Contrary to popular belief, I have not abandoned my zeal for everything. I have been busy with work, and simultaneously waging a war against food and my ever enlarging midsection. Eric has employed his own methods for losing weight (we’ll see how that goes!), and I decided to turn my attention to other things.
Recently I have been eating smaller portions—and while at first it was awful because my stomach has gotten so stretched that it just wanted to be filled all the time—and in the last week I have noticed myself getting full faster. That’s a step.
Yesterday I commenced phase two of a multi-phase program. I bought a new bike headlight, and finally invested into a Camelpack-like contraption for riding to work. These two simple items, combined with my wonderful road bike, will culminate into the grand final phase of the program: riding to work. Every day.
Right now I’m just doing a few days a week. This is because I don’t want my body to simply quit working. Eventually (probably within the next couple weeks), I have made it my goal to ride every day. I work about four miles from my house. It’s a wonderful ride there (because I live at the base of the foothills and it’s all downhill while riding away from them)…
…it’s riding back that makes me eventually give up my ride-to-work efforts (because I’ve tried this before). Switching to the road bike definitely made the ride easier (I previously was hauling myself around on a 50-pound tank of a cruiser), but it’s still not easy.
That’s where the water-filled backpack will be my best friend. That long, lonely stretch from one end of town to the other will no longer result in a desperately gasping dehydrated slump of a person on a primo bicycle. I should mention, my bike doesn’t have a water-bottle-holding contraption of any kind, and for some reason I find it slightly insulting that I should be required to blemish its wonderful façade with something that looks so tacky. So until this moment, I had to hope for red lights so that I could stop in traffic and get my water bottle out of my backpack. But not anymore!!!
Today is day 1, and I have been quite dormant in my physical activities since last summer (with the exception of the cardio-hell that was last week’s women’s karate class…doing so many flying side kicks in an hour really takes its tole on the lungs of an out-of-shape lug like myself). So we will see how this adventure ends…in joy or in tears.
Oh and before I forget, I should also mention that one of my lady karate friends has recruited me to participate in a triathlon with her in August…let’s see if I can get there.
zeal for everything 
[…] that will not kill me (like my flip flops) and that I can also wear to work. This is because my aforementioned water backpack, while it fits a lot of the things I need to take with me to work, refuses to fit a change of […]
WOW! Look at you go! Bravo for getting a new bike and gearing up for success! I will think good thoughts for you as you make your journey. Thank you for posting about it! It’s always inspiring to read another person is walking a similar path. 🙂 (We Can Do It!)
I think we are on the same journey! I however probably have a larger struggle because of the amount of weight I need to lose. I’ll keep a lookout for your progress and send good vibes your way. Good Luck! I know how hard it is to stay on track. A triathlon, I know you can do it!
Best of Luck! I am trying out a 100 day gluten and lactose free challenge. On day 3!
That sounds challenging! I hope the results are marvelous, though 🙂 my boyfriend is juicing massive amounts of veggies for every meal. It seems like a great idea because he’s getting a ton of great nutrients without having to try to eat the several pounds of material that go into each beverage. I hope it works for him but I love food too much to give it up entirely, even if for only a few weeks!