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From Overweight to Racing Weight...

Thursday, 23 November 2017 23:10

Three triathletes share their journeys from overweight to racing weight—and the nutritional tools that helped them reach their goals.

By Liz Hitchens (triathlete.com)

A last-ditch attempt to avoid surgery

When a friend unexpectedly lost her fiancé, despite being young and in great shape, Shad McGaha scheduled a checkup with his doctor. McGaha had been overweight his entire life, so when his doctor saw how high his blood pressure was, he suggested gastric bypass surgery. “It really caught me off-guard—I knew I was heavy, but I had never really thought about it,” he says. “My wife and I discussed it, and we asked him if he would give me some time to try on my own first.”

It was the motivation he needed to join Weight Watchers and buy an elliptical machine—he could barely tackle a 20-minute workout on day one. Elliptical workouts graduated to running workouts which led to his first half-marathon, marathon and—after watching Ironman Hawaii on TV—triathlon. “This sport gets in your blood,” he says. “Each time I swore I was done, it didn’t take long before I was looking for another race.” He realized that signing up for a challenge ...

kept him motivated, so, at age 33, he set the goal of finishing 40 half-marathon (or longer) races before he turns 40, which he’ll complete this November at Ironman Arizona if everything goes to plan. “My goal of Kona may never come true [by qualification],” he says, “but it does not stop me from entering the lottery every year.”   READ MORE