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A week down, a lifetime to go

I've biked 6.4 hours in the last seven days, covering just shy of 80 miles, and burning up around 3,470 calories.

In the process, I've also reduced my calorie intake by around 400-500 calories a day - and significantly increased the amount of fruits and vegetables in my diet - while pulling back on bad snacks, dessert, and fatty foods. So that's good.

And it's paid off, I've lost nine pounds this week - which leaves me with about 51 more to go.

I'm pretty confident if I can keep up with the 10-20 miles of biking each day and mind my diet (which will likely be the more difficult challenge), I'll be able to achieve this goal.

Now if I can just kick my caffeine habit that i've re-created for myself!

Posted by bryan on April 9, 2005 02:57 PM |


Comments

That's great progress. I went through a transformation like that about 10 years ago. I had just moved to San Francisco, gave up on having a car, quit smoking, started eating better. I remember being winded riding my bike over to the Golden Gate Bridge, 4 miles away. Now, an average ride is about 40 miles, up to 60-80 miles on the weekends with the club.

Some things to keep in mind:

Dropping your calorie consumption is good now, but you'll slowly need to increase it as you get in better and better shape. Your metabolism will rise dramatically, and you'll need to eat way more just to keep up.

Likewise, as I got fitter, crappy food became less appetizing to me. I was no longer interested in greasy burgers and fries. Rather, I turned to high carb foods like pasta and green veggies. Don't believe the low-carb hype at all. If you're working hard, your body needs them.

Good luck with the training!

Posted by: Jeffrey Veen [TypeKey Profile Page] | April 9, 2005 03:18 PM

Jeff,

Thanks for the kind words -- right now one is my issue sis that I just eat too damn much :) I know my metabolism will change over time - for the better! And I'll eat more.

Pasta sounds good right now, let me tell you :)

Thanks again for dropping by,
Bryan

Posted by: Bryan Strawser | April 9, 2005 03:22 PM

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