28 days later...
Wow - does time fly. It was 28 days ago when I started on my quest to get leaner. Or as in the movie "knocked up" says - i needed to "tighten it up".
I've lost ~2.5lbs - I've gone from 107.8 to 105.4 in these 28 days. I had my body fat checked at the beginning and I was @ 17.2% - I'll have checked again next week as my body fat checker person is out of town until then.
Along the way I learned a few things - some new things and some things for the umpteenth time.
1. Went from eating 20%protein, 47%carbs, 26 fat, 7% alcohol to 25% protein, 51%carbs, 19% fat, 5% alcohol.
2. Drastically changed my source of carbs.
Week one
Was spent getting used to the change in my diet. It meant being disciplined too - keeping track of everything in fitday.com and being honest with myself. The 20% from fat was something I had to really pay attention to. Also, whole grain carbs are dense in calories - it's easy to get all the calories you need for a day with whole grains - BUT with fruits/veggies the volume of food you have to eat is much greater. The first weekend I was on this eating plan I wasn't eating enough - even though I was never hungry. I did a 3 hour ride and then a 4 hour ride that weekend. I accidentally had a 800calorie deficit on Sat and an 600 calorie deficit on Sunday. That was WAY too much of a reduction in calories as it took me until Friday(!) of the next week to feel recovered. Typically I'm feeling pretty recovered by Tuesday.
Lesson for week one - don't have more than a 200 - 250 calorie deficit per day.
I lost 1 pound during week one.
Week two
My energy level was low. I felt I fatigued more quickly. I think the deal here was that since my source of carbs changed my body was in the process of getting used to using different foods to source my energy needs. I kept an eye on my calorie deficit to make sure it wasn't too much.
I lost 1 pound this week .
Week Three
My energy levels felt a bit better but this was the weekend i went to Moab. I faded hard and fast on the 2nd day when we did 2 rides in one day. I ended up heading back to the car 20 minutes before the guys on the second ride. I was in full on bonk mode - grumpy and it was all i could do to turn the pedals over. I did feel "ok" on the third day - but I didn't have the bursty energy I needed for techy mtn bike moves.
I didn't lose any weight this week.
Week four
Ok - now things are clicking. My energy levels are good and I make sure I'm resting. This week I didn't ride the Tuesday Night Girls ride because I could tell that I was tired from Moab and i wanted to recover another day before I got back on the bike. It was a smart move on my part. By the time the weekend hit - I got in 6 hours on the mtn bike. Sunday we were out for over 4 hours - I really kept on top of my nutrition and made sure I ate enough during the ride. We were going at a good pace and even tho I was tired(and ready to be done after 4 hours) - I didn't bonk.
I lost a half a pound this week.
Summary
I was shooting to lose 3 or 4lbs - but I'd rather have a little bit of weight loss and still have the energy I need to ride my bike. I'm going to keep eating this way for at least another 3 weeks. I used to what I've been eating and I like the fact I'm focusing on eating more fruits/veggies. I still don't have those ripped abs i always wanted but if I drop a couple more pounds I might get there.
In the meantime - I'll be out on my bike!
I've lost ~2.5lbs - I've gone from 107.8 to 105.4 in these 28 days. I had my body fat checked at the beginning and I was @ 17.2% - I'll have checked again next week as my body fat checker person is out of town until then.
Along the way I learned a few things - some new things and some things for the umpteenth time.
- It takes time for a body to adjust to a change of eating habits.
- You need plenty of calories to fuel bike riding.
- Losing fat is best done at a slow pace to not lose muscle mass
- Getting back to eating mostly fresh, non-processed food means paying close attention to what you eat.
1. Went from eating 20%protein, 47%carbs, 26 fat, 7% alcohol to 25% protein, 51%carbs, 19% fat, 5% alcohol.
I thought I ate a lot of protein - I eat a ton of egg whites, beef and chicken. I was ~77 grams of protein per day - upping to ~105 grams was a big adjustment. To do this I upped my morning egg whites to 4 per day, ate more yogurt and threw in some whey protein. The fat reduction in my diet was hard too - I now *sparingly* consume guacamole and peanut butter. Peanut butter was the hardest thing to give up for sure.
2. Drastically changed my source of carbs.
Typically I sourced my carbs from whole grains and such. Bread, oatmeal, quiona, kashi bars, kashi cereals, pasta, etc. I shifted the majority of the carbs I was eating to fruits and vegetables. Now I sparingly eat whole grains/breads/etc and I started eating fruits and veggies. I thought I had a good diet but once I made it a point to add more fruit/veggie servings to my diet - then I realized how little I had been consistently eating. The whole grain carbs are calorie dense - the fruits and vegetables aren't as calorie dense. Do you know how much fruits/veggies you have to eat to get enough calories to fuel yourself? A TON!
Week one
Was spent getting used to the change in my diet. It meant being disciplined too - keeping track of everything in fitday.com and being honest with myself. The 20% from fat was something I had to really pay attention to. Also, whole grain carbs are dense in calories - it's easy to get all the calories you need for a day with whole grains - BUT with fruits/veggies the volume of food you have to eat is much greater. The first weekend I was on this eating plan I wasn't eating enough - even though I was never hungry. I did a 3 hour ride and then a 4 hour ride that weekend. I accidentally had a 800calorie deficit on Sat and an 600 calorie deficit on Sunday. That was WAY too much of a reduction in calories as it took me until Friday(!) of the next week to feel recovered. Typically I'm feeling pretty recovered by Tuesday.
Lesson for week one - don't have more than a 200 - 250 calorie deficit per day.
I lost 1 pound during week one.
Week two
My energy level was low. I felt I fatigued more quickly. I think the deal here was that since my source of carbs changed my body was in the process of getting used to using different foods to source my energy needs. I kept an eye on my calorie deficit to make sure it wasn't too much.
I lost 1 pound this week .
Week Three
My energy levels felt a bit better but this was the weekend i went to Moab. I faded hard and fast on the 2nd day when we did 2 rides in one day. I ended up heading back to the car 20 minutes before the guys on the second ride. I was in full on bonk mode - grumpy and it was all i could do to turn the pedals over. I did feel "ok" on the third day - but I didn't have the bursty energy I needed for techy mtn bike moves.
I didn't lose any weight this week.
Week four
Ok - now things are clicking. My energy levels are good and I make sure I'm resting. This week I didn't ride the Tuesday Night Girls ride because I could tell that I was tired from Moab and i wanted to recover another day before I got back on the bike. It was a smart move on my part. By the time the weekend hit - I got in 6 hours on the mtn bike. Sunday we were out for over 4 hours - I really kept on top of my nutrition and made sure I ate enough during the ride. We were going at a good pace and even tho I was tired(and ready to be done after 4 hours) - I didn't bonk.
I lost a half a pound this week.
Summary
I was shooting to lose 3 or 4lbs - but I'd rather have a little bit of weight loss and still have the energy I need to ride my bike. I'm going to keep eating this way for at least another 3 weeks. I used to what I've been eating and I like the fact I'm focusing on eating more fruits/veggies. I still don't have those ripped abs i always wanted but if I drop a couple more pounds I might get there.
In the meantime - I'll be out on my bike!
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