Fat guy in a little suit.

I've always battled a weight problem. I think allot of my weight issues has to do with me having a mild case of Celiac Disease. Basically that means I'm allergic to wheat, barley, and other such EVIL foods that contain gluten. Some of it is genes, but most of it is that I eat when I feel happy, sad, nervous, bored, you name it. My food issues is allot like my wife's shoe issues. What ever mood, there is a food/shoes that goes well with it. Without diet or exercise my usual walking around weight is just south of 300lbs. I'm only 5'11 people! With triathlon I've been able to keep it to an average of 220- 230 lbs.

In Feb of this year I was down to 211, since 1999 that was the lightest I'd been. To get down to that weight I seriously restricted my calorie intake, way to much as a matter of a fact. Since my calorie intake was too low I was in a constant state of over training and felt like crap all the time. I was also moody all the time. Can any triathlete's out there say "DUH! You got to feed the machine!" I knew it, but I know how important racing light is to race FAST! From Dec to Feb I felt horrible from the restricted calories. I was losing strength as I was losing body weight but I was still getting faster! Says allot of how important being light is. Finally in late Feb I couldn't stand it any longer and I started eating again.... ok to be honest, I started binge eating. Unfortunately, this is not unusual with me. Since Feb I've been eating all the foods I shouldn't and in ridiculous amounts. Consequently I'm now around 238lbs! 238lbs! That is ridiculous! This is the most I've weighed since the summer of 2003. If it wasn't for me working out 10+ hrs a week I guarantee you I'd of been over 300 again!

So today as I tried on my wet suit and realized it is close to no longer fitting (I looked like peach colored play dough being squeezed through an angry child's fist), I decided it was time to take action. But not in my usual over the top kind of way. This time I try "moderation". All my friends out there just issued an audible gasp! This will be a first for me. I have never been able to do anything in moderation in my life! Can you say obsessive compulsive? But I've got to try to apply moderation in my diet because this yo-yo dieting is not working. It's making my run and bike times slower even though I'm working out regularly, plus it's bad for my already horrible metabolism. So tomorrow is the day. As of tomorrow I am going to eat lean meats, fruit, veggies, and brown rice in moderate amounts. My body is unable to handle foods like pasta, and breads. Rice doesn't contain gluten so I can eat that grain. I am going to try to eat every three hours to avoid getting overly hungry and binging again. But I think the best reason for success this time is because I'm going to be praying to God for will power. Any of you out there who'd be willing to say a quick prayer for this weight issue of mine I'd be very grateful!

I usually have unrealistic goals when I start something (see, no moderation in my life!). But this time I am going to start small. I just want to be at 220 or below by Nov when I compete in the Silverman Iron distance triathlon. The Silverman has 9300 feet of elevation gained and lost on the bike, 3700 ft on the run. In a race with that much climbing it is particularly important to be light. It's also very important to be healthy in any Ironman, quick fixes won't work there! Doing anything stupid will most definitely cause a dreaded and horrific DNF(did not finish)! Every triathlete's worst night mare.

From this point on I will post my weekly body weight for all to see. I'll even be honest and let you know if I ate too much, if I binge, or if I went to far with the calorie restriction. Thanks for tuning in. As of now all you out there will keep me accountable simply by reading. Thanks so much!

I'm out.