Going Back to What Works

Last week Coach K reminded me that CIM is about 13 weeks away. My goal for that race, not including my pace or goal time, is to get my weight below 140 pounds. At a little less than a 1/2 pound a week, I should make it (figure it out, I'm not doing the math for you or posting my current weight!)

Reflection

Now that I've been at this triathlon thing for a little more than three years, I've got a much better idea of what works and what doesn't work for me. Looking back through my blog posts I see ramblings on crazy diets, workouts, and weight loss ideas. There is a good share of complaining about lack of weight loss, trying to get to race weight, and inevitably, weight gain (this post will touch on all subjects LOL).

One of the many diets I tried

For the past several months I have been less than focused on my nutrition. I think the only thing that was saving me from blowing up was the fact that I was complete consumed with training for Vineman. Within days of finishing the race, HS gently reminded me that now that I wasn't training as intensely as I once was, I was going to have to watch my eating. Then he not so gently added "Because you were eating a lot!"

Thanks for that, honey!

Back to Reading

Since my workout schedule is a bit lighter, I have a little extra time (Ha!) To fill the void, I re-started reading "Eat & Run" by Scott Jurek. I started reading this book over a year ago, but for whatever reason, it didn't hold my interest at the time and I moved on to another book....probably another book about triathlons.

Loved the juices, but it was messy and time consuming

As I started getting further into Jurek's story about endurance running (No, I'm not planning on trying any 50 or 100 mile running races), he started talking about how changing his diet changed his racing. He talked about his vegan diet (tried it years ago, not for me) and all the energy he got from eating clean. My current diet didn't feel very clean.

Reading his recipes and how he felt eating food that fueled not only his body but his soul, made me think about juicing again. I loved my green juice as well as the beet and grape juice I used to make. Talk about eating clean. The only problem with juicing too strictly is that my ability to do any kind of workout was greatly diminished. A 3 mile run was tough to manage. I just didn't have the energy.

I knew I wanted to...no, needed to change up my diet, but I just didn't know if I had the focus to tackle a major change.

No More Tuna and Mayo

Prior to Vineman I would eat 5 small meals a day during the week and then throw caution to the wind on the weekend and eat whatever I wanted (I was usually starving after my long rides). After Vineman, this pattern has continued but with less than desirable results. This eating pattern has resulted in a steady but upward movement on the scale (I should have listened to HS). Needless to say, I am not happy.

Vineman nutrition...
Are Skittles part of the "Fruits & Vegetables" group?

Not the best solution

On top of the added pounds, I am tired of my weekday diet of canned tuna for lunch.  My will to try and eat a "high protein lunch" is waning and I find myself crashing every afternoon. I am also feeling lethargic in the mornings. I'm not sure if my low-energy is due to the complacency that Coach K warned me about or if it is my diet.

In an attempt to remedy this, I started taking a multi vitamin. This has helped a bit. It also got me to thinking...What has changed between Barb's Race 2014 and Vineman 2015??? I don't remember feeling like this last year. Well, there are a lot of things that are different...the biggest difference being training volume, but my nutrition has also changed.

Before Barb's Race, I would have a Shakeology shake for lunch instead of a can of tuna with gobs of mayo. Not only did I get a ton of nutrients, but I didn't feel hungry and my nails grew like weeds. Now I've got one missing toe nail and another set to fall off, I really need that nail growing magic.

I didn't even have to pack a lunch because I kept a bag in my office!

This used to be either breakfast, lunch or snack...daily!

Press the Button Already

Over the past week, I've been thinking of placing another order for Shakeology. This is the one thing I ate consistently last year. My race weight was lower, it seemed easier to maintain, and I didn't have a problem with energy levels in the afternoon. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, I cancelled my coaching account with Beachbody as well as my long standing order of Shakeology. I had enough in my pantry to last about a month anyway, and I figured that once it was gone I wouldn't miss it, or I would just juice or do something else to get the vitamins and enzymes I was getting with the shake.

This wasn't the case and after about 9 months or so without this shake, I was missing it!

So, this morning, I bit the bullet and joined Beachbody again (I'm too cheap to pay full price for Shakeology, so I sign up as a coach to get the discount). I can't wait until my shipment arrives! Until then, I'm bringing salads for lunch. If I have to look at one more can of tuna I think I might puke!

Funny Video

There are other videos that do a little better job of explaining Shakeology, but I love Tony Horton and this video cracks my up every time he mentions "fatty fat chips"! Enjoy!

PS: If you want to try Shakeology too, there is a pack available that lets you sample the different flavors. Follow this link http://www.shakeology.com/closetathlete