Different Sport, Different Goals

Hi, I'm Sabby -

:wave:

I'm 37 and female. 5'4", ~145lbs.

Long ago, when I was in my early 20s, I was into muscle building and then spent a while, after having kids, doing nothing. But 5 years ago I got into running for general fitness and somehow turned into an ultrarunner.


It's pretty cool to be middle-aged and know I can wake up tomorrow and go run 35 miles. And only be a little sore. And you'd never think it to look at me. I don't look like a runner...too short and stocky. I've got naturally big legs.

In fact, this is me sandboarding on the dunes of the Namib desert last October (I haven't changed):

In the black long sleeves because it's the desert and the morning was cold.


But then, it's the desert, so it warmed up and I took of the long sleeve. The tank says "In my dreams I am a Kenyan". I bought it at the Country Music Marathon Expo in 2010.


Here's my finishing photo at half-marathon I did a while back (the only change is I now have short hair):


Lastly, here's a real low quality photo of my arm...I took it as part of a challenge from someone on my personal blog. I'm just posting it to show I have a decent level of natural muscularity, despite no strength training. Every now and then I get on a pushup kick and get up to doing 50 in a row. Then I get bored and stop for a while.

I don't really like "working out". I like to run long distances and participate in athletic activities (like sandboarding!). But, having said that, I run 40-50 miles/week in the offseason and close to 100 miles/week during prime time (training starts after the New Year!).



So, how did I get here?

:weight:


Well, I have trouble shedding bodyfat. I'm severely hypothyroid. I take 112mcg Synthroid and 60*4mg Armour dessicated thyroid. I also have slightly high testosterone. Just enough to mess with my reproductive cycle and give me problems with facial hair (yeah, sexy). I take 100mg*2 spironolactone to bind it up.

These endocrine problems I have are why I think I can't get down to 130lbs. I have a clean diet. It's not low carb because an endurance athlete can't perform on low carb. But it's high quality carbs, and I still probably get in equal grams carbs and protein.

Anyway, I'm about ready to get pharmacological on myself because I don't think my level of physical activity and diet are going to cut it.

I've been reading about something called GW1516. It's available at VL but it's $80 for 150mg. From what I've read that's a day's dose!

So...any suggestions? No steroids. I got enough endocrine issues and I think if I mess with that I'll piss it off even more.

Thanks, in advance!


*Edit - thread title should really read "Different Sport, Not so Different Goals"

welcome to mc first of all and u look great in pics keep pushing and as far as all ur questions i'll bump this up for our other guys!!!

Please don't take this the wrong way, but this is in now way a Steroid forum. We are suimply here to help answer questions and give the best info we can regardles of the quetion. That being said, What your diet look like? How much cardio are you doing per day/week? We really need to know this before giving any solid advice. Calorie, carb, fat and protien intake are crucial to weight gain and loss....

Welcome, Sabby. There are several personal trainers on here, so they should be able to give you some advice.

Hey, guys,

First off, thanks for responding!

@Zues - I apologize, I didn't mean to imply this was a steroid board. But I am not a prude and I have no qualms about using meds. After perusing some threads here I did see where some chemicals are being used that are "not for human consumption" which is what it is. Again, I have no problem with that. In fact, just the opposite. I think it's a joke the way we insist on elite athletes being clean and testing them when what's really going on is they're using these substances and they just know how to pass the tests.

That being said, my diet is very clean (well, not right now, due to the holidays. I've been baking up a storm. But it's not out of control.). I eat a lot of veggies and lean protein and get my carbs from good sources - grains, veggies, legumes.

As for cardio - that's all I do. I run 30-50 miles a week. This translates to 3-5 hours a week of higher-intensity cardio. If it can be assumed that a 145lb woman burns at least 100 calories per mile run (AT LEAST) then that's 3000 - 5000 calories a week burned due to cardio.

So, it just doesn't make sense that when I scale back my calories a bit I don't start dropping weight. My metabolism just sucks due to the aforementioned endocrine problems (I've had them since my early 20s).

Thanks, again, guys, for the welcome!

Welcome to MC sabby. Personally I'm a huge advocate of women hitting the weight room. I'm not talking about turning them into bodybuilders or brutes of any kind, but just simply putting some decent muscle on while keeping feminine. Muscle burns fat period, I know you said ur not a huge fan of working out, but I think you would greatly benefit from a decent 3 -4 day a week weight lifting regimen?

In any case welcome to MuscleChemistry and I hope you find what your looking for.

Welcome to the board, thats a crazy amount of running you do, congrats!

This is something you may not want to hear, but the problem is, all that damn running. Just because you do some short of "cardio" doesnt mean you burn fat in the process. Remember cardio means heart, not fat burning.

Welcome to the MC.. But I think you need to up your cardio a little more.. A 100 miles a week that just not going to cut it here.. J/k

Shit I wish u could run a half mile.. lol

You are probably hypothyroidal. If so T4 (synthroid) isn't going to cut it. You should get your free (T3) levels checked and likely take cytomel.

a goal is a goal in my eyes. i do not judge in a sense that a goal does not hinder someone elses. that being said i have respect for all types of fitness and i myself would more than likely run a mile and collapse, this is where my respect stems. but if you truely are trying to trim weight i think you should listen to presser on his idea. maybe lifting a little weight is not a bad idea. "a body in motion tends to stay in motion" its why a lot of when we leave the gym have to throw back 80 grams of simple carbs to stop from being catabolic long after we have left the gym. there is a common misconception that just going in and lifting weights would changes a womans apperance from petite to bulky and unattractive. this would be wrong in your case. since your on a caloric deficit anyways your body cannot grow.... just food for thought.

Lightsout said:

Welcome to the MC.. But I think you need to up your cardio a little more.. A 100 miles a week that just not going to cut it here.. J/k

Shit I wish u could run a half mile.. lol

Click to expand...

I'm with you. I couldn't run half a mile without dropping.

I'd have to agree with what nuk nuk said. Even though you do plenty of cardio, cardio is often over-done. Yes, in theory, more cardio equals more weight loss, but there's a point where that is not the case. If it was, you'd see Michael Phelps weighing under 100 pounds with all the swimming he does. So I'd say if you wanted to lose weight, scaling back on the running and switching it up rather frequently will prove far more productive

i'm with 'the dude'. a consultation with an endocrinologist may benefit you. with all that exercise, if you drop your calories the fat should come off. i'd be willing to bet some adjustments need to be made to your current medications...

Hey, guys, sorry for the absence...the holidays, you know?

First, I want to sincerely thank you all for responding and offering up your advice. I highly appreciate all of it.

Second, I think need to mention that my running isn't done for fitness reasons. It's my sport. I am not competitive, in the sense that I am looking to win or place (because that's just not going to happen as I don't have the genetic potential to be truly elite). But I am competitive in that I like to improve my own performance and beat myself in the same race (ie, finishing the GA marathon in 4 hours one year and then in 3:50 the next).

So, while I agree I probably need to find time to include more resistance training...because that's just healthy for you...I am not going to back off my running training...because that's NOT how you improve your time. We all know about specificity of training - you want to improve in X then you have to practice X.

Additionally, weight loss, for me, will improve my time because it's estimated you drop 1-2 seconds/mile for each pound you drop. That's an improvement of 8 minutes in your marathon time for a 10lb loss. That's a major "gain".

In my case, you can't think of my running as "cardio". Running is my performance sport. It's my endgame.

So, what I'm saying is...I won't/can't back off my training for running. I CAN/SHOULD make time for resistance training.

But, honestly, basic human physiology dictates that the amount of plain old generic exercise I do matched up with my diet should equal a lighter weight.

However, in MY case, I have a diagnosed slow thyroid. I've dealt with it for 14 years. And I don't think traditional treatment actually normalizes your metabolism. Additionally, I think if you're an endurance athlete like me then you need special treatment (thyroid issues in endurance athletes are well documented).

I think the advice of scoring some T3 (which my doctor won't Rx) might be the way to go. It's just hard to find a reputable source.

And, if there are any other "supplements" that assist with metabolism, I'd love to hear about them so I can research them.

Happy New Year, y'all! And thanks, again.

Sabby

Maybe try some cyto burn from cyber supplements. See where it takes you and go from there