Today is Monday the 22nd of June. I’ve been meaning to eat healthier for some time but never got around to the discipline. I find that the success rate is higher if I write out a plan. Today is the day that I start. I’ll start with a daily weigh this morning. I have also written a list of recipe ideas for the week so that I know what to eat for Breakfast, lunch and dinner. The worst thing lately for me has been my sugar craving in the evenings. This is usually in the form of Crisps, chocolate or a pack of biscuits dunked in a cup of tea. This, for me will be the toughest test over the coming weeks. But weight loss is such a simple idea… You just have to stop putting stuff in your mouth ;)
I have also written out some sort of exercise plan. I currently have a hip flexor injury from overtraining so can not really run at the moment plus I stupidly fell out of a tree which is causing pain in my back, ribs and neck. Ha! Getting old and falling apart ;) I will be cycling and walking with maybe the odd jog down a few roads. I will also being doing some weights with my dumb bells and quite a bit of core work. Push ups, sit ups, yoga stretches etc.. Sometimes I’ll go climbing or do handstands in the park. I think it’s important to make the exercise fun from time to time or else the interest and motivation gets lost. The same applies to the eating. There’s nothing nice about eating bland foods. I’m going to make sure I enjoy the foods that I eat but keep them healthier. For snacks I may have some fruit, nuts or the occasional bar of dark chocolate.
I have read enough books about nutrition to know what works for me but you can never stop learning and that is the beauty of it. Obviously, everyone is different but there are some great tips that I have remembered:
Try and eat your carbs earlier in the day rather than later.
Sleep is very important for burning fat and recovery.
Try to avoid food that takes the body a long time to digest. Meats, dairy etc..
Listen to your tummy rather than you head. Are you really hungry?
Burn fat rather than carbs during your exercise by fasting and going slower and longer.
How big are your portion sizes? How many calories are you taking in?
Randomly fit in some exercises during the day. Sometimes I will just drop and do 15 push ups or 15 sit ups. The more reps you do the easier they will get.
No microwave or ready meals and try to avoid packaged foods which can be tough!
If you feel unmotivated or struggle with depression like me… Just try and clear your mind of thoughts and get out the door. This is great for me. Sometimes I’ll walk and mile around the block and other times it’ll be an unexpected 10 miles.
Remember, when you eat, what are you fueling for?
Don’t eat salad just to lose weight but to replace lost nutrients after exercise.
Ok, bit of a shock on the scales! Said I was 13st a couple of days ago. Electronic scales are a bit weird sometimes. I try and take 3 readings from different places in the room.
Weight: 13.6 st
Fat: 21.1
Water: 57.6
Muscle: 35.8
BMI: 24.1
Not great but a motivator for me. Heaviest I’ve been in a while. I’m keen to get under 13 stone again and get my body fat percentage under 20 percent too. BMI is too close to 25 for my liking as well. So we’ll see how I get on in the week.
Ok, I guess I should really outline my goals here as well. The plan is to lose some weight. Primarily as a runner I am not too interested in building muscle. Like I once read in a book “Have you ever seen a Kenyan runner weight training?”. I want to feel lean and efficient and I know what it feels like. It feels fantastic! The core work is the most important for me at the moment as it will also help with my strength in bouldering and climbing. Hoping to get a decent shaped body in the process as well. Get the tummy flat would be great instead of the holding it in..lol. I do not want to get so skinny that I have no upper body strength though. I have read about such athletes who run sub 30 10k’s but can barely lift a bowl of rice after training. Ha! Wishful thinking ;)
Todays food was:
Breakfast;
2x Crumpets for breakfast with a vegan spread
Lunch;
2x beetroot hummus wraps with rocket, peppers, tomato and cucumber.
1x Banana
Snacks;
1x Kiwi fruit and a dairy free yoghurt
Dinner;
Rice, tofu, spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes with garlic and onion.
Snacks;
Nuts and an orange
I did a 25 mile bike ride (very flat) 1200 calories according to strava?
A 3.5 mile walk = 300 calories
Because of my back pain, the sit ups and press ups were a no go but I did do 3x 30 high knee raises and 3x 1 minute planks.
I was supposed to post this blog last night but was lazy.
Tuesday 23rd of June (Day 2)
13.4 st
20,9 fat
57.7 water
35.9 muscle
23.9 Bmi
Breakfast;
Oats with Cinnamon, flax and chia seeds in soya milk.
Off for a 40 mile loop on the bike soon.
Anyway, we’ll see how it goes. Writing this is to really to make my thoughts more lucid and give me something to read back and get my focus. It may help someone else, who knows? Let me know if you are trying something similar or just want to swap some tips or want some tips about Vegan nutrition or great books to read. I will mention some of these things in the coming write ups anyway. Writing this will also put pressure on me to achieve my goals. Thanks for reading if you got this far. I will probably update on Friday or the weekend and let you knwo my progress. Would love to hear about yours too. I will also recommend books, youtube channels, and other things that have inspired me. Cheers.x
