Monday, February 22, 2010

The Diet and the Crash

FYI: This took place 6 days ago. I am eating again, somewhat better, and am running again. No worries.

Kids, don’t try this at home.

As I have discussed before I am not in the best of shape. I am always struggling with my weight and fitness. The ARMY says that I have to be at or below a certain body mass index to be physically fit for duty. If I don’t stay within the range I can be released from duty. And with over 12 years in so far I really don’t want to have that experience. So I push myself and try to eat right and really pay attention to my weight. But sadly it my body does not always work for me on this issue. Over the past year while I was stationed in Korea I was on the injured list and was not able to do very much PT and it really cost me. And then add in a honey moon and eating all the things that I really like prior to leaving the country for a year, my weight went up and my fitness went way down. And so it has all caught up with me. So I decided that while out here I would do everything I could to improve my PT and drop some weight. So I started to do just that. I lost about 3 pounds in the first week and thought that if I could just continue with that I would be doing just fine. But after the first week I was notified that we would soon be having a PT test. That put me into panic mode and I started (knowing that it was not all that good) a crash diet. I started to eat very little other than dry salad or salad with non-fat dressing. I cut my food intake down to around 100 calories a day. And the weight started to melt off. I have since lost 20 pounds and am thinner than I have been in years.
And now in this story we hit the bad news. Well as I said I knew the diet was not really the best idea. Dropping down to such a small amount of food every day is not all that great for you and even worse when you all of a sudden start to increase the amount of PT that is done. And in my case two wrongs definitely don’t make a right.
Today it all came crashing down. I went out on a 4 mile out and back. My plan was to walk a mile to the 2 mile PT Course, run the 2 miles and then walk back. So I made the first mile and started to pick up into a run. I was feeling good for the first mile and then all of a sudden everything just started to feel all wrong. I started to feel very dizzy and weak and could not keep my run going. I slowed down to a walk but even that seemed too hard. And then all of a sudden down I went. I did not pass out, but I was not able to stay standing. Luckily for me a guy was running by. He helped me back to my feet and walked me to the Aid Station. The Doc put me on an IV but I really was not all that dehydrated. He decided after talking to me for a while that I was just depleted of fuel. So I have been order to stop my “Crazy” diet and go to a more healthful eating plan. I really don’t want to because I do need to drop some more weight before the PT test, but I guess there is no point in losing the weight if I don’t have the energy to make the run. So tomorrow I start to eat. Something that I have not done much of since getting here. We will have to see how it works. I still feel kind of blah right now, almost 12 hours later. But getting better. I have to take tomorrow off from running and rest, but then it will be back to the grind. So wish me luck.

Back To The Sand

3 comments:

  1. Shame on you. You are lucky you did not pass out. I have been struggling with my weight since 2001. I went all the way up to 248. Didn't realize it. The last 3 years I have made it to 195. I have been stuck here for a year. I have a a Half Ironman coming up in May. THIS MAY and I planned on loosing a little more to get faster. Hasn't happen. But I sure would not drop my calories to 100 per day. Stagger your calories. Body still needs fuel. Talk to your doctor there and work out a plan.
    Feel better. Now you know what it is to hit the runner's wall.
    Take care.

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  2. Need to make a correction. That should say that I was down to 1000 Cal a day. Still not a good idea, but better than 100. My bad!

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  3. Thanks for correcting the 100 to 1000 - I was extremely worried about that. Still, 1000 is really low. I can cut back to 1200 a day if my mileage isn't high, but that's the lowest I can go and when I train more I up the calories.

    I have struggled with my weight since I was a child. It's no fun when your body doesn't cooperate with plans. Over the last three years I've lost and gained and lost and gained and it's tough.

    Try to eat a balanced diet - carbs, fat, protein, fiber and all the good stuff. Your body needs it and if you're upping the PT you need the fuel.

    I'm glad that someone was there to help you back, but be careful with yourself. Remember you have a wife and baby at home that want you to be safe and sound and come home to them whole and healthy!

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