August 26, 2009

that's a first!

I woke today wanting to eat, needing to binge. That same old story for me. Its never easy getting so close to a goal (185-195 pounds) & seeing it, in one single day start to slip away so quickly. That is exactly what has always happened to me once I get near or at my goal race weight. There is a clear difference in the way a craving feels & an upcoming food binge feels. Once I feel a binge coming on I've never once been able to avoid it. Worst of all is that it takes weeks or months to get pointed back in the right direction.

When I woke up today I needed to EAT, & it wasn't just a food craving, it was a binge. I adjusted my DietPower from having me lose 2 pounds a week, to a maintenance diet. That gave me 1000 calories a day more to eat, plus whatever I may earn in working out. I ate a good breakfast with lots of water, some coffee, & a bit more fat than I usually would have. Through trial & error I have learned moderate amounts of fat help satisfy cravings & bad food tendencies. Having coffee helps too, not sure why, but it most definitely does. & obviously water helps because the body can confuse dehydration & hunger (great advise Misty, thanks). After the first meal my cravings subsided, not much but at least I didn't feel like eating EVERYTHING!

I did the same thing for lunch. I ate what I was craving, which was 2 egg sandwiches with mayonnaise on whole wheat bread. I also had a bunch of water & a diet Mountain Dew. Not the best meal for an endurance athlete, but my goal today was to right the ship, not eat the perfectly designed athletic recovery meal here. Now, did you notice I was able to stop at 2 sandwiches? The list of foods I ate doesn't go on for half a page here!!!!Shortly after lunch I felt almost no cravings at all. By golly I did it!!!!!! I'm still on track to getting to 195. Perhaps even 185!!!!! This is the first time I was able to stop the evil downward spiral! HURAY!!!!!!!! Good for me, bad for competing Clydesdales everywhere:)

2 comments:

Glenn said...

I am hoping to get your advice. I started to tri's this last year and wenr from 240# to 208#. Next year there is a 70.3 with a Clydesdale division. Should I register as a Clydesdale and what happens if I am below 200# then? How do they do the weigh-ins? It has been >20 years since I have been below 200# but I don't want to throw away a registration or the opportunity to compete. Could I register normal and then switch to Clydesdale if I am that weight?

Thanks a ton!

Podium quest said...

First off great job on your weight loss & multisport lifestyle! That's huge man!Congrats!!!

I think it would be best to register as a Clyd. If your under 200 on race day they will move you to an AG slot whether you want them to or not. But if you register as an AG, & you are over 200 you may not be able to get them to move you to the Clydesdale div. Hope that helps.

I hope I answered your last question about heart rate zones well. If not on the top left of my blog theres a box that says "search blog". Type in "heart rate training". There's 2 articles in there that are great. If that doesn't work send me your email & I'll email those articles to you.

Thanks so much for the comment Glenn! God bless & happy training!