<p>Better day today: </p>
<p>Cals :965
Fat :52 g
Carbs:61 g
Fiber :8 g
Protein :69 g
Sugars : 17 g</p>
<p>Not much to speak of in the way of exercise other than the usual 3 walks with sabadog - total of 6 miles. Ready for it to warm up. Went to Costco and bought string cheese and reduced fat cheddar snacks, all pre-measured. Also mini Cukes, spinach, organic ground beef, tenderloin steaks. Diet should be easier now.</p>
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<p>want to make sure there is enough energy to make the 8 mile run. Don’t have any experience as what is the best fluid for this purpose. Don’t think regular water will do the job.</p>
<p>Did the Hops Challenge then off to the gym for a mix of machines, pull-ups and elliptical. I’m feeling reasonably virtuous, I got exercise every day this week.</p>
<p>I managed to do 20 pushups without stopping - just to see if I could. :)</p>
<p>DadII- I wouldn’t worry about needing an energy drink for an 8 mile run. Water will be fine as long as you’ve eaten regular meals. Coconut water is pretty low cal as is G2 Gatorade.</p>
<p>The value in sports drinks is the minerals and the sugar is only useful if you really need it. I do fine with a cup of oatmeal for five or six miles if I’m not running too fast.</p>
<p>I’m not a big fan of running until you drop because you can damage your body where you don’t realize that you’re damaging it because the good chemicals mask any pain that you may feel. I think it’s better to work up gradually. The usual rule in running is not to do more than 20% more than the previous week. So don’t do more than 20% more distance over your base or run 20% faster than what you are used to.</p>
<p>Do I break that rule? Sometimes. But it sometimes results in damage that may take a few days to two weeks to repair.</p>
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The early bird sign on is Jan 31st. After that, the fee goes up $15. </p>
<p>This is the only way for me to find out if I could have the possibility of complete a 1/2 or not. Otherwise it will be a total waste of good $$ to sign up.</p>
<p>DadII:</p>
<p>As I understand it, assuming you have eaten, the body has plenty of glycogen stores for at least an hour to an hour and a half of intense exercise. It’s really only on long endurance exercise beyond that that “refueling” is required.</p>
<p>Dan John has an oft-quoted rule about fitness and workouts: </p>
<p>The goal is to keep the goal the goal.</p>
<p>If your goal is to lose fat/weight, then the last possible thing you would want to do is drink sugar. If running long distances requires you to drink sugar, then you are no longer keeping the goal the goal.</p>
<p>If the goal is to run a half marathon instead of losing weight, then focus on that goal and don’t let fat loss interfere with it. It always comes back to the question, “why are you exercising?”</p>
<p>Dad II, it’s up to you. Remember, though, that you may feel fine during the run but find out afterward it was too much.</p>
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<p>I love this and need to remember to ask myself that very question more frequently.</p>
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<p>Awesome. </p>
<p>Gotta hand it to HOPS. He has pushed us all from an endurance standpoint with these darn exercises. I found 25 bodyweight squats to be pretty tiring. My thighs were burning.</p>
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<p>It’s important for everyone, but particularly crucial to those of us in search of geezer fitness! It is so easy to get sidetracked by what body builders recommend or what marathoners recommend or whatever, when those workouts may not be the best fit with our particular goals, especially if one of the goals is fat loss.</p>
<p>My exercise goals:</p>
<p>1) Don’t hurt myself.
2) Get a little stronger and better conditioned over time.
3) Maintain/build lean muscle, avoid fat gain.
4) Enjoy it enough that it’s sustainable as a routine part of my life.</p>
<p>Assuming I don’t succumb to the siren song of the Braeburn apple:</p>
<p>Cals 1883
Fat 134 g
Carbs 75 g
Fiber 21 g
Protein 96 g
Sugars 23 g</p>
<p>thanks to all the tips and suggestions. I am going to do the run just to test myself. </p>
<p>Do any of you doing sub 2000 cals a day have a regular job? I can’t concentrate when I am not full. So I eat from the first minute in office until the last snack around 3 almost on the hour. I don’t really arrange any serious business after 3.</p>
<p>I go into the office every business day and it has been pretty cold here. I can do under 2000 calories per day but it is important as to how I structure it. </p>
<p>In general, I feel more clear-headed without food because my body doesn’t have to work to digest food. Everything is fine as long as I have lots of fluids. </p>
<p>I also do a full-day fast from time-to-time.</p>
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<p>I love this. Thanks. I think one of the most self-sabotaging things you can do is keep moving the goal post on yourself, before you really feel like you achieved something.</p>
<p>Just as an FYI for Dad II, I quickly went from running 6-7 miles a couple of times a week, to 10ks, half marathons and then a full marathon and… never lost a pound. Despite really being aware of my food intake and not increasing the amount I ate at all. If weight loss is the goal, the running won’t necessary get you there. Just saying.</p>
<p>sabaray-- great move on the Costco thing. As they say, if you have healthy food in the refrigerator, you will eat healthy food. I am way overdue on a Costco run myself.</p>
<p>Leonard Lopate had a segment yesterday on WNYC about exercise. [The</a> Leonard Lopate Show: Please Explain: How to Exercise Smarter - WNYC](<a href=“http://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/2013/jan/25/please-explain-how-exercise-smarter/?utm_source=local&utm_media=treatment&utm_campaign=daMost&utm_content=damostcommented]The”>http://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/2013/jan/25/please-explain-how-exercise-smarter/?utm_source=local&utm_media=treatment&utm_campaign=daMost&utm_content=damostcommented) It featured Gretchen Reynolds who writes the Physical Fitness column at the NYT. She made the distinction between exercising for health vs. fitness vs. losing weight. No matter what some exercise will make you healthier, but there are distinctions. To be healthy the first 20 minutes are the most important BTW, hence the title of her new book.</p>
<p>When I was young I could lose weight via exercise. I lost the 20 pounds I gained in grad school in one summer just by running 10 miles a week at about a 9 minute pace. I had dessert every night while doing it. I had a similar experience the summer after college when I spent the summer commuting to a job on a bicycle.</p>
<p>mathmom- I also could exercise and drop weight when younger.</p>
<p>Active sends me email with articles, upcoming races, and product promos. I occasionally look at the first two, not so much the third. ;)</p>
<p>Dad II asked about rest days a while back. This article is by a triathlete coach and in step 5 the coach recommends scheduling recovery weeks. I was curious if that’s typical in triathlon training, which I imagine must be quite rigorous, and whether those here who have familiarity with this sort of thing thought that concept would be useful for runners preparing for, say, 10Ks, half marathons, or marathons.<br>
[10</a> Easy Steps to Designing a Training Plan | Active.com](<a href=“10 Easy Steps to Designing a Training Plan | ACTIVE”>10 Easy Steps to Designing a Training Plan | ACTIVE)</p>
<p>A lot of runners I know take cut back weeks about every 4th week, but they are doing really high mileage. It’s not a bad idea.</p>
<p>15 degrees, 2 inches of powdery snow on the path, creek frozen, 10.4 miles. It wasn’t easy. Hands were freezing to start. I misjudged on the gloves. They got OK, but it worried me for awhile. Wore balaclava and looked like an idiot, but it did the trick. I can’t stand it over my nose for more than a minute or so, but I needed to do it because my nose was frozen on the way back. Very beautiful, but slow going. Wasn’t slippery except at edges of street crossings, but your feet slip a little on the push off. Never stopped or stopped my watch the whole time. I felt very hardcore. Went without the Yak Trax, but I saw a few runners out with Yak Trax. I think you could go either way. My feet were warm in Hokas and smart wool socks. Ice formed on the outside of the socks.</p>
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<p>Thank you CJR. I suspect that because you are already at a very fit stage when you start running 1/2s. In other words, there is no more weight to lose. </p>
<p>I am, on the other hand, way over weight at this stage. Longer runs at optimal heart rate will definitely help me loss weight and gain endurance at the same time.</p>