Biking Update - October 3, 2009

This week started out very poorly for weight loss, despite a return to the bike on Saturday. I was up and actually got above 210 lbs for a few days, something I have not done outside of holidays and vacations (i.e. free days when I eat what I want). I ate nothing out of the ordinary. I think it was the inability to get much exercise due to back pain. Sigh. But by the end of the week, I was back to normal levels.

And it surely did feel good to get back onto my bike for a change. It appears that tomorrow will be rained out, but I am hoping to ride again on Sunday once the storm is past. And if my back will return to "normal", I'll be able to get back on the stationary bike as well.

Biking Update - August 16, 2008

Another good week of weight loss. It was a bit of an emotional roller-coaster because the graph was quite sawtoothed (down one day, up the next, then down again) but overall the trend was in the right direction, and I wound up at a new low since the start of the program. I don't have a lot of exciting examples to show off the weight loss, no new belts or major milestones or clothing changes. But it is still a good feeling to be moving in the right direction.

In the area of biking, however, we did have a major milestone. Last Saturday, I rode with CRChair, Nick, and Nora on the Larkin Bridle Trail, a biking, hiking, and horse riding trail that begins in Naugatuck and ends in Oxford. You may recall the last time we were on the trail, we got caught out in a storm that reminded us all of two things: Noah and how much we liked dry underwear. This time, it was a beautiful day with nary a cloud in the sky (which made the largely tree-shadowed trail even more pleasant). We even saw several groups of horse-riders who were amazed to see us dismount when they came near and pull off to the side of the trail. This, of course, is trail etiquette - apparently horses have a great fear of bike riders and have to be carefully calmed after seeing such a ferocious beast. We also spotted a snapping turtle and lots of wildlife just off the trail. The milestone mentioned earlier is that this time we rode the whole trail, from start to finish and back again. This was a ride of 17.4 miles, by my GPS, which is the longest ride we have done so far. This may bode well for Bowhunter's dream for next year to have us all come along on the Ididaride.

This next week may be a bit more dry on the bike-riding front. For her birthday, we're taking Shadowmom down to the Galloping Hill Inn in Union, NJ. Despite the name, it is a hot dog stand. It is a place that she used to frequent when she was dating our father, and full of good memories with good friends. We're planning to meet Ward and Muse (and La Bambina) down there, too, to get some good friend-time in. But it will rule out any trail-riding for the weekend. Which means, I will have to work hard to get in riding the rest of the week. Please keep praying that I stay on the "wagon" diet and exercise-wise. So far, so good, but I still have a ways to go before my goal.

Biking Update - August 9, 2008

This was a fairly good week of weight loss. After being fairly flat last week with the travel-related issues, I lost steadily this week and passed below the next decade in my weight. I am now only a few pounds away from having lost 30 lbs total. Very encouraging! It was also a good week of biking, riding the Trumbull Trail last Saturday, riding down by the River Monday and Tuesday, riding up to Captains Pizza on Wednesday, and day off on Thursday for knee pain/extreme weather. Currently, the plan is to ride the Larkin Trail today with Nick and Nora, if the weather cooperates.

My current weight takes me into a new stage of my weight loss, as I am now back to the weight I was at when I started the Atkins diet about 5 years ago. That was the diet that got abandoned when I had a herniated disk, and had to eat whatever I could get to because I was trapped in a chair much of the time. It is encouraging to know that I am back into familiar territory, and my older clothes now fit well again. I am down to the leanest hole on all the belts I have bought since my back surgery. I'll have to get some thinner belts soon. And I am fitting into suits that I had tailored during the Atkins Diet time. I am still hopeful that I can keep up this new eating plan (smaller portions, little sugar, lots of veggies) better than I did Atkins, so that this weight-loss can be long-term.

The original goal when getting the bikes was simply to ride up to Captains Pizza each week for Guys Nite Out (our friend-time/small group with Nick, St. Patty, and Bowhunter). We are doing that every week, plus a lot more riding as well. I did some back-of-the-envelope calculation and I think I am averaging about 30 miles a week on the bike now, which means I have ridden at least 120 miles since getting the bike and probably a lot more. Not bad. The next goal is to start biking up to Wal-Mart once a week, which is at least twice the distance to Captains and uphill most of the way. If we keep this up, maybe next year we can do the Ididaride event with Bowhunter.

Biking Update - July 5, 2008

Last weekend, after the last post, we headed over to the Trumbull, CT Trail with Nick and Nora with the intent to ride the whole thing. At the very start of the trail, it is a very short steep climb up from Tait Road. I approached the climb and took a very sharp turn - in fact far TOO sharp - and wound up tangling myself up in my own legs and fell to the side. I tried to fight the fall and thus wound up trying to bend my knee sideways. That pretty much ended the trip, so we went to see WALL-E instead.

The sprain or strain was honestly not too bad. I could walk on it immediately afterward, but it hurt quite a bit to bend and the lateral stability was simply not much there. So, my week started off with a day of no exercise and then a slow working back up to a full ride. Perhaps for this reason, or maybe something else I missed, I am pretty much flat this week weight-wise. I am no worse than last weekend, but also no better. It is a little depressing, but everyone who has ever lost a lot of weight has said that it is all about consistency and that slow but steady wins the race. We'll see, but it is my intent to stay with it. The one exception will be tomorrow - my birthday - as I plan to go to a restaurant I enjoy and have whatever I want.

The best news is that at the end of the week - Friday, July 4 - we rode that same Trumbull Trail with Mr. and Mrs. Bowhunter. (Nick and Nora were out of town exploring the Revolutionary City of Boston.) We rode pretty much the whole thing - 9.1 miles - and my knee felt just fine at the end. I am still wearing a knee brace for exercise times. But it is all moving very well now. Here is hoping I will have more good news next weekend.

Bicycling Update - June 28, 2008

I am constantly amazed how every bike ride brings me to something new, even when I am going to the same old place. But it is less fun to see "new things" while revisiting the same old places on the weight graph. This week my weight started out great with the loss of several pounds, and then suddenly jumped up. I believe it was due to taking some allergy meds, as when I stopped taking them my weight went back down quickly. But I pretty much ended off the week where I started it. Which is still down about 5 pounds than before the last post.

The big "milestone" for this week biking-wise was our first trip to Captains Pizza for Guys Night Out as a group. I have been looking forward to this trip for a while, but it is uphill the whole way on a major street (Bridgeport Avenue) so we wanted to wait until I had built myself up cardiovascular-wise. The ride is about a mile, and we made it in only 15 minutes with only one stop to catch my breath. Not bad! And essentially the reason we first decided to buy the bikes.

Our big ride last weekend was almost two hours of riding by the Long Island Sound in Stratford with Mr. and Mrs. Bowhunter. It was a beautiful ride along the water and up along a number of streets in Stratford that I really had no idea existed before. We found a picturesque lighthouse run by the coastguard, saw a motorcycle driving school, and discovered a number of little communities built around the beaches. We'll definitely be back for that ride again.

Stay tuned for more updates, as we exploring biking, scenic Connecticut, and weight loss.

Bicycling Update - June 21, 2008

A couple of weeks back, I posted a picture of myself on a new bike. I proclaimed that I planned to use it to increase fitness and "reduce the visible gut". I am figuring it will be good for me to post my experiences here, both to update our faithful readers and to keep me honest. It is hard to "cheat" on a weight reduction program if you have to admit it to all of your friends.

First, the "program" I am using is not any of the formal systems, other than the one most recommended "Eat less, exercise more." While I have done well with Atkins in the past, right now my life does not lend itself to the complicated work required to ensure I keep carbs out of my diet. So instead, I am trying to reduce portions, reduce overall carbs and sugar, and exercise every day. And I am weighing in every morning, and tracking my weight and meals in an Excel Spreadsheet. That is it.

How am I doing? Well, it is only 2 weeks in, but I have lost a little over 10 lbs. I have been exercising every day. On rainy days, I have been riding on a stationary bike in the attic (I am up to 27 minutes per session). On clear days, I have been riding on the "real" bike with CRChair at local parks (between 30 minutes and 2 hours, depending on the day). I am posting below the graph of my weight so far, with numbers removed to protect the embarrassed.

Please keep up your prayers. Weight loss is never easy, since it requires changing ones long-ingrained habits that got you overweight and out of shape in the first place. I am sure I have some hard times to come. But I am hoping that these small changes will add up to a lifestyle I can maintain in the long-term. Cuz, that is the healthy way to go, and the way people see real success.

I want to also thank Bowhunter for inspiring me to try out biking, and Nick and CRChair for encouraging me to keep it up. It has been much more fun than I expected, and I am still amazed how every time we go out, I see something new and unexpected. Who knew Shelton had a pair of guys training for the Olympic hammer throw? (No, I did not get a picture. I have since picked up a tough, waterproof camera to bring along on the rides. These photos were taken on my iPhone.)