I don’t even remember when I first discovered Swim Bike Mom. I think it might have been through Facebook. Whenever it was, I am so glad that I did. She LOVES tri-athlons and weight loss! She is such an encourage to her readers and others. She is also a native-Georgian so a lot of the races she does are close by. I feel like I know her even though we have never met! She is a new author of a book available on Amazon and oh yeah, she also has a full time job as an attorney! Check her out and be inspired! Today she is going to encourage and inspire you with her own words…
One morning after cycling class, I went to a fast food joint for a quick breakfast. I knew it was a bad idea, but I was in a hurry, had failed to prepare my proper food to bring with me… so I was about to experience a big nutritional fail.
I pulled up to the drive-thru, rolled down my window and ordered something very reasonable: a plain breakfast wrap with egg and coffee. I asked if they had salsa (they did not). I reminded them that I did not want cheese or anything else (they understood).
“A plain egg wrap, no cheese. A large coffee,” I said into the speaker.
“Do you want bacon?”
“No,” I said, “Please no bacon. Just plain egg and wrap. Actually, do you have egg whites?”
“Who?”
“What?” I asked.
“Egg who?” the speaker asked.
“Egg whites, do you—”
“—no, we only got egg yellows.”
“Egg yellows?”
“Yeah.”
I stared at the speaker in disbelief. Egg yellows?
“Alright. Just yellow eggs and a wrap. Thanks.”
“Drive around.”
As I drove down the road with my decently healthy food sitting in brown bag in the seat beside me, I felt proud of myself. Proud that I did not give in to the Fat Stranger screaming: Get the bacon, cheese biscuit! Oh, and a cinnamon roll! Two cinnamon rolls!
So, I was on a bit of a high from spin class, feeling proud from ordering healthy and I thought I was ready to tackle my day. As I opened my little healthy breakfast on the highway, I gasped.
I was clutching a steaming hot wrap filed with egg alright.
But it was also boiling over with sausage, cheese and (wait for it…wait for it…) hash browns. Hash brown potatoes, snuggled up to the sausage and cheese. I cursed out loud and hit my steering wheel.
Darnit! I tried to do the right thing! I tried! I tried to be healthy! And this! This!? I was so mad. So mad.
So I ate it.
- Excerpt from Triathlon for the Every Woman
To this day, I wonder if I am ever going to get my nutrition 100% “right.”
I struggle and struggle, but I have found that the one thing that keeps me trying is the way I feel when I am eating correctly. Not my looks, per se. But my mood, my skin, and the way my workouts happen. I feel stronger and saner. I have also found that by incorporating triathlon (a sport) into my life instead of just wasting away on the stair climber, that I find a new purpose in fueling my body, in my workouts.
If you find yourself struggling with your weight, your mood, I encourage you to give triathlon (swim, bike and run) a try.
What?!?! I can’t do a triathlon!!!
Oh, yes, yes you can! If I can dive into the sport of triathlon, you can too! Promise. I went from a ridiculously overweight full-time working mom of two kids under two… to a bona fide triathlon finisher. And you can do it too. All it takes is a little internal strength, a lot of sweat and a great sense of humor.
I believe in you.
Meredith Atwood, better known as “Swim Bike Mom” is a two-time half Ironman headed for her first Ironman. She blogs at SwimBikeMom.com, and is the author of the new triathlon book, Triathlon for the Every Woman, which is available on Amazon in Kindle and in paperback. She’s a wife, mother, and full-time attorney, and understands what it’s like to be tired, fat and stressed out… constantly.
