So I recently got back in the pool after 1040 weeks of rest(20 years). When I swam in college I was a middle distance swimmer and like a lot of mid/distance guys worrying about my weight was never an issue. At 6'5" i weighed a whoping 139 freshman year and 160 senior year. 12 months into my hieatus I weighed in at 215lb where I have been +/- 10lbs ever since. When I got back in to the pool 9 weeks ago I weighed 223lbs. I have never considered myself vein however the tire around my waist partially covered by my board shorts was a little embarrassing. After some gentle coaxing by my coach I bought a jammer and started a diet. I believe his words were something like, "we have one rule and that's guys have to wear drag suits or jammers, but in your case he would wave the rule until I shed 30lbs". That's how I remember it anyhow!
I set a goal of 190lbs which equates to a BMI of 18.5 and ~11% body fat. I looked around for something that would enable me to manage what I ate and how much I ate and was recommended MyFitnessPal. I have used the app religiously and have so far lost 27lbs and hope to hit my target before Christmas. Now that I am nearing my target I am worried about moving from weight loss to weight maintenance. Does anyone have any suggestions on transitioning from Weight loss to weight management and how to stay motivated. I plan on being competitive again with my swimming but want to keep the weight off but not drop to an unhealthy weight. Any help is appreciated.
(Sorry for the length.)
I never ballooned in weight. It just sort of snuck up on me over a period of 25 years or so. I'm sure that's true for many people. The pounds came on slow. They are likely to go off slow.
These days my target weight is typically anything under 180. At the moment I'm around 184-186. If I can get under 180 and stay there, I'll try to lose maybe another five pounds.
I'm doing two things as I try to trim weight.
trim out some small, quantitative bits of food
increase my workout regimen in some small, quantitative way
They might deserve some further explanation. I'm trying to make changes to my diet and exercise I can stick to, and which seem almost "free." (I also weigh myself no more than once a week (typically the first day I ride to work in a week). Doing more than that can be depressing, as your weight is bound to fluctuate a bit)
I drink three or four cups of half-caf coffee with cream and sugar at work. I typically use a bit less than a tsp of sugar and two mini-moos. I reduced the sugar by a bit so it's closer to 1/2 tsp and cut out one mini-moo. That's about 15cal/cup or 60 cal/day. And I basically didn't notice the difference after a day or two. (Coffee itself was an earlier replacement for soda. I've cut back to no more than one can a week, often none.)
I also like yogurt, the high-protein greek stuff with fruit at the bottom (like Chobani). I typically eat one or two a day. Rather than stir it all up, I scoop the yogurt and take some of the fruit. It's still sweet enough for me, but I wind up leaving most of the fruit at the bottom of the cup. Again, probably 15-20 calories saved, almost without realizing it.
I generally workout three to five times per week with a mix of swimming and cycling. I'm trying to get into a routine of more like four to six times per week, and toss in a few sit-ups and some stretch cord work. For weight loss needs, I suspect it almost doesn't matter how much extra I do, only that I do just a bit more. I think having two exercises helps. If I'm unmotivated to swim but the weather is nice, I'll gladly ride my bike to work, which gives me a couple hours of aerobic work. I log it all in my FLOG, so at the end of the month it's easy to count the number of workouts I completed. I don't care if I swam 1500 or 5000 yards, or rode 25 or 125 miles. Each workout is just +1. That way it requires much less of my overtaxed neuron. I live in a state which tends to have a meteorological winter, so it's easy to "hibernate" during the winter months. That's a challenge I hope to face and conquer this winter.
S
(Sorry for the length.)
I never ballooned in weight. It just sort of snuck up on me over a period of 25 years or so. I'm sure that's true for many people. The pounds came on slow. They are likely to go off slow.
These days my target weight is typically anything under 180. At the moment I'm around 184-186. If I can get under 180 and stay there, I'll try to lose maybe another five pounds.
I'm doing two things as I try to trim weight.
trim out some small, quantitative bits of food
increase my workout regimen in some small, quantitative way
They might deserve some further explanation. I'm trying to make changes to my diet and exercise I can stick to, and which seem almost "free." (I also weigh myself no more than once a week (typically the first day I ride to work in a week). Doing more than that can be depressing, as your weight is bound to fluctuate a bit)
I drink three or four cups of half-caf coffee with cream and sugar at work. I typically use a bit less than a tsp of sugar and two mini-moos. I reduced the sugar by a bit so it's closer to 1/2 tsp and cut out one mini-moo. That's about 15cal/cup or 60 cal/day. And I basically didn't notice the difference after a day or two. (Coffee itself was an earlier replacement for soda. I've cut back to no more than one can a week, often none.)
I also like yogurt, the high-protein greek stuff with fruit at the bottom (like Chobani). I typically eat one or two a day. Rather than stir it all up, I scoop the yogurt and take some of the fruit. It's still sweet enough for me, but I wind up leaving most of the fruit at the bottom of the cup. Again, probably 15-20 calories saved, almost without realizing it.
I generally workout three to five times per week with a mix of swimming and cycling. I'm trying to get into a routine of more like four to six times per week, and toss in a few sit-ups and some stretch cord work. For weight loss needs, I suspect it almost doesn't matter how much extra I do, only that I do just a bit more. I think having two exercises helps. If I'm unmotivated to swim but the weather is nice, I'll gladly ride my bike to work, which gives me a couple hours of aerobic work. I log it all in my FLOG, so at the end of the month it's easy to count the number of workouts I completed. I don't care if I swam 1500 or 5000 yards, or rode 25 or 125 miles. Each workout is just +1. That way it requires much less of my overtaxed neuron. I live in a state which tends to have a meteorological winter, so it's easy to "hibernate" during the winter months. That's a challenge I hope to face and conquer this winter.
S
