Talking about weight has become such a controversial subject, but there’s absolutely no doubt when you’re pounding mile after mile on the roads that having a lighter load will make running feel easier, be easier on the body and provide improvement in speed. Of course, being underweight and undernourished is a real thing that will hinder everything so a good balance is a must.
If there was any year to sit back and let the weight pile on, it would be this year - 2020 has definitely been a heavy one. I had a rough end to 2019 so my pants stopped fitting then. I had high hopes to turn things around at the end of February and then BAM! Well we all know what happened. In June I tried to conjure up some motivation, but I finally found the groove near the end of July. Since then I’ve lost over 30lbs. Irritatingly but by design, I still have another 10-15lbs to go.
For me pizza and baked goods, and maybe hours upon hours on the couch, were my downfall last year/the beginning of this year. Axing pizza from my diet was a crucial step 1. I was eating it literally every day and with it always came a pizza-sized fresh baked cookie. It… was a problem. Combining that with an appropriate reduction in daily caloric intake got the ball rolling. Since July, I’ve significantly increased my activity so my calories have increased too, but they remain just low enough to keep weight loss going at a slow (for me) rate.
Although watching the number on the scale drop quickly is always fun, being able to eat a little more day-to-day or having the very occasional big eating day keeps me a bit more sane. I really, really like food so being able to still indulge to a degree really outweighs faster weight loss. And, frankly, slower weight loss is preferred anyway.
Since I don’t cook, having easily accessible healthy meals is crucial to keeping me away from pizza. Enter Premium Meals. The food is awesome, it stores well in the freezer if you need to hold onto it for longer than a few days and every meal has the nutritional breakdown available so it’s easy to keep track of calorie intake. I’m pretty stoked for this week’s delivery because it includes my favourite of theirs, Sweet Chili Shrimp Stirfy, plus a new one: Mama’s Cozy Beef Stew. The PERFECT rainy December meal.
If you’re thinking it might be time for a nutritional revamp, even if that just means cleaning up your diet a bit, and you need a little guidance, I highly recommend Sarah at Eat 2 Run. Sarah is a Registered Holisitic Nutritionist and runner who really understands the needs of endurance athletes (and shares a love for baked goods).