What's Next?

Starting 4/24 I'm starting a nutrition plan.  As soon as I'm able to start training again I will launch a 12 week weight-loss program.  I'll outline both of them here now with the hopes that it will help me be accountable and perhaps it can help you, the reader, to see if this might be worth while for you.

But first, my goals:  By the end of 2017, I want to be at least 180 pounds.

Nutrition plan:

Breakfast:  Oatmeal (the steel cut variety), with blueberries and maybe some fruit.
AM Snack:  Apple
Lunch:  Salad (two varieties to choose from ... one with cottage cheese and salmon, another with nuts, craisins, a boiled egg and a little dressing), and maybe a sweet potato depending on caloric requirements of the day.
Dinner:  One of the following:  Eggs, protein shake, meat and veggies
PM Snack:  If needed, peanut butter or boiled egg


Rules:

• No food after 7 PM.  
• Alcohol - None 
• Sweets - None
• Avoid things with added sugar
• At least a gallon of water a day (drunk consistently, not large volumes in short times)
• On-bike nutrition:  fruit and nuts (will be doing mostly sweet-spot intensity)

Exercise Program:

Since I'll be stuck indoors for a while so I'll be hitting up TrainerRoad again.  I really like their program and with Netflix, Hulu and YouTube at my fingertips, it's not half as bad to train indoors as I once feared.   The program with TR that I'll start is the Sweet Spot, High Volume plan.  It's two parts, each part being 6 weeks long.  The nice thing about this program is that each workout burns a lot of calories and while taxing, isn't quite intense enough to require a lot of recovery!

At the same time I start the TR program I will also begin StrongLift's 5x5 program at the gym.  This is a quick workout, done three times a week, just 5 total exercises!  Each time you're in and out of the gym in 30-ish minutes.  It's a great strength building program.

Now along with the weights I may go ahead and start a couch to 5K program as I believe bone health is an important thing to maintain as a cyclist.  But, that one will take some exploration.  

I'll do one of the programs in the morning and the other in the afternoon.

So while I'll be working out twice a day, both workouts will be very focused and pretty short (TR sessions mostly 1 hour long).

I'll be shooting for a deficit of about 1,500 calories a day, between exercise and nutrition.  That should get me at the very aggressive 3 pounds a week mark.  This should not be an issue at the onset of the program, but later in the program I will have to evaluate how that is working.  

On 4/24 I will post my weight and do a weekly write-up of how things have gone in general.

Anyhow, that's the plan.  Wish me luck!