Riding on Air

Most of my life I've had trouble controlling my weight. I think part of the reason I started biking in 2009 was to help me slim down. I was pretty successful early on.
When I started, I weighed about 290 and quickly lost around 25 pounds during the first few months. After the initial loss, I hit a plateau and my weight fluctuated between 260 and 270 over the next year and a half. I had no clue what I could do to start losing weight again.

Then last December I came across this post, where Jim Thill of Hiawatha Cyclery explained what he had done to lose weight. Rather than just rehash what he said, just go ahead and read his post. This type of diet is actually very easy to follow, although I do tend to overindulge on almonds, and I must eat almost a pound of dark chocolate each week.

My blood pressure is down to normal for the first time ever, and I rarely feel tired or shaky. I lost 26 pounds in the first two months, 39 pounds total, which is just a few pounds more than what my Long Haul Trucker weighs. So it really is just like I'm riding on air.

Another good way I look at it is that when I go bike camping, I'll weigh less fully loaded than when I rode with nothing on the bike last year. This theory will be put to the test this weekend when we ride the Truckers to Jay Cooke State Park for an overnight stay. I probably just jinxed the weather by mentioning the trip here, but I'm sure I did that just by making the reservations.