Eating to Lose Weight, Increasing Mileage, and Ice Cream

Ice cream is good.

Yummy!

Yep, I said it. I don’t care if it has 1,000 grams of sugar and a million calories, ice cream is good stuff.

I like it ice cold with syrup on top. Hot fudge, in particular, smothered over a brownie . . . . a sundae of sorts.

Yeah, I said it! Just like my granddad, I LOVE ICE CREAM!

And yes, you are right: I didn’t eat breakfast before my 5 miler this morning! Nope, and now i want a hot fudge sundae. For breakfast. Go figure!

Eating to Lose Weight

Guess what, mommas? You gotta eat to lose weight!

Now, I’m not saying go out and throw down eighteen hot fudge sundaes, but I am saying don’t go running around on an empty belly (as I am doing this morning!).

One of the biggest misconceptions of losing weight is that you have to starve yourself and cut back to 1000 calories per day while working out for three hours straight. Not only will you fry – run out of energy because you do not have the fuel needed to keep up this routine – but your body will say, “Holy Shit! You’re not giving me enough to run on, so now I’m going into conservation mode!”

In fact, the American College of Sports Medicine says that women shouldn’t go below 1,200 calories per day. So, if you find you are eating too little, you are doing the body no good!

Even one of the contestants on the Biggest Loser this week said he felt he had to avoid carbs and calories in order to continue losing. Guess what, he’s sabotaging his diet by doing just the opposite.

So what do you need to remember?

True if you want to lose weight you’ll need to expend more energy (ie: exercising) than you take in (ie: eating). So, burn more calories than you ingest. If you want to lose one pound per week you need to have a 3,500 caloric deficit each week. So this means through exercising (expending some calories) and cutting back on calories you can reach this deficit and lose a pound.

But you don’t want to starve your body, so you have to find the point where you are feeding your body for the exercise you are doing but you are not tricking it into thinking you are starving so it goes into save mode.

And remember, without food you will have no energy! Simple as that! If you want to run a marathon and you stop eating, you’re going to crash. Your body needs food as fuel, just like a car needs gas. Sometimes it helps to think of it in this way: I need to fuel my body. That way you’ll know you need to eat in order to go but you won’t overeat.

So what should you remember?

1. Eating is meant to fuel your body – not stuff it, not starve it. You need to eat the right types of foods and enough calories each day to sufficiently fuel the energy you are expending while not overeating.
2. To fuel your body you should be looking at eating a diet that includes complex carbs (brown rice, pasta), protein (eggs, nuts, chicken, meat) and lots of fresh fruits and veggies.
3. Balance the carbs and proteins. Don’t just eat a plate of pasta; put some chicke on top to keep your body full longer.
4. Don’t skip the carbs! So many times I have heard people say they don’t eat carbs. my best friend did away with carbs, is a runner, and stopped losing weight. When she picked up some complex carbs she started losing again. Carbs are easier to burn than proteins and fat-don’t be afraid of them if you are running! Just don’t down a tub of sugar each day and you should be okay!
5. Don’t skip breakfast! Your body needs this to wake up and get going. Remember, you have gone all night long without eating-it is running on empty when you wake.
6. In addition, it is thirsty! Get up and drink a glass of water no matter what you are going to do next.
7. Eat several small meals per day instead of two large ones. Your body needs continuous fuel so it doesn’t crash. Supply it with smaller but more frequent meals to sustain your body.

A variety of forumlas exist for figuring out your total caloric needs. These vary from person to person since we all burn differently. Someone who runs three miles might burn 300 calories while someone else might burn 350. I’ll send you over here to look through some information about caloric intake.

Increasing Mileage

I have been increasing my running mileage this week. Knee seems to be doing well with the adjustment. I added on a day of running, and I plan to go eight this Saturday, which will be my longest run since Disney. I’m hoping the knee is okay, and I hope to get back into double digits next Saturday.

Don’t forget that you should not go over 10% increase each week in order to prevent injuries.

Listen to your body! Someone who is running higher mileage may have no problem with a larger increase while someone starting off might need to increase in mileage even less than this.

Now, the kids are up and all over me, so off I go! Don’t forget to eat healthfully today to fuel your body!