First of all, I have a new saturday high-mileage. I did 10 full miles on the Sandy nature trails by the high school yesterday. The last mile was a little ugly, but I did it. That's an acheived goal right there baby. My goal was to get to 10 miles on Saturdays. Boom. I'm there.
Second, I'm pretty sure I won the weekly contest for our biggest loser competition at church. Final results were a whopping 9.5 pounds. Now, your instinctual reaction might be to be amazed. DON'T BE. Instead, as an informed Fatty reader, you should be skeptical. Or at least ask, "9.5 pounds of WHAT?"
Good question. If I'm lucky, there were 3 pounds lost of fat. The rest is water and maybe some muscle. Like I said, I just wanted to do this one week to show it could be done. How'd I do it? Exercise and fewer calories. Then I ate very little on Saturday AND I drank very very little on Saturday and Sunday morning. I slept in extra clothing to try to sweat a little. I normally drink a ton of water. So, I was just craving H2O. At church I was trying not to stare at a full water bottle on the floor that my friend's wife had brought.
By now you should know that no one loses 9.5 pounds of fat in a week unless it's through liposuction. Water loss will always be involved in big negative number weigh-ins. The majority of a pound of muscle is water also.
Bottom line, when I got home today I drank a ton of water and ate a piece of cake before a big breakfast. From now on, Fatty is back to the slow and steady plan.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Let's Learn About Lard Loss
As I've mentioned before, "weight loss" is really simple in theory. You just expend more calories than you take in. Since I'm really going for it this week, I thought I'd explain with some examples.
First, it's helpful to know your caloric needs for the day. This is basically your Basal/Resting metabolic rate (how many calories you burn just sitting there) times a multiplier for activity level. Here's an easy calculator to give you an idea.
I've done many calculators like this. I usually get something like 3600-4200 calories. For the sake of the math, I'll go with 3700.
So, here are my caloric intakes over the last few days:
SUNDAY: 2100
MONDAY: 2580
TUESDAY: 3275
WEDNESDAY: 2735
Total Intake: 10690
Total Needed: 14800
Total deficit: 4110
Total deficit in fat pounds: 1.174 lbs.
Notice, that's a caloric deficit of like 28%. I'm cutting well over a quarter of my "break even" calories per day.
Now some of you are looking at a day of 3200 calories and thinking, what a PIG! Believe me, my body was not feeling like a pig. First of all, on Tuesday when I took in that amount of calories, I also burned around 1225 through exercise. The only way you can sustain that kind of exercise is by fueling your body. In fact, I've noticed my energy level dropping as the week goes on. I'm cutting back more than usual on the calories and I can feel my body have less energy. When I ran yesterday and today, I felt especially tired. That's unusual for me. I'm not sure how I'll survive my long jog on Saturday yet. In any case, I need to even reel in the caloric intake further if I want to make it to 5 pounds. Saturday will be big. The amount of calories I burn doing 9 miles is a lot. I lose a half of pound of fat at least.
Is anyone noticing how difficult it is to lose more than 2 pounds a week? To burn 5 pounds of FAT in a week, you have to have to be at a 17500 calorie deficit. My entire weekly calorie needs are around 25900. That includes all the calories needed to jog 25-30 miles in that week! If I want to create a deficit of 17500 calories, I have to cut my intake by TWO-THIRDS! That's mild starvation. Instead, I'm going to try to increase the exercise while moderately reducing calories. We'll see how I do.
Again, when you hear of 5+ pounds lost in a week, remember this. The only way you get that is through extreme calorie deficits. Think hours and hours of exercise a day with little to eat. OR, through water and muscle loss. Either one is NOT pretty.
First, it's helpful to know your caloric needs for the day. This is basically your Basal/Resting metabolic rate (how many calories you burn just sitting there) times a multiplier for activity level. Here's an easy calculator to give you an idea.
I've done many calculators like this. I usually get something like 3600-4200 calories. For the sake of the math, I'll go with 3700.
So, here are my caloric intakes over the last few days:
SUNDAY: 2100
MONDAY: 2580
TUESDAY: 3275
WEDNESDAY: 2735
Total Intake: 10690
Total Needed: 14800
Total deficit: 4110
Total deficit in fat pounds: 1.174 lbs.
Notice, that's a caloric deficit of like 28%. I'm cutting well over a quarter of my "break even" calories per day.
Now some of you are looking at a day of 3200 calories and thinking, what a PIG! Believe me, my body was not feeling like a pig. First of all, on Tuesday when I took in that amount of calories, I also burned around 1225 through exercise. The only way you can sustain that kind of exercise is by fueling your body. In fact, I've noticed my energy level dropping as the week goes on. I'm cutting back more than usual on the calories and I can feel my body have less energy. When I ran yesterday and today, I felt especially tired. That's unusual for me. I'm not sure how I'll survive my long jog on Saturday yet. In any case, I need to even reel in the caloric intake further if I want to make it to 5 pounds. Saturday will be big. The amount of calories I burn doing 9 miles is a lot. I lose a half of pound of fat at least.
Is anyone noticing how difficult it is to lose more than 2 pounds a week? To burn 5 pounds of FAT in a week, you have to have to be at a 17500 calorie deficit. My entire weekly calorie needs are around 25900. That includes all the calories needed to jog 25-30 miles in that week! If I want to create a deficit of 17500 calories, I have to cut my intake by TWO-THIRDS! That's mild starvation. Instead, I'm going to try to increase the exercise while moderately reducing calories. We'll see how I do.
Again, when you hear of 5+ pounds lost in a week, remember this. The only way you get that is through extreme calorie deficits. Think hours and hours of exercise a day with little to eat. OR, through water and muscle loss. Either one is NOT pretty.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Fatty RAN!
Ladies and Gentlemen- Boys and Girls,
I did it. Normally on Mondays I do intervals. Last week I went between 5.8 and 6.2 mph. Today, I decided I should go for the run. Actually, it's called a tempo run. Tempo runs are done at a pace that is basically the fastest that you can go for a long distance. Run too fast and your legs will build up lactic acid. That makes you tire quickly and forces you to stop. Run too slow and there is no lactic build up. But, if you run right at that border, you can train your body to deal more efficiently with the lactic acid. That way you can push that border for a faster and faster pace.
Anyway, I figured I could do 6 mph today (10 min mile) for a while. My goal was 6 miles, but I wasn't going to kill myself to get there. Well, I did better than I thought. Why do 6 miles when you can do a 10k (6.2 miles)? So, I did a 10k RUN today. The first 5 miles I was right at 6mph on the treadmill. But, I realized that I actually wasn't quite at my border yet. So, I turned it up to 6.2mph for the last 1.2 miles.
Bottom line: FATTY RAN TODAY.
This is a new pace and non-saturday distance for me. It didn't even kill me. I had some more fuel in the tank at the end. I'm pumped to see what I can do this week. I'm thinking another 10k tomorrow at 6mph. We'll see. My goal, though is to break my weekly mileage record of 29.9 miles. I should be able to at least hit 30 this week.
Lastly, for those of you who follow the biggest loser thing at church: I haven't won the weekly competition yet. All these other jokers have been dropping the easy weight the first several weeks. But, now everyone is slowing down. It's time for Fatty to strike. This is my week to win most weight lost by percentage. Now, normally I just go for the 1-2 pound thing. This week only I'm going to make an exception just to show these fools who's boss. I'm carefully tracking my calorie intake and calories spent on exercise. I figure I'll shoot for 5ish pounds. Who knows, maybe I'll throw in an extra 1 or 2 water pounds for fun. I may burn a little muscle, but one week won't kill me.
Just over a week till I do the monthly weigh-in and measurements.
Fatty OUT.
I did it. Normally on Mondays I do intervals. Last week I went between 5.8 and 6.2 mph. Today, I decided I should go for the run. Actually, it's called a tempo run. Tempo runs are done at a pace that is basically the fastest that you can go for a long distance. Run too fast and your legs will build up lactic acid. That makes you tire quickly and forces you to stop. Run too slow and there is no lactic build up. But, if you run right at that border, you can train your body to deal more efficiently with the lactic acid. That way you can push that border for a faster and faster pace.
Anyway, I figured I could do 6 mph today (10 min mile) for a while. My goal was 6 miles, but I wasn't going to kill myself to get there. Well, I did better than I thought. Why do 6 miles when you can do a 10k (6.2 miles)? So, I did a 10k RUN today. The first 5 miles I was right at 6mph on the treadmill. But, I realized that I actually wasn't quite at my border yet. So, I turned it up to 6.2mph for the last 1.2 miles.
Bottom line: FATTY RAN TODAY.
This is a new pace and non-saturday distance for me. It didn't even kill me. I had some more fuel in the tank at the end. I'm pumped to see what I can do this week. I'm thinking another 10k tomorrow at 6mph. We'll see. My goal, though is to break my weekly mileage record of 29.9 miles. I should be able to at least hit 30 this week.
Lastly, for those of you who follow the biggest loser thing at church: I haven't won the weekly competition yet. All these other jokers have been dropping the easy weight the first several weeks. But, now everyone is slowing down. It's time for Fatty to strike. This is my week to win most weight lost by percentage. Now, normally I just go for the 1-2 pound thing. This week only I'm going to make an exception just to show these fools who's boss. I'm carefully tracking my calorie intake and calories spent on exercise. I figure I'll shoot for 5ish pounds. Who knows, maybe I'll throw in an extra 1 or 2 water pounds for fun. I may burn a little muscle, but one week won't kill me.
Just over a week till I do the monthly weigh-in and measurements.
Fatty OUT.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
8 miles? Puh-leeeeze!
The highlight for this week? Mileage. First off, the total for the week is right about 29.9 miles. Most people would round that to "30", but I dislike exaggeration.
I did cap off the week with a 9 mile jog today. That is a new single-session distance. If you remember, my Saturday goal was to get to 10 miles. I'll do that by the beginning of summer I figure.
Why? Well, two reasons: First, I want to build endurance. When I do 9 miles, I have to slow down to finish. Since I'm already slow, I end up in a slow jog- about 5.2 mph today. So, it takes me an hour and 45 minutes ish. That long in a cardio heartrate training zone and you get.. endurance. The second reason is calories. Including warm-up and cool-down, I'm doing over 2 hours of sweat-producing exercise. That translates to around 2000 calories. Most of that is fat. In other words, I lose 1/2 pound of lard on Saturdays alone. Not bad.
Now, I have a friend who began recently to encourage me to do more intensity rather than volume of training. There is research to back that up. I'm assuming he doesn't read the blog. Otherwise, he'd see my entry on HIITs that I wrote months ago. So, why do I smile and nod and continue to up my Saturday mileage? You can't do interval training everyday. I do intervals once or twice a week and high mileage once. I think my approach is more well-rounded and appropriate for my goals.
Especially if you are working your legs with weights during the week, too many sessions of interval training may put you at risk for overtraining. That's a bad thing.
For now, Fatty is on track.
I did cap off the week with a 9 mile jog today. That is a new single-session distance. If you remember, my Saturday goal was to get to 10 miles. I'll do that by the beginning of summer I figure.
Why? Well, two reasons: First, I want to build endurance. When I do 9 miles, I have to slow down to finish. Since I'm already slow, I end up in a slow jog- about 5.2 mph today. So, it takes me an hour and 45 minutes ish. That long in a cardio heartrate training zone and you get.. endurance. The second reason is calories. Including warm-up and cool-down, I'm doing over 2 hours of sweat-producing exercise. That translates to around 2000 calories. Most of that is fat. In other words, I lose 1/2 pound of lard on Saturdays alone. Not bad.
Now, I have a friend who began recently to encourage me to do more intensity rather than volume of training. There is research to back that up. I'm assuming he doesn't read the blog. Otherwise, he'd see my entry on HIITs that I wrote months ago. So, why do I smile and nod and continue to up my Saturday mileage? You can't do interval training everyday. I do intervals once or twice a week and high mileage once. I think my approach is more well-rounded and appropriate for my goals.
Especially if you are working your legs with weights during the week, too many sessions of interval training may put you at risk for overtraining. That's a bad thing.
For now, Fatty is on track.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Montly Goal Check Update
Okay, I'm a little behind on this. But, I have the data from the beginning of the month. So, I'll update it now.
Weight: 266 (without shoes)
Body Fat %: 27.36
-Fat weight: 72.78 lbs
-Lean weight: 193.22 (muscle, bones, tendons, etc..)
Total mileage logged in the month of January: 84 miles
Total monthly fat loss: 4.53 pounds
Total monthly lean mass change: -1.27lb (hmm.. Not so good. I'll watch this)
Total monthly body fat % change: -1.08%
GOAL CHECK: (from 12/1/09)
1.) Lose 35 pounds of fat
Down about 12.1 pounds of fat since the first of December. Looks like I'm right on track for my 35 pounds.
2.) Get to a consistent pace of 9:45 a mile or better
Right now I can do 6 miles at about 10.5 mins/mile without dying. We'll see how that improves. 9:45 min/mile is at about 6.15 mph. I can do that for a mile or two. But, I need to extend that pace out to 6 miles. I think I'm on track to do that. It'll be easier as I get lighter too.
3.) Be able to run 6 miles at the 9:45 pace twice twice a day.
This goal will be the most difficult to attain. This goal is why I do a long jog once a week. I figure if I can get to 10 miles in a single session that I can get to 12 miles between two. Keeping that pace though will be tough. We'll see.
Time Left to acheive goals: 5.5 months.
Weight: 266 (without shoes)
Body Fat %: 27.36
-Fat weight: 72.78 lbs
-Lean weight: 193.22 (muscle, bones, tendons, etc..)
Total mileage logged in the month of January: 84 miles
Total monthly fat loss: 4.53 pounds
Total monthly lean mass change: -1.27lb (hmm.. Not so good. I'll watch this)
Total monthly body fat % change: -1.08%
GOAL CHECK: (from 12/1/09)
1.) Lose 35 pounds of fat
Down about 12.1 pounds of fat since the first of December. Looks like I'm right on track for my 35 pounds.
2.) Get to a consistent pace of 9:45 a mile or better
Right now I can do 6 miles at about 10.5 mins/mile without dying. We'll see how that improves. 9:45 min/mile is at about 6.15 mph. I can do that for a mile or two. But, I need to extend that pace out to 6 miles. I think I'm on track to do that. It'll be easier as I get lighter too.
3.) Be able to run 6 miles at the 9:45 pace twice twice a day.
This goal will be the most difficult to attain. This goal is why I do a long jog once a week. I figure if I can get to 10 miles in a single session that I can get to 12 miles between two. Keeping that pace though will be tough. We'll see.
Time Left to acheive goals: 5.5 months.
The Myth of "Toning"
How many times have you heard of people "toning"? How many exercise videos advertise that this workout will get you that "toned" look. Usually, these commercials and this term is directed at women. Why? Because may women fear "bulking up". They would rather be lean and "toned".
First, let me just say that "toning" is a big stinking pile of bull dung. There is NO such thing.
So... what's the deal? Let me explain.
Muscles do three things: Get bigger (hypertrophy), get smaller (atrophy), and stay the same. The rest of how "toned" you look is purely a function of how much lard is in and around those muscles. Period. Okay, if you REALLY want to split hairs, how much water is retained in those muscles will also affect how they look. But, by the time water is making a difference you are talking about people in the 10% body fat land and lower. For the rest of us real people, let's go with fat.
Want to look more muscular? First lose fat, second build more muscle. It's really that simple. The classic example is people doing crunches hoping to get washboard abs. There might be a washboard in there. But, if there is a pile of laundry on top (fat), you'll never see it.
Ladies have weird fears of looking like a she-hulk and so many avoid weight lifting. Silliness. First off, most MEN can't look like Mr. Olympia ever. It's genetics people. Well, genetics, a million gym hours, and a ton of 'roids. Females don't have that kind of muscle-gain potential without artificially pumping themselves with testosterone. Ladies, don't worry. 99% of you can lift weights all day. You will not look like (S)He-Man. The ones that might start looking like that can stop lifting and it will go away quickly.
Back to "toning". The only thing those aerobic videos are doing that make you look more "toned" is helping you burn calories which gets rid of some of that fat already in and around your muscles. Now you can see what you got a little better. You'll look more "toned". Want to see your abs? Jog regularly to lose fat. Sure, throw some crunches in here and there just to maintain those muscles. Once you lose enough fat in your whole body, boom- abs. There's no magic.
Here's another important piece- Often you will NOT see any significant difference in the mirror if you have been sedentary for some time but begin exercising regularly. Why? Because the first place your body goes to burn the fat is WITHIN the muscles. Picture a nice marbled streak. That's lard in the muscle. That's how we get. Once your body has most of that intramuscular fat burned (think numerous pounds), then it will go to that fat under the skin that you see jigglin' around. Be patient.
Bottom line: If you want to look "toned" then lose fat. If you did that but want to look a little more muscular, build some muscle (remember you have to be at a calorie surplus to do this). Next time you see a commercial about "toning"- throw your twinkie at the t.v.!! :)
First, let me just say that "toning" is a big stinking pile of bull dung. There is NO such thing.
So... what's the deal? Let me explain.
Muscles do three things: Get bigger (hypertrophy), get smaller (atrophy), and stay the same. The rest of how "toned" you look is purely a function of how much lard is in and around those muscles. Period. Okay, if you REALLY want to split hairs, how much water is retained in those muscles will also affect how they look. But, by the time water is making a difference you are talking about people in the 10% body fat land and lower. For the rest of us real people, let's go with fat.
Want to look more muscular? First lose fat, second build more muscle. It's really that simple. The classic example is people doing crunches hoping to get washboard abs. There might be a washboard in there. But, if there is a pile of laundry on top (fat), you'll never see it.
Ladies have weird fears of looking like a she-hulk and so many avoid weight lifting. Silliness. First off, most MEN can't look like Mr. Olympia ever. It's genetics people. Well, genetics, a million gym hours, and a ton of 'roids. Females don't have that kind of muscle-gain potential without artificially pumping themselves with testosterone. Ladies, don't worry. 99% of you can lift weights all day. You will not look like (S)He-Man. The ones that might start looking like that can stop lifting and it will go away quickly.
Back to "toning". The only thing those aerobic videos are doing that make you look more "toned" is helping you burn calories which gets rid of some of that fat already in and around your muscles. Now you can see what you got a little better. You'll look more "toned". Want to see your abs? Jog regularly to lose fat. Sure, throw some crunches in here and there just to maintain those muscles. Once you lose enough fat in your whole body, boom- abs. There's no magic.
Here's another important piece- Often you will NOT see any significant difference in the mirror if you have been sedentary for some time but begin exercising regularly. Why? Because the first place your body goes to burn the fat is WITHIN the muscles. Picture a nice marbled streak. That's lard in the muscle. That's how we get. Once your body has most of that intramuscular fat burned (think numerous pounds), then it will go to that fat under the skin that you see jigglin' around. Be patient.
Bottom line: If you want to look "toned" then lose fat. If you did that but want to look a little more muscular, build some muscle (remember you have to be at a calorie surplus to do this). Next time you see a commercial about "toning"- throw your twinkie at the t.v.!! :)
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