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Jul. 1st, 2024 01:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
spryng(tw: calorie counting and exercise talk again)
Food tracking for four days and already it's clear I struggle to get enough protein. Even just aiming for half the recommended amount is hard -- how do folks do it when they're actually hitting .7 or whatever per lb? I'd have to be chugging protein powder all day just to get close.
Obviously, I'll just see where I land. I've clearly been gaining strength even with sub-optimal amounts, so even a modest increase should be enough to aim for.
The other fascinating bit from tracking is how little iron I've been getting most days; that could explain some of the malaise/fatigue I've been experiencing, especially the cyclical nature of it. I was anemic for a long while as a kid, although that was mostly due to being vegetarian without really doing any research and overall not eating enough. Ever since I went back to eating meat regularly I haven't had those problems, but we've decreased our meat intake in the last year due to a) rising price, b) environmental concerns, and c) just not as interested in it. So I guess I either need to take a supplement or keep a closer eye on it
But honestly, the most interesting thing so far to me is that I appear to be right about needing way more than 2000 kcals/day. Tracking so far has kept me from snacking at random/often, but I'm also trying to eat until I'm not hungry so I have an accurate idea of what I need. Right now, that looks like 2400 kcal, which honestly seems about right -- and is vindicating as fuck. And I've been eating a little more than that without gaining weight over the last year, so it's likely my maintenance is actually higher.
All those calorie counting apps/plans that put me at 1600 and I felt like I was starving all the time: guess I was! Good to know and it's another one of those reassuring "hey, maybe I do know my own body" moments.
I'm going to keep tracking for a few more days/maybe a week to see if I can get a better feel for more protein & fiber.
Exercise-wise, I took CG & her friend to the city pool again this weekend and they are both fairly confident swimmers now, so I was able to go off on my own for a bit. And friends, friends. I know I love to swim, but I think I forget how much I love to swim. Itty bitty home pools are fine, I guess, but the city pool is lorge and I can just swim and swim without having to stop and turn around.
That's something I love about swimming in the ocean or large bodies of water, but I don't have easy access to either of those. Plus, the ocean kinda scares me these days. It's big and strong and I don't know my own strength when it comes to swimming. There's always this underlying fear that I'm going to swim too far and not make it back.
But swimming in the city pool has got me wanting to get better at swimming, so I can tackle the ocean without fear. I've looked for adult swim classes before, but they're all geared toward absolute beginners; I just want to learn proper strokes and improve efficiency. I finally found a scuba shop that appears to offer just that, but their next set of lessons start the week my wife is away. So I guess... I will just keep an eye on them and see if they have more in September. That would mean right after my birthday, which would be a good birthday gift/goal...
In the meantime, I've got my parents' lake to practice in as well as said city pool. I'm thinking of swapping one of my weekly runs for a swim instead, since it's just so dang humid. I swear I felt like I was breathing soup this weekend. I love running, but not when I'm dripping sweat from my elbows just 5min in.
Of course, when I was researching swim lessons, I stumbled upon our city's triathlon group. While there's no way I'd ever do a real triathlon (a marathon on top of everything else??), apparently every spring they have a Try-Tri, where the running portion is just 1 mile and the rest has been scaled comparably. And that... that actually sounds like fun. A mini little goal to aim for next year, since, well, I love running, and I love biking, and I love swimming...
Food tracking for four days and already it's clear I struggle to get enough protein. Even just aiming for half the recommended amount is hard -- how do folks do it when they're actually hitting .7 or whatever per lb? I'd have to be chugging protein powder all day just to get close.
Obviously, I'll just see where I land. I've clearly been gaining strength even with sub-optimal amounts, so even a modest increase should be enough to aim for.
The other fascinating bit from tracking is how little iron I've been getting most days; that could explain some of the malaise/fatigue I've been experiencing, especially the cyclical nature of it. I was anemic for a long while as a kid, although that was mostly due to being vegetarian without really doing any research and overall not eating enough. Ever since I went back to eating meat regularly I haven't had those problems, but we've decreased our meat intake in the last year due to a) rising price, b) environmental concerns, and c) just not as interested in it. So I guess I either need to take a supplement or keep a closer eye on it
But honestly, the most interesting thing so far to me is that I appear to be right about needing way more than 2000 kcals/day. Tracking so far has kept me from snacking at random/often, but I'm also trying to eat until I'm not hungry so I have an accurate idea of what I need. Right now, that looks like 2400 kcal, which honestly seems about right -- and is vindicating as fuck. And I've been eating a little more than that without gaining weight over the last year, so it's likely my maintenance is actually higher.
All those calorie counting apps/plans that put me at 1600 and I felt like I was starving all the time: guess I was! Good to know and it's another one of those reassuring "hey, maybe I do know my own body" moments.
I'm going to keep tracking for a few more days/maybe a week to see if I can get a better feel for more protein & fiber.
Exercise-wise, I took CG & her friend to the city pool again this weekend and they are both fairly confident swimmers now, so I was able to go off on my own for a bit. And friends, friends. I know I love to swim, but I think I forget how much I love to swim. Itty bitty home pools are fine, I guess, but the city pool is lorge and I can just swim and swim without having to stop and turn around.
That's something I love about swimming in the ocean or large bodies of water, but I don't have easy access to either of those. Plus, the ocean kinda scares me these days. It's big and strong and I don't know my own strength when it comes to swimming. There's always this underlying fear that I'm going to swim too far and not make it back.
But swimming in the city pool has got me wanting to get better at swimming, so I can tackle the ocean without fear. I've looked for adult swim classes before, but they're all geared toward absolute beginners; I just want to learn proper strokes and improve efficiency. I finally found a scuba shop that appears to offer just that, but their next set of lessons start the week my wife is away. So I guess... I will just keep an eye on them and see if they have more in September. That would mean right after my birthday, which would be a good birthday gift/goal...
In the meantime, I've got my parents' lake to practice in as well as said city pool. I'm thinking of swapping one of my weekly runs for a swim instead, since it's just so dang humid. I swear I felt like I was breathing soup this weekend. I love running, but not when I'm dripping sweat from my elbows just 5min in.
Of course, when I was researching swim lessons, I stumbled upon our city's triathlon group. While there's no way I'd ever do a real triathlon (a marathon on top of everything else??), apparently every spring they have a Try-Tri, where the running portion is just 1 mile and the rest has been scaled comparably. And that... that actually sounds like fun. A mini little goal to aim for next year, since, well, I love running, and I love biking, and I love swimming...
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Date: 2024-07-01 08:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-07-03 09:17 pm (UTC)