AM I losing weight or valuable training muscle

It depends, have you get a body composition test done to estimate your body fat %? That way you can track if you are losing fat, lean muscle or both. That said, when you are near competition it becomes tricky to lose weight while at the same time you push your body hard to produce training adaptations and grow fitter. You are constantly pounding it and you need optimal fuel so you can recover, enhance training gains, etc.

I don't know anything about your training but if you are close to your race focus on matching your caloric needs (and carbs to protein to fat consumption ratio) so you don't gain weight, but you still can have the energy to tackle training and when you complete your main event, get back to focusing on losing weight when you won't be pushing your body as hard and can afford running on a calorie deficit.

PS. the way to adapt your body to oxidize more fat for fuel is through manipulating your training load to improve metabolic fitness and stressing it via different intensities and duration. You can't 'force' your body to burn more fat without adequate training load and nutrition; remember the saying:"your body will burn fat on a carbohydrate flame".

Awesome job so far!!! Keep it up. You probably don't need to replace anything other than electrolytes. My advice is to keep doing what you're doing (and step up the intensity as you build fitness), but carefully monitor your diet.

I have a lot of friends who started running, or doing elliptical, or some other form of cardio to lose weight. But most people replace calories burned with sports drinks or other highly touted "recovery" brews/smoothies. Figure out what you need to maintain your current weight, and eat that (or less) while doing an hour of cardio a day. You'll lose weight at a sustainable pace.

In my experience, you won't need gels or even basic electrolyte brews until you're working out intensely for closer to 1.5 or two hours. And for triathlon, you should adopt a "less is more" philosophy for eating/drinking before and during the race. Just focus on eating (mostly) healthy foods and training.

Order of importance:

1) How you FEEL.

2) How you LOOK.

3) What the scale says.

Eliminate 3 entirely or only check occasionally.  You can lose fat and never see it on the scale as muscle takes its place.  If you feel good and perhaps clothes start getting looser, do you really need to check the scale?  I check mine, but it only concerns me if it changes dramatically one way or the other and STAYS changed. 

Fitness != weight.

-eric

Wow! Thanks everyone! I wish I could find a Tri coach in my area. But, as far as I know, there are none (in South Central PA). I work very well with instruction.
I suspect I am losing both fat and muscle (which I am cool with----could stand to lose about 20 pounds of that). I also was only getting carbs from 1/3 Cup oatmeal in the AM with my egg whites. The rest of my carbs were fibrous....
I will try tweeking some things and get with my nutritionist again. My Sprint Triathlon is in 7 weeks!

Thanks again and wish me luck!

-Angel

I would contact this guy, who runs the harrisburg triathlon  [email protected]

Edited by pga_mike 2010-08-06 7:23 AM

As someone who battles the weight fight I'll chime in.  Make sure the calories you're getting are quality calories that your body can use to fuel your training.  When I eat cleaner I have far more energy.  Understand that at times as build fitness your body may focus on building muscle strength and you may not see the weight loss you're hoping for.  I've been training hard for the last 6 months and barely saw movement on the scale but saw some change in how clothes fit.  All of the sudden in the last 2 weeks weight has dropped off (4lbs so far) so apparently my body broke through something. 

Your workouts aren't really long enough to need additional calories but you may feel better if you adjust the type and timing of the calories you're taking in.  My day looks like this.  Breakfast 2 eggs, spinach and 1/2 unsweetened coconut milk.  Morning snack yogurt.  Lunch about 400-500 calories with protein and carbs.  Afternoon snack apple with peanut butter.  Run after work 3 days per week.  Dinner 500-800 calories.  I would like to adjust some of those dinner calories to earlier in the day but I'm an evening snacker so I allow for more calories through my dinner which stretches the evening. 

If you shoot me an email to [email protected] I will help you find a coach near your area. I am part of a big network of coaches and I am sure we can find someone experienced and knowledgeable with thorough understanding of physiology, nutrition, training concepts, etc. (something that is becoming less common) that could fit your needs

I have very much been in your shoes.  I've been as big as 260. I was 230 in March when I first caught the triathlon bug and I was lifting for power instead of athleticism.

 If what you're looking for is to keep muscle and loose fat I would consider a diet balanced in carbs and protein and low in fat.  Take the majority of your carbs in with the meals surrounding your workouts.  This should fuel you for your workout and then replace carb stores afterward.  Big label "endurance" drinks are filled with sugar for carbs.  Stay away unless on a very long workout in duration.  I'd stick to bcaa/eaa products for intra workout needs.  These also aid in recovery.  Google products like Purple Wraath from Controlled Labs or RecoverPro from Anabolic Innovations.  In the off season you may want to look at some lower carb diets designed for athletes, not the ones designed for couch potatoes. 

Good luck with your tri. 

Thanks so much everyone!! You are very supportive. I value the advice. And, thanks for reminding me to ignore the scale. (I'll try to rely on my tape measure-----I have lost 6 inches from my waist since February, which is pretty cool). Also, I may contact some coaches. But, financially may need to wait until I get a few years into this.  

Thanks!! 

Angel