Hi, Ladies!

I'm glad I've found this forum!! I hope to participate in many an interesting conversation!!

Many of you have posted really good advice. I've got about 25 - 30 pounds of tips that I've kept off even during my less active seasons for, I think it's 3 years now.

I didn't diet. I refuse to make food "evil", "bad", or "the enemy". I started with small changes. The first was eat a small bag of carrots at 10:00 each morning at work, before getting hungry... made it a habit. I walk to work - about a half hour each way. I keep boiled eggs in the fridge most of the time. Excellent snack.

I listen to what my body wants. Yeah, sometimes I still snack out of boredom and enjoy comfort foods. Just not too much and not too often. I've cut back on cheese but refuse to give it up. Same thing with bread, butter, etc.

Always look for your best nutritional punch. Nuts might have a high fat content, but they have protein, lots of vitamins and minerals, and, if you buy the ones that aren't salted and don't eat too many, it's a pretty good snack!

When I eat at a restaurant I ask for half of my portion in a to go container when I order. I can rarely eat the whole meal, anyway, and this stops me from overeating, and from picking the best parts out. Most restaurants have been very helpful.

Eat more vegetables and fruit. Think you already eat a lot? eat more. I've started added zucchini and eggplant, in tiny tiny bits to everything I make with a sauce: lasagna, chilli, you name it. Split pea soup is incredibly easy to make. I make a huge batch every couple of weeks and keep frozen servings ready to take to work for lunch.

Eat spicy: garlic, ginger, cumin, pepper, they are all awesome for you and if your food is interesting and you pay attention when you eat, really savour the food, you feel fuller faster and probably won't overeat.

Yoga. A little bit every day, longer sessions a couple times a week. Makes the joints move smoothly and really does strengthen muscles, increases flexibility, balance, the ability to breathe through pain and to focus in ways that can help you get through difficult training sessions.

Crosstrain. Find something else that you love to do. I just started kickboxing. It's amazing, fabulous and super fun!!

Weights. at least once a week. squats, pushups, shoulder presses, calf raises, interesting combinations....

Listen to your body: eat more (healthy food) when you've worked harder, try to eat less when you haven't worked as hard. yes, lots of water. herbal teas, green teas. Keep your food interesting. Try a new vegetable every month.

Reward yourself for reaching small goals. Try new things like aromatherapy blends as a treat. Buy yourself new clothes to celebrate reaching a milestone. Scan the exercise mags for interesting workout ideas and cool articles. I prefere YogaJournal, Body & Soul, Fitness Rx,

Figure out your best food for fuel, by trying different things...for me potatoes and cheese are waaaaaaaaay better than pasta, any day!! And on any hard ride longer than an hour, and any race, gel packs actually help a lot. Pre and post exercise drinks can be helpful, watered down gatorade and separate water are what I ride with...

Ride with the guys. Ride with better riders. Focus on different skills on different rides. Have fun, have fun, have fun!!

That's a lot of information all at once, and it's only part of what I learned...just grab one or two ideas at a time....It took me those 3 years to figure all those things out. Form habits, stick to them...

Oh, did I mention I'm kind of a chatterbox?

Namaste,
~T~