Posts by andesite

Thinking of you.  {{hugs}}

Ouch!  I hope that toe issue gets resolved quickly! 

A marathon in June sounds like a great goal!  There are lots of books out there and training guides on the web to help you map out a training program (Google "marathon training" and you'll be quickly overwhelmed).  As for general advice, I like the Complete Book of Running for Women. 

Let us know when the Athletic Club starts, I'm curious to know what kind of workouts they will have you do! 

Unfortunately your age does not buy you a "get out of jail free" card for increasing your mileage. Even teenagers get knee, hip, heel, and shin injuries. The reason for caution is this: if you injure soft tissue in your joints you will be sidelined for MONTHS. No exaggeration. I once had to take 15 months off of running from a heel injury - that's a long time!

Here are some resources to back up what we're saying. (I expect you will also get a lot of good coaching once you join the athletic club)

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_1/107.s html

http://www.best-running-tips.com/increasing-m ileage-safely.html

I think you should experiment with this and see what happens.  For me, it works to eat when I'm hungry.  Sometimes I come home from work at 4:30 and I'm starving, so I have dinner.  Surprisingly, when I do this, I don't get very hungry later and I stay within my calories. 

Not everybody is an olympic runner, and the athletic club may have a select few of very competitive runners, but most everybody will be normal (recreational runners), so go ahead and join up! 

Also, I want to second that piece of advice about only increasing your weekly mileage by 10% a week.  So if you ran 9 miles this week, don't do more than 10 miles next week.  It's all fun and games until you have shin splints or plantar fasciitis.  Increase your mileage slowly and you'll be much less likely to get injured. 

Here's the answer from the perspective of cellular biology: Every body cell has at least one mitochondria, but muscle cells can have one or many. When you strength train, two things generally happen: First, your muscle cells multiply and you add muscle mass, and second, each muscle cell replicates its mitochondria so that each cell is more efficient (or stronger). In a calorie deficit, you will be less able to grow new muscle cells, but there's nothing stopping your existing muscles from producing more mitochondrion so that you are stronger with the same muscle mass. (have you ever wondered how some people have a lot of muscle bulk but may not be as strong as smaller people? It all about the mitochondrion) So to answer your question, yes - you can become significantly stronger in a calorie deficit.

Hey Teachers,

I just started a new group for teachers in the CC Groups.  The link is:

http://caloriecount.about.com/teachers-g249

...or from "Groups", go to "Professionals", then "Other" and you'll see the group called "Teachers"

I like this new Groups concept - it's easier to keep track of than threads that get lost in the forums.  Hope to see you there! 

-andesite

Are you really hungry?  If so, it might be because of your TOM or maybe your body needs some kind of nutrient it hasn't gotten yet today. 

If you're not hungry, then leave the house to get away from the food!

Shannon, I think about you and your family every day.  I think about Chris when I'm on crowded sidewalks in NYC.  I'm looking for him, just in case he wanders this far East. 

Here's a study that backs up what Melkor was saying:

Soccer Burns More Fat Than Jogging

It's about soccer, but hockey is very similar to soccer. 

WW is almost the same thing as calorie counting.  The difference is that the Points system penalizes you for eating fats, a notion that is based on old and bad science.  All of the current research on diet and nutrition tells us that dietary fats are NOT a cause of weight gain and in fact help people to lose weight.  Frankly, since this research overwhelms the notion that nutritionists had in the 80s and early 90's that dietary fats were evil, I'm surprised that WW hasn't restructured their Points equation. 

At any rate, people have success on WW because it forces a calorie deficit.  Personally, I prefer CC. 

All of those methods are fairly inaccurate, as are the electronic scales.  The reason for the inaccuracy is that each method assumes a predominate place of fat storage on your body, and may not acutally be a match for where you are storing fat.  The best method is to get the caliper test, which you should be able to arrange for at your gym or at your doctor's office. 

As you know, there is a BIG difference between 11.26% and 36%!  Yikes!

You mentioned protein shakes earlier...I make them in my blender with a cup of milk and a scoop of whey protein - add a banana and some cocoa powder and it's a delicious snack!  Also, once you have a banana in the shake, it adds up to over 300 calories, and if you are having trouble getting your calories up it might help to be drinking some of them. 

Also cottage cheese packs a good protein punch - it's good by itself or with tomatoes or blueberries. 

Be patient with the results - if you've been at a too-low calorie level for a while it may take some time for your body to realize that it's getting what it needs and that it doesn't need to hold on to the fat anymore.  But I think it will pay off in the long run. 

You migt be at too low of a calorie level to be losing weight.  I know this sounds counter-intuitive, but when your calorie deficit is more than 1000 calories for too long, then your body stops losing weight and desperately holds on to every gram of fat tissue. 

I'm 5'10" and 195 and have been losing weight at a steady clip at 2000 calories a day.  I work out a lot, so my total calorie burn is about 3000 cal/day.  It sounds like you work out a lot too, and since your sedentary burn is probably the same as mine - 1950, you are most likely eating too few calories. 

Bump up your calorie intake to close that gap to 1000 calories on your total burn.  That will get you losing again.