1200 Meter Swim Today

The training has gone well this week, and my eating is really back on track. For the first time ever I have now swam over 1000 meters at one time, 1200 today. The swim in Chattanooga will be 1500 meters, so I am actually feeling pretty good about it. I did not get to weigh in officially last night because Kim had a meeting and I had to watch the kidos, but I think I stayed pretty much the same last week. I have two weeks before the Triathlon and will eat very well between now and then.

I can really tell when I hang out with people who try to eat well, it is easier for me to eat well and vice versa. I have a brick workout tomorrow with an hour and a half bike and a 30 minute run and then a thirty minute bike and an hour and half run on Sunday. I am looking forward to a good weekend.

Thanks to all for your continued support and comments, it really means a lot to me. I am now finding a lot of encouragment from people like Dabbie and Toby who are working very hard on their weight loss journey, and the others who have posted comments that I have never even met. This struggle is like none other, and just becaue I have come so far, I realize how easy it would be to slip back into all the really bad habits.

Not Expecting Much This Week

It was a great weekend. We went to Chattanooga and played on the lake and I got to swim with Kiley and Robyn and Kim and we climbed cliffs and jumped in and had a blast. Stuff I would not have done 100 pounds ago. But on the negative side, I did not eat real well and did not get in my long runs or rides this weekend. I have a lot of catching up to do, but it was worth it.

On a more positive not I saw a couple of friends today who are amazed at my new physical apperance. They hit me and poked and prodded on proded on me, and in a very manly loving way let me know they were happy for my new found committment to fittness. And said, "I guess you are actually in pretty good shape" I know I have a long way to go, but on a day like today when I was down on myself for the way the weekend went, it was a good pick-me-up.

Real Good Week

This past week I lost 5 more pounds and hope to be at my all time (adult) low soon. Although I am excited about the weight loss I am more pumped about my workouts. I have swam over 900 yards in the past week, I biked over 50 miles at 20-23 miles an hour. That was almost too much for me, if it had not been for the 15 guys I was riding with and my pride I don't think I would have made it. Then the next morning I ran 7 miles. Yestarday was my rest day and today I swim 800 yards.

I am really enjoying the workouts and look forward to the triathlon in Chattanooga on July 15th. Getting the fruits and vegetable in are a big key. I am realizing just how much food I like to eat, I beleive they call that being a volume eater. I am learning to to eat more healthy foods. I still love the pizza and cookies and brownies, and all that stuff that is really bad for me, but I find we I look at food for fuel for my workouts and try to stay full on more healthy foods it makes it much easier.

Better So Far

Thaks to all of you who commented with words of encouragment. This week has gone much better and I hope to have lost a little weight my the time I weigh in Thursday. I think that vacation was like a drug addict going on a binge, and it is not so easy to just say, ok that's over, back to normal today. It has taken some will power and since I am in the maintance phase of the weight loss program I am having to make some decesions that I am did not have to make in the weight loss phase.
My work outs are going great and I hope to do be ready to swim a whole mile by July 15 in Chattanooga then bike 25 and run 6.2, the only problem with all the training for that is it makes me hungery, and I can justify eating more becasue I have worked out more, the problem is I usually eat as many or more calories than I burned.
The bottom line is I feel that I am back in the swing of things and looking forward to getting under 1) Getting under 220. 2) Completing my first Olympic distance triahlon. 3)Running the Chicago Marathon with Kim in October

What Happened?

My weight went up about 10 pounds or so on vacation and some of that came off really quickly, but I am still a few pounds above the 235 I left with. I have continued my workouts and my commitment to 220, but I am having a crisis of will power!! It's like my body decided to stay on vacation.

Let me give you an example. Yesterday I had a great day, I swam in the morning, I had an organic breakfast cookie, I drank a lot of water and I had a couple of shakes during the day and another bar, some nuts and raisins and some salad. But last night we cooked out with our house church and I lost all control! My sweet tooth is what is killing me. There were brownies and cheesecake (my two favorite things in the world,do not get me started on brownie cheesecake) anyway I never really sit down and had a lot but I got a little here and there all night and I know I had more then I should of. What is concerning is that I really want to lose another 30 pounds or so, but I can not get back into weight loss mode. I have held what I have for a couple of weeks, but not going down again yet.

I am telling you this so you can help me stay the course. I have a bad habit of doing really really good, or maybe too good and starving myself and then eating a roll of cookie dough. This is not good, it makes me a little lethargic on my workouts and tired in the mornings. I am committing to eating more vegetables and less sweets. I am not sure how I am going to conquer the sweet thing. I am an extremist as most of you know, so I may just have to draw a line in the sand and say, NO DESERTS FOR 4 MONTHS, there I just said it. I can't believe I said it. But that is what I am going to do, I will not eat a cookie, a brownie or a piece of cheesecake till after the Marathon in October. I have lost 120 pounds and did not eat anything but shakes for 12 weeks, why does this seem so hard?

UPDATE

This week is going well, I have actually lost weight each day and should be back at my pre-vacation weight by my meeting next Thursday.

I am getting excited about the triathlon in Chattanooga on July 15. I think it will be the biggest challenge I have faced up to this point with a mile swim 25 mile bike and 6.2 mile run. My training is going great. I love the plan from www.trainingpeaks.com, it emails me every morning with my workout for the day. It is a great website, and easy to use.

My long runs will start preparing me for the Chicago Marathon starting next weekend and I am really looking forward to going to back to Chicago and doint that race with Kim. It should be a blast.

Last but not least I got on the Florida Ironman website this week and signed up to help out with the race this November in Panama City. My plan is to go down and volunteer and experiance the Ironman atmosphere and sign up for the 2008 race while I am down there.