Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Swim Night and Jack's Diet Tips

Last night I stopped at the pool and did some laps: 1200 meter breaststroke, 100 meter attempted freestyle. Later, after supper, I headed upstairs in the shed and did 15 minutes of free weight training. I had planned on doing a little more, but it was only 5C/41F in the shed and I only had a T-Shirt and shorts, brrrr. So I went back in the house and did several sets of pushups, situps, and crunches. I feel it today of course, altogether it was a good workout.

I did really good on my diet yesterday, I am down to 74kg/164 lbs. I’m dropping weight pretty fast, that’s already 4 lbs. this week and its only Wednesday. But I know most of that is water so I’m not getting too excited about it – if I’m still this weight on Monday, then I’ll be happy.

For any of you who are interested here is my “diet”:

Breakfast (5:00 a.m.): ½ to ¾ cup of granola cereal with low fat milk, 1 cup of coffee, 1 slice of whole grain bread with a teaspoon of peanut butter and a dab of honey, 1 – 8 oz. glass of tomato juice.

Snack (9:00 a.m.): 1 cup of coffee, 1 apple or banana.

Optional snack (10:30 a.m.): 1 piece of fruit or some veggies (e.g. carrots, celery, etc.).

Lunch (12:00 a.m.): 1 apple and 1 banana.

Optional snack (2:30 p.m.): 1 piece of fruit or some veggies.

Supper (approx. 6:00 p.m.): Small servings of whatever’s on the menu. Last night was leftover broccoli casserole (approx. 1 cup), and a fresh salad with lettuce, cherry tomatoes, scallions, ham slices, a sprinkling of grated cheese, and a slice of whole wheat bread.

I’m flexible with the snacks, when I feel like I’m going to start gnawing on my desk, then I know its time for a snack. I always drink a glass of water before the snack and right after – this leaves me feeling content longer.

On Friday I will probably eat some pasta for lunch in our cafeteria at work – I need more energy for my long run on Saturday morning. Otherwise the meals will be pretty similar to what I wrote. I should also mention that I drink between 4-6 liters of water a day.

As my running mileage increases I will have to eat more, it just doesn’t work any other way. The trick will be to find the right balance. If I can really concentrate on my diet for the next 3-4 weeks I won’t need to worry about it so much, it will be more a matter of maintaining what I lost until after the 50K at the end of May.

Tonight I want to run 14K (8.7M) to 20K (12.5M) depending on how I'm feeling when I get out there. Happy Running!

Comments:
I don't see much protein anywhere in there Jack. If you find that isn't working, maybe sub some cottage cheese for a piece of fruit here and there? Good luck with it!
 
Have you tried those 100 Calorie snack packs? I'm not sure if they have them overseas, but I love them. They have crackers, cookies, and other such goodies. The best part is, each packet is only 100 calories!! Another favorite of mine is string cheese. I've gotta get that calcium and protein when I can. Good luck to you!!
 
String cheese is one of my favs too. Try adding that or sliced cheese to your lunch. The nutrition lecture I attended suggested a snack should cover 2 food groups. For example apple & cheese.

But heh, if it works, don't fix it. Just make sure you have the energy for those long runs. Congrats on the loss.
 
Sounds healthy! I echo the other comments - a little protein will really help your muscles during this training. I like almonds and veggie burgers (boca burgers, morningstar farm burgers - low-cal, low-fat, good protein to tide me over).

How many calories a day are you consuming?
 
I was with you til the tomato juice, ugh, not my thing!

Have a great long run this weekend!
 
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