Newbie Triathlon Training with 40 lb weight loss goal

Just wondering if any of you have any recommended sites / plans for newbie triathlon training...

Long story short, I've started training from couch -> Sprint Triathlon distance (750m swim, 20km cycle, 5km run - aka 0.47 mile swim, 12.4 mile bike, 3.1 mile run). My goal is to compete in my first sprint tri in May 2011 and weigh 210lbs at the start of next summer in addition to building upper body / back / core strength for waterskiing and wakeboarding.

So far I've cut out junk food / evening snacking and have dropped 15lbs to 250 in about 6 weeks - job / knee injury / baby haven't done my weight any favors in the last couple years, but I've started doing something about it!

I've been bike commuting to work approx 20 km (12.4 miles) per day a few days a week since the end of August and started swimming 500-600 metres at lunch on MWF and doing a fast walk / light job Tues & Thurs at lunch. Started doing some free weights / exercise ball / balance board exercises in the evening. As I drop weight I may drop a swim day and hit the gym at lunch. Basically have approximately an hour for lunch to workout, which isn't a ton of time, but the gym is 100 yards from my office and the pool is about 3/4's of a mile away.

Anyway, just wondering if any of you are aware of good newbie triathlon sites and/or some kind of program / online application where you can enter your daily exercise and food intake that will help you track it and/or come up with a recommended meal plan... something sort of like this... http://www.fitday.com/

The best beginner triathlon site that I've found so far is http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/

Any tips / info / advice will be appreciated!

Have fun, mix it up, find friends or groups to ride, swim, run with, do races with friends, etc. As exercising becomes part of your social life the more active lifestyle becomes easy.

I do a ton of tri's, running and biking.

BT (www.beginnertriathlete.com) is a very good resource site.

Weight lose starts in the kitchen. You should figure out what your BMR is (base metabolic rate) and then go from there, but I'd not worry about it directly. Ends up putting all sorts of crazy pressure on you. Pick some races and train for them. As you get more and more into racing and training, you will lose more and more weight. Best diet tips I've followed are; not to starve yourself, don't eat more than 750cals in a sitting, and shift over to low density foods (potatoes vs fries...)

Try Couch to 5k for your running. 3 days a week for the runing traiing, 3 afternoons for biking, and 2-days for swimming. Don't over-do the training, ease into the distances like the Couch to 5k program suggests. Starting now, you will be in good shape by May for your first event.

^^^ Seam M's suggestions on eating/training are excellent.

Interesting read about Kenyan runners and their diet
http://www.active.com/running/Articl...tm?cmp=16-5276

I followed (loosely) earlier this year "Racing Weight, how to get lean for peak performance" That book is very similar to how the Kenyan's dieting. I did find I needed to bump my protein up a bit as I weight lifting at the same time as endurance training. When i last had my body fat checked in June (via dunk tank), I was 9% and weighed about the same as I have for last 4 years. So I stopped worrying about weight as I'd need to drop muscle to get any lighter.

Like everyone says. Mix it up and make it fun. Make sure you eat enough and up the protein, many smaller meals a day. Get a buddy to do the same thing and keep tabs on eachother for motivation.

I actually had to stop too much cardio and get in the weights more. I was burning off all my muscle.

You're doing everything right so just listen to your body and don't over stress it. The weight will burn off by next year's mini-tri.