New diet plan

I've said before that I've been running consistently for about 10 months now, and I have failed to lose any weight. I like to think that I eat healthy foods and make good choices. But, the truth is that unless I know exactly how many calories I'm consuming, it doesn't matter how healthy I eat. If you eat too much, even if it's of a good thing, you're not going to lose weight. Also, eating healthy and watching calories is something you have to do every day, not just a couple days a week. I fall into this problem, because I will do really well for a 3-4 days out of the week, but the other 3-4 I'm cheating. Also, I was not consistently getting my miles in each week. I was lucky to get 2 running days in per week. Then, I wonder why I'm not losing any weight. Big dummy.

Reading this blog on Runnerdude's page the other day really got me thinking. Now that I'm training for the CDR and will be CONSISTENTLY running more than 15 miles per week, I need to pay attention to what and how much I eat, especially if I want to lose weight. His post showed me how many calories I need based on my resting metabolic rate, daily activity level, and running. Based on this algorithm, I learned that I need 2000 calories per day, not including running or exercise, to maintain my current weight. That's just based on my resting rate and daily activity level, which I selected as sedentary because my job doesn't require me to do much physical activity at all.

To lose weight, I know that I have to create a deficit in calories somehow, either through reducing food intake or exercising. I know that a pound is equal to 3500 calories. This means that I need to create a deficit of 3500 calories per week to lose 1 pound. Seems like a lot. I burn about 117 calories per mile I run, based on that algorithm. This week, I am scheduled to run 13 miles, which will equal about 1500 calories. That leaves 2000 calories for me to cut out over the course of the week, which is about 300 calories per day. Right now my training plan only has me running 3 days per week, which leaves 4 days that I can get more exercise in through cross-training. So, I can either eat 1700 calories per day and not add anymore exercise, or continue to eat 2000 calories per day, but add in more exercise. This all seems very complex and confusing. It's all a number's game, and I'm pretty good at math, so I think I can figure this out.

I will probably end up eating 1700 calories on days that I don't work out and 2000 calories on days that I do. Keep in mind that "working out" refers to extra workouts I get in during the week on top of my running. For example, the light gym day I had Saturday is considered a workout day. So, last week I had 3 running days and 1 workout day. If my math is correct, I should have eaten 1700 calories everyday, except on Saturday I should have eaten 2000 calories because it was a workout day. I hope that makes sense!

Today, I will begin calorie counting. If my calculations are correct, I will be a pound lighter next Sunday. Wish me luck!