The Running Mike

Paleo / Primal Coach, Runner, and Triathlete

Archive for the tag “weight loss”

26 Sep 2012

Calculating your Metabolic Rate for Weight Loss

I wanted to take a moment to post a metabolic caclulator I was working on for those participating in my FREE half marathon training plan and coaching.

If you’re trying to lose weight, it’s a huge help to know how many calories you can consume and need to consume to have energy to run.

The American Dietetic Association (ADA) published a comparison of the methods of calculating metabolic rates.  They found the most accurate method of calculating base metabolic rate is the Mifflin – St Jeor Formula.  This formula is awesome and is a great starting place when looking to lose weight.  My problem is that is requires a bit ofmath to get it working properly and needs both kilograms and centimeters…

Men  10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) – 5 x age (y) + 5

Women  10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) – 5 x age (y) – 161.

To make it easier, I made an excel spreadsheet to do the calculation for you :)   Let me know if you have any problems getting it to work in the page and I can give you access to the full spreadsheet online (If you don’t have Excel, don’t worry, you can use Excel online for free as part of Microsoft’s Office online/skydrive service).  To use it, just fill in the three white boxes below:

The weight loss number is the base number of calories your body uses each day (to maintain current weight) minus 500 calories.  Most runners can lose 1 to 2 pounds a week and still have the energy to do their training runs at this level with 1 trick! Simply add approximately 100 calories per mile ran that day to your weight loss number. So, if your weight loss number is 1600 and you ran 3 miles that day… you actually get 1900 calories that day AND you’ll still lose weight!

Hope this helps and let me know if you have any questions!

Coach Mike

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15 Dec 2011

How I Survive the Holidays Without Gaining Weight

English: Plateful of Christmas Cookies

Gingerbread man, why are you so good? Image via Wikipedia

They say the average American gains a full 5 pounds during the holidays.  We spend all year avoiding donuts/cake/cookies at work, eating salads at lunch and trying our best to have reasonable meals.  And then your mother in law sends  a fruit cake in the mail.  Not one of those horrible ones you see on tv or buy in a store (yuk!)…one made with lots of butter, sugar, and awesomeness that may be illegal in 3 states because it tastes so dang good.  But that’s not all… fudge from the neighbors, holiday cookies, and huge meals at family get togethers.

I know there are many ways to not gain weight at the holidays, but I wanted to share with you the strategies I personally use during the holidays.  I want to still enjoy the holidays and not be totally deprived, I just don’t want to pack on the pounds.

1. Set a realistic goal

At a high level, I set the main goal to be “not gaining weight” but think of many smaller goals to be performed on a daily basis.  Since most people gain weight, I’m one ahead if I can maintain through new years :)

2.  Earn my extra carbs

I try to align my workout schedule with days/times that I know I might be tempted.  The nice thing is that a long run can erase that holiday cookie :)   There is also nothing wrong with an extra walk, taking the stairs, or doing something a little extra.

3.The salad plate trick

Studies show that if it’s on our plate, we tend to keep eating until it’s gone even if we’re full!  Let your family know what you’re doing (to avoid a few weird looks) and use a salad plate instead of a full size plate.  When you load it up with mashed potatoes, ham, stuffing, green beans, etc.  you’ll still get a good taste of everything and will likely be full.  The best part is you’ll usually save 30% off the calories with a full size plate.

4. Don’t keep it in the house!

In general, I try to keep healthy, good foods in my house.  When craving a snack, it makes me reach for an apple or bowl of oatmeal.  All those gift cookies and goodies will be very tempting in your cabinet.  Get in the spirit of the season and SHARE with those around you.  Bring them to work or share with your friends/family.  If it’s in my house, I’ll probably eat it!  I still allow myself a cookie here and there, I just don’t want 25!Once out of my house, I find it easier to limit my intake.

5. Just because it’s the holidays, it doesn’t mean it’s a free for all

I like food :)   I think most people do.  I try to remember that I still need to get up and run tomorrow!  I keep a food journal, which is the easiest way to make sure I’m eating enough based on the workouts I’m doing.  The deal I make with myself is that I can eat it only IF I’m going to record it.  My own guilt mechanism will remind me that “I’ve had enough” when I’ve had enough!

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02 Nov 2011

Why new runners gain weight when training for a marathon

When I was training for my first half marathon, I was very focused on getting healthier and was very consistent about training hard and even doing some cross training.  I didn’t weigh myself until about a week or two before and was shocked that I had actually gained almost 5 pounds?!?  16 weeks of working out and getting to where I could easily run more than 10 miles to find I gained weight?  It didn’t make sense… After working with a bunch of new runners, I started to find that this wasn’t that strange after all. 

First of all, rest assured that running is still making you much healthier!  There are some things out of your control and some things that you can have a direct impact on… 

Five things that can make you gain weight and how to avoid them

scale3The Complex Math problem: Many factors go into weight loss, but in simple terms calories burned needs to be less than calories consumed.  Most of these come down to things that can make you gain weight:

  1. The Hunger: When I run and especially when I increase mileage – I feel HUNGRY! It’s tough to explain, but your body will continue to burn calories after you finish running and for many (me included), will trigger hunger signals to try to maintain.  Solution: If you must eat, eat something healthy like a fresh apple or some good oatmeal (not the sweetened stuff)!
  2. Hidden Calories: I ran with an athlete that drank Gatorade (or a full calorie sports drink) constantly. A normal (not G2) bottle of Gatorade is 100 calories and has 28 g of sugar… this is ok during a long run, but can quickly add up. Solution: Try to stick with water as much as possible and avoid drinking calories (even during most runs)
  3. “I need to fuel”: probably the most common reason which comes from the reasoning that  you need to eat some extra calories.  So you have an extra snack and get plenty of seconds.  Solution: This is a tough one, but you don’t need to overeat.  Be conscious of your intake and try to eat good, balanced meals. 
  4. The CARBO LOAD: There are hundreds of articles about the carbo load – and how it helps on race day.  I can honestly say – it’s great on race day! for many though… it becomes a weekly habit with the rational that there is a long run on Saturday, so extra servings of pasta, potatoes, bread, tortillas every Thursday/Friday! Solution: Don’t worry, that carb load is on the horizon, but save it for the big race!
  5. “I can eat what I want since I run”:   It’s true that many runners do not have the best eating habits, but it’s easy to put on pounds doing this unless you’re routinely over 50 miles a week. Solution: Run more?  No, just kidding Smile  Although the occasional post race pig out is ok, in general it should be pretty rare.  This kind of eating is a shortcut to weight gain!

Three things are still out of your control

If you’re doing all of these things and it’s still not working, I’m sorry to say there are some things out of your control.  To be honest, they are not bad things! The scale doesn’t lie, but the scale doesn’t always tell the entire truth!!! 

There are several physiological changes taking place in your body as you improve your cardio AND several of them can cause a weight gain:

1. water weight – your body will start to store extra water in your muscles (especially when you’re tapering!).  There are many reasons for this, but it comes down to your body adapting to the stress of a long run.

2. Muscle mass – That’s right, muscle weighs more than fat and there is a good chance that much of your body (calves, quads, abs, shoulders) all are putting on some lean muscle mass.  The scale doesn’t measure this! 

3. Glycogen storage – glycogen is the stored carbohydrate fuel that your muscles use.  Your body will indeed learn to build stores of these in your muscles.

Over time, these will even out and you will get back to weight loss!  Stick with the training and don’t worry because over time these become less of a factor.

General things that will help:

Write down what you eat!

I’m really not great at this! I don’t even like recording my workouts, but when I’m worried or focused on training or weight loss – this is a must! Many sites offer this like www.trainingpeaks.com, www.fitday.com, and www.livestrong.com. As a general Food-Factsguideline, to lose 1 pound of weight, you should aim for consuming 500 calories less than you’re burning each day. Most people will find that this gives them enough energy to not feel deprived on long runs, but still enough to lose weight.

Healthy snacking

Get rid of the chips and candy! Keep your house stocked with “healthy” and nutritious snacks like fruit (apples are my favorite), Veggies and a serving of hummus, greek yogurt, and good old plain popcorn (large serving size w/ low calories!)

Remember the big picture!

Running is REALLY good for you. The scale is only pointing at a single factor related to health and not taking into account all the other benefits you’re getting from running! Keep in mind that weight loss is more like a marathon than a sprint Smile Training and improving cardio is really good for you physically and mentally.

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05 Apr 2011
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The Difference Between Training and Exercise

I am one of those guys that isn’t genetically cut out for endurance sports.  I have a very square body type with large shoulders.  Historically, I’d be the guy on the battlefield swinging a huge sword… probably not the skinny little guy running from one city to the next to take a message to the king. 

So here we are in modern day – why would a guy like me train for a marathon?  or a half ironman?  I’m not entirely sure :) but I know that I like the fact that it is a challenge.  If it were easy, everyone would do it. The other thing – I LIKE to train. I do not like to exercise.

WTF? Like to train but does not like to exercise?  The differentiator for me is the goal.  Run on a treadmill for an hour for exercise and you may or may not lose any weight… not motivational for me at all.  I could work really hard and go to the gym every day to exercise.  The scale and even my body fat percentage might not go anywhere.  Not very motivational and ultimately why exercise doesn’t work well for me.  Here’s how I suggest making it happen

STEP 1: Pick a Race. Training on the other hand has a more clear goal: Complete an event on a a specific day.  The goal should be a big one for you, but don’t be afraid to start small.  It could be as simple as “do a 5k on this date” or complete a sprint triathlon on this date.  The point is to get a goal out there.  I would encourage not only picking an event – but REGISTERING for it ahead of time.  Once you’re locked in you will have more motivation to complete the training to do it.

STEP 2: Get a training plan. Once you have your race and you’ve registered, figure out how to get there.  For running, I’m a big fan of www.HalHigdon.com, If you are just starting, check out the coach to 5k web site: www.c25k.com.  Get the plan and get started!

STEP 3: Start Training. You should find something different when you start this process.  It’s a feeling that if you don’t do the training, you will not be prepared for the event.  Keep your focus on the goal: completing your event.  Especially this first time around, it’s ok to try to eat healthy, but don’t make the goal to lose weight. 

Every person concerned with weight loss has been there: spend a bunch of hours in the gym and the scale won’t budge or worse gain weight.  In my opinion, it’s better to have gotten more fit and healthy overall.  At the end of any week, you can say “I’m on track and one week closer”

STEP 4: The Event. I’ll skip to the end.  There is a good chance you didn’t win the race.  There are likely lots of faster people out there, but that’s ok.  YOU WON THE WAR.  Look how far you’ve come.  Take a minute to reflect on your training.  Even if In just a couple months, you’ve become fitter!   Could you have ridden 50 miles on your bike before?  Could you have run a 5k, or half marathon?  Think about it in those terms and realize your success!

STEP 5: After the Event.  Plan your next event if you haven’t already.  If you finished your first 5k, maybe do a couple more over the next 4 weeks and get a half marathon on the calendar.  Pick one that builds on your progress and makes you go a little further.

I make a point to do events year round.  As soon as I stop and just “train on my own” I will almost immediately find excuses to not exercise.  For someone like me, the goal is very important and keeping the training up is very helpful.

STEP 6: At the end of the year – real reflection.  Odds are that you have run a half marathon or have done several events.  Think about the magnitude of how far you’ve come.  In addition to completing X events and adding up the training log of Y miles ran, biked, and swam, you’ll also find a number of interesting results.  You’ve definitely gotten fitter AND I would bet that you at least maintained your weight (which is awesome).  

Posted by The Running Mike in Training and tagged , , , , ,

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