Technology

Technology is a wonderful thing. It can help track things like distance, speed and time on a bike ride or run. It can also help to motivate us to do more and be more active. I recently ordered an xbox 360 with the Kinect controller because the idea of being active while participating in video games appeals to me. Sure I love to sit for hours and play my games on the computer, but the problem with that is I am literally just sitting there turning into a lump. So after seeing this system advertised for the 1000th time and reading up on it I said "that is for me" and I ordered it.

It came while we were on the cruise last week (that's a whole other post!) and I set it up on Monday. The first game I tried was the driving game - Kinect Joy Ride. Now I've played my share of driving games in the past, but never got a workout, but this was different. Since your body is the controller, you have to move and be active to play the game. I had fun and felt a bit of burn from having to stand and hold my arms out to steer as well as lean and bend to perform stunts. This was awesome!

The second game I tried this morning was the Biggest Loser Ultimate Workout. I have to say that having Bob and Jillian thee guiding, pushing and commenting on what I was doing was great! I followed the prescribed activities and set-up my profile and took the fitness test. It was harder than I anticipated and I only earned a moderate recommendation, but I figured that was a good start. I then let it do a body scan and with the exception of it showing me as 3 inches shorter than I am, it was pretty accurate. I manually adjusted the height and moved on to tell it how often and for how long I wanted to work out. It then created a 12 week plan for me and we were off as my first workout was scheduled for today.

Now, I don't know how many people watch the biggest loser and see how they sweat and work and think "I can do that", but I'm here to tell you that many of those exercises are simply not as easy as they look. I figured I needed to ease into regular exercise so I set my desired length to 20 minute work outs and I was definitely feeling it!

It was funny, there I was thinking I was really moving and doing the exercise but the system was telling me to make adjustments as I wasn't following the on screen trainer as well as I thought. In my mind I was bringing my knee up to my chin, but in reality it was only to my waist and the game called me on it! :-)

I am very happy with the product even if it does have a bit of a HAL9000 feel to it as there is a red light on the sensor when it is active.

One other piece of technology I'm using is an online site called My Fitness Pal. It allows me to track my calories both eaten and burned and I think this is going to be a very important tool in my fitness journey. The URL is http://MyFitnessPal.com/

I need a plan

OK, I’ve been winging it in terms of my working out for the last few weeks and I’ve realized that its not been very productive. Without a plan of action, I’m finding it too easy to put off my working out. Too easy to think “I’ve got time,” or “I’ll do it tomorrow.” Well my tomorrows are running out if I hope to be in any kind of real shape to compete in the Rage Triathlon on April 16.

April 16 is only 10 ½ weeks away. 75 days is all I have to whip my butt into some sort of shape to complete the event. I haven’t even walked more than a quarter mile at a time since Pumpkinman in October, let alone started any kind of running program. I haven’t been in the water since then either.

No more excuses. Time to lay out a training plan and then get to completing it. I have to put in the work if I’m going to get the results.

As such I’m now going to lay out my plan for getting my training in between now and April 16. Generally speaking my plan is to Swim at least one day a week, bike 3 days a week and walk/run 3 days per week. Some weeks I may in fact do more than this, but I hope to not do less. This week I am planning on doing a minimum of 35 miles on the bike ( 2 x 10 mile morning rides and a longer 15 mile ride to blue diamond on the weekend). I’m also looking at walking 3 days at 2 miles each for a total of 6 miles. Lastly a swim of 1000 yards.

The flip side of this is to watch my calorie intake. If I can also trim another 30 or 40 pounds during the same time frame, then I’m doubly a winner.

So, to keep myself accountable, I’m going to publish each week’s plan and then each week’s actually training right here for all to see.

Its simple, really...

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about my weight loss and fitness journey.  I’ve been
reading many different blogs and articles on such topics as Metabolic Efficiency, vegan lifestyle, and countless miracle diets and exercise plans.  I was trying to wrap my head around all of this very diverse information and figure out which of these was “the” plan for me.  I then happened on a blog written by Shawn Tyler Weeks titled 344 pounds. 

It was like a light bulb went off.  There are no miracle diets, no special foods nor specific exercise routines to lose the weight.  It’s a simple formula really – consume less calories than you burn and lose weight. It really is that simple.  Shawn has lost over 130 pounds doing just that.

One of the hardest things to do is to identify exactly how many calories you are consuming.  This is
where an awesome, free site can help.  Its called My Fitness Pal. It’s a free site that allows you to enter the foods you eat and track calories and fat and carbs.  It also allows you to track the calories you burn through exercise.

That’s the second part of the simple equation – if you want to lose more weight then you have to get off your ass and move – be active.  It really doesn’t matter what the activity is, as long as you are up and moving you are burning calories.

I’ve started tracking my calories, both consumed and burned, and have come to a conclusion that really isn’t much of a revelation if you know me – I have a problem with portion sizes. 

I have always been a big eater and have conditioned myself over decades to grab massive portions of food when I eat.  I have been complimented in the past on how much I could consume.  Obviously if I’m consuming that much then the equation is out of balance and the surplus calories are adding weight on. So, one of my biggest areas of work is to make sure that I watch my portion sizes and keep them reasonable.

 Here's to a new simple lifestyle change - watch the calories and get moving.  Let's see what a powerful combination these 2 things can be.

Challenges

This is a challenging time of year when it comes to weight loss and fitness.  Especially this year for me as the weather has been extremely uncooperative!  Now, I know its only a little rain, but its been 6 days straight of wet weather and frankly I'm not equipped or prepared to deal with this type of weather.  I do live in a desert and its not supposed to rain for days on end!

Add to that all of the holiday celebrations and treats and goodies floating around and I have to say I'm not where I should be right now in terms of my weight loss or fitness level.  This is changing.  I am resisting temptation more than I'm giving in, but when I do give in its wholeheartedly.  Instead of only one or two bites or just a small piece I use the in for a penny in for a pound philosophy and just jump in with both feet.

To try and fend off the worst of this I have been eating more fruit and more fat free yogurt so I'm not nearly as inclined to continuously partake of the goodies, but it is tough.  So many of the holiday traditions are built around food and goodies that its hard to be in the holiday spirit without partaking.

Added to the temptation is the fact that I love to eat when stressed and the stress level has increased with all of the grand kids in the house for the holidays.  I do love them to death but the quiet times are few and far between at the moment and that also sends me to the kitchen in search of "something."

The new year is a typical place for us to reflect on our lives and look forward to what changes we are planning on making going forward.  I am looking at my fitness and weight loss goals and have come to the conclusion that in 2011 I will loss at least 100 pounds and I will run, yes run at least one 5k race.  Beyond that completing my first century ride since the mid 70's MDA bikeathon and 2 triathlons will be a full year of accomplishments.

Just do it!

Here I am, sitting and reading blogs and posts and facebook updates by a bunch of totally awesome individuals like Cyn, Robin, Gene, Fatty, etc. and realizing that there is a lot to be said for the Nike slogan. It sums up the entire philosophy that most active people have is just 3 little words.  Sure we can plan and think about and fret over work outs and gear and conditions and time, but it all boils down to one thing - to have fun, to be active doesn't take all of that, all it takes is to "Just DO It!"

That's what I need to do. put all excuses away and get out and do it.  No more waiting for this or"I'll do that once I..."  I just need to get out there and do it.

Sure having goals and dreams and things I want to strive for are very important to me, but I know I can set all the goals and write all the plans I want, but unless I actually get out there and work on it and have fun, then I'll never get there.

I tend to worry about too many details.  I tend to allow myself to take the easy path.  As I was catching up on Gene's awesome blog, I ran across this post and I am taking it to heart.  I know he in uncomfortable with the whole being an inspiration thing, but he truly is.

So, from now on, I am going to just do it.

You might ask, just exactly what "it" is, and I can't tell you exactly, other than it is to be more active than I currently am.  It is to ride my bike at least 5 days per week.  It is to concentrate on eating the right foods in the right portions.  It is to complete at least one century ride before June 1, 2011.  It is to complete both the RAGE and Pumpkinman Triathlons this coming year.

Now I have to start planning on how to work this into the rest of my life.

Losing 10 Lbs by Christmas

Was reading the Fat Cyclist blog and Fatty (Elden) posted a contest for some cool swag he's had laying around his office:  To fight the tendency of most of us to gain weight heading into the holidays, he proposed a challenge to LOSE 10 pounds by Christmas (post is here: http://www.fatcyclist.com/2010/11/29/lets-lose-10-pounds-by-christmas/ ).  Since I have decided to get back into the swing of things and really haven't, I'm using this as the perfect motivation to get my ass in gear and do what I need to do.

Fatty has been an inspiration with his wit and story telling allowing me to not only accompany him vicariously on his rides, but to believe I can do them myself.  Thanks Fatty!

Along the same lines I've also decided to rejoin Weight Watchers, actually strictly follow the plan and track EVERYTHING I eat and do to make it work.

Off to the trails!

Food...

OK, I have to admit it, I am definitely addicted to food. No I don’t mean that to be funny, I mean I am really addicted. Sure I need food to survive just like everyone else, but I just have to have more and more of it. I can’t help myself sometimes when there is a food I really like, I can’t stop eating it until its gone. This does not bode well for someone who has a sluggish metabolism and has gained a lot of weight which they are trying to lose.

This is where the Weight Watcher’s approach to eating fails me. It allows me to eat anything, literally, but I have to stay within a certain point total for the day. When it comes to those foods I truly love, this becomes problematic as my idea of a portion and theirs definitely do not agree. Their idea is usually somewhere around a cup to cup and a half of any particular food. My idea on the otherhand tends to be 2 or 3 times that for foods I like.

Let’s take cereal as an example. A perfectly reasonable amount for a serving is a cup of cereal and a half cup of milk. For most “healthy” cereals this tends to be between 130 and 180 calories and usually about 3 or 4 points for weight Watchers. Now, when I pour a bowl of cereal, I tend to p0ur between 3 and 4 cups and add 2 cups of milk. The simple math puts this way over 500 calories and likely 12 or 15 points. Obviously not a healthy amount to be eating at any given time.

Now, I normally try to stay sane with what I eat and have a decent amount of success staying within my daily allotment of points, but then there are days that I just go overboard and eat way more than I should, eat - food full of empty calories and just blow my plan out of the water. I find this happens more often on WW than it did when I was eating low carb. I also lost more weight on a low carb diet than I have even come close to on WW. So I’ve decided I need to go back to what works best for me and that is low carb.

My reasoning for moving away from low carb was that I thought I needed the carbs to be able to sustain exercise and compete in the triathlon. At least that is what I told myself and used as a justification. I have been doing some research on the subject and found that its just not true. A proper low carb diet can easily sustain me on long work outs and while competing in an event. So its back to low-carb for me.

Now I will be following the new Atkins low carb plan which stresses 10 to 15 net carbs of foundation vegetables a day. This is a bit different from the traditional low carb plan that everyone usually thinks of which is focused primarily on protein and meat with very few vegetables. I know this will work for me. I have to get in shape. The RAGE triathlon is coming on April 16 so I have 6 months to prepare. This time I will run during the run and break 20 minutes on the swim – just wait and see!

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).

Back in the Saddle

Finally got back on my bike yesterday. First real ride since the triathlon and moving to the new house. I enjoyed it immensely. I only did about 10 miles, but I remembered again why I was getting up at 4:00 in the morning for a large part of the summer. Its fun!

I had thoughts of doing early morning rides up Blue Diamond Road to Charleston and then either taking Charleston to Blue Diamond or staying on Blue Diamond to Mountain Springs, until I rode out to Charleston yesterday in the daylight. The speed limit on Blue Diamond very quickly increases to 65 mph and there is a decent shoulder, but I don't think I trust the early morning drivers on that road. Too many in a hurry and not paying as much attention as they should. No, for my early morning rides, I'll be sticking to the approximately one mile loop through the neighborhood I mapped as well yesterday.

Weekends, when I can ride in daylight, are going to be for attacking the climb up to Blue Diamond or to Mountain Springs. I know Mountain Springs will be a challenge as its close to a 2600 ft elevation change from the house. Blue Diamond is only about a quarter of that. I look forward to the challenge of it, not to mention the downhill ride back home! :-)

One other thing I noticed is how desolate it is heading out in that direction. Ours is basically the last real subdivision on Blue Diamond. Once you are past Fort Apache, there are a few scattered houses, but not much else. this certainly allows the wind to blow with very little obstruction, not to mention some channeling down the canyons. It will be interesting to see how much the wind will be blowing here in the fall and into the spring next year.

I'm now planning on getting up at 4:00 at least twice a week and riding before work, just for the sheer joy of doing it!

Now What?

Now that I’ve reached my goal which pushed me to train for the last 6 months – completing the Pumpkinman Sprint Triathlon, what do I do?

Leading up to the triathlon, I had a goal, a sense of urgency that got me out there and training. I was counting down the time until I had to perform and it helped to motivate me – getting me up at 4:00 in the morning to ride and walk. Now that it’s over, I’m finding some of the urgency is lacking. Add to that the unknown of the new area since we’ve moved over the weekend and my motivation is almost nil. Sure I still want to ride, still want to walk, still want to lose weight, but the urgency is gone.

I had planned on taking the week following the triathlon off anyway so it’s not that I wasn’t planning on taking a break, I’m just finding it harder to convince myself to get up and ride in the morning. I read Elizabeth Waterstraat’s column today on No Excuses (read it here) and I have to decide to remove the mental excuses and get back at it. I still have a very long ways to go to get anywhere near healthy. Sure I finished the triathlon and that is a great achievement, but there is so much more to be done.

I need to learn to swim properly, I need to work on actually being able to run, I need to work on my riding so that I can conquer the climbs without stopping to rest. I would love to be able to handle a decent century ride without being the slowest person out there. These are all things I have to work on and it’s time to start.

Part of what I need to do is to look at myself critically and decide which area to address first. I know I can work on the running, but from many of the articles I’ve read it would be a good idea to shed some more of this weight before I do that so as to help avoid injury. The convenience of a close pool was something I took for granted now that I don’t have one. I should have spent more time in the water leading up to the event than I did. This is something I’ll need to work out logistically speaking so I am going to delay it for a bit as well.

That actually leaves my favorite activity, riding. Maybe the other reasons are just excuses for me to stay with the bike rather than swimming or running, but right now I’ll let them stand. My goal for the next month is to ride at least 3 times a week. I need to identify a fairly safe route near the new house to accomplish this. If nothing else I do have Saturday and Sunday when I can ride in the daylight hours, and now that I’m living near Blue Diamond and For Apache, riding towards or even to Pahrump seems like a very doable goal.

So, now what? – Get riding, that’s what!