You’d think that once one gets this whole fitness thing down, it’d be good times and noodle salad from then on, right?  Not so, at least in my case.  Like anything else, as changes come at me I have to adapt.  If I don’t, bad things happen – or in this case, minor inconveniences happen.  I’m only about 6 pounds over where I want to be right now.  That’s not exactly anything to freak out over, but it was unexpected.  This is where I went wrong:
Diet

My diet was my biggest mess-up of the winter.  I just happened to read an old post I’d written that dealt with my winter diet a year or two ago.  I used to skip a meal, whether breakfast or lunch (skipping breakfast seems to suit me), all winter long.  This year I ate three squares a day all winter long.  Unfortunately that only works during cycling season.  Thankfully I’m not looking at a huge hurdle.

Calories burned summer to winter

This goes back to the first item, my diet.  During the summer I burn between 13,000 and 15,000 calories a week riding my bike (give or take, it’s a guide, not set in stone – specifically for generalized illustrations like this).  During the winter that knocks back to only 3,000 to 5,000 calories a week.  I have to adjust for this.  Unfortunately I didn’t go quite far enough (close, but no cigar, as they say).

The 26,000 calorie week in September and 8,500 calorie week in February are obviously outliers – we had a nice weekend a few weeks ago so we actually got three days of outdoor cycling in and the late August/early September week was DALMAC.  Believe it or not, that’s a real count too.  Almost eight pounds worth of calories in one week.

Weight training

This is another one I hadn’t counted on – one day I was sitting at my desk and thought, “You should be doing something weight lifty” – so I did… when I shot up five pounds in just a month, I freaked a little bit.  I’ve been hitting the push-ups pretty hard and it’s really showing.  My arms and chest grew a few inches in a matter of a few weeks.  It looks good, but there’s some heft to the extra muscle.  This isn’t a complaint, mind you.  I’d much prefer how I look today to just a couple of months ago.  Still, weight’s weight on a bike.  Oh yeah, Mrs. Bgddy said, “Don’t change a thing.”

Cycling Training Increases/Gains

Normally over the winter I lose a little bit of leg muscle because I’m pushing easier gears.  This year I actually think I gained some.  I’ve been pushing the hardest gears I could and it’s paid off.  A couple of more pounds, though that only counts against the overall number.  I’ll take stronger legs and a couple extra pounds any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

So that about does it.  In lieu of giving myself the chance to screw this up again next Autumn, I’m going to put together a little reminder that I can look at the end of each season so I can have a better plan going into the slow season.

Keeping in mind of course, slow is a relative term.  Just not a relative of mine.