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Arizona Doctor Discovers Triathlons as the Ultimate Weight
Loss Program - Loses Sixty Pounds.
I never intended to get fat! I am not exactly sure how it
happened, but there I was a 6’2” thirty-four year old pushing
close to 270 pounds. My cholesterol was high, my triclecrides
were high, and my blood pressure was high. I was on a direct
course for developing diabetes, increased risk of heart disease,
increased risk of cancer, and a ton of other diseases related
to obesity.
It gets worse. I am a doctor, a sports chiropractor to be
exact and my office is located inside a health club. Unfortunately,
like many other doctors and other health professional out
there, I was not practicing what I was preaching.
Living in sunny Arizona, land of the endless summer, sooner
or later you have to go to the lake, the water park, or you
are invited to a cookout and pool party. That is when all
my excuses caught up to me. Despite knowing the health risks
associated with being overweight, it was the feeling of low
self-esteem and embarrassment that finally drove me to action.
So there I was, a doctor, ready to get the weight off. I hate
to admit it; I tried some of those quick fix gimmick supplements.
I tried a bunch of the fad diets. I bought a bunch of books
from all the “weight loss experts”. Sure I would lose a little
weight, but I could never stick with the diet for any length
of time. When I went off the diet I would gain the weight
right back. Then tried working my butt off in the gym, running
almost every day. That got real boring, and I found that running
everyday is not the best thing to do when you weigh close
to 270 pounds.
There I was again, still no direction, no focus, no drive,
nothing to guide me. Frustrated about not getting any results
and what to do, I thought I was just going to have to accept
that I was overweight and deal with it. I gave it a real effort
and it did not work.
During all of this, the chiropractor that I bought my office
from mentioned that he was beginning a weight loss program
at his office, which was based on his experience with triathlon
training. That got my attention. I really wanted to give the
program a try, but I lived too far from his office to come
in on a regular basis. So I began researching the sport on
the Internet.
The more I read about triathlons and triathlon training, the
more sense it made to me as a way to help me lose weight.
If you are going to do an event that involves swimming, cycling,
and running you obviously are going to have to train that
way. The idea about jumping into the pool for an exercise
swim was not something I was looking forward to, and the last
thing I wanted to do was to put on a swimsuit and workout.
Then I remembered how painful my knees were from running around,
and swimming would be easier on my joints.
I also began reading about using heart rate monitors and the
affects of exercising at different heart rates. Many of the
authors of the books on heart zone training were triathletes
themselves, and they gave numerous examples on how using heart
zone training you can track your progress and maximize your
exercise program.
The more I searched the triathlon Internet sites, the more
I became interested in the sport. The people who competed
in triathlons looked really fit, it was inspiring. That is
when I decided to take my commitment to losing weight to the
next level. Weighing close to 270 pounds, I signed up for
my first triathlon. Five months away, I was going to do a
sprint race, which was a 500m swim, a 15-mile bike, then and
a 3-mile run. This was a much shorter distance than many triathlon
races, however at the time I could not do even one of the
events let alone all of them back-to-back.
Using a combination of what I learned about heart zone training
and from the triathlon Internet sites, I started my program.
I my alternated exercise sessions between swimming, cycling,
and running. I also did about an hour of weight training a
week. This really added a variety to the exercise program,
and it never got boring. One day I would just bike, then next
maybe run 10 minutes, do a weight session, then bike for 25
minutes. Then the next day I would just swim. The next day
I would swim then follow it up with a run. My knees were holding
up very well with little, if any pain. At the same time I
started eating better, no real diet, just common sense stuff,
 avoiding
the sugars and white breads.
The use of the heart rate monitor became a very useful tool.
It kept me from working too hard or too easy. The monitor
I was using, the Polar 610, also came with software. I was
able to download all of my exercise sessions into a computer.
Then I was able to objectively document my exercise sessions.
The software was able to track my calories burned during exercise,
my average heart rate, hours spent exercising per week, and
much more. After every exercise session actually looked forward
to downloading my session to see how I did.
It also allowed me to exercise at different heart rates. One
day I would run at 70% of my maximum heart rate for 10 minutes,
then bike at 80% of my maximum heart rate for 10 minutes,
then go back to running at 70% for another 10 minutes. The
next day I would just bike for 40 min. But I would again exercise
at different heart rates, 10 min at 70%, and 5 minutes at
80%, and 10 minutes at 75 %, and 5 minutes at 80%, and then
10 minutes at 70%. This was a fun way to exercise and I actually
began to look forward to exercising, the whole process was
less boring.
I kept up with this type of training for five months. On the
day of my first triathlon, I was forty pounds lighter.
Some how, some way, I did it. I finished my first triathlon,
and as crazy as it sounds I really enjoyed myself. I was feeling
good about my accomplishment, but I still had some serious
weight to lose. So I found another triathlon race six months
later, signed up for it and continued training. The weight
just kept coming off and coming off.
At the time of my second race, eleven months after learning
about triathlons, I had lost sixty pounds.
It seemed like every week one of my patients, whom I had not
seen for months, would come in for a treatment. The reactions
were always the same, doc what the heck happened to you, you
look like a totally different person!
I felt like a different person too, I was running without
knee pain, I was happier at work, my relationship with my
family was better, I was no longer embarrassed to go to a
pool party or the water park, in fact I looked forward to
them.
My patients and the members of the health club where my office
was located were constantly asking me about my weight loss.
I remember one of the gym members walking up to my desk and
looking at my before and after pictures. He pointed to my
fat picture and said, “That is me” then he pointed to my fit
picture and said, “That is the way I want to look”. Wow, what
a great feeling, I could not believe it.
As I am sitting here writing this article, it has been a year
since my first triathlon. Just a few weeks ago, I raced in
my third race and I actually managed to finish second in my
age group.
As a result of getting into triathlons, not only do I have
a new body, I have a new life.
Dr. Jeffrey Banas is a Chiropractic Sports Physician practicing
in Mesa, AZ. He continues to compete in triathlons and has
kept his weight off for over a year now. If you would like
to contact Dr. Banas, he can be reached at his office at 480-633-6837,
or by visiting his web site at www.personal-weight-loss-help.com
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