Trying something ‘new’
My friend Cliff who I sometimes join for a run at lunch recently did a ‘contest’ where he took his beginning body fat percentage and then had (I think) 6 weeks to try to improve it through exercise and nutrition. Sounds boring, right. We all know that working out and eating right is what makes you healthy and attractive.
Fast forward 2 months later. Cliff pretty much looks the same. (I obviously only see him w/ clothes on - he could have toned up his abs or whatever, but I don’t know.) The incredibly interesting thing is that his running SPEED has had an amazing improvement. Last year at this time I could have ran with him no problem, actually, I was probably faster than him. This year I am struggling just to keep with him during our track workouts! He is SO MUCH FASTER! I seriously think that it’s a result of his healthier eating that has allowed him to get faster. He lost like 4% body fat during his contest.
This got me thinking, what if I were to actually make a conscious effort to eat healthy and proper portions for 6-weeks. I basically already eat pretty healthy, but if I were to do what Cliff did I would have to monitor caloric intake and also protein, carb, and fat proportions. I think I can do it for 6 weeks. My main goal being to get faster and as an added bonus possibly get a nice butt for this summer. I already figured out what my base-line calorie intake should be and it’s a depressing 1400 calories a day. (This doesn’t include any exercise). Unfortunately I generally eat 1400 calories in one sitting, so it’s going to take some serious adjustment on my part. Let me say up front that by no means do I plan to make this a ‘lifestyle change’. I work out enough that I can easily maintain a healthy weight and still eat (no joke) whatever I want and however much I want. This will be an experiment to see how much of an improvement in my fitness I can achieve by modifying my eating habits. So I’m going to try it. I started on Friday, but let’s call the official starting date Monday 4/7.
Stay tuned…
29* year old Akron native. Recently completed my MBA with a concentration in Sustainability. Passionate about innovative renewable energy technology and endurance sports.
April 6th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
I tell you what I have been eating good just the past two weeks mostly salads with lots of nuts, fruits, etc and chicken for dinners instead of pasta and I feel a ton better. It can’t hurt as long as you are getting in enough calories to sustain your workouts!
April 6th, 2008 at 7:55 pm
I tell you what. I just finished a pint of ben and jerry’s. Yum Yum. Enough fat for a week. But damn, it was good. I think I’m going to down it with a beer now.
April 6th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
mmm…..beeeeeer
April 8th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
I’m interested to see what you find…..and interested to see how quickly things change if you go back to the “see food diet” after 6 weeks.
What carb-protein-fat ratio are you following? Lots of raw foods??
April 8th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Why are these sorts of things so much easier said than done??? Best of luck with that!!!
April 8th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
Brandon - I’m going for this: http://www.zonediet.com/EATING/QuickStartGuide/tabid/108/Default.aspx
I’m going to have a bit more carbs than they allow, though - but stick with whole grains. I think it’s silly not to allow myself to have carrots or bananas. (mentioned as veggies and fruit NOT to eat…)
I already don’t eat red meat, so that’ll be easy to get rid of. The main prob. like I said is going to be portion.