2000 Page Views, Gaining Weight on Whey Protein, Winter Running Update (and the tale of two friends)

Hello everyone!  Thanks for reading my blog!


2000 Page Views
As of sometime yesterday, my tiny little blog eclipsed 2000 page views since its inception last spring.  I am not a high traffic blog, so I am grateful for the followers that I do have.  Sometimes this stuff can seem a little random, but as an active runner, and somewhat new to this stuff, I am constantly running into new issues or areas of interest - and then I pass them on here.

Gaining weight on Whey Protien
I have been "running my butt off"  like the Runner's World Challenge to run every day between Thanksgiving and New Years Day, and for some reason (???) I have been continually gaining weight.  I step on the scale and see a little nudge upward every month, and I have to say it is disheartening, puzzling, and simply not good for a guys knees. 

This week I did some research on a supplement that I have been taking, and which I thought to be pretty common among folks who train a lot and want to recover quickly - Whey Protein.  So I did some thinking, and some research, and came to the conclusion that my weight gain issues may be related to Calories - and the fact that I am putting too many calories in my body, even though I am doing my daily runs.

So I checked the labeling.  My Whey Protein has about 115 Calories per scoop, and I take between a half and a whole scoop per shake, milk has about 90 Calories per Cup, and I am sure I do two cups per shake, then there's my little secret (that makes it actually taste good) Carnation Instant Breakfast (now called "Breakfast Essentials") which contains about 130 Calories per serving, plus lots of sugar. 

So, my estimate is that the shake is a) probably pretty healthy with the exception of all that yummy sugar, and b) adding between 300 and 400 Calories to my diet that I am not taking back out someplace else!  My real world analogy to this is going to McDonalds for what they call a "meal".  The food alone constitutes adequate nutrition (OK - maybe more Calories than you need) with protien, carbs, etc. - but then you ADD a large Coke, and way overshoot on Calories!  That's how I am thinking about the Protein Shakes. 

If it turns out that taking out the shakes helps, I will certainly let you know.  And for today, it looks like I am stuck getting all my nutrition from foods (sarcasm!).  Not a crisis, just a shopping challenge.

Winter Running Update (the tale of two friends)
Interesting coincidence in my last post.  I had two good friends of mine reply to the same question about dealing with slippery conditions during winter running, and the idea of putting Yak Tracks on your feet to help with running.  I won't go into the details here because that isn't what matters.  What really matters at the two of my friends, Carmen and Joy, both replied to my question ... and they don't know each other and have never met .... and Carmen is experienced with the first stages of becoming a Triathlete ... and Joy is planner her first Triathlon in the coming season!  Now I just need to play "matchmaker" with these two.  Below is a link to Joy's blog.  It's a great journal of of the trials of preparing for a first tri.  Good luck Joy!

http://joyschmitzjourney.blogspot.com/2012/12/she-learns-why-people-love-to-run.html?spref=fb


Hey everyone - thanks for reading my blog!
Stu