This month's weigh and measure day brought disappointment to myself and my trainer. Oh sure, I lost 10 lbs and now weigh 215.4. That is a huge accomplishment and I can't even tell you the last time I weighed this little. But and it is a huge BUT....8lbs of my loss was muscle. I even gained a percentage of body fat. The two main explanations as to why this occurred are a) I don't eat enough calories each day particularly protein and b) I am exercising more given the challenge to complete 100 miles and preparing for my 10k.
So how do we fix this....
I know I should eat more but I can't help that I'm not always hungry. I don't crave protein either. I force myself to eat what I do intake each day. I need to suck it up and eat the 1700 calories that my body requires each day. But I have a mental block about eating more. I KNOW that you need to eat to lose and trust me poor Ms. All-star has all but beat it into my head but I still have a hard time doing it. It is hard to admit that you need to eat when all you want is the weight to disappear. It is 100% all in my psyche and something I have to work through. There is no easy answer to fixing my internal dilemmas. I need to convince myself that eating properly didn't make me fat that it is okay to eat the right foods in the right amounts.
As for all the running and meeting my challenge, Ms. AS is not telling me to stop or to discourage me from finishing. She knows that it is important for me to push myself and see what I can accomplish this month. I just need to better fuel my body to handle all the extra activity. This muscle loss is totally my bodies way of telling me that we aren't getting what we need and we need more so that you can succeed. I need to start listening to it better. And for those saying that I should cross train and strength train, I do 3 days a week. I just run/walk like a mad woman on top of all the other cool stuff! I enjoy doing all of it but maybe next month I need to dial it back just a little. I do sort of need this body for years to come and now would not be a great time to burn her out!
There was some inch lossage but I was too distracted by the muscle loss and fat gain to pay attention to it. I think my waist shrunk, okay I know my waist has shrunk because I have to pull my pants up Urkel-style! I also need some new bras so there is more shrinkage! I need to stop focusing on the negative parts of last night and remember that I have made huge changes to my body. I just need to be a bit nicer to it!
Challenge updates tomorrow!
Can I just say this. Do not get too caught up in the muscle/fat measurement. There is a lot of variability there and is affected by your hydration at the time measurements are taken. There is a lot of human error in there sort of measures. If you are loosing inches, loosing weight and getting stronger, you are doing EXACTLY what you should be doing. Before you decide to change anything, why don't you calculate the grams of protein you are eating. About 30% of your calories should be protein.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the insight Doc! I went back and looked through my food program and on days when I actually ate close to my cal limit I did great on protein. On days that I didn't (which are the majority) I need some work. I think I need to be more consistent!
ReplyDeleteProtein Protein Protein. And strength training will help-this won't screw up your race training either... And that is true about hydration-water is a better conductor for the fat measuring machine, but if your electrolytes are higher that can increase conductance, too. It is a fickle machine... Just stick to your plan-and make sure you are taking in enough protein!!! ;-)
ReplyDeletePolar's Mom
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