Basic Dieting & Training Theory

On my way out for an easy road ride today, I ran into the father of one of my neighbors. The decision to start getting in shape for triathlons early in the year coincides with the last time he saw me. He remarked that I looked a lot slimmer than the last time he saw me and inquired about my training and diet. I told him that the weight loss is kind of threefold. For starters, I currently weigh 175 pounds. This is equivalent to my freshman year of college swimming weight. The weight came off over the course of a few months, but it's a noticeable difference from my 200 pound starting point. At the start, I was lifting weights 3 times per week, averaging about 4 hours of cardio per week split between swimming and mountain biking, and proudly carrying my clean plate club dining card. I elaborated on my basic training schedule in an earlier Blog, but I'm about 3 times more active than previously. I also eliminated weight lifting from my routine. My weight room time is generally limited to stretching and core exercises. I find that for me, the negative effects of extra muscle mass on my swimming body positioning cancels out the strength gains found from weight lifting. Also, with little serious running or cycling training under my belt, and a finite amount of training time, actual cycling and running is more beneficial. Anyway, the elimination of weights from my routine combined with the sharp incresase in cardio, accounts for the majority of my weight loss. I love to eat, so I don't get too carried away on the diet. However I do have some basic guidelines. First, I turned in my clean plate club card. I now try and eat until I feel the first signs of being full, rather than until all the food is consumed. Second, I replaced all soft drinks with water. Third, I eliminated beer and limit wine and spirits to about one/week on average. Fourth, I limit the sweets/pastries/doughnuts to special occasions (birthdays,graduations, and weddings). Fifth, I avoid deep fried foods. This is probablly the most difficult (those fries and nacho chips are always tempting), but there is almost always a tastey alternatve. Finally, sitting out on wing nights, avoiding the cheese sauce and multiple meat topping pizzas, and replacing the vending machine chips and candy bars with dried fruits and granola bars, are all daily healthy choices that go a long way without sacrificing too many of the enjoyable parts of life.