Week 5 Summary Report - Nutrition - Exercise - Weight

 

Week 5 of my Couch to 10k in 10 weeks blog and I am starting the week ready to up my game.  I was looking to push boundaries and get my weight to below 100kg for the first time in years. I am highly motivated and looking forward to it.

From a Nutritional point of view, though, I did not get off to a good start.  I had a night out planned on the Saturday with the fellas playing poker, which involved munching party snacks all night, although I was driving so no drinking was involved.

Sunday, I had friends over to watch the formula 1 (Crisps and dips) and we went out for a Pizza afterwards so the weekend can only be described as a Nutritional Assassination!

For the rest of the week, I am looking to increase my efforts so want to ensure that my calorie counts are healthy.  I am only looking to loose 600 grams of weight to get to the 100 kilos so looking to lose weight through exercise, not dieting.

 

 

Saturday - Saturday is a bad day - I have probably gross underestimated the calories in the nibbles but either way we look at it, my food intake for this day was appalling all round.

 

Sunday - Sunday is also a bad day - No breakfast, crisps and dips for lunch with a Pizza at dinner time (albeit a low calorie option), not a good day at all. Calorie count is surprising low, but the foods are fatty and not balanced!

 

Monday - Another bad day really. Did not eat much and the calorie count is far too low, particularly as I had a good swim on this day, so I am not promoting this as a good achievement at all.

 

Tuesday - Excellent day - had this is a run day and I have eaten well and managed to keep the calorie count low - very happy with this.

 

Wednesday - This is a good day too. I had enough to eat and this was not a run day so the lower calorie count is acceptable to me.

  

Thursday - Another excellent day. This was a run day. Food intake was balanced and had energy and the calorie count was just in the target range!

Friday - A good day here too, a good balance of foods and a wee treat in the evening. I had another good swim on this day so it was all good!

 

Exercise

I have had an excellent week of exercise, starting with a Park Run on the Saturday, that saw me complete the course in with a personal best, a swim on the Monday of 800m over an hour, 2 training runs in Alexandra park of 6km each that were completed in record times and as a continuous effort, finishing with another 750m swim on the Friday.

The calorie burn for the week is simply fantastic so I am hoping for some great results on the weight loss.
 

My new graph shows that I am starting my runs well, getting each km in on target times, but then half way through, I am faltering. This is most probably because I am training over a hill, which I am currently completing 3 times so next week I will look to do a track run to properly gauge my current performance.

It has been a week of getting stronger for sure and I am loving it. The 10k grows ever closer and I am sooooo looking forward to it!

Downside on the exercise is that I am still struggling with my swims in that I am unable to do multiple lengths without needing to stop. I get very out of breath. I think this is mostly to do with technique so I need to work on this. I think next week I will go for a swim, not for exercise but to work on my technique. Will also study some you tube clips for tips.

Weight

In terms of weight loss, I was really hoping to have smashed the 100kg ceiling but when I did the weigh-in, I came in at a gut wrenching 100g weight gain!  I was absolutely gutted as I had worked so hard through the week, and despite getting the week off to a bad start, did properly monitor my calories for the rest of the week.

With the calorie burn that I am achieving, I am really perplexed by this result so have done a little bit of digging to see if I could find an explanation. Using the power of Google, I found many articles on this very subject but Runners World has an excellent one - click here.

From this article and other on the Internet, I can take the following explanations that are specific to me...

1. Distance runners are building muscle mass, which is heavier than fat.

2. Regular runners will witness metabolism changes as the body stores carbs to use a fuel.

3. Runners should ensure that they are consuming plenty of protein to repair muscle damage during runs.

4. Runners can expect higher rates of fluid retention.

5. Weight Loss is not a good measure of achievement for runners.

So, I do think that as I push harder for distance and speed, that I am building muscle mass. For sure, I am noticing a bit more definition in my legs and arms as a result of the running and swimming, and I have been getting comments from people that I appear to be losing weight. I am also needing to buy a smaller belt for my jeans and I am noticing that my fat is decreasing and my waist line shrinking. 
 

I will continue to monitor weight, but generally, from the posts that I have seen, runners can expect to put weight on as they get stronger, so maybe I will need to reconsider my 10kg weight loss target.  I will look to decrease my calorie intake a little, but not by much. I am actually enjoying my food habits at the moment so will look to continue this after the 10k event has completed.

Final thoughts for the week are that I can look back on it and have a lot to be proud of. Over the next 2 weeks, I will look to increase my training up to 9k then focus on speed before my rest week before the event.



Favourite pic is the home straight on the Park Run. Can't wait to do it on the 10k!

 

 

Week 4 Summary Report - Nutrition - Excercise - Weight

Week 4 of my Couch to 10k in 10 weeks ambition had gotten off to a slow start. My week 3 weigh-in was ok but not great, my knee has been giving me gip so the start of week Park Run did not happen. 

 

On Sunday, I went to the isle of Cumbrae to for a picnic and some cycling round the island so having baked Sausage Rolls for this, I would not be getting off to a good start, so I will be happy to have lost a little weight and got back into my runs again.

 

Nutrition is a bit of a tricky one with the party foods but my breakdown for the week was...

 

Saturday: Good day, no exercise to calories around the 1500 mark is fine.

 

Sunday: Was out on a bike ride and picnicking. Considering this, I think the calorie count is excellent for the day.  Note that I am still enjoying my favourite treats, but taking them in smaller quantities.

 

Monday: Was a bit low on the calories but without exercise, and the indulgences of the day before, this is ok.

 

Tuesday: This is a run day, so not really a good performance on calories, a bit on the low side - should really stock up before a run.

 

Wednesday: Making up for the day before, 1700 calories (all healthy foods).

 

 

Thursday: This was a run day so 1800 calories is just about right. Note that I am still eating my normal foods such as butter on my corn on the cob!

 

Friday: 1500 calories was a bit on the light side as I had a swim on this day but I am trying to spread the eating throughout the day as opposed to eating at bulk times.

 

Average Daily Calorie intake for the week was 1618, which is a bit on low side but still well above the 1400 minimum.

 

 

Exercise for week was detailed in my last blog but the summary was...

 

A couple of major achievements to summarise such as on Tuesday, I ran the full 5k for the first time without slowing to a walk. I have also upped my distance to 6k, which is again non stop and pushed my swim up to 600m. 

In terms of fitness, I really am starting to see the benefits of all my training and feel very pleased with myself about it.

 

In terms of calories balance, this means that my daily average calorie balance worked out at 1236 for the week. This is a bit lower than the 1400 minimum that I wanted to set but at the same time, I am starting to get lighter so probably need to recalculate my minimum (do that for next week!) and I am never feeling like I am starving myself. In actual fact, I am feeling very good generally so I am not too concerned.

 

 

I have been taking the Map My Run data and putting it to some good use. This graph shows each run that I have completed in Alexandra Park, the total time taken for each run and the time for each kilometre. The grid lines are worked out as my target time for a 1hr 10k - 6 minutes per km.  From this you can really see the progress that I have made.

 

I am hoping to make it up to 9k during training as I want to achieve the 10k on the day of the Great Scottish Run but I will also do the 10k again in the park to compare.

 

One final graph for this week that is to show weight loss.

 

 

The weigh in was a nice and on target 100.6 kilos (that's 15 Stone 12 for the imperialists) giving me a 4 week weight loss of 4.4kg (9 1/2 lb).

 

So my final thoughts for the week are that I have never lost so much weight in such a short amount of time. I am not really dieting (just trying to be sensible) and my fitness and stamina levels are soaring.  I am well on track to accomplish this challenge and thoroughly enjoying myself in process.  Most importantly, it is not costing me very much at all. The running is free and I am not on any expensive diets. £3 a go for the swimming is not a lot either and I have enquired about joining Glasgow Club to give me a discount.  Its all good!

 

My favourite pic of the week. Inspired by Mo for the 10k but probably going to complete it in well over twice the time. I am not worthy of this pose, but it's a gesture of aspiration!

 

 

Week 2 Summary Report - Nutrition - Exercise - Weight

Week 2 and I am now well into my training for the Great Scottish Run 10k for the Ceridian Payback Foundation. It has been a great week in terms of fitness and learning and I am delighted to start with advising that I have registered for the 10k so I am now committed and next week I will be recruiting the troops from my workplace to join in and get the fundraising going.

Last week, I had a couple of actions and targets to set for this week. These were:

1.      Research Nutrition in terms of calorie balance

2.      Increase Running Training to 5k

3.      Increase Swimming to 500m

4.      Get below the obesity line on the Wii Fit

Let's start with the nutritionals. I want to be clear that I am doing this for fitness and weight loss BUT I absolutely want to promote healthy living. Last week, my daily average calorie count after exercise deductions was 1274 and despite being happy to lose 3.5 pounds, I wanted to research this as it felt like I was going too far and frankly, I am glad I did.

The first article to catch my attention was here at LiveStrong.com where they claim that the "Average" man needs a minimum of 1300 calories a day and recommends between 2000 and 2400. If you read this article, pay particular attention to the "Significance" section, which has a first sentence of "Eating too few calories can cause numerous problems before you die of starvation". Sounds scary and I believe from this that I definately needed to increase my calories for the level of exercise that I am doing.

The issue with most of these articles is that they always seem to talk about average men. I think at 6'1" and 227 pounds, I would not fall into this category so did some googling and found an excellent calculator at freedieting.com that takes in your height and weight, asks how much exercise you do in a week then calculates what your calorie intake should be to (a) maintain weight, (b) achieve weight loss and (c) achieve extreme weight loss.

The really interesting detail is in the supporting article where there are tips on how to keep your body guessing so that your metabolism does not slow down.

So for me, I am going work to a guideline of consuming between 1800 and 2250 calories per day over the week. Last week I did 1500 which I am now convinced was far too low for the amount of training I am doing!

With this lesson now learned, the day by day consumed calories for last week were as follows:

 

Saturday - I normally do a run on a Saturday morning so skip breakfast. Was out at night for a meal where I had a pasta. I am showing this as a bad day as I should have eaten more in the afternoon.

Sunday - Had some breakfast then had a BBQ in the late afternoon. Showing this as a bad day too as I went the opposite way and induldged myself too much. Alcohol intake was reasonable but I think the 2nd Burger is my moment of weakness on this day - the sensible choice would have been to have just 1. This would have put me on a green day!

Monday - Giving myself a green day on this one. Not quite the calories I should be on but this is a rest day for me so should make a concession. Note that I am simply eating the leftovers from the previous day's BBQ!

Tuesday - Perfect - I am right in zone I want to be in. This is a run day so it is good to eat a bit more.

Wednesday - Hmmm - Probably a bit on the low site but, again, this is a rest day so can make a concession - rated amber, as I could do a bit better.
 

Thursday - Another bad Day, I am just not getting the calories in that I really need. This was a runday so I need ot make sure that I stock up better. Probably a better lunch is what is needed here.

Friday - Perfect - Bang on with the Calorie count and exactly where I want to be. I did a swim on this day.

So overall, I have only managed to achieve healthy status on 3 days of the week. The weekend was a disaster in terms of nutrition and I need to do more mid week, particularly on run days.

Total Calorie intake for the week was 13162, a staggering 3000 more than the week before and the daily average was 1880, 300 up on the week before. Looking at these figures, I have definately made a positive impact on a healthy diet but there is still work to do.

Physical Activity

This a has been another active week with some excellent progress. Ramping up the running training to 5k has taken me to my limits but I am finding that with every run out, I am getting further before I need to stop for a walking break. I do seem to have problems with my breathing so next week's research will be into breathing techniques.

Also, my swim this week was the at new TollCross swimming pool, which is an olympic size. Last week I was in a 25 meter pool, so doing a length, stopping, doing another length was quite good. This time, a length was 50m so I really had to dig deep to complete the 500m that I wanted to. But I did achieve this (although anyone who watched me might claim this to have been debateable!).

Saturday:

Tuesday:

Thursday:

As my blogs through the week show, I am running further and finding that a steady pace in favour of a quick time works better and will server me better when I ramp up to the 6km. I still have not made it up to the top of the hill in Alexandra Park yet, but on my last run, was very close - Target set for next week!

My Calorie burn has for the week has gone right up as a result of the increased activity. 2672 for the week is over 800 on the week before, re-iterating the point that I absolutely need to eat more.

So the Daily Average Calorie Balance for this week was 1499, an increase of just over 200 on the week before but still not near enough to 1800 that I think I should be doing.

Finally, weight loss. Getting the Wii Fit out to check the progress, I am absolutely delighted to annouch that at 102.3 Kgs (a loss of 1kg / 2 pounds) and a BMI of 29.89 (-0.3), I am now officially Overweight! (yeeeeesssssss!!! - Fish Supper on the cards tonight for sure!). And as an incidental, my Wii Fit age is now 37 (-1) so in terms of weight loss, I am still well ahead of target.

Ultimately, this week has been a learning curve on getting the nutrition right and pacing myself during training. I still have some work to do on upping my calories but If I can do this but achieve the same weight loss (by filling up on less fatty things), then I will be a happy chappy indeed!

Focus and targets for next week

1.      Get the calorie counts up for the overall week.

2.      Get the good days and bad days in a zig-zig pattern.

3.      Only have bad days for being over (none under).

4.      Investigate breathing when running and swimming.

5.      Keep Running at 5k distance but in Alexandra park, make it to 3km before slowing.

6.      If I do a swim, keep it at 500m but try to do 5 x 100 meter runs.

Favourite Pic for the week: