Oh it's holiday time.. That time of year when the food and alcohol flow and it gets cold outside. The time of year when sweaters can cover up that roll hanging over your belt. Not that this ever happens to me. So..my last post I was espousing a plant based diet. So what has happened in the last two months? While, I stuck with it for the month of October. Actually ate vegetarian for 4 to 5 days a week with chicken or fish on the other days. And I didn't feel hungry or deprived and the NSA did not put me on any lists for being a socialist bent on the destruction of the American way. I actually felt good and lost about 7 pounds without trying. Then the worst possible thing happened. I had my cholesterol test. It came back and my numbers weren't good..they were great. My total cholesterol was under 150. The only thing I really could improve on was raising my HDL a bit and lowering my LDL. So what was wrong with these results? Welcome to my mind where I now told myself..your numbers are great why don't you ease off on the new food plan..which I did..but instead of easing off I pretty much just threw the brakes on completely and did a reverse. Yep...started eating out again and started eating meat and white carbs. And I feel like crap.
So how could I let myself do this? A few reasons. The first is that is is just plain easier to eat like crap than to plan out menus and buy fresh food all the time. It's also easier to go out to lunch instead of packing it.
Second, it is holiday time and thus my low level of self restraint and a cornucopia of tasty treats that appear out of nowhere equals dubious eating choices on my part.
Lastly I will blame my Wisconsin roots for jut having a genetic predisposition to really terrible food choices. Seriously, I come form a state where the Center for Disease Control just had to put out a warning specifically for Wisconsinites not to eat raw meat. Yep, it is the holidays and time for some good old fashioned Cannibal Sandwiches.. a Wisconsin tradition. Read about it here..CDC to Wisconsinites..stop eating cannibal sandwiches. Seriously, what the hell kind of people have to be warned about eating raw meat? The same people that lead the nation in brandy consumption (You always have a brandy old fashioned while eating a fish fry at the local supper club), binge drinking, and that have three times more taverns per capita than any other place in the United States. (We already know about the beer, cheese and kringle consumption). My inlaws were nice enough to deliver two kringles right to my door at Thanksgiving.
Thus I am sitting here at my usual winter weight of 237 instead of being ahead of the game. Which was just in time for me to start my official training for my A race next year. The big race is on August 3, 2014, just 8 months..or 32 weeks away.
The first thing I noticed when I started training this week was my bad quad was not supporting my weight. Actually I figured this out in Church.While kneeling my leg started to quiver. I also found out that I have ZERO Hip flexibility..again while kneeling in Church..I couldn't get my back and legs to line up..I kept trying to push my butt forward but to no avail. I can only guess wht the people behind me were thinking. I worked on this the entire time during mass and ended up not being able to walk properly out to the parking lot. And yes, I do go to Church..sometimes twice a week. As a side note, I think most triathletes must be non church goers since the races are almost always on Sunday mornings and my training partners always want to start early on Sundays. Luckily I am Catholic so have that Saturday evening option for attending mass.
I was able to work out three times at lunch this week instead of going out to lunch. On the first day I weight trained..ok..I bar trained..since I am so weak at this point I couldn't actually put "weight" on them. The second day I was on the treadmill..holy crap..my heart rate spiked at 165..within 30 seconds...of me dropping my mp3 player and having to bend over to pick it up. Seriously. I just started out with walking and was so annoyed by the guy next to me due to the noises he was making that I took my yurbuds out of my ears and turned to ask what his problem was when I realized it was me that was making the wheezing noises. I then went to leave the gym and saw my reflection in the mirror..which I usually stop to admire. However, I have apparently not looked at myself from the side in a while..because my butt is huge!! Why hasn't somebody told me this? Yes, I have been having issues with underwear and my pants and having an unusual amount of plumbers crack..but I never thought it was because my butt was big.
So the eating binge is over, the training has begun again and a plan has been formed..ok..is being formed. I am guessing coach will want me doing strength training to get everything ship shape again before hitting the base training. Oh, there was one good thing this week. My shoulder issues (Separated while mountain biking and then reinjured in a car accident in October) did not seem to be giving me too many problems. I still felt "something" but the pain and soreness were minimal. We will see how it is when I begin swimming and lifting heavier weights.(ok..when I actually put weights on the bar)
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and are enjoying this holiday season!
