Cycling and Weight Loss Report – March 2012

It’s that time where I reflect back in my cycling and weight loss progress for the previous month. The month of February was really tough so I was hoping for great progress come March and that’s what I saw. I didn’t ride as much as I wanted to but I did ride further than the previous month. By far, the most progress was in my weight. Read on to see how much.

Tale of the Scale

Last month I didn’t lose any weight but I didn’t gain any either. I was really depressed about that. Looking back, I should have paid more attention to the fact that I didn’t gain any weight. I’m not always going to lose weight so I need to remember that. You should too. This month I more than made up for it though. I started the month at 275. By the end of March I was down to 268.5! A whopping 6.5 pound drop for the month! I think there were several contributing factors to the 6.5 pound loss. They are:

1. Good eating. I really paid attention to what I ate last month. Although I didn’t log everything like I should have I was still able to keep on track.
2. Good hydration. I’m terrible at drinking enough water and made a commitment to do my best in March. I even downloaded an app for my phone to help me and talked about hydration in a recent article.
3. I was primed for weight loss. Not losing any weight last month set me up to have a big month. That combined with 1 and 2 above was the trifecta.

In the Gym

I had to take the last three weeks of March off from going to the gym. I pulled a muscle in my neck that made lifting very painful afterwards so I took the time off. Now that my 12-week winter training program is over, I’ll be shifting to a full-body dumbbell workout.

FYI, you can pickup the 12-week winter training program over at Training4Cyclists.com at the promotional price of $29.95 until April 10, 2012. Disclosure: I received the program for free and receive no monetary gain if you purchase it.

On the Bike

March still wasn’t a huge month for me on the bike. I did manage 278 miles which is slightly more than march. A good thing is that my riding is increasing each month and I know for a fact that I’m way ahead of where I was this time last year. My longest ride of the month was only 25 miles which I did several times when riding with the group on Saturday mornings. My solo and group pace is increasing nicely as well.

Goals for April

• Lose 4 pounds. Again, taking a conservative approach for a slow weight loss.
• Ride 300 miles. Not a huge increase over last month but with winter officially over I need to be increasing my ride length both for my weekday rides and the Saturday group rides.
• Get back in the gym. My neck feels much better and I’m ready to start lifting again.
• Core training. I don’t know why I put this off. Just. Do. It.

As of today I haven’t had a soft drink, of any kind, for over 90 days. I think the last time I had a stretch like that was when I sent to Officer Candidate School in 2006. Wow!

How was March for you from a weight loss and/or cycling perspective?