Thread: Attempting the impossible?

Originally Posted by komosky

Ok, so first off i'll start with my stats:
5'8" 22 years old 203 lbs, I am overweight although i can hide it well lol.

Now here's the idea:
My ultimate goal is to Compete and Run in the Manitoba Marathon June of 2010, fair distance away so its easily possible however, i want to finish in the top 20 at least, while in high school i played provincial soccer, skateboarded, and did track, and even got up to level 13 on the beep test so i was peak physical shape, since focusing on work and career i've had to push those extra curricular activities aside ultimately leaving me where i am now.

Now i've got a general idea of how i'm going to do this, first thing first Cutting out all forms of caffeine ie. Pop, coffee, cappuccinos (will be hard), etc. and replacing it with water and earl grey tea, then replacing sugar with sweeteners ie. Splenda. As well as drinking some more Orange juice for the Vitamin C.
What's wrong with caffeine? Maybe the pop and sugary drink is a good idea but coffee never hurts, and could provide vital energy. As for the orange juice, it contains alot of hidden calories and of the bad kind. Get a vitamin C, or even better, multivitamin supplement instead or eat real fruit. As for splenda, I would use it minimally. Try cut out as much total sugar as a sweetener as you can.

Now with the drinks covered comes the meals, and i've figured 6 meals a day every 3 hours starting from 6am (6am > 9am > 12pm > 3pm > 6pm > 9pm) sleep at 12 (read a study where 6 hours of sleep is the best sleep you can have because of REM sleep) and then portioning the meals out equally, i was thinking of 9am and 3pm "snacks" being tuna and a fruit (not mixed duh) for the extra protein ill need while working out. and this is just a general idea of a meal plan.
If you're going to be working out and be on a caloric deficit, then 6 hours is not adequate. I would suggest something closer to 8-9 hours if possible. It's not the meal frequency that counts, but the actual foods that you'd be consuming and in what proportions. What would your macronutrient breakdown be?

As far as the workout schedule goes, i'll be going off Tony Horton's P90 Workout, 'im sure most of you know the infomercials on tv, workout at home with weights, chin up bars, etc. and it's 90 days, after the first 90 days i'll move onto the P90x version which is more intense and another 90 day, since my ultimate goal is to finish and rank top in a marathon obviously cardio will need to be addressed, now i've heard mixed things about this, whether it be you need 30 mins of cardio daily, or you should do 2 hours of cardio a week, but i will be hitting up the treadmill until i can confidently jog outside for 30 mins straight lol, and after winter
If you're going to be running a marathon, you want to do less volume working on strength and more actually running. You're going to be running for hours in a marathon, how do you expect p90x and running for 30 mins to help you get fit for it? You need to train for your goals, not train to what someone said. You'll be running 2 hours in one day, not in a week. Maybe you should rethink your schedule and incorporate circuit training, interval training, HIIT and long distance runs, because this is one of the longest running events. You need the aerobic fitness, not strength.

Now i've never had to workout a nutrition guide or address any of this exercise and eating in the past because it was naturally part of my lifestyle. But now i do need some help getting started on this, Comments and Critique on what i should do is greatly appreciated.
FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal and read the getting started stickies

FYI stage 1 would be to drop 20+ lbs by February

If you wanna drop 20lbs by feb you should get cracking and come up with a good diet.

I think you need a more realistic goal.

Not being a killjoy, but you have less than a year to get into insane shape (top 20 out of over 10,000 people is no mean feat - elite athletes will likely run in these things). The winning time for 2009 was about 3 hours also, these events are brutally hard. Perhaps training just to run and finish in whatever place would be a better goal.

20 lbs by feb should be easy with the right diet and workout routine, as far as finishing top 20 in the marathon, my willpower and stamina are amazingly well, if im confident enough i may even do it with a 50lb military bag on my back, but the position wouldn't matter.

Well even if you aim high and don't achieve it, you'll still be further than aiming low and getting it. Maybe aim for a top 200 finish in 2 years or something.

Today is the official day 1 of the diet and working out, i'll have a blog up within the next day or 2 and i will be taking weekly progress pictures as well, and i'll do my best to make a post daily.