Puddin,

I have been following your progress and am impressed with your accomplishments especially in your dedication to fitness. I am AMAZED at your current training and goals WTG!!!

Have you always been pretty athletic? I am having a hard time getting STARTED on a fitness program and would love to have even some of your dedication.

How did you get there???? I am still having difficulty exercising because of pains in my knees and hips and even though I want to take up biking my stomach is proving to be a HUGE obstacle- pun intended there.

Any advice? Can you share your story of how you got from where you were to the point of training for a triathalon?????

THANKS!!!

Hey Girl

Sorry, I didn't see this post until you PM'd me! Anyhow, yes, I'd be happy to share how it all went down:

No, I was never, ever athletic in my whole life. I was banded and was a slow loser until about month 7 or 8, when I had an "aha" moment and realized that the band wasn't going to work for me unless I MADE it work. So I bought this gadget called the body bugg that tracks calories burned accurately and got moving. At first I hated the exercise, then grew to sort of like it. Then my good friends got into biking. I was jealous of how much fun they had on their trips. As soon as I was down enough for my stomach NOT to be in the way, I bought a bike and started with them. This is when the weight really started coming off! I was hooked. Then I started getting into soccer, which led to running... which has now led to the triathlon. I got SO into biking that I ended up riding around 35-50 miles each day on the weekdays and longer on the weekends. The running became a challenge for me with my extra belly fat. But I learned to jog at about 5 mph (a 12-minute mile) until I had my tummy tuck, and now I am doing about a 10-minute mile. It's exhilirating to watch my minutes/mile decrease. I'm hoping to be down to an 8-9 minute mile during my tri.

I have to admit that the addiction for food sort of just transfered over to exercise. I have an addictive personality, so this goes with it, the tendency to go all-out with things. I don't know the meaning of the word moderation.

As far as advice goes, if you're motivated by numbers and statistics, get yourself the body bugg. You'll be motivated to just get moving and burning more calories because you'll actually SEE what you're burning. It's helped me so greatly.

Good luck to you. I know you can do this and MAKE it work for you!

Thanks so much for the reply!! I have really been wanting a bodybugg. I think seeing those numbers will be a huge motivator for me too. My Dad is a bike-a-holic and I know he'd love some company in his passion but yeah, I tried a bike a few weeks ago and it was just too hard at my current weight. I have been going to the gym though and doing cardio/weights. I just want to find something else that I really LOVE.

Thanks again for the advice and tips!!!