Maybe 153 is where it’s at?

Man, losing weight is a bitch. You know, I haven’t actively tried to lose weight in a long time, since before I graduated from high school. It has always just kind of come and gone depending on life’s circumstances. Break up with a boyfriend, lose 20 lbs. Move in together, +15. Start training for a triathlon, -5. It’s like a neverending game of Chutes and Ladders. But now that I’m actively trying to get to race weight, I’m realizing what a chore losing weight really is.

By the way, I can’t believe I’ve gotten to a point on this blog where I actually discuss my weight so frankly. Look how much changes in a year.

I’ve been half-assing Weight Watchers since January 22nd. As of today’s weigh-in I’ve lost 9 lbs, but I was up .2 from last week.  That’s only 9 lbs in 12 weeks.  And yes, of course I’ve been gaining muscle… I’m still weight lifting 3x a week.  But I don’t think I’ve gained *that* much muscle (although, when I flex now you can see my biceps.  I didn’t even know I owned a set of those!).  At certain times of the week I’ve seen numbers on my scale at home that have me losing as much as 12 lbs total, but by mid-day on Friday when I actually weigh in for real, it’s never that low (and yes, before you have to ask, I have compared my scale with their scale, and it’s accurate within .2 of a pound).

The problem is, I really am half-assing it. I mean, I add up my points daily, unless it’s right after a 4 hour ride. Or during a 4 hour ride.  Or the weekend.  I don’t count the 400 calories I consume while riding, or the pizza I gorge on immediately afterwards. And I usually have a couple drinks on the weekend. I’m more of a Monday through Friday (at noon) kind of gal. And so far, that has worked for me… until now.

Two weeks ago I decided I needed to change my eating habits to get down below 150. I started eating yogurt for breakfast, and cut out all diet sodas. And that week, I lost 2 lbs (I even saw the magic number 150 on my scale at home that week). Why, you might ask, is 150 magic? Because that’s the official cutoff for the Athena weight class in triathlons. Do you know how many races I could have won if I had registered to compete in the Athena class? At least two! But I refuse to admit that I’m actually OVER 150 lbs. So for this season, I wanted to be well below that. *145 lbs*  That’s at the high end of the “normal” range for my height, and it seems totally reasonable, right?

But damn it all to hell if I can’t seem to get those last seven to eight lbs to go the fuck away.

Sorry mom.

And the worst part is that I was trying to get this all done during the base miles portion of my training. But as of next week the build phase officially begins, kicked off by a sprint Triathlon on May 2nd. And as anyone who trains 6 days a week, 1.5+ hours a day knows, it’s almost I-M-P-O-S-S-I-B-L-E to lose weight when you’re working out that much because you’re constantly hungry and in need of food for recovery.

In today’s meeting the Weight Watcher’s leader asked everyone to raise their hands if they had a hard time getting motivated to work out.  I was the only person in the room who didn’t raise her hand.  Then she asked people to describe what they hated about working out.  She wrote answers on the flip chart like “It hurts” and “Insecure feeling in the gym” and “I don’t like to sweat”.  I’m pretty sure I was the only in there who thought of myself positively when wearing spandex (although let’s not kid ourselves, we all have our days).  And forgive me for saying it, but sweating is one of the best feelings in the world.

Guess I may be carrying those extra 7 lbs up the sides of many mountains this season, unless Aaron divorces me.  Then I could be down to 130 in no time (don’t get any ideas, babe).

It all depends on what motivates you, and fortunately for me I’m motivated by sweat and pain and sunburn and fatigue.  And pizza at the end of a long ride.