Transition: 149 to 130

This is the last topic I expected to write about as one of my first topics but since losing 19 pounds in one year without dieting sounds like a bad infomercial (well, not as bad as those new Taco-Bell Drive Through Diet Ads), it seemed like as good a topic as any to start off the year and the blog.

DISCLAIMER:
I am not a nutritionist. I am not a dietician. I am not a doctor. I am not an expert in weight loss, diets, or medicine. (chocolate, football, & twitter, however, are another story…)

I am, however, a 5’4”, 38-year-old woman who always felt like I could lose 5 pounds. Well, it was 5 pounds until about 5 years ago, when it became 10 pounds. Ok, then at my physical last January when I weighed in at 149, it became 15 pounds…at least. 

Sound familiar?
Then one day last spring I was collecting clothes to donate and found those pants that I had not worn in years because they were too tight (WHY do we insist on keeping those pants in the closet anyhow?). I tried them on….uh, yeah, they fit. A few more months after that…they were too big. (Now I am DEFINITELY keeping them, even though they belong on some VH1 “remember the 90’s” show). Throughout the year I had trained for and raced two half-ironmans and various other races as well as training through two base periods, worked crazy hours and jobs with less than ideal dietary conditions and training options, and never once did I try to be “on a diet”. Yet I was losing weight.

Still sound familiar? I didn’t think so. Certainly didn’t to me.

I didn’t keep records or notes through the year. After all, I wasn’t on a diet. Well, I did download one of those calorie tracker apps at one point last summer and used it for about a day and a half. I decided I didn’t have time to enter everything I ate. Then realized I probably did have time (just cut 5 minutes of twitter time per day and voila!) but I just wasn’t interested. I didn’t follow any hard-set rules because breaking the rules (which WILL happen) is what gets me into trouble in the first place. You know the routine…”Oh crap, I had a cookie…well, might as well have the whole bag.” I never looked at or recorded total calories burned or matched my training to my eating habits (as in “I better run an extra mile because I had an extra cookie”.)

So what DID I do? Well, being the Type-A, obsessive, organizational list-maker that I am (well, let's face it, isn't triathlon really just a sport designed to be a support group for all the Type-A, obsessive, organizational list-makers in the world?) I decided to detail it right here for you as:

THE LIST OF THINGS THAT HAVE CHANGED IN MY LIFE OVER THE PAST YEAR THAT CONTRIBUTED TO MY 19 POUND WEIGHT LOSS, IN NO PARTICULAR CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER OR ORDER OF IMPORTANCE:

(Note: If its written in blue, its a link to an website. If that's obvious, sorry. Remember, I'm still new to this whole blog thing. Thanks.)

• I didn't follow a plan, allowed myself to eat whatever I wanted, as long as I was actually hungry. Yep, you heard me. Try it. Its kind of freaky how certain “bad” foods aren’t appealing anymore when you allow yourself to have them anytime. The “bad” foods that I still crave (i.e. chocolate), I no longer crave as often, and can satisfy with a small portion. Thank goodness for Dove dark chocolate minis. Also, I only eat when I am actually hungry, but I make sure to eat whenever I am hungry. What shocks me is how often I am not hungry. 
  

• On average, I sleep more each night than I used to. (July is the exception to this rule because the Tour De France in on and I refuse to miss a stage). How? In a nutshell, I put a stop to certain nighttime activities, like watching very those all-important reality shows on my TiVo like “Hell’s Kitchen”. Its amazing how much more sleep you get when you just go straight to bed.

• I stopped drinking soda (except for ginger ale when I am sick or a Coke during a rare movie-theater-popcorn-eating outing). Everytime I wanted a soda, I went for a water, sparkling water or unsweetened tea with a little lemonade. Of course, now I’m addicted to Arnold Palmers.
  

• I found something that I love to do everyday that is an active activity which increases my heart rate and burns fat. Basically my daily exercise is my daily fun. Wow, that sounds cheesy. Seriously, though, I truly look forward to riding my bike, swimming in the ocean, going for a run, training for and participating in a race. (I’m still working on actually liking strength training. Any help in that venue is appreciated). 
  

• I do not spend all year in high intensity training mode, treating every race as an A race. Instead, I periodize my training, prioritize my races, and therefore, by default, spend more time working out in the “fat-burning” zone during the year.
  

• I drink more water. I drink tons of SmartWater. And not because Tom Brady endorses it. That doesn't hurt, though.
  

• I found a support network with other triathletes, cyclists, runners, swimmers, multisport fanatics, and healthy eaters that I can relate to on Twitter. Its amazing the amount of knowledge, inspiration, courage, support, humor, and friendship that I have gained from this internet phemomenon. Hundreds of people that I never met push me daily to be a better person. Laugh all you want at my virtual world…and I’ll remind you of my 19 pounds that went poof.
  

• I don’t drink as much alcohol. Shocking. But true. I replaced that nightly glass of wine with a nightly class of tea. Ok, ok, I know. Its not the same. But you’d be amazed how addicting that tea has become. And don’t worry, I have not given up wine or beer. That’s like asking me to give up coffee. Or chocolate. Or sleep.
  

• I spend more time with the family and friends that I care about. How does that affect my weight loss? I’m not sure, but something tells me its related.
  

• We now try to do all of our grocery shopping on the outside perimeter of the grocery store (fresh fruits, veggies, meats, and dairy sections) and reduce the amount of snacks and foods that have bar codes (except chocolate). 
  

• I don’t get on a scale more than once a week. Actually, more like once a month. Instead, I judge my body weight by how I feel and my clothes are fitting. (Although it is fun now to try to guess my weight before getting on the scale, especially after a long training session.)
  

• I did the Taco Bell “Drive Through Diet”. Ok, of COURSE I didn’t, but I couldn’t resist somehow taking yet another jab at one of the most ridiculous ad campaigns I have ever seen. Having said that, I will admit that I am not immune to the fast food world. For instance, I love Arby’s roast beef with cheese and curly fries. (C’mon, you never tried horsey sauce?)  So, on the few occasions when I found myself at the Arby's drive through, I ordered one plain, small sandwich, no cheese and a little bit of Horsey sauce, skip the fries.  Here’s the funny part…this past October and November, I was working in another city and living in a hotel. That hotel was across the street from an Arby’s. Even though I had to eat almost every meal out, I never went to the Arby’s and actually never even wanted to. Amazing how your body adapts.
  

• I started trying new foods. Like Kale. OMG. I could eat a kale salad everyday. And quinoa. I have no idea how to actually pronounce it, but I love eating it. Of course, I guess a disclaimer to this is to try new foods that are healthy. (Trying the newest Ben and Jerry’s flavor is fun, but isn’t going to help your cause).
  

• Instead of dressings and condiments on my salads, veggies, soups, etc, I have become addicted Penzey’s Spices Sandwich Sprinkle. On everything. Seriously. Try it.
  

• I’m not afraid of fat in my foods, as long as its not trans-fat. Nuts, cheeses, olives, and avocados are my close friends at snack time.
  

• My grocery list is not based on what coupons I have or what's on special. I have found that if I buy what we really need for the week’s meals and snacks, buy quality foods, and stay away from extraneous, "stock-up", or impulse buys, the bill is about the same as when I shop around store specials and coupons. (By "quality foods", I don't mean organic or expensive. I mean look at the ingredients...you should be able to recognize what they are, if there are even any listed at all.)  By doing this, I have now spent less time at the store because I bought exactly what I went in for, rather then deciding what’s cheaper or just wandering the aisles, which means more time for sleep or training or family. I also have now filled the kitchen with foods and drinks that will be more fulfilling and we really want to eat, not empty calories or food that needs a lot of dressing up in order to be appetizing. When I enjoy what I'm eating, and its fulfilling, I actually eat less. Note: Do not confuse what is one sale with what is in season. Fruits and veggies in season are ALWAYS a good thing. Another note: This does not mean that I avoid coupons or what's on special. Trust me, any money I can save at the grocery store means I'm one step closer to another cute pair of running pants. I just don't let them dictate my grocery shopping experience.
  

• Somewhat related to the above, we started buying veggies form a local co-op. Mainly we did it as a way to support local farmers and to try new veggies and fruits. Turns out what we get lasts weeks (yes, weeks) longer than what we buy at the grocery store because they avoid all the “middlemen” delivery processes. Plus you get new foods... like mini purple bell peppers. Uh-huh.
  

• Probably the most important changes I have made, though, I attribute to educating myself about nutrition periodization and incorporating metabolic efficiency training, which I am learning from Bob Seebohar. I have been lucky enough to attend a few of his seminars and his expertise is available to everyone. In a nutshell, nutrition periodization means that I adjust my nutrition to what phase of training I am in. If I am in base, I don’t eat as much and reduce my whole grains/carb intake. If I am in build, I eat more and increase my whole grain/carb intake. I am also training my body to be more metabollically efficient, which, in short, means it will rely more on the fat that it stores naturally to provide energy during my training and racing, rather than sports nutrition products. Even the fittest athletes store about 80,000 calories of fat, but only 1300-2000 calories of carbohydrates and sugar. Crazy, huh? Yep, no more gels, bars, chews, etc. Just real food pre and post workout or race, and if the effort is going to be more than 1.5-2 hours, then I eat real food during the workout or race. Its not something I recommend trying in the midst of a build phase for a big race (I’ll save that fun experience for another blog post) but if you are in the base period, I highly recommend giving it a try. But make sure to educate yourself first because what I just wrote here is grade-school level summary. In fact, Bob has written a really great article here that is a much more detailed and specific approach to weight loss based on your resting metabollic rate (good stuff). I have listed all of Bob Seebohar’s information at the end of this article, including his website where you can purchase both books "Metabollic Efficiency Training" and "Nutrition Periodization for Endurance Athletes".

You always hear that you can’t lose weight unless you change your lifestyle. But talk about easier said than done. These are changes you can’t force on yourself overnight. But over the past year, I have slowly incorporated everything I listed above.  Each change is somewhat dependent on one of the other changes. Each change also somewhat developed out of another change. I can honestly say that I want to get out and run, bike or swim in some capacity everyday, no matter what phase of training I am in. I truly migrate to the healthier foods on a restaurant menu or cookbook.  I know my guidelines won't work for everyone, but perhaps you can use them as a starting point for creating your own, one step at a time. It might be hard at times, but the rewards are lifelong and priceless.

Kind of like training for a race, huh?


Here is the information for Bob Seebohar, Sport Dietitian/Elite Triathlon Coach
2008 Olympic Sport Dietitian, 2008 Olympic Triathlon Team Sport Dietitian
Email: coachbob@fuel4mance.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/bobseebohar
Blog: http://fuel4manceblog.blogspot.com
Website: www.fuel4mance.com
www.performancewebinars.com