RealCdn - NROL4W Training Log

[realcdn]

I feel like I spent the entire day waiting. This morning I went back to pumping water out of the pool. Originally I was going to put it on and come back later but then I started yakking with one of the neighbours. So by the time I was going to go inside I figured I couldn't leave it for 30 mins to use the treadmill. I did manage to get two sets in this morning, but quite far apart. The afternoon was spent waiting for the pool guy to show up. I actually finally gave up and had my mother wait for him while I went back to the treadmill. I had a couple of errands to run, but ended up doing them after dinner in the end.

For fun I've been putting my polar data into a spreadsheet, so I'll start posting it here as well. The first one was at attempt at HIIT.

Exercise	Time	Cals	Max HR	Avg HR	Max %	Avg %
Treadmill	0:20:00	193	171	145	96	81
Treadmill	0:30:00	271	149	140	84	79
Treadmill	0:40:00	378	157	143	88	80
Totals	1:30:00	842

Food for the day:

Food: 2209 (30% fat, 35% carbs, 32% protein)

Breakfast: cracked wheat oatmeal bread, peanut butter, jam, grapefruit (271)
AM Snack: protein shake, almonds (254)
Lunch: 2 whole wheat tortillas, mustard, smoked ham, cheese, apple (506)
PM Snack: soy nuts, cheese spread with rice crackers (313)
Dinner: pork souvlaki, chicken & turkey sausage, broccoli, butter, salad w/dressing (495)
Late Snack: protein shake, fruit salad, biscotti (370)

[realcdn]

The morning was 10 mins of a walking DVD which for some reason gave me a pain on the ball of one foot. I've done it before, but I was doing it on the new rubber mat, so that may have contributed to it. So I switched over and did a 20 min session and a 30-min session on the treadmill. In the afternoon I did a 15-min warm-up on the treadmill, followed by:

A: Barbell Squat - 50/10, 50/10, 55/10
B1: Push-up (mixed knees/toes) - 5&5, 5&5, 5&5
B2: Bent-over Row - 55/10, 55/10, 60/10
C1: Step-up - 12e/10, 12e/10, 15e/10
C2: Prone Jackknife - 12, 12, 12

Followed with another 15 mins on the treadmill. Then I helped carry the solar blanket and roller over to the pool, and covered it. And yes, cranked on the heater. The water is 46F, so that usually means a little longer than two days to get to a decent temp. Although it's warmish (even now) so who knows. I'm starting to wonder how much higher I can go on the squat. Not the ability to use a higher weight, but the ability to get it down off my shoulders after. I still plan to keep adding 5 pounds each time, but we'll see.

Oh, and from the HRM today:

Exercise	Time	Cals	Max HR	Avg HR	Max %	Avg %
WATP	0:10:00	87	147	138	83	78
Treadmill	0:20:00	173	155	137	87	77
Treadmill	0:30:00	261	156	138	88	78
Strength Training	1:00:00	536	163	139	92	78
Totals	2:00:00	1057

Food for the day:

Food: 2597 calories (31% fat, 36% carbs, 32% protein)

Breakfast: egg/egg white omelet with chicken & turkey sausage, cracked wheat oatmeal bread, jam, grapefruit (534)
AM Snack: almonds (164)
Lunch: 2 whole wheat tortillas, mustard, smoked back bacon, cheese, apple (515)
PM Snack: protein shake, soy nuts, fruit salad (382)
Dinner: white chili with cauliflower, chicken & turkey sausage, salad w/dressing (692)
Late Snack: protein shake, fruit salad, biscotti (310)

[foodfromafar]

Great workout!

[realcdn]

Thanks, it better have been since I feel a little like a truck ran over me this morning. It's probably a good thing that I'm off to run some errands instead of the treadmill. It will have to get pushed a little later. It is a gorgeous day out though, with a high of close to 20C (68F).

[missjane]

Sounds like you will need to be getting a squat rack soon! Nice job!

[realcdn]

Originally Posted by missjane

Sounds like you will need to be getting a squat rack soon! Nice job!

My problem is there's absolutely no space where it could go. I'm already pushing the limits of the room I'm using. Even now I have to move the rubber mat I use for the weights in order to use the treadmill. And the dumbbells are sitting on the fireplace (good thing it's spring). The cat is happier since I moved the mess of plates away from his sleep spot on the fireplace. I miss my last home where the downstairs room was 30' x 24'. Oh well, you work with what you have.

[foodfromafar]

Yes, I'm sure the cat is happy that the invaders are out of his territory!

[realcdn]

This morning I was up early (even before the alarm) but I still ended up having a draggy day. I managed to get two sessions in on the treadmill before lunch, even though it was late. I spent most of the afternoon trying to talk myself into the third session (which I did). I also put the pool cleaner in, which will be swimming temp by tomorrow. The weather is so nice, which is helping. And I was feeling so lazy that we ended up having the frozen mushroom pizza in the freezer. I'll only had to change the afternoon and evening snacks to include a bigger protein shake to make up for it.

Exercise	Time	Cals	Max HR	Avg HR	Max %	Avg %
Treadmill	0:30:00	285	152	132	85	74
Treadmill	0:30:00	295	144	134	81	75
Treadmill	0:30:00	267	159	137	89	77
Totals	1:30:00	847

Food for the day:

Food: 2198 (31% fat, 36% carbs, 31% protein)

Breakfast: cracked wheat oatmeal bread, peanut butter, jam, grapefruit (261)
AM Snack: almonds (164)
Lunch: 2 whole wheat tortillas, mustard, smoked back bacon, cheese, apple (515)
PM Snack: soy nuts, protein shake (359)
Dinner: mushroom pizza, salad w/dressing (499)
Late Snack: protein shake, fruit salad, biscotti (400)

[kfisherx]

Wow you are doing some amazing cardio work here. Are you tired maybe because you are crashing??? If you burned up 847 kcals in your cardio and only ate 2198 for the day you are in a serious deficit.

[realcdn]

It is possible. Until adding the HRM I really didn't think I was burning that much from what I usually refer to as simple walking. I was going by the count on the treadmill and adjusting it up a little (as it's not weight based, and I'm not average). However, looking at yesterday and comparing it to my estimates there's about 300 cals a day difference. I'm seeing about 300-400 calories difference in what I've estimated and what the heart rate monitor says I'm burning. This is assuming that number is accurate.

I still think that the rest of the time I'm doing little more than baseline burning (sitting at the computer, sitting on the couch, etc.) although now that the weather is nicer that will change. As someone who avoids exercise like the plague usually it's easy to convince myself that I shouldn't do it. So I'm never sure if I'm trying to talk myself out of it or lack the energy to do it. I feel more energetic this morning so I'm at a loss. Can you tell I'm struggling with this?

I think I'm always bouncing between not doing enough and perhaps overdoing it. Now that I have a way of measuring what I'm doing it might be time to consider dropping those levels a little and seeing what happens. The other option is to raise my intake levels (although I'm not sure how I would do this and keep my protein levels up - more protein shakes I suppose). The book calculations, adjusted for weight difference give me:

RMR: 1823

No workout: 2187
Active: 2552
Strenuous: 2916

I've been doing 2200 and 2600, really assuming that my walking M-F is more of a non-workout. I'm not sure that sitting around most of the day and doing 90 mins of walking is considered active. And I think the daily walking (with a little jogging now) is probably good for my heart health, so although I may replace it with some swimming I likely plan to keep it up. Maybe the solution is to eat a bit more. I think that's the hardest thing for someone who has a lot of weight to lose - finding an appropriate level to eat at.

You've given me quite a bit to think about. I'm interested in anyone else's feedback as well.

[realcdn]

I meant to add earlier that I'm pretty sure the food logging is accurate as well. I do know that this is somewhere you can go off track without realizing it. I measure and/or weigh most of what I consume. For example, I know that my grapefruit this morning was half a large grapefruit. The first few days I weighed it before eating, then weighed the peel when done. It was almost perfectly a match for a large grapefruit on Fitday, so until we buy a new bag I use 1/2 a large. I do the same kind of thing with the bread I made. I'll put the recipe into my tracking program, weigh the result and then weigh the portion each morning. I still measure jams, oils, butter, condiments, etc. with measuring spoons. And I weigh the cheese blend before tossing it into my omelet. I know (for me) I need to do this, as although I seem to have minimized my craving for junk, I know I can still overeat good things as well.

[kfisherx]

I would consider backing off the exercise by about 300 cals or getting in another 300 cals per day for a bit. I don't think it is necesarily a bad thing that you are eating so low given how far you have to go but it could be the cause of your feeling very low energy and down. If you want to increase your energy a bit, the added cals might be a good thing.

Have you been loosing more than 2 lbs a week?

[realcdn]

The quick answer on the weight loss is over the last 9 weeks I've been averaging 2.22 lbs a week. That's the quick number out of FitDay. And for the last 5 weeks it's 1.92. I'm a couple of days (likely) away from my period so that may change slightly. I'm happy with the weight loss at the moment. With the pool open now (first swim this morning!) my usual two down days of Sat/Sun will now include swimming, although it will likely just be leisurely swimming. However, those weekends will include a little labour outside if the weather holds. So I am considering raising the calories a little as it's no good if I can do the exercise, but don't have the energy to do anything else.

It's really quite hard for me to judge energy levels. At 300+ some days just going to work and walking around left me tired at the end of the day. That's the part I find the hardest, as I've never been a high energy person so how do I judge the too little energy situation. I did notice a big difference today though in getting out of the pool. In the fall, at about 45 pounds heavier, getting out at the steps was a lot harder than it was today. Of course that could be a combination of less weight, the walking I've done over the last three months, and a little more strength in the arms.

[kfisherx]

Actually 2.22lbs a week is enough for you to feel pretty run down much of the time. When I first started with my trainer I dropped right around that much and ended up crashing after 5 weeks. So I would say that you are on the fence or riding the line right now to where you wan to be. Since you have a lot to loose it probably isn't horrible for you to drop at the upper range of healthy weight loss but I would definately be on the lookout for serious drains of energy. Whatever you feel now but worse is drains. If you start to feel sort of like you have the flu or a bad cold that is the start of crashing. It probably would not hurt you at all to back off some of that cardio that you are doing. Again about 2-3 hundred cals a day worth is all you want to aim for. Of keep the cardio and eat that much more. If you can average 2 lbs a week loss that is the money honey and will serve you pretty well. You'll still feel weak and low energy but you will not crash and burn so quickly.

Again I must tell you that your log and dedication is amazingly inspirational. I can't wait to see where you are next year this time.

[realcdn]

Thanks for the input, it does help. I think I'm going to add about 200 a day for a little while, especially as the garden work is starting. Up until now it's been fine to just veg out for the weekend, but now it's project time. If the weather holds we're planning on moving about 12' of berry bushes from one side of the yard to the other this weekend. Lots of digging, trimming, hauling stuff around. I think that's what I was getting a little concerned with. I know to lose weight there has to be a deficit. And with having so far to go, it's hard to not want more than 2lbs a week. Considering best case scenario I'm at this for the next two years (and I know as I get lighter, it will slow down no matter what) 1400 cals a week isn't going to make a huge difference for a couple of weeks. Worst case scenario, the weight loss slows. Best case scenario I get a little more energy, do a little more in the garden, and continue at roughly the same pace. I'll see how that goes.

The dedication is what I lacked the first time. I go back and look at an average daily consumption of no more than 1400 cals (although a few missed days here and there tell me I likely ate out of range those days) with an hour of higher level cardio than I'm doing now. Combine that with 5-6 hours sleep (max) and a job where I was on my feet all day (standing and walking around) and it was a recipe for disaster. I've come to accept that I have a problem with food. Hard to admit, but it's true. This time I've decided that even if I go off track I'm going to log it. Since December there have been two bad days (Dec. 31/Jan 4) and I logged every bite of the slips. I suspect I'll have to plan meals/food for years to come, to try and combat the underlying issue with food. I'll reassess that later I suppose.

Anyway, it's a beautiful day out so I'm going to aim to start my afternoon session at 3:30 so I can have a nice leisurely swim afterwards with my mother. Tomorrow we'll be digging in the dirt.