V-CLUB TRAINING CORNER

We’ve teamed up with Marilyn Trout, certified USA Cycling Elite Coach to answer V-Club members’ training questions. You can view her coach profile at: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mountainpedalscoaching80903

Send your cycling inquiries to Marilyn, and for a limited time, if yours is selected to be answered in our V-Club column, VeloWear will send you a $20 gift certificate that can be used towards any purchase on VeloWear.com. To submit your inquiry, e-mail her at trout_mic@msn.com, and type “V-Club Training Question” in the subject line of the e-mail.

The article below is a reprint of our 9th question submitted by V-Club member Annie Rodriguez. Read on for her training question...

Adjusting a Simple Balance: Intake = Output

Annie,

Ah yes, those few stubborn pounds. Even though others may not notice, it matters to us and feeling good about ourselves means more energy and confidence in the activities we do. Transitions in our lives can certainly be some of the most difficult times for us. Whether it is temporary or permanent changes in health, job, family, location or any other item on the top 10 stressor list, we have to climb out of our carefully crafted routine to make the necessary changes to find our equilibrium again. Once we get beyond the initial shock that life is not as it once was, we can begin to move ahead. More times than not, these transition periods require even more mental and emotional adjustments than the physical.

You are right Annie about our metabolic changes. Indeed as we get older our metabolism does slow down so our caloric intake needs some adjustment. From what I can see, you have a good energy expenditure with all the activities in your weekly training. Be patient with getting your “equilibrium” back. I have a small landscaping business as well as my coaching services and when work slows down for the winter, so too my energy expenditure. Digging in plants, hauling rock and removing shrubs all comes to a screeching halt when the cold snap hits. Suddenly I can no longer eat all the energy bars I can get my hands on in my landscaping bag.

My take on keeping healthy and my weight steady leans towards a simple approach - balance and moderation. Generally the area that hurts us is volume because even if we have a good and balanced diet (whole grains, lean meat/fish/poultry, fruits, vegetables and nuts with a limit on processed foods, hydrogenated fats and high to moderate glycemic index carbohydrates), if the intake exceeds the output, we gain weight.

Should you try counting calories/carbs...? Although this can be a tedious alternative, if it provides motivation and gives you accountability, then you might want to consider keeping tabs on the numbers. As far as I’m concerned, if you have been able to accomplish a good weight these 48 years, you have been doing something right. Perhaps what needs to be done now is some tweaking to what you already know to be good.

My encouragement to you is to keep on with the healthy food choices, be sensitive to your caloric intake and be patient with getting back your equilibrium.

Marilyn

PS: Here are a few tips from a previous article that may be helpful:

• Choose balance over "diet".
• Decrease "empty" calories, food items with little nutritional value and excessive calories (refined sugar/processed foods.)
• Stay away from foods that "control" you ie) "I can't have just one."
• Don't eat after 8:00pm or for those on shift work, after your last meal before you sleep.
• Eat slower and enjoy each bite.
• Don't eat more because you think you need more due to the increased exercise.
• Don't skip meals.
• Enjoy smaller portions.
• Overeating means overweight.
• Brush your teeth after meals, it helps finish a meal.
• It never tastes as good as thin feels.
• Feed your brain first and then your stomach.this is the key to losing and keeping the weight off.
• People don't overeat because they're hungry but as a way of meeting their emotional needs.
• Calories do count and the reduction of them is what really matters not necessarily the proportion of fats, carbohydrates and proteins.
• Eating right isn't about necessarily about willpower, it's about changing bad habits.
• "Good health starts with good choices." How bad do you want it?

Tips to Help Change Your Mind (exerpts from an article by Michael O'Shea)

1. Set small realistic goals. If your long term goal is to lose 20 lbs, break it down into 5 lb. increments. Say to yourself every day that you want to eat correctly to be ____ lbs.
2. Weigh your words. Language has a powerful impact on the subconscious mind, so choose your words carefully. Use the past tense as a reminder that you are changing or at least capable of changing your habits. "I used to eat uncontrollably late at night." Use the present tense to describe the habits you hope to acquire. "I enjoy fruit for dessert."
3. Challenge negative assumptions. Instead of predicting that you'll blow your nutritional goals, remind yourself of other goals you've set and met.
4. Give yourself positive affirmations. Positive, motivating phrases repeated frequently throughout the day serve as an effective tool for changing the way people think and act. Substitute "I need to eat" with the affirmation, "I am in control of what I eat."
5. Visualize yourself as a fitter person. "As a man thinketh, so he is." This is another cognitive strategy that helps break the habit of emotional eating. A person will be more successful at losing weight if the self-image reflects a healthy fit person. Post a photo of a fitter you... if your mind is keeping you overweight, change it.
6. Keep a food diary. Keeping an account of what you eat forces you to be accountable for your food choices.
7. Commit yourself to the long-term. Never, never give up. Those who succeed at staying slim don't give up. There is no magic plan and it's not complicated. A simple commitment is what it takes.

Print | posted on Sunday, July 25, 2010 10:33 AM