Since I’ve started running my weight has been frozen at 150. It can drop to 149 and jump to as high as 152 but my scale seems to have been stuck since November. Coincidentally, that’s when I started running.
This is good news and bad news. The good news is I haven’t gained anything back despite eating normally except for my 310 Shake at breakfast. The bad news is I’d like to try and drop 25 more pounds.
Today I came across The Ultimate Guide to Weight Management for Runners by Matt Fitzgerald. Turns out, I have two conflicting goals warring against each other.
The first is to drop 25 more pounds. The second is to run like a cheetah at the Heritage Museum 5K this April 30. The two goals go together like buying everything you want and saving every penny—they conflict.
According to Fitzgerald, to lose weight I have to…
- Have a daily deficit of 300-500 calories
- Eat a protein centered diet
- Low volume, high intensity work outs
- Focus on muscle building
To increase my speed I need to do nearly the opposite…
- Consume what my body wants but burn it all off
- Eat a carbohydrate centered diet
- High volume, low intensity work outs
- Focus on functional exercises that enhance running
The light bulb has clicked on for me and suddenly I understand exactly what I have to do. My first competitive run isn’t until April 30. That give me all of March to drop some pounds and then another month to build speed and endurance. So here’s my new, better educated plan of attack:
- According to this calorie calculator, I need to keep my calories at 1,100 daily
- Center my diet around protein with lots of tuna, chicken and fish
- Ease back on the long runs and focus on shorter and intense runs
- Add power walking to my schedule when I have time
- Start strength training
- Studies show that ample sleep helps weight loss, so 10 p.m. bedtimes at the latest
- Up my dismal water intake so I can flush my system
In April I’ll evaluate where I am and kick back into the longer runs to pick up the speed and endurance. Hopefully I will also have dropped ten pounds which will also give me a boost. I’ll start checking in on Tuesdays to report my progress. I’m starting out, officially, at 151.0.