Just wanted to see if anyone here has noticed a significant change in their swim times after losing a decent amount of weight (at least 35 or 40 pounds). Did you notice minor time drops or major time drops after you lost the weight? Or did your times stay the same?
I lost 70 lbs and dropped time in almost every event in all three courses. The year after I lost the weight, I had fifty lifetime best swims. All were unshaved -- and many of the times I surpassed were shaved times from more than ten years earlier.
I also improved my best One-Hour Swim from 4585 yards to 5075 yards.
Some of my most satisfying time drops included:
100 YD free: 52.69 to 51.55
200 YD free: 1:59.18 to 1:54.68
500 YD free: 5:30.75 to 5:18.68
800 M free (SCM): 10:11.66 to 9:43.81
1500 M free (SCM): 19:53.10 to 18:33.54
200 M back (SCM): 2:37.59 to 2:34.28
100 YD ***: 1:10.56 to 1:06.95
200 YD ***: 2:36.93 to 2:31.10
50 YD fly: 26.80 to 26.30
100 YD individual medley: 1:00.33 to 58.81
200 M individual medley (SCM): 2:39.39 to 2:27.03
400 M individual medley (SCM): 5:59.87 to 5:10.67
I'm glad you asked, because my success story was just posted on Kathleen Daelemans' web site, and I wasn't sure how to tell people about it:
www.kathleendaelemans.com/about_success_bill.html
I have attached a before/after photo just for fun.
Enjoy!
Swimmer Bill
Out of Curiosity Bill, how often do you buy your veggie’s and fruit? The reason I ask is because when ever I buy fresh veggie’s and fruit, it always seems to go bad, or lose its freshness before I can eat it.
I've also had problems keeping lettuce and other produce fresh. You mentioned washing them and "spinning" them dry. Do you have some type of kitchen device to spin them in? I'm always making a mess and wasting tons of paper towels.
Too much green, you say? Don't despair!
Make the steak your main course, cut the greens portion in half, and enjoy it as a side salad.
Confused about the many conflicting ideas regarding "low-carb" nutrition? Breaking news (straight from Mom's kitchen): granted, it's a truly radical idea, but we do need fresh fruits and vegetables -- every day!
Of course, we probably don't want to eat salads every meal, but this gorgeous watercress and arugula salad is wonderfully balanced with spicy greens, sweet, succulent watermelon, tangy dressing and sumptuous steak. It's definitely a nice change from iceberg lettuce, hothouse tomatoes and bottled dressing.
By the way, the rule in my house is "try it before you say you don't like it" -- so no whining until you've tried it!!
Originally posted by Kim Tarnower
Will you marry me? No, wait.... I'm already married. Will you be my cook? ;) :D
What's the pay? (No, wait.... I already have a job)...
Well, looks like I may have "hijacked" this thread....(sorry, webJim)...
Back to the original topic.
Check out the following progression for my 1500 meters long course:
1992: 20:49.86 - USMS LC Nationals, Federal Way (age 26, 190 lbs.)
1994: 23:37.44 - USMS LC Nationals, Buffalo (age 28, 210 lbs.)
1999: 21:52.36 - USMS LC Nationals, Minneapolis (age 33, 220 lbs.)
2000: 26:30.77 - USMS LC Nationals, Baltimore (age 34, 245 lbs.)
2001: 20:59.52 - USMS LC Nationals, Federal Way (age 35, 240 lbs.)
2002: 19:58.17 - State Games of Oregon, Mt. Hood (age 36, 195 lbs.)
2002: 19:40.10 - USMS LC Nationals, Cleveland (age 37, 195 lbs.)
At the 2000 LC Nationals in Baltimore, I hadn't reached my heaviest weight, but I hit rock bottom in terms of swimming performance. I barely made it through the 1500 in 26:30.77, held up the timeline, joked about how I had to wear a Victor suit as a "girdle" and scratched the rest of my events in the meet. I can't begin to express how awful things were for me right then.
The previous summer, I had done a 21:52.36.
My best time had been 20:49.86 from LC Nationals in 1992.
Needless to say, I was unhappy (swimming performance was the least of it!), but I didn't know what I was going to do about it. So, things changed -- actually, everything changed! (work, home, food, exercise -- everything!)
The following summer, I swam the 1500 again. Although I hadn't lost a lot of weight at the time, I was close to my personal best (a shaved time from Nationals, 1992). However, in 2001, I was 50 lbs heavier, 9 years older, and unshaved.
"Hmmmmm" (I thought)....."interesting....very interesting...."
The following summer, at a local meet and lowered my best time by approximately 51 seconds. I showed up to the meet having lost 70 lbs. (I had reached 265 lbs. after 9-11, and dropped to 195 starting at the beginning of 2002). Later that summer, I lowered my time again by another 18 seconds.
So, in effect, I was 45 lbs. lighter than the previous summer, and was 68 seconds faster in the 1500.
By the way, all of my lifetime best swims during the period following my weight loss were unshaved and untapered.
...hope that brings us back on topic....
I'd love to hear from the person who started this thread. Why were you were asking? If you have other questions or need help getting started, let us all know -- we're here to help (well, most of us). I'd also love to hear from others who have lost weight. How much weight did you lose (or gain)? How did it impact on your swimming performance?
Swimmer Bill
