Small steps, long-term change!

"Small, seemingly insignificant goals can turn into life-changing experiences in the blink of an eye"
-Susan Lacke

We all set long-term goals, I know I do, I just did actually: Ironman 70.3 Raleigh, NC June 1, 2014 and possibly a full Ironman in 2015.

I haven't officially signed up for either, because registration isn't open yet, but Raleigh is my goal half ironman and I've got a whole lot of expectations for that race. I want to be at least 20 lbs lighter, I want to be faster in the swim, bike AND run, I want to feel stronger, look better and hopefully place in the top 50%.

Yep, I've got big expectations and I think that's okay, but let's admit it, humans are bad at long-term goals. The further away and bigger the goal, the more likely we are to procrastinate, make excuses and shift our goal. Ironman makes it a little harder, because registration is mighty expensive, so once you register, you don't really want to back out, but I could probably finish the race at my current weight and speed, so why set such high expectations?

Honestly?

Because I can. Because I deserve to be the best version of me and because I WANT to be the best version of me.



While my mind has already made this lifestyle a habit, I know in order to reach my long-term goal, I'm going to have to set some short-term ones. More importantly, I'm going to have to set realistic, attainable short-term goals that will keep me motivated.

I'm a behavior analyst, I know all about motivation and behavior change. It's what I do for a living and it's definitely what I am doing for my own training. I recently already gave you the basics: pair and condition the activities, take small steps, reinforce yourself and find your motivation.

But what does this actually mean?

Shaping: When creating new routines, you have to shape up the behavior. In run training programs you'll often see the Saturday long runs increase by as little as 10% every week. Not only is this the healthiest thing to do for your body (to avoid injury), it's also the best thing to do for your mind. Remember what Susan said, small insignificant change can turn into life-changing experiences. You've got to shape up your behavior and if you do it in small enough steps, you won't even know you're changing. Don't compare yourself to others. Collect your baseline pace and distance and build up from there. Most importantly, take it easy. It's good to be sore, but if you train right you can avoid injuries. Trust me, I know. I went from having all kinds of knee injuries to being completely injury free once I started following a plan.

Balance: Elite and endurance athletes look at their CTL (chronic training load) to help them decide when and how much to train. As Matt Fitzgerald explains in Racing Weight, CTL looks at the average training stress which includes duration and intensity of workouts. Humans it turns out have a maximum CTL. Exceed the threshold and you crash, get close to it without exceeding it and you can thrive. If you're really into racing like me, it might be worth investing in a TrainingPeaks account or some other software that can help you track your CTL.

Another option is following these basic rules:
1. Listen to your body: Don't make excuses, but if you feel tired or overworked, re-assess your plan, take a day off, go easier on yourself during your workout. Again, do not make excuses, but take care of yourself.

2. Balance your sleep, nutrition and training: Are you training too hard? Are you getting enough sleep? Are you fueling your body enough? Studies have shown correlation between sleep & performance and nutrition & performance, so if you don't focus on all three, you won't get very far.

3. Take breaks: The general triathlon rule is to take a break every 12 weeks. In general, take a break after an A race (like I did this week after my first Olympic). In the half Ironman training plan I recently downloaded, the coach actually suggests a recovery period every 4 weeks of training. This doesn't mean you dont' do anything during the recovery, it just means you take it easy on your body.

4. Try High Volume, Low Intensity training: What this basically means is that you train more, at lower intensity. Sure you can do the reverse, but if you do that you're more likely to exceed your CTL threshold and crash or get injured. Try training at 80% below threshold and 20% above it. For example, if you're going to do speedwork, start with a warm-up and end with a cool-down and mix speed intervals with recovery intervals, so that only 20% of your workout was an all out effort and the rest was lower intensity.

Nutrition: Depending on your current nutritional habits, it might be unfeasible to cut out all sodas, junk food, processed foods and a bunch of calories. The thing is, you don't have to. Cut out little bits at a time, make replacements gradually and identify those things you just can't live without (for me that's a lot of stuff, including cupcakes, margaritas, chocolate, eggs benedict, and cheese, so I'm finding ways to eat a healthy balance of those things).

Cutting all your favorites out for good will not work and more importantly, it will make you miserable. This is a lifestyle change, so the last thing you want is to be miserable.

Last, but not least, celebrate progress. Set small goals and celebrate them when you reach them. Whether it's completing an Olympic triathlon, losing 5 pounds or cutting out sodas from your diet.
Set the goal, commit to it, track your progress and celebrate when you reach the finish!

The finish line!

After a painful 3-hour drive through a bad rainstorm, we made it to our hotel in Jamestown and settled in for the night. In less than 12 hours we'd be completing our first Olympic distance triathlon! Pablo was of course a lot less nervous than I was. I wasn't just going to complete a new distance, I was also going to swim in a river! In case I haven't mentioned it yet, I have...or had...a massive fear of dark water. Growing up in the Caribbean I am used to swimming in clear blue, always see your toes water and while I've gotten into darker water, I've always stayed very close to the shore and before White Lake in April (which was a clear lake), I had never actually swam in a lake. Jamestown was going to be an achievement both physically and mentally.

To calm my nerves I focused on double-checking my gear bag: goggles, bike shoes, helmet, running shoes, gels...I went down the list and after checking it twice got ready for bed. I got a few good hours of sleep and before I knew it, the alarm was going off and it was time to go. We drove to the race, picked up our packets, set-up the bikes and headed to the swim start. THE SWIM START. The James River is already murky on good days, so imagine the brown water that awaited us after a day of storms. I let the fear take over for a brief minute and then I decided it was the perfect day to get over my fears.

Pablo went off on his warm-up swim and I did a pretend warm-up near the shore. I wasn't quite ready to overcome my fear. Then it was go time. Pablo's wave went first and I watched them as they aimed for the first buoy. I chatted with some of my fellow females and finally decided it was time to get a few minutes of swimming. Then it was our turn.

1500 meters, here we go. Yikes, I'm swimming in a dark river...no, no, you don't have time for that, focus! Swim, swim, breathe, swim, swim, breathe, sight, ok there's the bouy, keep swimming. I fell into a rhythm and before I knew it 35 minutes had passed and I was coming out of the water.

I DID IT! That's really all I could think of in T1. That and don't forget to put on your helmet.

The bike went pretty flawless. I was staying above 16mph, which was my goal and I enjoyed the perfect weather and beautiful scenery. There were a few riders with flats along the way and I did a little prayer to the triathlon gods to spare me, because I don't know how to change a flat. Before I knew it I had finished the bike in 1:29:05 (under 1:30, score!)

T2 was quick, because all I had to do was re-rack my bike, take off my helmet and switch my shoes.
The first finishers were coming in and I wondered where Pablo was on the run. The run was partly on trails and partly on a running path. I ran strong and got an extra boost when I saw Pablo as he was on the last mile or so of his run.

I was definitely getting tired during the last 2 miles and my mind starting messing with me, but the accomplishment of swimming in dark water and my self-motivating mantra gave me the boost I needed to finish strong. You got this, I kept telling myself. When I saw the finish line I picked up the pace and sprinted across - 3:13:44. Take that 3:15 goal!

Just last week I had had a disastrous training ride/run and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to finish at Jamestown and here I was finishing faster than I thought I could. 

The lesson I learned?

Whether it's an Olympic Distance Triathlon, overcoming a fear or simply starting a new journey. Our mind will quickly send us into doubt. I don't blame it. It's not easy and your brain knows it will be hard. It knows it will take strength, perseverance and willpower. Sitting on the couch, making excuses, saying tomorrow, those options are much much easier....but they are not as satisfying as the success you feel when you cross that finish line!

Today I conquered both my mental fear of dark water and the physical feat of an Olympic distance triathlon. Let me tell you, I have never felt so proud, accomplished or happy in my life. I have also never felt so strong both physically and mentally. I didn't come in first, I didn't break any records and I still have a long way to go, but today I accomplished a milestone and I am exhausted and elated!

From chore to habit

Let's admit it, at one point in your life (maybe right now) working out felt like a chore. I know it did for me. I'd drag myself to my workouts, making all kinds of excuses for why it was okay not to go.

Now I crave the workouts. I anxiously await my workday to end so I can jump in the pool, hop on my bike or put on my running shoes. I no longer make excuses not to workout, it's a habit. It's a need, it's part of my every day routine and a day without some activity feels strange.

How did I get here? As a behavior analyst I definitely looked at the patterns that helped me, and can help you, make working out a habit instead of a chore.

Here's some of the things that helped me:
1. If you don't love it now, you have to build up your love for it. In behavioral terms you have to condition or pair it. That said, pick activities you like, do it with people you like and find little ways to reward yourself.

2. It takes time. Don't expect to hate it today and love it tomorrow. Slowly build up how much time you spend working out and always celebrate small successes.

3. Challenge yourself. Let's admit it, humans are competitive. It's good to have a workout routine, but make sure you're constantly challenging yourself so it doesn't get boring.

4. Take advantage of technology! You could say that I'm an fitness app addict.
My favorites are: MyFitnessPal (food & exercise log), Jawbone Up (wristband and app that tracks steps and sleep), Strava (for cycling), Nike+ (for running), EveryMove (rewards you for working out), PearSports (requires you to purchase their heart rate monitor but it's awesome and ill write a review soon), BodyShot (tracks your weight loss progress) and TrainingPeaks (athlete's version of FitnessPal).

(If you know cool apps I haven't mentioned here, please message me! I'd love to try them!)

5. Do it for yourself. You might need some external motivation like a margarita, cupcake, Facebook likes, new outfit or half marathon medal, but your internal motivation is crucial to make your workouts part of your daily routine. Find your personal reasons for doing it and make it your mantra.

Overcoming Disappointment

Today I'm down to 156.8lbs. You'd think my 3+lb weightloss this week would excite me, and it is exciting, but it's also going a bit too fast and I worry some of it might have been muscle loss. There's really no way to know other than sticking to my workout plan and making sure I fuel my body enough...especially given the upcoming Olympic distance triathlon next Saturday!

1500 meter (0.9 mile) swim, 24 mile bike and 10K (6.2mile) run. I thought I was ready for it, but my training today has left me disappointed...

We did a 1hr25min bike followed by a 45min run and I burned out in the first 30 min of the ride and never recovered, running my slowest pace in over 3 months.

Was it the 3 hills we climbed right at the start of the bike? Was it the 90 degree weather? Was it the alcohol I had last night? Was it improper fueling? Or is it my fast weight(/muscle) loss?

I won't ever know the answer and most likely it was a combination of those things. What I do know is that the mental game I played with myself today was exhausting. I reached that burn out point and started the epic battle of "I got this" and "no, you don't."

Overcoming your own demons is the hardest battle in endurance athletics...and in weight loss. This stuff is HARD and when things get hard your brain is good at making excuses. When faced with disappointed your brain is good at telling you, "see, I told you you couldn't do it."

So today's lesson is one of overcoming disappointed. Convincing yourself that one bad day doesn't have to mean you failed. That one bad day doesn't warrant quitting. It should actually inspire you to push harder and keep going.

Today I am stronger than I was yesterday.
Tomorrow I WILL be stronger than I am today.

Eat more to lose weight?

Best news of the week: Starting weight 167.5, current weight 157.8!!

Almost 10 pounds lighter and definitely much fitter. Perseverance and hard work it turns out pays off! That, and good nutrition planning.

A few months ago I posted that I was sticking to 1200-1400 calories on days off and 1600-1800 calories on workout days. Now I actually eat at least 1600 calories on off days and closer to 2000+ calories on workout days. As I've increased my calories I've actually also increased my rate of weight loss. Not to mention that I am eating a pretty decent amount of carbs.

Doesn't really make sense right?

Well, Matt Fitzgerald explains it beautifully in his book Racing Weight. In this book he focuses on endurance athletes, but personally I think the information he provides is useful for everyone who is trying to lose weight and has gotten stuck.

Traditional diets, he explains, count on decreasing your calorie intake, whether it is through low-carb or some other limitation on the types of foods you can eat. These diets can be very useful for people who are extremely overweight and/or consume a high and unhealthy amount of calories, think sodas, pizza, fast food, chips and other junk foods. For these people, simply restricting caloric intake by making changes like cutting out sodas and limiting junk food may lead to significant weight loss. If these dietary changes are permanent and also include the addition of some exercise, you can probably keep a lot of the weight off. At some point however you will either reach a plateau or add certain foods back and regain some weight.

So how do you get past the plateau to lose those last few pounds and keep the weight off?

The secret is making sure you don't restrict your calories too much and making dietary changes that can be maintained long-term. This means that instead of eliminating all bad food, you work on limiting your intake of bad food and overall modifying your diet to a diet you are comfortable keeping long term. In a sense, it's no longer a diet, it's a lifestyle change. It also means making sure you don't starve yourself. Not only is that not feasible as a long-term plan, it might actually be detrimental to your health and your ability to exercise and lose weight.

Your body is a machine. Feed it with the right nutrients and it functions properly. Feed it inappropriately and it might work for a while, but it won't be at its best and it definitely won't run as long and strong as a well-fed machine.

This is actually what happened to me. When I stopped working out, I kept eating the same amount of calories I had been before, so I gained weight. Then I decided the way to lose weight would be to exercise and restrict my calories. For almost a year I limited myself to 1100-1300 calories and my weight dropped a little, but I could not keep it off or get lower than 162.

Turns out my resting metabolic rate (what I burn when I just sit around and do nothing) is 1525 calories and by keeping my calories far below that, I led my body to believe that it was starving and as a result my metabolism most likely slowed down to a crawl. The inefficient fueling of my body was blocking my weight loss and it was also leading me to be exhausted and less able to effectively exercise, making weight loss even harder.

When I started running half marathons and signing up for triathlons, it became clear that something had to change. I slowly started increasing my caloric intake, obsessively tracking how this would effect my weight loss. The first month I went up to 1900 calories and I lost 1.5 lbs! I dropped to 1850 and lost 2 lbs. Since then I've stayed around an average of 1850 calories (1600-2000 depending on how much I work out) and I have lost about 2.5 pounds each month.

This is much slower than other diet programs, but this is also meant to be a long-term plan. The weight has stayed off, even when I take a 5-day workout break, and I'm following a diet I am happy with. I can still eat a gigantic brunch with mimosas or the occasional cupcake without guilt and without weight gain. More importantly overall I feel healthy and my athletic performance has improved significantly.

So what do I eat?

I am focused on nutrient dense foods; healthy carbohydrates like oatmeal, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, lean meats like fish, chicken and less than 15% fat meat and lots and lots of fruits and vegetables. For workout recovery I love chocolate milk and I am a big fan of coconut water (Zico is my personal favorite). When I do eat something unhealthy it is a conscious, guilt-free decision and as much as possible I try to stick to natural, unprocessed, locally made or homemade items, where I can control the ingredients.

I love food, so eating is still a pleasure, but food is now also a fuel source, so I always think about what my body needs before deciding what I will eat.