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Back On The Wagon

Diet Dr. Pepper, Zoe's chocolate cake, Sweet Retreat chocolate chip cookies, and Alonti cinnamon scones, it has been nice knowing you.

Fast food and candy in general, its been nice knowing you as well. Some of you I have visited more frequently (Diet DP, you were mine twice a day, on average) than others (Zoe's cake, I only saw you maybe once or twice a month, but oh how I loved you still), but you will all be gone for a short while during this time called Lent. Taco Cabana downstairs at work, you are so appealing in that you can feed me an entire meal for $2.59 and you are just too darn convenient, but eating you a handful of times a month has just gotten to be too much!

Day 1 of the Biggest Loser challenge at work also conveniently coincided with Ash Wednesday; unfortunately our 11 week challenge extends way beyond Easter, so there may be a bump in the road when Lent is no longer.

It is about time for me to start heading back towards race weight, and my A race for the Spring falls between Easter and the end of the Biggest Loser at work, which will be just about perfect. In some sort of odd way I have started to actually kind of look forward to the ebbs and flows of my weight that come with racing big events. No one can stay race weight year round, or if they do, perhaps they aren't truly at race weight, or their actual race performance or day-to-day training may be suffering. I joke that I gained 4 lbs the second I stepped off the plane from Idaho after IMCDA in June, but I really did - and it was not until just before IMFL in November that those 4 lbs were back off, but they were nothing to stress about and I've come to know my body well enough (most times...not when POTS is having its way with me) to know they would be gone again when I needed them to be.

It is nice to relax and slack off a bit after races, especially after IMFL when the holidays were approaching. It just isn't so nice when the # on the scale is a bit higher than you intended. I'm still in my "okay range," but it is definitely time to start heading back down. I know guys who race who regularly lose/gain 15-20 lbs throughout the season - us girls can't do that much swinging without some consequences, but I've comfortably moved around in about an 8 lb range for the past 2+ years (I've dipped slightly below that and gone a bit above, but never for long). Before that, the weight which I now consider my "chubby" weight was my "skinny" weight. It is crazy how things move around (literately and figuratively), sometimes without any explanation at all!

So far today I don't seem to be dying without my morning Diet DP, but then again the caffeine level in soda is not much compared to coffee or tea or other things people drink regularly to really feel it, so it is funny for me to think I'd notice a huge difference anyway. I think I like it more for the sweet (fake sweet) taste than anything else. I get more of a high off orange cliff blocks or infinit than I do soda anyway...but it still tastes goooood, in a sick kind of way.

There is a bit of a daunting element of a predominately white spandex race kit I will be wearing this year - and after Jon asked if my Houston Marathon pictures were stretched horizontally while wearing said race top, I should have given up food all together at that point. Perhaps the black/blue combination on the HRTC kits will be a little more forgiving. We shall see. Now its time to figure out what in the world I'm going to eat for lunch!

Now seeking comments from the peanut gallery - how much weight do you normally go up or down depending on the time of year?

Comments

The Young Zoo said…
My range depends on what type of racing I'm doing that year. During an IM year it's about a 15lb swing. During a 70.3 or less year it's a 10lb swing.
junie b said…
well normally i would say 5lbs but i was doing things all wrong.

now i am down 10 lbs with about 5-6 left to go THEN i hope to see the fluctuation stay within 5 lbs :)

oh and on the diet dr pepper thing, i know you saw Kendalls link about soda in general, but then there was also someone who posted about the fake sugar spiking your body to that insulin thing because it THINKS its sugar anyway...not good. :)
KCWoodhead said…
I've read about the fake sugar stuff, but honestly have never seen a bit of difference at all. I have gone months with and months without for the past several years and seriously see absolutely 100% no difference at all in my weight, sleep, hunger, etc when I'm drinking it vs. when I am not. Maybe 2 a day isn't enough to cause issues, but I don't know. I wish I DID see a difference, then I might actually just be done with it for good, but so far, nothing. It is a bit of a treat for me and ultimately better than other "treats", but then again it is probably something they will find out causes cancer years down the line.
Jill (& Bob) said…
I should be joining you in giving up sweets and such. I was thinking about it but can't bring myself to commit completely so for now it's candy and anything of that sort -- but I could add in caffeine free Diet DP. Probably would be good for me.
I usually fluctuate within about a 3pound range. I lost no weight for IMCOZ, but was wonderfully succesful at gaining a solid 8 after getting back. I've been slowly working on killing my new food baby but it's tough work. I'm almost back within my acceptable (albeit not good) range...just in time to get in a bikini. Ugh.
junieb said…
the first thing i notice of being off diet coke for about a week is that my tum tum and midsection are flatter. :O)

i dont think it (fake sugars) means you would see anything on the outside, but rather what the fake sugar does to your INSIDES :)
KCWoodhead said…
I guess I should say I have never seen or felt any difference at all. If I noticed my jelly belly getting flatter after just a week, I'd never touch the stuff again! I was drinking it as normal the two times I was at my lowest weight last year - if there was some sort of noticable change in my body (i.e. didn't crave sweets as much, lost a bit of weight, lost more fat, slept better, etc), I'd be all over it...or all over NOT drinking it! Maybe this time will be different, or maybe I'll just drink it occasionally after Lent, but so far, gees, it just doesn't seem to make a difference one way or the other. I wonder what level though the studies are about (how many diet sodas people are drinking daily when they do start to have insulin issues).
Cory said…
The range between my peak race weight and walking weight is 18 lbs.
CoachLiz said…
My weight is on the high end right now since I have not been doing much the last month because of my knee. 6-7 pounds is my range. I have had two times that I got to what I considered my best racing weight but it gets harder to do that now that I am a little older.

My Lenten challenges have started as well. No chocolate and sweets for me and sticking to fish rather than beef, chicken, and pork. Also I have a "5K a Day" challenge for myself. Now that it is wamed up a bit it is time to get it done before lunch.
DevinBrown said…
Good luck with your personal challenge.

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