i started my weight loss journey in earnest in August 2015. i had just had a cardiac implant inserted a few months before because of a large atrial septal defect and i was tired of being fat and decided it was time to get healthy. i had raced in the past, just sprints, and i was kind of terrible at it although I did enjoy them. i was a crap swimmer, eh cyclist, and a super crap runner. i decided to start addressing my running and signed up for a half marathon and started training for a 10k. i started logging everything i ate religiously in myfitnesspal. i'd weigh in every day and measure a few times of week. i was determined to stick with it. i stuck with my hal higdon plan for a 10k and then transitioned over to a half marathon plan. i was so consistent and doing so well that i signed up for a half marathon 4 months sooner the one i originally signed up for. i finished in 2:12ish.
after the half marathon that january, i pulled out my trainer and signed up for trainer road. my world changed. the weight kept coming off with a combination of calorie tracking and exercise and because of the exercise, i could still have burgers and pizza.i stuck with the training, treated myself with a shiny new felt ia 10 and flo wheels and attempted my first half ironman in july. unfortunately that race was Racine 70.3 which was a total crapshoot so I don't really count it. By that time I had hit my target weight of 162 (completely arbitrary). I continued to log calories but in maintenance mode.
In the meantime I did some olympics here and there. In November I raced Miami Man and qualified for Team USA and then immediately started a marathon training plan. I still log calories, I'm super deathly afraid of gaining the weight back. I gained a few pounds during the marathon taper (~3) but managed to finish with a time of 3:29:50 for my first marathon. This year I'm going to try to drop to 155 to improve my run times and because my races this year will have actual elevation. I'm still logging and will probably continue indefinitely.
First photo was when I won the clydesdale category at a sprint. I have mixed feelings about the medal. The second photo was some time last year, at target weight at an olympic race. Definitely faster. By the way, I was able to increase ftp from 185 to 251 while losing all the weight, so don't think they're mutually exclusive.