Wednesday Weigh in

It was not by much, but my Tanita scale (the only place where I'm still 54!) settled at 165 this morning, so I am 'officially' 10 pounds down from 175, over the course of just about 10 weeks.  The next goal post is of course 160, where I've been a couple of times over the last few years.  At the rate we're going, it won't be until the end of July or early August, but that's ok.  It would not be possible or even sensible to try to speed up the weight loss process in the middle of a marathon training program.  It is tough enough already to maintain the daily calorie intake at 1800.

Recap:

Week 1: -1
Week 2: -1
Week 3: -3
Week 4:  0
Week 5: -1
Week 6: -1
Week 7:  0

Week 8: -1

Week 9: -1

Week 10: -1

Starting weight: 175
Current weight: 165

Loss to date: 10 lbs.

150 or Bust: 72 days down, 101 to go.

Running is going as well as can be expected in the Texas heat.  Completed first 3 weeks of 18-week Hal Higdon program, no hiccups so far.  Doing the longer runs at < 140 HR which translates into some pretty slow miles at times, but I have learned that lesson the hard way.  'Race' your regular runs and you've got nothing left for speed work or tempo runs, not to mention increasing the risk of injury or even becoming over trained.  Struggled a bit to maintain my pace during last Saturday's 6 mile pace run; ended up at 8:38 instead of the planned 8:35 pace.  No big deal this early on.  Yesterday's mile repeats at Rice University track were much more encouraging.  The first two were at about 7:42 and 7:35 respectively (botched the timing on the last one; it was slower).  It was around 94F so I was quite happy with the outcome.  Carrying quite a few less pounds around the middle is starting to make a difference!

In defense of potatoes

Potatoes have lately been buried in a veritable avalanche of bad publicity.  First the United States Depart of Agriculture banned it from the list of items that could be bought with a certain type of food stamps, and just last week another research finding (out of Harvard, no less!) blamed chips and potatoes as being two of the leading causes of obesity.  Boo and hiss. A pox on both your houses.

Due to the USDA's new policy, needy families are now prohibited from buying potatoes with Women, Infants and Children (WIC) vouchers.  They can buy butter, cheese, whole milk, and eggs through the program, but not a single white potato. The result of this short-sighted decision will be that women and children will be 'forced' to get more of their daily sustenance from often overly greasy and cholesterol-laden animal foods, rather than from nutrient-dense low-calorie foods such as plain boiled or baked potatoes.

As for the research study, we are dealing with some very misleading headlines surrounding this. Plain baked or boiled or steamed potatoes (not fried, with butter, sour cream etc) fit comfortably into a well-balanced diet and will not make you 'fat'. Intrinsically the potato is practically a 'super food' being loaded with nutrients.  Check it out, a medium sized potato contains a boatload of Vitamin C and quite a bit of protein, amongst others. Unfortunately the spud is often 'abused' by food manufacturers and in restaurants, ending up with an undeserved bad reputation due to all the grease, salt, sugar, cream, cheese, etc. that food engineers and chefs include to make it more palatable.  

As for the so-called research study listing all the usual suspects as causing obesity, it is totally bogus. Being and becoming overweight has nothing at all to do with what you eat; it has everything to do with how much of it you consume, and how many of the calories consumed you burn off either sitting around watching TV (very few) or going for a long vigorous walk (quite a few) or a 10-mile run (a ton).  We do not need yet another scientific study to point out the obvious. Duh.  Bury yourself in a bag of potato chips or scarf down a bacon and cheeseburger with fries every day and see where that gets you. Certainly not into a bikini. Practically any exercise program can be overwhelmed by indiscriminate eating.  It can take as much as 45 minutes of brisk walking or 20 minutes of jogging to burn off the calories consumed in one measly candy bar.  


So please, aspiring diet scientist: put the blame where it belongs.  Lay off the potatoes and go after the Lay's instead. Potatoes rule!

Wednesday Weigh-in

Weather delay (impending thunderstorm) for my planned  6-mile easy run this morning.  May have to postpone until later today or tonight.

Weighed in before my run:  down 1 more pound, right at 166.  One more pound to go for a solid 10 pound reduction over the course of 10 weeks.  So far so good, although I struggled the last few days with sudden urges to snack on raisins and nuts and raid the Girl Scout cookie jar.  I somehow or other managed to avoid the worst transgressions.  Writing down and logging the calories for everything you consume is crucial at such a stage, I think.  Also it helps to have specific calorie goals for each meal.  If you know breakfast is supposed to be around 400 calories and lunch 450, there is not too much wiggle room to load up on extra stuff.  My problem isn't breakfast or lunch, however.  It is at night - early evening - when my 'mindless eating' impulses are at their strongest.  Of course doing as much exercise as I am, often twice a day (running and lifting, or working out with the personal trainer) creates a calorie deficit which the body is instinctively trying to correct.  My job is to recognize that fact and deal with it.  You lose one pound of weight when the deficit reaches 3500 calories.  Either you eat less or you exercise more.  Preferably some of each, and in the right proportion to effect a healthy and sustainable weight reduction over time.

Recap:

Week 1: -1
Week 2: -1
Week 3: -3
Week 4:  0
Week 5: -1
Week 6: -1
Week 7:  0

Week 8: -1

Week 9: -1

Starting weight: 175
Current weight: 166

Loss to date: 9 lbs.

150 or Bust: 65 days down, 108 to go.

Grocery store blues

Once again my neighborhood Randall's (Safeway) decided not to have an express checkout lane open, during a very busy late Saturday morning shopping time.  There were several employees assisting other shoppers in the self-checkout lanes.  I guess they want to force me to also use the self-checkout lanes, but I refuse.  I do not enjoy listening to a disembodied voice telling me that there is an 'unfamiliar object' in the bagging area.  And it is not fun struggling to find an item on their badly written search menu.   I have a message for Safeway:  you can't force me to do anything.  Make it difficult for me to buy something from you, and I will buy it from somebody else.  Now if only HEB would open up a store a little closer to where we live.

Talking of grocery stores, this video about things "...getting real in the Whole Foods parking lot" is very funny.  And true.  Thanks to Kevin for the link:
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UFc1pr2yUU&feature=player_embedded

Running is going well, finished up Week 2 of the marathon training program without too much of a struggle.  Today's 11-mile run took a toll on my left foot though; just when I thought the Plantar Fasciitis was reeding, it is back big-time.  Will go ahead and make an appointment with the podiatrist next week.  Better to try and deal with it now than 3 weeks out from Oct 9.

Weigh-in Wednesday

Completed first week of 18-week Hal Higdon Intermediate II marathon training program.  26 miles total, with Sunday's 10-miler - started a little late so it got too hot - by far the toughest workout.  Still waffling a bit on target pace; will likely try for 3:45 which would put the marathon pace at 8:34.  I think.  

I will be modifying the program just slightly by doing the Tuesday and Thursday runs as mile repeats and tempo runs respectively.  Starting with 3 and increasing up to 5 or so total mile repeats on the track on Tuesdays at a heart rate of around 155.  The Thursday run will be at tempo pace with the heart rate around 150 or so, depending upon what our group leader Steve has up his sleeve.

I did my first 'Body Pump' barbell workout last night at Rice Rec Center.  Light weight, lots of repetition, great fun. It will probably get more challenging as I increase the weight.  There were only 4 of us, so it was practically like having a personal trainer!

Weight is down to 167.
 
Week 1: -1
Week 2: -1
Week 3: -3
Week 4:  0
Week 5: -1
Week 6: -1
Week 7:  0

Week 8: -1

Starting weight: 175
Current weight: 167

Ten pound loss is within sight!

150 or Bust: 58 days down, 115 to go.

On the right track

Yesterday was 'Day 1' of an 18-week training program (Hal Higdon Intermediate II) in preparation for the Oct 9 Hudson-Mohawk Marathon.  All over the US and elsewhere, thousands of other marathoners and would-be marathoners also put a tick-mark at the end of the first day of training for the Chicago and Portland Marathon and several others.  Here we go! 

The scale hit just a tad over 168 lbs this morning, which means that I am 7 pounds lighter than I was about 7 weeks ago, at the start of the '150 or Bust' program.  Clothes are starting to fit better, the Accu-Measure fat caliper reading at the sacro-ileum is getting close to 20mm (down from 28mm), and we are heading in the right direction. Down! 
 
Week 1: -1
Week 2: -1
Week 3: -3
Week 4:  0
Week 5: -1
Week 6: -1
Week 7:  0

Starting weight: 175
Current weight: 168

Seven pounds may not sound like an awful lot, but pick up a 7-pound sack of potatoes and ponder whether you'd prefer to run with or without it slung over your shoulder, for all of 26.2 miles. Easy call.  Now imagine running that distance with or without three 7-pound sacks! 

Running generally has been going pretty well:  the calf issues are mostly a thing of the past and the nagging plantar fasciitis seems to be under control.  Last week's total mileage was 30.5.  For the year to date I just topped 500 miles last Sunday.  Also walking quite a bit more; a mile before the daily run and about half a mile or so most evenings, with Daisy. 

150 or Bust:  49 days down, 124 to go.

Weigh-in Wednesday #2

A little bit rushed today but wanted to check in briefly.

Recapping:

Week 1: -1
Week 2: -1
Week 3: -3
Week 4:  0
Week 5: -1
Week 6: -1


Which puts me at 168 lbs this morning; making progress!  I have gone back to FitDay to log my daily calories - it is really the only way to get close to a specific target such as 1800 calories per day.  Too much guesswork involved unless you log it pretty obsessively.  Takes a bit of time but after a while you just pull the same stuff from history.  We all eat a lot of the same foods over and over, don't we...  I'm cooking mostly from Appetite for Reduction which has nutritional information for each recipe which helps a lot - it is a real PITA to try to figure out the nutritional analysis for recipes without it.

I seem to be winning the war with the plantar fasciitis, probably mostly because of regular icing, stretching, rolling, and lately also some calf strengthening exercises.  Important to stick with it, even when the symptoms disappear.  Note to self...

Running is going ok but will have to increase mileage when I start the actual 18-week training cycle (Hal Higdon Intermediate II) next week.  Last couple of weeks were 20 and 22 miles respectively.  Not gonna qualify for Boston with puny mileage like that... :-)

150 or Bust:  44 days down, 129 days to go.