You really don't want to lose weight

Weight is a horrible, horrible indicator of your fitness. I weigh more now than I ever have but that's because I've put on muscle. If I just looked at the scales as an indicator of my health I would be depressed and quit exercising and watching what I eat. Why bother training and dieting if there's no change? If weight is my only guide then I wouldn't be happy.

If you decide to lose weight and begin to exercise what do think is going to happen? You are going to burn fat. That's good. Congratulations. Burning the fat means that you will lose weight. But guess what else is going to happen? All those muscles you are exercising are going to toughen up, get bigger and stronger and you know what that means? It means you are going to put on weight. When you get on the scales and see that the weight hasn't changed how are you going to feel? Horrible, right?

Weight is a horrible indicator. It has it's place but, as a sole indicator, it is not helpful. A better measure is your fat content. If your fat content is going down and your weight is staying the same then you are putting on lean mass - that's a good thing. If your fat content is going up and your weight is staying the same then you are losing lean mass - that's not a good thing. Measuring your fat is a healthier measure than weight alone.

So how do you do it?

Let me suggest two ways of measuring your fat content. In both cases you will get a reasonable gauge of your fat content as a percentage of your total weight. For me, I like mini goals and quick feedback so I will measure myself once a week to see that I'm making gains toward my goals.

Currently I am currently using Accu-Measure Calipers. They give a quick and accurate measure of my fat percentage. They are very easy to use and aren't very expensive. You can purchase them online (here in India). They come with a chart that quickly lets you know where you are within 2%.

The second method is the US Navy Calculator. This is what I used when I first started measuring my fat content. All you need is a tape measure. An online calculator can be found here, here and here. There are two formulas running around the internet, an older one and a new one. One formula for working it out yourself is:

Men in inches: %Fat = 86.010*LOG(abdomen - neck) - 70.041*LOG(height) + 36.76
Men in cms: %Fat = 86.010*LOG(abdomen - neck) - 70.041*LOG(height) + 30.30

Women in inches:%Fat = 163.205*LOG(abdomen + hip - neck) - 97.684*LOG(height) - 78.387
Women in cms: %Fat = 163.205*LOG(abdomen + hip - neck) - 97.684*LOG(height) - 104.912

At some point in your journey toward fitness your body fat won't matter. What will matter is how you feel about yourself. Do you like the person you see in the mirror. When you get to that stage the measuring tape will no longer be your friend - get rid of it.

Be as lazy as you can to be fit and healthy

There are lots of diets and exercise programs out there and most of them work - for a while. You try the watermelon diet and you will lose 5kg, 10kg and then a year later you put it all back on with 20% interest. This cycle of lose-gain-lose-gain results in a billion dollar weight loss and fitness industry and a generation of obesity. The secret to being fit and healthy all year round is to be lazy.

Lazy is an unwillingness to work or use energy and that's the key to being fit all the time. You must be unwilling to work, unwilling to do any more than you need to in order to achieve your goal. You must do the absolute minimum to get there. If you can get to your weight loss goal or your fitness goal with the least amount of work then you have a much better chance of sustaining it.

If you want to be thin then there are lots of unsustainable methods. If you want to be thin all the time you need to make lifestyle changes. Often those changes are just small tweaks that build up over time that make your goals a reality. The same goes for fitness or health or strength.

Of course, if your goal is to be an athlete then your level of lazy will be higher than someone who wants to attain an average level of fitness. The point I'm making here is that the less you can do to achieve your goal the more likely you are to maintain it. If it's a lot of work and effort to achieve your goal then you are less likely to maintain what you have achieved.

For me, right now, I'm trying to lose about 4kg of fat. I'm doing 2 things to achieve that. I'm following a diet that isn't difficult that is 500 calories less than what I would normally eat. That amounts to about 20% less food per meal. That's doable. And I'm exercising 4 times a week for about 30 mins. That's 2 hours per week. That's doable too. It should take me about 12-20 weeks. That's realistic. When I get to the goal I get to eat a little bit more and the exercise is still only 2 hours per week. That's lazy fitness.

Are you doing too much to achieve your goals? What's the absolute minimum you need to achieve your fitness and health goals? What could you achieve between now and the end of the year? Leave a comment and let me know.

I'm too old for this...maybe

There is always an excuse for not improving, for not trying, for backing off and taking things that bit easier. An excuse is a reason wrapped around a lie. A excuse sounds good; it sounds reasonable but at it's core there is a lie.

There will always be reasons for quitting, real, genuine reasons. Recently I tried my hand at Calligraphy. I wanted to try out the techniques from the first 20 hours so I choose to learn Calligraphy. My goal for this project wasn't to master Calligraphy, only to learn one script that I could use on certificates and cards. At the end of 20 hours I had achieved my goal. I am happy with my progress and have achieved what I set out to do. It's time to quit developing those techniques.

But then there are the excuses that keep us stuck. They sound good to our ears but they hold us back from being all that we are created to be. They hold us back from achieving what our hearts yearn for. One of my heroes who changed his life and didn't let excuses get in the way is Fauja Singh.

In 1992 Fauja Singh was 81 years old and still farming his land in India when his wife passed away. In the same years one of his daughters also died giving birth to his third grandchild. He fell into depression. To deal with the depression he began to run as a way to deal with it. And then in 1994 a farming accident decapitated his son right before his eyes. All alone in India he decided to migrate to England to be with his other children.

At 89 years of age he took up running seriously and in 2000 Fauja Singh ran his first marathon. He has now run 8 marathons! In 2011, at the age of 100 he ran the Toronto marathon. Age is no excuse for this man.

I don't think I will be running at 100 - I don't think I will be alive at 100. But Fauja Singh inspires me today. There is a fine line between an excuse and a reason and only when I am honest with myself can I tell the difference.  For now, I'm not too old to exercise. I'm not too old to be fit and healthy. I'm not too old to look forward to next year's marathon.

 

I failed

The title says it all - I failed to achieve a PB.

I was well prepared, the carbo loading went well, I was well hydrated. The event was very well organised by Runner for Life. At the 20km mark I was on time and doing well. In fact I thought I should and could pick up the pace but I kept myself back as I didn't want to burn myself out - I was right on track to getting a PB and feeling fine. And then around 25 km it all fell apart.

My lower was causing me a little discomfort at the half was mark; nothing serious and nothing I wasn't used to. Years ago when I first took up running I couldn't run more than 20 km without my knees being in sever pain that evening. A trip to the podiatrist showed that I had a slight foot problem that caused my hips to turn which caused my knees to turn. At 13 I had a car accident that broke my right leg, stretching some of the supporting ligaments which means that the hip/knee twisting causing excruciating pain.  The podiatrist made some very solid foot inserts for my shoes to stop the foot from causing all that twisting. It worked beautifully. I was able to run with minimal knee pain and my lower back pain virtually disappeared. I have used those inserts for running until 3 years ago. About 3 years ago I experimented with minimalist shoes that uses a more natural, bare foot, style of running. These were great and allowed me to get rid of the inserts for running. I have been using these for the marathon preparation without any problems until yesterday.

Around 23 km into the marathon my lower back was very sore. The trail was tough. The path isn't smooth and cemented. It's dirt with stones and rocks. It's regarded as one of the toughest marathons in India because of the trail component. It was causing me legs to naturally twist and my lower back was starting to scream at me. This I could handle. Suck in the stomach, remember all the core training I did, "keep the back strong" I told myself. And then after 2 km of sucking it up my right knee said hello, very loudly. It felt like someone put a knife into my right knee. It was immediate, it was painful and I knew instantly that I was in trouble.

I tried to run on it at least 6 times as I sought to finish the marathon. The best I managed was the second attempt with a whole 45 seconds of running. By the 30 km mark I knew it wasn't going to get better. I knew the PB was gone. I hoped that this wouldn't be my worst time ever. It was. But I wasn't going to quit. If I was going to finish then I would need to walk it. Walking was ok. Any kind of running wasn't. So I walked. I walked as fast as I possibly could. Every few kms I would stop and stretch and then take off and walk, again, as fast as I could. I had 2 people pass me from 30 km to the finish. I passed 6.

The bottom line, mechanically I fell apart. The lungs were fine the leg muscles were fine the pace was fine. Mechanically I broke down and the goal was lost.

And so, the experiment draws to a close. My weight and body fat is the same as when I started. I feel like I have lost some bulk up top but not a significant amount. The PB was not achieved. The conclusion from this marathon is: Yes, preparing for a marathon affected my body building.

Perhaps next time it will be different.

To Runners for Life, thanks guys. You did a great job before, during and after the marathon. It was a great experience, albeit a painful one, and I hope to return again next year.

To all of you who have been following me along this journey, thank you. I have appreciated the encouragement you have all given to me throughout these passed months. When I had to walk and the PB was lost I wanted to quit trying and just stroll home. Your encouragement kept me trying my best in the face of defeat. I feel much better about myself for having given my best until the very end and your support was the key factor.

Thank you.

42 days of recovery to go.

The experiment is nearly over

In two days time this experiment will be over. The race would have been run and either I accomplished my goal time or I didn't. My goal for this experiment is to achieve a PB on the Kaveri Trail Marathon without losing any lean weight. Other than the race time the other results from this experiment can be measured now.

The result is simple: the marathon training has impacted the body building. My weight has remained steady as has my lean body mass. That's been a positive outcome but my body building has been affected. While I don't think the running itself has impacted the body building there are two clear affects preparing for the marathon has had on me.

Firstly, my clothes are hanging on me a bit more which suggests I have lost some mass. That could be nothing more than a lose of muscle pump you get from doing a weights session. The clothes aren't hanging really lose, only enough for me to know that I have lost some mass. Secondly, and more significantly, I have lost some strength. The reason for both of these outcomes is simple, I haven't been able to do strength training like I thought I would.

Throughout the last few months adding in 2-3 runs a week has pushed out my strength training sessions. I thought my schedule could fit in the extra runs without sacrificing my 3-4 strength training days. I was wrong. Life has been busier than I expected and adding the runs into my routine meant something had to go and since running has been the priority the strength training has progressively moved to the back of my priorities.

I tried to change my strength routines to full body workouts and that worked for a while but the closer I have come to the marathon the more time I have been giving myself to fully recover from the running. This has been especially true over these two final weeks . I am so conscious of getting injured that I am under strength training to ensure I don't hurt myself. The hip problem I had (have) put some fear into me and made me cautious.

It appears, to me at least, that the greatest impact preparing for the marathon has had on my strength training is that I was not able to balance both training routines at the same time. This is something I can learn from and seek to improve and plan for. This is just round one of the experiment after all - there's always next year.

2 sleeps to go.

It's time to eat, drink and hope for the merry

In 10 days it will all be over. The experiment would have come to an end and I will, no doubt, have mixed emotions. Some things have gone well while other things haven't but these will be judged by the results. But judgment is for next week.

For now it's about the final preparation. I have my final speed workout today which involves doing a few laps at faster than marathon pace. Then it's just another couple of easy runs throughout the week to stay relaxed. The two big changes this week will be my sleep schedule and my eating plan.

The marathon starts at 6 am. I need to leave home about 45 mins before that. Before I leave home I need to hydrate and clear out the bowels (the last thing I want in the middle of a marathon is to need a toilet for a number 2!) So that means I'm up about 4:30 am. To avoid being groggy and tired I will be adjusting my sleeping routine this week so that my body clock is used to getting up at 4:30 am. That should leave me feeling fresh and ready on race day. The discipline involved in succeeding in this is not getting up at 4:30 am but getting to bed early enough so that I've had enough sleep to get up at 4:30 am.

And then there's the eating plan. I need to eat lots of carbs and drink lots of water. I want my body to store lots of energy so that my legs have lots to draw on during the run so I'll be eating lots of carbs. Hydrating my body is also crucial, especially for me. I sweat a lot - and I mean a lot. I did a hydration test in Australia and I lose 1.1 litres per hour. In India I can lose that much in half an hour so I need my body to well hydrated long before the race.

Hopefully, I will finish the next few days feeling fantastic. As I continue to taper the aches and pains should completely disappear, I should feel energised and mentally excited. The hip pain has subsided nicely (although there is still some lower back pain on that side of the body) and the legs are feeling good. For now, it's time to eat, drink and sleep, for in 10 days I run.

10 days to go. 

The most difficult exercise in the final two weeks

In training for an event, any event, the closer I get to the starting line the more nervous I becomes. All the failures of training begin to haunt my mind. Doubts of achieving my goals become bigger and scarier. The desire to catch up on training grows. In the final two weeks of marathon preparation there is one exercise that is critical to me doing well. Rest.

With two weeks to go any endurance that has been gained is there. Any increases in speed have been gained. If I haven't developed the endurance and speed I wanted then it's too late. Now is the time to make the physical effort to back off from training and rest.

In the last 2 weeks if I try to compensate for missed training runs by running too fast or too long hard then there is the genuine risk that I will exhaust my body and not recover in time for the marathon. If my body is exhausted there is the risk I will catch some bug and get sick. I've run a marathon sick before and it's not pretty.

This phase of marathon preparation is called the taper. The amount of running one does significantly drops. Muscles recover. The immune system gets stronger. I still need to do some running, especially some short runs at marathon pace but no more than half of the weekly distances that I have been doing. I've been teaching my body to run for a while now so it is difficult to now tell it rest. But rest I must.

We live in a world that is already sleep deprived. We stay up late. The alarm gets us up early. Our bodies are so tired we think this is normal. Rest feels awkward and foreign. A luxury our lifestyle doesn't permit. That's what makes the exercise, the physical effort, of getting to bed early, of holding back from running, of sleeping well, so hard. That's what makes this so difficult an exercise but it's also the most important.

In your preparation for an event, physical or otherwise, do you taper? Do you allow yourself time to recover so that you are at 100% health before the event or do you train and keep trying right up to the starting line?

2 weeks to go.