Never Eat Anything You Can't Lift (Miss Piggy)

I would love to say that mantra is true, and that as a (semi) athlete, you can lift a LOT so you can therefore eat a LOT. People always (incorrectly) assume that if you are training for a long course tri, you can pretty much stuff yourself with anything that you can catch.

The road to weight loss, however, is littered with the plump bodies of those who swore by their workout, and forgot that the most important exercise of all is putting down the fork. Mine included.

I learned the hard way that hard exercise is certainly wonderful for you in all kinds of ways--but it just doesn't take the weight off by itself. I have muscular calves that can be registered as lethal weapons, but they are still plump calves.

I started out training to eat and am learning now how to eat to train. Obviously, age and hormones have added to the inability to shed 10 pounds simply by skipping that extra cookie like I could when I was 20. Things Are Different When You Get Older.

Exercise is crucial for a weight loss/fitness program, but it's only one leg of a three legged stool. The other two legs--sensible eating and getting rest--have to be part of the stool, or the whole thing falls over. I think this is one of the reasons a lot of people stop exercising--they don't see immediate weight loss results.

Notice I said sensible eating. I've never met ANYONE who was on a 25 year diet and stuck by it for those entire 25 years. Sensible eating is a lifetime adventure, and it involves all those things you have heard about forever, but don't have to pay a diet clinic or a book to tell you--eat smaller portions, less empty calories like sugar and its relatives, more fruit and vegetables, easy on the fried stuff and salt. So easy to write. So hard to accomplish. The civilized world teems with temptation.

The worst thing about working out regularly is that you just get HUNGRY. You burn those calories on a 25 mile hard bike or a 3 mile fast run, and your body will simply point and say GIMME THAT. It's necessary to fuel properly for optimal exercise and racing, but when and how you fuel is important. Ditch the candy bar and cookie thing and grab a banana, plain yogurt (not that stuff with sugar added) and fruit, or a half a bagel with a teaspoon of peanut butter. Drink water or skim milk or unsweetened tea and coffee if you gotta have your caffeine jolt, and leave the fruit juice (sorry, but it's all loaded with sugar), sodas and non-light beer in the fridge for the elves to fatten up with.

Clif bars and gels and other workout snacks are great for those 28 year old runners with bodies that would fit between raindrops, but they are simply loaded with calories. Eat them sparingly, only when on a hard workout, and not as TV snacks. Gatorade, Hammer, and other sports drinks are not meant to sip while sitting on your front porch swing. I use them only on workouts lasting longer than 90 minutes (your mileage may vary). They add good things to your body like electrolytes and sodium, which you need on a long and hard workout, but for a 2 mile jog, you'll intake more calories with those babies than you will release. It's hard NOT to eat and drink all those nifty sports snackies and drinks, because the marketing for them is really cool, and you wanna look and run like those guys and gals on their commercials. But take it easy on those things--they are lethal pound packers, and if you aren't working out hard that day, stick with water and a pre workout banana and a post workout half bagel instead.

I've gained 3 pounds since I started triathlon training last year at this time. No, this is not gaining muscle. Muscle weighs the exact same as fat--one pound is one pound; it does not weigh any more or less. It's simply a lack of discipline on my part and giving myself too much permission to eat bad things as a reward for sweating over a hard bike or run. Did 7 miles on a run? Great--let's go to Braum's for ice cream! Not a good way to think.

Also, each pound of weight you have is something you have to lug up a hill with you on a bike or a run. We can strip our bikes down to lean machines to make them featherweight, but until we strip ourselves, that hill will still eat our lunches. Figuratively. We unfortunately will still eat our real lunch anyway, and pass the browines.

My goal is to drop 5 pounds before September in a reasonable and sensible manner. That means cutting out a lot of the sugar (I am a total sweetaholic) and some of the other mistakes I make regularly, like white rice (now, just what good is white rice?), too much bread, and continuing to eat even after I am full because my mother told me that I should be a member of the clean plate club (a habit many of us fall into). I don't intend to give up everything yummy (what fun would that be?), and me and a juicy burger will still have brief and satisfying affairs (but only about once a week). Because I don't intend to make any drastic changes (which I know I won't keep up), it will take 2-3 months for that 5 pounds to go away. But it will go away, I assure you. Now I've made this public, I will have no choice.

Tonight is a 90 minute bike, fairly easy, so I intend to eat a banana about 30 minutes before, drink lots of water during (it's hot here) and then nosh a quarter bagel with peanut butter afterwards, before eating a sensible dinner with fish and grilled veggies (thanks to the Patient Spouse will has offered to cook tonight).

Last night being an off day, I did a few crunches and planks. I want to get my core strengthened to try and stave off position fatigue on the bike. I also did some yoga for flexibility; running a lot will lessen your core flexibility.

Here's to some healthy eating habits for us all.