do much better at staying focused and motivated to do what I need to if I have some type of a challenge in which I am participating. Last year I challenged myself to ride every day in the month of August. I was successful and met that challenge. Having done so I rode a total of 220 miles, my highest mileage month last year. I know it was good for me to be riding that much and I need to do more of it.
I also think back to when I was a young teen/preteen and I rode everyday. Not only was it my primary mode of transport, but it was fun! We would ride for the fun of it with no particular destination in mind. Sure there are way more priorities and time is not as free as it was then, but I still think I need that freedom and getting out to just ride. I need it for my physical as well as my mental well being.
To that end I have come up with a personal challenge for the next 6 months - ride my bike at least once a day, every day. I do realize this is a huge commitment and it will be a challenge to accomplish it, but that is my goal.
Now there may be some debate as to what it means to ride my bike every day. As far as I'm concerned throwing my leg over the top tube and pedaling any distance is riding my bike. To record the occurrences I will be relying on my Garmin and uploading the data to the various tracking sites like Map My Ride, Strava and Daily Mile.
I have even created a personal challenge on Map My Ride to track my progress towards this goal. I'm hoping to be able to add some sort of widget to the right on my blog to help track this as well. We'll see about that.
The Challenge starts tomorrow and runs until November 14. I hope to be able to report on that date that I was successful and rode every day between now and then.
What challenge will you give yourself?
Get on your bikes and ride!!!!!!!
I also think back to when I was a young teen/preteen and I rode everyday. Not only was it my primary mode of transport, but it was fun! We would ride for the fun of it with no particular destination in mind. Sure there are way more priorities and time is not as free as it was then, but I still think I need that freedom and getting out to just ride. I need it for my physical as well as my mental well being.
To that end I have come up with a personal challenge for the next 6 months - ride my bike at least once a day, every day. I do realize this is a huge commitment and it will be a challenge to accomplish it, but that is my goal.
Now there may be some debate as to what it means to ride my bike every day. As far as I'm concerned throwing my leg over the top tube and pedaling any distance is riding my bike. To record the occurrences I will be relying on my Garmin and uploading the data to the various tracking sites like Map My Ride, Strava and Daily Mile.
I have even created a personal challenge on Map My Ride to track my progress towards this goal. I'm hoping to be able to add some sort of widget to the right on my blog to help track this as well. We'll see about that.
The Challenge starts tomorrow and runs until November 14. I hope to be able to report on that date that I was successful and rode every day between now and then.
What challenge will you give yourself?
Get on your bikes and ride!!!!!!!
Friday, January 31, 2014
Sad News - Viva Bike Vegas cancelled!
I have enjoyed riding in the Viva Bike Vegas cycling event the last 2 years - once solo and once with my dad. You can read about the rides here and here. I was just looking at the calendar and wondering when the ride was this year, as I am planning out my training for Pumpkinman, and I was having trouble finding the date for the event.
I finally found their FaceBook page (of all things) and it listed there an apology that they are not doing this ride anymore, preferring to focus more on local community events. I am really a bit heartbroken! I am certainly glad I got to do this event with my father last year.
Now I have to start looking around for other cycling events to help keep me motivated in my training. Its such a long time until Pumpkinman that I know from experience I can lose my focus and stop doing all that I should to prepare for the event.
So, any local events here in the Las Vegas area that you might reccomend?
I finally found their FaceBook page (of all things) and it listed there an apology that they are not doing this ride anymore, preferring to focus more on local community events. I am really a bit heartbroken! I am certainly glad I got to do this event with my father last year.
Now I have to start looking around for other cycling events to help keep me motivated in my training. Its such a long time until Pumpkinman that I know from experience I can lose my focus and stop doing all that I should to prepare for the event.
So, any local events here in the Las Vegas area that you might reccomend?
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
What to do to get in shape.
Since I want to become and Ironman I need to work on my skills, stamina and ability in the 3 disciplines - Swimming, Riding and Running. I know there is a long way to go to get into any kind of shape to complete a sprint triathlon, let alone an Ironman. The one and only triathlon I have done was Pumpkinman back in 2010. Read about it here.
My goal then was to just complete the 3 events, which I did. My time was horrible, but I did complete them.
Thinking about it, it makes sense to try the same race again this year, but make it a stepping stone to other triathlons of longer duration. I am going to train to compete int he 2014 Pumpkinman Triathlon which takes place on 10/25/2014. I've done it once so I know what to expect and I will train much harder for it. Last time I had no time goal, this time I hope to complete the course in less than 2 and a half hours.
I know I need to train for this as my goal is an hour faster than I completed it in 2010. I can do it, all it takes is hard work, preparation and determination. One good thing is I am starting my training at least 2 months sooner than I did in 2010 plus I think I am more dedicated since this is but an interim goal on the way to a much larger goal and not an end in and of itself.
Anyone want to join my for some swimming, riding and running in October in Las Vegas?
My goal then was to just complete the 3 events, which I did. My time was horrible, but I did complete them.
Thinking about it, it makes sense to try the same race again this year, but make it a stepping stone to other triathlons of longer duration. I am going to train to compete int he 2014 Pumpkinman Triathlon which takes place on 10/25/2014. I've done it once so I know what to expect and I will train much harder for it. Last time I had no time goal, this time I hope to complete the course in less than 2 and a half hours.
I know I need to train for this as my goal is an hour faster than I completed it in 2010. I can do it, all it takes is hard work, preparation and determination. One good thing is I am starting my training at least 2 months sooner than I did in 2010 plus I think I am more dedicated since this is but an interim goal on the way to a much larger goal and not an end in and of itself.
Anyone want to join my for some swimming, riding and running in October in Las Vegas?
Monday, January 13, 2014
A visit to the doctor
OK, I have to come clean. I don't like going to the doctor. Pretty much I figure if it ain't broke, don't fix it, but that attitude only works so far. There are things that could be broke and you won't know about it until its too late. So with this in mind, I am now working with a doctor to get and stay healthy.
One of my main concerns that I knew needed to be addressed is my blood pressure. I have very high blood pressure, it seems based upon the readings at the doctors on Friday. I have also been retaining fluids in my legs and so we are starting with 2 medications at this time. One is to address the blood pressure and the other is to address the fluid retention.
As I mentioned in my previous post, I started the year at an almost all time high weight of 470.4. I knew a portion of that was retained fluids from the trip to the hospital and so I am happy to report that after 4 days on the medication I am down to 457.6. That's not an unheard of amount of loss considering the vast majority of it has been fluids.
My goal is to keep up this loss and steadily reduce my weight through the rest of the year. I have been eating healthier and less and know I can do this. I think a reasonable number of pounds to lose in the year would be 100. That means that on January 1, 2015 my goal is to weigh 370 lbs. Will this be easy? No, it won't it will take focus and dedication, but I know I can do it. I have to do it as my health requires it.
With this thought in mind, I am adding a ticker to the right side indicating my current weight and I will be updating it about once a week so I can monitor my progress towards my goal.
One of my main concerns that I knew needed to be addressed is my blood pressure. I have very high blood pressure, it seems based upon the readings at the doctors on Friday. I have also been retaining fluids in my legs and so we are starting with 2 medications at this time. One is to address the blood pressure and the other is to address the fluid retention.
As I mentioned in my previous post, I started the year at an almost all time high weight of 470.4. I knew a portion of that was retained fluids from the trip to the hospital and so I am happy to report that after 4 days on the medication I am down to 457.6. That's not an unheard of amount of loss considering the vast majority of it has been fluids.
My goal is to keep up this loss and steadily reduce my weight through the rest of the year. I have been eating healthier and less and know I can do this. I think a reasonable number of pounds to lose in the year would be 100. That means that on January 1, 2015 my goal is to weigh 370 lbs. Will this be easy? No, it won't it will take focus and dedication, but I know I can do it. I have to do it as my health requires it.
With this thought in mind, I am adding a ticker to the right side indicating my current weight and I will be updating it about once a week so I can monitor my progress towards my goal.
Monday, January 6, 2014
2013 is done, bring on 2014
OK, I guess its almost a requirement for anyone who is writing a blog to post a year end wrap up and look forward to the New Year. So here is mine.
2013 saw me participate in several events, all of a cycling nature. The first was the Tour De Cure where I was totally unprepared for the difficulty of the hills on the chosen course and I had my only DNF. Next was Fatty's 100 Miles of Nowhere where I completed a metric century of which I am very proud.. After that was the Viva Bike Vegas, which I got to ride with my dad and is the highlight of my year. Last was the BIKE:MS challenge where I completed the 30 miles day one ride with no problems.
Unfortunately I didn't hit my mileage goal for the year and the only one to blame was myself. In fact I was just shy of 1000 miles for the year.
The year ended with a bit of a health scare and 4 days spent in the hospital. Seems I had a bit of an intra-abdominal bleed which caused my blood pressure to drop dangerously low. Among the effects from this was a temporary shut down of my kidneys and very low hemoglobin. The good news is that 4 days of IV fluids, some antibiotics, iron and potassium and I was well enough to head home. Unfortunately 4 days of bed rest has left me bloated, stiff and hardly able to walk, but that is improving day by day.
This was a wake up call and I am actually seeking out a new primary physician and have an appointment coming up this Friday. Time to start taking my health seriously. One major issue is my weight which has unfortunately gone back up. On 1/2 I weighed myself and was not happy - 470.4 lbs. I know several of the pounds are from the fluids I still have to work out of my body, but its still a horrible number. Time for a serious commitment to doing what I know is right.
We have joined a new Planet Fitness opening near our house very soon and will be spending quality time there several days per week. I will also get back on my bike and get more miles in this year. I'm aiming high again - 2014 in 2014.
As for organized events, the only one I have planned so far is the Tour De Cure ride coming up the first weekend in May. I hope to redeem myself after last year's poor performance. The main focus will be losing weight and getting healthy as the title of the blog goes.
I hope everyone has a healthy and active Year.
Get on your bikes and ride!!!!
2013 saw me participate in several events, all of a cycling nature. The first was the Tour De Cure where I was totally unprepared for the difficulty of the hills on the chosen course and I had my only DNF. Next was Fatty's 100 Miles of Nowhere where I completed a metric century of which I am very proud.. After that was the Viva Bike Vegas, which I got to ride with my dad and is the highlight of my year. Last was the BIKE:MS challenge where I completed the 30 miles day one ride with no problems.
Unfortunately I didn't hit my mileage goal for the year and the only one to blame was myself. In fact I was just shy of 1000 miles for the year.
The year ended with a bit of a health scare and 4 days spent in the hospital. Seems I had a bit of an intra-abdominal bleed which caused my blood pressure to drop dangerously low. Among the effects from this was a temporary shut down of my kidneys and very low hemoglobin. The good news is that 4 days of IV fluids, some antibiotics, iron and potassium and I was well enough to head home. Unfortunately 4 days of bed rest has left me bloated, stiff and hardly able to walk, but that is improving day by day.
This was a wake up call and I am actually seeking out a new primary physician and have an appointment coming up this Friday. Time to start taking my health seriously. One major issue is my weight which has unfortunately gone back up. On 1/2 I weighed myself and was not happy - 470.4 lbs. I know several of the pounds are from the fluids I still have to work out of my body, but its still a horrible number. Time for a serious commitment to doing what I know is right.
We have joined a new Planet Fitness opening near our house very soon and will be spending quality time there several days per week. I will also get back on my bike and get more miles in this year. I'm aiming high again - 2014 in 2014.
As for organized events, the only one I have planned so far is the Tour De Cure ride coming up the first weekend in May. I hope to redeem myself after last year's poor performance. The main focus will be losing weight and getting healthy as the title of the blog goes.
I hope everyone has a healthy and active Year.
Get on your bikes and ride!!!!
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
September review and October Goals
The month of September was awesome. While I didn't hit my mileage goal of 240 miles for the month having only ridden 160 miles, I'm OK with that. There were other, more important goals that were met.
My dad and I rode Viva Bike Vegas 2013 together which was awesome. We also got in some other, quality rides after the big ride while they were visiting. As he said, its too bad we don't live closer so that we can ride together more.
Besides a quick ride around Long Lake with my dad and my brother in 2011 when we were up at my brother's cabin, this was the first chance we had to ride together in over 30 years. 30+ years ago we had ridden in several Bike-A-Thons for the March of Dimes, the last a 100 miler. Funny how we never "trained" for those rides, but just did them as a matter of course. They were easy since we were riding everywhere back then.
So, while I didn't make my mileage goal for September, I've decided to set a new one for October,increasing the mileage for the month. Leaving room for missed days and with hoping to get in longer rides leading up to the Bike MS back to back 30 milers, my goal is 300 miles for October.
Decided to start off strong and I was planning on putting in at least 12 miles this morning, but it seemed the fates had other plans for me and I decided to listen to them. I woke up about 10 minutes before the alarm was set to go off and my stomach was having issues. After attending to that I got dressed and headed downstairs.
I got ready, put air in the tires and turned on my Garmin. I grabbed my helmet, turned on the lights and was waiting for my Garmin to Sync with the satellites. I looked at it to check the progress and noticed it was off. I thought maybe I hadn't turned it on so I tried again. Nope it turned right off. For some reason the battery was dead. I always download and charge it every time I use it so this was a mystery to me.
I still had my Fitbit so I could time the ride, I just wouldn't have the file to upload to the various sites. So I started the timer and set off. The first couple of laps went well with nothing remarkable happening. On the third lap I noticed my front light getting dimmer and dimmer and within a half mile it was out. Now with the crazy inattentive drivers and the early morning I knew it wasn't safe to ride without a light for visibility. I headed in when I got back to the house, found the new package of batteries an changed them out. I turned the light on and it was nice and bright.
The strangest thing happened then. I turned my bike around and prepared to head out to put in some more miles and my light turned itself off. No matter what I tried, it refused to turn back on. SO I recognized the fact that someone or something didn't want me to ride this morning and put my bike away and came into the house, calling it a day.
So, to summarize, my October riding has started with a mere 3 miles today.
Hope you can get on your bikes and ride!
My dad and I rode Viva Bike Vegas 2013 together which was awesome. We also got in some other, quality rides after the big ride while they were visiting. As he said, its too bad we don't live closer so that we can ride together more.
Besides a quick ride around Long Lake with my dad and my brother in 2011 when we were up at my brother's cabin, this was the first chance we had to ride together in over 30 years. 30+ years ago we had ridden in several Bike-A-Thons for the March of Dimes, the last a 100 miler. Funny how we never "trained" for those rides, but just did them as a matter of course. They were easy since we were riding everywhere back then.
So, while I didn't make my mileage goal for September, I've decided to set a new one for October,increasing the mileage for the month. Leaving room for missed days and with hoping to get in longer rides leading up to the Bike MS back to back 30 milers, my goal is 300 miles for October.
Decided to start off strong and I was planning on putting in at least 12 miles this morning, but it seemed the fates had other plans for me and I decided to listen to them. I woke up about 10 minutes before the alarm was set to go off and my stomach was having issues. After attending to that I got dressed and headed downstairs.
I got ready, put air in the tires and turned on my Garmin. I grabbed my helmet, turned on the lights and was waiting for my Garmin to Sync with the satellites. I looked at it to check the progress and noticed it was off. I thought maybe I hadn't turned it on so I tried again. Nope it turned right off. For some reason the battery was dead. I always download and charge it every time I use it so this was a mystery to me.
I still had my Fitbit so I could time the ride, I just wouldn't have the file to upload to the various sites. So I started the timer and set off. The first couple of laps went well with nothing remarkable happening. On the third lap I noticed my front light getting dimmer and dimmer and within a half mile it was out. Now with the crazy inattentive drivers and the early morning I knew it wasn't safe to ride without a light for visibility. I headed in when I got back to the house, found the new package of batteries an changed them out. I turned the light on and it was nice and bright.
The strangest thing happened then. I turned my bike around and prepared to head out to put in some more miles and my light turned itself off. No matter what I tried, it refused to turn back on. SO I recognized the fact that someone or something didn't want me to ride this morning and put my bike away and came into the house, calling it a day.
So, to summarize, my October riding has started with a mere 3 miles today.
Hope you can get on your bikes and ride!
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Reflections on my 51st birthday...
Its been over 3 years that I've been posting to this blog and honestly, I've not made much progress towards my title's goal of losing weight and getting healthy. In the last 3 years I have done some thing I never would have imagined.
I've completed a very challenging triathlon, I've ridden more miles than I can count, I've completed several group rides including Last year's Viva Bike Vegas, a metric century for Fatty's 100 MON 2013 and The previous year's Corporate challenge bike race.
Over the last 3+ years I've lost and regained over 200 lbs. I've restarted my efforts numerous times and am restarting again. Today.
More importantly I've figured out a few thing about myself and made a few friends through this wonderful medium of technology.
I've ridden along with so many other riders who have accomplished significant, awe inspiring things. I've also re-ignited my love of cycling fro when I was a kid.
As I reflect back on the these things, I also have to look forward and start to shape my future plans.
This Saturday I'm looking forward to an awesome ride with my dad in the Viva Bike Vegas.
Beyond that I'm doing the Bike MS Vegas Challenge in November, the Tour De Cure Las Vegas next April and I hope to complete Fatty's 100 MON next year as well with a true Century.
While those are personal goals, I have others as well. I want to encourage my grandchildren to ride more and take them on longer and longer rides. I am going to look into adding a different form of riding to my repertoire - Mountain Biking. As I become at least a little proficient in that, I'm going to look into the local MTB scene and possibly look at starting some type of MTB team in the local schools.
There is so much more I want to accomplish and I recognizer that I need to be healthy for many years to do it. Riding is just not enough. I need to tackle the food demon that has me constantly eating more than I should. I need to keep away from those foods I know that are bad for me and focus on the good. I need to also focus on portion control and impulse control. I can and will conquer this.
Funny, but it seems easier to me to ride 100 miles than to constantly focus on what I'm eating. I guess the reason is that when you are riding there is a set distance and a beginning and an end and the progress is very real and self evident. In the eating arena and losing weight, there really is no end to the eating right and the progress is so much slower that it is easily doubted.
I am using this occasion to get back on track and into the groove My goal is that on my 52nd birthday I will be at least 100 lbs lighter than I am right now.
As fizzhog so eloquently puts it.
Eat better.
Ride your bike.
I've completed a very challenging triathlon, I've ridden more miles than I can count, I've completed several group rides including Last year's Viva Bike Vegas, a metric century for Fatty's 100 MON 2013 and The previous year's Corporate challenge bike race.
Over the last 3+ years I've lost and regained over 200 lbs. I've restarted my efforts numerous times and am restarting again. Today.
More importantly I've figured out a few thing about myself and made a few friends through this wonderful medium of technology.
I've ridden along with so many other riders who have accomplished significant, awe inspiring things. I've also re-ignited my love of cycling fro when I was a kid.
As I reflect back on the these things, I also have to look forward and start to shape my future plans.
This Saturday I'm looking forward to an awesome ride with my dad in the Viva Bike Vegas.
Beyond that I'm doing the Bike MS Vegas Challenge in November, the Tour De Cure Las Vegas next April and I hope to complete Fatty's 100 MON next year as well with a true Century.
While those are personal goals, I have others as well. I want to encourage my grandchildren to ride more and take them on longer and longer rides. I am going to look into adding a different form of riding to my repertoire - Mountain Biking. As I become at least a little proficient in that, I'm going to look into the local MTB scene and possibly look at starting some type of MTB team in the local schools.
There is so much more I want to accomplish and I recognizer that I need to be healthy for many years to do it. Riding is just not enough. I need to tackle the food demon that has me constantly eating more than I should. I need to keep away from those foods I know that are bad for me and focus on the good. I need to also focus on portion control and impulse control. I can and will conquer this.
Funny, but it seems easier to me to ride 100 miles than to constantly focus on what I'm eating. I guess the reason is that when you are riding there is a set distance and a beginning and an end and the progress is very real and self evident. In the eating arena and losing weight, there really is no end to the eating right and the progress is so much slower that it is easily doubted.
I am using this occasion to get back on track and into the groove My goal is that on my 52nd birthday I will be at least 100 lbs lighter than I am right now.
As fizzhog so eloquently puts it.
Eat better.
Ride your bike.
Monday, September 16, 2013
Best laid plans...
As I posted last week, I had been planning on riding in the 3 Feet for Pete ride. The date of this ride was 9/14/13 which also happens to be my daughter's birthday. It is also the date when my nephew and niece needed to get to the airport early. To make a long story short, I was babysitting the grandkids instead of riding on Saturday morning.
I didn't mind not riding. Its always fun spending time with the grandkids. We had breakfast together and watched some TV and they played. When my wife and daughter got home, we then got the kids ready and went out for a combined birthday lunch for my daughter and myself.
Now, I didn't ride Friday morning, thinking I was going to ride on Saturday. On Sunday morning I was plan lazy and didn't get out to ride before the temperature shot up into the 90's so I didn't ride then either.
So the weekend was a bust in terms of getting miles in. I did get out this morning and put in 10.4 miles so I'm getting back into the swing of things. I'm planning on riding at least 10 miles per day the next 3 days and then a bit less on Friday as my parents will be here and my dad and I will do a last ride before the Viva Bike Vegas ride on Saturday. This will be a shake down to make sure the bikes are ready for Saturday morning.
So, this morning's ride takes me over the 100 mile mark for the month of September. In fact I'm at 102/2 miles for the month. Not bad, but I have to make up some miles to hit my goal of at least 240.
I hope the rain isn't too bad across the country and you are able to...
GET ON YOUR BIKES AND RIDE!!!!!
I didn't mind not riding. Its always fun spending time with the grandkids. We had breakfast together and watched some TV and they played. When my wife and daughter got home, we then got the kids ready and went out for a combined birthday lunch for my daughter and myself.
Now, I didn't ride Friday morning, thinking I was going to ride on Saturday. On Sunday morning I was plan lazy and didn't get out to ride before the temperature shot up into the 90's so I didn't ride then either.
So the weekend was a bust in terms of getting miles in. I did get out this morning and put in 10.4 miles so I'm getting back into the swing of things. I'm planning on riding at least 10 miles per day the next 3 days and then a bit less on Friday as my parents will be here and my dad and I will do a last ride before the Viva Bike Vegas ride on Saturday. This will be a shake down to make sure the bikes are ready for Saturday morning.
So, this morning's ride takes me over the 100 mile mark for the month of September. In fact I'm at 102/2 miles for the month. Not bad, but I have to make up some miles to hit my goal of at least 240.
I hope the rain isn't too bad across the country and you are able to...
GET ON YOUR BIKES AND RIDE!!!!!
Thursday, August 15, 2013
August Challenge Day 15 Ride 15
It was a little warmer this morning in the mid 70's and the humidity was up a bit as well to close to 30%. I can hear everyone from other parts of the country say "you call that humidity?" Just remember this IS the desert. My legs were feeling a bit tired and heavy as well.
I did see a rabbit twice this morning. Not sure if they were 2 different rabbits or the same rabbit both times as the sightings were about 20 minutes and a quarter mile apart. Traffic was also the lightest its been all week during my early morning, but there were a couple of drivers who slammed on their brakes at the last minute, obviously used to sailing through the stop signs.
I also saw a teenager on a mountain bike with a back pack. Not sure where he was going to or from, but he was headed south on El Capitan Way at just the wrong speed where I had to slow way down to keep from impacting him as I made my turn onto Mackanos while he continued south. He never knew I was there.
Stats:
10.4 miles
46:02 elapsed time
Month to date:
118.9 miles
9:20:52 elapsed time
Keep those pedals turning!
I did see a rabbit twice this morning. Not sure if they were 2 different rabbits or the same rabbit both times as the sightings were about 20 minutes and a quarter mile apart. Traffic was also the lightest its been all week during my early morning, but there were a couple of drivers who slammed on their brakes at the last minute, obviously used to sailing through the stop signs.
I also saw a teenager on a mountain bike with a back pack. Not sure where he was going to or from, but he was headed south on El Capitan Way at just the wrong speed where I had to slow way down to keep from impacting him as I made my turn onto Mackanos while he continued south. He never knew I was there.
Stats:
10.4 miles
46:02 elapsed time
Month to date:
118.9 miles
9:20:52 elapsed time
Keep those pedals turning!
Monday, August 12, 2013
August Challenge Rdies 11 and 12
So far so good on the August Challenge. 12 days - 12 rides. Not a bad streak but I'm not even halfway there yet.
These 2 rides happened almost exactly 9 hours apart. Ride eleven was a fun little ramble around the neighborhood with the grand kids. We had fun and I'm amazed at how quickly they are progressing. Where a few weeks ago they would complain and want to take a break before we completed one lap, yesterday they were raring to go for multiple laps. The 3 boys actually did 4 or 5 laps and were doing great!
Stats for ride 11:
3.0 miles
0:21:45 elapsed time
This morning it was back at it - up at 4:00 and out riding by 4:07. There were a few remarkable things about this morning's ride. The traffic was awfully busy for that time of the morning. I must have been passed by 20+ cars. I know that's not a lot for most people, but that is one of the reasons that I like the early morning rides - virtually no traffic. Among the cars were an NHP cruiser and about 10 minutes later an LVMPD cruiser. What was remarkable was they both headed in the same direction - south on Pebble towards Durango.
I also saw a group of 4 riders headed north on Pebble towards fort Apache all decked out in their matching kits. I couldn't read what they said but they were all while and green.
One other item to note was I saw a young boy - probably 11 or 12 riding a much too big bike with no lights. He slowed and was waiting to turn onto El Capitan Way, but I slowed to wait for him to see if he was all right, but he disappeared. Not sure if he changed his mind about turning or rode into the new sub on the corner, but I couldn't find him. He just seemed out of place at that time of the morning.
Ride 12 stats:
10.4 miles
0:46:31 Elapsed time
Month to date:
87.7 miles
7:03:20 Elapsed time
Keep those pedals turning!
These 2 rides happened almost exactly 9 hours apart. Ride eleven was a fun little ramble around the neighborhood with the grand kids. We had fun and I'm amazed at how quickly they are progressing. Where a few weeks ago they would complain and want to take a break before we completed one lap, yesterday they were raring to go for multiple laps. The 3 boys actually did 4 or 5 laps and were doing great!
Stats for ride 11:
3.0 miles
0:21:45 elapsed time
This morning it was back at it - up at 4:00 and out riding by 4:07. There were a few remarkable things about this morning's ride. The traffic was awfully busy for that time of the morning. I must have been passed by 20+ cars. I know that's not a lot for most people, but that is one of the reasons that I like the early morning rides - virtually no traffic. Among the cars were an NHP cruiser and about 10 minutes later an LVMPD cruiser. What was remarkable was they both headed in the same direction - south on Pebble towards Durango.
I also saw a group of 4 riders headed north on Pebble towards fort Apache all decked out in their matching kits. I couldn't read what they said but they were all while and green.
One other item to note was I saw a young boy - probably 11 or 12 riding a much too big bike with no lights. He slowed and was waiting to turn onto El Capitan Way, but I slowed to wait for him to see if he was all right, but he disappeared. Not sure if he changed his mind about turning or rode into the new sub on the corner, but I couldn't find him. He just seemed out of place at that time of the morning.
Ride 12 stats:
10.4 miles
0:46:31 Elapsed time
Month to date:
87.7 miles
7:03:20 Elapsed time
Keep those pedals turning!
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Decision made - focus on riding
For the last several days I have been toying with the idea of possibly competing in the Pumpkinman Sprint Triathlon coming this October. I've been looking at where I am and where I want to go fitness-wise and trying to decide if I want to put my limited time over the next few months into a multi-sport effort, or if I want to focus on one sport. I've decided to focus on one sport for this year, but I will do Pumpkinman in 2014.
With the upcoming rides and a few more I want to do in the next year, I think I should focus on improving both my speed and stamina on the bike. I want to get to a point where the 100 MON next year is no problem. I want to be able to do the Tour De Cure and other events without being the last rider. In order to do that I have to be more disciplined and focused on riding. Besides I enjoy riding so much more than running that I'm more likely to do it.
I've spent a lot of time over the last few day reading other's report on rides they've done. From Fatty's epic 10 part (so far) report of the Rockwell relay (Part One here) to a few of the other teams reports like team Crankenstein and Team Keep It Clean. I've also read all of the 100 MON reports that Fatty has posted. These have all inspired me to ride more.
Add to those stories various journals on Crazy Guy On A Bike and there is a real desire to improve my ability to ride longer distance and to experience more of this country from my saddle. Andy Peat's journal of going south from SanDiego through Central and South America is really inspiring. Especially his images from Macchu Picchu. Mark and Julie Lovegood's Transam journal on a Pinot tandem is inspiring as well. All the people they've met and the kindness shared restores my faith in the goodness of people. Then there is Bobby and Thane's journal of their Transam journey. Their insights and passion for meeting the people and rejoicing in the freedom and ability to tour is infectious. That they are from Michigan makes them kindred spirits.that they only met less than a year before starting their tour is just astounding and shows great faith in each other.
These journals make me want to improve my abilities so I can get out there on the road and experience some of this first hand.
So Starting now, I have new goals and a plan for improvement. Acknowledging that it is just too blasted hot to ride during the day, I will get out at least 3 times per week for the next couple of months. These will be early morning rides to hopefully beat the heat. Once we have some cooler weather, probably about mid-September, I will be increasing this to 5 rides per week. I am still planning on hitting my goal of riding 2013 miles this calendar year. I realize I am a bit behind where I wanted to be, but there is still 1/2 a year to make that up.
Get out there and ride your bike!
With the upcoming rides and a few more I want to do in the next year, I think I should focus on improving both my speed and stamina on the bike. I want to get to a point where the 100 MON next year is no problem. I want to be able to do the Tour De Cure and other events without being the last rider. In order to do that I have to be more disciplined and focused on riding. Besides I enjoy riding so much more than running that I'm more likely to do it.
I've spent a lot of time over the last few day reading other's report on rides they've done. From Fatty's epic 10 part (so far) report of the Rockwell relay (Part One here) to a few of the other teams reports like team Crankenstein and Team Keep It Clean. I've also read all of the 100 MON reports that Fatty has posted. These have all inspired me to ride more.
Add to those stories various journals on Crazy Guy On A Bike and there is a real desire to improve my ability to ride longer distance and to experience more of this country from my saddle. Andy Peat's journal of going south from SanDiego through Central and South America is really inspiring. Especially his images from Macchu Picchu. Mark and Julie Lovegood's Transam journal on a Pinot tandem is inspiring as well. All the people they've met and the kindness shared restores my faith in the goodness of people. Then there is Bobby and Thane's journal of their Transam journey. Their insights and passion for meeting the people and rejoicing in the freedom and ability to tour is infectious. That they are from Michigan makes them kindred spirits.that they only met less than a year before starting their tour is just astounding and shows great faith in each other.
These journals make me want to improve my abilities so I can get out there on the road and experience some of this first hand.
So Starting now, I have new goals and a plan for improvement. Acknowledging that it is just too blasted hot to ride during the day, I will get out at least 3 times per week for the next couple of months. These will be early morning rides to hopefully beat the heat. Once we have some cooler weather, probably about mid-September, I will be increasing this to 5 rides per week. I am still planning on hitting my goal of riding 2013 miles this calendar year. I realize I am a bit behind where I wanted to be, but there is still 1/2 a year to make that up.
Get out there and ride your bike!
Friday, December 14, 2012
A Long Overdue Update
For anyone who does stop in to read, I must apologize for the time that has lapsed since my last post. We all know that the best of intentions don't always end up with the best results. Frankly there hasn't been a lot to talk about. I haven't been riding, I have been watching my diet, through.
I joined a challenge on FitBit.com to lose 50 lbs. The challenge is simply - whoever loses 50 lbs. first gets the first place prize, second gets second place, etc. This challenge started on December 1st so I weighed in for the challenge the evening of November 30, after dinner of course. I couldn't believe what the scale said: 464.4 lbs! That's the heaviest I have been in almost 3 years - up 80 lbs from my lowest when I did Pumpkinman 2 years ago.
This was an eye opener for sure. I was glad I had already decided it was time to get back into the process of getting healthy because this was unacceptable.
That was 2 weeks ago and I have to say that combining a bit more walking with truly watching what I'm eating and going back to the low carb diet has paid off. As of this morning my weight is 441.8! That is a 22.6 pound loss in only 2 weeks. Yes I know this is not truly a sustainable trend and that a large part of the initial loss was fluids, but still it is definite progress in the right direction. I also has me in first place for the challenge as well by a significant margin.
With this in mind over the next couple of weeks I'm going to try to stick to the every Friday updates and monitor my progress on here for even more accountability Along the way I'll look back over the year to see what I've managed to accomplish and set the stage for new goals for 2013.
Also, here is a picture of me at the Viva Bike Vegas event back in October:
This is my before picture. Never again will I be this size. I am hoping to have another picture from this event in 2013 and there will be a dramatic difference between the pictures.
That said here is my FitBit data for the last week:
Steps: 22670
Miles: 11.28
Calories Eaten: 16009
Calories burned: 24612
Net: -8603
As you can see, this is not bad, but it can be better.
I joined a challenge on FitBit.com to lose 50 lbs. The challenge is simply - whoever loses 50 lbs. first gets the first place prize, second gets second place, etc. This challenge started on December 1st so I weighed in for the challenge the evening of November 30, after dinner of course. I couldn't believe what the scale said: 464.4 lbs! That's the heaviest I have been in almost 3 years - up 80 lbs from my lowest when I did Pumpkinman 2 years ago.
This was an eye opener for sure. I was glad I had already decided it was time to get back into the process of getting healthy because this was unacceptable.
That was 2 weeks ago and I have to say that combining a bit more walking with truly watching what I'm eating and going back to the low carb diet has paid off. As of this morning my weight is 441.8! That is a 22.6 pound loss in only 2 weeks. Yes I know this is not truly a sustainable trend and that a large part of the initial loss was fluids, but still it is definite progress in the right direction. I also has me in first place for the challenge as well by a significant margin.
With this in mind over the next couple of weeks I'm going to try to stick to the every Friday updates and monitor my progress on here for even more accountability Along the way I'll look back over the year to see what I've managed to accomplish and set the stage for new goals for 2013.
Also, here is a picture of me at the Viva Bike Vegas event back in October:
This is my before picture. Never again will I be this size. I am hoping to have another picture from this event in 2013 and there will be a dramatic difference between the pictures.
That said here is my FitBit data for the last week:
Steps: 22670
Miles: 11.28
Calories Eaten: 16009
Calories burned: 24612
Net: -8603
As you can see, this is not bad, but it can be better.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Habits
I've been thinking a lot about habits the last few days, both good and bad. I heard it said a long time ago that if you do something for 21 days, that it will become a habit. It doesn't matter if its something good, or bad, just the act of repeating the same activity for that amount of time tends to imprint it rather deeply into our brains.
A web search reveals that this may not necessarily be true. It really depends on the habit and how drastic of a change it is to our "normal" behaviour. Simple things, like drinking a glass of water a day, could become a habit in as few as 18 days, but something more profound, like doing 50 sit-ups everyday before breakfast could take much, much longer.
Why all this talk of habits, you might ask. Its because I've started developing the habit of riding my bike several times per week. In fact, for the last 5 and a half weeks, I've averaged almost 4 rides per week. That's 21 rides in 39 days. Seems like its becoming a habit to get out there and ride. I know it is becoming a habit, because I haven't ridden in 3 days and I'm really missing it! In fact I just did a quick tally and came up with a total of 175.83 miles ridden during those 39 days and 226.47 miles ridden so far this year.
Now, I've been doing a bit of math, and having been inspired by fizzhogg in his blog 2k in 2k10 Unfat Project, and having done a bit more math, I'm setting a goal for myself for total miles biked in 2012. That total is 2012 miles. I figure its an easy number to remember and not a bad slogan "2012 in 2012." In order to accomplish this feat, I simply have to average 55 miles per week for the rest of the year.
As soon as I do a bit more research I'm going to see how I can put some type of ticker on here to show miles so far this year and miles left to meet my goal.
Anyone want to join me in this?
Monday, May 14, 2012
Update on last week's goal...
I had meant to post this sooner, but got side tracked and never actually published the update.
Last week I set myself a short term, achievable goal to simply ride 5 of 7 days. I made my goal. I rode Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. My total mileage for the week was just under 50 miles, which according to My Daily Mile, is the most I've ridden in one week since I completed Pumpkinman in October 2010.
When I looked back and saw that fact, I realized quickly how I had put back on some of the weight I had lost. Its really very simple, I continued to eat too many calories and to burn too few. I am working to change that by monitoring what I eat as well as what I burn.
For example, if I follow the calorie burns supplied by My Fitness Pal in capturing my rides, I burned an extra 4873 calories in 287 minutes of riding my bike over the same 7 days.
Obviously these are calories I would not have burned if I had not gotten out there and ridden. For this very fact, I am planning on setting the same goal for this week - ride 5 of 7 days.
Now I actually have applied a bit greater pressure to myself this week because I didn't ride on Sunday. I did ride this morning, though, so I have to ride 4 of the next 5 days. My plan is simple - Get up at 4:00 am on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and Ride my 8 to 10 miles in the morning before work and then ride either Friday or Saturday, depending on the weather and the activities at home.
The good news is that with riding, my weight was down 1.4 lbs. this week to 416. The big weigh in is on Thursday for the Biggest Winner competition. I will have lost some weight, but not nearly as much as I had hoped for the 10 weeks of the competition.
Last week I set myself a short term, achievable goal to simply ride 5 of 7 days. I made my goal. I rode Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. My total mileage for the week was just under 50 miles, which according to My Daily Mile, is the most I've ridden in one week since I completed Pumpkinman in October 2010.
When I looked back and saw that fact, I realized quickly how I had put back on some of the weight I had lost. Its really very simple, I continued to eat too many calories and to burn too few. I am working to change that by monitoring what I eat as well as what I burn.
For example, if I follow the calorie burns supplied by My Fitness Pal in capturing my rides, I burned an extra 4873 calories in 287 minutes of riding my bike over the same 7 days.
Obviously these are calories I would not have burned if I had not gotten out there and ridden. For this very fact, I am planning on setting the same goal for this week - ride 5 of 7 days.
Now I actually have applied a bit greater pressure to myself this week because I didn't ride on Sunday. I did ride this morning, though, so I have to ride 4 of the next 5 days. My plan is simple - Get up at 4:00 am on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and Ride my 8 to 10 miles in the morning before work and then ride either Friday or Saturday, depending on the weather and the activities at home.
The good news is that with riding, my weight was down 1.4 lbs. this week to 416. The big weigh in is on Thursday for the Biggest Winner competition. I will have lost some weight, but not nearly as much as I had hoped for the 10 weeks of the competition.
Monday, November 15, 2010
GOALS
I’m beginning to understand the value of setting goals when it comes to my weight, exercise and getting healthy. My big goal for the past 6 months was to finish the triathlon. Achieved! Now I need to set another goal, look at where I am vs where I need to be and create a plan to achieve it. I also need to set smaller goals to help me reach my next big goal.
I have to admit that I never really thought past the Pumpkinman as far as what I wanted to do next. Sure I have these vague, general thoughts of riding my bike, losing more weight, getting healthier, but those aren’t concrete enough to allow me to measure my progress nor give me a target to shoot for. So, I’m debating what my next goals should be. Part of me Is leaning towards running 2 triathlons this coming year, both sprint distance. The first would be the RAGE in April and the second would be to do the Pumpkinman again in October. I have to admit that Pumpkinman is practically a given so I can see how I’ve improved year over year.
Using these goals I can set some additional parameters like being able to complete the various parts of the triathlons in better times than I ran at Pumpkinman this year. I would love to be able to shave an hour off my 3:30 time. I know this is a very aggressive goal, but with hard work I think I can definitely achieve it.
One area that is ripe for improvement is the run. I know that if I can at least jog part of the course I can shave 10 to 15 minutes off my 55+ minute time.
The swim is another area where a significant improvement can be made. By learning proper technique and practicing more than I did, I know I can do better than 27 minutes. I should be able to shave at least 7 minutes off my swim time.
The bike is the longest portion and therefore the area with the most room for improvement. I was fairly happy with my performance on the bike since it was almost 15 minutes faster than I had ridden the course just a few weeks prior to the event. Another 30 to 40 minutes improvement here would be doable as well.
Taken together, 15 + 7 + 40 = 62 minutes less time overall. This would give me an overall time of around 2:28. Definitely not the fastest, but a significant improvement from this last race.
Of course I look at what I did and how I prepared for the race and I realize that I could have trained harder and maybe hit these times for Pumpkinman. But no, no regrets, no second guessing myself. I finished the event. That is an accomplishment and something to be proud of.
Now it’s time to look ahead and set goals, large and small for the next event(s).
I have to admit that I never really thought past the Pumpkinman as far as what I wanted to do next. Sure I have these vague, general thoughts of riding my bike, losing more weight, getting healthier, but those aren’t concrete enough to allow me to measure my progress nor give me a target to shoot for. So, I’m debating what my next goals should be. Part of me Is leaning towards running 2 triathlons this coming year, both sprint distance. The first would be the RAGE in April and the second would be to do the Pumpkinman again in October. I have to admit that Pumpkinman is practically a given so I can see how I’ve improved year over year.
Using these goals I can set some additional parameters like being able to complete the various parts of the triathlons in better times than I ran at Pumpkinman this year. I would love to be able to shave an hour off my 3:30 time. I know this is a very aggressive goal, but with hard work I think I can definitely achieve it.
One area that is ripe for improvement is the run. I know that if I can at least jog part of the course I can shave 10 to 15 minutes off my 55+ minute time.
The swim is another area where a significant improvement can be made. By learning proper technique and practicing more than I did, I know I can do better than 27 minutes. I should be able to shave at least 7 minutes off my swim time.
The bike is the longest portion and therefore the area with the most room for improvement. I was fairly happy with my performance on the bike since it was almost 15 minutes faster than I had ridden the course just a few weeks prior to the event. Another 30 to 40 minutes improvement here would be doable as well.
Taken together, 15 + 7 + 40 = 62 minutes less time overall. This would give me an overall time of around 2:28. Definitely not the fastest, but a significant improvement from this last race.
Of course I look at what I did and how I prepared for the race and I realize that I could have trained harder and maybe hit these times for Pumpkinman. But no, no regrets, no second guessing myself. I finished the event. That is an accomplishment and something to be proud of.
Now it’s time to look ahead and set goals, large and small for the next event(s).
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