I am PUMPED!

[mdeth1313]

Finally! A year without needing surgery for stabbing myself in the hand, 2 years of upper leg/hip pain gone and a winter with no snow (save the October blizzard) makes for a really good start to the year. Not to mention the annoying as hell issues I had with my feet have finally been solved by my chiropractor (foot leveler orthotics).
We've hit a bitter cold (w/ 25mph wind gusts) snap here so I've been relegated to the computrainer, but I just finished a 50 mile ride and I'm averaging a little over 100 miles a week! I was even able to commute to work the first week of January, something that's never happened before.
Weight is down and it looks like my doctor wants to try taking me off of cholesterol medication, which is a good thing because I was getting muscle pain (one of the side effects) and had to go thru 3 different meds until we found one that didn't. Still I'd rather be off of that stuff altogether!
Motivated-- holy crap, I might end up with my weight in the lower 140's if this keeps up!

(sorry, had to share!)

[pritchet74]

Man, that just rocks. I can't believe that you can do that much time on the Computrainer. Absolutely insane! The longest I have ever done is 90 minutes and I was ready to slit my wrists when I was done.

I am as modivated as I think that I have ever been and hoping for a great year on the bike as well. The legs are good and I am adding in some CrossFit workouts just to mix things up and hopefully gain some overall strength. I think that I am FINALLY in a position to lose the weight that I have really been wanting to lose as well. I have long known that I eat too much, but it has been very difficult to eat less. In comes the myfitnesspal.com app on my iPhone and my world has changed. It's an amazing food diary to tracks your calories and gives you a countdown each day for when you hit your target calorie intake for your desired weight loss. The best part is that it has a bar code scanner so you can just scan the label of what you are eating and then adjust for serving size. It's awesome. From 2005-2009 I held strong at 155# and was between 160-165# in 2010-2011. At the end of October I was 166# and for the last week I have been 159#. The goal is to be under 150# by May. That would be awesome.

It feels good when things are going right, doesn't it?

[dalai]

Jockeys the lot of ya...

Sitting at #176 at the moment. Trying to get back to #165 so have started running and swimming again. Plus I have been talked into doing an Adventure race in December, so have started paddling an Ocean Ski once a week too!

[pritchet74]

Better get started!!!!

[über-goober]

How do the Jan Ullrichs and Fabian Cancellaras do it? It's amazing when a big guy can slay the uphills.

It's pretty drastic for me. The further i get over racing weight (68kg) the more the bike "pulls to the back"..

[Fuchs]

Jan ulrich is from the same hometown like me.
There are no hills but it is windy at least 300days a year.

I think that is doing a lot for the upphills as well.

[Ypsylon]

How do the Jan Ullrichs and Fabian Cancellaras do it? It's amazing when a big guy can slay the uphills.

They put the hurt on the little fellas in the flater sections.

Many, many moons ago I was under 60kg and usually the pace would pick up before an incline even started. I held on for dare life just to make it to the foot of a climb, then actually recover a bit compared to the bigger guys, then got back into a feel where I would think about an attack, and if the climb was actually long enough I'd make my move.

If there was a head wind approaching the climb all of this was obviously much easier, but with a tail wind I was usually hoping to catch back up to guys before the top.

[pritchet74]

I am 72 kg now and 15 years ago when I was my strongest ever on the bike I was 65 kg. It was much easier to climb hills back then.....

[mdeth1313]

another 20 miles on the computrainer this morning (8 degrees (F) out). Unfortunately, it looks like we're getting some sleet/ice/snow overnight which will kill any attempt at getting to the gym before work.

Pritchet-- I remember when I dropped over 20lbs: It was before I started back commuting to work by bike. I remember the first time I went over the first big climb and thinking, "Man, this is just too easy."

[Matteo]

That sounds great, glad mdeth and others are off to a good start this year.

Disclaimer: I have no medical training, so the following is completely unqualified. Mdeth, you mention muscle pain - are you taking statins? If you do, you might want to follow up with your doctor about his plan of getting you off them. Apparently there has been some discussion on what the actual benefits are. From what I understand, they certainly seem to be beneficial for men with prior heart disease. On the other hand, for men without prior heart disease they lower cholesterol, but that does not seem to translate into better health outcomes at the expense of side effects like muscle pain. There are a few studies out there, but no real agreement yet on what the results mean.

[mdeth1313]

That sounds great, glad mdeth and others are off to a good start this year.

Disclaimer: I have no medical training, so the following is completely unqualified. Mdeth, you mention muscle pain - are you taking statins? If you do, you might want to follow up with your doctor about his plan of getting you off them. Apparently there has been some discussion on what the actual benefits are. From what I understand, they certainly seem to be beneficial for men with prior heart disease. On the other hand, for men without prior heart disease they lower cholesterol, but that does not seem to translate into better health outcomes at the expense of side effects like muscle pain. There are a few studies out there, but no real agreement yet on what the results mean.

Yes on the statins. I'm looking to get off of them to see if I can keep my cholesterol down without them (probably a 6 month trial before having more bloodwork), but Lescol works for me without the side effects- only problem is it's not generic so it's more expensive- my diet is extemely healthy but I want to see if I can tweak a few more things and stay off the meds. As for those studies, my wife is an OD, so I get the regular updates on that and she's still in the "take the medication" camp.

[mdeth1313]

So 381 miles into January, I went back to my physician for a consult after my bloodwork came back from my physical. I'm going off the cholesterol meds - my #'s have never been better- now if I can just stay away from those damn pretzel m&m's.....

[pritchet74]

Excellent news!

I kinda killed my daily calorie intake with a lunch at a BBQ place in Seattle. 1,000 calories from a pulled pork sandwich and some baked beans! Hopefully I can find a way to just have a salad for dinner.....

[Matteo]

Well done, mdeth! Are you going to invest the $$$ you are saving on the meds in bike parts now? It should not be too difficult to explain that to the wife... And good job on getting in those miles - I might have 38.1 miles so far in January (shakes fist at bronchitis).

[mdeth1313]

heh heh, got 50 miles in (OUTSIDE) on Sunday. Even more important-- All Hail the Computrainer! I hit the hills- my form wasn't half-bad considering I've been indoors most of the month and I haven't been doing very hilly courses on the computrainer, but I guess being able to watch your power output and busting your butt to keep it high pays off.