Mtnracer

I sit here late tonight writing this, because if I don’t write it now, I’ll never do it. I’m lazy like that. So, I’m going to write a couple of ways I’m going to improve my fitness immediately.

Know my daily caloric requirements.

This can be estimated a number of ways. Cordianet.com provides a couple of nice calculators that use a few different formulas. Since I know my lean body mass (LBM) from having body composition tests within the last year, I can calculate my current body fat percentage pretty easily. I just take my LBM (148lbs) and divide by my current weight (178lbs), subtract it from 1, and multiply by 100: 16.85%! A nice average web designer’s body fat percentage…Only about 11-13% higher than the average professional cyclist. But, that’s ok – it gives me room to improve!

I plug my numbers into the calculator on the top right, using 6% as my goal (the goal percent here really doesn’t matter, as we’re really just trying to find our current daily requirements). I get a BMR of 1817, TDEE of 2817, and Weight Loss recommendation of 2317 Calories.

This is all good information, but the most useful is the TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) of 2817. This tells me that I would be maintaining my current weight if I keep the same activity level and continue to consume 2817 calories a day. The recommendation of 2317 calories drops 500 calories per day off my consumption, adding up to the magical number of 3500 calores by the end of the week. 3500 calories is approximately one pound of caloric body-fat loss. So, I would lose 1 pound a week, and reach my goal of 156lbs (6% body fat) in 22 weeks…Not bad, but a little slow for me. However, I will also be increasing my activity levels from my current baseline, and that should help me in time.

Find ways to help achieve new amount of daily calories

Changing my daily intake is all about little tricks and tips. Stop drinking juice, and instead drink more water. This helps me drop at least 100 calories. The next is stop eating 1 or 2 hours before bed. However, the last meal or snack that I have can be a lean protein (like turkey breast or a hard-boiled egg) that will hold me over so that I get more full and am less hungry when I try and sleep. Also, switching to a more complex breakfast like slow-cooked oats or grape nuts, this will fill me up more and prevent me from eating “mid-morning” snacks.

Keep an activity log

This website will be a big component in this. But, I will also have a separate personal log of my daily fitness activities. Just by adding an entry each day, I will be more responsible towards my overall health.

Go to sleep!

I often stay up late, working in bed on my laptop or watching movies to fall asleep. This extra time could be spent resting the mind as well as the body. Plus, by getting the extra sleep, I can do my work more efficiently the next day, and be done early to go cycling in the afternoon!

Create a plan

Write down a training plan/goal sheet with a list of short-term and long-term goals, plus the next couple of weeks on how to stay on track and reach the intermediate goals. I will be posting some of my training plan information on here soon.

Does anyone else have some good tips on what whips you in to shape real quick?

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 27th, 2008 at 2:44 am and is filed under Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.