Jim, I'm gonna borrow that bet with a riding buddy down here. We've been discussing this topic almost every ride this fall. And, we have the Assault on Mt. Mitchell on our radar in the spring so kilo's gotta go. I like the $/lb missed angle.
Big fat FAIL today. Baby shower for my boss with wayyyy too much "bad" stuff. *sigh* Tomorrow's another day (And tonight is a brick WKO so that will help...)
Chris, honestly I have a different opinion and perspective on this. But that's for another thread (as is Kim's comment, sorry Kim I don't mean that in a bad way, just keeping things organized here since I plan to bump this in a few months when it becomes highly relevant to a bunck of folks "in-season").
Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for this thread. It motivated me to actually start logging my food and paying attention to what goes in my mouth this week. I have been using myfitnesspal- I like the makeover they have done on their app. I have lost about 65 pounds since I started doing triathlons a few years ago, but I have held my ground at a certain weight for about the last 1.5 years, believing that I could never weigh less than I did in high school. Seeing the hard numbers and body comp of others (I am WAY over an ideal body comp for a woman, but convince myself that size 6 jeans are the perfect measure...), I feel motivated to give it another try at permanently achieving a better race day weight. So thanks to everyone and I will keep reading this thread with interest!
On Tim's note about motivational sayings, I always had this one posted on my old fridge: "Don't reward yourself with food; you're not a dog."
Ugh. THANK YOU! I am up 25# since joining EN. Depression + injury + just plain old food addiction issues = MOOOOO.
I have rededicated myself to my purpose of getting to my healthiest version of me. I am down 10# since eliminating oil and sugar from my diet (refined, white stuff - natural sugars such as fruit are OK). And I get my oil from avodaco and nuts/seeds, so I am good there.
I essentially went Engine2 and stopped being a vegan junk food junkie.
I am on a journey to plantastic health! I need to be very accountable as for me I have a serious addiction to sugar. I just cannot stop there is no moderation with me on this. So, it had to go. I also gave up alcohol (not a huge drinker to begin with) but more importantly than what I have given up... I have added tons of whole real foods to my diet.
Long gone are my days of vegan crap foods... now I am eating real whole veggies and beans and whole grains instead of oreos and frozen foods.
My goals are 10# by Christmas and to be to my goal weight by my 140.6 race in September. That is a total of 40# in 9.5 months. I am giving it a real honest go this time.
@Matt- if I'm way off target here, please share some insight. My approach to this kind of thing has come up short in the past, so I'm more than open to any tips or strategies that you may have in mind.
I am late to this thread as I was on sabbatical in October and November.
Matt Fitzgerald's "Racing Weight" book is a good read. He offers a simple way to log intake without counting every single calorie, evidence based guidelines for timing of meals and when to maximize carbohydrate vs protein, how to fuel workouts, as well as sample diets of many world class athletes. He also talks about how to figure out what your optimal race weight might be, and how to recognize 'brain hunger'- bad, from 'stomach hunger'- good.
What particularly struck me was how little top endurance athletes actually eat compared to what I eat and I'm not all that big.
Using some of the guidelines in the book I changed the amounts of protein and carbohydrate I eat at various times of day as well as the size of the servings. I cant say there has been a huge change in my weight or body composition ( I have only been doing it for a couple of months and Christmas was basically a bingefest) but I can say I feel like I have more energy during the day, fewer cravings in the evening, and sleep better.
Can you elaborate on what you're getting above and beyond what we got in the webinars from your perspective? Pretty pricey but then again it seems like it would be money well spent if that knowledge helps us throughout our lives...
To be completely honest, I was not super happy with my Core Diet plan considering the amount I paid. I really like the overall idea behind it, but found it just didn't translate into something that could work. The daily calorie estimates were WAY below anything I've gotten from other sources, and the macro breakdown seemed even more unattainable. In the example, she had me "borrowing" carbs from another day to fuel one day where there was just a 1.5 hr ride, which is definitely not a super demanding workout in the scheme of Ironman training. I just couldn't figure out a way to make a full week come together in terms of their guidelines, and when I asked questions I was not given any clear answer. Another thing I didn't like is that with the amount they have you fueling with gels, sports drink, recovery drink, etc, more than 50% of my calories each day would be coming from those sources, which I personally don't think is overall the healthiest way to live. I really don't intend to just be bashing them here, as I know a lot of people have had great success with them and I really do like their webinars, I was just disappointed personally.
I'm really glad this got bumped. I was intending to bump it when I had a moment. I'm now in the OS, and per my initial plan, I'm focused on getting my body comp back in line, then taking it to the next level.
I am still logging EVERYTHING I eat as I have for 4 years, but I'm back to weighing more things to make sure I'm being accurate. It makes a difference for my eating behavior.
I got a Withings scale for Christmas and have moved to daily weighing after a year of weekly weighing. The Withings scale automatically posts my weight and BF% to my TrainingPeaks dashboard so there's no "I won't log that weight today, I'll wait to tomorrow".
Elizabeth, I am only into my 2nd week. The race weight that I was given seems attainable (I have been there before and that was my best racing year), but the limited amount of calories is really hard to meet. I am going to reserve my judgement for about a month to see if I can figure it out. I am tracking my food on MyFitnessPal and have noticed after a week that I am to low in protein. Gonna reach out on the boards to see if I can get some suggestions, because I eat so clean, I am not sure where to take out stuff to get more protein in. I am paying the 30.00 fee for a membership to their sight because I felt that I would need guidance.
I'm not going to be critical of Core Diet or any other nutritionist but I believe in general people tend to over think this.... Its not that complicated and its math.... Calories in vs. Calories used..... Simple... There is NO magic special forumal of what to eat and when.... I dont want to debate paleo vs vegan or high carb vs high fat because I dont think it really matters... Yes maybe you can change or manipulate your metabolism with one thing or the other but its miniscule... Its all about how much you put into your body and how much you burn... The Kenyans and Ethiopians athletes consume large amounts of sugar(somewhere in the neighborhood of 25% of daily calories but they dont eat too many calories)....
The one common theme thru all debates would be to eat less processed food.... I try to keep processed food as long training days and racing only.... Keeping them out of my normal 1hr or less wko's....
@Brenda..... I doubt very much you are protein deficient.... there is protein in everything...
As most people know I am vegan and a big proponent of plant based diet.... Over 3 years now and its nothing special , I dont feel any better or any worse... Its not slowing me down any and I have been very pleased with my results over the 3 years.... I have been tested for deficiencies and there are none except IRON but that was low pre-plant based....
I recently posted some info on the board about Hillary Biscay who is a vegan and winner of Ultraman Hawaii this year.
And a few days ago posted about this couple over 60yrs old who ran 366 consecutive marathons on nothing but raw fruits and vegetables. http://www.runningrawaroundaustralia.com/
Back to how to hold youself accountable.... Do the math... Figure out how much you need... Wanna lose ... Eat less (but not before, during , or after your wko's).... Its not magic!
I plan to continue my education by reading the book racing weight... I have read most sports nutrition books and try to keep an open mind... I have also started weighing myself daily and put it into TP...... Might look into one of those new scales that does it auto-matically.....
Keeping it simple is king! Probably the biggest message in the book is to avoid processed foods, something we strive for in our household. I would love to get your perspective on the book. He gives some specific advice for plant based athletes.
Tim I agree that the math is simple: calories in vs calories out in the long run.
BUT - there are diets that make the "calories in" part easier or harder....and that is (I think) fair to acknowledge even if you are (like me) a skeptic of all the magic diets.
To answer the question above, I think the most valid thing I got out of the consult, was the timing of my intake and how much for me to take in based on what I want to loose. I am targeting .5lbs per week, which equates to a -250 calorie. I think that you can do the same without paying for the consult. I did it because it was a gift from a client.
I have significant impulse control issues with regard to a lot of things in my life, including food and drink. What works for me is a very simple approach to eating and drinking — because if it isn't very simple, I tend to implode. I had several sessions with a sports nutritionist. I filled out a food/drink diary for a month to establish what types of things I like to eat etc. The nutritionist gave me a standard daily menu for a rest day with what to eat and the portions — 6 meals a day, breakfast, lunch, dinner, with morning, afternoon, and evening snacks. Within each of these meals, he gave me a list of items with specified portions for me to choose from. So all I do is choose something from a list — if I stick to the list, I lose around 1 pound a week. With training, I additionally fuel during and after each wko to replace the calories burnt according to my Garmin Swim, my Power Tap and Garmin xt310.
I find myself in a dilemna about this. I'm right at what my past race weight has been and I'm achieving it by eating good, whole foods and cutting out wheat, bread, pasta, etc along with most sugars. I feel great doing this and my energy level is much more consistent. However, I've found that only fueling the OS workouts with water works fine, except for the Saturday bike/run. After that, even with a protein, strawberry recovery shake, I feel like ass. A simple gatorade does the trick to get me back on track (whether it's right away or whether I wait 5-6 hours). I've tried fueling the workouts, but that really shifted my energy levels during the week and my cravings for crap food/sugar. I also noticed that fueling workouts led to a 3 lb weight gain (not real significant in the OS), but more so a difference in body image--puffy looking. I think I'm going to avoid the workout fueling and really focus on proper recovery fueling.
What has worked for me for saturdays is a banana and a teaspoon of coconut oil (and water) 15-30 minutes before start, half a bottle of perform (mix 3 scoops in 24 oz) before start and half a bottle each 35-45 minutes. Seems to do the trick, but I am thinking of adding 10g of BCAA pre workout as well. Endurox R4 for recovery.
I was inspired by the thread and dusted off the old "lose it" account this morning. Had it really been three years? iPhone app in hand, I am ready to rock. 165 lbs by April 16th or public shame. Any friends out there?
Thanks for checking in!! When I got injured I stopped daily weighing but just resumed this week. It's fully how even the littlest setback can be used as an excuse to relax on the eating front. But overall I've been pretty consistent.
Its March 1st ... time to get serious about getting down to Racing Weight. I feel like I've just been dabbling with the notion of losing weight and halfassing it ... and then ... I gained a couple of pounds .. YIKES! Time to get serious.
Comments
Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for this thread. It motivated me to actually start logging my food and paying attention to what goes in my mouth this week. I have been using myfitnesspal- I like the makeover they have done on their app. I have lost about 65 pounds since I started doing triathlons a few years ago, but I have held my ground at a certain weight for about the last 1.5 years, believing that I could never weigh less than I did in high school. Seeing the hard numbers and body comp of others (I am WAY over an ideal body comp for a woman, but convince myself that size 6 jeans are the perfect measure...), I feel motivated to give it another try at permanently achieving a better race day weight. So thanks to everyone and I will keep reading this thread with interest!
On Tim's note about motivational sayings, I always had this one posted on my old fridge: "Don't reward yourself with food; you're not a dog."
I have rededicated myself to my purpose of getting to my healthiest version of me. I am down 10# since eliminating oil and sugar from my diet (refined, white stuff - natural sugars such as fruit are OK). And I get my oil from avodaco and nuts/seeds, so I am good there.
I essentially went Engine2 and stopped being a vegan junk food junkie.
I am on a journey to plantastic health! I need to be very accountable as for me I have a serious addiction to sugar. I just cannot stop there is no moderation with me on this. So, it had to go. I also gave up alcohol (not a huge drinker to begin with) but more importantly than what I have given up... I have added tons of whole real foods to my diet.
Long gone are my days of vegan crap foods... now I am eating real whole veggies and beans and whole grains instead of oreos and frozen foods.
My goals are 10# by Christmas and to be to my goal weight by my 140.6 race in September. That is a total of 40# in 9.5 months. I am giving it a real honest go this time.
I am late to this thread as I was on sabbatical in October and November.
Matt Fitzgerald's "Racing Weight" book is a good read. He offers a simple way to log intake without counting every single calorie, evidence based guidelines for timing of meals and when to maximize carbohydrate vs protein, how to fuel workouts, as well as sample diets of many world class athletes. He also talks about how to figure out what your optimal race weight might be, and how to recognize 'brain hunger'- bad, from 'stomach hunger'- good.
What particularly struck me was how little top endurance athletes actually eat compared to what I eat and I'm not all that big.
Using some of the guidelines in the book I changed the amounts of protein and carbohydrate I eat at various times of day as well as the size of the servings. I cant say there has been a huge change in my weight or body composition ( I have only been doing it for a couple of months and Christmas was basically a bingefest) but I can say I feel like I have more energy during the day, fewer cravings in the evening, and sleep better.
Hey Brenda - Very cool!
Can you elaborate on what you're getting above and beyond what we got in the webinars from your perspective? Pretty pricey but then again it seems like it would be money well spent if that knowledge helps us throughout our lives...
Thanks for any insight you can provide.
I am still logging EVERYTHING I eat as I have for 4 years, but I'm back to weighing more things to make sure I'm being accurate. It makes a difference for my eating behavior.
I got a Withings scale for Christmas and have moved to daily weighing after a year of weekly weighing. The Withings scale automatically posts my weight and BF% to my TrainingPeaks dashboard so there's no "I won't log that weight today, I'll wait to tomorrow".
The one common theme thru all debates would be to eat less processed food.... I try to keep processed food as long training days and racing only.... Keeping them out of my normal 1hr or less wko's....
@Brenda..... I doubt very much you are protein deficient.... there is protein in everything...
As most people know I am vegan and a big proponent of plant based diet.... Over 3 years now and its nothing special , I dont feel any better or any worse... Its not slowing me down any and I have been very pleased with my results over the 3 years.... I have been tested for deficiencies and there are none except IRON but that was low pre-plant based....
I recently posted some info on the board about Hillary Biscay who is a vegan and winner of Ultraman Hawaii this year.
And a few days ago posted about this couple over 60yrs old who ran 366 consecutive marathons on nothing but raw fruits and vegetables.
http://www.runningrawaroundaustralia.com/
Back to how to hold youself accountable.... Do the math... Figure out how much you need... Wanna lose ... Eat less (but not before, during , or after your wko's)....
Its not magic!
I plan to continue my education by reading the book racing weight... I have read most sports nutrition books and try to keep an open mind... I have also started weighing myself daily and put it into TP...... Might look into one of those new scales that does it auto-matically.....
BUT - there are diets that make the "calories in" part easier or harder....and that is (I think) fair to acknowledge even if you are (like me) a skeptic of all the magic diets.
What works for me is a very simple approach to eating and drinking — because if it isn't very simple, I tend to implode.
I had several sessions with a sports nutritionist.
I filled out a food/drink diary for a month to establish what types of things I like to eat etc.
The nutritionist gave me a standard daily menu for a rest day with what to eat and the portions — 6 meals a day, breakfast, lunch, dinner, with morning, afternoon, and evening snacks.
Within each of these meals, he gave me a list of items with specified portions for me to choose from.
So all I do is choose something from a list — if I stick to the list, I lose around 1 pound a week.
With training, I additionally fuel during and after each wko to replace the calories burnt according to my Garmin Swim, my Power Tap and Garmin xt310.
#2 helped me lose a bunch of lbs last OS. (Though it was a bigger size coffee saucer).
How is everyone doing?
I'm struggling but staying persistent.
What has worked for me for saturdays is a banana and a teaspoon of coconut oil (and water) 15-30 minutes before start, half a bottle of perform (mix 3 scoops in 24 oz) before start and half a bottle each 35-45 minutes. Seems to do the trick, but I am thinking of adding 10g of BCAA pre workout as well. Endurox R4 for recovery.
I was inspired by the thread and dusted off the old "lose it" account this morning. Had it really been three years? iPhone app in hand, I am ready to rock. 165 lbs by April 16th or public shame. Any friends out there?
Any idea if the KJ (Cal) numbers from TrainerRoad are accurate?
Its March 1st ... time to get serious about getting down to Racing Weight. I feel like I've just been dabbling with the notion of losing weight and halfassing it ... and then ... I gained a couple of pounds .. YIKES! Time to get serious.