1/7/2013: Less Than One Pound to Reach Goal!!

Morning Weight:  150.8
Today's Exercise: Strength Training - Upper Body
Yesterday's Exercise: 1500 meter swim (40 minutes) followed by a 5K run (34 minutes and 22 seconds)
Yesterday's Calories: 1714
Vitamins:  1-A-Day, D, B-Complex, Calcium, Glucosamine

Wow!!  I am almost there.  I could hardly believe my eyes this morning when I got on the scale and only weighed 150.8 pounds.  I had to get off and get back on again, to make sure it was right.  Yep, 150.8 again!  By mid-day yesterday I knew I would see good results on the scale this morning, I just didn't know they would be this good.  Finally, my stomach felt better, I was no longer feeling bloated, my digestive system was behaving normally again, and I was peeing like crazy.  All of a sudden, my body seemed to be ready to give up the toxins and let everything flush out.  It felt so good to feel good again that I knew things were getting back to normal and that the results would show up on the scale in the morning.  I only have 8/10ths of a pound left to reach my goal of 150 pounds, and I have three weeks left on my chart!  By George, I think I've got this!!  Of course I leave for China in 8 days, so my goal is to reach 150 before I leave on the 15th.  I think I can do that.  It shouldn't be long now!

Yesterday I did a "brick" as part of my preparation for the triathlon that consisted of a 1500 meter swim and a 5K run.  It was pretty brutal.  I was wiped out for most of the evening, afterwards, and actually watched TV with Jack for a couple of hours.  That is unusual for me, I am not much of a TV watcher, but last night I just didn't feel much like moving after my swim/run workout.  Obviously, I have a lot of work to do to prepare for the event in August.  I need to be able to run twice that far and put a 42 mile bike ride in between the swim and the run.  Ruth and I will need to come up with a training schedule with goals that I need to hit by certain dates.   It would help me a lot to have specific targets.   We have seven months to train.  I'll be ready!!

My calories were higher than my normal 1600 yesterday because of the amount of exercise I did yesterday.  I was flat out hungry last night, so I ate more.  Obviously, from the results on the scale, that was not a mistake.  As soon as I hit 150 I'll increase my calories to 1800 - 2000 per day and see how that goes.  My goal will be to maintain my weight as I gradually change my body composition to more lean muscle tissue and less fat.  The good news is that I don't expect to see dramatic results in a short period of time.  I wouldn't be surprised if it takes a couple of years to get to 24% body fat, but that is OK.  At this point the purpose of the goals is to continue to pursue excellent health and fitness through good diet and exercise.  This blog will be less about achieving something specific in a short period of time and more about the routines I establish as I become healthier and more active.  It will be interesting to me to see how this transition goes over the coming months.