Saturday, 24 November 2012

Diary of a wanna-be fat burner: Week 2

Two weeks into the high fat/low carbohydrate experiment, and I have to say on the whole I've felt pretty good.


My previous macro-nutrient split target

Although I had a target previously it was more of a pointer than anything I actively ate to. I knew it was there, but I didn't consult my progress during the day and think "Hmm, I should have some more protein" or anything like that.


New macro-nutrient split target

I'm pretty much spot-on this now. Comparing my mix from before I started this experiment until now it's actually the most stable nutrient mix I've ever had by a considerable margin.

At the start of the week I had a couple of days where I really couldn't get out of bed, but once I'd got up I found I had plenty of energy. On a few occasions I get light headed when I get up quickly, but that's a well recorded effect during adaptation.

Exercise continues to be no problem. There's an odd feeling when I first start, when cycling legs feel "fizzy" for a few moments, a bit like they're totally empty of fuel and are about to stop working (ever cycle sprinted up a steep hill? or hit the wall/bonked?). However after a few moments they're fine again. No real loss of power evident from the commuting I've done, but hard to tell without going for a longer ride. I'm planning on putting in a 90-120 minute ride tomorrow while Mrs is running a half marathon in Richmond Park.

I did have a very fast and hard energy crash on Sunday afternoon. It came on so quickly I found myself falling asleep waiting for web pages to load! I soon came out of it though after a short walk. I expect there's going to be a couple of events like this as although I'm clearly burning fat now, I expect there is considerable optimisation required to become really efficient.

At work I've felt good and alert, the occasional feelings of hunger but they go very quickly. Dropping to a lunch and just a couple of snacks during work hours is handy - less to carry than on my carb heavy days where I was almost permanently snacking! In particularly I don't have an afternoon slump any more. That was quite crushing at times and probably led to the growing habit of a 4pm chocolate bar (not the right solution, only encourages the yo-yoing of insulin levels).


Where my fuel comes from - my nutrition changed on the 10th as is very clear

I made a mess of Thursday evening - we went out and I poorly judged my wine intake. Got to 52g carbs for the day which is still considered low, however I was very hungry the next morning. I really didn't enjoy the carby craving, but it wore off towards the afternoon thankfully. I hadn't been hungry like that for a few weeks - it's a bit like having a hangover when you haven't had one for a long time. Unpleasant.


Absolute carbohydrate intake - can you guess when I started low-carb? :)

Apart from last Thursday I've kept under 50g/day every day. In the literature this is considered a "very low carbohydrate diet" and should be within the range to properly adapt to a fat-burning metabolism.

One thing that's definitely helped me, and you should certainly get into this habit too if you're interested in trying this, is that I am used to meticulously logging every single thing I eat and drink. Even the cup of tea I'm drinking now (1.7g carbohydrate) makes a big difference when your targets are so low. I've used Weight Loss Resources for a long time, and highly recommend it - regardless of if you're losing weight or not.

In studies that have been done the vast majority of people mis-report, under-report, or flat out lie about what they're eating when asked to keep a diary. Buy some scales, weigh everything, and keep yourself honest - it's definitely worth it.

Saturday, 17 November 2012

Ultimate parkrun map!



1 1   23/04/2011 Wimbledon Common Greater London England 25:35
2     30/04/2011 Wimbledon Common Greater London England 24:25
3     14/05/2011 Wimbledon Common Greater London England 25:01
4     28/05/2011 Wimbledon Common Greater London England 25:10
5     11/06/2011 Wimbledon Common Greater London England 24:36
6     06/08/2011 Wimbledon Common Greater London England 23:08
7 2   03/09/2011 Hull Yorkshire and The Humber England 23:20
8 3 1 17/09/2011 Nonsuch Greater London England 23:12
9 4   01/10/2011 Bushy Park Greater London England 24:05
10 5   22/10/2011 Pontefract Yorkshire and The Humber England 26:01
11     12/11/2011 Wimbledon Common Greater London England 25:17
12 6   19/11/2011 Gunnersbury Greater London England 23:21
13     26/11/2011 Wimbledon Common Greater London England 25:17
14 7 2 03/12/2011 Ally Pally Greater London England 25:11
15 8   10/12/2011 Concord Yorkshire and The Humber England 27:34
16     25/12/2011 Bushy Park Greater London England 26:52
17 9   26/12/2011 Basingstoke South East England England 23:19
18 10   31/12/2011 Richmond Park Greater London England 23:59
19     01/01/2012 Bushy Park Greater London England 23:57
20     01/01/2012 Nonsuch Greater London England 25:45
21 11   01/01/2012 Riddlesdown Greater London England 31:12
22 12   07/01/2012 Old Deer Park Greater London England 25:31
23 13 3 14/01/2012 York Yorkshire and The Humber England 23:32
24 14   21/01/2012 Greenwich Greater London England 27:48
25 15 4 28/01/2012 Eastbourne South East England England 23:46
26 16 5 04/02/2012 Bexley Greater London England 28:00
27 17   18/02/2012 Kingston Greater London England 22:15
28 18   25/02/2012 Hanley West Midlands England 27:31
29 19   03/03/2012 Wythenshawe North West England England 27:56
30 20 6 10/03/2012 Guildford South East England England 24:17
31 21 7 17/03/2012 Netley Abbey South East England England 27:13
32 22   24/03/2012 Wormwood Scrubs Greater London England 28:31
33 23   31/03/2012 Whitstable South East England England 23:48
34 24   07/04/2012 Roundshaw Downs Greater London England 23:04
35 25 8 14/04/2012 Dulwich Greater London England 25:22
36 26   21/04/2012 Killerton South West England England 28:46
37 27   28/04/2012 Lloyd Greater London England 24:52
38 28 9 05/05/2012 Northampton East Midlands England 22:03
39 29 10 12/05/2012 Preston North West England England 24:20
40 30   19/05/2012 St Albans East of England England 21:30
41 31 11 26/05/2012 Marple North West England England 23:21
42 32 12 02/06/2012 Beckton Greater London England 21:14
43     04/06/2012 Riddlesdown Park Greater London England 28:26
44 33   05/06/2012 Andover South East England England 22:05
45 34   05/06/2012 Newbury South East England England 24:11
46 35 13 09/06/2012 Crane Park Greater London England 27:19
47     23/06/2012 Wimbledon Common Greater London England 25:15
48 36 14 30/06/2012 Gladstone Greater London England 28:53
49 37   07/07/2012 Pennington Flash North West England England 28:53
50 38   21/07/2012 Bolton North West England England 33:44
51 39 15 28/07/2012 Barking Greater London England 25:08
52     04/08/2012 Wimbledon Common Greater London England 24:15
53 40   11/08/2012 Swindon South West England England 27:54
54 41   18/08/2012 Cardiff Wales Wales 29:29
55 42   25/08/2012 Bromley Greater London England 27:06
56 43 16 08/09/2012 Hilly Fields Greater London England 25:11
57 44   22/09/2012 Newport Wales Wales 28:40
58 45 17 29/09/2012 Mansfield East Midlands England 21:53
59 46 18 06/10/2012 Rushcliffe East Midlands England 21:59
60 47 19 13/10/2012 Southend South East England England 29:10
61 48   27/10/2012 Burgess Greater London England 23:16
62 49 20 03/11/2012 Little Stoke South West England England 24:02
63     10/11/2012 Wimbledon Common Greater London England 28:30
64 50 21 17/11/2012 Alice Holt South East England England 32:19
65 51 22 24/11/2012 Upton Court South East England England 24:11
66 52   01/12/2012 Frimley Lodge South East England England 28:52
67 53   08/12/2012 Brighton & Hove South East England England 32:51
68 54 23 15/12/2012 South Darlington North East England England 23:32
69     29/06/2013 Wimbledon Common Greater London England 34:08
70 55   06/07/2013 Banstead Woods South East England England 32:35
71 56   13/07/2013 Finsbury Park Greater London England 30:01
72 57 24 20/07/2013 Clair South East England England 28:29
73 58   27/07/2013 Wanstead Flats Greater London England 29:55
74 59 25 03/08/2013 Peterborough East of England England 28:08
75 60   10/08/2013 Winchester South East England England 27:22
76 61   17/08/2013 Colchester Castle East of England England 31:50
77 62 26 24/08/2013 Bournemouth South West England England 29:59
78 63   14/09/2013 Southwark Greater London England 23:36
79 64   21/09/2013 Southwick Country Park South West England England 24:27
80 65 27 28/09/2013 Great Lines South East England England 28:51
81 66 28 05/10/2013 Southsea South East England England 23:56
82 67   12/10/2013 Brockwell Greater London England 23:11
83 68   19/10/2013 Rotherham Yorkshire and The Humber England 23:21
84 69 29 26/10/2013 Ashford South East England England 23:22
85 70   02/11/2013 Orpington Greater London England 25:36
86 71   16/11/2013 Crystal Palace Greater London England 27:26
87 72   23/11/2013 Tilgate South East England England 24:19
88 73   30/11/2013 Bedford East of England England 27:07
89 74   07/12/2013 Weymouth South West England England 25:17
90 75   14/12/2013 Mile End Greater London England 30:45
91 76   21/12/2013 Shorne Woods South East England England 26:23
92 77   25/12/2013 Poole South West England England 28:15
93 78   28/12/2013 Margate South East England England 26:37
94 79   01/01/2014 Stewart North East England England 28:46
95 80   01/01/2014 Albert North East England England 24:28
96 81   04/01/2014 Wimpole Estate East of England England 30:08
97 82   11/01/2014 Scunthorpe Yorkshire and The Humber England 23:38
98 83   18/01/2014 Fulham Palace Greater London England 29:19
99 84   25/01/2014 Osterley Greater London England 29:24
100 85   01/02/2014 Pymmes Greater London England 29:48
101     22/03/2014 Wimbledon Common Greater London England 29:24
102 86   05/04/2014 Reigate Priory South East England England 28:17
103     17/05/2014 Wimbledon Common Greater London England 26:04
104     31/05/2014 Kingston Greater London England 24:37
105 87   28/06/2014 Royal Tunbridge Wells South East England England 28:48
106 88   09/08/2014 Peckham Rye Greater London England 25:21
107 89 30 16/08/2014 Woking South East England England 25:45
108 90   23/08/2014 Dartford Greater London England 28:19
109 91   30/08/2014 Harrow Lodge Greater London England 28:57
110 92 31 06/09/2014 Horsham South East England England 26:24
111 93   13/09/2014 Gunpowder Greater London England 23:56
112 94 32 20/09/2014 Wakefield Thornes Yorkshire and The Humber England 25:31
113 95 33 11/10/2014 Panshanger South East England England 28:13
114 96 34 18/10/2014 Harcourt Hill South East England England 24:56
115 97   25/10/2014 Lanhydrock South West England England 26:35
116 98   01/11/2014 Bath Skyline South West England England 25:20
117 99 35 08/11/2014 Harlow South East England England 27:14
118 100   22/11/2014 Tring South East England England 29:29
119 101   29/11/2014 Hampstead Heath Greater London England 25:16
120 102   06/12/2014 Brentwood South East England England 26:15
121 103   20/12/2014 Milton Keynes South East England England 26:59
122 104   25/12/2014 Northala Fields Greater London England 25:28
123 105   27/12/2014 Queen Elizabeth South East England England 27:30
124 106   01/01/2015 Woodley South East England England 25:31
125 107   01/01/2015 Reading South East England England 25:55
126 108   03/01/2015 Brockenhurst South East England England 35:21
127 109 36 10/01/2015 Melton Mowbray East Midlands England 28:07
128 110   17/01/2015 Grovelands Greater London England 26:55
129 111   24/01/2015 Newcastle North East England England 28:56
130 112 37 31/01/2015 South Oxhey Greater London England 26:19
131 113 38 07/02/2015 Hockley Woods South East England England 25:27
132 114   14/02/2015 Preston Park South East England England 26:51
133 115 39 21/02/2015 Didcot South East England England 27:11
134 116   07/03/2015 Amager Faelled Denmark Denmark 23:42
135 117 40 04/04/2015 Bracknell South East England England 38:23
136 118   18/04/2015 Bedfont Lakes South East England England 26:33
137 119   09/05/2015 Maidenhead South East England England 24:33
138 120   16/05/2015 Oak Hill Greater London England 25:29
139 121   23/05/2015 Gadebridge South East England England 27:49
140 122   30/05/2015 Southampton South East England England 30:48
141 123   06/06/2015 Fountains Abbey Yorkshire and The Humber England 30:51
142 124   13/06/2015 Havant South East England England 31:30
143 125 41 20/06/2015 Aldenham Greater London England 24:49
144 126   27/06/2015 Harrow Greater London England 26:03
145 127 42 04/07/2015 Tewkesbury South West England England 26:35
146 128 43 11/07/2015 Hove Promenade South East England England 24:39
147 129   18/07/2015 Wycombe Rye South East England England 25:46
148 130   25/07/2015 Valentines Greater London England 25:38
149 131   01/08/2015 Hackney Marshes Greater London England 22:38
150 132   08/08/2015 Cassiobury Greater London England 22:43
151 133   15/08/2015 Walthamstow Greater London England 23:22
152 134   22/08/2015 Raphael Greater London England 22:17
153 135 44 29/08/2015 Wyre Forest North West England England 25:30
154 136   05/09/2015 Cranleigh South East England England 24:48
155 137   12/09/2015 Fell Foot North West England England 27:12
156 138   19/09/2015 Keswick North West England England 22:55
157 139 45 26/09/2015 Glossop North West England England 24:05
158 140   24/10/2015 Highbury Fields Greater London England 28:42
159 141   31/10/2015 Canterbury South East England England 28:32
160 142 46 07/11/2015 Moors Valley South West England England 27:22
161 143   14/11/2015 Ipswich East of England England 30:07
162 144   21/11/2015 Maidstone South East England England 28:40
163 145   28/11/2015 Humber Bridge Yorkshire and The Humber England 26:08
164 146   05/12/2015 Rushmoor South East England England 26:47
165 147   12/12/2015 Lullingstone South East England England 27:31
166 148   19/12/2015 Tonbridge South East England England 29:17
167 149   25/12/2015 Aylesbury South East England England 27:46
168 150   26/12/2015 Luton Wardown South East England England 31:51
169 151   01/01/2016 Camperdown Scotland Scotland 29:57
170 152   01/01/2016 Perth Scotland Scotland 28:54
171 153   02/01/2016 St. Andrews Scotland Scotland 24:40
172 154   09/01/2016 Cleethorpes Yorkshire and The Humber England 23:13
173 155   16/01/2016 Malling South East England England 27:38
174 156   30/01/2016 Chelmsford Central South East England England 28:02
175 157   06/02/2016 Market Harborough South East England England 25:35
176 158   13/02/2016 Beeston East Midlands England 26:45
177 159 47 27/02/2016 Sittingbourne South East England England 25:46
178 160   05/03/2016 Bevendean Down South East England England 27:37
179 161   12/03/2016 Pegwell Bay South East England England 28:36
180 162 48 19/03/2016 Bedgebury Pinetum South East England England 30:48
181 163   26/03/2016 Barclay East of England England 28:18
182 164   02/04/2016 Bognor Regis South East England England 25:38
183 165   09/04/2016 Folkestone South East England England 28:43
184 166   16/04/2016 Tooting Common Greater London England 31:17
185 167   23/04/2016 Holkham East of England England 23:47
186 168   30/04/2016 Black Park South East England England 27:12
187 169   07/05/2016 Medina I.O.W. South East England England 22:58
188 170   14/05/2016 Yeovil Montacute South West England England 25:29
189 171   21/05/2016 Jersey Channel Islands England 23:01
190 172 49 28/05/2016 Stevenage South East England England 26:52
191 173   04/06/2016 St. Annes Ireland Ireland 30:10
192 174   11/06/2016 Eastleigh South East England England 26:14
193 175   18/06/2016 Stratford-upon-Avon West Midlands England 31:07
194 176   25/06/2016 Gateshead North East England England 28:06
195 177   02/07/2016 Penrith North West England England 22:35
196 178   09/07/2016 Ellenbrook Fields South East England England 23:10
197 179   23/07/2016 Abingdon South East England England 23:41
198 180   06/08/2016 Hastings South East England England 22:17
199 181   13/08/2016 Worthing South East England England 21:54
200 182   20/08/2016 Crissy Fields California USA 22:24
201 183   03/09/2016 Rutland Water East Midlands England 22:34
202 184   10/09/2016 Mount Edgcumbe South West England England 27:12
203 185   24/09/2016 South Manchester North West England England 25:02
204 186   01/10/2016 Gainsborough East Midlands England 26:13
205 187 50 08/10/2016 Canons Park Greater London England 22:16
206 188   15/10/2016 Oxford South East England England 27:28
207 189 51 22/10/2016 Hadleigh East of England England 28:19
208 190   29/10/2016 Thurrock East of England England 24:18
209 191   05/11/2016 Basildon East of England England 25:35
210 192   12/11/2016 Banbury South East England England 26:28
211 193   19/11/2016 Waterstown Park Ireland Ireland 24:13
212 194   03/12/2016 Richmond Olympic Canada Canada 22:02
213 195   10/12/2016 Salisbury South West England England 23:45
214 196 52 17/12/2016 Mersea Island South East England England 22:28
215 197   24/12/2016 Cambridge East of England England 22:24
216 198   25/12/2016 Buckingham South East England England 22:03
217 199   31/12/2016 Roosevelt Island DC Washington D.C. USA 22:53
218 200   01/01/2017 College Park MD Washington D.C. USA 21:55
219 201   07/01/2017 Homewood South East England England 24:43
220 202   21/01/2017 Portsmouth Lakeside South East England England 23:01
221 203   28/01/2017 Bury St Edmunds East of England England 25:45
222 204   04/02/2017 Rugby West Midlands England 23:40
223 205   11/02/2017 Belfast Victoria Northern Ireland N.I. 22:45
224 206   18/02/2017 Millom North West England England 30:09
225 207   25/02/2017 Beckenham Place Greater London England 29:13
226 208   04/03/2017 Roding Valley East of England England 24:36
227 209   11/03/2017 Rickmansworth East of England England 32:53
228 210   18/03/2017 Perry Hall West Midlands England 23:36
229 211   25/03/2017 Cannon Hill West Midlands England 28:21
230 212   01/04/2017 Fareham South East England England 23:53
231 213   15/04/2017 Sheffield Hallam Yorkshire and The Humber England 23:26
232 214   29/04/2017 Guernsey Channel Islands England 25:06
233 215   06/05/2017 Chichester South East England England 31:45
234 216   20/05/2017 Penrose South West England England 32:18
235 217   27/05/2017 Longrun Meadow South West England England 23:55
236 218   03/06/2017 Shrewsbury West Midlands England 33:07
237 219   17/06/2017 Fletcher's Cove Washington D.C. USA 25:09
238 220   24/06/2017 Elgin Scotland Scotland 25:46
239 221   01/07/2017 Peacehaven South East England England 30:12
240 222   08/07/2017 Lee-on-the-Solent South East England England 29:20
241 223   15/07/2017 South Norwood Greater London England 30:10
242 224   22/07/2017 Bushy Dublin Ireland Ireland 25:03
243 225   29/07/2017 Upton House South East England England 28:49
244 226   05/08/2017 Aviemore Scotland Scotland 27:42
245 227   12/08/2017 Inverness Scotland Scotland 27:28
246 228   19/08/2017 Hoblingwell Greater London England 30:23
247 229   26/08/2017 Hatfield Forest East of England England 27:11
248 230   02/09/2017 Bicester South East England England 30:17
249 231   09/09/2017 Billericay East of England England 28:58
250 232   30/09/2017 Henley-on-Thames South East England England 31:04
251 233   07/10/2017 Rushmere South East England  England 29:18
252 234   14/10/2017 East Grinstead South East England  England 30:28
253 235   21/10/2017 Chippenham South West England  England  27:42
254 236   28/10/2017 Ballincollig Ireland Ireland  25:22
255 237   04/11/2017 Vandeleur Ireland Ireland  23:56
256 238   11/11/2017 Lees Road Ireland  Ireland  27:15
257 239   18/11/2017 Leamington West Midlands England 28:12
258 240   09/12/2017 Blandford South West England England 29:01
259 241   16/12/2017 Westmill East Of England England  28:20
260 242   23/12/2017 Coventry West Midlands England 28:14
261 243   25/12/2017 Whiteley South East England England 24:43
262 244   30/12/2017 Wolverhampton West Midlands England 35:42
263 245   01/01/2018 Linford Wood South East England  England 34:24
264 246   01/01/2018 Houghton Hall East Of England England 36:12
265 247   13/01/2018 Shepton Mallet South West England England 31:52
266 248   20/01/2018 Renton Washington State USA 24:09
267 249   27/01/2018 Castle Park East of England England 26:22
268 250   03/02/2018 Durham North Carolina USA 24:29
269 251   10/02/2018 Lymington Woodside South East England  England  28:27
270 252   17/02/2018 Maldon Prom South East England  England  24:58
271 253   24/02/2018 Daventry East Midlands England 27:10
272 254   10/03/2018 Brandon Country Park East Of England England 27:54
273 255   17/03/2018 Kesgrave East Of England England 27:31
274 256   24/03/2018 Letchworth East Of England England 28:02
275 257   31/03/2018 Clapham Common Greater London England 28:43