Progress and Challenges

I had a great first week on the diet! Our weekly class is on Thursdays. We meet at the hospital, check our weight, meet with the nurse and discuss our week with the class. My first week was one of the more successful weeks of anyone in the class. I was 8.3 lbs less than the last weight check. I was actually 10 lbs down at one point. I quickly realized I was dehydrated and increased my water intake. 8.3 lbs in one week is not bad at all. I know most of it was water weight, but it still feels good to see progress. I hope to average 2 to 3 lbs per week throughout the 13 week program.

My blood pressure was down from the initial check a couple of weeks before the program started. I am very anxious about the blood test we take every three weeks. My cholesterol has always been a bit high. Throw in the fact that I am endurance athlete, and my cholesterol levels look really bad. I hope to see a major decline in my cholesterol by the end of the program.

This program requires that you meet a minimum number of shakes and meals. The shakes are comparable to any meal replacement shake on the market, but they are more nutritionally sound. The meals are similar to any Healthy choice meal you can pick up in the supermarket, but with more vitamins, minerals, and much less sodium. I have no problem with the meals, but I have problems getting in my minimum of three shakes. I have never been much on liquid or cold food. Other than the occasionally cold cut sandwich, I prefer my meals to be hot. Unfortunately, you have to get in those three shakes to get your nutritional needs. I think I have figured out my shake plan. I am making double and even triple shakes. That way, I can get them out of the way and satisfy my taste buds with the meals.

My second week has gotten off to a rocky start. I started having horrible food cravings on Friday. Someone mentioned McDonald's at work, and I thought I was going to go crazy. My mouth started watering and I swear I could smell fries. Driving home from work was a nightmare. I felt like I was in a tunnel with no way out. Everywhere I looked there was a fast food restaurant. I rushed home and had a quick meal. That helped, but I spent the rest of the night with the munchies. I can’t explain how hard it was not to raid the fridge. There wasn't much in there, but I would have killed to just have a piece of cheese.

I was so relieved to wake up Saturday morning and find the cravings had vanished. However, I still had something to worry about. Not only was it the weekend, we a birthday party to attend. I had developed a plan. The party wasn’t until 3:30 so I had plenty of time to get some meals down. My plan was to eat a meal just before we left, drink a double shake on the way and eat two meals while I was at the party. It was a great plan and I could do it.

We arrived at the party with the plan in motion. I had just finished a double shake and was ready to party. Just as we get out of the car, I froze. I had forgotten to bring my two emergency meals. This was a disastrous situation. I already felt defeated and we hadn’t even gone inside. Rebecca's sister and her husband pulled up at the same time. Being polite, I ask if I could carry anything. Gary, Rebecca's brother in law, hands me a bag to carry. Are you kidding me, it was a bag of Ribs! Just poke my eyes out that would be less painful. A few months ago, Gary had purchased “The Big Green Egg”. This is an awesome smoker and grill. He had smoked these ribs for around twelve hours. I have had them before, they are delicious. I quickly switched bags and headed for the house.

The party had the usual tidbits of finger foods and sweets. I saw two immediate threats, cheese dip and those little pizza bagel bites. I love those things; I use to eat them by the box. I grabbed a diet soda and mingled into the crowd. As I feared, I started to get hungry. I eased over to the diet sodas. I was starving and had to nibble on something. I had accepted the fact that was at least going to nibble on some finger food to tame some of my hunger. I surveyed the table for anything that I could resist eating by the pound. I saw some type of stuffed celery sticks. I could care less what it was stuffed with, it was a green vegetable and I was in no danger of eating very much. I slipped over to the table and grabbed one. I took slow bites. I ended up eating two of them. By the end of the party, I had nibbled on a couple of items. I didn’t do much damage. I anticipate I ingested around 500 calories. I was disappointed and a bit depressed at first. I regrouped and realized that I may have weak moments. This diet is a big change for me and I will have some rough moments, but I will make it.

I awoke Sunday morning very motivated. I had a couple of small meals and went on a bike ride. I rode almost three hours with great friends and had an awesome time. I ended the weekend well. Next week will be another great week.

I have to tell a funny story. A friend I work with was having some medical issues. She goes to the doctor. The doctor recommends a blood test to check to see if she was pregnant. He calls the next day to tell her she is pregnant. She makes an appointment with her normal doctor the next day. The doctor does an ultrasound and verifies the prognosis. He turns to the mother and father and gives them a bit more info that didn’t expect. Not only was she pregnant, she is due in four weeks. That is a true story. They have roughly three or four weeks to prepare for this baby. Suddenly, cheating on my diet doesn’t seem so bad.

Society and Temptation

I made it through the first weekend without cheating on my diet! For most of you, this may seem simple and a bit insignificant. However, for me, it is a very big and necessary accomplishment. It is very important to get off to a solid start.

I was able to get in two workouts this weekend. I did a 4 mile run on Saturday and a two hour bike ride on Sunday. My energy levels were strong and I felt good.

The weekends are the toughest part of this plan. During the week, my day is filled with work followed by evenings on the bike or running. By the time I get home and get showered, there is just enough time to eat a quick meal and then lights out. The weekend is full of unfilled time slots that are perfect for grabbing the nearest bag of chips.

Speaking of chips, sodas, burgers, pizza, popcorn and all other highly publicized fast foods, what is the deal with our society? There had to be at least one fast food commercial during every commercial break on every station. The term ridiculous would be an understatement. It is no surprise that the US is the most overweight nation in the world. Our society practically force feeds this crap to us. How would you expect a recovering crack addict to help themselves if crack is at your fingertips every second of the day? In case you were wondering, yes, crappy food is in the same addiction category as crack. LOL.

Temptation is at every corner. The next time you are out and about, pretend you are dieting. Use the guidelines of low fat, low sugar, nothing fried or greasy, no butter and even lower the caffeine. Look around you and count how many times temptation shows its ugly head. My wife and I went to movies this weekend. I had a Diet soda and brought one of my healthy bars with me. My wife had her usual concoction of popcorn, water and a box of candies. I was sure to eat right before we left the house, which is what saved me. The smell of the popcorn was intoxicating. I wanted to bury my face in the bucket and even snort the popcorn if that meant getting it to my stomach faster. However, I stayed strong and spent the rest of the movie licking the wrapper of the bar I had eaten before the previews had finished.

The movie wasn't the worst temptation I had this weekend. My younger brother has been living with us for the past few months. He and I are identical in several ways, especially our diet. Put us in any type of food eating contest and we will give the big guys a run for their money. His favorite meal, you guested it, cheeseburger and fries. There I sat, Sunday night, watching some TV and thinking about my upcoming work week. I was also reflecting on my diet and how tough weekends will be in the future. I was so relieved that is was close to bed time and I was done with temptation for the evening. My brother returns from a weekend of being out of town. I wasn't paying much attention when he sat down beside me. However, my attention was quickly redirected as the smell reached my nose. I look to my right, and my brother is biting into a triple cheeseburger from Wendy's. Three beef patties with three slices of cheese, a large fry and a large DP. I was speechless. The only action I could manage was to wipe away the drool running down my chin. He looked at me and said, "What". Guys and gals, that is temptation.

The first day of the rest of MY life!

Today is the first day of the rest of your life! How many times have you heard this phrase? Have you ever really sat down and thought about it's meaning? Lets think about this for a minute. This phrase tells me that I can make a change in my life today that will affect me the rest of my life. I don't have to worry about the past, my mistakes, my bad decisions or my lack of positive change. It is like having permission to start over and do things the way they should be done.

It is not enough to limit your mistakes, you must make positive progress in your life. In my opinion, it takes more energy to make positive progress than it does to avoid mistakes. Take a moment to think about the bad decisions you have avoided in the past couple of weeks. I am sure most of us patted our self on the back for not making that bad decision. Did we really deserve a pat on the back for not doing the wrong thing? Shouldn't we be striving for more? Whether you are thinking about family life, work, fitness, diet or just general happiness, make an extra effort to do something that has a positive impact on your life!

Today is the first day of the rest of MY life! Today, I start on a journey that has eluded me since birth! I start a journey that will have a positive impact on some of the most important aspects of my life. Today is the first day of the weight management program.

I attended the first Weight management class last night. There were 23 people in the class. Strangely enough, It felt like what I think and Alcoholic Anonymous class may feel like. For the first few minutes, I felt like I was there because I had done something wrong and I needed help. A few minutes later, I realized that was exactly why I was there. I needed help to make a positive change in my life. The first step is admitting you have a problem. "Hello, my name is Chris. I am an over eater masquerading as an endurance athlete. I have realized I can't do this by myself, so I am here for help."

I had my first shake this morning for breakfast. It had a pleasant taste and was easy to make. My taste buds did not go in shock, I did not pass out or lose consciousness. It was a fairly uneventful event. I had my second shake at 10:30 AM. Again, no malfunction of bodily functions. I will have my fist entree in few minutes.

Make no mistake about it, I know this is going to be a long tough road. I will need the support of all my family and friends for this journey. Fortunately for me, I have the most awesome family and friends anyone could have on their side.

Today is the first day of the rest of MY life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anguish and Adversity

The Ironman 70.3 Kansas has come and gone. It was an incredible experience to line up with 1300 competitors. If you haven't done a large event like this, you should add it to your list of things to do. Due to inclement weather, they cut the course short. Those of us who hadn't started our second loop on the run were redirected to the finish line. We all received our finishing metals, and officially completed the event. However, my wife and I have decided not to put the 70.3 sticker on our cars yet. Since we were not allowed to finish the full mileage, we don't feel it would be appropriate to display the sticker. Placing this sticker on my car is very important to me. I guess it will have to wait until later this year or next year.

Even though the event was cut short, I can say I experienced more anguish and adversity in this event than any other event or training session. Before I recap, I want to repeat a thought discussed on several of my friends blogs in the last week or two. Race day is just one day, just the destination. The prize is the journey with friends. Don't let race day mishaps ruin the journey.

The Swim was, a bit crowded, to say the least. The swim was counter clockwise so the buoys were on the left. This was great for me since I only breathe to my left. I knew most swimmers would hang close to the buoys, so I decided to stay to the outside. This turned out to be a great tactic, for the most part. As anticipated, I did not have any crowding problems. What I didn't anticipate was the wide turns I would be making as the buoys changed direction. On each of the two turns, I found myself 100 to 150 yards out to the right of the buoys. I had to swim in a diagonal line to get back on track. I felt strong in the swim, but the added yardage also added minutes to my time, and stress on my body.

The bike was my single worst day on a bike, ever!!!!! Before I tell this horrid tale, those who don't know me should know I am good long distance cyclist. Even though I am a heavy weight, I can put in the long miles with the best of them. My longest one day ride is 132 miles. I have done a four day ride that consist of 20,000 feet of climbing over 320 miles. To say I have suffered on the bike before, is an understatement.

The bike started out well. I had planned to keep and pace in the 18 mph range. I could go faster, but the run was my weak point, so I need to save my legs. There was T-storm moving in, so we had the pleasure of a murderous head wind. Kansas is not flat, so add rolling hills, steady climbs and a couple of steep climbs to the scenario and that means trouble. I started out with the planned pace and things were going great. I felt strong and had a good rhythm. Not even 10 miles in the ride, I found it hard to maintain even 15 mph. I swear I was putting in enough effort to roll at 21. I blamed it on the wind and kept plugging along. To my surprise, the wind got stronger, the hills got steeper and my legs got weaker and weaker. My energy levels were ok, but I was losing power. The suffering had started way to early. I am twenty miles into a bike ride, and I feel like I have been 100 miles. I put my head down and just pedaled. I took a mild curve and my front wheel slipped out from under me. I somehow stayed upright and kept moving. The curve didn't seem that sharp. I glanced at my front wheel and everything looked ok so I kept going. On the way back, I slipped in that same curve. I decided to get off the bike and take a closer look. Wow, my front wheel was almost flat. I had just rode 20 miles of hills and strong headwinds with a near flat front wheel. I used my fix a flat Co2 cartridge for tubular tires and got started. I could immediately feel a difference. The good news was the tire was holding, the bad news was my legs were shot. I could already feel my legs starting to cramp from the hard effort. I reached for my Endurolyte mixture in my jersey pocket. It was empty! I had took one shot of it and forgot to close the lid. I had twenty miles left on the bike and I had dead cramping legs. I was now looking at cutting is close to the bike cutoff. At one point, both of my quads seized up on a climb. I had to dismount the bike and walk up the hill. I couldn't even pedal on the downhill. I started chugging Gatorade at the rest stops to get all of the electrolytes possible. My stomach doesn't like Gatorade, but I had no choice. I made it back to the transition area just 15 minutes before the bike cutoff. I was exhausted, cramping and to tell you the truth, depressed. I had considered myself a good cyclist, and here I was fighting just to make the cutoff time. I had plenty of time to think on this ride. I had already decided I was doing no more Triathlons the rest of the year and wasn't doing any next year until I lost 35 lbs. It was truly some of the saddest moments I can remember.

The transition from the Bike to the run was the most painful part of the day. It is here where I would reach down deep and find resolve I truly did not know I had. Dismounting the bike hurt, and it hurt bad. Both quads locked up as I unclipped my pedals. I walked to my area and racked my bike. I could hardly stand, so I decided to set down. The second my legs bent, I almost screamed in pain. I couldn't straighten my legs out and I couldn't bend them to far. I couldn't even get my socks on. I layed in the transition area for a good 5 minutes in agony. I was done. No, wait, I am not done. I am not quitting. If I have to crawl the rest of the way, I am going to crawl until they pull me off the course. I couldn't get my socks on, so I just slipped my feet into my shoes without bending over. Thank God for speed laces. I grabbed my run belt, hat and watch. I had another bottle of endurolyte mixture for the run. I took it all, right there. I hobbled out of the transition. If i could walk to the first rest stop, I could get more nutrition and give my legs time to absorb the electrolytes. The rest stop had gels with double the electrolytes of normal gel. I took two of them and downed two cups of Gatorade. I started walking again, then decided to run. I couldn't believe it, my legs were allowing me to run. Some of the cramping had started to go away. I looked at my watch and calculated my pace needs to finish the run.

I was about to start my second loop when they started pulling all competitors in due to inclement weather. I was happy and a bit sad. I was happy I wouldn't have to suffer any longer today and happy that I didn't have to deal with the possibility of not meeting the cutoff. I felt I could make the cutoff, but you never know. I was also very sad that all of this suffering would go to waste. What a great feeling it would have been to finish the event and be able to tell the story of the pain and suffering. We did officially finish the event, but we are not yet 70.3 Ironmen. I will get my sticker!

Race Preparation

I love race preparation! I normally start my race prep 5 days out. This gives me plenty of time to find what is missing or what needs replacing. Ironman Kansas 70.3 is one week away, however, we leave on Thursday so it was time to get started.

I started the weekend with some bike cleaning. I make it a point to get the bikes shinning a week out from an event. You just can't race with a dirty bike. It would be like going to a fancy restaurant in shorts and flip flops when all of your friends are there in Tuxedos.

As you can tell by the pic of our kitchen table, we don't pack light for an event. I make it a point to have two of almost everything, shoes, helmets, swim goggles, 2 extra sets of wheels...etc. If I have room in the Xterra, I will usually take an extra bike. Not only do I do this for my wife and I, I do this for my friends. I would hate for anyone to miss an event because they forgot something.

I follow all of the other rules of racing, like "Never change anything before a race", "always be early to the race site" and others. I have this great friend who is the direct opposite. I won't name any names, cough, cough, HBOO, cough. We have a friendly Tri competition going. He is a big guy like me. He started a similar diet at UAMS a couple of weeks ago. He is a big inspiration for me. However, his race prep habits kill me. He borrowed a friends race wheels two days before an event in May. He didn't even have time to try them out until the day before the event. He calls me the day before the event and asks me to bring some extra swim goggles. Sometimes I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Oh well, you got a love him.

My wife and I watched some Ironman footage we have recorded. It got us really excited about the race. We are also looking forward to some vacation time. We are taking off a full week for the event. I may blog one more time before we leave, if not, I will try to blog the day before the event. I should be able to blog after the event Sunday night or on Monday.

I knocked out another cheat meal tonight. My wife made pizza. Her pizza is so much better than anything you can buy. It is also not nearly as bad for you. She uses lean ground beef and the crust is not that greasy stuff. It was awesome! I have 11 more days until I start my transformation. I can't wait!

Another Successful Tri!

Another successful Tri completed. I love crossing the finish line at a Triathlon. Everyone is cheering you on as if you are breaking a world record, even if you are last place. This may be the only sport that celebrates finishing above winning. Check out Tri Momma Jo and Sarah on my blogs everyone should read. They have great write ups on the true value of the training journey with friends. Race day is just a celebration of the journey with friends.

Speaking of Triathlons, Ironman 70.3 Kansas is less than two weeks away. There are close to a dozen of us going from the Little Rock area. My wife and I will be heading up the Thursday before to throw in a little vacation time before the event. There is quite a bit of nervousness within the group. This will be the first Half Ironman for my wife and our good friend Jo. They are both supreme athletes and really have nothing to worry about. They should be at the finish line sipping on cold ones way before I finish. This is my second attempt at a Half Ironman. I attempted the Lake Degray Half last August. It is a very brutal course, especially with the August heat and humidity in Arkansas. I had a great swim and decent bike, but the run destroyed me. I made it 6 miles into the run before catching a ride back to the finish. My legs had started cramping to the point they were locking up. Walking was becoming difficult. I stopped by the medical tent for a cocktail. That bag of fluid was just what the doctor ordered. I didn't really do any Tri specific training for that race. I thought I could just wing it. Boy was I wrong. I should do a lot better in Kansas. I am in much better shape and have actually been running this year. Running is really hard when you are a heavy weight. I have already bought my 70.3 sticker for my car. I really hope I finish this one. It means a lot to me.

Well, I had one of my 3 cheat meals last night. After the club bike ride, my wife and I decided to get some PF Chang's. I had the Spicy chicken and chicken fried rice. You know, a funny thing happened as I was eating. I was loving the taste of the food, but I found myself actually looking forward to starting the diet in two weeks. I think mentally, I have already started to make the change. I was thinking about that as I ran 9 miles on Monday night. I can't wait to see how it feels to run when I lose 30 lbs or more. It is possible I may be able to hover over the ground as I run. LOL.