Eat!!!!

One of the biggest obstacles I faced this season has been eating. While most people have the problem of eating too much, and subsequent weight gain, I have the other problem. I've always been able to gain and loose weight quite easily. When I was competing in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu as well as fitness modeling, this was an asset. I could make weight or 'lean down' for a match or photo shoot pretty quickly. Needless to say, I've always been able to make myself skinny when I needed to be.

In starting with triathlon, I've learned that the name of the game is "eat, eat, eat"-at least for me anyway. Initially I had a few pounds to loose. I typically get a bit heavy during the winter months (220+ lbs). This was something I had to overcome this season in getting down to where I wanted be be for the summer-175lbs. In attempting to loose weight, I developed some bad habits, that had probably hurt me in the long run. I ate WAY too little, and tried to have every training day finish with me burning far more calories than I consumed. This is good to a point, but soon performance begins to suffer.

Until recently, I've almost been afraid to eat enough. I really think a large part of this is vanity. I've always liked to be the guy with ripped abs, muscular shoulders, and veins everywhere. It's only now that I realize it's one thing to "look" fast, and quite another to actually "be fast". So with that I've been eating quite a bit lately. Mostly good, clean food, but have even mixed some "junk" in there. For me, I believe it's all about getting the calories in. I have a super fast metabolism, and during previous long rides, I could feel myself wearing thin. I would often come back from training super depleated, and looking like I was about to go on stage for a bodybuilding compitition. For most of this summer, I walked around at 4% body fat-far too lean to be healthy.

The evidence for me has really come through in my recent training sessions. On my new "eat just about everything diet", my numbers have been much better and I don't finish my day feeling like death. I'm faster, stronger, and have much more power for much longer. I also find that I don't rely so much on nutrition while I'm riding as I had in the past. Sure I still eat and drink on the bike (had a nice slice of poundcake and a coke yesterday!), but I don't rely on it for that "boost" that it used to give me. I have a steady line of energy that keeps me going all day.

I'm excited about this recent discovery and it will be interesting to see where it takes me. I'm not concerned so much about those last couple of pounds, I'm only concerned with being strong and fast. In fact, in weighing myself this morning, I'm still at the same weight I was in weeks past, I just feel a hell of a lot better!