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Re: Race weight??? [jenhs] [ In reply to ]
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Sigh....sounds like you have the same battle and that was one of the things I was wondering is if I need to just get over it and accept that not everyone gets to be a lean, mean running machine.
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Re: Race weight??? [JBird] [ In reply to ]
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I figure I can get leaner but not lean. I'm just not built that way. Total bummer. But, I'm almost 40 as I already said so I might as well just get over that and move on. All I can do is be the best I can with what I've got.

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce
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Re: Race weight??? [cuds] [ In reply to ]
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Everyone loves Bar Harbor :) I am a lucky little girl. The trick is, be a college student and find summer jobs in nice places ;-)

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD
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Re: Race weight??? [JBird] [ In reply to ]
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Well, this could be a long reply and could be a touchy subject. Earlier this year I did a camp with a couple of male pros who have been at the top of the sport. I asked them to be frank about what they thought about excess body weight and triathlon. After some reluctance (they prob. thought that they would be contributing to yet another female's eating disorder) they came clean and said that it definitely pays off to be lean. You will be faster. Swimming doesn't really matter, but for biking and running, it does. When you think about the frames of fast cyclists and runners, it makes sense. IMO, triathlon isn't license to overeat--but with the temptations that run rampant in American eating--alot of us (me included) have or do. With that said, I have found that they way to drop extra pounds safely (so you don't get sick) is to do the following.

Don't eat processed food. This includes cereal (opt for oatmeal), crackers, rice cakes, pasta, bread, pretzels, bottled salad dressing, ketchup, soda of any kind--even switch your sport drink to Recharge.
Don't drink fruit juice, but EAT as many raw fruits and vegetables you can throughout the day. Seriously, make a pile on your desk at work and eat through them throughout the day. If veggies and greens are tough for you to take in large doses, consider throwing them in the blender--try 3 handfuls of spinach, a mango, a banana and some water. Let the blender do the chewing for you!
Eggs are almost a perfect food--don't be freaked out by the yolks, that is where all of the nutrients are--provided that they are from a farm where the chickens are feed a natural diet-grass fed is best. Pay a little extra
Eat a HUGE salad for dinner with your own extra virgin olive oil dressing. Add avocados and nuts. Even a little raw milk cheese (still has enzymes)I am been into sardines lately, as they are smaller fish with less exposure to mercury and the lightly smoked ones taste really good. Add a high quality protein. Don't add croutons. Have a glass of wine or two. I still drop weight. I love wine and it is so civilized to have a glass with dinner.
Most Wraps are a big nutritional myth. Buy the Ezeikial ones. Same for bread if you must have it. Incorporate Quinoa and Brown Rice into your diet. If you do eat meat, buy natural raised/free range etc. Why do you want to weaken your body with hormone and antibotic laden "Chicken Selects" or any of that crap meat out there.

That really should do it. IMO, it is how we should eat anyway but as food gets more expensive people are gravitating to the cheaper stuff. So then we eat all of the cheap, processed stuff and get sick and injured--sick with life threatening illnesses--then we pay huge amounts in medical bills and medications to remedy what we have done by eating processed, ruined, fortified, genectically altered food. Best case scenario we spend hundreds of dollars on vitamins and supplements that we could get from whole, intact foods. Really hypocritical cycle.

For Sh%ts and Giggles, I have been on a Raw Vegan Diet for 5 days now. I am doing about 16-20 hours of training this week. No coffee, tea, dairy products or meat. RAW RAW RAW. And my training is going so well and I feel like I took a dose of happy pills. All of this after two very stressful monthes of life changes.

FWIW-

leslie myers
http://www.foodsensenow.com
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Re: Race weight??? [JBird] [ In reply to ]
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I am about the same height and weight as you. I have just done an Ironman and after all that training I still didn't change much weight wise! I sometimes get a bit frustrated but I figure I am fit and healthy which is better than a large percentage of the population so I try not to worry too much!
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Re: Race weight??? [Honey] [ In reply to ]
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I really like the idea of eating nothing but whole foods but like many people, struggle at staying on track all the time, especially when short on time. I do eat alot of whole fruits and veggies, probably more on the fruit side than I should. Is it possible to eat too much fruit? No bread (i.e. no sandwichs) would be tough for me. How much dairy do you eat? I take it easy on cheese but have milk (soy or regular), yogurt and cottage cheese pretty regularly.

I do agree that I feel so much better when I'm successful at putting only good, whole foods in my body!
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Re: Race weight??? [JBird] [ In reply to ]
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Well, it is really not too hard. And I say that having morphed throught the years on my eating. I (like most of us) am very busy with job, social life, hobbies outside of tris, and training. I keep a running list of things I need at the grocery store. To save time I do things like boil a dozen eggs on Sunday and eat them throughout the week, or cut up enough salad for two or three and wrap in bowls.... make a 2 cup batch of dressing to have on hand. Or cook a bunch of brown rice so I have it on hand during the week.

Fruit--no, i don't think that there can be too much. Eat at least an apple the first part of the day and see how it keeps you full. One might argue that there are too many calories in fruit. I think that the only time it (seems) like it would be detrimental to weight is, say that, you are eating 6 pieces a day but also having lots of cold cereal, ice cream, 1/2 and 1/2 in coffee, chips, etc. Fruit is not the culprit

Bread. Up until recently I owned a restaurant for 11 years. We always had bread around to serve to tables. And this was good bread! Not to mention desserts and everything else. I was constantly around food. While part of my "job" was to try everything, I usually ate 90%-95% healthy. If you incorporate grains such as the aforementioned, beans, fruit and vegetables, you will find that you won't really be craving standard bread. Oatmeal, Barley and Buckwheat Groats are really good for you. I just fueled up on a breakfast of B.Gs with banana, strawberry and 2 teaspoons coconut oil (that is a good read; the medium chain trigycerides in coconuts) before a 3 hour ride/run off the bike. Will prob. have a larabar, fruit and water on ride.

Cottage Cheese--American adults have been conditioned (prob by the dairy and meat councils) that we need calcium for strong bones and protein from birds and mammals. However, humans are the only mammal group who continue to ingest milk after we are weaned. hmmmmm. You can get enough calcium in dark, leafy greens. And if they are raw they have SO MANY NUTRIENTS. Again, a trick to getting those down is to blend them with a couple of pieces of ripe fruit, water and maybe a little honey. Kale shake anyone? LOL. Seriously, it works. Calcium, protein and other nutrients are located in the cellular walls of these plants. So, unless you chew and chew and chew, you won't get all of the nutrients out of them. Let the blender do the masticating.

I still love a great piece of artisan cheese. I consider myself an omnivore, not a vegan. I have just been doing alot of thinking about the american diet. It is evident everytime I am out in public that there is something REALLY wrong.

As a triathlete, I have been at a few symposiums and camps over the years where there is a lot of time devoted to how to train efficently for the swim, bike and run; how to stretch; how to prepare mentally for a race; etc. Hours. But when it comes to nutrition, the focus is on the 48 hours leading up to and during the race. IMO sound nutrition is low hanging fruit for any athlete who wants to improve; you don't have to be genetically gifted or have a lot of free time. You just have to educate yourself and be mindful of what you put in your body and how you go about organizing that. If you can make time for a 3 hour bike ride, or get up at 4:30 in the morning for your swim workouts, then you have WAY more than enough time to pay heed to nutrition. It is essentially the 4th sport. Alot of sports nutition books, while very good reads, are extremely technical. Go back to basics, take out the processed stuff, watch whatever prepackaged or restaurant meals you must buy and I assure you that weight will come off.

Again, my response is again WAY long. I am extremely passionate about this subject. I don't mean to come across as militant (hey, I wanted to sample the local fish fry when I was in Milwaukee last month)

Cheers

leslie myers
http://www.foodsensenow.com
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Re: Race weight??? [Honey] [ In reply to ]
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In Reply To:
"Well, it is really not too hard."
LOL! I don't even know where to begin with that. Maybe that's because it's 7am on a Saturday hah.

All I'm saying is... modern technology brought us heart rate monitors, power meters, aero bars, carbon bikes, indoor trainers, gps', (the wheel haha), etc. We all use many of these modern day, human created "devices". Why can't we have a little human created nutrition in our world too? In other words, I'm not giving up the occasional package of nibs! haha (note: occasional!!) :)


______________________________________
I know I'm promiscuous, but in a classy way
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Re: Race weight??? [cuds] [ In reply to ]
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I get you-
and I agree. I'm not giving up some of the great food pleasures. But the quandry posted was about not losing weight while training for tris. My response was directed at that. I am just saying "here is what has worked for me". If the question was "should I go cold turkey on all processed food?" I would tell you that it is not realistic. And if you look at the big picture of food in america, it is the overconsumption of processed stuff that is keeping people from losing weight, etc.

leslie myers
http://www.foodsensenow.com
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Re: Race weight??? [JBird] [ In reply to ]
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Here is an interesting article on the effects of frequent eating on weight loss. Basically it says a study done in Australia shows that eating frequently throughout the day has no effect on weight loss. The total calories taken in each day, and the quality of food eaten, is the key.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/108794.php

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce
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Re: Race weight??? [JBird] [ In reply to ]
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I think at this point with race season underway, you should ignore your scale and instead try to fuel properly so you can have excellent workouts and races without much fluctuation in your weight.

Then once the season is over, I think I would hire a nutritionist and put in place a longer term plan so that next year you have your new body ready to tear through the races. I think eight pounds is too much fluctuation from winter to summer, that is purely my opinion. I am 51 years old now, and I try to make sure my winter weight is no more than 3 pounds over my summer weight. So baloney if people say you can't do that once you're over 40, of course you can. My weight has been pretty consistent for the past 25 years, but I do pay a lot more attention in the winter when my training volume is less and the November/December/January holiday food gorging festivals present so many challenges.

I would work with the nutritionist on a really sensible plan to gradually bring down your weight. And I would also try for some weight training over the winter to build more muscle mass.

Hmm, I might even hire the nutritionist now. And it has to be someone who has extensive experience with athletes.

BrokenSpoke
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Re: Race weight??? [Honey] [ In reply to ]
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this is fantastic advice...pretty much what I did to go from a chick that was whispered about sometimes not so quietly: wait...SHE does Ironman/triathlon/marathons...to someone who finally after years of training lost the extra weight also. Of course I still have 5 to lose! so I am going to get stricter again and back to these old rules...I maintain eating like this 80% of the time but it is amazing how just letting it slip the weight is back on...I can eat the same number of calories a day but if its all crap I gain. ALso fueling your body with the good stuff I think leads to much better and productive workouts where you can burn more calories as you can hold a higher intesity. I have nothing to back this besides my own experience. Sure sometimes eating a giant bag of chips is fun, but it is more fun to come home with some hardware! or, PB, or do something you didnt think you could before. I think about that before I decide if I REALLY want something. Usually, I dont when I think of it in those terms.
Of course, wine and good chocolate/cheese etc is pretty much always worth it! and not open to debate. But not the rest of the crap!
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