Summer [Food] of Love

I try to be pretty positive on this blog, but today I need to come clean about something. It's no secret that I love to eat and have a big appetite. I also know how hard I've been working: I have over 300 miles on the bike logged this month, plus 49 miles running and over 5000 meters of swimming. So what's the problem? My weight.

Last week I went to a concert and wore my "show pants" which have cool cargo pockets on the legs, eliminating the need for a purse. I stood there, hands in my front pockets and thought, "wow, these feel a little tight." I didn't think much of it.

Summer is the time for good fun and good food - burgers and dogs on the grill, s'mores at the campfire, ice cream cones on the way home from the beach. I love it all! I thought that all my exercise would give me a free pass to indulge as I pleased. This turned out to be a false assumption.

Since June I've gained about 7 pounds. Yes! 7! I don't mind a little squish here and there but it's starting to get out of hand. My buddy, Mr. Scale, tells me that I have gained muscle but my fat percentage has remained constant. That means fatter. I'm also dehydrated with a 47% water percentage. Not good news. I wouldn't mind the number if I were getting leaner but the digital readout and the mirror tell me otherwise. I don't kid myself and I take full responsibility. I ate all that food! I am very disappointed because there are 5 1/2 weeks before the half iron. I know I do NOT want to carry around all this extra junk for 70.3 miles. I'm so annoyed with myself!

So what to do? I took action this morning by employing old standby, calorie counting. I know, *yawn*, but it works. My plan is to hold myself to 1800-2000 calories (no less than 1500) this week and see what happens. I'm also going to go cold turkey on chips and ice cream. I will hold to my training plan and fuel my body with quality food. Not always easy for a lazy, hungry person like me. We'll see if we can shave off some of the fat. On race day, leaner is better. The goal is to keep the muscle and remain strong.

Your friend in training,
Annette