June 4 - I have been challenged, corporately

So today was corporate challenge day.  I was supposed to do the running road race, but had to back out because it was on the same day as the U2 concert..  And after spending $$$ on the concert tickets, I wasn't about to NOT go because of the road race.

In the weeks leading up to corporate challenge, we found out that we needed one more body for the mountain biking, so I decided I would give it a go.

And with that, I was off to Terwillegar Park to ride around it a bunch of times through the mud and grass to "compete".

Strangely enough, I actually had quite a bit of fun.  It was nice to do something on my bike other than commute to work for once.  I was probably ill-prepared, by the looks of other people around me (I think one of my team mates and I were the only two people with a carrier on the back), but I still managed to pass 5 or 6 other competitors to help us finish 5th overall.  No medals for us, but still a finish in the top half.

I've started weighing myself every day now, a few days after I said I was going to.  In the end, from September of last year to now, I've netted out basically 0 lbs difference - I guess technically I am down, but I'm still "basically" 230 lbs.  And it's time to start dropping that off.

Part of my new years resolution was to lose some weight over the course of the year, and I always find that difficult to do over the winter.  I like the idea of hibernating, so I tend to stock up on the carbs and sugars, and drop off on the activity level.  Running the Hypo Half clinic over the winter helped with the activity levels, but I didn't actively do anything about the eating.  Now that the summer is here, I figure it's time that I start trying.

I figure the biggest challenge for me personally is the after-the-ride snacking.  I get to work, and since I have a limited lunch, I tend to not eat that right when I get to work.  So the 1000 calories that I burn cycling to work I generally can bank.  However, on the way home the same can't be said - when I get home, I eat.  And eat.  And eat.  I will have a whole sleeve of crackers, sometimes with cheese, sometimes not.  Then I'll have dinner.  And then I'll have whatever else I can nibble on throughout the evening, pretty much obliterating any of the caloric gains I've made over the day.

So step one in the whole "lets lose some weight" is to fix the snacking issue.  Once I get that sorted out, I'll figure out step 2.  For now, I'm starting out at 228lbs, with a Melissa's Road Race goal of 210.  18lbs over 4 months is completely achievable - about 1lbs per week, a "healthy" loss rate.

Otherwise, nothing else to say for today - corporate challenge, some bike fixing, a trip to the park - pretty quiet.