Ditch the Calories - Calorie Expenditure

There is one "benefit" to being an overweight runner, and we have Newton to thank for that!

Us fatties have a higher calorie expenditure. For a 200lb runner you can expect to burn off around 400 cals per 30min run at 10-11mins per mile. Which isn't bad at all.

If you were to run (4 * 30min) runs per week, that is a burn of 1600 cals per week.
A sensible 1600 calorie a day intake provides a calorie deficit of 3000 cals per week.

3000cals + 1600 cals = 4600cals

With 3,500 cals per pound of fat, you could expect a weight loss of 1.5-2 lbs per week.

You will not only feel fitter, but also look better. And to top it all off, the more weight you lose, the faster and easier your running will become.

But a word of warning! But don't subscribe to the "all calories are good calories" philosophy. Alchohol and High GI (Glycemic index) foods won't fill you up for very long and play havoc with your blood sugar levels.

Stick to low to medium GI foods, with a hearty helping of protein. And you will feel full for longer.

However, If you start to notice that your times and performance deteriorating after a few weeks. It may be worth taking a few days rest, upping your calories, and checking to ensure you are not vitamin deficient. Take "1 a Days+iron" for about a week and see if that makes any improvement.

For runners the main culprit are deficiencies in:

Vitamin B6+B12 - Cracked lips, or splits at the side of your mouth
Iron - Feeling of lethargy during running, and slower times even at maximum effort.

I have suffered from both in the past and can testify to how debilitating they can be!

My training 3rd -13th May

Having done a handful of 2.5K runs throughout the year and by playing 5 a-side football twice a week my fitness wasn't too bad! But any runs over 2.5K my calf muscles seemed to seize up, such that each step, either walking or running, was agony. My solution give up the 5s and focus on the running. I don't know if the micro-tears in the muscle fibres from the football was causing the problem, but it made an immediate difference!

So since the 3rd of May, i've been doing gym (mostly upper body) for 40mins in the morning and 5K runs in the evening, with one rest day per week.

My diet now consist of approximately:

Breakfast - 1 post-workout protein shake = 120 cals

Lunch - A Boots Shapers Meal = 400 cals

Dinner - Typical dinner pizza/pasta/risotto = 1000 cals

Grand total = 1500 cals

My old unhealthy diet.

Breakfast - 1 cheese roll (300 cals) + 500ml coke (200 cals) = 500cals
Lunch - Lasagna (450 cals) + 500ml coke (200 cals) = 650 cal

Dinner - less healthy dinner (1200 cals) + 500ml coke (200 cals) + Chocolate (400 cals)= 1800cals

Grand total = 2950 cals

Shocking!!! - It is hardly surprising i had put on so much weight! And that doesn't include my 3 bottles of wine per week (1500 cals) and my 3 sneaky lunchtime pints (600 cals).

So now for the good news.....

With 1lb of fat consisting of a whopping 3500 cals, it was always going to be an uphill struggle.

But, this morning, I managed to hit 15 stone(210 pounds) at my weigh in. I am sure a few pounds will be water loss..but its heading in the right direction!

So 14st(196 pounds) is my next milestone for my next "race"... the Mens Health 10K on Sunday, 15th June 2008, Bellahouston Park, Glasgow. Im looking to cross the line in around 56mins. So I have my work cut out!