Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Long Time, No Blog

Holy Toledo, it's been a long time. I haven't written anything in forever, and what I have put out there has been mostly stolen quotes from other people. So for both of my readers, here's what's going on.

I started consulting with a dietitian here in Ames back in October. Nothing fancy, just a lot of work: 6 small meals 3-4 hours apart, less sugar and fat, more vegetables and fiber, and writing everything down. Being a soda-and-cheese-based lifeform for so many years, it's tough, believe me. But it's also satisfying to implement a game plan that works. So far, my weight, which started at that time at around 310-315, is now comfortably between 290 and 295. So officially a 20 pound loss, by my count. Once it gets to 290 by the end of the year, I'll be happy with that---as a start. Because...

I've also joined a bicycle racing team for next year. Central Iowa Cycling Club's Color Biotics team. So now I'll officially be a cyclist, because I'll have my own racing licence and uniform. And boy, do I plan to feel and look out of place for the first year or so. But it's additional motivation to really keep the weight loss going. When you're 200 pounds or more, you're considered to be a Clydesdale in endurance sports. Cycling is a sport where power-to-weight ratio rules the roost. If you're overweight, you'll be humiliated. So I need to keep losing 10 pounds a month for, oh, a year or so. The goal is to be at 200 pounds for my 40th birthday in October.

I bought a new bicycle a couple weeks ago. It's a Trek Soho S (which stands for single-speed). Photos to come later. It's a no-shifting utility bike to which I've installed a rack and fenders. The question everyone asks me is, "Don't you still have that really expensive bike?" To which I answer, "Yes, but it's not practical to haul groceries in a Corvette." The rear rack will have a panier on it that will haul a sack of groceries to and from the store, which is only a mile from my house (ever tried to steer a bike holding a gallon jug of milk? Not fun). And it's a compliment to my collection. The Moots for speed, the cyclocross bike for rough conditions and bad weather commuting, and the Soho S for daily commutes and errands.

If I start drooling over the mountain bike displays, someone please stage an intervention.

Spin easy, friends.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

good to have you back!

Century Training said...

Hey good luck with it. There is no better route to losing weight than cycling. I coach endurance cyclists and wrote a series of articles on using cyling for weight loss that you might find interesting.