Ben's Fat Loss Diary
- Thread starter Ben_In_NC
- Start date
Oh gosh yes--when I log my runs into cronometer they allow for a whole lot more calories!!
Ben_In_NC
Well-known member
OK! So the weekend...
PURPOSE
It was a visit to my high school alma mater. We built a new stadium and named it in honor of my former teammate, carpool mate, and friend, Mack Strong. In my (biased) opinion, Mack is one of the great unsung heroes of the NFL. But it's not just me! Check out this article: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/153818-nfls-forgotten-stories-part-2-mack-strong
Here's the video they played at halftime:
Anyway, it was an amazing time of visiting with old friends, coaches, and even a long-retired teacher. The lady in pics 3-5 was the absolute favorite teacher of both Mack's and mine. She got up out of her wheelchair in her Seahawks' jersey to greet us. The first five pics below are from that event.
As far as food...
It's a fairly big campus, and I did a good bit of walking around seeing stuff that has changed, and then once in the game just moving around visiting with people. Ended up over 15K steps despite spending most of the day in the car.
SATURDAY MORNING--Long run. 15 miles. Columbus, GA actually has a longer/prettier greenway than what I've shown you in Greensboro previously. I think it's around 12 miles long, and is called the Riverwalk because much of it runs right along the Chattahoochee River, which divides Georgia from Alabama in that part of the state. It was warmer than Greensboro, but not terrible. Worst part of it was driving home about 90 minutes after finishing it! (I did take a warm, soaking bath at my brother's house before I left town, but still.) I was fine by Sunday, and ran 5.5 miles today, so all is good. VERY encouraged by that run.
I had high-protein overnight oats made with greek yogurt and whey protein right after the run, Found a buffet place on the way back to Greensboro and had some skinless chicken thighs, plain white rice, and low-cal salad on the way back as my main meal on the road. Felt pretty good about that day as well.
Sunday was back to normal. Still loving that Sunday morning push workout! One thing, though: I moved less weight than last week. Not sure if that was from losing weight too quickly, or just tiredness from the 15-miler. This morning's leg workout was stronger than last week's, so I'm guessing the latter.
Yeah, looked more deeply into the numbers. I'm just burning more calories. I ran 40.5 miles last week, which is the highest during this journey. I was in the upper 20s/low 30s per week when this thread started in mid-July. Assuming all goes as planned, I'll hit the mid-40s several times over the next four weeks before tapering down for the race. Makes sense that if I run longer, I need to eat more. This ain't rocket science, Ben!
Oh, and because I decided to go down to Columbus for Mack's event, I will not be going on the weekend of the 30th as I'd originally posted here. So...no scheduled out of town trips, birthdays, or anything else that I know of between now and the HM.
As far as the original "12 weeks" here, I'm not sure that I'll go into maintenance immediately in the first week of October like I thought at first. I'm getting faster and definitely still have some belly fat that is likely impeding my running progress. I'd just as soon continue to lose that slowly, I think--especially with a race coming up in 8 weeks. If I can lose in the .5% - 1.0% per week range between now and then, I'd think I'd be pretty close to whatever my "ideal" weight is. We'll see. At this point, my goal definitely isn't a number. My t-shirt size is "Medium" these days, and what I want more than any number on the scale is "no noticeable belly when wearing a medium t-shirt."
Seriously, I think that's my 'final' goal that will trigger me to go into maintenance.
PURPOSE
It was a visit to my high school alma mater. We built a new stadium and named it in honor of my former teammate, carpool mate, and friend, Mack Strong. In my (biased) opinion, Mack is one of the great unsung heroes of the NFL. But it's not just me! Check out this article: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/153818-nfls-forgotten-stories-part-2-mack-strong
Here's the video they played at halftime:
Anyway, it was an amazing time of visiting with old friends, coaches, and even a long-retired teacher. The lady in pics 3-5 was the absolute favorite teacher of both Mack's and mine. She got up out of her wheelchair in her Seahawks' jersey to greet us. The first five pics below are from that event.
As far as food...
So they had a catered pregame meal for "friends of Mack" (former teammates, coaches, family, and friends,) and going the route I went was one of many options. The potatoes were baked/wrapped, with no butter or seasoning. Sour creme, bacon, butter, etc. were all available, but I'm pretty proud of myself for avoiding all of that and just getting steak, plain potato, and green beans.
It's a fairly big campus, and I did a good bit of walking around seeing stuff that has changed, and then once in the game just moving around visiting with people. Ended up over 15K steps despite spending most of the day in the car.
SATURDAY MORNING--Long run. 15 miles. Columbus, GA actually has a longer/prettier greenway than what I've shown you in Greensboro previously. I think it's around 12 miles long, and is called the Riverwalk because much of it runs right along the Chattahoochee River, which divides Georgia from Alabama in that part of the state. It was warmer than Greensboro, but not terrible. Worst part of it was driving home about 90 minutes after finishing it! (I did take a warm, soaking bath at my brother's house before I left town, but still.) I was fine by Sunday, and ran 5.5 miles today, so all is good. VERY encouraged by that run.
I had high-protein overnight oats made with greek yogurt and whey protein right after the run, Found a buffet place on the way back to Greensboro and had some skinless chicken thighs, plain white rice, and low-cal salad on the way back as my main meal on the road. Felt pretty good about that day as well.
Sunday was back to normal. Still loving that Sunday morning push workout! One thing, though: I moved less weight than last week. Not sure if that was from losing weight too quickly, or just tiredness from the 15-miler. This morning's leg workout was stronger than last week's, so I'm guessing the latter.
Yeah, looked more deeply into the numbers. I'm just burning more calories. I ran 40.5 miles last week, which is the highest during this journey. I was in the upper 20s/low 30s per week when this thread started in mid-July. Assuming all goes as planned, I'll hit the mid-40s several times over the next four weeks before tapering down for the race. Makes sense that if I run longer, I need to eat more. This ain't rocket science, Ben!
Oh, and because I decided to go down to Columbus for Mack's event, I will not be going on the weekend of the 30th as I'd originally posted here. So...no scheduled out of town trips, birthdays, or anything else that I know of between now and the HM.
As far as the original "12 weeks" here, I'm not sure that I'll go into maintenance immediately in the first week of October like I thought at first. I'm getting faster and definitely still have some belly fat that is likely impeding my running progress. I'd just as soon continue to lose that slowly, I think--especially with a race coming up in 8 weeks. If I can lose in the .5% - 1.0% per week range between now and then, I'd think I'd be pretty close to whatever my "ideal" weight is. We'll see. At this point, my goal definitely isn't a number. My t-shirt size is "Medium" these days, and what I want more than any number on the scale is "no noticeable belly when wearing a medium t-shirt."
Seriously, I think that's my 'final' goal that will trigger me to go into maintenance.
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Ben_In_NC
Well-known member
If I've learned anything, it's that losing weight too quickly wears me out and can trigger overeating episodes...and not to mention now that I've put on a little muscle, losing too fast causes a greater percentage of the loss to be muscle mass anyway.
Yeah, so I've never been one to "eat the exercise calories" in LoseIt, BUT it's clear that when exercising I need to eat more. It's not the easiest balancing act for me.
Ben_In_NC
Well-known member
Oh..weight update...
| DATE | DAY | WT | 1DayWtChg | 7DayWtChg | 7DayWtAvg | 7DayAvgChg | Comments |
9/5/2022 | Monday | 188.25 | -1.50 | -6.20 | 190.79 | -3.76 | Increased calorie intake by an overall total of 164 calories per day. |
9/6/2022 | Tuesday | 186.54 | -1.71 | -7.89 | 189.67 | -4.50 | |
9/7/2022 | Wednesday | 186.96 | 0.42 | -5.82 | 188.83 | -5.06 | |
9/8/2022 | Thursday | 185.39 | -1.57 | -6.03 | 187.97 | -5.43 | |
9/9/2022 | Friday | 185.34 | -0.05 | -5.34 | 187.21 | -5.57 | |
9/10/2022 | Saturday | 184.99 | -0.35 | -3.25 | 186.75 | -5.34 | |
9/11/2022 | Sunday | 185.67 | 0.68 | -4.08 | 186.16 | -5.52 | |
9/12/2022 | Monday | 185.77 | 0.10 | -2.48 | 185.81 | -4.98 | |
9/13/2022 | Tuesday | 184.17 | -1.60 | -2.37 | 185.47 | -4.20 | |
9/14/2022 | Wednesday | 184.77 | 0.60 | -2.19 | 185.16 | -3.68 | |
9/15/2022 | Thursday | 183.12 | -1.65 | -2.27 | 184.83 | -3.14 | |
9/16/2022 | Friday | 183.80 | 0.68 | -1.54 | 184.61 | -2.60 | |
9/17/2022 | Saturday | 182.53 | -1.27 | -2.46 | 184.26 | -2.48 | |
9/18/2022 | Sunday | 181.22 | -1.31 | -4.45 | 183.63 | -2.54 | |
9/19/2022 | Monday | 183.21 | 1.99 | -2.56 | 183.26 | -2.55 | Increased calories by another 275 calories per day. |
That sounds like such a great weekend all round! I'm impressed you staying so on track during it as well.
Your running and pace continues to astound me. You're going to do amazingly in that half marathon!
Your running and pace continues to astound me. You're going to do amazingly in that half marathon!
i sure can relate to that goal! Why are the bellies always the last to go???? Although from your pictures I would think you're already there...
Ben_In_NC
Well-known member
Of course I forgot to check this on last Saturday.
Anyway, update for Tuesday, 9/20..
5K--22:23
10K--47:17
HM--1:47:24
M--4:03:28
Ben_In_NC
Well-known member
No, she was the chair of the history department. I had her for AP US History, AP Government, and at least one elective (20th Century History.) Possibly more, but it has been over 35 years.
Her husband (RIP) was also an extremely well-liked science teacher. Every year they co-led a history/science tour of the Georgia coastal areas. We'd view wildlife, identify birds, and visit historical sites. I went twice. Both were amazing at bringing their subject matter to life.PACE--The more I listen to all these running podcasts, the more I'm sold on easy/aerobic running. I've been slowing down considerably on my easy days, and it does seem to be paying off. Tomorrow's speed work will be a good test of that progress: 8x800 intervals in what should be pretty nice weather: temperature 63, dew point 58. And Saturday's long run should be in even cooler weather. I feel like these two runs will tell me a lot about where I really am.
I think the belly fat thing is just really common genetically. As far as the pics, it looks ok from the front, I guess, but from my point of view looking down it's pretty clear that I've got a bit more work to do. ) All good; it just keeps me humble and focused.
I'm really starting to dig overnight oats, y'all! I'm doing oats, greek yogurt, cinnamon, chia seed, whey protein, and berries in mine. SO tasty and nutritious, and the speed in the morning is a huge plus as well!
Cate
Long term member
Do you have any milk with it or water? I love overnight oats, especially in winter.
That is really good. You seem to be doing an excellent job of learning all the smart ways of developing your running and other fitness goals...so far I'm still at the stage of just following the schedule I chose but I hope to learn more over time of how to develop the skills...I know even just starting a walk to run schedule a few years back made all the difference of helping me to run injury-free...so I know there is a lot of good knowledge out there of how to make our development so much easier...
Anyways keep up the good work!
Ben_In_NC
Well-known member
I have landed on just using water in my overnight oats, protein pancakes, and the other dish I tend to make a fair amount for breakfast. All the stuff I'd use any kind of milk for already has sooooo much flavor (mainly due to the bananas and cinnamon contained therein) that it would be just adding "useless" calories for me.
Yeah, I've learned that I shouldn't really listen to music while running because it messes up my cadence, as I end up running with the beat. And I don't have the patience to do a playlist of songs around my target cadence.
As a result, I've landed on listening to podcasts related to running, strength training, and fitness while I run, and these days that's 6-7 hours a week. Pretty much every running expert I'm hearing says that the biggest issue that amateur runners have is going too fast on our easy days, which causes us to not be able to go as fast on our hard days. Apparently aerobic adaptions are just as strong with easy running as with the moderate-effort runs that I used to do pretty much every day. (And yes, one of the benefits of doing 80% of your runs at an easy pace is injury prevention. I can also say this: since I started slowing down my easier runs, I have far fewer little pain/sore spots here and there than I used to.)And speaking of hard days, today was the interval run, and it was fantastic. I did a 10-minute jog warmup, then 8*(880 yards fast+440 yards recovery jog,) and a short cooldown. Total was 7 miles, with 4 of them being in the fast intervals. Averaged a 7:11 mile pace over the intervals! That's quite a bit faster than when I last did them in cool weather, even though I weighed a little less then and only did six intervals instead of eight. Very encouraging,a nd the last one was the fastest one by 10 seconds, pace-wise (6:52 vs 7:02 for the second-fastest, which was interval #5,) so it would appear I had quite a bit left.
Scale weight went up yesterday and back down more today (183.2-184.1-182.3.) Apart from a dip on Sunday--the day after the 15-miler and possibly not quite eating enough due to being on the road--182.3 is the lowest since early March.
So far, the extra calories have pretty much all gone to adding more healthy fats (mainly via adding Costco nut butter to the bananas I eat before morning strength training) and larger fruit servings to increase carb intake as my running miles ramp up. If all goes according to plan, this week will be my highest-volume running week ever, at 42.25ish miles, and next week will top it by 1.5ish miles.
If the forecast is to be believed, we are done with low temperatures above the low 60s! Right now they're saying around 50 (10C) for my Saturday morning long run. That sounds fantastic! It's scheduled for 16 miles with 4-ish miles of harder running included, so I will sure appreciate the cooler weather!
That sounds awesome!
Ben_In_NC
Well-known member
I'm not doing the best job of posting my food choices regularly, so I thought I'd dedicate a big post to my nutrition. I don't have (nor do I need) a ton of variation. I basically rotate through a handful of options at each meal....
EARLY MORNING SNACKS
I almost always have this before I work out (or before I run on Saturdays, since I don't lift that morning): two bananas and 16oz of water with 5g creatine, 10g collagen peptides, and 1/4 tsp of himalayan sea salt. Since the latest calorie increase, I've added roughly a tbsp (30ish grams) of nut butter to it 2 of the 3 mornings, and I'm guessing that will become a pretty regular thing. Sometimes if my breakfast involves bananas, I'll do apples & lowfat cottage cheese instead of the bananas. After the lifting workout, it depends. Sometimes I eat breakfast right after I get home from the workout, in which case I don't have a post-workout snack, but if I'm going quickly to running after lifting, (as I did today,) I'll have a Fairlife protein shake (150 calories, 30g protein!), a protein bar, or a runners' energy gel in between lifting and running. If, like today, it's an especially hard running day, I'll have a protein shake AND an energy gel in between.
BREAKFASTS
I basically rotate between seven breakfasts...
LUNCHES & DINNERS
Lunch and dinner are 100% interchangeable for me. I don't especially like sandwiches other than egg/cheese/meat at breakfast, so those are *never* in the mix. I didn't eat them when I weighed 280, and I ain't eating them at 180, either!
So, lunch or dinner is typically some combo of meat, veggies, and a starch. If the plan for the day has enough carbs (which often happens if I have oatmeal, granola, or grits at breakfast,) sometimes just one of the two meals contains a starch. At any rate, I'd say a good 95% of my lunches/dinners are some mix and match of....
*--(Ribeye is 100% my preferred cut of steak, and I will eat it from time to time, but I've found sirloin to have the best combo of price and lean-ness to hit my goals. I *can* hit my goals with ribeye, but it means really restricting fat at almost every other meal that day. As in, if I'm going to eat ribeye and hit my daily goals I basically HAVE to have the smoothie at breakfast, and either grilled chicken or shrimp as my meat at lunch or dinner.)
MID-MORNING SNACK & MID-AFTERNOON SNACK
I usually eat two small snacks during the day, somewhere in the 9:30am-10:30am range, and again in the 2pm-4pm range...
That's really about it. If I don't specifically post, you can assume I'm eating from the above. (But I'll try to post!)
EARLY MORNING SNACKS
I almost always have this before I work out (or before I run on Saturdays, since I don't lift that morning): two bananas and 16oz of water with 5g creatine, 10g collagen peptides, and 1/4 tsp of himalayan sea salt. Since the latest calorie increase, I've added roughly a tbsp (30ish grams) of nut butter to it 2 of the 3 mornings, and I'm guessing that will become a pretty regular thing. Sometimes if my breakfast involves bananas, I'll do apples & lowfat cottage cheese instead of the bananas. After the lifting workout, it depends. Sometimes I eat breakfast right after I get home from the workout, in which case I don't have a post-workout snack, but if I'm going quickly to running after lifting, (as I did today,) I'll have a Fairlife protein shake (150 calories, 30g protein!), a protein bar, or a runners' energy gel in between lifting and running. If, like today, it's an especially hard running day, I'll have a protein shake AND an energy gel in between.
BREAKFASTS
I basically rotate between seven breakfasts...
- yogurt, granola, triple berry blend (blackberries/raspberries/strawberries), and protein powder
- steel-cut oatmeal w/ protein powder and blueberries. Usually I also add flax seed, chia seeds, and/or crushed hemp hearts to it for some healthy fat
- homemade smoothie, high in carbs from fruits (mainly the ones listed in the snack options below), high in protein from greek yogurt and protein powder, (This is extremely low in fat.)
- Overnight oats w/ greek yogurt and protein powder, usually eaten with granola and/or nuts
- grits, scrambled eggs (usually 2 whole eggs with liquid egg whites added to give the volume of 4-5 eggs), reduced-fat cheddar cheese, toast, and a breakfast meat (either turkey sausage, uncured ham, or air-fryer bacon). If the numbers work, sometimes I have a piece of toast with this with cinnamon and honey, or two pieces of toast and eat it as a sandwich.
- Pancakes made from mashed bananas, oat flour, protein powder, cinnamon, and ground flaxseed, with one of the breakfast meats mentioned in the above bullet point
- No idea what to call it, but sometimes I eat what's basically a baked version of the pancakes, except I just do sprouted rolled oats instead of oat flour, mix it all up, put it in the oven, top it with triple berry blend, and eat with some greek yogurt
LUNCHES & DINNERS
Lunch and dinner are 100% interchangeable for me. I don't especially like sandwiches other than egg/cheese/meat at breakfast, so those are *never* in the mix. I didn't eat them when I weighed 280, and I ain't eating them at 180, either!
So, lunch or dinner is typically some combo of meat, veggies, and a starch. If the plan for the day has enough carbs (which often happens if I have oatmeal, granola, or grits at breakfast,) sometimes just one of the two meals contains a starch. At any rate, I'd say a good 95% of my lunches/dinners are some mix and match of....
- MEATS--smoked chicken (breast or thigh), sirloin steak*, salmon, shrimp, smoked turkey less often (I smoke my own chicken and turkey. Steak, salmon, and shrimp are almost always prepared in the air fryer these days. No extra-calorie oils needed!)
- VEGGIES--broccoli, asparagus, tomatoes, black beans, onions, garlic, green beans, avocado (yeah, I know it's a fruit...), bell peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, squash
- STARCHES--rice (just plain ol' microwave pouches), quinoa/brown rice mixture (ditto), sweet potato (steamed), edamame or chickpea pasta (w/ Yo Mama's brand sauce)
*--(Ribeye is 100% my preferred cut of steak, and I will eat it from time to time, but I've found sirloin to have the best combo of price and lean-ness to hit my goals. I *can* hit my goals with ribeye, but it means really restricting fat at almost every other meal that day. As in, if I'm going to eat ribeye and hit my daily goals I basically HAVE to have the smoothie at breakfast, and either grilled chicken or shrimp as my meat at lunch or dinner.)
MID-MORNING SNACK & MID-AFTERNOON SNACK
I usually eat two small snacks during the day, somewhere in the 9:30am-10:30am range, and again in the 2pm-4pm range...
- Often this is just pure fruit, one of the following: (strawberries, mangoes, frozen grapes, an apple, or frozen triple-berry blend if I didn't have it with breakfast)
- If I'm not going to hit my protein goal with just the three main meals, my snack will be apples with cinnamon and cottage cheese, greek yogurt with sugar free stevia-sweetened chocolate chips (if greek yogurt wasn't part of my breakfast,) or I'll add keto cinnamon cereal that's fairly high in protein to any of the fruit options in bullet point one. (No milk, just the dry cinnamon-y cereal with the fruit. It's really good.)
That's really about it. If I don't specifically post, you can assume I'm eating from the above. (But I'll try to post!)
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Ben_In_NC
Well-known member
Somehow making that big post feels like it's making it easier to do this. Go figure.
THURSDAY PLAN
Strength Training: Leg Day
Cardio: Easy/Recovery Bike Ride
Pre-Workout: 2 bananas, nut butter, collagen
Post-Workout: N/A (straight to breakfast at like 6:30...did cardio almost 2 hours later)
Breakfast: Egg Sandwich with turkey sausage, reduced-fat cheddar, and drizzle of honey
Mid-Morning Snack: 1 apple
Lunch: smoked chicken breast, avocado, black beans, onions, white rice, Mexican seasoning
Afternoon Snack: small version of breakfast smoothie referenced in general nutrition post
Dinner: air-fryer shrimp, chickpea pasta, Yo Mama's brand roasted garlic sauce
Evening Snack: 2 kiwi fruit
Today's Calorie Goal -- 3140
Today's Calorie Plan -- 3132
(The plan always is a little different from the goal because some things I can't hit the pre-planned number exactly. For example, today I have 113g of chicken breast planned at lunch. I can hit that number exactly by just cutting off that amount, but the 125g of avocado at that meal is an estimate and I won't know for sure how much until I cut it open and weight it. I just adjust other movable stuff along the way for that sort of thing.)
Carbs -- 406g (Daily Goal = 350g+)
Protein -- 214g (Daily Goal = 200g+)
Fiber -- 62g (Daily Goal = 40g+)
Saturated Fat -- 19g (Goal = Weekly Average of 25g or fewer)
General Nutrition Reference Post
THURSDAY PLAN
Strength Training: Leg Day
Cardio: Easy/Recovery Bike Ride
Pre-Workout: 2 bananas, nut butter, collagen
Post-Workout: N/A (straight to breakfast at like 6:30...did cardio almost 2 hours later)
Breakfast: Egg Sandwich with turkey sausage, reduced-fat cheddar, and drizzle of honey
Mid-Morning Snack: 1 apple
Lunch: smoked chicken breast, avocado, black beans, onions, white rice, Mexican seasoning
Afternoon Snack: small version of breakfast smoothie referenced in general nutrition post
Dinner: air-fryer shrimp, chickpea pasta, Yo Mama's brand roasted garlic sauce
Evening Snack: 2 kiwi fruit
Today's Calorie Goal -- 3140
Today's Calorie Plan -- 3132
(The plan always is a little different from the goal because some things I can't hit the pre-planned number exactly. For example, today I have 113g of chicken breast planned at lunch. I can hit that number exactly by just cutting off that amount, but the 125g of avocado at that meal is an estimate and I won't know for sure how much until I cut it open and weight it. I just adjust other movable stuff along the way for that sort of thing.)
Carbs -- 406g (Daily Goal = 350g+)
Protein -- 214g (Daily Goal = 200g+)
Fiber -- 62g (Daily Goal = 40g+)
Saturated Fat -- 19g (Goal = Weekly Average of 25g or fewer)
General Nutrition Reference Post
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