Converging forces

Ok, so there's several things going on:

1.  I can't run right now.  Well, I can, but I shouldn't because I need to let my foot heal properly.  And that means not stressing the Achilles tendon and, quite literally, staying off it as long as possible.
2.  I can't just sit around.  If I do, I turn in to a big fat fatty.  And that's not good.  So, I need to maintain some kind of fitness without straining the foot.
3.  We're building a house, so we're imposing some serious fiscal discipline.  The fiscal discipline leads into ...
4.  Dietary Discipline!  If I sit around and eat like I'm still being active, I turn into a big fat fatty.  If I eat responsibly I can maintain a decent weight.  If I get active AND eat responsibly, I can maintain fitness AND lose weight AND save money!!  It's a win, win, win situation.

And I like to win win win.

Needless to say, right now I'm hungry.  I'm damn hungry.

Fiscal discipline is actually pretty easy.  I do math, I do spreadsheets, I do budgets.  That stuff is easy for me and when I set the challenge up of $XX per day, I can meet that challenge.  Almost without fail and almost without effort.  That's how I roll.

However, the dietary discipline isn't quite so easy.  It's hard to do a spreadsheet for food.  It's hard to do math for food.  It's hard to do the things I'm good at when it comes to food.  I know, I know... count calories and fat grams and blah blah blah...  But that's not what I do.  I'm really REALLY not good at that.  I'm much better at food categories and types of food and foods that make fuel to make my body work better.  It's turns into a very organic process for me where I push my body to do something, then my body wants something in return.  Like I'll hammer out some hills, and then CRAVE bean burritos.  Or chicken salad.  Or spaghetti.  Or (yes, I know this is weird) lentil soup with peanut butter toast.  When I was deep in training awhile back I almost never ate a hamburger because I just didn't want burgers.  Or pizza.  Or a lot of other garbage.  

My body spoke and I listened.  It was as easy as that.

But I don't know how to direct that process, I just know how to listen and let it happen, or at least prompt it with rigorous physical activity.

So, with that said, here is a set of specific, tangible, trackable goals:

1.  100 miles per week on the bike.  That's a little more than 14 per day over 7 days.  Or 40 miles on the weekend and 15 miles for 4 of the other days.  Very doable, very modifiable to accommodate more miles.  At my latest paces, that ends up being about 1 hour on the bike 4 times a week and 3 hours on the bike once a weekend.  A very decent workout schedule.

2.  Drop 15 pounds this month (June).  I'd like to do about 40 - 45 lbs by the end of summer, and that'll get me to the middle range of what I should weight according to stupid government charts (180-ish).  Of course, I know that won't happen, but it's something to shoot for. I haven't seen a number on the scale below 195 in more than a decade and 2 years ago came as close as 199.  Of course, the last time I saw 195 on the scale I was biking slightly more than 100 miles a week.  So, there's that.  

Of course, the dietary discipline and the financial discipline will go hand in hand, because I can't go buying burgers every day.  For that matter, I can't go buying much food every day.  That shit adds up.  (5 days at work * $7 for lunch * 4 weeks = $150.  Throw in breakfast at $5 * 5 * 4 = $100 for a total food bill of $240.  And that buys mostly garbage.  Meanwhile 20 cans of soup are $50 and a couple dozen eggs to hard boil are $5.  Throw in a couple loafs of bread and the food bill is still way below $100.  See?  I do numbers good.)

Besides, I'm closer to 40 now than 35 and I need to bang this old frame back into something that approaches fighting shape.  That way when I slip the running shoes back on I won't have to haul so much ass in order to haul ass.