Do you know this too? If you tell a colleague or friend that you would like to lose a few kilos, you get a scrutinising look from head to toe and the response: "Excuse me? Where do you want to lose weight?" If your own gaze then falls on your hips in the mirror in more intimate moments, the question no longer arises: fat pads rest above the thin and reasonably defined legs, which are often trivialised as "hip gold" or "swimming ring", but are in any case one thing: annoying.
Okay, at just under 80 kilograms and 1.82 metres tall, I'm not really overweight; a body mass index of 23.8 and a body fat percentage of 19 percent (determined using a scale with bioelectrical resistance measurement) are rated by all nutrition guides as completely normal and within all norms. And yet there are these bumps on my hips. Firstly, it would look much better if the cycling jersey didn't make such waves in these places, and secondly, I've been wondering for years how it would feel to tackle the mountains in my home region of Hegau five kilos lighter.
This meant that the goal practically formulated itself: I wanted to start the 2010 racing bike season five kilos lighter and significantly fitter than in previous years. The main building blocks on the way to my goal: sport and a targeted nutrition programme. My TOUR colleague and training expert Robert Kühnen worked out the training for me, the diet plan was drawn up by nutritionist Uwe Schröder, and the project was initially planned for ten weeks; it started at the end of November. (You can find everything about this as a PDF download below).
First week
The first hurdle: my electronic training plan - I had told him so - wants me to do five to eight hours of exercise a week. Per week. After the first weekend with two cycling sessions, I'm right on schedule, but after the first few days in the office, I'm already hanging on. It's raining non-stop, work is piling up on my desk and cycling is out of the question. So I have to run - but I have to do it in small doses in the first few weeks to get used to it, otherwise my ankles and knees mutiny. The nutrition plan is also giving me a headache; counting, sorting and correctly putting together the building blocks takes some getting used to, to say the least. What have I got myself into?
Third week
It's not raining any more, but it's got cold and snowed. At the weekend, I'm struggling through the terrain on my mountain bike, which is a real slog on the icy ground. But my motivation is intact, I'm proud as punch to be the lone sporting hero defying nature while everyone else is at home in front of the fire. I do it in a good mood in the afternoon, because: The change in diet is working. The building blocks are still too complicated for me, but I've got a few key points down: the fasting day - training first, breakfast two hours later at the earliest - is my easiest exercise and seems to sabre off my pounds disproportionately. I also like the distribution of smaller portions throughout the day. Since dessert is no longer a dessert but a snack in the afternoon, it feels much more sporty. By the middle of the third week, the scales are already showing one kilo less - I'm delighted.
Fifth week
I definitely feel like I'm in sport mode - even if it's a bit one-sided. I now run for just under an hour on average four times a week. Cycling isn't an option because there's snow; the thought of roller training gives me spots. Coach Robert laughs and is understanding: "The main thing is that you're doing something," he says. During the week, I set off at half past six in the morning and ghost through the parks and streets of the awakening city; at the weekend, I run into the twilight in the afternoon and say goodnight to the fox and hare. The pitying looks from my colleagues as I leave for the Christmas holidays were superfluous, I don't feel like I have to do without anything. The raclette on Christmas Eve is accompanied by more vegetables than usual, but is just as delicious; there are also biscuits - but not from the plate that is always ready and waiting, but counted out with the coffee. In the meantime, I have also picked out the important principles for me from the building block box without having to constantly count and compare lists. In the first working week after the new year, the scales only show around 300 grams less than before Christmas, but I'm chalking that up as a success.
Seventh week
Body feeling: great. Motivation: unbroken. Euphoria: considerable. I've got the hang of running and eating too. I hardly ever look at the building block lists any more; salad, fruit, lean meat, fish, clear soups and lots of vegetables end up on the table. All things that I like. I've also discovered the occasional glass of red wine in the evening in my diet plan - what more could you want? And because I'm getting in shape and losing weight, my conscience remains clear when I don't want to miss out on little things like my favourite pretzels for breakfast. Shortly before our annual skiing holiday, I ask nutrition expert Schröder for a few more tips - and I'm amazed. "Eat enough carbohydrates at altitude," he advises, "the increased number of accidents on the third day of your holiday is also due to the fact that many skiers' glycogen stores are completely empty and they are no longer able to perform." Therefore: "Carbohydrates at lunchtime and a piece of cake in the afternoon would be good." But I think so too.
Eighth week
I haven't told anyone, but I've been planning for weeks to turn my skiing holiday into a small training camp. The conditions are ideal. Every morning I do my laps in the hotel pool for just under half an hour - breaststroke and crawl. After a day's skiing, it's back to work: I put my legs up for an hour, then my inner bastard sleeps soundly, and I actually find the motivation to get on the ergometer - three times this week for an hour each with intervals. The other hotel guests shuffling to the sauna in their bathing costumes give me an astonished look. I experience the same phenomenon when I go for a run, only it's the après-skiers stranded in the "Heuboda" who are clutching their Hefeweizen. I, on the other hand, disappear into the snow-covered valley between Gaschurn and Partenen in the Austrian Montafon. The sky is crystal clear, the rising moon is so bright that it casts shadows, the last of the sunlight is fading on the mountain peaks. It could be like this every day. A little side note: I realise that you can hardly eat a healthier, more balanced and tastier diet than in a decent hotel. My proof: despite a sumptuous breakfast buffet, afternoon snack and five-course evening meal, I come home from my skiing holiday weighing 75.3 kilograms.
Tenth week
There it is, the setback. Maybe I overdid it a bit during my ski training camp? In any case, a veritable cold tore a real hole in my training programme - a week of doing nothing. On the other hand, a feeling that I thought had been lost for a long time comes back into my consciousness: I'm annoyed that I can't train. Not because my training plan or my nutrition programme are getting mixed up - I miss the pleasant feeling of moving and exerting myself. As I write these lines, I'm looking forward to several things: firstly, my weight has continued to drop despite the week of illness and the "75 smooth" is in sight. Secondly, I can train again and am looking forward to the eleventh, twelfth and all subsequent weeks. My conclusion of these ten weeks with a training and nutrition plan: I have rarely got through the winter better and fitter. And I would never have thought that losing weight could be so delicious. My advice: give it a try!
You will find the most important tips in the PDF download below.
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