Every winter, when I ride less and eat (and drink) more, I put on a few extra pounds. My ideal racing weight is about 150, and this year I got up to 167. The culprits – Christmas cookies, beer, and potato chips – not to mention the fact that I’m turning 35 in a couple weeks.

Between the new job and the baby, I probably won’t get to ride as much this season as I have in years past, which makes my weight especically critical. With this in mind, I’ve created a spreadsheet to track my daily weight and to keep myself accountable:

My goal is to get to 150lbs by the time Caleb is born, which should be around May 8. This means losing 1.14 pounds per week. To do that, I have to have a daily caloric deficit of about 664 calories. I expect to achieve some of that by forgoing my nightly beer(s) and the rest by cutting out sweets and starchy food. I’m also cutting back on coffee (it makes me hungry) and drinking more water.

In addition to reducing my caloric intake, I’m also ramping up my caloric expenditure by hitting the trainer in the morning before work, and often again in the evening. Hopefully this will soon give way to consistent outdoor riding in the near future.

It would be great if I could just eat and drink all I want, then burn it off with heaps of saddle time, but I’m afraid that may not be an option until I’m retired and my kids are out of college.