Losing weight is a struggle and I have struggled with it most of my life.
I inherited my endomorphism from my mom’s side of the family. My Dad can eat almost anything he wants and doesn’t seem to gain weight. I on the other hand have to count calories. As I get older, it gets harder too. My metabolism is slowing down and the various aches and pains make working out seem like more effort than it is worth. It only gets harder as you get older. It doesn’t help that our brains are hardwired to like salty sweet fatty foods either.
I have lots of good reasons to diet. Mostly on my mind is my grandfather on my mother’s side. Tommy was like me. A little…portly, chubby, husky …alright fat. He died of a heart attack at 49. That is just 10 years away. As I get older I begin to notice how much longer it takes for wounds to heal, for sore muscles to relax. Still it is something you beat by getting more active not less active, which seems counter intuitive.
I wish I had started cycling 20 years ago. I wish I had discovered it as a teen and never smoked. Making up for lost time is part of what makes me want to do better. I have some goals I set at the end of last season now that I have some races under my belt. I want to get to below 200 lbs. That would mean losing 30+ pounds by the start of the season. I want to get my blood pressure back to 120/80. I want to do the double hairshirt again, and crack 11 hours. And I want to finish in the top 10 in a race this season (my previous best was 12th).
I did find a app to help me along the way. Myfitnesspal is a way to keep track of how much activity I do and how many calories I consume. I know that weigh loss is a simple math game, calories burned > calories consumed = weight loss but fuck me if it isn’t a struggle. So far I have avoided any Christmas goodies. I am glad I am not going anywhere for Christmas. I have given away any treats I received and have been getting back on the trainer at least 3 times a week.
I bought a Cannondale Slice time trial bike. Partly to encourage me to work harder and partly to reward myself for the work already done. The TT bike is a big incentive since time trials are called “the race of truth”. I am not sure if this is because they are about individual effort or because you have to squeeze into the skin suit. Either way I don’t want to look like an over-stuffed sausage casing.
If you’re reading this today, and you think you’re overweight do yourself a favour and start doing something about it now.
If hunger is not the problem, then eating is not the solution. ~Author Unknown