Ben's Fat Loss Diary

[Ben_In_NC]

TUESDAY

EXERCISE​

Strength Training: "Pull" day: back and bicep focus. Rows, shrugs, and curls. My effort/engagement/focus seemed to be above average for me today. Good workout. https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/9683683452​

Cardio: 7+ miles of easy/conversational-pace running. My "easy" pace is DEFINITELY getting faster. Yay improved fitness. https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/9684164309​

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FOOD.​

Pre-Workout (473 calories): 3 really small bananas (as in three weighed a little less than typically 2 of them do,) Costco nut butter mix, collagen peptides​

Post-Workout (210 calories): Fairlife chocolate protein shake, 1 applesauce/mango/carrot pouch, mainly to fuel run​

Breakfast (886 calories): greek yogurt w/ whey protein powder topped w/ granola and triple berry mix​

Mid-Morning Snack (176 calories): 1 apple and cinnamon cereal​

Lunch (968 calories): sirloin, 2 eggs, 3 oz egg whites, toast w/ strawberry jam​

Afternoon Snack (59 calories): 4 oz watermelon​

Dinner(265 calories): salad made w/ 50/50 spring mix, cucumbers, onions, sweet peppers, topped w/ grilled chicken breast​

Evening Snack(109 calories): 2 kiwi fruit​

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NUTRIENT NUMBERS​

Today's Calorie Goal -- 3150​

Today's Calorie Plan -- 3137​

Carbs -- 346g (Sun-Thu Daily Goal = 300g+, Fri-Sat Daily Goal = 350g+)​

Protein -- 225g (Daily Goal = 200g+)​

Fiber --67g. I'm going to stop reporting fiber, since I'm so far beyond the 40g goal every single day and see no benefit in increasing the goal. Just checked and I'm averaging 62g a day for the last 3 months.​

Saturated Fat -- 28.5g (Goal = Weekly Average of 25g or fewer)​

​

SCALE NUMBERS​

Week Begin Weight: 181.95​

Today's Weight: 182.12​

24-Hr Scale Change: +0.17​

7-Day Scale Change: -2.02lbs​

Scale Change Since 7/11 Cut Begin at 204.76: -22.64​

COMMENTS​

Super encouraged by the run today. I'm still slightly increasing weekly mileage, so it was a little longer than my longer midweek runs have been, but with a lower heart rate and faster pace. It's always helpful to see tangible signs of improvement.​

I also have an "annoying" non-scale victory to report: I can no longer wear size "Medium" gym shorts on my runs without having to pull them up like every 5 minutes! I threw out all of my XXL and XL shorts and sweatpants a good while back, and reduced to mostly Mediums. Forunately, I do have three pair that are size "Small," so I guess I'm going to have to be more intentional about rotating them through the laundry, 'cause that nonsense today got on my nerves, and it seems a little too close to winter to go out and buy another pair or two of smalls that I probably won't *really* need for another 6 months or so. (That said, I will look for sales on summer clothes and grab some if the price is right.)​

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The rest of the day looks fairly sedentary other than likely taking the dog for a walk of decent length this evening.​

General Nutrition Reference Post

 

[Llama]

Congratulations on the pant size drop! The online calculators not being accurate for you just means you're not average. Which... seems accurate to me. So many factors play a role in your metabolism that no calculator can catch them all so starting with a calculator as a basis and then experimenting irl seems sensible to me.

 

[Ben_In_NC]

Ugh. Three-hour long run scheduled for Saturday and it looks like it's going to have to be on the treadmill thanks to Ian.

 

[Cate]

I also have an "annoying" non-scale victory to report: I can no longer wear size "Medium" gym shorts on my runs without having to pull them up like every 5 minutes!

You poor thing! What a wonderful "annoying" problem to have. I wish.

 

[Llama]

That's a lot of rain I don't mind running in the rain but 3 hours sounds like a recipe for bad chafing even when you don get washed away.

 

[Ben_In_NC]

WEDNESDAY

EXERCISE​

Cardio: Wednesday Workout Day! 10-minute warmup, 10K moderate effort (7 to 8 out of 10,) 10min cooldown. Pace was encouraging. https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/9689818909​

Strength Training: "Push" day, chest/shoulder/triceps focus. Started just 30 minutes after the harder run. Moved less weight, but intensity was on point from start to finish. https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/9690179866​

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FOOD PLAN.​

Pre-Run (147 calories): 1 banana, collagen peptides​

Intra-Run (0 calories): N/A. I *meant* to consume one of the applesauce pouches 45 minutes into the run, but just plain forgot. I had it in my pocket the whole run and didn't think about it until I had like 3 minutes left in the cooldown. So, I just added a little more nut butter to the fueling between the run and lift to make up the calories.​

Pre-Lifting (455 calories): 2 bananas, Costco mixed nut butter​

Post-Workout (0 calories): N/A Had breakfast immediately upon returning from workout.​

Breakfast (713 calories): Overnight oats w/ greek yogurt, protein powder, triple berry mix​

Mid-Morning Snack (489 calories): Trying a new snack: very small pizza single. Adding some extra pepperoni, mozzarella, and uncured black forest ham​

Lunch (690 calories): air fryer shrimp, madras lentils, barley​

Afternoon Snack (72 calories): 5 oz pineapple​

Dinner(476 calories): soy marinated air fryer salmon, jasmine rice w/ soy sauce, side salad made w/ 50/50 spring mix, cucumbers, onions, sweet peppers​

Evening Snack(102 calories): 2 kiwi fruit​

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NUTRIENT NUMBERS​

Today's Calorie Goal -- 3142​

Today's Calorie Plan -- 3144​

Carbs -- 415g (Sun-Thu Daily Goal = 300g+, Fri-Sat Daily Goal = 350g+)​

Protein -- 207g (Daily Goal = 200g+)​

Saturated Fat -- 22.8g (Goal = Weekly Average of 25g or fewer)​

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SCALE NUMBERS​

Week Begin Weight: 181.95​

Today's Weight: 180.99​

24-Hr Scale Change: -1.13lbs​

7-Day Scale Change: -1.35lbs​

Scale Change Since 7/11 Cut Begin at 204.76: -23.77​

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COMMENTS​

There's not nearly as much information out there about the combination "hybrid" (serious running AND serious lifting) training that I'm doing, but of what's out there, one thing that's consistent is the advice to adjust which one you do first on a given day based on your current goals. Given that I have a race in a little over six weeks, I've decided to move my Wednesday runs--which are the ones with the highest intensity each week--to before lifting. (The long run on Saturday is also without any lifting. Some Saturdays I'll do core work later in the day.) As mentioned briefly above, the run went GREAT, and despite being forced to lower weights a little on most exercises, I was able to maintain the kind of intensity I'm used to having, so I'm pleased with this change.​

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Very curious about these little pizza snacks. We actually bought them for the kids to have something that can be fixed quickly and for themselves, but they've been in the freezer for two weeks untouched, so I'm going to try one for me. ​

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The weekend looks just miserable due to the hurricane. Basically rain all day Fri-Mon, and possibly into Tuesday.​

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General Nutrition Reference Post

 

[Llama]

Tiny pizzas sound delightful. And changing up your routine to fit your running goal is imminently sensible. Go you!

 

[liza3]

Three-hour long run scheduled for Saturday and it looks like it's going to have to be on the treadmill thanks to Ian.

Oh no--3 hours on a treadmill sounds terrible! I don't think I could do it.

Hard enough doing long runs on the road where at least there's nice variety and beautiful fresh air and scenery to keep me happy!

 

[Cate]

3 hours on a treadmill sounds like the stuff of nightmares to me You are well & truly committed, Ben!

 

[Ben_In_NC]

Tiny pizzas sound delightful.

It was, and it ended up being even fewer calories than I'd estimated, because the amount of added ham, pepperoni, and cheese to cover that little guy was less than I'd estimated. I ended up increasing the amount of shrimp, barley, and salad greens from what was planned in order to replace those calories.

Oh no--3 hours on a treadmill sounds terrible! I don't think I could do it.

3 hours on a treadmill sounds like the stuff of nightmares to me You are well & truly committed, Ben!

It's not awful. We have a small flatscreen TV mounted to the wall at eye level, just above the treadmill, with a ROKU stick in it, so we can watch Netflix/Amazon/Hulu/Disney+ while on it. The good news is that Saturday is the first of the month, so there will be some fresh new releases, I'm sure.

 

[liza3]

so we can watch Netflix/Amazon/Hulu/Disney+ while on it.

That's good if you don't find that too bad. I still don't think I could manage it...I've actually never done any length of time on any cardio machines...I keep thinking about getting a stationary bike to have a way to do cardio when the weather sucks but so far I haven't bothered. I only do stuff when I can get outside. It's what brings me all the joy of movement.

Yay to tiny pizzas working out!

 

[Llama]

I used to go to a gym where every cardio machine had its own screen so we didn't have to argue over what would run. I didn't have a tv OR internet access at home at that point so I did a lot of cardio

 

[Ben_In_NC]

THURSDAY

EXERCISE​

Strength Training: Leg day. A tough one after yesterday's run, but I did it. https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/9695890526​

Cardio: Coming right after the hard (and fairly long) run yesterday, I did a very low-intensity recovery-paced indoor bike ride for 35 minutes. https://www.strava.com/activities/7884103622​

FOOD PLAN.​

Pre-Lifting (553 calories): 2 bananas, Costco mixed nut butter, collagen peptides​

Post-Workout (150 calories): Fairlife protein shake​

Breakfast (899 calories): Oatmeal made from steel-cut oats w/ walnuts, cinnamon, hemp hearts, whey protein, and blueberries​

Mid-Morning Snack (60 calories): 1 apple​

Lunch (883 calories): boneless beef cube steak, avocado, sweet potato, broccoli.​

Afternoon Snack (54 calories): 6 oz strawberries​

Dinner(452 calories): Smoked chicken breast (smoking some more late afternoon/early evening today,) green beans w/ fresh garlic, cherry tomatoes from garden​

Evening Snack(103 calories): 2 kiwi fruit​

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NUTRIENT NUMBERS​

Today's Calorie Goal -- 3142​

Today's Calorie Plan -- 3154​

Carbs -- 329g (Sun-Thu Daily Goal = 300g+, Fri-Sat Daily Goal = 350g+)​

Protein -- 226g (Daily Goal = 200g+)​

Saturated Fat -- 23.7g (Goal = Weekly Average of 25g or fewer)​

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SCALE NUMBERS​

Week Begin Weight: 181.95​

Today's Weight: 181.12​

24-Hr Scale Change: +0.13lbs​

7-Day Scale Change: +0.30lbs​

Scale Change Since 7/11 Cut Begin at 204.76: -23.64​

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COMMENTS​

This is a first in a while: my legs are a bit sore after yesterday's run, which makes sense: that's probably the hardest I've pushed for that long (51 minutes) without any rest intervals since 2013, and back in 2013 we lived in Charleston, so there were no hills. Yesterday's sustained effort included numerous hills. I guess it'll pay off in the long run.

Scale movement does seem to finally be slowing down.​

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General Nutrition Reference Post

 

[Ben_In_NC]

Oh, and to @Llama and @liza3: there are some winters where we don't get any snow at all, but this past one we had FOUR straight Saturdays with enough snow to make it impossible to run outdoors safely--and that was leading up to the HM race I did, so I did four long runs on the treadmill. The longest was 2 hours, so this will definitely be new territory for me.

As far as potentially running in the rain, I have learned that I don't mind at all if it starts raining after I'm already out there, but I have yet to bring myself to *start* a run when it was already raining significantly. In this case, it seems likely that there will be standing water, which I definitely don't want to deal with. Point being, though, if it's somewhere in the 4:30am-6:00am window Saturday morning and it's not raining AND the radar shows we're unlikely to get any gullywashers in the next 3 hours, there's a chance I'll do it outdoors. I mean, the temperature is supposed to be in the mid/upper 50s, which is in the range I love to run it. We'll see.

 

[Ben_In_NC]

Update: Ian is moving faster than expected. We're under a tropical storm warning here for tomorrow and the kids' school is cancelled. As a result, I'll have a lot more time in the morning, but I'll probably be forced to do tomorrow's run on the treadmill. Saturday's is still likely treadmill, but with the storm coming through more quickly, I suppose the odds are a bit higher that I'll be able to do that one outdoors.

 

[Trusylver]

There's not nearly as much information out there about the combination "hybrid" (serious running AND serious lifting)

The info is out there but you will need to dig into the scientific studies to find it. when athletes get to the point of needing to have the balance fine tuned between lifting and cardio they often will have access to sport scientists and high level coaches to individualise the training mix to the specific body needs of the athlete and to detect small biological changes that will make a difference to high level performance where a less than 1% improvement can be the difference between winning or not.

Exercise Physiology, Nutrition, Energy and Human Performance, Eighth Edition (William D. McArdle, Frank I. Katch, Victor L. Katch) is a good textbook to dig into with information about the bodies response to concurrent training.

 

[liza3]

Update: Ian is moving faster than expected. We're under a tropical storm warning here for tomorrow and the kids' school is cancelled. As a result, I'll have a lot more time in the morning, but I'll probably be forced to do tomorrow's run on the treadmill. Saturday's is still likely treadmill, but with the storm coming through more quickly, I suppose the odds are a bit higher that I'll be able to do that one outdoors.

Stay safe during that storm Ben

 

[Ben_In_NC]

The info is out there but you will need to dig into the scientific studies to find it. when athletes get to the point of needing to have the balance fine tuned between lifting and cardio they often will have access to sport scientists and high level coaches to individualise the training mix to the specific body needs of the athlete and to detect small biological changes that will make a difference to high level performance where a less than 1% improvement can be the difference between winning or not.

Exercise Physiology, Nutrition, Energy and Human Performance, Eighth Edition (William D. McArdle, Frank I. Katch, Victor L. Katch) is a good textbook to dig into with information about the bodies response to concurrent training.

Yeah, I guess I should clarify: there's not nearly as much easily consumable information out there. Because of time constraints, my current best source of info is listening to podcasts during my runs and indoor bike rides, given that those are taking up 6-8 hours of my week. (I've found that I don't pay attention well when I try to listen during strength training, so I've gone back to just music during that time.) I think I've listened to every podcast episode Alec Blenis has been a guest on at any point in the last five years. I appreciate the reference, but having time to dig into a textbook probably isn't something I can do right now., though I'll try to when I'm off work for over a week around Christmas. That said, if you have any suggestions for any other experts in the field that may have been podcast guest in the semi-recent past, I'd love to hear those, as that's something I can find and listen to immediately.

 

[Ben_In_NC]

FRIDAY

EXERCISE​

Strength Training: Pull Day. Felt strong and went hard. I haven't tried unassisted pullups in a long time. Last time I did, I could barely do two. I did several as a part of all four sets today. Woot! https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/9701818374​

Cardio: It was breezy and drizzly when it came time to start my run, so I did it outside, and it was great. I guess the cool temps and rain kept my heart rate low. Stayed in Zone 2 for over an hour at a 9:26 pace! A few weeks ago I was busting my butt off, perhaps pushing TOO hard to get to 9:20. Today I could have done that with just a low/moderate effort. https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/9702469713​

FOOD PLAN.​

Pre-Lifting (419 calories): 340g/12oz strawberries, 1.5oz/44g costco mixed nut butter, collagen peptides​

Post-Workout (225 calories): 1 apple + 7oz/198g fat-free cottage cheese​

Breakfast (1115 calories): grits & butter, 2 eggs + egg whites w/ uncured black forest ham and reduced-fat cheddar, one piece of oatnut bread toast w/ honey drizzled atop​

Mid-Morning Snack (118 calories): 8 oz/227g watermelon​

Lunch (609 calories): grilled chicken breast, quinoa/brown rice mix, steam broccoli​

Afternoon Snack (85 calories): 6oz/170g pineapple​

Dinner(249 calories): air-fryer ahi tuna seasoned w/ soy sauce, salad w/ 50/50 spring mix/spinach and cukes, onions, and sweet peppers​

Evening Snack(801 calories): 3 mashed bananas, granola, pumpkin seeds, drizzled w/ honey​

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NUTRIENT NUMBERS​

Today's Calorie Goal -- 3621​

Today's Calorie Plan -- 3621​

Carbs -- 432g (Sun-Thu Daily Goal = 300g+, Fri-Sat Daily Goal = 350g+)​

Protein -- 233g (Daily Goal = 200g+)​

Saturated Fat -- 34.6g (Goal = Weekly Average of 25g or fewer)​

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SCALE NUMBERS​

Week Begin Weight: 181.95​

Today's Weight: 181.93​

24-Hr Scale Change: +0.81lbs​

7-Day Scale Change: +1.11bs​

Scale Change Since 7/11 Cut Begin at 204.76: -22.83​

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COMMENTS​

• Guardedly optimistic about the run today: it's impossible to say how much of the improved easy time was progress, and how much was just freakin' close-to-100%-optimal weather at 53 degrees, breezy, and drizzling.
• Strawberries instead of bananas before my strength training today and it went really well. I'll be paying attention to that...
• I'm super-excited about my giant and yummy evening snack. It's the sort of thing that in the past I've over-eaten when I was too hungry at night, but this time it's part of the plan and fits in perfectly. Plus it's almost 150g of carbs getting consumed just 8-10 hours before what I hope is an 18-mile run tomorrow morning. Oh yeah, and the sleep help of the pumpkin seeds, honey, and bananas tops it off!
• If the weather will allow it, I'm doing something tomorrow that I've literally NEVER done as an adult: I have over 4,000 miles of running recorded from 2013 forward, plus whatever other amount I did at various times when trying to lose weight/stay in shape, from 1991-2013. EVERY single one of those miles was done solo. I've never run with a friend. If we're able, though, a buddy of mine from church who has a marathon in five weeks is scheduled for a 20-miler tomorrow, and he reached out to me about running together for the first 18. He is wayyyyyyyyy ahead of me in terms of experience,: he has done numerous marathons and has qualified for and run Boston at least 4 or 5 times. But unless he's sandbagging me, he says his easy pace will work fine with mine. (He's 63, 10 years older than I am.) I'm actually quite nervous about it.
• Next week is scheduled to be a recovery week for running. I haven't decided yet if I'll scale the lifting down as well.
• I guess it's a good thing: I'm finding myself almost completely unconcerned with the daily number on the scale. I guess the fine-tuning of the calorie intake and careful counting has me confident I'm on the right track. Honestly, as long as I see other signs of my health/fitness improving (resting heart rate continues to drop, faster running at same effort, lifting more weight, this darned belly shrinking a bit more,) I don't think I really care all that much what my "ideal" weight is. I mean, I'm pretty sure it's at least 6-8 pounds lower than I am now, but we'll see.

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General Nutrition Reference Post

 

[Llama]

I haven't tried unassisted pullups in a long time. Last time I did, I could barely do two. I did several as a part of all four sets today. Woot!

Awesome work!

If we're able, though, a buddy of mine from church who has a marathon in five weeks is scheduled for a 20-miler tomorrow, and he reached out to me about running together for the first 18. He is wayyyyyyyyy ahead of me in terms of experience,: he has done numerous marathons and has qualified for and run Boston at least 4 or 5 times. But unless he's sandbagging me, he says his easy pace will work fine with mine. (He's 63, 10 years older than I am.) I'm actually quite nervous about it.

Exciting! Very curious to hear how you like it.

I'm finding myself almost completely unconcerned with the daily number on the scale. I guess the fine-tuning of the calorie intake and careful counting has me confident I'm on the right track. Honestly, as long as I see other signs of my health/fitness improving (...) I don't think I really care all that much what my "ideal" weight is.

That may be the best non-scale victory of them all.