Ben's Fat Loss Diary

[liza3]

Yes I really appreciate you sharing your food choices and the info about running and pacing. You have definitely done a good amount of research and are obviously on a really good track so its nice to be able to learn from your experience!

As I mentioned in my diary I'm going to try and incorporate what you mentioned about pacing.

Your food choices all look amazing.

sugar free stevia-sweetened chocolate chips

it's funny--stevia is the one ingredient I always try to avoid. I used to not mind it and then a friend of mine made stevia-sweetened muffins and we couldn't get the terrible aftertaste out of our mouths for ages. I think it was just too much. Now when I even have a bit of stevia in something, my body isn't happy! I may have to end up getting stevia sweetened protein powder and I'm really hoping I can get used to it again.

 

[Ben_In_NC]

it's funny--stevia is the one ingredient I always try to avoid. I used to not mind it and then a friend of mine made stevia-sweetened muffins and we couldn't get the terrible aftertaste out of our mouths for ages. I think it was just too much. Now when I even have a bit of stevia in something, my body isn't happy! I may have to end up getting stevia sweetened protein powder and I'm really hoping I can get used to it again.

I don't know if I mentioned it, but from March-October 2021 I was strict keto, and stevia/erythritol was a staple. I LOVE the flavor, probably better than sugar. It wasn't until I was maybe 4-5 months into it that I read somewhere that a fair number of people have trouble digesting it. I am apparently not one of them. Up until I started using the tiny amount of salt in my pre-workout drink, I was even having it every morning pre-run/pre-workout with no issues. (I use the "unflavored" collagen powder, which actually does have a bit of an unpleasant flavor when added to water, so I'd throw a packet of stevia in there to mask it. Now the salt does that just fine.)

Anyway, yeah, apparently digestive issues are fairly common--though not remotely universal--with sugar alcohols. Fortunately for me, it's a complete non-issue here, so I use it in my greek yogurt, smoothies, overnight oats, and oatmeal regularly. I also use it instead of sugar in the vinegar/salt marinade that I do the cucumber/tomato/onion/pepper mixture in. It's a great zero-calorie sweetener if you can stomach it.

Looking good for following the meal plan to perfection today. Will be making the dinner fairly soon. Workouts...

LIFTING: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/9653403823
EXERCISE BIKE: 45-minute recovery-pace ride. Kept heart rate in Zone 1 throughout. https://www.strava.com/activities/7849128701

Biking on Thursday reflects a small tweak I've made to my weekly schedule that began evolving last week. Basically moving a run to Fridays to intentionally fatigue the legs a little before my long run on Saturdays. Here's the updated schedule:

	LIFTING	CARDIO
Sunday	Push	Z1 30-45 Minute Recovery Ride
Monday	Legs	Easy Run
Tuesday	Pull	Easy Run
Wednesday	Push	Intervals, Tempo Run, Or Hills
Thursday	Legs	Z1 30-45 Minute Recovery Ride
Friday	Pull	Easy Run
Saturday	OFF	Long Run

The typical order of the lifting is push/pull/legs. I just switched it so that neither of the leg days are less than 24 hours from my long run. It seems that most folks who use the PPL split are more serious weight lifters who aren't doing long runs every Saturday.

 

[Llama]

The amount of running you're doing IS most likely inpacting your leg days (and vice versa) but since you seem to be happy with how both of them are going that's not necessarily a problem.

 

[Ben_In_NC]

FRIDAY

EXERCISE​

Strength Training: Pull Day--pretty strong, went up in either weight or reps on most exercises--https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/9659636602​

Cardio: 1hr run. 20 EZ, 20 moderate effort, 20 EZ. Designed to pre-fatigue legs for long run tomorrow. Morning temperature was quite a bit cooler than it has been, making easy-run pace a bit faster. https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/9660281798​

​

FOOD​

Pre-Workout: 2 bananas, nut butter, collagen peptides​

Post-Workout: Fairlife protein chocolate milk, 2 fruit/veggie pouches during run​

Breakfast: Banana/oat/chia/cinnamon bake, topped w/ triple berry blend, served w/ greek yogurt and protein powder​

Mid-Morning Snack: cottage cheese, 1 apple, walnuts, cinnamon​

Lunch: sirloin steak, sweet potato, broccoli​

Afternoon Snack: strawberries, stevia-sweetened dark chocolate chips, pecans​

Dinner: grilled chicken breast, cucumber/sweet pepper/onion salad​

Evening Snack: 2 kiwi fruit​

​

NUTRIENT NUMBERS​

Today's Calorie Goal -- 3611​

Today's Calorie Plan -- 3612​

Carbs -- 436g (Daily Goal = 350g+)​

Protein -- 233g (Daily Goal = 200g+)​

Fiber -- 87g (Daily Goal = 40g+)​

Saturated Fat -- 27.5g (Goal = Weekly Average of 25g or fewer)​

​

SCALE NUMBERS​

Week Begin Weight -- 183.21​

Today's Weight -- 180.82​

24-Hr Scale Change -- 0.0​

7-Day Scale Change -- -2.98​

Scale Change Since 7/11 Cut Begin -- -23.94​

​

COMMENTS​

Teacher workday at the kids' school today, so much easier to go to the gym, come home, pre-prep breakfast, run, and get back/eat. Part of me kind of wishes I hadn't done the pre-fatigue today, because I'm quite curious about my easy long run pace tomorrow in cool temperatures (low tonight around 50,) but it'll certainly be slower than it could be due to the 6+ miles this morning. ​

​

I was surprised that the scale didn't go up a little today. With tomorrow's run scheduled for the 15-16 mile range including 30 minutes of harder effort at the end, I'd expect to see 170something--if only briefly--at some point in the next couple of days, and hopefully for good by middle/late next week.​

​

As I get closer to "ideal," my thinking on what the number will be keeps shifting. I'm now guessing upper 160s / low 170s, but as I've said before, when I go into full-on maintenance mode will be determined more by the mirror than the scale.​

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General Nutrition Reference Post

 

[liza3]

Not much to add except my constant amazement. I still eat a fair amount of junk food so am impressed by your complete absence of it! And that protein amount! Holy!

 

[Ben_In_NC]

Not much to add except my constant amazement. I still eat a fair amount of junk food so am impressed by your complete absence of it! And that protein amount! Holy!

Apart from eating out (which our family just doesn't do very often) or meals where I can't control what my options are AND it's essentially all-you-can-eat (like a Super Bowl Party at friends' homes or a church potluck around a special event,) I've really only had two main "binge" types, and they seem to typically happen on back-to-back days:

Day 1. "OMG I'm so hungry that I don't know that I'll be able to sleep tonight. Since I'm going past my calorie goal anyway, it doesn't matter any more. Therefore I will eat a GIANT bowl of mashed bananas, granola, berries and nuts....ALL the nuts....EIGHT FREAKING OUNCES OF NUTS! Oh, and I heard that honey helps you sleep. I should drizzle a bunch of honey over it!" (8oz nuts = around 1500 calories by themselves, total calories of this "night snack" are in the 3500-5000 range, I'm pretty sure)

Day 2. "Ugh, the scale is up 4.5 pounds from last night's nonsense. I should get back on tr..... OH SNAP!!!! Before I get back on track, ribeyes are on super-sale! I'll grill two of those with two grilled avocados, and since that'll put me over my goal anyway, MIGHT AS WELL EAT A WHOLE SMALL CHEESECAKE FOR DESSERT! And I can't eat a cheesecake without a bunch of berries and--you guessed it--ALL the nuts roasted and sprinkled over the whole thing!!!" (Yeah, this one may well approach the 6000-7000 calorie range.)

And once I get into that cycle, until I get back on track, for example, breakfast becomes six whole eggs (instead of 2 and some egg whites,) four pieces of toast with copious honey (instead of one or two with honey lightly drizzled,) a larger serving of grits, and with way more meat and cheese than I am now, and way more meats for breakfast. No new foods really "added" to the mix--just wayyyyy too much.

So, yeah, that's a big reason why I've been quick to add calories. I've definitely worked hard in the gym and don't want to lose muscle by losing weight too quickly, but an even bigger motivator is knowing that if I'm not as hungry, that initial nighttime trigger is less likely to occur.

But no, I don't really *like* most junk food enough to binge on it. Other than cheesecake, off the top of my head all I can think of are Krispy Kreme donuts, a few fried appetizers like calamari or awesome blossom type onions, and that's really about it. I said it upthread a bit, but it probably bears repeating that I got to be 100+ pounds overweight eating mostly "healthy" foods. I'll have words with anyone who says that just "eating clean" is all I need to do.

 

[Llama]

I have a friend who eat all the veggies all the time. Cooks all her own meals. Works out hard almost every day. Still made it into (morbid?) obesity territory just by having a giant appetite. It's rare but absolutely possible. I just really like sweet creamy things. And crunchy salty things. All of them...

 

[Ben_In_NC]

SATURDAY

EXERCISE

Strength Training: Saturday is an optional short core-work day. I'll probably get the gym and do it today.​

Cardio: 2hr 45 min run: 2hr 15min EZ followed by 30 minutes of progressively more intense effort. REALLY encouraged by this run, especially given yesterday's "pre-fatigue" of the legs. Kept a nice easy pace for the first 13.5ish miles, and then each of the last 3 miles got a little faster than the last one. 17 miles overall: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/9666135565​

FOOD.

Pre-Workout (255 calories): 2 bananas, collagen peptides​

Consumed During Long Run (300 calories): 3 gu gels​

Post-Workout: N/A. Ate breakfast right after coming home.​

Breakfast (1410 calories): Overnight Oats w/ granola, triple berry blend, and walnuts (Technically these were merely 4-hour oats, 'cause I forgot to put them together last night. Did it as soon as I got up this morning. )​

Mid-Morning Snack (115 calories): 1 apple​

Lunch (1002 calories): grilled chicken breast, avocado, madras lentils, barley. (Forgot to mention the madras lentils in my nutrition post, I'm fairly sure. It's a quick microwave side that's a fairly regular part of my diet. I buy them at Costco. Details of it are here: https://www.tastybite.com/products/organic-madras-lentils-2/ )​

Afternoon Snack (36 calories): strawberries​

Dinner(382 calories): air-fryer shrimp, cucumber/sweet pepper/onion salad, sliced tomato w/ homegrown basil, drizzled w/ extra virgin olive oil​

Evening Snack(108 calories): 2 kiwi fruit​

​

NUTRIENT NUMBERS

Today's Calorie Goal -- 3607​

Today's Calorie Plan -- 3608​

Carbs -- 512g (Daily Goal = 350g+)​

Protein -- 211g (Daily Goal = 200g+)​

Fiber --92g (Daily Goal = 40g+)​

Saturated Fat -- 15.9g (Goal = Weekly Average of 25g or fewer)​

SCALE NUMBERS

Week Begin Weight: 183.21​

Today's Weight: 180.34​

24-Hr Scale Change: -0.48​

7-Day Scale Change: -2.19​

Scale Change Since 7/11 Cut Begin: -24.42​

COMMENTS
My running mileage increased by roughly 5% this week, so nothing huge there, but weight seems to continue to fall faster than ideal. I'd like to have at least two weeks worth of data at the new calorie intake before making another calorie adjustment, though.

As of this writing, I've eaten everything as prescribed above through breakfast. Mid-morning snack will be coming shortly, then a warm bath with epsom salts to help recover from that long run! Today's run was a bit of a test. If next week's goes as well as this one, I'm pretty sure I'll push toward doing a marathon in February.

General Nutrition Reference Post

 

[liza3]

Today's run was a bit of a test. If next week's goes as well as this one, I'm pretty sure I'll push toward doing a marathon in February.

Not at all surprised you'd be looking at a marathon. Your running is amazing. 17 miles with pre-fatigued legs is really great! Can't imagine!!

So, yeah, that's a big reason why I've been quick to add calories. I've definitely worked hard in the gym and don't want to lose muscle by losing weight too quickly, but an even bigger motivator is knowing that if I'm not as hungry, that initial nighttime trigger is less likely to occur.

So good to know that pattern in yourself and to be sure to avoid that route. Yes so many healthy fattening foods. I always esp notice that when logging in my almonds. They look so little and light...but man they are packed with calories!

 

[Ben_In_NC]

Not at all surprised you'd be looking at a marathon. Your running is amazing. 17 miles with pre-fatigued legs is really great! Can't imagine!!

Thanks! The best part was near the end. There's a significant hill near the end of the route I ran yesterday. It really felt like the strength training was doing something as I was able to power up it faster than I've ever done it after 16 miles.

So good to know that pattern in yourself and to be sure to avoid that route. Yes so many healthy fattening foods. I always esp notice that when logging in my almonds. They look so little and light...but man they are packed with calories!

Yeah, walnuts and pecans are my nuts of choice (and of temptation.)

 

[Ben_In_NC]

SUNDAY

EXERCISE​

Strength Training: Chest/shoulder/triceps "push" day. Moved a little less weight than typical. I assume a bit of general body tiredness from yesterday. Still was a solid workout. https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/9672025849​

Cardio: Recovery-paced ride on the indoor bike. Kept the heart rate low and just spun for 30 minutes. https://www.strava.com/activities/7864996100​

FOOD.​

Pre-Workout (451 calories): 2 bananas, collagen peptides, mixed nut butter​

Post-Workout: N/A. Ate breakfast right after coming home.​

Breakfast (1103 calories): grits, egg scramble with lowfat cheddar, uncured ham, and turkey sausage, piece of toast w/ cinnamon and honey drizzle​

Mid-Morning Snack (180 calories): protein bar​

Lunch (550 calories): grilled chicken breast, steamed broccoli, home-grown tomatoes, jasmine rice​

Afternoon Snack (78 calories): 1 apple​

Dinner(677 calories): air-fryer sirloin steak, cucumber/sweet pepper/onion salad, sweet potato w/ cinnamon and monkfruit sweetener​

Evening Snack(109 calories): 2 kiwi fruit​

​

NUTRIENT NUMBERS​

Today's Calorie Goal -- 3149​

Today's Calori4e Plan -- 3148​

Carbs -- 373g (Daily Goal = 350g+)​

Protein -- 209g (Daily Goal = 200g+)​

Fiber --50g (Daily Goal = 40g+)​

Saturated Fat -- 36g (Goal = Weekly Average of 25g or fewer) Average this week was 23.​

​

SCALE NUMBERS​

Week Begin Weight: 183.21​

Today's Weight: 182.04​

24-Hr Scale Change: +1.70​

7-Day Scale Change:+0.82​

Scale Change Since 7/11 Cut Begin: -22.72​

COMMENTS​

Heh. Run 17 miles and the scale goes up! (I'm guessing a little inflammation and probably some water weight from eating 500+ carbs yesterday. Still on track to likely lose a pound or more since last Monday.​

​

I'll likely do a fair amount of yard work today, and give the dog a good (maybe 2ish mile) walk this evening.​

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General Nutrition Reference Post

 

[liza3]

The best part was near the end. There's a significant hill near the end of the route I ran yesterday. It really felt like the strength training was doing something as I was able to power up it faster than I've ever done it after 16 miles.

Awesome yes so great to add in a hill at that point and still feel that power!

 

[Ben_In_NC]

Saturday, 9/10, Garmin estimates:
5K--22:33
10K--47:41
HM--1:48:29
M--4:09:18

9/20 Update:

5K--22:23
10K--47:17
HM--1:47:24
M--4:03:28

Saturday, 9/24 Update:
5K--22:15
10K--47:00
HM--1:46:42
M--3:58:10

 

[Llama]

Powering up a hill after 16 miles of running is so impressive!

 

[Ben_In_NC]

Powering up a hill after 16 miles of running is so impressive!

Thanks! It really, really, really felt....empowering, I guess. I don't know the word, but it felt awesome when I realized my legs had that in them. The memory of that moment was also heavily in my head in the gym doing leg day this morning. It *definitely* motivated me to work even harder on lower body strength today, whereas sometimes I'm not as focused during leg day.

Never got around to yard work yesterday, but ended up walking the dog longer than expected--48 minutes, so probably 3ish miles.

 

[Ben_In_NC]

MONDAY

EXERCISE​

Strength Training: Traditional squat/deadlift/extension/hamstring curl oriented leg day with some jumping rope and box jumps holding dumbbells as well. As mentioned above, the mental memory of running hard and fast uphill during mile 17 on Saturday motivated me to push harder today. Felt great! https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/9677994926​

Cardio: One hour of easy/conversational-pace running, a hair over 6 miles: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/9678938190​

FOOD.​

Pre-Workout (237 calories): cottage cheese, apple, collagen peptides​

Post-Workout: Ate breakfast upon arriving home from lifting, but had a 60-calorie applesauce/veggie pouch pre-run after taking younger daughter to school.​

Breakfast (1356 calories): banana/walnut/flax/pecan/walnut pancakes w/ turkey sausage​

Mid-Morning Snack (142 calories): strawberries and cinnamon cereal​

Lunch (677 calories): air-fryer wild-caught keta salmon, avocado, steamed broccoli, home-grown tomatoes, jasmine white rice w/ sesame seed​

Afternoon Snack (118 calories): 8 oz watermelon​

Dinner(450 calories): air-fryer shrimp, chickpea pasta, yo mama's tomato/basil/garlic sauce​

Evening Snack(109 calories): 2 kiwi fruit​

​

NUTRIENT NUMBERS​

Today's Calorie Goal -- 3149​

Today's Calorie Plan -- 3149​

Carbs -- 341g (Sun-Thu Daily Goal = 300g+, Fri-Sat Daily Goal = 350g+)​

Protein -- 201g (Daily Goal = 200g+)​

Fiber --74g (Daily Goal = 40g+)​

Saturated Fat -- 14g (Goal = Weekly Average of 25g or fewer)​

​

SCALE NUMBERS​

Week Begin Weight: 183.21​

Today's Weight: 181.95​

24-Hr Scale Change: -0.09​

7-Day Scale Change: -1.26lbs​

Scale Change Since 7/11 Cut Begin at 204.76: -22.81​

COMMENTS​

I'm pretty sure this marks the first week that I didn't lose more than 1% of my starting body weight, and I've read that 0.5%-1.0% is ideal. This week was 0.69%, so perhaps this latest calorie increase has me where I need to be. If I lose in the 0.5%-1.0% range from now until the Monday of race week (11/7,) I'd be in the 171.3-176.6 range--which is right where I was when I had my HM PR in 2013. (It was a travel race and I didn't take the scale, but I was somewhere between 173 and 175, I'm fairly certain.)​

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The rest of the day looks fairly sedentary other than likely taking the dog for a walk of decent length this evening.​

General Nutrition Reference Post

 

[Llama]

I love those moments when my body surprises me with its strength and endurance. I don't know the famous runner's high but seeing the end of that hard hill come closer when I didn't think I'd make it halfway up is so rewarding.

 

[liza3]

I agree with you guys--facing something that seems super challenging and finding you have the strength to face it is so empowering for sure. I used to have little pet names for my various hills. One was "miracle hill" because it always felt like a miracle that I could get to the top of it--it looked soooo long from the bottom...

It *definitely* motivated me to work even harder on lower body strength today, whereas sometimes I'm not as focused during leg day.

That's great to see that strength training paying off in the running. I am so far skipping all leg strengthening because I decided they get enough work on the runs but that does make sense that it would really improve your ability to tackle those hills!

 

[Cate]

It's great that you seem to have found the right amount of nutrition to match your output. You're a finely tuned machine, Ben

 

[Ben_In_NC]

I don't know the famous runner's high but seeing the end of that hard hill come closer when I didn't think I'd make it halfway up is so rewarding.

In a year and a half of consistent running in 2013-2014, and about 15 months worth lately, I've yet to experience that "runner's high" that I hear about. I mean, yeah, my easy runs are certainly easy and feel like I could go for many more miles. And it feels great psychologically to crush a hill like that on Saturday, but I've yet to feel anything physically like "they say" you do.

I used to have little pet names for my various hills. One was "miracle hill" because it always felt like a miracle that I could get to the top of it--it looked soooo long from the bottom...

Heh. Mine are completely uncreative: "Fleming Road Climb from Brush Creek to Crystal Lake Drive" just doesn't have the same ring as "Miracle Hill." I need better names.

It's great that you seem to have found the right amount of nutrition to match your output. You're a finely tuned machine, Ben

I keep reading/hearing quite a bit about maintaining/gaining muscle mass being so important at my age. Plus, I am pretty numbers-driven and want to be able to eat as much as I can to fuel running and workout performance in general. As a result, I've been highly motivated to really dial those numbers in. Hopefully the latest has me in the "right" place. (Seems clear that if not, it's pretty close.) None of the calculators have spit out calories or macros that seemed to make sense for me, so I guess real-world trial and error makes the most sense.