Epiphany of the Healthy Sort

So for the last four weeks I have been using an app called myfitnesspal.  The app counts your calories in and calories out, tracks your weight, and projects weight loss.  Based on my body type and activity level it told me that I should be eating about 1250 calories a day.  That sounds low but I was totally invested in losing weight after a dark winter and a trip to Indianapolis put me at a hefty 160lbs.  I would log every morsel I ate and every workout I did.  The more calories burned, the more I got to eat because 1250 was just a net benchmark that I had to be at by the end of the day.  And I would generally stay below and the app would tell me that in about a month I should be anywhere from 146 to 148lbs.  I didn’t lose a single pound the entire time. 

So I am re-evaluating my system.  Why am I gaining/holding onto weight? Why are my legs thicker than they have ever been? Why do I feel sick, thick and lethargic at times? Why do I feel guilty about everything that I eat?  I looked back into my soccer days and thought about what I did there.  Minimal weight lifting and large amounts of explosive sprints defined my days.  And I didn’t count calories so I have no idea how much I was eating, but it was a general chunk of food every time I was hungry. 

So I brought out my new Garmin watch and ran 120yd sprints.  After ten of these full field explosive sprints, I checked the watch.  I had travelled a bit over a mile and had burned about 150 calories in the 20 minutes of work.  At LA Fitness, I can do the elliptical for 20 minutes and burn 400 calories.  And with the myfitnesspal app, I would log those 400 calories in and “earn” 400 calories worth of food.  But I wasn’t tired.  I wasn’t stressed.  And the weight was staying.  After 120s I only earned 150 calories of food;  that is 2/3 of a Clif brand energy bar.  I wouldn’t even get to eat an entire bar, and I had just worked so hard that my lungs hurt.  With sore ribs from breathing so quickly and deeply, I collapsed in the grass and contemplated my body.

I was so tired.  But I had only worked for 20 minutes.  Technically even less because of the timed breaks between sprints.  My legs hurt.  As did my lungs, abs, and tongue. 

I looked into some different internet tips and articles, I read many comments from many sources  and      formulated a plan in my mind.   The explosive working out, whether it be fast superset weight lifting or short, extremely difficult fitness, burns less calories now.  That means that although my watch only sites 150 calories burned, the stress of the exercise causes my body to continue burning calories through the day.  I mark down the 150 calories but my body continues to repair and build my muscles.  The key is not to starve myself but make sure I am still getting the net 1250 calories while using more explosive working out to completely fatigue my body beyond the means of a treadmill.  So on day 1 [Yesterday, March 9, 2013] I went over to Turtle Ridge in Newport Coast and ran hill sprints up a super steep hill.  I did 5 full hill and 10 half hills.  And my butt was a little sore and I had a bit of a headache all day.  But that is the pain that builds the body that I grew used to growing up.  It shouldn’t be easy.

Healthy eating is important too.  I can never let myself get carried away and not mention the fact that through the last four weeks and into the future I have been eating predominantly gluten-free [with a small cheat almost every day; i.e. a cracker or three] and full servings of fruits and  vegetables.  I want to get away from calories more and make sure that I get a full daily serving of everything necessary to build the body that I want.  I want to force myself to have 2 cups of fruits and 3 cups of vegetables and the right amount of protein.  Lean protein like protein shakes, Rise bars, chicken, lean beef, Greek yogurt and cottage cheese.  If I am forced to fit 5 cups of produce and somewhere around 50 grams of protein every day, I will be full.  I will not crave junky crap and I will not desire snacks. 

The experimental scientist in me is geeking out at the prospect of continuing to use my own body as a case study! Lets do this!