13 December 2006

Busy, busy, busy.......

like everyone else this time of year, right????

One person is out at work and that just makes things that much worse.

But overall things have been going very, very well. I have been working out every morning. My eating has been pretty darn good too.

Back in September I developed a theory about eating (I can't seem to link to it so you'll have to trust me). Basically it was that the human body will not hold on to stuff if it gets it on a regular basis. i.e.; water; the more you drink the more you want. Don't drink enough and you retain water. Salt; I've noticed that athletes who eat salt regularly excrete a lot of salt during races, whereas folks who don't really eat salt and take salt pills tend to not excrete salt. Food; skinny people eat all the time and are hungry a lot!!! Fat people tend to not feel hunger pains.

Okay, this is not perfect, it is purely anecdotal in nature but it's a general pattern I've noticed. My theory is that if you provide these items to your body regularly your body won't store them. So drink water, you're body won't retain it. Eat salt, you'll body will sweat it out. Eat food, you're body won't store as much fat.

Since that lightening bolt hit me I've really been working on eating regularly. Generally about 5 meals a day. When I do this regularly my hunger kicks in just like clockwork. I had a rough period where I wasn't doing this and I stopped getting hungry.

During most of this time I was keeping track of my food on FitDay. But I noticed I was getting way too caught up in the numbers. I would be totally discouraged when my caloric intake would hit 2500 for a day. Nevermind the fact that I did two workouts that day, I was stuck on the numbers.

Then I came across an article by a nutritionist, Dr. John M Berardi. He has a series of articles on how to customize an eating plan just for you. He said to start by following a few simple rules for the first 2 -3 weeks:

Eat every 2-3 hours.

Eat complete, lean protein with every meal

Eat veggies with every meal

Eat veggies/fruit with any meal. Eat "other" carbs only after exercise.

Eat healthy fats daily.

Don't drink beverages with more than 0 calories.

Eat whole foods whenever possible.

Simple, easy to follow and pretty much what I've been doing for a while now.

He also suggest creating 6 meals based on these guidelines that you could eat everyday.

He also suggests a compliance rate of 90% is great. So, I generally eat 5 meals a day x 7 days a week = 35 meals. I can then break the "rules" on 4 meals a week, not too bad.

So, using these rules as a basis, I've planned my eating for the last few weeks this way. I've done fairly well and really feel amazing.

I've stopped using FitDay and started using a written journal. In it I would only note deviations from my plan. For example, yesterdays entry read: "Eating was good. Had bratwurst for dinner and ice cream for dessert." This does a couple of things, it gets my focus away from the numbers and highlights when my problem times are (nighttime). It's also showing me how my eating effects my weight. I weigh myself every morning and log it in my journal. Interestingly, when I overeat, or drink beer ;) it takes 2 days to show up on the scale. This information is invaluable for my morale. When my eating is spot on yet the next morning the scale is up 2 lbs at least I understand what's going on.

Anyway, my point with this long winded report is that things are going well. I'm really feeling great, energy and a positive attitude. I've lost 4 lbs in the last 2 1/2 weeks and that's totally cool. More importantly is I feel totally in control again and that's a good thing.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah, something that works for you and helps you feel great! Four pounds in two weeks is real progress. Good luck!

Nancy Toby said...

Bratwurst and ice cream sounds like nearly the perfect meal to me. :-)

Vickie said...

That's an interesting theory about the eating/drinking thing. It obviously has some merit, since it seems to be working for you. And that, combined with your continued running, is making you feel really great too. Its like an endless circle: eat good, feel good; feel good, run good. Can't go wrong with that!

Ann (bunnygirl) said...

I've been doing the mini-meals thing for several years now, and I love it. I've always been a snacker with a particular weakness for eating when I'm bored. Putting myself on a schedule of small meals throughout the day really helps.

I don't think there's any such thing as a "one size fits all" type of diet, except that as you have quoted, it needs to be rich in whole, natural foods. Whether you eat them in three meals, six meals, or at what time of day is mostly irrelevant and a matter of individual preference and metabolism.

Anonymous said...

Way to go on losing the 4 lbs! And sounds like good guidlines for the eating. I mainly do 3 meals and 2 snacks but can clean up my diet a little more I think.
angelfish24

Anonymous said...

Congrats on being 4 lbs down. And thanks for the link to this sight. There's some great articles there and I'm slways interested.

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