Obsessed with Weight Gain?

No, this is NOT a concentration camp photo.  This is a picture of the Danish bike rider Michael Rasmussen.  For those of you that don't know Michael, he was the yellow jersey wearer/leader in the 2007 Tour de France and what looked like a sure podium finish.  Then his own team (Rabobank) mysteriously cancelled his contract during the race for violating his contract...I assume it was for going AWOL and allegedly doping.  What I never knew about Michael was his obsession with weight.  I just thought he and a lot of these pro tour riders like the Schleck's, Contador, etc. were just naturally thin.  But, here's a quote from Wikipedia on Rassmussen:
"Michael Rasmussen is known for his care for detail when considering weight. He is known for peeling off unnecessary stickers from his bike, not wearing the Livestrong wristband which has become common among many Tour de France riders, due to the additional grams.  He used to count each grain of rice before eating and had water with his breakfast cereal, not milk. He only carries one water bottle holder and his Colnago Extreme-C bike weighed 6.81 kg only 10 g more than the minimum limit."

Unlike Michael I'm not obsessed with my weight but I do know the value of being lean..especially on a hilly road race. (see my w/kg blog)  I just stepped on the scale this morning and discovered that I'm at my Winter peak weight- ALREADY!  And, it's not even Christmas yet.  Yeah, it's a shock alright.  I have a goal to lose 15 lbs. by April 2011.  That's 15 lbs. in 15 weeks.  How convenient!  I only have to lose 1 lb per week for the next 15 weeks.  Since there are 3500 calories in a pound, all I have to do is cut out 500 calories a day for seven days for the next 15 weeks.  For some reason that sounds more daunting then 1 lb per week for the next 15.  But, instead of thinking about cutting out 500 calories a day..why not think of it as burning 250 calories more per day through exercise and cutting out 250 calories of food (or junk) per day.  Same result.  For me, when I'm spinning/riding at close to Threshold I'm burning about 800 calories per hour.  So, to burn 250 calories I only have to workout at that pace for 20 min.  REMEMBER: This is 20 min. over and beyond what I'm normally exercising each day.  So, if I already have an interval workout planned for that day, I had better wakeup early in the a.m. and get perhaps an hour Tempo ride in..befire doing the interval workout that evening.

Ok, now for the cutting out the junk food..or just eating less.  Jot down what you ate in the last month or so..just generally.  You don't have to include everything...just the stuff you know could add up to an extra 250 calories per day.  After you do that, write down what you SHOULD HAVE done instead.  Here's my list:
* Two bowls of cereal in the a.m. INSTEAD of just one
* Handfuls of Almonds, Cashews, Pistachios, etc. INSTEAD of just one handful
* Three to four beers in one sitting INSTEAD of just one beer or two lite beers
* Eating too much when dining out INSTEAD of bringing half home
* Eating ice cream INSTEAD of sherbert or water ice
* Eating cookies at the hotel registration counter INSTEAD of resisting
* Eating too many breads/rolls/sandwiches INSTEAD of knocking off the carbs
* Eating Peanut Butter Sandwiches INSTEAD of tuna fish or a good salad w/ protein (meat)
* Eating my kids leftover Halloween candy INSTEAD of resisting
* Drinking some of my kids soda INSTEAD of drinking water
* Eating at a Chinese Buffet and going back for 2nds/3rds INSTEAD of filling up my plate once
Anyway, you get the point.  Just these little things can save you 250 calories per day in food consumption.  Combine that with 250 calories of exercise and you've got your 500 cal/day x 7= 3500 cal/wk= 1 pound x 15 weeks= 15 pounds= GOAL ACHIEVED

BTW, don't forget to treat yourself along the way.  I'm already looking forward to that big a$$ steak I'm going to have in Las Vegas in February at the Steak House in Circus Circus.  For those of you that have been there, you know what I'm talking about.  For those of you that haven't, you're missing one of the best steak houses in the country.

Power ON! Coach Rob