Runners that need some nutritional accountability
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I think this thread has been a big help to me. When I started losing weight, I went from 258 lbs to 206 in about 8 months. It seemed easy and steady.
My goal was 200, however. I thought those last pounds would come off as easy as the rest, but it wasn't long before I was back up to 223. For the next 2 years I cycled up and down but never came close to 206, much less my goal.
This thread got me serious about again. Not just motivating me to stick to a deficit, but eat better foods.
I'm freakin' thrilled to say that this morning I weighed in at 203!! Granted a large part of that was the fact that I was dehydrated after last night's tough trail run, but it's the official entry for today.
The work isn't done. I still need to get down to 200... Oh hell, let's say 199... And then successfully maintain that, but now I think I can do it.
@Elise4270 thanks for starting this thread!5 -
@7lenny7 Great job!
It is nice to go to share the ups and downs. And get ideas for healthy snacks/meals.0 -
Wow! @7lenny7 that's great to hear! We're stronger together
I'm glad you shared that. There's Rocky road and Snickers ice cream bars in our freezer. You're making it work, I'm going to stay away from the junk. And I'm so close to getting my weight to trend "not up".
I'm sure those instant pot meals help too.1 -
Hey @Elise4270 - at least your jeans still fit
You'll get back in shape in no time as you get moving again!
Thanks! They sort of fit.
I think I should be back to some running in mid April. Just have to exercise some discipline in the meantime. 1 -
@7lenny7 - Congratulations!! I am in that holding pattern right now. I am up 20 lbs but am no longer gaining, thank goodness. I am really trying to a) eat more (this week not so much) and b) eat better, more protein and good carbs. I am heading to my daughter's in Seattle in the morning and she is on a big protein kick so I am hoping I can just eat what she is. Maybe... she eats a lot of eggs and I have such a hard time with them cause I don't really like them.
@RunsOnEspresso - have you looked at the Pure Protein bars? They carry them at my Costco in a 3 box pack. They aren't my favorites but they are ok. I do like the peanut butter caramel the best but they don't include that one in the Costco pack any more. The box says gluten free but I don't know how to tell from the ingredients, I don't see anything wheat based in them though. They are 200 calories with 16gm carbs and 20gm protein.
@Elise4270 - I agree with @7lenny7 about this thread. It has given me so many food ideas and ways to get more protein, to say nothing of the recipes. I want to try some of the ones @rachempoo posted and see if my husband likes them since he is Hungarian!2 -
Long run right before dinner tonight so eating light is easy as I typically don't want much for several hours. But I know I'll be hangry tomorrow! We've got a bunch of chicken breasts in the fridge and will probably freeze them with marinade for easy sous vide later in the week. They take 2 hours from frozen but no need to defrost, and are convenient on running days. From fresh they take an hour.2
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@shanaber I have had those. They're ok, not my fav.0
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I'm heading back to work Monday after 6 weeks off. I head back part time and progress as tolerated.
I threw together a instant pot meal anticipating that I'll not be up to cooking with the added work hours. It's a chicken vegetable soup with mustard greens. I can't say I've cooked with the greens before... I just wanted something green in it. I had thought of a pho type dish.
Dh is making a chili soup. Idk what it really is. He had a vegetable soup with ground beef at a meeting last week and was inspired by it. I just don't care for soups with ground beef.
Between the two dishes and the 2hours/ 350$ we spent at Walmart I should be set for the entire week. Nothing tempting in there. The worst is pom juice, and lunch meat. and brats. But they had no kraut
dh did get ice cream but I have some halo to keep me out of it.
What's your plan for the week?0 -
@Elise4270 We have chicken, smokies and eggs in the fridge so those will be supper all week. I'm leaning towards a stir fry one night. I skip the bun with the smokies so they do less caloric damage.
Lunch will be leftovers or frozen. We have a freezer full.
Breakfast will be all bran, yogurt and fruit all week. Tastes so good I always feel like I'm getting away with something eating it.
I have protein bars for when the rungries attack. Gotta remember to throw some into my purse for at work to keep me out of the candy dish though.1 -
ugh. my belly is sticking out. This is not good.
Last night I made a butternut squash recipe from a Persian cookbook. Basically roast chunks of squash with a z'atar paste, then toss over a greek yoghurt/mint/ground coriander/lemon dressing. I threw in some chorizo and halloumi for a flavour change.
I didn't cook the squash long enough so it was a bit bland. But I reckon the leftovers will work well as a soup - bit of butter, and onion, toss in the leftover squash with the rest of the spice mix and a bouillon and we're done.
back to having salads for lunch as the weather is warming up. Starting to be interested in cooking again and might try and aim for one new recipe every couple of weeks. Certainly I have plenty of cookbooks to choose from.
Made granola as well yesterday. I don't know why because I never eat the stuff, but it was quite nice and took time to eat with a bit of yoghurt and a chopped up apple.
the cinema beckons tonight. I need to avoid the Evil Sugar Empire else the doughnuts will have their wicked way with me.2 -
Sigh. Another weekend of basically maintenance eating, which means another week of pounding down the same 5lbs. Not super bummed about it, just tired of this ebb and flow. I guess letting in more social eating really makes this much harder.
I'm super ready for warm weather, which will probably mean a hike on the weekend in addition to my long runs.1 -
What's your plan for the week?
My usual breakfast of 4 scrambled eggs with diced onions, diced red peppers, shredded "power greens" (kale, red chard, spinach), and either feta cheese or diced ham, all sauteed in a little coconut oil. 420 calories
Lunch is usually carrots & hummus, 2 hard boiled eggs, honeycrisp apple and a big orange. Since I've now bought a total of 54 cans of Kirkland canned chicken I'll start substituting that in every other day. I also have some Siggi's at home I need to bring in. I try for 500-550 calories for lunches.
Supper and snacks, there's the real struggle. My older son comes home tomorrow and will being making some pheasant & wild rice soup for him. He also wants steak and shrimp, and also wants to try the new Cajun seafood restaurant near our house.
After being so excited about 203 pounds, my weight bounced up to 208 the next day. *kitten*!! It only makes me more resolved to get it to 199.
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@7lenny7 Breakfast sounds awesome!
I want pizza. On average I've done good that last 10 days or so. So I'm sure that why I think I want high calorie food.
My weight is finally steadying. I just have to hold on to that.
I think I'll give in to a frozen pizza. Half is 350 calories. And if I eat the whole thing, I should be able to manage.1 -
My plan for the week is protein. I didn’t run yesterday because of work (walked about 5 miles though with monster hills!) and today is my daughters day off so we are hanging out. I hope to get a good run in tomorrow. One of my walks was to the grocery store for bread and bananas. Since my daughter is home so little there is not much food in the house. I also got some cheese and crackers but forgot carrots. I had the Costco chicken tortilla soup and leftover salad (arugula, quinoa and chicken) for lunch. I couldn’t figure out what I wanted for dinner so I had more soup with extra chicken. I was good on protein but had way too much sodium for the day. I am cooking chicken and dumplings on Wednesday and then we are out Thursday night and through the weekend.
I read this on the Map My Run blog today - good information but not really anything earth shattering. Things we should all keep in mind though as we try to lose a few pounds....
http://blog.mapmyrun.com/runners-can-drop-last-five-pounds/?utm_source=mmf&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=MMRun_Newsletter_20180313&os_ehash=55@sfmc:112255232 -
I have a pukey kid in my house. I... don't deal well with that. There is a decent chance I won't eat much for the next week due to sympathy nausea...2
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I've been super janky. Just have to stay away from cereal. I'm still holding steady, but no real losses to report. My long runs are about to get longer and I'll be adding one additional trail to my easy runs during the week as long as weather permits during my son's soccer practice. This will give me some extra calories, but it is so, so hard not to eat them all.2
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My plan is to volume eat. Smaller breakfast (fewer than 400 calories) so I don't get hangry, then lunch around 600 calories. Today is two Special K crustless quiche, mini bagel with 1/3 fat cream cheese and pumpkin butter. 150g each of cucumber and carrot. I'm falling apart in the afternoons after work/before dinner so aiming to have food in my belly. I'm making bad choices when my stomach gets to call the shots, so I'm not letting it get to that point. Once it does, it's ALL the food, and specifically ALL the cereal.1
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Clearance Christmas candy, specifically chocolate, has been my downfall lately. I was doing good limiting myself to one piece per day but sometimes it becomes much more...like last night. I did throw out all the marginally good stuff I bought, but I'm not throwing out the really good stuff. I'll be stronger about limiting myself to a single piece per day.
And I must admit, I've grabbed a handful or two of cereal from time to time though my overall consumption is WAY down since Lent started. I do have 4 big bags of Quaker granola in the pantry and that *kitten* don't eat itself so I'll have to deal with that eventually. Maybe make it my long run snack? Nope, already got caramel waffles (Stroopwafel) for that. I stocked up when Aldi was selling them. Just like the honey stinger waffles but much cheaper.
At least I'm getting more running in which will hopefully offset the calories.
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The calorie "deficit" got me. Or its the steroid shot wearing off. I know that makes a lot of folks hungry, but it just the opposite for me. So now that's worn off I'm super snacky.
I ate pizza and Ben and Jerry's last night after already have hit my calorie goal. I'm not going to be able to get back in my work pants comfortably anytime soon.
@shanaber thanks for sharing the link. You're right it wasn't anything new, but it's a good article offering reinforcement. More we hear it, the more likely it'll sink in and become habit, I hope
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I've been bouncing between 152 > 158 for weeks. It's Thursday and I'm down to 153 and hoping I can hold it together this weekend to not spike up again. I have a 10-11 mile long run planned for Saturday and need to meal plan my weekends I think. I'm usually a little looser, but I'm not sure I have that leeway now.2
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Last friday: 152.8 Today: 152.4. Did a nice job keeping it dialed in this week, even with a crazy Monday with a work lunch that included salsa and chips and mini chili rellenos.
Just gotta keep it straight this weekend. Long run tomorrow, aiming for 9-11 miles on trail, so I'll need some extra, but have to avoid hitting the cereal late. Perhaps I'll plan a nice steak dinner to look forward to. Steak. Baked potatoes. Broccoli. Hmmm. I think that's gonna happen.4 -
Great job there @fitoverfortymom! Mmm, steak!
Well now that my PT visits are over and I'm feeling stronger, I have the desire to stick to my "do better" goal. I think I'm on to building glute and adding leg muscles. Hooray!
I'll look to getting that bosu ASAP. Squats are hard on it, but I think it's paying off.1 -
I am doing great on running days and coming in way over on non-running days resulting in maintenance. I guess I'm okay with this until after my half marathon. Once that race is past I think I will work on increasing running days. Or go back to walking on non-running days since it will be warmer and the sidewalks ice-free. And also light in the evenings after the kids go to bed. Or a combination...2
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I think I need to put calories, macros, active calories, weight in a spreadsheet and track it week to week. This mfp isn't giving me the info I really need. It looks like Garmin has the data, I just can't view it the way I want. I need some trend data.
question if I keep at a slight calorie deficit/maybe even maintenance, but keep my protein high, can I gain muscle (with resistance training)?
I tried to think this out but found I was just caught in circular reasoning.Iam doing great on running days and coming in way over on non-running days resulting in maintenance. ....
I think that's a good place to be when activly training. When's the half?0 -
Well i studied my trend data in a Google sheet. I can't make much out of it just yet other than weight is up with carbs and down with protein. Protein is down when carbs are up, and vice versa.
I'll have to study on it some more. I am looking to find that sweet spot where i can hold, or gradually lose and increase activity time. IDK if its much use... Least while my calorie expenditure is fairly limited... or is it? hmmm, perhaps i can add more cardio time. no no no.... I'm adding muscle during rehab time.. stay focused ding dong, one goal at a time.
Heres the sheet if anyone wants to look at their data. Feel free to copy my tab and add your data over it. Then you wont have to remake the chart, unless you make a better one. 0 -
There is some circular reasoning to what I have encountered on that question Elise. In technical terms, you can’t gain mass while on a deficit. In anecdotal evidence, people get stronger and get better muscle definition while on a deficit/cut. So, if that isn’t “building” muscle, then what is it? I am a firm believer in strength training, and even if my weight doesn’t change, I am happier with body composition while strength training. And often times my weight is more forgiving with poor diet if strength training.2
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@Elise4270 I think lifting at maintenance or very very slight deficit is how you recomp isn't it? It's slower than cutting but gives better results is my understanding.
Half is in three weeks! Once it's over I think I'm going to switch to an intermediate 10K or 15K plan since the rest of my racing season is a mix of those distances. I'd like to work on getting faster, which is where I think weight loss will really help me.0 -
@Elise4270 I think lifting at maintenance or very very slight deficit is how you recomp isn't it? It's slower than cutting but gives better results is my understanding.
Half is in three weeks! Once it's over I think I'm going to switch to an intermediate 10K or 15K plan since the rest of my racing season is a mix of those distances. I'd like to work on getting faster, which is where I think weight loss will really help me.
Yay! I love the Half and shorter distances.
Thanks for the info. Its all new to me. I haven't spent any time studying body building. Maybe I should...0 -
There's tons of info on recomp on the Maintenance boards. I lurk there in the hopes that I'll be there some day... LOL2
