As you may or may not know, I’ve been off the saddle for a pretty long time. A couple of unexpected hospital visits and a long-planned honeymoon trip basically ensured that my carcass avoided mounting a saddle for about two months.
In the meantime, I concentrated on recovery and getting better as quickly as I could, everything else be damned. The unfortunate consequence was that I gained more weight and lost my conditioning.
I am also aware of the fact that I’m not getting any younger and my metabolism isn’t what it used to be. The caloric intake I was used to just was not a good fit for me any more.
Fast forward to today. With the doctors clearing me for resumption of physical activity, I’ve been logging the training miles both on the street and on the turbo trainer in a pretty consistent fashion, upon returning from a memorable trip to Europe. Much more of a surprise was how well my body could function and train on reduced caloric intake…and without resorting to diets or the focusing on or removal of food groups.
A couple of weeks in, I’ve been able to lose 7 pounds (3.16 kg) out of the 15 (6.8 kg) I gained from what I call my “baseline.” Even from there, though, I want to aim for further reduction, as my baseline is still more than what my frame should be carrying. As it turns out, what I needed to do was reevaluate my relationship with food…and get used to regularly carrying a little hunger in my gut.
Onwards and upwards it is, then. Going forward, I hope to share a few more stories from the saddle.
the accidental randonneur 