When I first started my journey, all of my food choices were based on what would most effectively allow me to drop weight. I was not necessarily making the healthiest choices, but I was staying within my allotted calories and for the most part I was eating much better than I had been prior to starting the weight loss journey. A good example - my kids were still eating a lot of fast food back then, when I bought them a kid's meal I would steal a chicken nugget and a few fries to get the satisfaction of eating something that I craved. Then I would eat a "healthy" meal when I got home.
Now... I still have cheats, I don't believe I would be successful without them. In fact, just today I ate cheetos! (YUM!) The key for me is to control the portion of what I am craving. This weekend after my half marathon, I plan to have a nice lunch out with the family where I order whatever I want and I plan to follow it up with a cupcake from a gourmet cupcake shop down in Indy. It may be what gets me through the half marathon!
The struggle? I don't want to feel like I am running to eat, I want to feel like the food that I eat is fueling my running. That is it positively fueling my body to accomplish the things I throw at it. That being said, I am trying to lose 10 more pounds. I have been "stuck" at my current weight for the most part since last August. I have gone up some and down some, but I always seem to settle back in at 185 pounds. I am 5'11 and a pretty large bone structure, so I know I will never be "skinny" but I want to get to 175 so that I can say I am officially not overweight per the BMI standards.
Anyway, back to the issue at hand. I am struggling to know what is the right thing to do with my food choices. Obviously, I am focusing on eating vegetables and fruits as well as low proteins. I haven't been eating many carbs in an effort to keep my calories low. I know that I probably need to increase these especially as I get into my marathon training schedule come June. However, what I don't know is how many calories to eat! I started using myfitnesspal.com and it tells me to lose 1 pound a week I should eat 1570 calories. And, when I exercise it tells me to eat back those calories. However, I know that there are alot of people who say you shouldn't eat them back if you are attempting to lose weight.
I have a feeling its going to be a fine balance, between making sure I am getting enough calories to fuel my running and not eating too many calories which would cause me to bulk up (which definitely won't help me run a marathon). I have been contemplating going and seeing either a nutritionist or a registered dietitian but even they can't seem to agree on what is the "right" thing to do!
I am going to try something for a few weeks and see how it goes I guess and go from there... my goals the next few weeks:
- keep my net calories around 1200 per day
- continue to drink 8 x 16.9 ounce bottles of water
- limit diet coke intake to one per day
- lean protein
- lots of fruits and veggies
- adding some bread and pasta to boost my carb intake
Does anyone else find it a struggle to balance the nutrition you need as a runner with the calorie restricting you need to lose weight?
I am not doing so well with my goal to reach $750 before Saturday - in an effort to get the donations flowing again, I have a creative idea.
If I reach $750 by the end of Saturday May 5, I will draw a winner to receive a prize! I will be giving one entry per $10 you donate. And to make things a bit more fun, if you share this somewhere, please let me know and you will get a bonus entry! Please visit my fundraising page and make a donation if you can --->
My Fundraising Page
