Pumpkins and Projects

I have converted my half acre property into an edible garden. I have 12 fruit trees, 14 blueberry bushes, musadine grape vines, cranberry bushes, 6 huge blackberry bushes, two strawberry patches and three veggie patches. The girls and I love to go outside in the morning and pick fresh produce for breakfast, lunch or dinner. There is always something wonderful to discover in the garden!

While trimming my grapevines I learning something interesting. The vines that I trimmed early in the spring are now producing fruit. You are supposed to train a vine by tying it to a post and not allowing any sucker vines to grow along the main trunk. Only let the vines which will carry the grapes sprout at the top of the trunk. The ones that I let grow like crazy with no trimming have lots of leaves and vines but no fruit. That can be like me.

Sometimes I like to try my hand at lots of stuff. Start a whole bunch of projects and not finish them. Lots of energy output but no fruit in the end.

I know a wonderful neighbor and he is a seasoned gardener. He gives me tips on my garden and helps me hone my efforts so I am successful.

When he sees a shoot forming at the base of the trunk on one of my fruit trees he tells me to cut it off. He explains that it will take up unnecessary energy from the tree and you won't yeild the fruit that you could if you had trimmed the sucker off.

I applied this to a pumpkin vine that I have growing. I could have a slew of small pumpkins along a long vine OR I could cut the vine and have two or three pumpkins that will grow very large.

I've also applied that principle to my life. I have figured out three goals that I really want to accomplish and I'm trimming off the events or efforts in my life that suck my energy away from those goals. As I've said, one of my goals in the next twelve months is to accomplish an Olympic Triathlon and drop 30 pounds.

Some trimming looks like this:
I do my best to keep a consistent bedtime.
I turn off the TV two hours before bed.
I've started journaling what I eat
My program on TrainingPeaks.com helps me stick to an exercise plan.
Maybe I'll even preplan my meals. (That will be next. I'm not known for by skills in the kitchen!)

To that effect, I ventured into day two of this training. This morning I finally used my Concept 2 rowing machine that I scored on Craigslist for a fraction of the retail cost. But it's been sitting in my room for a few years now...unused. Today, I got on the thing before eating breakfast burned 250 calories in 20 minutes! That was a great use of time! And when you do cardio before breakfast I've read that you burn 30% more fat that way! It also increases your metabolism for the rest of the day.

I wore my Polar heart rate monitor and watch so that I could accurately know how much I was working. I bought mine at REI, but you can also find them online as well.

I was called in to work today. (I'm a freelance news editor). I really enjoy my work. I love the high energy environment but any job can have it's stressful moments. I usually keep my cool but quietly go to the vending machine and eat a sugary snack to calm my nerves...I call it the dark side of the vending machine. Before I know it, I've downed heaven knows how many calories! Which sabotages all my work out efforts. But today I texted a friend to keep me accountable and it worked! Okay, I did have 415 calories before I texted but at least it wasnt 1500 which I am well capable of...

I also downloaded an app on my phone. It's free and called MyNetDiary.
What a powerful tool! When I wrote down what I ate and the program calulated the fat, carb and protein contents of the food that I put in my body, well, it really helped me stick to my plan. I felt stronger and lighter and more in control!

Okay, off to bed to get the shut eye needed. ( I do include practical links in my blog to connect you to products I acually use. Just passing along what works for me).

I officially started my Olympic triathlon training yesterday (August 4th, 2010). 

I kept wanting to wait until things were not busy in my life...but that isn't going to happen so I just picked a day and started. 

I am using a program though Trainingpeaks.com. It's really easy to follow. When you sign up for one of their hundreds of fitness plans online, you get a daily email telling you what exercises to do for that day. Each day building on the next until you have reached your goal. Check out their website for more details!

I am using two programs. One is called 25 week Beginner to Intermediate Olympic Distance Triathlon by Ben Greenfield. This is a 25 week training plan originally written for Ben Greenfield's wife to go from post-pregnancy fitness to an Olympic distance triathlon in 25 weeks - while taking care of 2 kids! Requires about 5-7 training hours per week. 

I am also using 12 Week Fitness and Fat Loss Secrets by Ben Greenfield. This program is designed for the individual who is just beginning an exercise program or who is experiencing a weight loss "plateau", this program incorporates key concepts for maximizing fitness and rapidly achieving fat loss. Ben Greenfield has taken applied exercise science concepts to design an easy-to-understand program that incorporates key Fat Loss Secrets such as the "Morning Fat Flush", "Metabolic Resistance Training" and "Calorie Blasting Intervals".

Over the course of 12 week, you'll take 3 week incremental steps towards melting away the fat, toning, shaping and gaining the energy levels you've always wanted.

One of the principles used for weight loss is to do some cardio exercise for 20-30 minutes before eating breakfast. I've heard that you burn 30% more fat that way. So I'm waking up earlier to do that. 

I've also started to keep a diary of my food intake. I think of it as a caloric budget. And I'm noticing that I'm not eating as well as I like to think I do. One thing that helps is if you have one of those smart phones and can download a calorie counter program so you can keep track of your carb, protein, fat and calorie intake. I've done this before and lost 10 pounds in a month. So I'm going to do it again. 

Here is my sample from yesterday:

Slice of bread for breakfast

Work out with Robert

Protein shake after work out at 11:00am

Pretzels with peanut butter for lunch

3 blackberries and half a banana for a snack at 5:00p

Thai food for Dinner: pad Thai plate shared three ways with me and the girls. 7:00 pm

3 spoons mango ice cream for dessert

A slice of bread for breakfast? Not a great plan. When you write it down it makes you think about what you are feeding yourself. How are you feeding the driving force of your life? 

So yesterday I worked out with Robert Haddocks, my trainer. Another great work out. I've been had some soreness in my back and one of the benefits of working out with him is that he makes you move through many planes of motion. It's not just lifting heavy weights. He also customizes the work out program to help my back get supported by my core (stomach muscles). And now, after a month, my back feels a lot better! Thanks Robert!

Then I did a 45 minutes of bike drills as recommended on my triathlon program. Then 30 minutes of walking on a treadmill that evening. 

All in all not a bad start! Anybody want to join me online and start training for their first triathlon?