"Knowing and not doing, is the same as not knowing". One of my favourite quotes. One of the most simplistic yet complicated things in fitness and wellness is weight management, whether it's weight loss, gain or maintenance. In it's most simple form, it's energy balance, calories in (consumed) versus calories out (burned). Knowing this and not doing it...you may as well not know it.
For me, training c. 12hrs per week means I have high energy demands, which means I need to eat a lot of food to fuel those demands and to ensure I stay as healthy as possible. With that I've started to dive into meeting those energy demands, making sure I'm eating and hydration enough to fuel my performance and recovery. Performance for me doesn't just mean a training session, it's making sure I have energy to focus and perform in work and energy to go out for dinner and socialise. Whether you're me trying to meet high energy demands or you're someone trying to lose weight, remember, what gets measured gets managed.
Measuring sweat rate
With 11 weeks to go to Marbella I've started to get a bit nerdy. On the verge of obsessive but holding myself back ever so slightly and remembering to just have fun exercising every day. With the slightest of an Irish summer appearing, I've started to weigh myself before and after sessions to measure my sweat rate (how much I sweat per hour). A sweat rate of 1-1.5 litres per hour is in and around the normal range, and I’m at the higher end of that. Losing around 1.4 litres per hour on sessions of 45-90mins. Around 2% - 4% dehydration is ok in endurance events however as the number increases it becomes more detrimental to performance.
This gives me a good indication of where I might be for Marbella, which will likely be warmer than Ireland right now. Looking at Precision Hydration for guidance, this puts me towards the top end of normal or low end of a high sweat rate! This means making sure I drink enough litres of water in a given day and replace the sodium I lose using PH1500. Given the research and risk to performance with higher sweat rates, it's key to be prepped not just for race day but to ensure recovery between sessions now and also to perform at my daily job, which is more important :-)
Measuring Calories
I've measured calories at different times in my life but usually for reasons different to everyone else. For me it's usually to make sure I'm eating enough, whether it's to gain or maintain weight. The most frequent questions I get are around training and weight management. It's funny becuse when it comes to these topics everyone has an opinion about how to lose weight or get fitter. Even when they have no experience or expertise.
So why count calories and is it obsessive? I've a very good idea of what daily consumption looks like from my own knowledge of food but most people don't know what macronutrients their food contains and usually don't know the basic of whether it's rich in protein/carb/fat never mind the calorie count. This is where the benefit of calorie counting comes in. Using an app you start to get an idea of what the foods you eat are made up of. You get an idea of what your total calorie intake is and it allows you to adapt to your daily needs to meet your goals. It allows you to make informed changes. Without measuring you cannot manage and it's just a guessing game.
Eating 3,500+ cals
While I was measuring sweat rate, I noticed my daily weight seemed to be dropping ever so slightly. Given I had recently increased my training volume and general activity it made sense. So it was back to myfitnesspal (others avaialable) for a few days just to check on my daily cal intake. I thought I was up above 3,500 cals but was on the low end towards 3,000 - 3,200. A bit of a recalibration and back to above 3,500 my energy levels have been great, feeling good training, recovering, having the energy to go out for dinner, socialise and also to focus and do well in work.
Luckily for me it does mean I can have some extra sourdough in the evening with peanut butter and jam, or on the weekend I might substitute in a half tub of ice cream instead of Greek yogurt, with some granola if I really need to cram in an extra few cals. I'm very much the 80/20 rule and eat fairly “healthily” for over 80% of the time!
Takeaways (no pun intended)
Consistency continues to be my ultimate aim. Alongside simply exercising for longevity and my general health, I hope that some people can get something from this. While my aims are likely different to most of your goals, we still have to follow some of the same habits and actions. Measuring what we do, measuring our intake and doing what we can to be as healthy as possible to reach our goals. It’s not easy for anyone really, it just takes some discipline and once you have repeated that discipline for a few days, it gets a little easier and eventually it starts to become more habitual. You won’t be counting calories forever. You won’t be tracking your steps forever. You start to recognise what feels like a good day, what feels like the right amount of food to fuel your day and match your current goals and what good day of activity looks like. Now that you know it, I hope it helps you to do it! Because otherwise, you may as well not know it ;-)
Weekly wine: One glass of rosé
Restaurants visited: Sea Shanty Blackrock, Bunsen (standard weekly visit)
Sessions
Monday: Swim x 40mins (AM), Cycle x 75mins (PM) (turbo trainer)
Tuesday: Swim x 40mins (AM), Run x 45mins (lunch time)
Wednesday: Run x 45mins
Thursday: Cycle x 80mins (AM), Swim x 40mins (PM)
Friday: Run x 75mins (lunch time)
Saturday: Cycle x 3hrs 45mins
Sunday: Run x 90mins
Comments