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Monday, November 29, 2010

Calories, Trails, and Training

I've really been watching my caloric intake the last few weeks.  As you know, I haven't had much luck losing any weight this entire year, and I've suspected it's due to an increased appetite, late night snacking, and morning donuts.  I'm proud to announce that I've cut out the late night snacks completely.  It's been about three weeks since I've snacked after dinner!!

Getting back to calories, I've been trying to maintain a lower calorie intake and have been fairly successful (minus Thanksgiving Weekend).  During the work week, I've been drinking coffee alone for breakfast (no more donuts or other pastries), and I've been bringing lunches, mostly some variant of noodles.  Then I tend to have a large lunch.  Yeah, it goes against the recommended method of a large breakfast, medium lunch, and small dinner.  However, I know myself, and even when I eat heavier early, my body still wants a full dinner.  It's working well, and I've lost about 5 lbs total in the last couple of weeks. 

Since many other fitbloggers post weekly weigh-ins, I've decided to start doing the same.  SO to kick it off, here was my weight this morning: 207.0 lbs.

I'm hoping to hit below 200 before the year ends, then try and keep lowering it until I'm around 175-180.  Thinking back, that seems to be my ideal weight.

Yesterday, I hit the NCR Trail and did a long and slow 6 miles.  I ended up heading out later than I should, and it was fairly dark when I finished.  I didn't see a single person the last 20 minutes or so.  The run was great, I did a 1.5/1 run/walk and started out at an 11:30 mile, but slowed it down to an average of 12:42 finishing in 1:16:10.  Slow and steady!  My heal felt fine, however, I could feel some weakness in my hamstring tendon, which I hurt 5 weeks ago during the Army 10 Miler.  It wasn't painful, but enough to notice.  I'll keep an eye on it, and if it starts to act up, I'll adjust my training. 

Speaking of my training, I'll post my marathon training, which officially starts this week, later today.  My training calendar (modified from this) is too big to post, so I've got to create an excel spreadsheet that is easy on the eyes. 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and is ready for the Christmas season!

6 comments:

Unknown said...

good luck with the weight loss endeavors. I found that for me it helps to focus on one day at a time aiming at a calorie deficit. I was trying to lose 1 lb a week, so that equates to a 500 calorie deficit each day. Adjust from there for a faster or slower weight loss. Good luck!

d.a.r. said...

Congrats on giving up snacking and those first 5 lbs! Good luck with the rest of it--you are brave going into the holidays!

GISrunner said...

Looking forward to seeing your marathon training plan. I've put any thoughts of a marathon on hold until at least Fall 2011 at the earliest. I'm just not a consistent enough runner & don't have a big enough mileage base to take on that much training yet without being injured. Good luck to you, though ... that's exciting!

I've been kind of a lazy blogger lately since I haven't been running much (in response to your newer post, I use Google Reader & love it). But if you'll check out my blog you'll see a few posts about my own weight loss journey. I've been battling my weight for about 23 years (since freshman year of college).

I normally wouldn't put this in a comment on someone else's blog, because I think it's kind of an icky thing to hijack somebody else's blog to do that, but I didn't see an email address to send you a personal msg. But if you'll take a few minutes to check out my website at http://dbh3.bodybyvi.com, you'll see some info about the products that have helped me finally get control of my weight. I finish my 90 day challenge tomorrow & have lost 16 lbs & well over 12.5 inches overall (will do measurements again in the morning). That means I'm now wearing 2 sizes smaller in clothes (from a 16 to 12, & am *thisclose* to a 10!).

If you want to take this out of your blog & email me at gisrunner@gmail.com, that's fine. I'm sorry for passing this info along this way, but it really, really works! I believe in it with all my heart & am making the progress to prove it!

James said...

No problem with your posting. I'll take a look at it when I get home. Blocked at work (like about 60% of the internet). Wise of you to not rush into marathon training. I weighed my options a lot before deciding my body could handle it.

GISrunner said...

Thanks, James ... just now had an opportunity to check back into your blog. So sorry to hear about your toe pain! It's tough dealing with these constant aches & pains. My right heel's still bothering me & it's certainly not from running as I haven't done any in the last 3 weeks :-(

Sigh ... hope it heals & feels better soon!

Annie said...

What time do you usually eat dinner and go to bed? I am having trouble with the late night snacking? What have you found that helps? Mom suggests drinking a cup of hot tea instead. If I am busy typing reports, I am less likely to eat because my hands are busy doing something, and I know I can't take breaks, but I don't want to be doing that every night.