Shining thru the leaner days.

OK. I haven't been blogging much these days. That's because I haven't exercised in nearly three weeks since my doctor told me no impact exercises. Plus I've been eating between 3 to 4 thousand calories per day, and I've ballooned from 162 all the way up to 170 now. Nothing like Pizza, Cheetos, Cherry Pies, Dunkin Donuts, McDonalds, and Haagen Dazs. Seriously, I really want to run, but I feel scared, weak and tired.





Now, really.





Do you really believe that?





Is that the attitude of a winner, or a quitter?





Please strike the entire first paragraph your honor. The author has not gained any weight like he said. Rather, he has lost his mind.

I've lost my mind alright. That and about 5 pounds.

Yes. It would be so easy to gain weight. After all, I was gaining weight when I was not injured and running. And with all that extra time on my hand, what else was there to do? Right?

WRONG!

WRONG!

WRONG!

I don't quit. Never have. Never will. When the doctor told me that I had multiple (not even 1, but freaking MULTIPLE) stress fractures on my left upper interior tibia....well...I got pissed off. No. Incensed is a better word for it.

However rather than just sitting and sulking,
I MADE IT MY GOAL TO WORK OUT HARDER, SMARTER, AND DO BETTER WITH MY WEIGHT MANAGEMENT THAN EVER BEFORE. AND I AM WINNING THIS FIGHT!

Take a look:

On the left, a graphical representation of the drop in weight. The FDA states that a man who stands 5 foot 7 inches tall should weigh less than 160. They say that a man with that height who weighs more than 160, is considered over-weight. My friends, I have not been overweight now since March 25. On March 20th, when I wrote "Blogrunner is Blogbroken", I weighed 161 pounds. At 156.4, I've lost four and a half pounds in two weeks. I could have lost more, faster, but my body would have gone into starvation mode and would have held on to my calories longer by lowering my metabolism. Not exactly what I want. I want my metabolism to be faster!

Since the 20th, I've put myself on a caloric restriction diet. I try not to eat more than around 1900 calories. So, if look at the calendar above, and throw out any day prior to the 20th, I've currently have had 9 days where I went under the caloric limit, and 7 days over the caloric intake. Sunday seems to be my relapse day, doesn't it?

That chart only takes into account calories eaten. If I subtracted the calories I've burned from exercises I've done, then the landscape is completely different. As I previously mentioned in another blog, your body needs to burn 3500 calories to eliminate 1 pound of weight. Not easy by any means.

But eating less is only ONE of the MANY things. One of my other targets has been to take my vitamin supplements every day, and increase the amount of protein my body was getting. Right now, I'd have to say I'd give myself a "B-" grade for this, so I need to keep working at it.

Perhaps, the biggest triumph during this fucked up leg crisis that I've been dealing with, is my refusal to stay dormant. I've done everything I can to stay extremely active. I've been going to the gym several times a week, and have been hitting the elliptical machines with a furious vengeance. Some of my average reps have been as high as 220 per minute over a thirty minute period. On Monday, April 1 I went 2 straight hours on the elliptical. I did 12750 cycles. 6600 in the first hour alone. Two days ago, I did an hour workout on my abs, and even did some shoulder presses. That same evening, I joined the club, and we did go running outdoors. It was an easy 4 mile run, followed by a walk. I know, I know. But I did go easy (at least until the end when I decided to take off right as I hit an uphill on Woodhaven Blvd.) Yesterday, I went running.....In the swimming pool! (Yes, LA Fitness finally got their shitty act together and fixed the pool in Farmingdale). I ran laps for 30 minutes. Talk about a workout!

Through all my FLC (Fucking Leg Crisis), I have somehow learned to reinvent myself. I've been eating better foods, sleeping more, working out harder (without impact to my tibia) and have learned to lower my stress as well. By no means, am I ready to start running hardcore again yet, but my leg is getting stronger and healthier.

On another note, Runner's Edge store in Farmingdale, has graciously donated two awesome hi-tech runner's caps for our giveaway raffle after our Forest Park Classic race. The race is May 18th, and I am actually excited about it......and I am not even running it!

We're supposed to be having a club meeting on the 13th. Should be interesting. I am still waiting to see what date we will all be going to see this movie. I can actually go on the 1st, since I will be in the city in the morning.