TEA Thread Wk of Feb 5, 2006

[plutosmyfav]

A new week! A new opportunity to make improvements in our eating for fitness and health.

This week my AT (accountability target) will be to keep my junk food intake to less than 25% of my overall points, stay withing my weekly points and get my water in!

Thought to ponder:
Athletes often visualize the winning outcome of the event they are training for. We can adapt this tool for out eating, too. Think of one or more of the really challenging food events that you face. It my be a weekly meeting with donuts, late night tv viewing, unexpected eating out, etc. Visualize how you would like to see yourself handle the situation. Practice your visualization, and then when the event comes, remind yourself of your vision and go for it! Make it a reality! Think if through with as much detail as possible for the best results. Good luck!

Sunny

 

[jodistar]

Great thought

Once again I would like to improve on my water intake. I already fixed one of my problems with training effectively - I bought a new pair of sneakers.....,what a difference.

Jodi

 

[sara]

Good morning!

I made my food goal last week, barely!!! Although, towards the end, I found myself eating to get the numbers. Probably not the best thing to do.

This week I'm going back to only water as my goal. I started slacking in the water department last week.

Good luck everyone!!!

Sara

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Hmm--superbowl equals naughty LLP.

So this week--saying no to all munchies--under 25% fat, over 25% protein.

And begin monitoring and documenting water intake. Shooting for 8 glasses per day.

 

[xterratri]

Well, I actually made my fluid intake last week and am off to a good start this week so I need a new goals.

My goal this week is to increase my caloric intake to over 2000 cal/day.

Since I started tracking my nutrition with my training log at beginnertriathlete.com, I've only hit this one day and that was because I ate a whole 1260 calorie pizza for dinner that night along with the many calories from fat. A normal day I'm getting 1500-1800. Problem is that just the workouts tend average 1000+ cals used per day and then there is the BMR, thermic effect of feeding, etc that you burn just being alive. I dropped between 5-6 lbs in the last month which is too much too fast for the level I'm training. Yes, at 120 I'm closer to my goal of being in the mid-upper teens but I know my training is suffering because of it. I haven't had a really good run time-wise since Nov. Surprisingly I seem to be riding well but maybe that's because I have good enough cardio but otherwise don't have the months of information to compare it to that I do with running. So maybe my riding might take a huge leap if I can get my caloric intake closer to where it belongs.

 

[magslite]

This week I will stick with AT of drinking 64oz of water/day, more if it is a running day. I was not a good with this last week as I could have been.

I will also have a piece of fruit with breakfast and lunch each day.

Maggie

 

[msblrobs]

I did terrible last week with my eating while traveling, however my runs were much better due to the increased caloric intake. I'm back on the wagon this week and will continue to limit my food intake to healthy choices when I am truly hungry. I do not plan on getting on the scale for a while either...

 

[plutosmyfav]

Good morning.

I have had two bad days Sunday and Monday both ended above point ranges and mega % junk

Today is a new day!

Keep checking in everyone Its persistence not perfection that gets us to our goals

Sunny

 

[xterratri]

I have a request. If anyone has the time, can you read through my journal? I need suggestions on how to increase my caloric intake without really altering my food choices. For instance, substituting fattier cuts of meat for lean ones just to get more calories isn't an option. I thought I was eating a lot but the caloric intake is practically starvation level w/ my activity level. Thanks.

 

[DavidandDenise]

Lynne~I read through your journal, and I think it's great you recognize that you definitely need to eat more. I think some more fruit and lean meat might help you meet your caloric goal. It doesn't seem like you eat much; are you really getting full? Another good snack option might be LF popcorn. Also, try adding in some nuts or peanut butter on your apples. These are just a few thoughts. How often do you eat? Three 500 calorie "meals" and a couple 200 calorie and a 100 calorie snack might be a good route for you to try. This will allow you to have a recovery snack after your workouts and not feel so stuffed in one sitting. Good luck--I would just slowly add things in if it's too hard all at once.

I have been doing much better in the water department--I had 64oz. yesterday at work and another 12oz. after my workout. I know that my hydration is very important with so many races coming up and the warm weather just around the corner--I'm going to continue working on that before I set any new goals.

To those struggling this week, just hang in there and don't be so hard on yourselves. We have to take baby steps.

 

[plutosmyfav]

Oh d-d-d-dear, dear (as piglet would say). I've fallen and I can't get up I am having a really hard time keeping the junk out of my diet. I think I might be overtraining and craving carbs to compensate. I don't know. But its Wednesday and depending on how today goes I may be out of flex points with 4 days to go

Lynn, I'll check out your journal. I'm an expert at adding calories... oh right, you said without altering your choices too much... well I guess the ben and jerry's is out then, huh? Just kidding. I think I can help for real.

Keep checking in everyone. I need your support. I'm being very lazy about my AT and I know I'll be mad at myself if I don't get with the program.

Sunny

 

[DavidandDenise]

Hang in there, Sunny. I think you might be right about your body wanting more carbs since you're in training. Try adding more complex carbs into each meal. I've also found that driking water helps me with cravings. How are you doing on your fluid goals? Do you ever do FF popcorn as a snack? It's a healthy whole grain that helps me if I'm really hungry. I'm sorry, I know I'm not telling anything you don't already know, and I'm not any help. However, I do want you to know that I'm just trying to encourage you! You can do it!

Okay--I have a question for everyone (probably a few actually!):

After running the WDW marathon, I decided the only way I was going to improve my 3:57:16 time was to lose weight. (Well, I know that some speedwork and harder training would help too, but I think the weight is a great place to start.) I like the way Lynne put it, a "quest for race weight". This is my goal--lose 15-20, or even 25 pounds (I am currently at the upper end of the "normal" healthy weight for my height, and I would like to get to the lower end of that range.) Anyway, I have a sister who runs and is much smaller than me in both height and weight. She is very competitive (as am I), and has basically challanged me to beat her in the two races we are running together (a 10miler and a half marathon). She keeps making snide comments about the races. DH and I have decided that I HAVE to beat her! So, I want to improve my times over the next few months. Like I said, I think this is going to require me to lose weight, and that process has not been going well. In fact, I managed to gain a few pounds while I was training for the marthon! I've decided to look at my running as just training and not exercise and have added in aerobics as my "lose weight exercise". Do you guys think this is a good plan? Also, since I already decided to lose weight before I decided I HAVE to beat my sister, is it okay to want to beat her so badly? I'm still losing the weight for myself. Is this a healthy motivation? I'm sorry it took me so long to get to the questions--let me know what you guys think! Thanks!

 

[plutosmyfav]

Hi Denise,

Thank you for the encouragement and the tips. I haven't been as good with my water as I should be, and I had forgotten about FF popcorn! I used to eat it all the time. I'll try turning to that for my "snacky" attacks.

I feel the same as you about improving speed. I feel my biggest limiting factor right now is my weight. I'm at the top of my healthy range, too. I also would like to be at the bottom. I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting to beat you sister that bad!!!! Just take the weight-loss slowly. Lynn and I both experienced a performance drop when losing too quickly. The body can't be deep into a calorie deficit and have the glycogen tanks topped off at the same time! I bet if you posted your menus Lynn could give you some pointers! GOod luck, keep posting.

I've made bad choiced today. I was home with my sick DS. That usually leads to snacking and poor food choiced But I'm getting my water in today

Sunny

 

[plutosmyfav]

See the:

in my siggie?

I totally forgot about that I'm getting serious now. I'm sorry I haven't been a very good role model for this thread so far... But look out! A new day is dawning...

Heads up everybody

Sunny

 

[xterratri]

Sunny and Denise- be careful about using the published weight ranges. they are notorious for not taking into account both body build(endo, ecto, mesomorph)(or in english- rail thin, blob, and muscular) and muscle mass. Sunny- you're lifting african elephants, that implies a certain amount of muscle mass. Muscle is denser/weighs more than fat for the same space. Maybe an intermediate goal of mid-weight range rather than going from upper to lower.

Denise- what are sisters for if not to give the beat down to? I would be more than happy to look at your menus.

I inadvertantly became the queen of low calories by focusing on making healthy food choices. While that sounds like a good idea in theory, it's not working out so well for me. My performance has definitely dropped and it's even more important to try and increase my caloric intake now than it would be if I was 'just' training to run a marathon. I'm running about the same weekly mileage(that was a surprise as I expected it would go down- the LR is shorter topping out at 13 miles in this phase but I'm running 4 days a week and they tend to be longer sessions) plus 3 bike sessions plus 3 swim sessions. It's going to be tough to increase my calories while still making food choices I'm happy with. I think I did better today though.

 

[sara]

Sunny, you're a perfect role model!!! Good job on the water today.

Denise, I'm intrigued by your post...how fun to have a big goal like that...when are the races? Mixing up your work outs should boost your metabolism. Good luck!

Lynn, it's been a long time since I've been a student. It almost seems like you don't have time to eat. I hope you figure out how to up your calories.

I've been really good with water this week. Although, it seems to be in the morning and again in the evening. I slack off mid day. I should probably work on that.

Keep up the good work!

Sara

 

[perfectmatch300]

Well, I sure haven't been very accountable lately, have I?

Actually, I have done well with my water, not so well with my food portion sizes, and HORRIBLE with sleep ! DH's mom is not doing very well, she's in Brooklyn NY and we are here in FL so it has been a stressful week. DH is going to see her tomorrow.

I'm thinking my goal for next week might need to be to show up and be accountable. Oh yeah, water, food portions, and SLEEP too!

 

[msblrobs]

I'm hanging in there, trying to find the balance between eating enough to fuel my exercise but still allowing myself a caloric deficit so I can drop a few pounds. I went to Olive Garden for dinner last night and only had a bowl of minestrone soup, no breadsticks, so I consider that a major victory!!

 

[DavidandDenise]

Thank you all so much for your kind words and concerns. It has crossed my mind that I may not get faster if I lose some weight, but I think I left out the very important fact that I was faster when I was 16 pounds lighter. I just need to lose the fat. Maybe I'll post my menus sometime--I think I might actually have a calorie deficit that is hurting my metabolism. I kept track of what I ate this weekend for the first time in a long time, and I don't get much fat in my diet. I'll keep working on it.

The mini we're running with my sister is April 9th in Valparaiso, IN, and the 10 miler is April 22nd in Clevland, OH.

I know I can't lose much weight between now and then, but I'm working on toning up and losing some fat!

I hope everyone is doing well!