Weight drop before Syracuse HIM
I origianlly posted this up on the dashboard:
Pushing into week 5 of OS. Definitely need the rest day today. I was suprised as to how much I got out of my legs after doing a 13.1. Three more weeks of OS, then switching to 12 weeks of HIM plan. Other good news, dropped under 190 this week to 188lbs 28 more to go! 16 weeks to Syracuse Ironman!
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160 is my original goal (5'9.5" height), and had hoped to get there before Syracuse HIM. My current thought is that I may creep in under 170 with the up take in volume that will occur during my 12 weeks of HIM training plan. Rule of thumb I had been goin on is 1 to 2 lbs a week.
Any thoughts/inputs?
THanks
Mike
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Comments
A little background on me, 20 months ago I was 251 pounds. Totally unhealthy and felt terrible all the time. In the beginning I was losing 2-3 pounds per week, but the closer I got to my goal of 175 it slowed way down to like 2-3 per month. Remember, weight loss is not linear. You can't maintain 1-2 pounds per week all the way to any weight you want. There are also off weeks, plateaus, ect. IMHO, set goals, but be mindful of certain realities. As volume comes up you will also need to eat more. Your body will need food to be a more efficient machine. Make choices about food, eat multiple small meals, focus on muscle building lean protein and nutrient rich fruits and vegetables. The weight will sort it self out....
Best of luck! Keep us posted....
Thanks Dino & Paul.
Dino- many moons ago I raced at a weight of 152-160 from 190 to 1995. I felt like a million bucks back then. I held 160-170 up til 1998. Since then I became an owner in a technology company. With my life focused as an engineer, I topped out at 238 lbs in 2010.
My doctor (Lynn Cunningham) advised me that cholesterol was through the roof and that I had beginning evidence of fatty liver disease, Both Lynn and her husband are both triathletes and Ironman (lake placid ) finishers, and was supportive of my choice to revisit my old lifestyle. Last year after dropping down to 185, cholesterol is down, and liver has returned to normal. I Got back mostly into running, then had issues with calf pulls, and I fell back some. Back in winter of 2011 my weight went back up to 225. At that point I had enough, and decided I needed more than running, and would set big goals to tackle a 70,3 some 18 years later since I did Firm Man 70.3 in 1994.
I just came off a 3 week plateaus, and back to losing a pound or so a week. I have been doing the south beach diet stage 1, but I find myself needing carbs. Doing more with fueling the workouts just before, and after. Hoping to maintain a balance there.
Thanks
Mike
FWIW my DW finds it hard to believe so many of us long course athletes have body composition issues we are trying to address. I have had to promised her that I will go straight on to a beer, red wine and ice cream diet once I finish IM Australia — she doesn't like me at 152 and 5'7", and I am hoping to get leaner in the next 6 weeks.
This South Beach diet thing is a loser IMO and recommend you drop it. You need to learn how to eat correctly with all the foods you are used to eating or NO plan will work for you. If you want to learn how to do that I suggest weight watchers. You can do this online or at the local meeting in your town. WW are all over the place and they teach you how to eat the foods that you already eat.
They also allow you to eat more food if you exercise , Bonus points for activity. Once you learn this you are done with them , your call to stay in or have enough discipline to carry on with life and living.
This should be a life long goal and the older you get the less food you will need but eating correctly with exercise is the best thing you can do for your body for life. Since your losing weight now and hopefully adopt the above suggestions you will platue at a certain number and hang there for a LONG time. That will be what your body wants say 180 lbs. At that time of life, your 180 lbs, if you want to race a 7-10 LB drop is all you need to lose, that is a ball park number. Any more than that and you will need multiple sets of clothing.
Best of Luck, D
I do think I will have to back off the South beach diet to get more carbs (healthy ones) . I do prefer wild game,high pprotien foods,and tend to avoid the candy, heavy starches, although I do like fresh bread out of the oven. The racing is more than just a tool, as I do enjoy it,and working on making it my prefered lifestyle as I did over a decade ago. Especially looking more at finding outlets for staring at two 24" monitors at work, Damn carreer has a way of getting in the middle of things I like to do. I do hunt wild turkey with a passion in the spring and fall, so that gets me outdoors another 45-60 days/mornings of the year. Having two Weims as family members is all together more reason to get out, as they love to run, even with an old slogger like myself
As far as the actual number (lbs), not so fixed on that as I am to how I feel. Back in my 30's when I was a welter weight, I really felt great. Now in my 50's I still have (some say too much) energy, but I feel sluggish at current weignt. So far I don't suffer any major health issues, or repetitive injuries. I do count my blessings there.
Thanks David
sounds very explosive
Mike,
Some good comments already. For me I find the OS easier to lose weight when I get to the IM plan I find I want to eat more with the longer workouts and tend to balance my caloric intake with my energy expenditures. I can also find the long workout hard if I am cutting the calries too much, big days, race rehersals, long bike and run days. In the OS with a 60-75 minute workout I can tend to slog through the main sets.
Of course I'm the guy leading the Wednesday weigh in and still looking to lose 25 or so lbs before Lake Placid.
Gordon