i'm 175 now. i'm trying to hit 195. i moved from light to heavy in crew, so there's reason involved. is it bad weight?

(note: i'm 6'4", i used to be 155 - but i was weak then. really weak)

Well, in the past six months I've lost over 15 pounds. I look totally different and am a good bit faster than I was six months ago. I've always struggled with my weight. This is how I lost the weight:

1. Lifestyle change: A bad relationship I was in ended and the bad habits (social eating, poor diet, no routine, poor sleep, constant stress from ongoing-never ending disputes)went with it. Since then my lifestyle has been much more routine and healthier with no roller coaster.

2. Improved eating habits: Eating breakfast every morning and only eating late maybe once every two weeks as a social thing with the guys from the store here. Cut out crap like most fast food (I still eat Taco Bell about once every 2-3 weeks though) and pizza.

3. Train: A lot. I have been doing a lot of training in preperation for Ironman New Zealand. Having a goal during the off season is important to maintain your focus and not develop bad habits.

4. Reduce stress. Stress is one of the biggest contributors to weight gain and just about everything else bad in your life. You have to get that out of your life to feel better. Look at the things that cause you problems: Get rid of them.

Of all of these I think having a routine is probably most important. When things are normal, quiet and calm in my life I have no problem maintaining a routine and staying healthy.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

I think only you can answer the question of "what have I done." You must have had some pretty drastic changes in your life/lifestyle to go from 155 to 184 in about... 4 months? Can you give more background as to what happened?

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Like Tom, I had to deal with a bad relationship that was really the catalyst for me starting to workout again. I lost probably 10 pounds in the first month just from working out a lot (which really was just a way to get my mind off things and to kill time that I used to be spending with my SO) and eating better.

I'm finding that it's all about permenant lifestyle changes that you can make. Someplace on Gordo's site said it best - "What we look like today is based on decisions that we've made in the past. How we look tomorrow is based on the decisions that we make today." Work on making good, permenant lifestyle changes and good things will follow.

I was 234 lbs., got involved in triathlons and now weigh 175 lbs. I love this sport!!!!

"What is the worst weight swing anyone out there has experienced, and am I dreaming to think I can pull out of the deadly spiral before I explode?"

Before I started triathlon I was at 218. In 6 months I was down to 163. That's when I started running and thinking of doing tris. That was 4 years ago. Since then my weight has fluctuated from around a low of 157 to a high of 183. Right now I'm working on losing the holiday weight I stupidly allowed myself to gain. I went from 168 to 183 and am now at 177. I would really like to get back into the upper 150s before the start of tri season in June. I find it difficult to lose weight when I start training hard because I need to take in enough calories to give me energy for endurance workouts.

You've got plenty of time to get your weight under control. Stop doing whatever it is that's causing you to gain weight, eat right and exercise more.

Don

OK, a little background. I am 5'8", 185(!) now, 38 y.o. male, and work as a pediatric PT. I am on the road all day and spend my nights coaching swimming (until end of march). I just lost control. I never think of myself as a OC personality that gets crazy with exercise, but I never (I mean never) tended towards the lazy. I worked out consistently. I just lost it. I eat well, but now I am eating I think because I have no desire to do anything else. I am also eating later during the day and less in the morning and drinking alot of diet soda. I think sometimes I am just too deeply emotionally invested in coaching and cannot function outside of that and work. I find it hard to go and run after spending a few hours on the pool deck. I work out with the kids occasionally, but now that we are in taper, my place is on the deck, and I don't train otherwise. I used to live the lifestyle and now I need help to get back to the standard I used to have. Thanks to everyone who responded, and not to make this into an Oprah kind of special, but any advice or ideas would be appreciated.

John

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"Maybe you should just run faster..." TM

Also, I think sometimes you just have to hit the "reset" button on your life in order to make big, significant changes.

For many people there are these things that are dangling over them that, without even realizing it, create stress. Stress leads to bad habits.

People look to outside resources to control inside problems. Drugs, Alchohol, food obsessive exercise, blaming problems on someone else. The only thing you can control in life is your own conduct, and between stimulus and response is our greatest freedom: Choice (Steven Covey).

Bottom line: If you want your life to change- first YOU have to change. That is not easy.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

I haven't had the degree of problem to which you are referring...I went from 180-184, but, I felt terrible. % body fat went from about 8 to a little over 10....so I had lean tissue loss associated with the slight weight gain. I had little desire to train, eating for no reason, wondering if I'd ever get back in racing shape. Then, I looked back at what has happened the last 6 months. My life has been changed upside down. Stress was the dominant theme...quitting a job I'd had for 14 years, having a sub-two year old, moving to a different city, getting sick a couple of times, selling a house, buying a house, learning a new group of co-workers, travelling on my new job, etc. Majically, as I settle in, my desire to work out is returning...heck, I even went SWIMMING today! This is after running over an hour yesterday (although it sure hurt), and riding on the trainer the prior day. I'm planning on riding the trainer again today.

As Tom said, look for areas in your life that are causing stress. You'll probably find your answer by effectively dealing with these stressors....it feels like majic to me!

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Quid quid latine dictum sit altum videtur
(That which is said in Latin sounds profound)

Here's a few ideas:

I gained 17lbs last year recovering from an injury. This is what I found works for me. I would eat because I was depressed having to miss a year in recovery. The kick start for me was when my wife told me she was going shopping and asked did I want her to buy me some new (bigger) jeans.

If junk food is a problem, go home and toss it all out. Make a list of things not to have in the fridge and post it on the fridge, or as well as a grocery list, make a list of things NOT to buy.

How about running from the pool. A pool mate of mine coaches kids in the afternoon, runs 8 miles, comes back and gets in the pool for an hour.


Finally, just get out and go for a long run or ride to remember why you enjoy doing this. I went out for an 85 mile solo ride after recovering and it took a while but it was a good reminder.

10 years ago I tipped the scales at over 340 (at age 22). It took me a couple years, but I lost about a buck and a half. Nonwithstanding my annual weight fluctuation, which can range from 10 - 20 pounds, I've kept it off since.

As of this morning, it was about 200, but my weight gets down into the low 180s during the summer.

So don't freak out over a little winter padding. It's really quite easy to lose weight. Just eat less and do more.

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