Will I be this big forever?
111
Member
1115 days
outexan posted 19 weeks ago.
TryScott wrote:
Last June (like many other June's) I decided that I would start running, again. I'm only 5'7" and I let my weight get up to 190. Luckily, this time my June running fever kept going and I did about 6 road races last summer. Bothered by tipping 190 for the first time ever, I also signed up at the pool so I could swim during my lunch hour. Since I was already running and swimming, I bought a bike and did my first 2 triathlons. As a result of all this fun, I lost 15 lbs in 3 months.It's been more than 5 months since I lost those 15 lbs, and I'm still holding steady at 175. On one hand, I didn't gain anything over the holidays, a cruise, or the winter. On the other hand, I've been working out a lot, but haven't lost a thing. A lot of people have posted that their weight and body fat vary some between the racing season and off season. Tons of people have lost weight when they first started getting more active. However, has anyone ever dropped weight after already being in shape? If so, how?
Now that I'm ramping up both volume and intensity of training, I think a calorie deficit diet is out of the question. In January, I tried a diet of 3,000 calories and 20% fat, but I didn't notice a change at all. I'm not depressed about my body fat or weight, but if I was 10 lbs lighter, I still would not look sickly skinny, but it would making running 10+ miles a lot easier.
I tracked my diet on FitDay yesterday, and it was 3500 calories (50% carb, 30% fat, 20% protein). Yesterday's diet is about as bad as I'll ever get. If I had known that a garlic breadstick at Fazoli's was 150 calories, I wouldn't of ate 5! Besides Fazoli's or Subway once every 2 weeks or so, I never eat fast food, have soda or caffine, candy, chips, or desserts.
Last week I worked out for 6 hours, and I expect that number to go up to around 8-9 on average. It will be easier when the cold white stuff goes away.
I would say 3500 calories a day on a 6 hour a week workout schedule is pretty high. I would try to decrease that by about 800-1000 if you would like to lose more weight. Also the 30% fat (unless all good fat) is on the high side. That would be the best place you can cut calories.
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653
Member
197 days
TriSooner posted 19 weeks ago.
outexan wrote:
I would say 3500 calories a day on a 6 hour a week workout schedule is pretty high.
Ditto. 3500 per day is a bit much for 1 hour of training a day. If you cut out meat you'd cut out tons calories and fat easily.
Ironman Germany (July 6, 2008)
372
Member
169 days
jsk85 posted 19 weeks ago.
If you're purely talking about reducing your weight on the scale, calorie deficit is the only way to do it. Eating better calories will help change your composition, but unless you burn more than you take in, you won't lose weight.
I would focus on trying to improve your calories first. You'd have an easier time running 10+ miles with 5 pounds more of muscle and 5 pounds less of fat, but would maintain the same weight. Don't get too caught up in the evil scale number
My blog: http://jsktri.blogspot.com
38
Member
869 days
csaf31 posted 19 weeks ago.
Tryscott,
I understand what you are saying about losing the weight. I am trying to drop to 182 or so from my current 192. I have adjusted my diet too, taking in more veggies, adding protien, dropping bad carbs, very few desserts, very little alcohol. I am doing about 12 hours of training per week and the lowest I have gotten my weight is 188 before I got back up to 192. It gets frustrating not making any gains. My goal is to get there by early June. I am hoping once it gets warmer, it will be easier to lose the weight. Have you tried the small meals approach of eating 5-6 small meals per day? It keeps your metabolism in line more and reduces your hunger pains, supposedly. If you have the right job you can do this and it may help.
139
Member
303 days
Captain Mal posted 19 weeks ago.
As to your original question, I would say that you won't be that big forever. My weight fluctuates like crazy. I get serious about my weight for a while and loose a bunch and then get busy at work and do nothing but work and eat and the eating tends to be eationg out. I have a busy job and a big family, so I don't train huge hours. So, managing my weight is a matter of intake. My problem is sneaking snacks. I find I have the best success when I log my intake. I eat dessert and sancks, but I'm not out of control. If I have to log it, I have a couple of cookies instead of half the batch and I take fewer trips to the kids' treat drawer.
"Faster would be better!" -Captain Mal, Serenity-
3797
Member
1494 days
kylie posted 19 weeks ago.
Just to address the losing weight again after that first drop -- yes, you will. You will hit plateaus as you go through training because your body will start to adapt to your diet and training. Adjust it, and you'll drop again.
For example, through a year of IM training I dropped at first, then held steady (and went in already active). My next race was an ultra trail run, and the shift to a run focus dropped about 5 lbs easily. So you will get there, but you have to keep an eye on what you eat -- not only for weight but also for how your body feels and your performance :)
Miles of Life --- Powered by MarkyV
360
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334 days
TryScott posted 19 weeks ago.
Good point about being faster by trading fat for muscle, than simple losing weight. I had my body fat measured in by my doctor in November, and I'd like to get it done again. My pullups increased from 10 to 15, and my weight training focuses just as much on lower body as upper body.
csaf31 wrote:
Have you tried the small meals approach of eating 5-6 small meals per day?
Yes, I'm a firm believer that small meals are much better than sitting down at a buffet.
It's nice to know that someone else hit a platau, then broke through it after changing workouts.
201
Member
390 days
big 3 posted 19 weeks ago.
I've been tracking my calories on Fit Day as well. 5'10". Here is what I've learned.
Eating out makes keeping calories low very very difficult. Cheeses, oils, dressings... There are just too many easy ways for them to add those calorie dense ingredients.
So I have been making food at home to take to work for lunch. Which is a big pain. I work in NYC, there is no shortage of places to go to for lunch. Instead I'm carrying food on my hour plus commute on the trains.
The good news is, because the food I am eating is not loaded with any of these calorie dense ingredients I actually am eating more, "Volumetrics". Of course it is healthier foods as well.
I also eat almost half of my daily calories before noon. Another 25-30% before 5PM. The last of it as pre and post my night workout.
Well I've been averaging about 2000 calories a day and working out about 9-11 hours a week. Since Jan 1st. I've dropped from 196 to 184. I'm pleased with that.
Soon I plan on changing my diet to about 2800 calories a day. I should still lose weight but I'll have more energy for my workouts.
It's all about calories. How much do you really burn? How much do you really eat?
I've learned a bunch over the last few weeks. Tracking what you are really eating and adjusting according to your current activity level seems to be working well for me. Of course I don't consider this a diet, this is science and math. Calories in- calories out. Trouble is both of those are variables...
Good Luck
360
Member
334 days
TryScott posted 19 weeks ago.
Gratz on the success. Hopefully it continues until you hit your ideal body type, if you haven't already.
I think I'm going to keep my calories around 2800-3000 (my past daily average when I was tracking with FitDay in Jan) and just keep ramping up the endurance training. I'll also lower the amount of weight training. Next week's running plan calls for more miles in 7 days than I've ever done, so I'll find out in the next few weeks if my weight and wasteline will stay on the plateau, or if there's more visible progress in sight.
379
Member
355 days
stewarba posted 19 weeks ago.
Keep hammering away. It may be better if you focus on the body fat percentages and less on the weight scale.
Goals in writing are dreams with deadlines – Brian Tracy
2008 Sprint Tri A race goals
S: 500m in 10:00 – FS Stroke only
B: 22mph avg over course
R: 5K <= 25:00
Place top 50% for my age group
247
Member
1320 days
o2Ripper posted 17 weeks ago.
stewarba wrote:
Keep hammering away. It may be better if you focus on the body fat percentages and less on the weight scale.
My thoughts exactly. Go buy a body fat scale...even though they aren't right on, they allow for a gauge. Numbers aren't as important as percentages. :)
-Branden
"Its an addiction"
4
Member
126 days
brian669 posted 17 weeks ago.
hey guys. first post on this board. i pretty much have no reason to post because all my questions are asked and answered by others. i lurked around for quite some time before i registered the other night.
any way this is an area where i am well versed. i was a marine and am a former competitive bodybuilder. i quit bodybuilding due to injuries and basically the wear and tear it put my body through. i was 256lbs at 11% bodyfat when i decided to cut weight and get back into running/ironman/tri's. within less than 2 months i was down to 220 at 8%. within 6 i was at 195 at ~7%. the key is diet like everybody here said. one thing you learn in the military is to eat throughout the day in moderation. you want to eat every 2.5 to 3 hours on the dot. and the idea is to eat just enough food so you are just getting hungry by the next meal time. this causes the body to kick up metabolism. people tend to forget that you burn a tremendous amount of calories simply digesting food. they also tend to forget that carbs are extremely important to an athlete especially a runner, cyclist, swimmer. check out this link for example.
http://www.military.com/military-fitness/nutrition/get-lean-diet?ESRC=do...
the key is whole grain pasta's, rice, breads, cereals, veggies, and fruits for carbs and lean meats like ground turkey and skinless chicken breast, eggs, tuna, fish for proteins. pre workout and post workout nutrition is important as well. i saw a mention of + 3k cals. as a 250+lb bodybuilder i rarely hit 3500cals. there's no way that a 190lb guy trying to shed weight needs to be at that amount. you should be in the 1800-2200 range where you are taking in around 170-200g protein and less than 40g of fat daily. the rest will be your carbs. try it out for 6-8 weeks. i guarantee you will see success.
Last June (like many other June's) I decided that I would start running, again. I'm only 5'7" and I let my weight get up to 190. Luckily, this time my June running fever kept going and I did about 6 road races last summer. Bothered by tipping 190 for the first time ever, I also signed up at the pool so I could swim during my lunch hour. Since I was already running and swimming, I bought a bike and did my first 2 triathlons. As a result of all this fun, I lost 15 lbs in 3 months.
It's been more than 5 months since I lost those 15 lbs, and I'm still holding steady at 175. On one hand, I didn't gain anything over the holidays, a cruise, or the winter. On the other hand, I've been working out a lot, but haven't lost a thing. A lot of people have posted that their weight and body fat vary some between the racing season and off season. Tons of people have lost weight when they first started getting more active. However, has anyone ever dropped weight after already being in shape? If so, how?
Now that I'm ramping up both volume and intensity of training, I think a calorie deficit diet is out of the question. In January, I tried a diet of 3,000 calories and 20% fat, but I didn't notice a change at all. I'm not depressed about my body fat or weight, but if I was 10 lbs lighter, I still would not look sickly skinny, but it would making running 10+ miles a lot easier.
I tracked my diet on FitDay yesterday, and it was 3500 calories (50% carb, 30% fat, 20% protein). Yesterday's diet is about as bad as I'll ever get. If I had known that a garlic breadstick at Fazoli's was 150 calories, I wouldn't of ate 5! Besides Fazoli's or Subway once every 2 weeks or so, I never eat fast food, have soda or caffine, candy, chips, or desserts.
Last week I worked out for 6 hours, and I expect that number to go up to around 8-9 on average. It will be easier when the cold white stuff goes away.