Fitness Blah-g

[threadwalker]

Update

I weighed myself 20 minutes ago. I'm down 0.5 lb from last week. I admit, I was hoping for something bigger. The last three weeks have been 0.5 lb drops. I was reviewing my daily exercise and eating log.

If you speak Weight Watchers, I earned 76 activity points last week. If you don't speak Weight Watchers, over the course of 1 week I ran 27.5 miles and burned 2500 calories on the elliptical.

I also ate like a football player last week. In Weight Watchers speak, I consumed 224 points in one week (approx 224X 1.5 = 3360 calories). However, between daily allowance, 35 flex points and activity points, I still have 27 points I didn't use.

So why didn't I see a bigger weight loss? (think, think, think)

I can't tell if I'm "starving" myself, or if it's because I'm fueling myself wrong (eg, I had half that Carrows sampler platter last Wednesday and yesterday I had a few slices of "victory" french bread and a chocolate croissant), or if my daily flux is high in the morning because I ate a big fruit smoothie before bed last night. Also, I don't digest carbs like a normal person; I bloat. It's possible that in 2 days I'll see a dramatic change as I recover from yesterday's victory carbs.

On the other hand, I'm not feeling disheartened and I'm not letting myself obsess over numbers. I feel great. I can feel my running legs getting stonger. My head wraps itself around a 1 hour run much better than it used.

I am using this as a wake-up tool to motivate myself to cut out white flour carbs. I'm looking at where my calories are coming from and I'm going to be diligent about "eating" my activity points so that I don't "starve" my body. I realized that because of the high-calorie bad choices I made last week, I ate as much as I burned, but if I hadn't done that, I would have come in really short. Therefore, I'm looking at how often I'm eating and figuring out what I need to change (without diving head-first into a pile of fries or doing the victory dance in a donut shop) to keep my calorie intake high enough.

But last night I whipped up one of my favorite chicken dishes (for tonight and tomorrow night). And I packed lunch today. nom nom nom. And all healthy. That way I won't have to face the boring salad bar at work this week.

Sigh. Food and I have such an angsty relationship.

I'm not sure. This is probably going to be one of those "get to know my own body" deals. Bleck. "Hello, universe? Please send email with answers. You have my addy."

Comments

[beanolc.livejournal.com]

WW-Speak: you know and I know it's not just the points but the types of foods the points come from that make the difference. If I consume all my points in fattier foods I do far worse in a week than if I consume my points in leaner, healthier foods.

YMMV of course... "fattier" could be substituted for "carbier" or "sugarier"... yes, I'm having fun modifying my adjectives. :) But you get my point, non?

[thread-walker.livejournal.com]

I don't think those words are in the OED. (lol)

yes, all sources being pondered. And I'll jump on the scale in 2-3 days and see if there's a difference. It's like a science experiment that I have to live with.

The food thing is confusing, to be sure.

[allison-is.livejournal.com]

Oddly enough, I lost more weight one week eating the same amount of brown rice than I did eating the same amount of white rice a week earlier.

totally weird pondering, but I wonder how fast one gains muscle and if that's why you're not losing as much as you like?

Re: The food thing is confusing, to be sure.

[thread-walker.livejournal.com]

IMO, the "I'm gaining muscle, so I'm not losing weight" would be self-delusion for me. I'm doing tons of cardio. IMO, that situation only occurs in a woman when she's significantly closer to a lower body-fat ratio than I am AND is lifting a lot of weights to deliberately bulk up.

I blame the croissant, the French bread and the sampler platter. I'm can be weak in the face of carbs.

Re: The food thing is confusing, to be sure.

[lifeofglamour.livejournal.com]

Carbs make me bloat too. And soy sauce. I can see a 3-pound spike overnight if I eat sushi, just from all the water my body hangs onto.
But, like you said, your body is doing what you want it too and you're in fantastic shape, so...rock on!

Re: The food thing is confusing, to be sure.

[beanolc.livejournal.com]

I hear you on the soy-sauce! I make sure I don't mentally hold on to the weigh in on soy days.

[sirst.livejournal.com]

For both energy level and weight loss/gain the timing of calories is important as well as the composition. Thus the big 'avoid simple/white/high glycemic' carbohydrates trend right now.

Calories your body does not use get put in storage. Simple/high glycemic carbohydrates absorb into the body quickly. If you do not use them equally quickly the process of putting them into storage. By and large this means body fat [glycogen storage I will not touch upon here]. So to pick on you example the big fruit smoothie before bed floods your body with calories right before rest, when you caloric needs drop. *poof* body fat. The same fruit smoothie before your run will get used to meet th immediate demands of running. Of course in that case you risk things like a sugar crash and headache. And if the amount consumed is above energy demands the storage process will still kick in. The simple stuff gets processed right quick.

'Complex/with color/low glycemic' carbohydrates absorb and leave more slowly. They are more effective at providing energy over time. Picking complex carbohydrates with low calorie density [veggies, plus lean meats and healthy fats] tends to be the best idea for most people.

This is a quick and dirty run down and I've only got the basics nutrition-wise. Just remember timing, amount, and composition of calories all count.