The following is a current repost from today's blog entry from my main blog - icanrunaminute.com That blog tracks my journey from a starting weight of 316.2 lbs as well as my running endeavors.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
2015 Week 14 Weigh-In, Down 16lbs in 4 Weeks
After my Week 10 weigh in of 272.8lbs I've steadily shrunk away at the rate of about 4 lbs per week to this week's weight of 256.8 lbs.
One big difference after week 10 was an uptick in my running mileage. I finished out the month of March with 54 miles and the 2nd half of the month included 4 races which include a 5 mile run, two 5K's and a 10K. The intensity of races is usually a bit more than simply training so I believed that helped also.
Earlier this week, I decided to challenge myself a bit more and signed up for two 1-month diet bets that were already about 2 weeks in progress. Those bets have me starting at ~260 and I'll need to be down to 250 by April 15th.
I've got three things in mind to help me accomplish this feat - two half marathons and a Metric Half Century bike ride. That was another thing, in addition to the running I've gotten in two bike rides so far, one 14k and one 22k (about 13miles) 50 km would be about 31 miles and I'm planning on doing that this coming Wednesday while my car is being worked on.
For the runs, I've got the Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon tomorrow in Springfield, IL and the GO! St Louis Half Marathon the following weekend.
Overall, I'm looking to have an average weight in the 250s for the month of April then I'll be shooting for an average weight in the 240s in May and by the end of May I should have one of my beginning of the year goals met which is to weigh in the low 240s.
After my final weigh-ins around April 24th, I'll get a bit of a reprieve with my diet bets because I only need a weigh in of 258.7 on the 21st and then a 252.8 weigh in on the 30th of the month which will help keep things in check. That's one thing I really love about these diet bets, the ability to rotate the intensity and discipline needed.
Getting down into the 240s is going to be a pretty big milestone for me. Out of 52 weigh-ins last year, I only touched the 240s twice and never had a month with weight that averaged in the 240s. So, I want to bust my butt in the next couple weeks and maybe get a sneak preview of the 240s - anything just below 250 for my April 14th weigh ins will be a treat - overall goal this month is average weight in the 250s then May should really rock with an entire month in the 240s :)
As far as diet is concerned, I can be pretty strict and - if I had to give a name to my diet - I would call it; The Feeling Diet.
The Feeling Diet
It's a pretty simple concept. If I'm feeling full, I gain weight and If I'm feeling hungry, I'll lose weight. And it usually works out that way.
VLCD - VLCD is a term commonly found in medical literature. It stands for Very Low Calorie Diet. It's not uncommon to hear people quip to be careful and you'll end up losing muscle mass and that's the basis for your resting metabolic rate ...yada, yada, yada
Well, the percentage of fat loss by an individual using a VLCD approach really varies depending upon the individual and probably the greatest factor is the amount of fat a person has to lose in the first place. I wish I had this study readily bookmarked, I know I've mentioned it in an email before but, basically, this study from pubmed cited a 77% loss of fat in VLCD participants. That's kind of huge and noteworthy. That number is an average. A person with say, a BMI at 50 or above may easily be losing a rate of fat well in the 80% range while someone with a BMI in the low 20s is probably asking for trouble.
So, a huge calorie expenditure and very nutritionally dense eating and ...not freaking out if I'm hungry. Sometimes I'll take the smokers approach about just putting off that next smoke - even if just for 10 or 20 minutes because sometimes that's all you need to get past the craving. It can work the same way with food - sometimes - not all the times.
If you use MyFitnessPal, you can break the days up into eight 4-hour time slots starting at midnight, then just log the food in the appropriate time slot. I didn't make up the notion of Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner nor did anybody reading this so why is it something we necessarily need to adhere to? we don't. eat when you're hungry - really hungry and not for any other reason.
Sometimes, you might just want to push off eating until the next 4 hour time slot.
That's about it - I might miss one weekend when I'm out of town on business but, I'll be taking my bike and shoes along and ...when I get back, I'll be hitting it with a vengeance and am looking at 3 races in 24 hours for the 25th & 26th of April. Two 5Ks on Saturday and my first duathlon on Sunday. I'm not sure I would do all that on my own. I like to sleep. I like to sleep in. I like to have my morning coffee and lounge :)
Currently, I'm registered for 3 more runs in May including another Half Marathon and pondering a biathlon. I figure I'll just keep this up until things are the way I want them :)
Also joined the St Louis Track Club and a neat thing about that organization is they have a fun little competition where you can earn points for every mile you race. I'm starting a little late with that but, like the dietbets, anytime I can turn something into a game, it seems to help have fun with the whole process and also increases awareness.
ha! :) just got an email reply from a race director and i'm able to get in a 3.5 mile race this Sunday :)
At this rate ...I'll be ready for my reprieve in two weeks! :)