Summer Rides

I've been hitting it consistently this summer on my bicycle. Getting out almost every Sunday morning with a new group of cycling friends and occasionally my old crew too. We get rolling early to beat the heat and get back to our families with our afternoons intact. Shedding just over 40 pounds since April has been the biggest catalyst for this resurgence on two wheels. I am faster, stronger and healthier than ever. The weight loss has lead to more cycling and more cycling has lead to more weight loss.

After years of shifting away from road cycling trends (spandex, light bikes and HBMs) I am slowly coming back. Not to say I don't love rando and touring style cycling still, but at 16/17 mph paces it is hard to justify some of it. I have donned my ancient mountain bike racing jersey (2011 to 1999) and need to hook up the computer I bought back in January. It feels good. I am in love with cycling all over again. The now twelve year journey continues.

Below is just a sampling of the rides I've been on this summer...

• Moonlight Ride from Sports Backers
• Fort Harrison from my place
• Ashland from Mike's place
• Hanover from Hanover Courthouse
• Goochland from West Creek

Total running/riding miles since June: 424 and counting!

Four Hour Body: Part Deux

I hit 24.0 lbs lost and a 5% loss in body fat yesterday morning. Exactly five weeks to the day that we started this experiment (Four Hour Body) and with no changes in exercise. So far it is going really well.The cheat days cause plateaus and even small spikes up, but they are the mental break we need. Not eating fruit went out the door after the first week. I can't quit on apples and bananas, but I'm still avoiding white carbs and sugar.

Mainly it has forced me to pay attention to what I eat and how it effects me. We weigh in everyday and track it religiously via a shared spreadsheet. Tracking our stats and competing on them seem to be the best motivators. Even with forging her own diet path Crystal has lost 15 lbs. She started eating cereal for breakfast and taking a tuna sandwich on wheat for lunch three weeks ago. Both major breaks with the diet as written, but it is still working.

The book states "this diet is not meant to be fun, it is meant to be effect" and that does hold true. It is not fun. Modifying it slightly does make it less effective, but in the long run it makes it sustainable. We are heading toward life style change not a month and done trial at this point. Which is just fine with me. I don't want to fall off the wagon completely because I couldn't chomp on a mango.

Our cooking habits have changed understandably. Well, I should say my cooking habits have changed. My wife is brilliant, funny and attractive, but cooking is not a life skill she picked up. So as before the diet and during it I do all of the cooking. I have been keeping our meals to a few core ingredients and mixing it up with cabinet full of spices:

• Meats
• Grilled chicken
• Steaks
• Chicken chili
• Vegetables/Legumes
• Roasted asparagus
• Roasted cauliflower
• Grilled zucchini/squash
• Canned green beans (a Kaden favorite)
• Baked Beans
• Great northern beans (see: chicken chili)
• Fruits
• Apples
• Bananas
• Mangoes
• Grapes
• Grilled pineapples

It requires more planning than going out or making something from the freezer, but a big batch of chicken chili can feed us for three nights and only takes three hours to prepare. Our grocery bill has gone up, but that comes with more fresh produce in our diets and sustainable weight loss. Well worth the few dollars more a month.

Four Hour Body

I have never gone on a diet. In the past I have changed what and how much I eat to lose weight. It has worked to some degree, but without rules I have always slipped. Making excuses to eat too many of the things I know will keep me round. Exercise has always been sporadic for me. Starting and stopping in fits with bike riding filling the gaps.

Three weeks ago I listened to the Nerdist podcast with Tim Ferriss. I'd never heard of him before, but he was an interesting enough guy on his own and wasn't shilling anything out right. He made a name for himself as an angel investor and eventually wrote the Four Hour Workweek in 2007.  The follow up to his first book was The Four Hour Body. Which briefly became the topic of conversation on the podcast.

It ended up being compelling enough to try. So I bought the book and hit the grocery store for what I have so far deemed an experiment. Crystal decided to join me in our quest for science and so far so good. After two weeks of "slow carb" diet and no exercise we are down 10 and 13 lbs. respectively. Better than that we are down 2% and 3% body fat, again respectively. The experiment is working so far. Our cravings are gone and we plan to introduce a bit of exercise in the coming weeks.

I don't plan to drone on about this, but there may be a few more post on the topic in the coming months. Results and the like.