Still the new year! :)

Today is one of those days I have no idea what to write here so I'm just going to ramble.

I am a member of a weight loss website (www.livestrong.com) the daily plate section. I have found it helpful to reach out to people there to keep my focus, it's not always easy to keep away from the things I am surrounded by (I work at a chocolate company!) so it's good to be able to keep in touch there. Last night started the biggest loser, and again there were people there all helping one another toward the common goal of health and wellness. This got me thinking, how can we make this more global? How can people start encouraging one another in bigger groups? I mean, the whole country is facing a huge issue due to this food that we are consuming, and the rates at which we are consuming it are causing so many health issues, if we could move more people out to do things, and get them more active, while watching what they eat, what a difference we could make.

I'm just not sure how it would work. I mean with the web now all kinds of people can connect and share stories, but at some point if too many start sharing at the same place it becomes white noise. At the same time there has to be a way to get more people involved. So much of what we are being sold is excess. So much of what we see is "bigger pizza, bigger burger, bigger cars". Why? And how can we start the trend to "better portions, healthier burgers, cars for what you use them for"? The shift from the "I wants" to the "I needs" and the "Bigger is always better" to "What I need will do, thank you".

Actually that line above should sum up whatever decision a person makes, whether it be food, or cars, or houses. Well, perhaps a little more than one needs is fine, but an SUV to carry a two person family around? A 3 bedroom house for a married couple? A DOUBLE baconator? Really?

The thought process of excess is what leads to so many ills, weight issues, hoarding of things, hoarding of money, etc.

Well, It's obvious I'm not going to solve the problems today, but at least I've stated them to a degree, and I do think it all ties together more than we know. I wasn't much for the butterfly effect theory in the past, but the older I get the more I think things are truly connected more than we can know.

F2PH

Happy New Year!

Hello! Welcome to the new year, 2010, what a turning point. In 2000 many things in my life changed, but it took till 2005 for me to start working toward a healthier life. I discovered biking (Thanks Dave) and now I'm an addict. I have pedaled 13,540 miles since 2006, and I feel a ton better than I did before I started that journey, but as with anything my body has adjusted, and over the past two years I have put back on about 30 of the 70 lbs I lost. I am now tracking all my intake again at www.livestrong.com and still biking to work every day, except now it's different. I shall explain in a moment, let me first state that I am happy now, which is much more than I can say for how I felt at the start of the last decade. from 99 to 00 I was in a marriage that I was wondering how to get out of, I was being pressured by my wife to have children (and I think somehow I KNEW this would be the final nail in the coffin) and my life was empty, almost painfully so. Fast forward to today, I have a brand new wife that I met late in 2000, she came with a daughter, but I wouldn't change that and my life is completely different than it was 10 years ago.

I have turned over a few new leaves with the turn of this decade, the largest being I sold my car. Yep, that thing that most Americans are convinced they would die without, I sold. Now we are not a car free house, but we are a one car house, and that one car is currently paid off, so our costs are insurance, upkeep, tags, etc. Now this does present some challenges, there is no way for me to bag out of riding to work now, ever. So every day I suit up and ride my bicycle in to work, so far I've had to deal with 3" of snow, rain, cold down to 16 F, and did I mention wind? :)

Still I'm looking for some challenge to get me back into shape, like really good shape, and I think I have it. Last year I did a Duathlon and I LOVED it, but I haven't ever been very good at running, and I'm way worse at swimming, I just LOVE biking though. So, what's the next logical step? I'm going to do a tri this year, actually two. I'm doing a spint tri, and an olympic distance tri. Next year I'm going to dig around for a 1/2 iron, and perhaps a marathon, and the following year, so long as none of the above actually kills me (which is entirely possible) I plan to attempt an Ironman.

Wow, just saying that makes me think I'm nuts. But, there it is. Can I do it? I don't know, I didn't think I could press 360lbs when I first started lifting weights and I was just hoping to get 225 up for one rep, so anything is possible. I never made my 400lb bench goal with weightlifting, and my focus has shifted since then of course to health and endurance training.

What I know is as much as I loved pushing iron plates around the gym (and I did love that) I love biking even more, and I'm starting to like running. Swimming? I doubt I'll ever love that, but maybe by this summer I'll at least like it. What I do know is it's time for this, because I think if I can become an actual triathlete I will finally have control over my weight and health, and that's the goal I have for this decade.

My family and I are going to a TOPS (Taking off pounds sensibly weigh in this wed as well, our friends have invited us, and we're excited to have a public group to share our goals and progress with!

Welcome to the new year all! Lets make this year a start to a decade we can look back on in our own personal lives with pride!

Starting in 2010

I will be posting here on a much more regular basis, sharing the daily grind of biking to work, I plan to post here at least 3 times a week, even if it's just to gripe about some yo yo in a cage yelling as he passed me.

I promise to be interesting witty and funny at times, and boring at others, but I'm doing this for me, so I think I'll like it just fine. :)

Food Intake- Bad

So, I've been pedaling all year, more this year than any other, if my current pace holds. I'm pretty fit at this point, and I feel pretty good. But there is one problem, I'm about 15lbs heavier than I was last year at this time. I tried the whole "you're healthier" and "maybe it's all leg muscle" but I don't think leg muscle hangs over your belt in most cases. So it's time to start watching again. For anyone who's interested the site I use to watch what I eat is www.thedailyplate.com and it's very helpful with keeping track of what goes in. There is a section where you can add in your workouts too, but it seems a bit generous with the calories it subtracts, so I just use it more to keep a count of the total calories that go in.

No plan is successfull without goals, so mine are going to be fairly simple-

1- log every day between now and Jan1 2009.
2- stay within carlorie goals at least 80% of those days, which leavs some room for that occasional pizza, etc.
3- reach goal weight of 210 by jan 1 2009

If I don't reach my goal weight, a nice spreadsheet with all my data and I are going to my doc to try to figure out what might be wrong. I have gotten stuck in the 220's before and haven't been able to get below, I figure I'll drop the first 10 lbs pretty fast, as is usually the case for me, I'd say 3 weeks max, so that leaves me with 23lbs to drop after that. Over the course of the time I have left between now and Jan1 2009, that really should be doable. We'll see how it goes, and of course I'll share my trials here.

I have found audiobooks make me slower, much slower, than music. I'm going to listen to two more I have downloaded, and then switch to some music for a bit and try to work on my speed. On a positive note, it's been a week today since I took any type of pill for my knee, so perhaps I'm getting to where I can use it without pain and without masking the pain with pills. That's a great thing, and it really does make you happy for what you have.

Well, happy pedaling all!

Joe

Still going

Well, I'm still going, every day, in and home. This week has been stressful due to some less than stellar accounting practices on my part, and our bank not finding it the least bit amusing that we seem to be convinced at time we are indeed much more wealthy than we in fact are. :) That being said, I'm glad I ride to work, for many reasons.

I'm glad because I feel very good doing it, and even with all the bike stuff I buy, I'm sure I'd be spending that money on some other hobby that wouldn't be getting me back and forth to work. I'm still enjoying the ride every day, so that is a good thing as well. My weight has not gotten much lower, but on the flip side of that, my eating this year has not been what it should be either, so the riding it is no doubt having an effect in keeping me less rotund that I would otherwise be.

Well, I don't have a lot to say today, but I want to keep posting here so that I can at least remember to come here when I do have more to say!

Trying this again

Well, it would seem that I have been away for a while, and it would also seem from the comments or lack thereof that no one has missed me. I call that a draw.

I come here because I just read an article about "desk rage" and how people can't stand waiting in traffic to get to work, and that's contributing to them being bent out of shape while at work. Oddly, I have the solution, bike to work. I know not everyone can do this, distance, fitness, etc, but I was as out of shape as they come, and now do it every day. Since Feb 15th I have driven to work one day, and biked the rest. I plan to bike every day for the rest of the year. I get to work in a good mood, and refreshed.

Last night I helped two friends out with their bikes, minor adjustments, but I like doing it, so that too helps with stress. I find myself mainly only stressed out when I encounter one of these cage drivers that happens to be pissed off at the world for no good reason.

I am going to re-comit to blogging, and to spreading the word about how much better this one change, this one adaptation, has made me feel. I am very pleased with my current method of transport to work, and want to share that wih any and all who will listen.

Joe

Back in the saddle

Well, today I got back to it, for the past 4 days I had just decided to take a break, the weather was crappy, raining every day, and I just didn't feel like getting drenched and being wet and cold. I am ready for the snow, have the mountain bike studs on and everything, but I don't want to be drenched. So today the temps were more reasonable, and I hopped on and pedaled in.

It felt good to be back out there, it was a nice day and a nice trip. I do feel so much better in the morning if I ride in, I have to remember that. This will be a short one today, just wanted to drop in and post that I'm back out there.

Joe