Great stuff here, @JohnStark ... keep rolling, ALWAYS and in all things, the first step is the hardest!
Like @Gordon Cherwoniak, I go up and go down ... despite my best intentions, it just happens. My journey has been about learning about Marc and what makes Marc tick ... in my opinion, it is that individualized. With my technical background I gravitate towards "the science of things" ... my chemical engineering background makes me respectful of the laws of physics i.e. conservation of mass, as well as, the laws of thermodynamics (calories, work, and fuel) ... learning/studying/experimenting over the last 3 years my emerging theory is energy, metabolism, and performance is at the microbiology level, specifically in your gut i.e. plumbing. Although not an expert and definitely haven't found my magic balance your "personal ecosystem" is most important. In 2017 doing all the InsideTracker tests while training, before and after, 70.3 and 140.6 events, managing things as a "run of the mill athlete" fueling long events with carbs got me through the events but did NOTHING for my "inside health" and long term, sustained, weight loss and ideal weight set point. Following Lake Placid finish it all came back again like a dehydrated sponge that hit a bucket of water lol ... I am stronger, physically and mentally, from the experience but edging closer to where I was this time last year with regard to my weight ... plotting my course and planning the body composition game going into 2018. I did have some head wind in 2017 as I stopped using smokeless tobacco and caffeine early in the year ... my weight is inching up but, happy to report, still stimulant free!
Not to be long winded here, but basically in 2017 my routine was: 1) eat 1200 to 1500 calories per day, protein and fat, minimal carbs. 2) train for Quassy 70.3 in June and IMLP in July using pertinent EN Training Plans. 3) Use Inside Tracker as my gauge of fitness. 4) At the end of the year I would be in a great place ... well, kinda
At several junctions doctors, teammates, people along my path would tell me to eat more carbs, you're not eating enough, your body is starving, calorie deficit, yada yada yada ... so I would ramp calories up a bit & as the training ramped, so would my calories, so would my weight. So i'd back the calories off and kept training without adverse effects to my relative performance (I was a late night finisher at IMLP) so most of my training/racing was in the proverbial "fat burning zone" ... based on all these data points why was I not 10% body fat at the end of the summer? I ATE CLEANLY (I can send 250 days of MyFitnessPal records for audit), worked my ass off, accomplished all of my goals EXCEPT conquering my body composition once and for all.
Where I am now, better place than this time last year, but it can't be this damn hard! #thestruggleisreal
Where I am going in 2018 ... 1) late season event only ... IM Superfrog 70.3, Imperial Beach 9/2017. I love Hotel Del Coronado! The Albatross and the whales they are my brothers ... TIME FOR A COOL CHANGE! 2) signed up this week for Core Diet program, I am not going to think about any of this, it's on them to tell me what to eat, in what quantities, when, and how, I am submitting myself to them wholly, not going to waste mental energy on it ... they have my training plan, DecOS and IM Superfrog 9/2017, my goal weight and ideal fat% (185/12%) for the record, and that's that! 3) also, doing the Core Diet athletic blood analysis. 4) resistance training 2X per week 5) taking advantage of OS for HIIT workouts, long ramp towards 70.3 but training like 140.6 according to EN Plan 5) biome ... researching and learning about my biome, blood testing, poop testing, leptin levels, and 6) working with naturopathic doctor to kill bad stuff (bacteria) and culture good stuff (bacteria). 7) reading more and more about ideal mix of bacteria/biome that translate to optimum health 8) 3 InsideTracker data points in 2018 ....
There's my 2 cents ... vulnerable here ... but helps me to lay it out there to some great teammates and help me and others figure out our individual journeys, to find your best YOU and me, my best ME ... just can't give up!
I'm so glad you brought up the health of the gut "your microbiome" and how it can play into an athletes general health and even weight loss. The secret is in the produce department. Veggies, Fiber and fermented foods is a start.
Your #5 goal for 2018 is awesome. Keep an eye on the hormone leptin ...it's a marker of inflammation. Keep looking under the hood for health.
The article brings many great points. A good read.
Another fun and to the point book on Poo is http://www.dralisonchen.com/2016/01/timid-poop/ Teddy the Timid Poop. I know this sounds like TMI but it's not! It can say so much about your diet
I would strongly recommend considering the findings described in this recent NYTimes article. I have basically been following this way of eating (with initial help of a doctor) and have dropped 60 lbs which i have (so far) kept off for close to 2 years. It isn't portion controlled and it is very easy to follow. https://nyti.ms/2C9C0WO
I got down to 231 with Cire diets menu planning that’s a loss of about 30 pounds. It works but it’s tough to do long term in a household with others. Lots of work for the wife.
@John Stark It's odd that I just re-read this post after a FB post I read made me wonder why I am not hearing about more friends and acquaintances having cardiac issues. We are after all at that age. I totally relate to your genetic comments. I grew up in a house where I can remember hearing about High BP and hypertension for as long as I can remember. I grew up with no salt added to anything.
I am now about to turn 54, the age my father was when he had a bypass. I will kick history in the nutz when I live past 62 the age he passed away at.
I am 100% committed to losing weight and re-establishing a new "trading range" for my weight. the low will likely test something in the high 130s. The high should be around 150ish. The bottom line is whether I do Ironman for the rest of my life (unlikely) or do "fun things with my fitness" including skimo, power hiking, gravel riding, etc... those are all more fun and attainable when one is fit and light. People I ski with think I am 10-15 years younger than I am and it makes a huge difference.
so, how to get there. you have a lot of tips in here, for me, it's using things like protein shakes, eliminating carbs, being disciplined(not easy), public accountability (the weight loss challenge I keep renewing in the forums) and frankly how I look in clothes. I am now wearing size 30s and just got a hot new pair of ski pants that are smalls!
THE best thing for me is getting on the scale as much as possible. as @tim cronk said, "anything measured is managed" no greater whip for that day's healthy diet. SOO much food is based around the clock and social gatherings. one thing I do is prep for social nights, if I am going out for dinner or to a party where there will be lots of food and low discipline, I go extra lean all day. I also get my protein shake (Vega sport) in packets, that I can toss in my ski jacket, or have in my glove box, and just about anywhere to mix up and drink. It's not the most tasty thing in the world, but it keeps me going.
another thing I'll add is that i did a week of eating "real" food, but mostly plant based and clean, salads for lunch without shizz in them and a very light amount of normal dressing, a clean dinner of either a salad, fish or a veggie burger, but basically no carbs, lost weight that week, no issues..
Comments
Like @Gordon Cherwoniak, I go up and go down ... despite my best intentions, it just happens. My journey has been about learning about Marc and what makes Marc tick ... in my opinion, it is that individualized. With my technical background I gravitate towards "the science of things" ... my chemical engineering background makes me respectful of the laws of physics i.e. conservation of mass, as well as, the laws of thermodynamics (calories, work, and fuel) ... learning/studying/experimenting over the last 3 years my emerging theory is energy, metabolism, and performance is at the microbiology level, specifically in your gut i.e. plumbing. Although not an expert and definitely haven't found my magic balance your "personal ecosystem" is most important. In 2017 doing all the InsideTracker tests while training, before and after, 70.3 and 140.6 events, managing things as a "run of the mill athlete" fueling long events with carbs got me through the events but did NOTHING for my "inside health" and long term, sustained, weight loss and ideal weight set point. Following Lake Placid finish it all came back again like a dehydrated sponge that hit a bucket of water lol ... I am stronger, physically and mentally, from the experience but edging closer to where I was this time last year with regard to my weight ... plotting my course and planning the body composition game going into 2018. I did have some head wind in 2017 as I stopped using smokeless tobacco and caffeine early in the year ... my weight is inching up but, happy to report, still stimulant free!
Not to be long winded here, but basically in 2017 my routine was:
1) eat 1200 to 1500 calories per day, protein and fat, minimal carbs.
2) train for Quassy 70.3 in June and IMLP in July using pertinent EN Training Plans.
3) Use Inside Tracker as my gauge of fitness.
4) At the end of the year I would be in a great place ... well, kinda
At several junctions doctors, teammates, people along my path would tell me to eat more carbs, you're not eating enough, your body is starving, calorie deficit, yada yada yada ... so I would ramp calories up a bit & as the training ramped, so would my calories, so would my weight. So i'd back the calories off and kept training without adverse effects to my relative performance (I was a late night finisher at IMLP) so most of my training/racing was in the proverbial "fat burning zone" ... based on all these data points why was I not 10% body fat at the end of the summer? I ATE CLEANLY (I can send 250 days of MyFitnessPal records for audit), worked my ass off, accomplished all of my goals EXCEPT conquering my body composition once and for all.
Where I am now, better place than this time last year, but it can't be this damn hard! #thestruggleisreal
Where I am going in 2018 ...
1) late season event only ... IM Superfrog 70.3, Imperial Beach 9/2017. I love Hotel Del Coronado! The Albatross and the whales they are my brothers ... TIME FOR A COOL CHANGE!
2) signed up this week for Core Diet program, I am not going to think about any of this, it's on them to tell me what to eat, in what quantities, when, and how, I am submitting myself to them wholly, not going to waste mental energy on it ... they have my training plan, DecOS and IM Superfrog 9/2017, my goal weight and ideal fat% (185/12%) for the record, and that's that!
3) also, doing the Core Diet athletic blood analysis.
4) resistance training 2X per week
5) taking advantage of OS for HIIT workouts, long ramp towards 70.3 but training like 140.6 according to EN Plan
5) biome ... researching and learning about my biome, blood testing, poop testing, leptin levels, and
6) working with naturopathic doctor to kill bad stuff (bacteria) and culture good stuff (bacteria).
7) reading more and more about ideal mix of bacteria/biome that translate to optimum health
8) 3 InsideTracker data points in 2018 ....
There's my 2 cents ... vulnerable here ... but helps me to lay it out there to some great teammates and help me and others figure out our individual journeys, to find your best YOU and me, my best ME ... just can't give up!
Marc
to provoke thought about effect of bacteria on performance ...
https://www.bicycling.com/training/is-poop-doping-the-next-big-thing
I'm so glad you brought up the health of the gut "your microbiome" and how it can play into an athletes general health and even weight loss. The secret is in the produce department. Veggies, Fiber and fermented foods is a start.
Your #5 goal for 2018 is awesome. Keep an eye on the hormone leptin ...it's a marker of inflammation. Keep looking under the hood for health.
The article brings many great points. A good read.
Another fun and to the point book on Poo is http://www.dralisonchen.com/2016/01/timid-poop/
Teddy the Timid Poop. I know this sounds like TMI
@Sheila Leard you got me with the poo book.
Boy this discussion has changed paths and really gone to sh*t - Couldn't resist.
@Marc Taylor since it has been a year since this post, I am curious to how your trial went. Did you stick with CORE? Did you reach you BF% goal? Etc.
David F. Holmes
@John Stark It's odd that I just re-read this post after a FB post I read made me wonder why I am not hearing about more friends and acquaintances having cardiac issues. We are after all at that age. I totally relate to your genetic comments. I grew up in a house where I can remember hearing about High BP and hypertension for as long as I can remember. I grew up with no salt added to anything.
I am now about to turn 54, the age my father was when he had a bypass. I will kick history in the nutz when I live past 62 the age he passed away at.
I am 100% committed to losing weight and re-establishing a new "trading range" for my weight. the low will likely test something in the high 130s. The high should be around 150ish. The bottom line is whether I do Ironman for the rest of my life (unlikely) or do "fun things with my fitness" including skimo, power hiking, gravel riding, etc... those are all more fun and attainable when one is fit and light. People I ski with think I am 10-15 years younger than I am and it makes a huge difference.
so, how to get there. you have a lot of tips in here, for me, it's using things like protein shakes, eliminating carbs, being disciplined(not easy), public accountability (the weight loss challenge I keep renewing in the forums) and frankly how I look in clothes. I am now wearing size 30s and just got a hot new pair of ski pants that are smalls!
THE best thing for me is getting on the scale as much as possible. as @tim cronk said, "anything measured is managed" no greater whip for that day's healthy diet. SOO much food is based around the clock and social gatherings. one thing I do is prep for social nights, if I am going out for dinner or to a party where there will be lots of food and low discipline, I go extra lean all day. I also get my protein shake (Vega sport) in packets, that I can toss in my ski jacket, or have in my glove box, and just about anywhere to mix up and drink. It's not the most tasty thing in the world, but it keeps me going.
another thing I'll add is that i did a week of eating "real" food, but mostly plant based and clean, salads for lunch without shizz in them and a very light amount of normal dressing, a clean dinner of either a salad, fish or a veggie burger, but basically no carbs, lost weight that week, no issues..
stay on it, stay healthy, you can beat genetics!