Get Fit Not Fat

A while back my brother decided he was going to work out and pack on some muscle. So I put together a spreadsheet where he could plan a diet high in protein and track his caloric intake. I got the details of his necessary dietary intakes, upped them for a high protein/active lifestyle and started planning foods that would help him get there. It was kind of fun actually. It’s analytical, which I like, and gave me some perspective to the composition of certain foods.

Well last month I dug up that spreadsheet and adjusted all the data to apply to me. I kept track of my meal consumption for 3 weeks and took a look at how all my decisions added up. Did I meet my daily recommended caloric intake? Did I go over? (haha yes, but cake is so delicious!) Was I meeting my protein, fat, and carb needs?

I wasn’t exact on my numbers because the effort would not have been worth the result, but I tried to get close to the actual based on what I know. Example – I might have had a ham sandwich one day with mayo and then a roast beef two days later with mustard, but on my chart they both have the same dietary properties.

If you’re looking to try this exercise out, I would highly recommend it. I found my recommended daily intake (RDI) values from the Mayo Clinic and my nutrition book. I got most of my food composition data from www.FitDay.com and nutrition labels. There are multiple websites that offer a calorie counter so you don’t have to create your own spreadsheet. I just did cause I’m a nerd. The government also has a website if you’re looking for dependable data (www.mypyramid.com).

Here are the results compared to my RDI represented by the red lines.


Range: 1215 Calories – 2980 Calories; Mean: 2006 Calories; RDI: 1900 Calories;

I did alright sticking to the recommended value for someone of my height, weight, age, and activity level. There were about 4 days out of 21 where it looks like I had an extra meal. And the days following were typically lower showing that I was conscientious of my previous day’s decisions. Alright, I’m not perfect but at least I’m hitting the mark 2 times out of 3.


Range: 124 g – 343 g; Mean: 230 g; RDI: 261 g;

Regarding carbohydrate intake, I was typically below the recommended value. Only on days where I ate too much did I manage to meet or exceed that value.


Range: 37 g – 132 g; Mean: 76 g; RDI: 58 g;

OUCHIES. There were only 3 days out of 21 where I was below and 11 days where I was over by more than 12 grams of fat. Although the downward trend towards the end looks promising...maybe?...=D.


Range: 42 g – 154 g; Mean: 97 g; RDI: 107 g

I had trouble hitting my recommended protein values too. Probably not good for someone who needs to build the muscles to swim/bike/run.

Ok this is where I decide to eat more beans, less fatty meat, more fish, and more wheat bread.

Ah…
Ok fine.
I like being healthy anyway.

Sun & Ski Sunday Spontaneity

This morning I decided to try a different ride to change things up. Sun and Ski Westheimer hosts a ride from their shop to downtown and back. This is a 15-16 mph ride that caters to cyclist that want a chill ride after a hard Saturday ride. It was great. Everyone was friendly and I learned everyone's name. It was intimate; there were only about 7 of us so we all got to talk with each other. The leader used to be in the special forces and he had some GREAT war stories. I also met a woman who had lived all over the world including Indonesia and England, but yet I could have just thought she was a southerner through and through.

Mid ride we stopped at Catalina Coffee shop, which was a quaint little place off Washington. They had great prices and good food. The atmosphere was wonderful; artsy and daring. What a find. I have to go back.

Great ride. So much fun. I didn't even realize we had gone 25 miles. I met some awesome people and this definitely encouraged me to get stronger. And why did we all get together?

Because of bikes.

I love bikes.

Gettin My Swim On

The time has come for me to get over my stupid fear of water and start practicing my swimming. It's probably been about 12 years since I've taken it on seriously. Last year I tried to go snorkling but had a near drowning experience. Not fun. So this should be good for me and it will be me one step closer to completing a Tri.

So Friday I went out and bought a swim suit. Not a beach swim suit. but one I could use to train. I picked a good time cause they are now about 75% off at Academy. (yes!) Got me some goggles too. And headed to the Bally lap pool.

Swimming again was actually kind of like picking up a bike after 10 years. You don't really forget how. Maybe you're not so good at it, but all things take practice. It helps that I can stand up in the pool. =D

Thing I need to work on: breathing.

Aiming to be ready for a Tri by April next yr. Here we go.

Du the Bear Duathlon

Sunday was my first try at a real USAT (USA Triathlon) race. It was a duathlon held at bear creek park (2 mile run - 10 mile bike - 2 mile run). Not a charity ride where I can go slow or fast at my own leisure. I needed to try to go fast all the time, and I needed to pace myself so that I could finish the whole thing. It was a beautiful day, no wind and about 65 degrees the whole morning.

Results:
Run 1 - 17:20 for a 8:40 mile
T1 - 1:18
Bike - 34:07 for a 17.6 mph pace
T2 - 1:17
Run 2 - 18:00 for a 9:00 mile

Overall I had about a time of 1:12:03.
I ranked 184 overall and 2nd in the 20-24yr age group.

Better than I expected, so I feel good.

The runs were the hard part. I never really practiced going as fast as I could for 2 miles. I am not really a runner, but of course that is where the half of my race was so I should have practiced and maybe my time would have been a little better. During the second run I just had chest pain and heavy breathing the whole way. But then the sprint finish was like cake. I guess I didn't push myself enough?

I was really fortunate on the ride. There was hardly any wind so I got a great ride time. My calves started to cramp up within the last 2 miles, which has never happened to me before. I was kind of scared they would totally cramp and I wouldn't be able to finish but getting off the bike helped.

I realize better now that my pedal stroke is uneven because now my right butt cheek and my left quad are sore. But nothing else. haha.

Can't wait til the next race. Gotta start swimming so I can do a tri!

Hatha at Red Foot

This little yoga studio is right behind Cafe Brazil on Westheimer. I've passed by it a few times and finally had time to give it a try. I really like their website. It's clean and easy to navigate.

When you walk in, you can tell it used to be a home but just converted to a yoga studio. This place is TINY. I think it could fit maybe 8 people maximum? So this makes classes very intimate and you can get lots of one on one attention. It was weird at first because I'm used to big yoga classes where I can just hang out in the back, but eventually it was comfortable and everyone was friendly. Reminds me of why I like to trust people.

Anyway I had a good workout. We did Hatha yoga which is different from the flow/vinyasa I usually get. There were plenty of positions I wasn't familiar with, and Aaron, the instructor helped me correct my tendency to invert my shoulder blades instead of making them flat. Also, we tried inversions. Ahhh scary. Eventually I hope to be able to comfortable do hand stands, but I don't think I have the strength in my shoulders right now. Something to work on.

New Feet!

I caved. I've been wanting these shoes for a long time. They were sold out almost everywhere (of the color I wanted anyway) since June or July. Then the manager at Fleet Feet Rice Village called me and said we got a shipment. And all of a sudden I was walking out of the store in them. haha.

Why? I hate shoes. I don't wear shoes in the house. I love flip flops. I only own shoes for protection from falling objects and the cold. Oh and for looking pretty, but that's a girl thing.

I'm really happy this barefooting phenomenon is taking over. I remember hanging out at my friend's apartment one day and running barefoot on her treadmill. It felt great! I felt like I could run forever. Now I can be practically barefoot everywhere I go. The floor does not have to be devoid of rocks and rough things. I am liberated!

So I've been able to run a little in them and use them for general every day walking. At the end of the day my toes will be tired and my hip will start to hurt, but my knees have been generally fine. I am pleasantly surprised. Maybe my knees will get better in general.