Weekly Weigh In: Week 18

Starting to feel a little silly still posting on Mondays since my weight loss is so slow at this point, but without a real weigh in with other people standing there and logging my weight, it really is my only mode of accountability at this point.  I find myself thinking at some points…maybe this is it.  Maybe this is where I”m going to land.  Which feels bananas.  I”m sporting a BMI right now of 30.7, certainly over the line into Obese category.  This can’t be it.  It just can’t.

That being said the scale is down a bit again this week, and that’s a good thing.  And honestly, if I could eek out half a pound weight loss a week, that would be fine with me at this point.  That would be 2 and change a month and and that would mean in a year I’d be 20 pounds lighter.  I’d be fine with that.  So I’m just going to keep plugging away.  I don’t want to give up on the goal.

And I am curious to see what happens when I go back to school, with its structure and planning, as well as when the tri training is over.  I do plan on keeping up with the swimming and the biking as long as the weather holds (I can do stationary bike at the gym when things turn towards winter).  I’m excited for that.  But it won’t be the tough workouts I’m doing now, and maybe my body will start releasing the weight a little more when it isn’t worried about fueling these long workouts?  I don’t know.

But for now, I’m still in the game.  I’m still going forward.  It’s better than not.

Start of Week 18: 157.6
End of Week 18: 157
Weight Loss This Week: 0.6 lbs
Total Weight Loss: 18 lbs

Exercise this week:
M:  5.2 mi run/walk
T:  16.3 mi bike
W:  30 min treadmill/30 min strength
Th:  Rest
Fri:  50 lap swim
Sa:  10.25 mi bike
Su:  40 min open water swim

Triathlon Training: Week 8

Two weeks left!  I am vacillating between feeling spot on ready and scared that it will be too hard. I know I’ve put in solid training and definitely know I can do it…but then I start comparing myself to others and that’s when the doubt comes in.  Must remind myself:  I’m running my own race!

Monday:  5.2 mile run/walk

I hadn’t done a “just run” kind of workout in nearly two weeks, so it was time.  I hit our local trail just before 7 am and had a moment of panic.  The last few times I ran it was on a treadmill which is easier (no hills, no wind resistance, no people/dogs to dodge).  I dialed back one week on my Couch 2 5K thinking I’d be doing a 3/4/5.  Instead it was a 3/6/4.  But I surprised myself with it not feeling that hard, and I made it the full six.  I did another workout as soon as I finished, and then just added some walking with a minute of run here and there to top 5 miles, which was my goal.  The plan this week is a “recovery” week so it only called for 2, but I’m worried about my fitness level, so I’m trying to exceed the plan where I can.

Tuesday:  16.3 mile bike

My friend and I had agreed to a hillier route today, knowing the training would pay off on race day, but man, this one pretty much sucked.  The hills were hard. But we kept at it, and when all was said and done, I was glad we’d done them.  It made our usual route, which we ended up on towards the end, feel easy.  (Side note:  there was another reason why this seemed so hard, which I found out later in the week).  At least it was a cooler day so that helped me get through.

Wednesday:  30 min run/walk, 30 min strength

A rainy morning brought me to the Y.  Since I’d just ridden the day before I opted for a “warmup” on the treadmill.  I wanted something easier so I did a 2/3 workout (2 min run, 2 min walk, 3 min run, 2 min walk, rinse, repeat).  It felt good.  Then, since I hadn’t done any strength last week, I worked the machines.  It ended up being a tough workout.

Thursday:  Rest

College move in day for my daughter = rest day.  They had so much help for us I couldn’t even count hauling stuff up and down.  It went really smoothly.

Friday:  50 lap swim

Back to the Y for a pool swim.  The plan only called for 30 laps today (recovery week) but I felt silly going all the way there for that, so I did 50 laps.  Unfortunately I found out that they are closing the pool for ten days to refurbish and repair it….right at the end of my training cycle!  Ugh!  I can still do open water swims on the weekends but I’ll have to find another pool at least once before the race.  Boo!

Saturday:  10.25 mile bike – triathlon preview ride

I signed up for the “triathlon preview” but didn’t realize it was only the bike portion until later.  I figured it still would be good practice, even if it wasn’t everything.  It isn’t the whole distance because we couldn’t go into the park where the race will be held, and that is the last 1.75 mile of it, in and out of the park.  Fortunately for me, the leaders for the ride brought repair tools and pumps because my tires were super low!  Like 30 psi when they were supposed to be 80-85.  OMG.  Little did I know I’m supposed to be checking them and topping them off pretty much every ride, and I haven’t done it at all this training cycle.  Ooops.  They told me that could have been why riding still feels so hard, because I was doing it on soft tires.  And sure enough, the preview ride, on nice full tires, felt surprisingly easy!  Sure it is less hilly than where I have been riding but even so, the ten miles flew by.  Lesson learned, I found my pump and I will be using it regularly!  And it was a good confidence booster:  I was firmly in the middle of the pack.  Granted, the elite types wouldn’t be out for a practice ride, but of the people who turned out, I was having no trouble keeping up with.  I even passed some!  🙂

Sunday:  45 min open water swim

No open water swims were on this week’s schedule but I had wanted to take my friend to the beach since she hadn’t done any open water swimming yet.  The conditions weren’t as perfect as the last few times I went…there were cold patches in the water and more seaweed than I’ve ever seen.  But it was still a sunny, beautiful morning and my friend was grateful for the practice.

This next week is the last big training week before I taper during the final week.  It’s almost here!

Weekly Weigh In: Week 17

Weirdly, I’m not upset about this week’s results.  I understand them.  I’m not mystified by them.  I lost this week, which helps.  Not a lot, but a little.  I ate healthy foods all week and stayed on plan probably 80 % of the time.  I did add a little fruit/carbs/protein depending on the phase to augment the training cycle and I definitely saw a difference in both how I felt and the numbers on the scale.  But I also made conscious choices this week to have wine, to have ice cream, to have pizza, to have corn on the cob.  That ice cream I had was the most delicious ice cream I have had in a year, and I savored every single spoonful.  I chose it, I ate it, I enjoyed it, and it didn’t trigger a binge, or a desire to abandon my program, or anything else.  I saw a direct result from what I was choosing to eat to my performance and the numbers on the scale this week, which didn’t happen the last two.  So while I didn’t lose a lot, I felt more like it made sense, and so therefore I’m OK with it.

At this point, with three weeks left until the triathlon, and a week and a half before I return to work as a tutor at our local high school, I’m going to keep up my training, my (mostly) careful eating, and start planning for when there is more structure, but less time for planning and exercise.

Start of Week 17: 158
End of Week 17: 157.6
Weight Loss This Week: 0.4 lbs
Total Weight Loss: 17.4 lbs

Exercise this week:
M:  4.2 mi walk
Tu:  60 lap swim
W:  15 mi bike
Th:  Yoga
Fr:  45 min open water swim
Sa:  50 min bike/48 min run/walk

Triathlon Training: Week 7

Just three weeks left until the tri!  I am feeling good and strong about the training…I’m working hard and feeling it.  I can’t quite believe we’re almost there.  I’m at the point where most of the workouts are feeling tough.  But I also see so much progress, and feel good about where I am at. Here’s what this week looked like.

Monday:  4.2 mile walk

I was tired from my brick workout at the gym the day before, and I didn’t want to head into dangerous territory with running, so I walked the 4 miles prescribed for today.

Tuesday:  60 lap swim

The plan called for 55 laps this week.  I am at 60 and that is where I will cap the training, which is about 5/6 of a mile.  It’s well over where I need to be for the race, but I want to be sure each workout is beyond the distance for that activity since I will be doing all three back to back.

Wednesday:  15 mile bike

This week’s plan calls for 16 miles, which seems kind of nuts to me since I’ll be finishing out at 12 on the course.  I did 14 last week so I decided to just add one more this week for 15.  I might do 16 as my peak, or i might just stay at 15.  I did this ride with a friend, and found myself at one point struggling to keep up with her.  😦

Thursday:  Yoga

I wasn’t sure what to do this day since my legs were really feeling it from the long bike ride.  I didn’t want to tax my legs and I had planned on swimming the next day.  Then I saw there was a yoga class that fit perfectly in my schedule for the day, so that ended up being it.  It felt like the right choice.  I needed to give my legs some recovery and the yoga loosened up my tight legs/hips nicely.

Friday:

45 min open water swim

This swim was awesome.  I went further than I thought possible and even at the end, I could have gone longer.  I did have some lapses into breast stroke, but I never stopped moving or rested at all.  Once I warmed up and got into my groove I felt like I could just go on and on.  I feel like swimming has come the longest way of the three for me.

Saturday:  Brick workout:  50 min bike, 48 min run/walk

This workout was tough.  It was warm and humid and I chose a hillier route on the bike to challenge myself.  It was hard and I really struggled. The hills slowed me down so I only 8.5 miles in that time.  I kept telling myself struggling now will pay off on race day.  What was good about this workout is that I think I have nailed my strategy for the run portion:  I will start out so to shake off the jello legs from the bike and then try to up the speed after a few minutes of just getting used to being off bike.  What I do need to figure out is some GU or some nutrition to grab during the transition here.  I found myself weak all day from this workout, and this isn’t everything I’ll be doing on race day.

Sunday:  Rest

I thought about doing some walking today but I was so spent from the workout the day before I decided not to.  There’s a lot going on with my daughter leaving for college this week so I’m going to cut myself a break and not stress about a rest day.  Plus, this will allow me to really get a solid run in tomorrow, which I didn’t do at all last week except for my brick.

With only two weekends left to work with before the race, I’ll need to start doing some full practice run throughs of all three activities, so I get the hang of rinsing off my feet and riding in wet clothes.  Next week there is a preview of the bike course, so I’ll be doing that, and then if the weather is good, I’ll try for a run through Sunday or Monday. Then another one over Labor Day…and then it’s on like Donkey Kong!

Weekly Weigh In: Week 16

So my weight loss is officially stalled.  It’s been two months now of almost no weight loss.  I’m frustrated because I feel like I am eating probably 85 % on plan and I thought that would be a manageable place to still see some, albeit slow, weight loss without being that person who is a pain to hang out with or go out to eat with.

I truly don’t get it.  I thought I would be down ten more pounds by now and I’m struggling trying to figure out why the numbers just aren’t cooperating.

Sugar:  Maybe?  I still don’t eat very much of it.  Maybe once or twice a week at most, and only at social gatherings.  I don’t even use honey or maple syrup.

Alcohol:  Likely part of the issue.  I still don’t drink nearly what I used to (I used to average of 2 drinks a night, sometimes more) but I have been “less careful” on this.  That is certainly something I want to tighten up.

Dairy:  I have had a little cheese and some ice cream this cycle.  ??

Processed foods:  I really don’t eat processed foods at all unless you count restaurant food.

I also had a day of feeling sick this week and totally ate off plan entirely.  Saltine crackers and canned soup.  I suppose that could be a part of this week’s stall.

I do suspect the triathlon training is part of the issue.  While I don’t see myself eating more because of it, or eating sloppier, I suppose it is changing the dynamic of my hormone balances, especially in the last two weeks as I have really upped the intensity.  And that’s the irony of all of this, is that the workouts are going GREAT…so maybe I need to worry less about weight loss until the tri and worry more about performance?

I’m not sure what the answer is.  But I sure would like to see these numbers move downward again.  I start a new FMD cycle today, so what I can do is work the program, recommit to being better and tighter in my choices, and move forward.

Start of Week 16: 158
End of Week 16: 158
Weight Loss This Week:  0 lbs
Total Weight Loss: 17 lbs
Round 4 Results:  – 2 lbs

Exercise this week:

M: 14 mile bike
T: 3.3 mile run/walk
W: 20 min stationary bike/40 min strength
Th: Rest
Fri: Rest/Sick
Sat: 60 lap swim
Sun: Brick workout:  13.5 mile bike/2.65 mile run walk

Triathlon Training: Week 6

I am kind of dumbfounded looking at the title here and realizing I’ve been working six weeks already towards this goal, with four more to go.  On the one hand it feels like I’ve been working hard but on the other hand it feels like it hasn’t been quite that long.  Will I be ready?  I feel like I will but you never know what obstacles will get thrown in your way.

Monday:  14 mile bike

I was never able to get in my long bike ride last week due to my freak mandolin injury.   I know that sounds nuts right?  I sliced off a chunk of my right index finger making sweet potato chips and it really was quite a mess for several days.  But by Monday I felt riding would be alright, so I met up with a friend who is also going to do this triathlon for a bike ride.  It was her first for this training cycle, but she’s in far better shape than me so she can probably get by with a lot less training.  We did 8 miles together and then I did 6 more on my own to get to my goal of 14.  This is well beyond what I’ll need for the race, and feels good to know that I’m going well beyond it.

Tuesday:  3.3 mile run/walk

I wasn’t sure if I was ready to do Week 5 Day 1 on my Couch to 5K app for this one.  It called for a 5 min run/2 min walk/7 min run/2 min walk/5 min run.  It was rainy so I headed to the Y for a treadmill run and….I did it!  I couldn’t really believe I had it in me.  I kept up intervals after the app ran out to hit 3.3 miles.  The plan called for 4 mile run this week, but I’m very happy with this.

Wednesday:  20 min stationary bike/40 min strength

I still wasn’t confident about a swim with my hand on this day so I went to the gym and did some strength training hoping to build up my base.

Thursday/Friday:  Rest Days

I had intended for Thursday to be a rest day and Friday to be a swim day but I felt sick on Friday and decided it wasn’t going to happen.

Saturday:  60 lap swim

I covered my much better looking wound with a Tegaderm supposedly waterproof bandage and went to my local Y for the swim.  The training plan called for 55 laps and I had intended on 58 just to keep ahead of it a bit (my last swim was 56 laps) but it felt silly to end on 58 and I felt good so I added 2 more to get to 60.  60 is the longest lap swim I’ll do in this training cycle, so it feels good to have nailed it already.  I only dropped to breast stroke twice, at laps 30-31.  That’s a big win.  As to the bandage, it was not waterproof but it did at least still stay on and covered…and by 7 days out the wound is mostly sealed up and healing nicely.  At this point the chlorine helped!  🙂

Sunday:  Indoor BRick:  45 min bike and 40 min run

The plan called for 45 min bike and 3 mile run, but when my 45 minutes got me over 13 miles on the stationary bike, I decided I could cut back a bit on the run.  For the brick I dropped down to Week 3 Day 1 and it was just the right length of intervals for the tired legs.  I ended up with 13.4 miles on the bike (I am much faster on the stationary bike despite using the hilly setting….today I used level 9 and it felt tough but maybe i need to go higher) and 2.64 miles on the treadmill.

Next week the plan dials back for a bit of a rest week.  I may switch it with the following week, which is college move in week for my daughter, so it will be a lot harder to get in the longer workouts.  Either way, the training is feeling great and I am definitely seeing progress.

Week 15 Weigh In

I’m not surprised by the one pound gain this week having watched my numbers all week, but I’m mystified by it.  I would have thought I would have posted a two pound loss this week with how good my food and exercise have been.

Other than one night out with girlfriends, it was a solid week of exercise and healthy food.  I used my Yonanas machine to make sorbet during Phase 1, I made the most delicious sweet potato chips in Phase 3, I made onion mushroom burgers with arrowroot gravy in Phase 2 (the entire fam loved it!)…I did well with the food this week.

But I noticed mid week that I didn’t feel good.  My weight went up two pounds overnight and I began to feel tired and sluggish. And hungry!  Hungry in a way I haven’t really been since been on this plan.  On Wednesday I totally went off phase (eating some Phase 3 and Phase 1 foods in the afternoon and evening) because I just didn’t feel good (I spent half of Friday repeating Phase 2 to make up for it).  I had been working hard in my workouts…a big brick workout, a wonderful open water swim, a great Couch 2 5K run.  I realized that last time I trained for the triathlon, I gained weight.  I thought back then I was just “eating more” and not being careful because of the workouts.  But what if the converse is true…what if I’m not eating enough to really fuel what I am doing, and being too careful?  I started to realize that maybe I wasn’t eating quite enough on the Fast Metabolism Diet to be fueling all of this.

Sure enough, when I started researching, here’s what I found:

Training for a half marathon, marathon or triathlon

Here’s where it gets tougher. If you plan to train minimally for a half marathon, you may be able to follow the same plan as above: Do your long runs on Phase 1 days, with a short, easy jog on one or two days of Phase 3.

However, if you plan to train more intensely, your body will need more fuel to accommodate the extra exercise.

On Phase 1: Plan to make Phase 1 days your long run or hard workout day or days. Add another fruit snack prior to your workout. And with breakfast, add a little protein — an egg white, a couple of turkey slices, or add spirulina to a smoothie.

On Phase 2: If you need to run on P2 days, you’ll need to add a fruit snack before your run. Go for a low glycemic fruit like berries or an Asian pear.

On Phase 3: Include the optional grain at P3 dinners. You may also need to add an additional fruit snack, or add fruit to one of your healthy-fat snacks.

So maybe that’s part of why my body rebelled this week. I don’t know.  I am still pretty frustrated that I have essentially gone six weeks with a net one pound loss here.  Which may not be a coincidence since that’s about as long as I have been training….I don’t know.  I do see changes in my body composition, I am seeing more muscle and clothes are fitting better, but still.  I had hoped to be down at least another five pounds by now.  I’m entering the last week of this round of FMD and I’m not happy with where I am at.  So I will adjust with these tweaks this week, and keep going forward.  That’s all I can do.

Start of Week 15: 157
End of Week 15: 158
Weight Gain This Week: + 1 lb
Total Weight Loss: 17 lbs

Exercise this week:

M:  Brick workout:  45 min bike/30 min run
T:  40 min open water swim
W:  3.1 m run/walk
Th:  Rest
Fri:  56 lap swim
Sat:  Yoga
Sun:  4.3 mile walk

Triathlon Training: Week 5

This week hit me like a ton of bricks.  I worked hard, am seeing progress but midweek I started really feeling tired.  Because I am still following the Fast Metabolism Diet, I’m realizing that I might need to start tweaking my food intake because of the training.  When I looked up the tips for triathlon training while following the plan, I confirmed my suspicions:  my body needs more fuel.  It’s counter intuitive because my weight loss is super slow these days…but maybe that’s why.

I need to be adding more things depending on phases since I’m working so hard, and the workouts are only going to get longer in duration.

That said, here’s how the week went:

Mon:  Brick Workout

This week the plan called for a 45 min bike ride and 30 minute run, and that’s just what I did.  I covered 7.7 miles in the 45 min ride, and then followed a week 1 day 1 couch 2 5K program for the run.  I figured I needed to start small on tired legs.  It was just right for the first brick:  felt hard but not overwhelmingly so.

Tue:  Open Water Swim

Chose this week to do this again even though the plan isn’t there yet.  I went down to Long Island Sound early in the morning and it was beautiful!  The water was very calm and I loved every minute.  I went back and forth along the beach, always where I would still be able to stand since I was alone.  I swam for about 40 min straight. I would do this again, and maybe I’ll use this beach for my practice between swimming and biking.

Wed:  5K Run/Walk

The plan called for a 3 mile run this week.  I put on Week 4 Day 3 of Couch 2 5K and was able to do each interval all the way through, including the 5 minute long one.  I added more intervals after the 30 minutes was up to get to 3.1 miles.  This felt hard, but I did it.

Thu:  Rest Day

After the three big workouts this week this was where i crashed.  I had planned on swimming this morning but I just couldn’t muster the energy.  I decided my body was telling me something and chose to take a day off.

Fri:  56 lap swim

Still well ahead of the plan on this one, as the plan called for 44 laps this week.  Definitely seeing progress here.

Sat:  Yoga

Foiled by rain.  I had planned on a long bike ride today but it didn’t happen.  And since I’m still feeling so tired I decided to let yoga be today’s workout.

Sun:  4.3 mile walk with a friend

Good thing I didn’t have a swim planned this day.  I sliced a little chunk out of a finger the night before using a mandolin to make sweet potato chips.  I’m a little worried how this will affect my training this week.  We’ll see what happens.

Next week I will tweak my food so I start feeling energized again.  Otherwise, I am liking the progress I am seeing in training.