A Nice Sunday Ride

The weather was around 70 degrees, bright sunshine and a light breeze from the east.  Beautiful weather for a ride in the desert.  OK, along a road in the desert. :) I have been getting back into the swing of riding with more regularity and this was to be my longest ride so far this year.

I aired up the tires and headed out about 11:30 am for a nice "easy" ride.  OK, it would be easy for those who are in much better shape and logging many more miles per week than I have been.  Still, it was good to be out on the bike.

I headed West on Blue Diamond road and started feeling the elevation gain.  Now to some of you power climbers out there, you'll call it more of a false flat, but to us mere mortals, it is a bit of a climb.  When I got to State Route 159, I headed north west towards the town of Blue Diamond.  I almost made it to Blue Diamond, but not quite.  My lack of riding since mid December caught up to me and I stopped at the Gypsum Mine just over 6 miles from the house.  I decided I'd had enough for the day and turned around for the fun part - downhill to home.

The relatively light tail wind I had experienced on the ride out, turned into a headwind heading home, but since it was mostly downhill, I didn't mind at all.  The ride out took 57 minutes, but the ride back was only 27 minutes for a total 12.78 miles in 84 minutes.  Looking back over my log, I did the same ride last May in only 73 minutes.

Wednesday Weekly Update #6

Weekly progress update.

Today's Weight: 424 LBS
Weekly Loss: -1.6 LBS
2012 Loss: 10.0 LBS
Daily Calorie Target: 2200
Daily Net Carb target: 20 g

I'm very disappointed in what the scale shows this week.  I'm not sure why its showing a gain.  I was under my net calorie goal for all but one day this week and my net carbs ranged from 17 to 24 g per day.  I had 3 days of exercise, with this morning being the most burn at 771 calories according to MFP.

In looking at my reports for the week, I suspect that sodium is the culprit.  My go to low carb foods seem to have a large amount of sodium in them resulting in daily sodium intake of 2 to 4 times the RDA.  I'm guessing this could be the reason for the gain.  Going to try and watch what I eat and see if I can't lower the sodium significantly.  I'm also going to increase my water consumption to try and flush away some of the sodium.

Riding

There is just something about riding that I love.  I can't put my finger on it exactly, but something about being propelled forward, faster than you could walk or run, through your own power is magical.  Sure it takes work. Sure it isn't easy, especially for someone of my size, but the fact that I can do it is awesome.

I know that if I push down on the pedal, I will move forward.  I also know that if I need a short rest, I can stop pedaling and glide along for at least some short distance.  That is the truly magically component.

Add in a decent downhill grade and there is that feeling of flying that so many people have expressed when talking about cycling.

Its the magical feeling I get that gets me up at 4:10 in the morning to go for a ride.  Sure its helping me to get healthy and to lose weight, but those are really secondary to the enjoyment of riding.

I've tried riding the spin bike and I find it a chore and I find the magic missing.  I'm not going anywhere.  I can't just rest for a moment and glide along.  I'll only ride it as a last resort.

Unfortunately my lack of riding over the last 6 months has drastically cut into my fitness which has reduced the amount of time I am currently riding.  This will change with consistent riding, I know.  Losing some of the weight I gained going into and through the holidays will help as well.

I am actually a bit impatient with myself and the time and work its taking to regain some of the fitness and endurance I had last year.  I need to start pushing harder and longer to get to where I want to be.  I want to be one of those riders who can knock out a century ride on the weekend on a whim.  I'm no where close at this point.

I do have one goal in mind for this year.  That will be to ride from my house up to Mountain Springs and back. There is some serious climbing along the way, but I know, if I stick to the training and do the consistent work, I can be in shape to do the ride this year.

Stay safe and RIDE!!!!

Wednesday Weekly Update #5

Weekly progress update.

Today's Weight: 422.4 LBS
Weekly Loss: 1.8 LBS
2012 Loss: 11.6 LBS
Daily Calorie Target: 2200
Daily Net Carb target: 20 g

 This week was a transition week for me. Nasty weather and a switch from strictly counting calories to Atkins (Low-carb) saw me carb loading on Friday and Saturday. I'm feeling better about my diet and showing a 1.8 lb loss after all I ate while carb loading is proof that my body responds better to low-carb as opposed to low calorie eating.

 I did get out this morning and ride for 22 minutes. While it was shorter than planned I was glad I got out there. All of the activity this weekend is going to be a challenge in terms of riding, but I know I can get in at least one day out of the three.

Wednesday Weekly Update #4

Weekly progress update.

Today's Weight:  424.2 LBS
Weekly Loss:  0.6 LBS
2012 Loss:  9.8 LBS
Daily Calorie Target:  2200

My consumption was under control this week. I stayed within my goal for the day all week.

My highest burn for the week was Yesterday when I did 771 calories on the bike.

I am a bit disappointed with the weight loss this week, but I realize that part of the problem is that I have not been drinking enough water the last few days.  Add to that some salty foods adn that makes for some water retention.  Time to up the water and watch the salt.

Wednesday Weekly Update #3

Weekly progress update.

Today's Weight: 424.8 LBS
Weekly Loss: 3.4 LBS
2012 Loss: 9.2 LBS
Daily Calorie Target: 2200

My consumption was under control this week. I stayed within my goal for the day all week.

My highest burn for the week was Saturday when I did 773 calories on the stationary bike.

Did my weigh in for the Biggest Winner competition yesterday.  Their scale only went to 400 lbs so I got an error.  They asked for my weight and since I hadn't yet weighed in this week, I used 428 lbs.  The competition runs until May 17th which gives me just over 10 weeks to lose weight for the competition.  I should be below 400 by that time.  I am planning on increasing my total burn each week by hopefully adding some walking and some road riding.

Wednesday Weekly Update #2

Weekly progress update.

Today's Weight:  428.2 LBS
Weekly Loss:  2.4 LBS
2012 Loss:  5.8 LBS
Daily Calorie Target: 2200
Average Calories per day: 2288

My highest calories consumption was on Saturday when we did All you can East Sushi.  I did eat less than I have in the past, but still managed to consume almost 2000 calories in one sitting.  This will be the last time doing that for a long time.

My highest burn for the week was both yesterday and today when I did 410 calories on the stationary bike.

Starting to get back into the groove of working out in the morning before work and I like it.  I do feel more energized during the day, but am more tired in the evenings.

Looking ahead, next Tuesday is the starting weigh in for a weight loss competition called the Biggest Winner which is part of the Corporate Challenge here in Las Vegas.  Its a 10 week competition and each company has a 5 person team.  Just what I need - a bit of extra motivation to Git 'R Done!

Good News

The results from the MRI show some fluid, a bit of arthritis and a small anomaly on my meniscus.  According to the doctor there were 3 options - Surgery, a cortisone shot and physical therapy, or give it more time to heal.  I opted for the third option.  I explained to him my main fear was doing more damage and he said that I wouldn't.  So I've been on the spin bike the last 2 days.

I'm starting slow as I don't want to over do it - 7 minutes yesterday and 9 minutes today.  My knee is sore, but since I'm not doing further damage, its time to HTFU and ride!

Glad to be back on the (spin) bike!

Wednesday Weekly Update #1

This is the first in the series of weekly updates for my progress in losing weight and getting healthy.  I'm going to be playing with the formatting and the content of these updates, but the goal is to list what I've been doing and how things are progressing.

Today's Weight:  430.6 LBS
Weekly Loss:  3.4 LBS
2012 Loss:  3.4 LBS

I'm thinking about listing my highest and lowest calories consumed and calories burned each week, but I don't have the data right now.  Hopefully next week.

As this was a starting over week, it was a bit tough trying to keep within my newly reduced daily allowance of 2200 calories each day.  I was able to do it 4 out of the last 6 days.  My biggest intake was 2516 yesterday because I had a cupcake in celebration of a friend's birthday.  While this was over my target, it was still less than what My Fitness Pal tried to automatically set my daily calories to.  Their suggestion was 2587.

As for calories burned through exercise, that was zero for the week.  Hopefully I'll get good news Friday and I can change that for this coming week.  My biggest fear has been that if I were to exercise through the pain, I would be doing more harm and I didn't want to take that chance.

Overall that's a 3.4 pound loss for a week without exercise.  I am very happy about that!  I do find myself having to managing my expectations from watching the biggest loser where, through intense training they achieve miraculous results.  I don't have the hours to devote to exercise that they have.  I will be happy with 2 to 3 pounds per week as I head towards a healthier and lighter me!

Waiting...And a fresh start

I have been waiting for my knee to get better.  I did something to it back in December and thought I just needed some time to heal, so I have been waiting for it to heal and it hasn't.  I broke down and went to the doctor to see about it 4 weeks ago.  He said there was a problem and referred me to an Ortho specialist.  Between waiting for authorization and dealing with his limited calendar it was 2 1/2 weeks before I saw him and he ordered an MRI after a non-committal "you might have torn something in there."

I then had to wait for another referral for the MRI which finally came through and I have it scheduled for tomorrow (Friday) morning.  Of course then I will have to schedule another appointment with the Ortho Doc to have him read it and recommend treatment.

While I have been waiting, I have noticed that my tendency to consume calories has not abated.  Where before I was maintaining my weight with a bit of exercise, I have now been gaining.  My estimate is 15 lbs since the injury.  This is not good.  This cannot continue!

So, today marks another fresh start for me.  I had planned to start over in January, but hadn't had the motivation without being able to ride either the spin bike or on the road.  I realized today, after reading Fatty's post about a possible competition, that I don't have to wait to restart (or continue) my weight loss journey.  Obviously, since I so enjoy riding, that will be a big part of the exercise side of the equation, burning more calories, but I can also address the intake side of the equation and frankly should have been doing so all along. So today marks a fresh start and my new beginning towards a healthier me.

Today's weight is 434 lbs.  No excuses, no hiding from it.  In the last year and 4 months I have gained back 46 of the 100 lbs I lost leading up to Pumpkinman in fall 2010.  I have a new goal:  Lose 120 lbs by Pumpkinman this fall. That means by October 20, 2012 my weight should be under 314 lbs. My plan is to post weekly updates of my weight and include highlights from the week's calories - both burned and consumed.

Thank you for being the trigger to hold me accountable to achieving this goal.