This fat girl runs, breathes and believes

This Fat Girl Runs

Dubgal72 wrote: »

My tuppence worth for this: I get a handful of nuts and raisins into me within 20 minutes of a long/hard workout plus a drink and I don't get 'eat the fridge' syndrome two hours later.

What do you drink?

I only drink water (2-3L per day), and decaf coffee (two cups a day). After a run I would have a banana, maybe peanut butter and water, sometimes protein milk if I have it.

Dubgal72

This Fat Girl Runs wrote: »

What do you drink?

I only drink water (2-3L per day), and decaf coffee (two cups a day). After a run I would have a banana, maybe peanut butter and water, sometimes protein milk if I have it.

When I was marathon training I used a powdered isotonic drink called isostar available in Holland and Barrett if I remember correctly. This is more to replace lost minerals and electrolytes, the more I ran, the nicer it tasted...my body saying "gooood" Order online and it's substantially cheaper. It was recommended by my dad and he's run around the block a few times, literally He's also very careful about what he puts in his body so despite the *non-natural* list of ingredients, I went with it.

For post-workout repair, I use chocolate milk but as said above, milk and a banana will do the trick too. And of course it goes without saying, water!

The mixed nuts and raisins really do the trick for me, you might need to experiment to find what works for you. After a hard workout, nothing ever tastes so delicious. sometimes if I go to eat them later, they don't taste so good which again to me, is my body's way of saying "I need this" after a workout.

Ososlo

Ososlo wrote: »

Just something to bear in mind too and something I came across last year with some runners.
I don't think that the weight loss will necessarily 'take care of itself' just because you're training for a marathon. Many marathon runners actually put on weight as they're overcompensating with food for the increase in exercise as the appetite may increase a lot. I'd keep an eye on the scales if I were you.

This is the reason I made the decision to do my long slow runs on a Sunday evening, so that I come home, have something small to eat and go to bed. Rather than the morning, where my day is then taken over by exhaustion and potential binge eating.

Big brekkie on Mondays instead!

Chivito550

Wanting to be healthy is a good start though it must be said. So many people don't care about their health so you've made a good start by actually caring what you put into your body.

BUT, I feel you need to lose the apathetic attitude to weight loss. Comparing yourself to an unhealthy skinny girl. Yes she's doing herself harm, but that does not change the fact that having excess fat is a health risk.

My advice would be to ditch the "This Fat Girl Runs" stage name, ditch the blog and Twitter. Keep this log as you'll get good advice here, and start entering races under your real name. You'll be surprised at how much your priority towards weight loss will change once you no longer have that Stage name which you subconsciously need to live up to holding you back.

This Fat Girl Runs

Deleted User wrote: »

This is the reason I made the decision to do my long slow runs on a Sunday evening, so that I come home, have something small to eat and go to bed. Rather than the morning, where my day is then taken over by exhaustion and potential binge eating.

Big brekkie on Mondays instead!

I'd love to do this. But I'm keeping my runs to the same time as the marathon so that I'm used to the routine. When I do my longer runs (2 hours plus), I will need to be getting up early to have my breakfast and get ready etc. That way, on the day of the marathon, I won't be doing anything unusual.

I don't usually feel hungry after a long run, I find I don't have an appetite at all and I have to force myself to eat!

This Fat Girl Runs

Chivito550 wrote: »

Wanting to be healthy is a good start though it must be said. So many people don't care about their health so you've made a good start by actually caring what you put into your body.

BUT, I feel you need to lose the apathetic attitude to weight loss. Comparing yourself to an unhealthy skinny girl. Yes she's doing herself harm, but that does not change the fact that having excess fat is a health risk.

My advice would be to ditch the "This Fat Girl Runs" stage name, ditch the blog and Twitter. Keep this log as you'll get good advice here, and start entering races under your real name. You'll be surprised at how much your priority towards weight loss will change once you no longer have that Stage name which you subconsciously need to live up to holding you back.

I think we'll have to agree to disagree. My twitter and blog have been very helpful, keeping me motivated and accountable. I get good advice there and lots of help with running questions. The blog is a great place for me to get my thoughts down about running, and the particular challenges that come with being an overweight runner.

And there are plenty of us on twitter; I'm not the only 'fat' girl who runs. It's a nice community and I'm glad to be a part of it.

Why are you pushing me to be skinny instead of healthy? What more would you suggest I do in order to lose weight? You obviously feel that me working out twice a week and running three times a week and eating healthy is not enough?

Chivito550

This Fat Girl Runs wrote: »

I think we'll have to agree to disagree. My twitter and blog have been very helpful, keeping me motivated and accountable. I get good advice there and lots of help with running questions. The blog is a great place for me to get my thoughts down about running, and the particular challenges that come with being an overweight runner.

And there are plenty of us on twitter; I'm not the only 'fat' girl who runs. It's a nice community and I'm glad to be a part of it.

Why are you pushing me to be skinny instead of healthy? What more would you suggest I do in order to lose weight? You obviously feel that me working out twice a week and running three times a week and eating healthy is not enough?

Being of a normal weight (I never used the term skinny) and being healthy are not mutually exclusive.

Simply look at calories in vs calories out. If the latter is greater than the former you will lose weight. It's indisputable simple science. What calories you take in and what you do to burn them off is up to you.

I'll bow out for now. Good luck with your running.

This Fat Girl Runs

Chivito550 wrote: »

Being of a normal weight (I never used the term skinny) and being healthy are not mutually exclusive.

Simply look at calories in vs calories out. If the latter is greater than the former you will lose weight. It's indisputable simple science. What calories you take in and what you do to burn them off is up to you.

I'll bow out for now. Good luck with your running.

Why bow out?

Maybe you can explain how you expect that formula to work for me when it doesn't work for my skinny friend who only eats crap, processed foods and doesn't exercise?

I'm asking honestly here. It's baffled me for a long time.

Chivito550

This Fat Girl Runs wrote: »

Why bow out?

Maybe you can explain how you expect that formula to work for me when it doesn't work for my skinny friend who only eats crap, processed foods and doesn't exercise?

I'm asking honestly here. It's baffled me for a long time.

What sort of quantities is she eating though? She may have a terrible diet but is her calorie intake high?

Also while she may not exercise in the purest sense, if she moves around during her daily routine quite a lot then she is burning calories. Things like walking up stairs all day, mowing the lawn, gardening etc which wouldn't be considered exercise among the sporting community, are activities that burn calories.

kit3

This Fat Girl Runs wrote: »

Why bow out?

Maybe you can explain how you expect that formula to work for me when it doesn't work for my skinny friend who only eats crap, processed foods and doesn't exercise?

I'm asking honestly here. It's baffled me for a long time.

Think genetics have a part to play here too. My mam would have been inclined to put on weight easily whilst my dad has been the same weight for years. Three of us take after my dad and wouldn't put on weight easily while the other two take after my mam and have to watch what they eat carefully to maintain a health weight.

This Fat Girl Runs

Chivito550 wrote: »

What sort of quantities is she eating though? She may have a terrible diet but is her calorie intake high?

Also while she may not exercise in the purest sense, if she moves around during her daily routine quite a lot then she is burning calories. Things like walking up stairs all day, mowing the lawn, gardening etc which wouldn't be considered exercise among the sporting community, are activities that burn calories.

She eats a lot, and I know this because she's my roommate. She'll have an entire Victoria sponge cake and that's before she has her dinner. After her dinner she'll have a bowl of porridge and a chocolate pudding. If it's not a sponge cake it's a box of ice cream or can of whipped cream or a box of mince pies or something similar.

Activity wise mostly she walks. She's a student so is fairly sedentary as she's studying a lot. No gardening as I don't have a garden. No more stair climbing than myself (stairs to my apartment) that I know of. She works retail so not sure how much she moves around there.

Now, what she eats is her choice and her business. I've just seen the amount of crap she consumes and sometimes despair because she eats the way people assume I eat.

I move around in my routine a lot too. Lots of stairs at work. I walk to and from work (amounts to 3k per day), and at weekends in addition to my workout and long run, I usually walk into town, go to the library etc etc.

I'm not trying to compare myself to my roomie but when people bring up the calories in-calories out formula, you'll forgive me for my incredulity, given the counter-evidence staring me in the face every day.

Chivito550

This Fat Girl Runs wrote: »

She eats a lot, and I know this because she's my roommate. She'll have an entire Victoria sponge cake and that's before she has her dinner. After her dinner she'll have a bowl of porridge and a chocolate pudding. If it's not a sponge cake it's a box of ice cream or can of whipped cream or a box of mince pies or something similar.

Activity wise mostly she walks. She's a student so is fairly sedentary as she's studying a lot. No gardening as I don't have a garden. No more stair climbing than myself (stairs to my apartment) that I know of. She works retail so not sure how much she moves around there.

Now, what she eats is her choice and her business. I've just seen the amount of crap she consumes and sometimes despair because she eats the way people assume I eat.

I move around in my routine a lot too. Lots of stairs at work. I walk to and from work (amounts to 3k per day), and at weekends in addition to my workout and long run, I usually walk into town, go to the library etc etc.

I'm not trying to compare myself to my roomie but when people bring up the calories in-calories out formula, you'll forgive me for my incredulity, given the counter-evidence staring me in the face every day.

She probably has a high metabolism. She can burn off calories easier than others might. This doesn’t change the simple fact that if you burn off more calories than you take in you lose weight. For some, it may take more effort than for others to burn off x amount of calories. It just means that you have to work harder than her to be at a certain weight. It sucks, but that’s life.

For example, I train my absolute ass off for the 400m to run a certain time. Some other lad can roll out of bed with a hangover and no breakfast, without any training and run the same time. This type of person is simply more talented at athletics than me. Do I give up trying to improve because of this. Of course not. You shouldn’t let your housemate’s good fortune get in the way of what you need to do to get to the desired healthy weight. If it involves working harder than you are now (in terms of calories in and calories out) then so be it.

RonanP77

You exercise a lot and this is what's confusing me and possibly others. Nobody is talking about skinny here but based on your height I would say you could comfortably lose 4 stone and not be skinny. Someone who is that much overweight, the weight should fall off them when they start to exercise.

I was 13 stone last January, I cut down my calories and increased my exercise. I lost 2 stone in a few months. I got injured and greedy over winter and put back on half a stone. Once I started working out again it and another half a stone came off over the course of a few months. I think this would be fairly normal and what people would have imagined would be happening to you.

It's entirely up to you what you want to do. The way I look at it is, if I put on a jacket with 4 stone of weights in it and run even 5k I'd expect my heart, lungs and legs to be under serious pressure and the chance of injury would go way way up. If I try to run long distances like that I'd just be asking for trouble.

annapr

Ososlo wrote: »

Just something to bear in mind too and something I came across last year with some runners.
I don't think that the weight loss will necessarily 'take care of itself' just because you're training for a marathon. Many marathon runners actually put on weight as they're overcompensating with food for the increase in exercise as the appetite may increase a lot. I'd keep an eye on the scales if I were you.

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Yep, I saw this at the start of IM training. I lost weight initially but then I was constantly ravenous. Weight loss ceased and weight started to fluctuate and then went back up.

This Fat Girl Runs wrote: »

So far I've dropped two jeans sizes but only a stone in weight. Scales are deceptive! If I went by what they said I'd be too disheartened!

Fair points from Ososlo and RQ... I meant that TFGR would lose weight based on her stated calorie intake above (i think she said around 1800 a day) if she continues to exercise... and I see that she has already lost a stone which is a great start. I have gradually lost 8-10 lbs in the last year without focusing on weight at all, and with eating several tons of chocolate, not to mention cases of red wine!! So I'm putting it down to running regularly.

TGFR... we all know skinny people like your room mate... I happen to be married to one and it's just not fair what they can put away without gaining a pound! hopefully it'll catch up on her later in life (evil I know)

davedanon

Is it bad of me to say I've eaten half a packet of Jaffa cakes (1 yoyo in SuperValu) whilst reading this, with my mug of coffee? Because I have.

Ososlo

davedanon wrote: »

Is it bad of me to say I've eaten half a packet of Jaffa cakes (1 yoyo in SuperValu) whilst reading this, with my mug of coffee? Because I have.

that's about 600 calories. How much will you run today?

btw you're a disgrace to the running community! When will you eat the other half?

RonanP77

I can't remember if it was spoken about before but Myfitnesspal is a good app to use as a food diary even if you don't want to lose much or any weight. It'll give you an idea of what % of your diet is coming from fats, carbs etc. It'll also make you really look at how many calories are in something you want to eat and make you think if it's really worth it. Something else might have the same calories but be more filling and a lot better for you. A box of pringles probably has more calories than a chicken dinner.

This Fat Girl Runs

Chivito550 wrote: »

She probably has a high metabolism. She can burn off calories easier than others might. This doesn’t change the simple fact that if you burn off more calories than you take in you lose weight. For some, it may take more effort than for others to burn off x amount of calories. It just means that you have to work harder than her to be at a certain weight. It sucks, but that’s life.

For example, I train my absolute ass off for the 400m to run a certain time. Some other lad can roll out of bed with a hangover and no breakfast, without any training and run the same time. This type of person is simply more talented at athletics than me. Do I give up trying to improve because of this. Of course not. You shouldn’t let your housemate’s good fortune get in the way of what you need to do to get to the desired healthy weight. If it involves working harder than you are now (in terms of calories in and calories out) then so be it.

We well agree on that point. I absolutely don't let my roommate hold me back. Hence the running three times a week and working out twice a week and walking and eating healthy. Wouldn't give any of that up for the world, it's too much fun! Keep in mind that I HAVE already lost weight, over a longer period of time. So while it's not been fast weight loss, it's still been loss. I'm not looking for a quick fix. I want a lifestyle I can sustain up to old age and beyond!

RonanP77 wrote: »

You exercise a lot and this is what's confusing me and possibly others. Nobody is talking about skinny here but based on your height I would say you could comfortably lose 4 stone and not be skinny. Someone who is that much overweight, the weight should fall off them when they start to exercise.

I was 13 stone last January, I cut down my calories and increased my exercise. I lost 2 stone in a few months. I got injured and greedy over winter and put back on half a stone. Once I started working out again it and another half a stone came off over the course of a few months. I think this would be fairly normal and what people would have imagined would be happening to you.

It's entirely up to you what you want to do. The way I look at it is, if I put on a jacket with 4 stone of weights in it and run even 5k I'd expect my heart, lungs and legs to be under serious pressure and the chance of injury would go way way up. If I try to run long distances like that I'd just be asking for trouble.

Keep in mind my age...apparently it's harder for weight to 'fall off' when you're older? Anyway I'm aware of the risks which is is why I'm being careful, checking in with my trainer and coach on a weekly basis, getting checked by the doctor, talking to nutritionists etc. All checks out so far! Blood pressure is normal (66bpm resting), cholesteral is low, blood all ok, thyroid normal. So far so good, knock on wood!

annapr wrote: »

Fair points from Ososlo and RQ... I meant that TFGR would lose weight based on her stated calorie intake above (i think she said around 1800 a day) if she continues to exercise... and I see that she has already lost a stone which is a great start. I have gradually lost 8-10 lbs in the last year without focusing on weight at all, and with eating several tons of chocolate, not to mention cases of red wine!! So I'm putting it down to running regularly.

TGFR... we all know skinny people like your room mate... I happen to be married to one and it's just not fair what they can put away without gaining a pound! hopefully it'll catch up on her later in life (evil I know)

Well, I certainly don't envy my roomie her headaches! She suffers from them a lot, and is also irritable and tired more often than not. We've talked about it and she sees how I eat and talks about how she'd like to eat the same way. Maybe she'll change, actually hopefully she will!

davedanon wrote: »

Is it bad of me to say I've eaten half a packet of Jaffa cakes (1 yoyo in SuperValu) whilst reading this, with my mug of coffee? Because I have.

I've had a few dates and a handful of nuts with my coffee while reading this. To each their own!

This Fat Girl Runs

RonanP77 wrote: »

I can't remember if it was spoken about before but Myfitnesspal is a good app to use as a food diary even if you don't want to lose much or any weight. It'll give you an idea of what % of your diet is coming from fats, carbs etc. It'll also make you really look at how many calories are in something you want to eat and make you think if it's really worth it. Something else might have the same calories but be more filling and a lot better for you. A box of pringles probably has more calories than a chicken dinner.

I use an excel spreadsheet for that. Couple of times a year I do a full diary and keep track of all my food intake. I note the calories, fat, saturated fat, protein, carbs and sugar in everything I eat and get a good indication of where I'm at in balancing my carb:fat:protein.

I actually don't eat pringles or crisps.

davedanon

Ososlo wrote: »

that's about 600 calories. How much will you run today?

btw you're a disgrace to the running community! When will you eat the other half?

Luckily my son has roused himself from the scratcher and rescued me from myself by snaffling the last of them.

The Officer

Chivito550 wrote: »

She probably has a high metabolism..

Or a tapeworm!

eldiva

This Fat Girl Runs wrote: »

As for the 24%, I might be reading that wrong off my assessment results from my trainer (he measures me every couple of months. The 'body fat' number right now is, sorry, it's 25.54 and the 'lean mass' number is 74.46. Whether that's percentage or not I'm not sure. When I first started working out with him the numbers were 34.14 and 72.86.

I'm fascinated to know how your trainer measure's your %BF and what sort of equipment/equations they uses.

This Fat Girl Runs

eldiva wrote: »

I'm fascinated to know how your trainer measure's your %BF and what sort of equipment/equations they uses.

He does a pinch skin test using a ruler type pinchy-thingy. Haven't a clue what it's called! He pinches all over, thigh, tricep, abdomen, back, hip and I can't remember where else. He then measures me using a tape measure, again thigh, waist, shoulders, chest neck etc. Then weighs me. After that he uses a formula and Bob's yer uncle!

menoscemo

This Fat Girl Runs wrote: »

He does a pinch skin test using a ruler type pinchy-thingy. Haven't a clue what it's called! He pinches all over, thigh, tricep, abdomen, back, hip and I can't remember where else. He then measures me using a tape measure, again thigh, waist, shoulders, chest neck etc. Then weighs me. After that he uses a formula and Bob's yer uncle!

I would have to question it too to be honest. 24% is actually a pretty good/healthy BF% for a normal weighted female. If you google 'female 24% Bodyfat' you will see pretty toned images. So if that was your BF% you would have a lot of muscle mass.
Muscle uses a lot of calories for maintenance and people with a large muscle mass therefore have a very fast metabolism whereas (judging by the calories intake you quoted) you seem to have a very slow metabolism.

All that said weight loss can be a slow and ponderous process and it's better to lose a little every week than a lot at the start through crash dieting. So well done on losing that first stone and keep at it and you will get the results.

barryoneill50

This Fat Girl Runs wrote: »

He does a pinch skin test using a ruler type pinchy-thingy. Haven't a clue what it's called! He pinches all over, thigh, tricep, abdomen, back, hip and I can't remember where else. He then measures me using a tape measure, again thigh, waist, shoulders, chest neck etc. Then weighs me. After that he uses a formula and Bob's yer uncle!

Jaysus, certain people charge big money for that kind of service...

eldiva

This Fat Girl Runs wrote: »

He does a pinch skin test using a ruler type pinchy-thingy. Haven't a clue what it's called! He pinches all over, thigh, tricep, abdomen, back, hip and I can't remember where else. He then measures me using a tape measure, again thigh, waist, shoulders, chest neck etc. Then weighs me. After that he uses a formula and Bob's yer uncle!

I'd love to be present when he's doing it, as by the sound of it he hasn't really a clue of how to do it properly. I'm saying this as I'm fully qualified at anthropometry. I'd say he just pulls an equation out of thin air

Lougheee

Did you go for a run today as a matter of interest?

If you're based in Dublin, UCD do body composition scanning if thats any use to you. I don't think a set of calipers will be as accurate.

This Fat Girl Runs

eldiva wrote: »

I'd love to be present when he's doing it, as by the sound of it he hasn't really a clue of how to do it properly. I'm saying this as I'm fully qualified at anthropometry. I'd say he just pulls an equation out of thin air

How would you do it? I don't know what anthropometry means! I'll have to google it!

Lougheee wrote: »

Did you go for a run today as a matter of interest?

If you're based in Dublin, UCD do body composition scanning if thats any use to you. I don't think a set of calipers will be as accurate.

I'm going for a 3 mile hard run after work. Hoping it will be a bit cooler by then! You?

I'll chat this over with my trainer and see what he thinks. Might be worth it for a more accurate measure.

Lougheee

I'm going for a 3 mile hard run after work. Hoping it will be a bit cooler by then! You?

I'll chat this over with my trainer and see what he thinks. Might be worth it for a more accurate measure.[/QUOTE]

Good on you. I'm going for an easy run in the sun now in a bit. 30 minutes. I'm in the middle of a recovery week.

Its expensive enough to get a scan but if you're really interested then it might give you an idea of where you're at. It could be a good to have a starting point to track your progress. I haven't gotten one myself so I'm not necessarily recommending you get one. They are more suited to elite athletes seeking marginal gains.

The reason I asked did you run today is as long as you are running more days than you are not running, you should steadily get fitter. All the dietary chat is secondary to ACTUAL running.

Just keep running. Its so simple. Best of luck. Let us know how your 3 mile run goes.

This Fat Girl Runs

Lougheee wrote: »

Good on you. I'm going for an easy run in the sun now in a bit. 30 minutes. I'm in the middle of a recovery week.

Its expensive enough to get a scan but if you're really interested then it might give you an idea of where you're at. It could be a good to have a starting point to track your progress. I haven't gotten one myself so I'm not necessarily recommending you get one. They are more suited to elite athletes seeking marginal gains.

The reason I asked did you run today is as long as you are running more days than you are not running, you should steadily get fitter. All the dietary chat is secondary to ACTUAL running.

Just keep running. Its so simple. Best of luck. Let us know how your 3 mile run goes.

Enjoy your run and thanks for the tip!

Hoping my run goes well. Need to make it's actually hard (for me that is!), and in this heat, that won't be easy! :P

RonanP77

You've hired a fitness instructor / personal trainer along with a running coach and a nutritionist (I'd need a second job for that) you make regular visits to the doctor, you have loads of followers on your blog and twitter and none of them have stressed to you the importance of having weight loss as one of your main goals. I never claimed to know much about running but I'm obviously even more clueless than I thought.

I'll say a few things before heading off (because I'm really not going to be any help to you)

First, you say that you hope to inspire others who are overweight and want to run. I think it's a little irresponsible to say this and then say you have no desire to drop to a healthy weight. I wouldn't like to see people start to identify themselves as fat runners, I'd prefer they see themselves as runners. I'd encourage anybody that's overweight to try losing it.

Secondly, despite some of the stuff I've said coming across as negative, I really do wish you all the best. I hope you complete your marathon and many more along with it. I hope you avoid injuries along the way too.

Lastly, I hope you end up losing weight naturally and gradually as you increase your mileage. My main hope is that you see that as a good thing, stop seeing yourself as the fat girl that runs and change your name to "this girl runs"

This Fat Girl Runs

RonanP77 wrote: »

You've hired a fitness instructor / personal trainer along with a running coach and a nutritionist (I'd need a second job for that) you make regular visits to the doctor, you have loads of followers on your blog and twitter and none of them have stressed to you the importance of having weight loss as one of your main goals. I never claimed to know much about running but I'm obviously even more clueless than I thought.

I'll say a few things before heading off (because I'm really not going to be any help to you)

What is it with people saying their thing then running away? No pun intended?

What you ARE doing is helping me clarify my thoughts and articulate better what it is I'm trying to do!

First, you say that you hope to inspire others who are overweight and want to run. I think it's a little irresponsible to say this and then say you have no desire to drop to a healthy weight. I wouldn't like to see people start to identify themselves as fat runners, I'd prefer they see themselves as runners. I'd encourage anybody that's overweight to try losing it.

I would encourage any overweight person to GET MOVING. Running, walking, cycling, swimming, yoga, pilates, heck do Nordic walking if that's what you enjoy. Just MOVE.

Secondly, I never said I didn't want to lose weight. I just said that wasn't my SPECIFIC goal. The SPECIFIC goal is to be healthy and of course that includes converting body fat into lean mass. That's a far different thing to just losing fat and watching the scales. I prefer to see the muscles in my arms working while I'm puffing away at the weights or having to go shop for a new pair of jeans because the ones I'm in are too big. Far more satisfying than watching a scales!

Secondly, despite some of the stuff I've said coming across as negative, I really do wish you all the best. I hope you complete your marathon and many more along with it. I hope you avoid injuries along the way too.

Thank you. I appreciate that. I hope you actually come back to read this though!

Lastly, I hope you end up losing weight naturally and gradually as you increase your mileage. My main hope is that you see that as a good thing, stop seeing yourself as the fat girl that runs and change your name to "this girl runs"

Eventually, I will. But I can't put my head in the sand and deny where I'm coming from. It's all true. I'm fat. I'm a girl. I run.

tunguska

Lougheee wrote: »

If you're based in Dublin, UCD do body composition scanning if thats any use to you. I don't think a set of calipers will be as accurate.

+1.

DEXA scan in UCD. Its about 90 bills all in all. Probably the most accurate measure of body fat there is. Will tell you your bone mineral density aswell, so its definitely worth the money. One word of warning though, the result could be a shock to you. Initially anyway. When I got mine tested I was 134lbs at 5ft 10, and fairly lean(at least I thought I was). I went in there thinking my body fat % would be 10% or less...........it was 16%. Which was a shock, but its a good thing because theres where you think you're at and then theres where you're really at, and sometimes where you're really at can be a slap in the face. But its a good slap, as once you know for sure where you stand you can go from there and start moving forward.

ToTriOrNot

This Fat Girl Runs wrote: »

I'm 38 years old, 5 foot 7 and 15.5 stone at 24% body fat. So yes. I'm fat.

Everything checks out too; blood, thyroid etc. It's all normal.

I have read all your log, I do have my own affair with weight issues..and this baffles me a lot. A couple of weeks ago, there was some check in the office, and I got my weight, height, bmi and %bf. I would be the same height as you (well, I claim to be 5ft8, but they told me I as 5ft7....so I am shrinking but the wrong way!) ..I was 91.5kg (which would be about 14st 5 ) and a whopping 41.6% bf..now, she only had one of those TANITA scales to measure the body fat....I didn't think it was that high, but that's what the machine said...On the other hand, one of my friend was told her %bf was very low for her age (and sex, as female are designed to carry more bodyfat!) ...can't remember the figure, but was quite low, on the 10s or thereabouts (she is not an athlete, but she's quite fit, and does sport)...so I probably was about right!! Now, I am only a size 14-16, and I am loosing some weight, albeit very slow. Can't run at the moment/ havent ran for a few months at this stage as my foot it very sore (really need to get my behind to the physio)...but I have kept active, swiming 3/4 times a week, long cycles every weekend, a shorter one once a week....Mind you, I have a thyroid condition, hyperthyroidism, it's controlled by meds..(when I remember to take the bloody thing)
Now, last time I got weight, I had gone done a bit, to around 88/87.5 if I remember correctly, my clothes are starting to feel looser, and people are commenting...all the training is paying off..
(to put some numbers here, last week I cycled a total of 165km, and I swam around 6km)

BUT I know weight distrubution and frames varied a lot, but I don't consider myself FAT..yes, I am a bit overweight (according to my BMI I am on the obese category....but I don't feel that weight!) but I am not FAT....Would I love to be a couple of sizes smallers..hell yeah!! And I am working towards it..now, while I try to eat as clean as possible , it's not always feasable with work/family/training comminments, and I DO LOVE TO EAT!! ..

TL/DR: My stats would be very similar to yours , do you mind me asking what size are you ?

Hannibal Smith

This Fat Girl Runs wrote: »

Keep in mind my age...apparently it's harder for weight to 'fall off' when you're older

Nope. We're the sane age and i lost 4 stone in 5 months...took a weight loss break...maintained deliberately for 4 months...went back and lost a further stone in 4 weeks. All through running and slimming world diet...and havent piled it back on either. If i take my eye off the ball diet wise regardless of running...it creeps back on.

Ososlo

Hannibal Smith wrote: »

Nope. We're the sane age and i lost 4 stone in 5 months...took a weight loss break...maintained deliberately for 4 months...went back and lost a further stone in 4 weeks. All through running and slimming world diet...and havent piled it back on either. If i take my eye off the ball diet wise regardless of running...it creeps back on.

That's some achievement!

On the age thing and finding it harder to lose weight I really disagree too. If anything I'd imagine you're more motivated and more aware of the seriousness of it as you get older so you'll probably work harder.

My friend's dad lost 4 stone in a year and he's 80! Wanted to achieve it before his 80th birthday. All done through mainly sensible diet but he did walk a lot every day and did regular gym work.

Hannibal Smith

4 stone at 80! Thats brilliant! Love stories like that!

This Fat Girl Runs

Well this week's training was a bust.

Monday workout was good. Lots of pilates and upper body work.

Wednesday short, hard run was also good. Ran 3 miles at an average pace of 12:27. Really happy with the consistency of my pace. Have recently started training music free. It's definitely making a difference!

Thursday I struggled with a migraine all day, one of the bad ones complete with dizzyness and nausea. I haven't had one of these in a long time so it was a bit of a shock to my system. No running.

Friday, still had a headache then my stomach started acting up. Spent the night in the loo. Definitely no running.

Saturday, still sick. Had to cancel, for the first time ever, my workout with my trainer. Gutted.

Sunday, today, it's all happening at once. Headache, runny nose, dodgy stomach, Aunt Flo (she's a week early!). Haven't eaten anything more than toast since Thursday. Trying to stay hydrated. Staying in bed and keeping track of the London Marathon. Know tonnes of people running it. It's exciting stuff!

Gutted to have missed two runs and a workout. Will make up for it when I'm better!

Hope I'm well by tomorrow. Gotta work!

Dubgal72

Good call on the bed day! Get well soon, such a shame after a promising start to the week.

This Fat Girl Runs

Well, I'm not 100% today after being so sick the past week. But then, who ever IS fully 100% anyway?

But my comeback run tonight was all I could have hoped for.

5 miles. 1:06:32. Avg pace of 13:18.

I'm back!

menoscemo

I am sure you have improved since January but am i right in saying your 5 mile PB is 1:08:xx from Raheny?

It's just that I noticed that with your 3 mile run last week as well, isn't it faster than 5k pace?

The reason I am saying this as you will see all over this forum; the most common mistake of inexperienced runners is to do their training runs too fast. If you are constantly running PBs in training then you are opening yourself up to injury and overtraining. This is especially important when training for a Marathon as you are gradually building up the miles so it's important to keep the majority of the runs super easy.

Have your coaches given you any idication on the paces to do your training runs at?

This Fat Girl Runs

menoscemo wrote: »

I am sure you have improved since January but am i right in saying your 5 mile PB is 1:08:xx from Raheny?

It's just that I noticed that with your 3 mile run last week as well, isn't it faster than 5k pace?

The reason I am saying this as you will see all over this forum; the most common mistake of inexperienced runners is to do their training runs too fast. If you are constantly running PBs in training then you are opening yourself up to injury and overtraining. This is especially important when training for a Marathon as you are gradually building up the miles so it's important to keep the majority of the runs super easy.

Have your coaches given you any idication on the paces to do your training runs at?

That's a fair point and one I think about every time I lace up my shoes!

The PB I got in Raheny WAS hard. At the time.

Tonight's run wasn't the easiest given how sick I've been and still not feeling tops but it wasn't hard either. I guess I've just gotten to be a better runner?

My easy run pace has been consistently in the 13:xx range, my hard runs slightly harder at around 12:xx. My long run pace is even slower, all on the advice of my coach and trainer. But saying that, they both tell me constantly not to worry too much about pace and not to go too fast. They definitely want to keep me injury free!

Oh, I should mention that on my training runs I'm not actually TRYING to PB. It just...happens sometimes.

Edit to add: Also, I had to stop at traffic lights a few times and tie my shoe once. The AutoPause would have kicked in then. Might affect the overall pace a bit?

menoscemo

OK that's good to know.
You are probably in much better race shape than when you did your previous PBs. Have you any races planned to test the waters? IMO Races are the only environment in which you should go flat out.

Long runs and Easy runs should be at approximately the same pace. Easy by definition means that you could hold the pace for much much longer if you had to. My easy and long run pace would be approximately 60-90 seconds per mile (40-60sec/km) slower than my marathon Race pace. Therefore I would urge caution on your paces and make sure you are generally running at a pace where you could simultaneously hold a conversation without gasping for breath.

There is no harm doing one of your 3 runs a week a little faster than the others but I would urge caution with the other runs. Overall I think it would be more beneficial to marathon training to do an extra easy run per week than to push the pace on a run and require more recovery.

This Fat Girl Runs

menoscemo wrote: »

OK that's good to know.
You are probably in much better race shape than when you did your previous PBs. Have you any races planned to test the waters? IMO Races are the only environment in which you should go flat out.

Long runs and Easy runs should be at approximately the same pace. Easy by definition means that you could hold the pace for much much longer if you had to. My easy and long run pace would be approximately 60-90 seconds per mile (40-60sec/km) slower than my marathon Race pace. Therefore I would urge caution on your paces and make sure you are generally running at a pace where you could simultaneously hold a conversation without gasping for breath.

There is no harm doing one of your 3 runs a week a little faster than the others but I would urge caution with the other runs. Overall I think it would be more beneficial to marathon training to do an extra easy run per week than to push the pace on a run and require more recovery.

That's pretty much what my coach says as well, since I don't have a heart rate monitor I go by whether or not I can talk while running. Kinda sucks that I run alone because then I'm just talking to myself! :rolleyes: I HAVE stopped listening to music when I run and that has helped considerably.

I do slow down the pace when I see I'm running too fast (as per my Garmin), but as I get better, it feels natural to just run faster. I'm working on it though!

Anyway, I run three times a week and workout two times a week with two rest days. I do one hard (short) run plus two easy ones (one short, one long).

As for races, I have a few built into my training plan, definitely to help gauge where I'm at and how I'm doing.

First race on the agenda is the Women's Mini-Marathon in June.

The big one, the one that will determine everything, is the half-marathon in August.

TRR_ismyjusus

menoscemo wrote: »

I am sure you have improved since January but am i right in saying your 5 mile PB is 1:08:xx from Raheny?

It's just that I noticed that with your 3 mile run last week as well, isn't it faster than 5k pace?

The reason I am saying this as you will see all over this forum; the most common mistake of inexperienced runners is to do their training runs too fast. If you are constantly running PBs in training then you are opening yourself up to injury and overtraining. This is especially important when training for a Marathon as you are gradually building up the miles so it's important to keep the majority of the runs super easy.

Have your coaches given you any idication on the paces to do your training runs at?

Wise words,

This Fat Girl Runs

Bit of a difficult week running wise considering I'm not entirely over that stupid stomach bug. But here's how it went:

Monday I was still sick but managed to get a workout in, though I only did slow and gentle pilates.

Wednesday I did a 5 mile easy run in 1:06:18. Felt ok and enjoyed the fine spring evening!

Friday I did a 4 mile hard run, but again the stomach was acting up so not as fast as I wanted to be. Finished in 52:04. Not included; a half mile warm up and half mile cool down.

Saturday was leg day workout. Lots of squats with heavier weights plus some time on the bike. It was tough! First time I ever had tears in my eyes from a workout!

Sunday (today)'s long run was a bust. The combo of a dodgy stomach, tired legs and new shoes worked against me. More on my blog if you want the finer details, but I ended up running a slow 3 miles, then walking an even slower 3 miles home. Am happy to at least have gotten the distance in!

My trainer and I discussed the timing of my workouts and if a Saturday leg day was putting a strain on my Sunday run we'd switch. So after today, I'm going to switch and do legs on Monday instead. Saturdays will be core and upper body. I think it will definitely help with the long runs.

So the week wasn't a total wash out, I covered the distances I was aiming for at least! Hopefully the problem with the shoes will be sorted soon and I can get straight back to it!

Total mileage: 15 (not including warm up and cool down miles)

This Fat Girl Runs

Feeling much better this week, no stomach issues so I'm grateful for that!

Monday: Bank Holiday so no workout.

Wednesday: 4 mile hard run in 52.07, still not as fast as I'd like but at least it wasn't slower than my last 4 mile hard run.

Thursday: 5 mile easy run in 1:10:27. Happy it was at least slower than my hard run.

Saturday: Abs, core and upper body workout with my trainer. Tried some advanced plank moves...yeah that didn't go so well but practice makes perfect, right?! My main problems are keeping my balance and remembering to breathe!

Sunday: 6 mile easy run in 1:28:30 followed by a 1 mile cool down walk.

Total mileage: 15 miles running not counting warm up/cool down. Add about 3.5 miles for that.

Picked up my new shoes this afternoon, the previous pair being too narrow across the arch of my foot. I got the same brand/model, Brooks Ravenna 6, only in the 'wide' version. Will walk to work in them for the next few days before going for my run on Wednesday.

Next week will see a bit of an increase in mileage from me. Hopefully the new shoes won't cause any issues!

This Fat Girl Runs

Pretty good week for me training wise! I hit all my planned distances which have increased from last week, tried some new routes and experimented with a gel on my LSR.

Monday: Workout with PT. We did a lot of legs and core moves with weights. Painful but good!

Wednesday: 4 mile hard run in 52:11. I'm disappointed I am still not as fast as I want to be on the hard runs. I will keep working on it!

Thursday: 6 mile easy run in 1:27:23. Felt good on this run, it was a nice evening. I was stupid when I got home though. I was tired and so sat down for 10 minutes thinking I'd stretch later. Then I was really hungry so I made dinner, thinking I'd stretch later. I never did stretch and paid for it on Friday! I've learned my lesson!

Saturday: Arms and core workout with PT. Upping the weights a little bit, did a lot of bicep/tricep work. Managed all the sets and reps so I'm happy!

Sunday: 7 mile easy run in 1:39:32. Really, really enjoyed today's run. After about 2 miles I settled into my pace and concentrated on getting the mileage in. I ran a few different paths in the Phoenix Park that I hadn't been on before. At the end I felt really good, like I could have kept going! I tried a gel on this run, not because I really needed it (although I do think it helped me get that last mile in, in good time too!). I managed to open it, drink it and tuck the wrapper away in my bra (no bins in the park?!), all without having to stop running. Woohoo!

Total mileage: 17 miles (plus another 4 miles warm up/cool down).

Next week will be same again before I mini-taper the week after for the Women's Mini-Marathon.

Dubgal72

Well done, the mileage is building nicely! Don't worry too much about the pace on your shorter/harder run for now, focus on the effort and the pace will come.
Just a thought...and I will be recommending that you start to think about building towards this on the novice thread: (have a chat with Shona anyway)
- Could you reduce the intensity on the Monday core session,
- move the hard four mile to Tuesday,
- easy/recovery run Wednesday (30 mins)
- easy long run on Thursday (5 miles instead of 6) with some injection of pace/strides towards the end
- rest Friday and
- lsr Sat/Sunday?

Have a think anyway. Most people will be reducing their gym work towards the end of the marathon training cycle to focus on maintaining an aerobic base of 4-6 days running but as mentioned earlier on this thread, there is more than one way to skin a cat

menoscemo

+1 as I said before I really think the introduction of a very short, very easy 4th running day would have a massive advantage down the line. For now you can keep up the same mileage with less stress on the body and further down the line it means it will be easier to build the mileage.