I first lost nearly 50 pounds between eight and nine years ago, but I haven’t ever really worked too hard at getting back down to my original goal weight since then. I was therefore a little dismayed in March of 2014 when I realized I had gained back a little more than half the weight (about 28 lbs.) I had lost in 2006-07 and resolved to get back into good enough shape to do at least two thirds of a sprint triathlon (half-mile-to-one-mile swim, 10-20 miles on the bike and 3-6-mile run).
Why only two thirds? Well, after having completed six of seven “sprint” triathlons I entered in my 30s, I had both knees arthroscoped 13 years ago (by Dr. Ira Guttentag of Florida Medical Clinic, 979.0440, who has been the head team physician for the Tampa Bay Lightning since 2002; Go Bolts!) and immediately gave up not only running, but also all other types of impact exercise. I was trying to avoid the knee replacement surgery Doc Ira told me I was definitely heading towards within just 5-10 years if I didn’t lose the weight.
For example, even if I get to 10 lbs. or more lower than my 2007 low, I still won’t subject my knees to the kinds of impacts people who do the popular “Cross Fit” training subject themselves to multiple days per week, no matter how great the results may be.
As I have almost throughout the more than a dozen years the studio has been open in New Tampa, I have continued to work with the awesome personal trainers at Fit 4 Life Personal Training & Physical Therapy (in the Tampa Palms Professional Center off Commerce Park Blvd.; 907.7879) two days per week and I also have consistently continued to mix in the other physical activities I can safely do — walk (especially on the beach, but also on a treadmill and a gorgeous path where I live in Wesley Chapel), swim, ride a bike, etc. — so it took me a while to even gain back half of the weight I had lost.
But, even Fit 4 Life owner Travis Monday will tell you that two days a week at his studio alone isn’t enough for most people to lose weight. Travis and my nutritionist friends also told me that unless I was burning more than, say, 2,000 calories a day with my exercise regimen (which some people do, but I don’t), I’d still also have to reduce my caloric intake (including food and alcohol) and eat healthier and smarter in order to see real results.
As the primary dining reviewer for this publication and a certified “foodie” (although I hate the term) who enjoys good wine and good whiskey, reducing my consumption isn’t easy, but I’ve done it before and I knew I could still do it again. I just needed a goal.
The key for me was adding in enough other physical activity to still eat and drink most anything I want (within reason) in order to still take off pounds. My goal last year was 30 lbs., but if my own brand of Cross Fit continues to work for me, I plan to keep at it.
I came by the first additional activity almost by accident. While I was visiting my mom (who, as I reported a couple of issues ago, fractured her pelvis and tail bone in a fall ten weeks ago as I’m writing this) in Sarasota, I heard two people sitting next to me at a bar talk about how much they loved kayaking. I hadn’t been in a kayak since summer camp at Camp Scatico in Elizaville, NY, about 40 years ago, but I remembered I liked it better than canoeing or rowing a boat.
My mom lives less than a mile from the downtown Sarasota marina, where there’s an outdoor O’Leary’s Tiki Bar & Boat Rentals (941.953.7505). Jet Skis may be more fun, but the marina there also rents kayaks every day for $20 for a half-hour and just $25 for a full hour. So, I went probably six times the first four weekends my mom was in the Smith Care Center (also in Sarasota) rehabbing her injuries — and I’ve been hooked ever since.
Since then, I also have rented kayaks on St. Pete and Indian Rocks Beach and I don’t think I can get a better full upper body workout than I can sitting comfortably (not like standing or kneeling on a paddleboard) in this small boat, where the breeze always blows, no matter how hot it is outside. I even planned to do my first three-mile kayak race in St. Pete the weekend I’m going to press with this issue.
But, I’ve probably lost ten lbs. the last four weeks alone because I also went back to riding a bicycle. I had owned a great triathlon bike that a friend sold me for a lot less than it was worth, but the tires were really thin and no matter what weight I am, I’m still kind of a big guy (with a lot of wind resistance) on a bike, so I need a lightweight frame but with thick enough tires to really support me. In other words, I gave up riding 2-3 years ago.
I therefore was happy to donate that bike and another I had when Kelly Mothershead, the president of my Wesley Chapel Rotary Club, asked our club members if they had bikes they could donate to a family in need.
And, I also live very close to the Kona Swim Bike Run (907-3355) shop on S.R. 56 and fell in love with a bike there when I went to talk to owner Bruce McCarthy. So now, I’m back to 20-30 miles a week on the bike, plus starting to swim again, too. I may even finally check out the Masters swim program at the New Tampa Family YMCA in Tampa Palms (866-9622).
In other words, my body doesn’t know what’s hit it — and people I haven’t seen in a while are asking me what I’ve been doing, so I decided to share my story (and “selfie”) here.
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