Hi everyone...
Tonight is my very first masters swim practice and I'm really quite nervous.
While I've been a competitive swimmer since the age of 5, swam on a US team, competed in both long course and short course US Nationals, and then went and swam in college.....I'm a nervous wreck about tonight's practice. Although I have more than enough swimming experience, I'm terrified that I won't fit in with the master's team.
I've been "out of the water" for 6 years now and I'm very out of shape and I've gained a considerable amount of weight. I can't believe that I've allowed myself to get like this, but it obviously didn't happen over night. So I've been doing cardio and weights at the gym to get myself back in shape but it doesn't seem to be working very well. I realized how much I miss swimming and that I'd like to get back into the sport and thats how I got interested in masters swimming. I'm excited to swim for me...not for the coaches, not for my parents. I'm looking forward to ENJOYING swimming, rather than dreading practices and having kick boards thrown at me if I have to stop during a set. I'm excited to meet people and have fun.....but I'm still so nervous to step foot onto the pool deck.
I guess I'm mostly embarassed. I know its silly to be like this, but I'm afraid everyone will be in good shape and I'll get run over during the practices. I'm wondering if maybe I should put off swimming for a little while until I can lose some more weight.
Can anyone please shed some light on their first masters practice and what you might have been feeling?
I really appreciate any help or advice that you can give me. Thank you!
Tory is giving you some really good ideas. You need to be disciplined, but in that displine plan for treats. I know the feeling of wanting something sweet, so a piece of hard candy can help that, gum.
Make sure you drink plenty of water. Most people do not drink a lot.
When going out to eat, check the internet for a menu of the place you are going so you can plan before hand to have something you will enjoy but that is not to calorie laden, and then stick to it.
When I was losing weight, I actually found having a day off once a week worked well for me. It may or may not for you, it depends how you manage it. That day off for me allowed me to have treats or have something a little higher in calorie. I found I did not binge, and really ended up with just a slightly higher calorie day. I usually choose a day that was high yardage in swimming, so it balanced itself.
Don't become scale obsessed. A scale is a tool, and so is a tape measure, and how your clothes fit, and how much energy you have when you eat 99% healthy foods.
If you weigh daily, just remember, weight fluctuates. You are not a bad person because it is up, or a good person because it is down. Just use it to mark trends, and averages.
Tory is giving you some really good ideas. You need to be disciplined, but in that displine plan for treats. I know the feeling of wanting something sweet, so a piece of hard candy can help that, gum.
Make sure you drink plenty of water. Most people do not drink a lot.
When going out to eat, check the internet for a menu of the place you are going so you can plan before hand to have something you will enjoy but that is not to calorie laden, and then stick to it.
When I was losing weight, I actually found having a day off once a week worked well for me. It may or may not for you, it depends how you manage it. That day off for me allowed me to have treats or have something a little higher in calorie. I found I did not binge, and really ended up with just a slightly higher calorie day. I usually choose a day that was high yardage in swimming, so it balanced itself.
Don't become scale obsessed. A scale is a tool, and so is a tape measure, and how your clothes fit, and how much energy you have when you eat 99% healthy foods.
If you weigh daily, just remember, weight fluctuates. You are not a bad person because it is up, or a good person because it is down. Just use it to mark trends, and averages.
