RAGBRAI XXXVII - July 19-25, 2009

The big RAGBRAI post is up over at Another Great Escape, Pirate.

A Brief Interruption

I'm off to ride RAGBRAI this week. I'll catch up with all posts next weekend. 442 miles of riding, here I come!

I'm Back - RAGBRAI - Aiming for 500 Miles

The lack of recent posts should have given you some indication of how well things were going in my pursuit of a healthy life. (Hint: not well.) Over the past month – in fact the entire month of April – I’ve gained back 8.4 lbs of the weight I worked so hard losing earlier this year. For the past 5 weeks (and probably this week, too) I’ve gained weight. This is due entirely to a lack of exercise and good portion control.

It all ends now.

I’ll be (essentially) starting over with the entire diet and exercise routine. To make things easier, the month of May will have no theme. It is my goal to find my way back on to the path of healthy living. I’ll return to more regular wellness blogging to help ensure I stay the course.

Upcoming event: RAGBRAI XXXVII – July 19th – 25th (riding bike 442 miles across the state of Iowa)

The time for training is now. The bike will be cleaned, the tires will be aired, and the rides will begin this week. My goal is 500 miles between now and July 19th. The addition of a second (maybe third) job will impact the amount of time I have to ride, but I’ll do my best to hit those 500 miles. It will only make RAGBRAI that much easier if I can squeeze the training in.

Vacation Plans

Check out the vacation plans for the week.

There will be more workouts (twice as many) this week as part of my vacation. I'll also be developing some type of workout routine and diet plan. Return here for twice the content, daily, this entire week.

New Feature Coming Soon

Instead of trying (and failing) to keep you updated with every workout, I'm going to do a week end summary of each day with its statistics and - if necessary - short summary of the activity. I think this will help me maintain the Nutrition Log, which also includes space for the daily workouts, and it will lessen the daily impact of blogging. It's a challenge to find the time to do what needs done daily as it is.

However, I'll still make near daily posts with exciting workout news, or other health-related topics coming to my attention.

Thanks for following me as I undergo this year of loss and health.

February - H20 Hydration Month

In anticipation of the increasing amounts of exercise we will all be working towards, I’ve decided to name February H20 Hydration Month. One of the things I’ve noticed over the course of tracking my diet during January was the lack of water in my diet. This month’s goal is to rectify the situation, and keep us all properly hydrated as the challenge rages on.

According to research provided by the Mayo Clinic, the average – healthy – sedentary adult should consume approximately 2.5 liters of water a day to replace the liquids lost through urine output, breathing, and sweating. This can be done by drinking 2 liters of water (a bit over 8 cups) and eating a healthy diet (20% of normal food intake is water). The research provided in the linked article is quite informative, and worth the click over.

Exercise, environment, and health also influence the amount of liquid needed to remain adequately hydrated. To that end, I’ve located a Hydration Calculator that will help you determine the amount of water needed when considering these outside influences.

Wellness Logs No More (For Now)

I'm not going to continue to post my wellness logs daily. First, this was part of a Random Challenge and never meant to be permanent. Second, it takes too much time to copy this information from the file I'm keeping, personally, in Excel. And finally, I'm sure you have better things to do than read what I've eaten throughout the day. While it's good for me to keep a record; you could spend your time on more engaging endeavors.

What I will do is continue to post - almost daily - my thoughts, feelings, and attitudes as I challenge myself with this year of loss and healthy living. (I may repeat this week of wellness logs every once in a while just to keep myself honest and on task.)

Inspiration

I’m killing myself.

(How’s that for a hook?)

I’m chipping away at my life through my apathy, my inaction, and my indulgence. It’s not a pleasant realization when you recognize just how far off the path of good health you’ve wandered. I’ve wandered – lost – long enough.

This year I will turn things around. It won’t be easy. It won’t be easy in the least. It will be struggle, breakdowns and setbacks, and pain.

It will change my life. It will save my life.

And I’m the only one who can do it.