Getting Started

To struggle, to succeed, to fail and to struggle again. Such is much in life. We all have our own weaknesses to deal with, and mine for the last 15 years has been my weight. As with most, as a teenager I could eat most anything. I was active enough that I never gained weight. Weight gain really started with my first child when I was 23, but did not become a real issue until child number two! I was about 40 lbs. overweight. By child number four, I was 30 and weighed just over 200 lbs.

That was 10 years ago. I have gone up and down since then but have never dropped under that elusive 200 mark. I have been active off and on over the last five years. I have done a few sprint triathlons, a few 5k runs, and two summers ago I did an Olympic distance triathlon (1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run). At the time I weighed about 215 lbs. I was a Slow, Fat Triathlete, but I did it!

There are two things that I really enjoy about triathlons and running. One is that you are competing against no one but yourself. The other is the words of encouragement that is given and received from other participants. I have especially noticed this during triathlons. While I putt along, some super athlete passes me, telling me "Good Job!" and "Keep it Up!". There is no judgment, only encouragement.

Last February I pulled a muscle that stopped all exercise. I never really got back on track (so to speak :-). During the summer I did the Couch Potato to 5k training plan and in September I did a Sprint Triathlon. It was a real struggle, I was not really prepared, but I completed it.

During that time, our business was really struggling. My reaction to stress is eating, and my weight went up to an all time high by December, 244 lbs! Our business sold at that time, but it is hard to get back doing the things that we know we should do. During this past spring I put in token efforts here and there, and at the beginning of this week, I weighed 238.4 lbs.

I have a new plan of action, that includes much of what I have done in the past (eating healthy foods and exercising), but I have also decided to record what I eat and to keep a blog. It seemed easier than a journal (something I have often thought about) and it feels like there is more accountability. After all, someone just might read it!

This week I started the Couch Potato to 5k running plan again. I get up early, walk to the track to warm up, do Week 1 of the program and then walk home to cool down. Week 1 is a 20 minute workout, 3 days a week. It is a 60 second run, then walk for 90 seconds. This is repeated for 20 minutes, or eight repetitions. I do this on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and then bike on Tuesday and Thursday. On Saturday I will do a weight workout.

So far the week is going great! I am eating really well, have run twice this week and biked on Tuesday. This morning I went for a 30 min. walk because of a flat tire (not 'pump up' flat, but a 'needs patching' flat). I know that I am already down a couple of pounds, so the week is going really well!

Well, I am sure that there is a lot more that I can say, but will save it for later posts. So for now, That's All Folks!