Calorie Counting

Last night for dinner was a nice salad and dessert. I wasn't consuming anything too out landaus. Dinner was just something small and simple, but as I was finishing up the last bite, I started thinking back to the time when I was counting calories.

Each day was spent trying to balance the calories in with the calories out. Or to put it another way, a runner's worst enemy beyond self doubt is weight. Every extra pound seems to add seconds or for a marathon minutes to my time.

Eating became more of chore than anything else.

I felt if I ate too much, the extra calories were something that I needed to burn off. Thus, this meant more miles running or cycling or doing something. At the end of the day the goal was always to be either even or under. The days when the calories were over seemed to weigh more on my mind than the weight that I actually added to my body.

Trying to maintain an even or under status is great in theory but easier said than done in practice. Far too many of my workouts were run at half throttle because I didn't have the energy physically which impacted me mentally to push through then.

Slowly over time, my philosophy began to change. I tried to learn from my mistakes and counting calories while still a good idea, the practice has to work in conjunction with my training.

I had always viewed that the calories that I put in my body directly influenced my training that day. And, yes, this is very much true. However, this is very much a myopic view of the situation.

Diet and training need to go hand in hand.

In reality, I need to look at the entire week and eat according to my coming workouts. To provide an excellent example, in the days before marathon, I load up on pasta to provide the energy reserves to handle a tough race.

Why this same concept didn't carry over into my training until now, I don't have an explanation.

This is why I think the holistic approach is much better. Calories numbers really need to be adjusted upward or downward with the volume and intensity of my training. Having a max raw number of calories at the end of the day limits the amount of energy heading into tomorrow. Without the appropriate energy reserves, I will not and most likely cannot train well enough to reach my goals.

I will leave you with the parting thought. Eat plenty of food and energy will be abundant during your workouts, but you may put on weight. Hold back the food and your workouts will always seem like you are running uphill, but you will be lean. Seems like a no win situation for running a fast time doesn't it.

 

 

Thoughts from the Cool Down Runner