Low carb/running update

Captain's Log, Stardate 09.29.2010

So those of you unfortunate lucky enough to hear all about my low carb diet last month are probably clamoring for an update, yes?

So after a month of going gluten free and low carb, I broke my gluten fast earlier in September and am now (relatively) normal carb.

Technically, according to the program booklet that comes with the supplements I’m taking—which I’m still taking, by the way—I should have slowly increased my carbs earlier this month, but because I had been running about 20 miles per week last month and I was feeling really tired, my nurse/counselor suggested I increase my carbs earlier than the program booklet said to.

I did some research and found out that most running articles suggest an extra intake of about 50-100g of carbs for every hour of running each day. I was running about 5-7 hours a week, so I calculated that translated into about 150-170g carbs per day. I’m trying to keep to that, although I admit it doesn’t always happen. For me, low carb is very hard, to say the least!

I’m also a bit confused by my carb cravings. I’ve had some bad calorie days lately, due mostly to these fanatical carb cravings reminiscent of before I started these supplements and the modified diet. I was a bit scared that the insulin resistance had come back, because I was craving chips like a fiend.

But the weird thing is that after gorging on chips the past 3 days, today, the carb cravings are gone. Completely. It reminds me of what happened on day 17 of my modified diet where I had this intense carb craving and wasn’t trusting my body, but Captain Caffeine reasoned that maybe I should listen to my body since I had been on the low carb diet for 2 weeks and the “fake” cravings (insulin resistance cravings) had been absent for most of that time. So I gave in to the carb craving and the next day the craving was gone.

It’s so weird to be in this place where I might actually be able to trust my body. Strange.

So do the supplements work? I think so. My hormone-induced migraines are much reduced, and as mentioned above, my carb cravings seem normal as opposed to out of whack. I have lots of energy and I’m not sleeping as many hours as I had previously needed to sleep to feel refreshed. Want to try them? It’s WomenToWomen.com. What’s nice is that you can call their health advisor/counselor person with any questions you might have.

Anyway, my running has been fine and I feel fine (not tired and pretty full of energy), so I think my carb count of 150-170g/day has been good for me.
Update: I did more internet searching (so who knows how accurate this info is, but ...) and this article and this article both mentioned that training marathon runners should consume 55-70% of their calories from complex carbohydrates. For me, that calculates into anywhere from 205-260g a day! I wonder if that's why I had the carb cravings? I looked at my carb count for the past week, and despite the gorging, my carb numbers are all below 260g. Hmmm...

I’m still training for the Honolulu Marathon! I started doing the e-coaching from Jeff Galloway to get extra help with my training, and it’s been really great. I can ask all kinds of stupid questions or questions specific to my training. For example, he suggested I run at noon on one of my shorter runs during the week to help prepare me for the heat. He said if I do that, it’ll still feel hot in Hawaii, but I’ll be okay (as opposed to collapsing from heat stroke, I guess).

This coming Sunday I run in the San Jose Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon! It’s actually “only” 13 miles and I’m scheduled to run 20 that day, so Jeff told me to run an extra 6 miles after the half marathon! Isn’t that crazy? And I totally don’t mind! Aren’t I crazy???? (Don’t answer that.)

Have I lost weight? Um … a little. It’s not melting off my body, despite the 20+ miles a week that I’ve been running.

However, the jeans I took with me to the American Christian Fiction Writers conference a couple weeks ago were so loose by the end of the trip that I could take them off without unbuttoning or unzipping them (yeah, and I was around Cheryl Wyatt’s husband at the conference—good thing he didn’t know or I’d have been a practical joke temptation he couldn’t resist). And I didn’t realize until I saw myself in the hotel room mirror, but the khakis I brought with me were actually a bit baggy. Last year they were a tiny bit snug, so I know I’ve lost at least a little weight.

I had a depressing shopping trip to TJ Maxx because I tried out tons of different pairs of jeans, but size 8 was too tight and size 10 was too big (I’m not yet in single digits yet!!!). So, I just bought a new pair of jeans and a new pair of khakis from Victoria’s Secret—their stuff makes my butt not look quite so wide, plus they go by the measurement scale listed on their website and their sizes and fits are very consistent. Also, no vanity sizing at VS—I’m a “sung” fit into a VS size 10. I bought stuff on sale since I’m hopeful I’ll continue to shrink and these’ll be too big for me in a few months!

To justify the cost, I demonstrated to Captain Caffeine the jeans that I can pull down without unbuttoning or unzipping. He was pretty quick to tell me to buy new jeans. :)