Weight Loss

There's that dirty four letter word again- D-I-E-T.  Well, at least for me it is.  I've been trying to lose weight for over 3 months now with NO success.  I've tried reducing carbs, reducing portions at meals, cutting out all junk food (including cookies which I LOVE), reducing alcohol intake,  etc.  I can't say that I followed any particular diet per se, but I've been trying to lose weight desparately.  Yeah, I can make up all kinds of excuses why I haven't lost any weight over the past 3 months..but they're weak excuses.  Bottom line- low self-control. 

For those of you that don't know why weight loss is such a big deal for cycling..all you have to do is lookup "Watts per Kilogram" in Google and you'll see why it's so vital- at least for someone like me.  Actually, you don't even have to Google it, just do a search on my Coaches blog and you'll see plenty of articles written on the subject.  I look at it this way, why bust your hump working hard to build power over the Winter only to ruin your w/kg with a big fat a$$ in the Spring?  Seriously!  It just doesn't make sense to me.  I honestly believe that "weight loss" is just as important as "power gain" to a cyclist.  And, I'm only trying to maintain a weight that is appropriate for a cyclist my age.  I don't think losing 10 lbs. (going from 175 to 165) is going overboard by any means...one look at my waistline will convince you. ha
Ok, so where do I (or should say WE) go from here?  (And, I'm not writing this blog just for my benefit, there are OTHERS out there that should be shedding some Winter lbs from their fat a$$es).  Well, the last thing you want to do right now is diet- of any kind, particularly Lo-Carb diets.  Proper Carb intake is as important now as it is during the racing season because of the higher intensity workouts you'll be doing (or should be doing).  Bottom line, you'll need the energy from Carbs for your workouts.  Eating "cleaner" meals will definitely help you lose some weight.  That is, no junk food...ditch the desserts and alcohol too. 

But wait a minute, didn't I just tell you that I was eating "cleaner" and that I pretty much gave up the desserts and alcohol and STILL can't drop any weight?  I did.  So, now what?  Well, in my opinion barring liposuction (just kidding) the only healthy alternative is to ramp up the activity level.  That includes more time in the gym (resistance training and working core muscles), cross training (like XC skiing) and possibly even some swimming to supplement the daily cycling workouts.  That's right, swimming.  I used to participate in Masters Swimming at the local YMCA 2 days a week when I was a Triathlete.  They are great workouts and will definitely help anyone shed some pounds.  And, for those of you that think that resistance training in the gym is going to make you BIG...forget about it.  It won't.  Besides, resistance training is a great "fat burner" because you'll continue to burn fat/calories even when you're done. 

So, if you're like me..start ramping up the exercise volume.  You don't have to kill yourself X-Training..have fun with it.  In fact, that's all it should be- FUN!

Power ON! Coach Rob