DINNER OF CHAMPIONS
Pictured is a meal that we’ve enjoyed at least once a day for almost the last 6 months. During that time we’ve lost 34 pounds and our running has increased from about 9 miles per week to 25 miles per week.
We are not sure but perhaps we are training for a marathon in May. During that time we’ve always tried to balance weight loss against increasing our mileage. In the past we’ve always found that once we get above about 15 or 18 miles per week, caloric restrictions start to increase the risk of injury, especially from pulled muscles. [We’ve lined up for 5 marathons in our life and finished 4, the last one being in 2019.) We’re talking here about a 68 + year old runner.]
In any event, we started at a whopping 272 pounds in July. We now sit at 238. We weighed somewhere around 203 pounds when we last ran a marathon, and in fact this time around a big problem we have faced is that the weight, while it has come off, has not come off fast enough for us to realistically run a marathon in May. But we haven’t given up the ship just yet.
Anyway back to the picture.
That’s about 4 oz of very lean sliced Turkey breast. It’s 3.75 oz of canned Sardines (we love the ones in Louisiana Hot Sauce the sardines come in). It’s also a half can of black beans, a half can of green beans all over a bed of spinach, kale, greens (perhaps aragula). And some horseradish dark mustard, salt and pepper.
Really it tastes just awesome. And we calculate it’s just a few calories over 500 calories, with plenty of protein, a manageable number of carbs (after all we need a few for running) and lots of healthy green veggies packed with vitamins and minerals.
The green beans don’t add much nutritional value and frankly we use a half can of that instead of a full can of black beans (which we love) because the black beans have a hefty 450 calories per can. So that’s why we use only use a half can of black beans instead of a full one. Once our mileage creeps up a bid maybe we’ll use a full can.
We microwave it for somewhere between 1:30 minutes and 2 minutes. The veggies make give it a nice moist texture.
Our diet right now has us restricting our caloric intake to 2200 calories per day give or take a few.
We do allow ourselves the luxury of consuming about 300 calories extra on days when we run more than 4 miles- which right now is 3 times per week.
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© Copyright, David Dixon Lentz, 2022 All Rights Reserved.
Articles and videos relating to health and fitness can often be found on our blog pages. Readers may want to check one of our many blog posts.
The first installment (found on this page) is about the 2019 Pittsburgh Marathon. In his mid-60s, Dave Lentz goes back to the Burgh (his childhood home) to see if he can run 26.2 miles. Will he make it?
Regardless of whether he finishes or no Mr. Lentz provides a comprehensive analysis of both the course and the race itself and discusses his training, diet and race gear.
Update:
Well its 2022. Our hero has been training for 5 months. Has lost 30 lbs and is up to 25 miles per week running 6 days per week.
Unfortunately, he’s now 68 plus years old and is still, despite all of the running etc (and don’t ask us about speed) he’s still anywhere betweeen 34 and 51 pounds overweight, depending on when you ask him and whatever weight he thinks is the max in order for him to finish the 2023 Pittsburgh Marathon. In short, with a little over 4.5 months of training time left its not looking good. Four and one half months would probably be plenty of time for a runner in their 20s or 30s who was not THAT MUCH overweight, but ………
Anyway, still we have to acknowledge the fact that over 30 pounds has been lost (not to mention a few pant sizes) in the last 5 months. How was it done? Basically, keeping caloric intake down to less than 2200 calories per day 5 days a week. Feasting at about 3800 calories or so one day and then fasting the seventh day (allowing for less than 500 calories in miscellaneous calories such as in chewing gum, cough drops, maybe some cream in the coffee etc).
In large measure the foregoing diet consisted of extensive use of what we call the “dinner of champions”. Namely, sardines, turkey breast, black beans, green beans, spinach, kale and/or arugula. Horseradish dark mustard, Louisiana Hot Sauce (included in the sardines), salt and pepper. And yes please do eat those tasty sardine spines. After all they have calcium, which all of we senior citizens should take care to consume. If all is done in correct portions it should come out to about 500 calories per serving.