Last month I got a bit of a wake up call. Over the year I had put on more weight than usual and I hadn’t really noticed it until I went to do the Coast to Coast 600. Lets just say it was a lot harder than it should have been.
So this month I was determined to make a new start in regards to training and weight loss.
Before this month, proper structured training wasn’t really existant. I would cycle in and out of work at my leisure and there were a lot of weekends when I didn’t even get a long spin done.
This month I took no excuses. If there was a family event on Sunday, I would go Saturday morning. If I was busy both morning then I would do my long cycle Friday evening which went on after dark. These are the things you have to do when you have a young family.
And when I was cycling in and out of work I increased the intensity as they were short efforts.
Even though I was doing all of this extra exercise I still had to do something about my diet. I decided to try the interval fasting 16 – 8 diet. This is where you fast for 16 hrs and have an 8 hour window to eat all your meals. I also prepared my meals in advance so I wouldn’t be tempted to eat something I shouldn’t.
I am strict from Monday to Friday, where I only eat 3 healthy meals but relax it a bit when it comes to the weekends. Partly, to fit in better with family life but also to make sure I had enough energy for my longer rides.
I’ve cut out all processed foods and refined sugars. I still take fruit and other natural carbs.
The result? I’ve lost 4kg so far and I’m feeling a lot stronger on the bike.
I did the Tara 200 on the 27th as part of my audax RRTY attempt. It’s my seventh in a row so I’m well on the way.
I did it as a permanent as the organised event was on in March. I did it then too and I’m pleased to say I was over an hour faster this time round so I’m definitely making progress.
It’s nice to see progress as I’m not the kind of person who likes dieting. Seeing my efforts being rewarded makes me want to push forward to losing another 4+kg in August.
Maybe I’ll be able to take another hour off my next 200.