Giving Up and Giving In

HA, I wasn't talking about giving up on my fitness. If that's what you were thinking. I was talking about my recent attempt to give up the diet soda for 30 days. I tried this once before, in an attempt to drink more tea, but my caffeine needs were strong and I was weak. This time I have been soda free for one week. I just decided it was time to stop drinking so much soda because there are so many reports citing the health and weight impacts of soda consumption. You would think diet soda would help you lose weight. But no. Plus, the chemicals. And now I just read it's bad for your kidneys. I should just stop reading now and come back here to finish this post! If you are interested Google "diet soda studies" and read until you are curled in a fetal position. I learned even Dean Ornish, DEAN ORNISH, is in with a major soda producer. Where will it end?

So I feel pretty good about my decision. Just need to find more choices on the beverage front. Water is good but blahhh. And I don't know if it's coincidence or what but I have suddenly started losing weight. Could be the multiple workouts and the realization that I can't eat all the calories I burned off. Or it could be the absence of diet soda. I like to think that anyway.

On the tri front, I feel totes prepared for my big tri debut. A feeling I did not have last year. I'm so glad I wimped out of that one, even though I felt crappy about it at the time. I am just in such a different place mentally and I know I can do it. I've even gone above and beyond my goals a couple of times. The swim is definitely my weakest link. I'm slow on the run but I know I can do it. The bike is just a matter of hammering while not trashing my legs. I actually feel a little excited. I'm looking at more events in the future so I don't just flow along aimlessly without a training plan. That is the perfect prescription for weight gain and exercise stoppage. Two more weeks to the start of the rest of my life!

Big Changes

OK I keep planning and scheming to set this blog straight and I finally had a day off to do it. I have been dreaming of updating and changing the look. I took pictures of myself way back in December so I could do Before/After (assuming the transformation was ASTOUNDING) but I never got around to putting them up. Well, no more. Admittedly they are not the best quality (and please ignore the messiness of my bathroom) but there they are. As I focus more and more on fitness I have less to say about other parts of my life. I haven't managed the balancing act so many people seem to have mastered. But right now my health is really important so I hope to update here more. As with my other blog, if one person reads this and thinks, "I can do that. Look at her fat butt," then I have done my job. And PS, you are a mean person. I have been very busy since the last post. I would direct you to my training log as evidence of that. But here's a little recap:

• I participated in a bicycle clinic and changed a tire!
• I enrolled in and am attending a Beginner Triathlon class at Tri2BFit. I asked if any of my peeps wanted to join but alas, I had to go it alone. And I think this proves I kick ass.
• Speaking of peeps, my friend Sara and I harassed invited several ladies to join us in our informal womens triathlon club. We now go around telling people we belong to a triathlon club. We need to get matching shirts. I joke but I am serious about continuing with this and actually starting a formal womens club someday. When I am not so busy. And in better shape.
• Our triathlon club (see above) has been meeting on Sunday morning for bike rides and breakfast. Even though we have been rained out an extraordinary amount of times considering we live in the desert.
  
• I am almost done with week 5 of the Couch to 5K program (again!) Tomorrow is the 20 minute run. I have faced you before my friend. And I will be victorious. Interestingly enough (to me) I have finally found a pace where I don't feel like dying. And I can actually tell the difference when I go faster and come back down. Right now that's a 12 minute mile but I'm not complaining. I'm aiming for negative splits!
  
• I have been swimming once a week. I would feel more comfortable with my ability if I had two days to swim but that's not happening now. I actually swam 1200 yards last night. That is almost 3/4 of a mile. I did not want to keep going. But Dory told me to just keep swimming so I did. And yes, I have a Dory in my head to motivate me. Don't you?

• I have also been back on the watching my food intake front. I am struggling a little because I am so used to Weight Watchers and I had a lot of success on it BUT I don't think it helps me make better food choices. You can eat a lot of weird crap on WW that is low in points but not good for you. I have been just recording my food intake on The Daily Plate but it doesn't have that counting down feature I love. I just had a thought as I wrote that. Why don't I just take my calorie total for the day and subtract my calories from it as I go so I can see how many I have left. The website does that for you but I think if I wrote it down it might help more. See how beneficial this is to everyone involved? Which is just me at this point.
• Finally, I have been reading and trying to follow the Beck Diet Solution. For me it's like dieting and psychological experimenting on myself all at the same time. I must say though, I have used this book before and I always, always get stuck on the 4th day (of like 42). I don't know why. But last time just the first 4 days helped something click in my brain. And this time I have found I am incorporating more of the positive messages than I ever have. Doesn't mean I don't shudder when I see myself in my bathing suit. But I'm working on it.
  

I guess that's enough for now. Please leave me a comment if you want to continue this journey with me (and Sara I know you're in so you don't have to). In the meantime, just keep swimming.

Tri 4 The Cure

10 weeks to go until the big sprint triathlon. I'm trying not to hyperventilate at that prospect. I have set my ambitious training program goals (and my really, really ambitious goals for the year). I will come back and fill those in when I have longer than 15 minutes (I have promised my child I would make her lunch. When does it end?) I also have decided not to weigh myself again until race day. Because I am very tired of having a crap week based on the scale. I'm going to take my measurements and post my weight and before/after photos. Not quite brave enough to post the measurements but I will post any changes. OK that about sets me up to begin the first 10 weeks of lifelong health!

Sweet Dilemma and A Goal

OK I am totally flummoxed (I love that word) about what to do with my coffee. I always used Splenda so I wouldn't add calories. Then I started trying to stay away from chemicals and switched to sugar. But I keep reading about the horrible effects of eating too much sugar. So I switched back to Splenda. And then I read about the high incidence of weight gain for people who use sugar substitutes. Aaaagh I don't know what to do anymore. I am leaning towards using sugar because at least it's natural. But I just have to learn to use less. I think before I was using a tablespoon total (for three cups). I'll work on that.

As for the goal, I would like to track what I eat (good or bad) on The Daily Plate for at least five days this week.

I would also like to make this big goal to jump into my training program (to be detailed later) but I would be happy to limp into the program this week following my extremely unpleasant recent illness.

Will Post Again...

when I can breathe in without coughing up a portion of lung. TMI?

In Need of a Coach

Please send me your coaches free of charge. Or just start telling me to get up and do it already. Actually, being yelled at doesn't work for me. Say it nicely. I know I need to start training for the April triathlon. But it seems so far away and I'm just so sleepy. I woke up early this morning to take the dog for a walk because I had to leave right after dropping the kids off at school. And you know what? I went back to sleep because 6:30 is unbelievably cold and dark. I'm starting to think I prefer the summer temps even though your internal organs roast. I cannot get with the cold. And it provides another convenient excuse! OK for reals. I just need a training plan. So if you can't provide a coach, could you at least give me a plan? I actually have three or four plans to follow but maybe I'm just so overwhelmed with plans I can't get started. Yeah, I like that one. I did buy a Bosu Ball. Have yet to take it out of the box. I feel a little protective of it because I see the way my children have been looking at it. Waiting for all that Vitamin D energy to kick in. Any day now.

It's the Vitamin D

So apparently I am low on that most important of vitamins, and not the "vitamins" your mother hides in the back of the medicine chest, I mean Vitamin D. I'm pretty sure I get enough sun. I live in the desert. I drink at least a cup of milk with my coffee. So not sure why I'm low on the D. The doctor prescribed a supplement for the next 12 weeks. I think I'm taking roughly one million units of vitamin D now. The rare side effects include weight loss and loss of appetite. They suggest you call your doctor. How about I call my girlfriends and we go out for dessert (in the desert) to celebrate?!