Actually, what I mean is are you eating like a runner should eat? A couple of months ago I realized I was not eating like a runner should eat. It was not adequate for the amount and type of training I was doing, and I was ingesting too many calories as well.
Right after the Madeira Beach Triathlon, I decided I was sick and tired of my weight. Over the last five years it had crept up ten ugly, heavy pounds. I found myself shopping for a better bike for triathlons and, like most people, always checking the weight of the bike. It occurred to me that it was kind of crazy to worry so much about a pound on the bike when I was carrying about 15 pounds too much on my body. That is when I resolved to lose it before the summer ended.
Along about this same time, I joined the T3 Tampa Tri Team at Bob Sierra Y. They have really sharp black tri suits which are, of course, spandex - yeah, just what you want to climb into when you're packing extra weight.
I also had been thinking for a good while that I would be able to run a lot faster if I lost that weight. Years ago, back when I weighed under 120, I also ran a 7 minute mile. If I lost that weight, could I actually run that fast again? Running is the one sport in which people barely get slower as they age, so it might be possible.
My friend Lee had been telling me for months that journaling was the secret to losing weight. I suspected she was right, at least for me. After all, I had been running 30 miles a week for more than a year and hadn't lost one, single pound. And the year before that, I ran my first two marathons, thinking I would certainly lose weight with all those miles. Guess what, I gained weight. I was, obviously, doing something wrong.
I noticed a link to FoodDiary.com on the T3 website and decided to check it out. It seemed like just what I needed, and the price was just $9 per month.
Well, I LOVE FoodDiary.com! I have been using it for almost ten weeks now, and I am thrilled to say that I have lost 12 pounds. But equally important, it is helping me to drastically improve my nutrition. Now, don't get me wrong, I was eating pretty well before, but FoodDiary.com has been quite illuminating. The most helpful info, besides the obvious tracking of calories, was the knowledge that I was not eating nearly enough protein for the 7 to 9 hours of aerobic exercise I was doing each week. Now, I am eating like a runner, and I'm starting to look like one, too. More on eating like a runner in my next post.
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