Yay, I Got a Badge!
I recently completed 52 weeks of doing some kind of exercise via Peloton. It started with being on the treadmill using the app, then the Peloton bike was purchased so a lot of exercise was on the bike. There has also been a little bit of yoga and very little bit of strength stuff.
I know, I really should vary my workouts.
In any case, a year ago I weighed about 214 pounds. After one year of all that exercise you might think I would have hit my goal weight of 185.
Nope.
I know, now you’re thinking I must have just crushed 185 and gotten closer to my ideal weight of 160, right?
I mean, seriously, hitting 185 would mean only losing 29 pounds in a year, a tad above 1/2 pound a week to get to the 185. Heck, my ideal weight of around 160 equates to about a pound a week.
Am I even close to either of those?
Not a chance.
A Peloton Success Story?
I am currently tipping the scales at 208 pounds.
That’s right, after one year and all of that exercise I’m down six pounds. I have a feeling Peloton will not be contacting me to be one of their success stories.
The odd thing, though, is that those six pounds are a success story for me. How so? If I didn’t get hooked on those classes, starting my first “live” treadmill run with Selena Samuela, I would probably be up twenty to thirty pounds instead of down six.
See, I am a success!
BikeSoICanEatAllTheChocolateAndDrinkAllTheWineIWant!
So what is my difficulty in actually dropping the weight?
First, let me say I have no delusions that others seem to have. I’ve read people’s comments on the Facebook and the Reddit thinking just getting on a Peloton bike will cause one to lose tons of weight, get ripped, and be fit. They’ll post something like, “I’ve been riding the bike a week. When am I going to lose weight?”, while having a screen name of something like “BikeSoICanEatAllTheChocolateAndDrinkAllTheWineIWant!”
Exercise and weight loss seems to be a conundrum many people have trouble with, but not me. I know the ripped-ness only comes from dietary changes. You’ve got to get rid of the fat around those muscles, and while exercising does help a little, like six pounds in a year, it only helps a lot when you adjust your food intake as well.
In my further self-analysis, like many people these days, the stress of things, from the COVID to the election, has resulted in seeking comfort in the basic food groups of donuts, ice cream, and beer. Too much of those, and probably increasing my portion sizes of all things everything else, and, well, there probably isn’t enough exercise I could fit into my day to lose that weight.
The thing is, before the “Vid” hit, I almost had a plan to lose weight, the “It’s Really, Really Freakin’ Hard Diet Plan” that I wrote about back in February. I was even on a decent trajectory, nearing 200 pounds. Then thoughts turned to a virus, being upset at people not taking it seriously, who knows what was going on with the election, and reading, hmm, perplexing theories of nanotechnology being implanted into a vaccine. Through all of that I forgot about dieting being hard, in fact I pretty much forgot about dieting.
I didn’t, however, forget about exercise, and that’s probably what has saved me.
And right now I’m okay with that.
The Things That Have Changed
Happily, even though my outer appearance hasn’t changed much, I’m fairly certain inside things have changed. One metric I saw change was resting heart rate. When I started the journey things were always hovering around 70, but post Peloton, and rather quickly I must say, things nicely dropped into the 50’s. I can also run with our dog outside, and actually keep up with him, not gasping for air and feeling like I was going to keel over.
The exercising has also given me a sense of connectedness with people, even if virtual. There I will be, high-fiving any #RedditRiders or #PelotonChicago folks that might be on a ride. You can also find me joining group rides when possible, and looking forward to the 5AM central time live rides that have finally been coming back as things have gotten a little more stable in this COVID world.
So, will I get back to the “It’s Really, Really Freakin’ Hard Diet Plan” and finally lose the weight? I’m trying, as in right now “I’m trying” to figure out which of the three basic food groups, donuts, ice cream, or beer, I should eliminate, or at least consume less of. That, I think is my first step.
A New Kind of Poster Child
While Peloton has helped me navigate the past year, and I suppose I am not their poster child of “Look at how much weight I lost!”, maybe they should show the success stories of the person who is able to shout, “I made it through the year and lost six pounds!” I have a feeling there are a lot of potential users who don’t really care about being fit. Heck most people might just want something to help them not completely let themselves fall apart right now.
Yes, I really like the Peloton universe (If you’re a Pelotoner, feel free to follow me, “InspireMyAwesom”, or at hashtags of #InspireMyAwesome or #MakeMeSmile), and while Peloton might not be for you, do your life a favor and find something to at least balance out the stress of these days which might be leading to a few extra food choices you know you shouldn’t be making.
I have a feeling things aren’t going to get easier as quickly as some people want us to think. It might be best to have something that’s a healthy win every day, heck, do one push-up a day if that’s your win. Me, I’ll try to report back in 52 weeks when I should be down at least another six pounds. Heck, I’ll shoot for twelve pounds so that I’m under 200. The question is will it be twelve pounds of donuts, ice cream, or beer?