Week 5: The Diet Begins

Diet.  Ugh.  Yes, I said it.  I’m 5 weeks into my Ironman Training and it’s the off season and my injuries prevent me from doing anything other than swimming with a pool buoy and upper body weight training.

I admit I have been using food a little bit, comfort food, to ease the pain.  But after seeing 135.2 on the scale for the past few days, I had to face the fact that dieting needed to commence.

So here we go again.  If you ever dieted, and I imagine most of you have.  Because endurance athletes know that body weight is a huge factor in running and cycling fast.  I could cite many examples but I think Lance Armstrong is the one I always think of.  When he dropped the weight after getting cancer, he then went on to win all those Tours.  There are many who say he would never have gone on to victory at his pre-cancer weight.

There is this theory out there that one should gain a few pounds during the off season so that you have it to lose when you start up hard training again.  I don’t believe in this.  And I have read so many articles to the contrary.  I believe that it’s important to maintain your ideal weight.  And when you start burning more calories, then add more calories to your diet to fuel your training.

My goal?  128 pounds.  This puts me at 10% bodyfat.  That’s about the lowest I can safely achieve without health issues.  I think the first 5 pounds will come off pretty quickly because I have bounced around between 130 and 135 for the past month.

It’s breaking the 130 mark that has proven so difficult for me.  And without running or cycling to aid me, it’s going to be all food.  I’m ready.  I know what it feels like for my stomach to be screaming at me to eat while my brain is saying “no way, I have a goal here, and you Ms. Tummy, with all your incessant screaming, are NOT going to ruin that for me.”

Wish me luck.  Say a prayer.  But please don’t tempt me with anything yummy.  For I surely will cave.