Sarahs Weightloss Blog

Hey Everyone

I know its real soon since my last post but I thought I would tell you how the triathlon went yesterday.

I did a 750 meter swim followed by a 18 km bike ride and a 5 km run.  I found doing all three together really hard, but managed to beat my personal best on every part! I knocked 30 secs off my swim time down to 19 mins 40 secs, 1 minute off my bike time to 37.03 and 1 minute 20 off my fastest run time to 29.40 so I’m dead chuffed with myself  thought I was not going to be able to finish the run part and ended up doing a sub 30 minute time, which I have been trying to achieve in the gym for ages – just goes to show how performing in front of other people can really get you to go that little bit extra hard.

I’m really tired today – especially as I have been out shopping hard for most of today but I’m really glad I did it.  Not sure what I’m going to do next, perhaps I will try a longer triathlon in the future.  But for now I think I’ll just rest – muscles are feeling a little tender

So for all of you who are thinking that you can’t do a triathlon think again – try to tell yourself ‘I CAN’ instead of ‘I CAN’T', put in some training, no matter what size, weight or fitness level you are, give it a go, the sense of achievement and health you get out is well worth the effort you put in.

Till next time . . .

Hey Everyone,

A while back I said I was going to take up a martial art as a hobby to help maintain an active life style.  I tried ju-jitsu and karate but didn’t really like these since they involved a lot of contact and I bruise quite easily, plus there were not any beginners present, or hardly any women, which was very intimidating.

However I recently found a really nice martial arts school that specialises in Aikido and I have now committed to a year membership there.  I really prefer Aikido to the other martial arts I’ve tried for a few reasons: firstly there is no striking, it consists of spinning and grappling movements which act to redirect the attackers force back upon them and as such does not need any real strength on the part of the defender.  It is also really pacifistic, since there are no attacks, it is all defensive moves and as such is perfectly legal under self defence laws in the UK.  Also when I tried the introductory lesson I found that the moves where really natural to learn and very effective.  There are also lots of beginners at the school and you don’t join the crowd till you have mastered the basics, which reduces a lot of stress of having to perform in front of people.  Finally there are loads of women there, it is very popular with us since it does not rely on physical force and strength, only technique, so there are loads of high ranking female instructors, which makes me more comfortable when practicing the moves.

Unfortunately I am really sore after training for this triathlon on saturday and so have no news on improvements in time and distance.  Hopefully after not training till the day, I will feel better enough to complete it all, but I am having my doubts . . .

Till next time . . .

Hey Everyone!

Thought I would let everyone know how I’m getting along in my training for the triathlon this Saturday and try and convince everyone and anyone that they should try such an event.  

Reasons you should give it a go:

1. You don’t need to be a marathoner!

You really don’t! I was just 4 months into my lifestyle changes when I did my first triathlon and was obese – not what you would usually associate with the thought of a triathlete!  I just chose the right distance for me – something that would challenge me, but that I could manage.  There are loads of fun runs, triathlons and other sports events which accompany the hard core and aim to get beginners and amateurs to try the events at their own pace.

2. It’s not a competition

Although usually your time is recorded, its only a competition if you make it such, you are equally able to try and beat a time of your own choice.

3. It’s for a great cause!

Usually these events are for charity.  Our triathlon is for the make a wish foundation and you can get loads of people to sponsor you if they know you will have to work hard to do it.

4. It focuses your training

You can easily get into a rut with your exercise and end up doing the same thing over and over.  Training for a triathlon makes you do a combination of the things you may not usually do together.  It gives you a focus to go further and faster and meet a goal which you can be proud of.

5. You really trim down fast!

While I have been training I have been doing the 18km cycle directly after the 5km run 1-2 times a week.  After 2 weeks I have really seen a difference in my body shape – it’s really gotten rid of the stubborn fat from my bum, thighs and legs.  The swimming has really toned my arms and legs too.  I also estimated that the triathlon will burn at least 850 kcal – a really big help for the weightloss/toning.

6. The benefits last!

Unlike a diet, which you stop and then may slip back into old eating patterns, the increase in your fitness from training will stay with you.  You will most likely be planning your next triathlon and going for the next level up.  You notice a difference in everything you do – walking, cycling, strength, energy etc and you feel great.

Training:

If you are to give it a go, you MUST prepare and train adequately so you don’t injure yourself. 

1. Choose the right length

If its your first time and you are not a keen cycler/swimmer/runner then start with a short distance aimed at beginners.  If you have not done a triathlon but do all or some of the exercises a lot and are generally fit then you could do a longer beginners event or go the whole hog and do one of the longer ones – its up to your own judgement.

2. Training Time

This will depend on your fitness level.  If you have never run, swam or cycled before and have just started a lifestyle change you could need a few months of intensive training to get ready.  If you have been training already and want to take it up a notch you could train over a month – this is what I have done this time as I do most of the event distances separately at the gym in my own time.

3. Training Tips

To train I started with practicing each part of the triathlon separately a few times and timed myself, trying to reduce the time on each go.  I then started to pair events together – like jogging and then cycling the distances and trying to improve my time on each go.  I also have interspersed other classes and exercises into my training, to ensure that I can keep the intensity of the exercises up for a long period of time (like as long as the triathlon should take).  I also give myself plenty of rest and make sure that I eat enough food to keep my energy up for training – around 2000 kcal or above per day depending on my activity levels.

So how have I been doing?  My practice times haven’t changed much – around 20 minutes for the 750 metres, 31 minutes for the 5km run and 38 minutes for the 18km cycle.  I’ve noticed some really big changes in my physique though – my legs and bum are really toned up, but I need to work on my stomach which I have been neglecting, focusing on the triathlon exercises.  I’m also down to 72.6kgs without really meaning to lose more weight, it’s just that I have been really focused on training with the event date closing in!

Wish me luck for Saturday, I’ll post my times, rank position and hopefully if they are not too embarrassing, some photos!

Hey Everyone,

I’m training for the silver triathlon this year, taking place at the end of this month.  Last year I did the bronze level which was 20 lengths in the pool, 12kms biking and 3km run. This silver triathlon is 30 lengths in the pool, 18kms biking and a 5km run.

To train I am trying to do all the areas in as quick a time as possible.  On Monday of this week I managed to do the 5km jog in 31 minutes and the bike ride directly after in 38 minutes, which I am quite pleased with.  I’ve bought a swimsuit and will now try some swimming (I don’t really swim a lot).  Rather bravely I bought a bikini – my husband edged me into it but  am dreading this years triathlon pictures!

However for the rest of the week I have been off training since I have been quite ill I’m on the mend now, but still no appetite and low on energy, so I’m just keeping gently active while recovering.  I’ll have to see whether or not I’ve kept my strength when I go back of the gym, probably at the end of this week.

Till next time

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for everyone thats been following my blog, this has really helped me stay on track and keep focused.  I hope I’ve been able to give you all some advice which has helped you achieve your own goal or get started on a new life style.

However now I need a little help and advice from you guys.  I have two questions:

1) how do you know when you have achieved a healthy weight? 

and

2) how do you maintain your weight when you are sure your done?

This is why I am mulling these questions over, and haven’t come up with an answer by myself . . .

I was thinking, everyone (understandably) talks about losing weight, but what about what happens after the desired weight loss has been achieved?  For example I’ve been losing weight for 11 months now.  At the beginning I had an ultimate goal weight in mind of 65kgs which would bring my to the top of a normal BMI for my height, which I broke up into smaller stages of weight loss goals.  As you know I’ve knocked through my penultimate goal of 75kgs and am now 73.8kgs.  Now I’m actually quite happy with my body shape.  I feel loads more confident, have much more energy and my personal life has improved so much as a result of this.  So I posed a question to my (obviously biased) husband: ’should I lose any more weight?’  After reassuring him that it wasn’t a trick question, he said that it was up to me, but in his opinion I really didn’t need to, plus I did just spend around 400 quid on clothes in a UK size 10, so why would I want to lose more weight and not fit into them?  Good point.

I keep asking myself though – am I really a healthy weight? How do you know really if you are a healthy weight?  Sounds silly I know but hear me out, this is my conundrum:

1) I still have an overweight BMI of 28.1, however I am pretty sure I am now an English dress size of 10 after my shopping spree at the weekend – what seriously is that all about? How thin do you have to be to be ‘normal’?  

2) One possible explanation is that I cycle, run, swim and do weight training a lot, and BMI can’t tell apart being overweight due to fat or being heavy due to muscle, so maybe throw this BMI out of the equation and accept I am now the size and shape I want to be and leave it at that?

3) BUT I use the machine at the gym to measure my body fat, it uses a light electric pulse through the hands, I have no idea how accurate it is, but it says I have 31.7% body fat, which according to the charts is ‘obese’ – I am V confused!  

So to sum up, I am pretty happy with myself, I would like a slightly flatter tummy perhaps, but that’s about it.  I am the dress size I want to be, the shape I want to be, I don’t particularly want to be loads thinner – I like being a petite curvy girl.  But all the charts say I’m overweight or obese – hmmmmm.

But that’s not all I’m a little worried about.  My other major problem is: where do I go from here?  I know how to eat and exercise to lose weight.  BUT what do I do to maintain my weight in the long run?  How do healthy people eat? I don’t know, I’ve never really been a healthy person who could control their eating habits. Is it just as simple as – track the calories against exercise and balance the two? I think I could probably manage that, but we’ll see . . .

So what do you all think? The floor is open, post your comments and suggestions please.  Anyone else have or had similar issues?

Till next time