Here is a brief update of how things stand as of March the 1st:
- Weight as of Jan 1, 2013 - 226
- Weight as of March 1, 2014 - 196.5
- Net loss - 29.5 lbs (can't seem to squeeze that to 30...)
- February mileage - 213 (including a couple outdoor rides, one of which was ON Lake Michigan)
- Snow Days this school year - 9.2
- Snow on the ground as of March 1 - 2 feet or so still
- High mileage day - Feb. 22 - 85 miles
Dana and I will be doing another detox class beginning next week (FREE info meeting tomorrow at the shop if anyone is interested!). Those are so great for helping us to re-set our bodies, our minds, and our priorities as far as food is concerned. With each successive class the lifestyle changes become easier and easier to make permanent. If you somehow missed my last post, you missed the results of my latest physical; our new commitment to health and a vegan food plan is hugely responsible for those results!
I fell off the wagon yesterday, enjoying (I really did enjoy) some Hungry Howie's pizza with the pit orchestra kids before our first full dress rehearsal. Today has been much better than I thought it would be, and I haven't felt horrible at all. The good thing is that my mind has definitely been re-programmed - I know that I can't do that stuff as frequently as I used to. My answer to the question "what do you eat when you ride so much [in the summer months]?" has always been "whatever I want." Burning calories was burning calories, right? Yeah, turns out I was not right... Even as I re-read some of my previous posts, I can tell that though I had a better attitude and outlook toward food, I was consuming the wrong kinds of food/calories no matter what my exercise habits were. So it's been a blessing to change gears and re-learn some stuff. (Pam calls this "Living MY Design" or something...) Anyway, moving on.
Winter has never been my favorite season, but this one has been pretty good as far as a mental attitude is concerned. Riding the fat bike has been good for that; so has being more healthy in general. Here are some pics of my adventures a few Saturdays ago.
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| This is me as we tried to make our way a little way out onto the frozen surface of Lake Michigan. We decided that the terrain was far too dangerous. (We heard later that the ice closer to shore, like this stuff, is actually less stable than the smoother stuff that is farther out. We also learned that there's virtually NO time that ice on the big lake is all that safe...) |
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| Not to be deterred by the crappy ice by the beach, we headed for the breakwater to ride on the pier or something. Upon seeing a couple of folks walking across the channel, my riding partner for the day suggested we give riding across a try. Here we are near Big Red. (Hindsight again being 20/20, this was no more intelligent than riding on the other part of the lake...) |
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| This shot was taken from the middle of the channel, looking east to Lake Macatawa. Big Red is on my right, the north breakwater light on my left. |
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| Everyone has a memorable shot of this lighthouse. Very few have been taken from the middle of the channel after accessing it by bicycle... |
