My Current Fitness State, Goals, Etc.

Because it's not /all/ about the writing. :o)

So, I'm working on getting healthy and fit, and I thought I'd share some of what I'm doing because I've found a few things that I think are great.

First of all, I was diagnosed with exercise-induced asthma years ago, ever since I had pneumonia in 10th grade. But I actually cured it by doing Body for Life a couple years ago. By doing the 20-minute interval program, and just pushing myself a little more each workout, I was able to get not only my heart and muscles, but even my lungs strong and healthy. After that, I started running 5K's. It took me a while to work up to actually being able to run 3 whole miles without risking passing out right on the road. But it's an awesome feeling!

I decided to branch out last year and started biking and swimming. I ran a little "wimp's triathlon" last March and that was really cool, but it merely whetted my appetite to run a /real/ tri. I was training toward that end when I biffed it big time on my bike up on the trail in May. I then proceeded not only to fall off my bike, but off the wagon as well. I gained back all the weight I had lost, and lost a lot of the muscle I had gained.

However, I'm back in the swing of training, and I've actually committed to running the Women of Steel Triathlon in May. I'm excited and nervous all at the same time.

I also joined in a community weightloss blog run by the fabulous Tristi Pinkston. That's been helping me get back on track when I go astray - having some accountability to people. I've also garnered a lot of advice and ideas from the other members of the blog. One of which is my "new big thing."

It's called the Leptin Diet. It really makes sense to me, and seems to have some good science behind it. There are basically 5 rules:

1. Don't eat after dinner.
2. Eat 3 meals a day allowing 5-6 hours between meals. No Snacking!
3. Reduce Carbohydrates. (But do not cut them out -you need a 50/50 ratio)
4. Don't eat huge meals.
5. Have a high protein breakfast.

Here's a slightly humorous and quite informative video that explains the diet pretty well:



So, that's it. Eat well and exercise. Groundbreaking, right? :o) I'll report back in at some point in the future with how things are going.