Feb 19 2009
Progressing as planned!
Took a whole minute off my 5k today. 27:24. I did the first mile in 8:03, and the last 3/4 mile at 7:34 pace. I think. Everything was a little blurry at that point. I’ll do some longer distance this week, and then next Thursday try for 26 minutes. I’m pretty confident that I can hit 25 minutes within 3 weeks, but we’ll see how that goes.
I either need to take a little more time between waking up and working out, or I need to just hold off on the coffee until after I’ve run. “Coffee slosh” is brutal when you’re trying to set a personal best.
My weight loss seems to have stalled at 7 pounds (I’m at 203 now). I am, however, losing body fat, which really is just as good. I think the disparity is due to strength training. I can’t seem to find an exact figure anywhere, but I’ve heard that muscle weighs two to three times as much by volume as fat, depending on the specific muscle and the person. If anyone knows better, please speak up in the comments!
I figure I have a couple of options to lose the remaining 13 pounds. Just reducing calorie intake would do it eventually, ditto for increasing cardiovascular exercise. Cutting back on the weight training would do it too, at the cost of muscle mass but with the result of a more compact and efficient body composition. If I were going to focus on running or cycling, I think that would be the way to go. But I’m going to start swimming again at some point, which takes a considerable amount of upper body strength. So the only reasonable path to take seems to involve eating less and running more, which totally sucks. Oh well. At my height and build, 190 pounds is exactly where I need to be if I’m going to be a competitive athlete. Also, being 13 pounds lighter would mean 39 fewer pounds of force every time my foot hits the ground while running, and based on Dad’s knee history that is pretty important to me.
Are there any nutritionists in the audience? I’d love some pointers on how to cut back on calories while still getting all the necessary nutrients. What’s a good protein:carb:fat ratio for someone training for a marathon? How many grams of protein should a 200 pound guy trying to lose weight (but not muscle) have daily?
3 responses so far
Did you like those protein bars that I sent? Your Dad seems to really like them. I don’t know the specifics about your dietary needs, but I do know from hanging out at the club that most of the serious athletes seem to need to eat every 2 hours. They say that helps keep the engine burning. To do that and still lose weight, the calorie count needs to be fairly low. Maybe half a protein bar for 100 calories instead of eating the whole bar at once. I’ll ask around and see if I can find you an expert on the nutrition part.
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Colin Reply:
February 20th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Those protein bars were great! It’s hard to find one that has a good balance of taste and nutritional value like that—The most nutritious are usually the grainiest, chewiest, grossest ones.
I usually do try to eat frequently, but I haven’t been eating every two hours like that. I’ll give it a shot. My day usually includes a good size breakfast, protein bars and bananas through the day, and a big dinner. I should probably eat more earlier in the day and less at dinner time, huh?
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Hi Colin, your Dad told me about the site and I think what you guys are doing is pretty awesome, that said…..have you ever heard of the “The Abs Diet” ? It’s a book with a misleading title. It’s not really a diet at all just a healthier way to eat. I’m not a nutritionist or a serious athlete but I’ve found that this book has been a very useful guide for me (and all this exercise/nutrition stuff is kind of a hobby). Anyway, it suggests that you eat 6 times a day and the foods suggested are pretty healthy and you probably already eat some of the foods so it’s super easy to follow. You’re never hungry and you never get that sluggish tired feeling that may come if you restrict your calories too much. As far as how many calories you should consume, I’m clueless on that part. You have to find what works for you. I would suggest evaluating what you are taking in daily now and how active you are, then go from there. You have to know what isn’t working for you before you can determine what will work. I run, weight train, and bike but I’m not sure about a good carb:protein:fat ratio. I’ve never looked that closely. Maybe something for me to research in the future……..take care and keep on training
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