 |
[RC] Weight Loss--Long - Bruce Weary DCI'll take another crack at this topic, as it is confusing and frustrating for many, and reappears here on RC frequently.Weight loss is a touchy subject largely because it frustrates on multiple levels. Most of us, even the most mature and self-assured, still derive some degree of self-esteem from our appearance. Excess weight threatens our appearance, and thus our self-esteem and feeling of attractiveness, desirability or just plain normalcy. Thank you, Vogue magazine and Victoria's Secret. Secondly, excess weight robs us of our health, longevity, energy and the ability to do many of the things we enjoy--it threatens our very quality of life. In addition, it makes us feel as if we are not in control of our bodies--that no matter how hard we often try, the results are many times disappointing, and we again face the frustrations and dangers listed above. What to do? Jon and Beverly, please feel free to correct my imperfect reasoning as it occurs here. We have to change our understanding, and thus our goals and strategies if we are to be successful in healthy, meaningful weight loss. If a friend called you and said "Hurry over to Wal-Mart! They're having a sale, and today only, you can buy 15 lbs for only $10.00!" What would your first question be? Probably, "Fifteen pounds of what?" So when we talk about weight loss we need to know exactly what we are losing or gaining when we step on that dreaded scale. Jon is right that if you lose a few pounds on a ride, it's 95% water, not fat. That's why it comes back on again so quickly. Remember that when we are "burning calories," we aren't burning only fat. We are using glycogen and some protein as well. A pound of fat contains about 3,600 calories of potential energy. Riding a bicycle and pedaling constantly for an hour will burn about 300 calories. You might think "Great. I'll just pedal for 9 hours and I'll lose a pound." Not so fast. The 300 calories isn't entirely in the form of fat, and don't forget the calories we put back in when our appetite is stimulated by the exercise. Oops. Most of us are simply not engaged in aerobic exercise often enough or long enough to cause the weight loss we desire. That has to change, and is largely independent of your metabolic rate. Our RESTING metabolism may change with age, menopause and other factors, but it's not during our RESTING metabolism where body fat reserves are burned. It is during sustained aerobic exercise. Remember as kids we would walk, run or ride our bikes everywhere we went? Now, as adults, how many of us drive a car to work, have a largely sedentary job, watch a few hours of TV at night, and then lie in bed for eight hours? That's a lot of sedentary time that must be offset with sustained, frequent aerobic activity and not cancelled out by inadvertantly taking in too many calories. My experience has been that many of us are either in denial or honestly have amnesia about everything we eat. Do we have chips and cookies of any kind in the pantry? When we refer a friend to our favorite restaurant, what type of food do they serve? Is there chocolate anywhere in the house? Do we nibble at the movie theatre or while watching TV? We can very easily take in hundreds, even thousands of calories almost without noticing, and offset days and weeks of earnest exercise, defeating our strategy and compounding our frustration. There is some evidence that moderate weight lifting may help in burning fat. Notice I said "burning fat," not "weight loss." Since muscle is heavier than fat, people who weight train often gain weight, even though they have low fat reserves. Most people, especially women, have a number burned into their psyche, that represents to them what their optimum, perfect, desired weight should be. There is endless frustration associated with NOT being at this "target" weight. Much of the time, this number is arrived at through flimsy reasoning, and may not be optimal. Especially, if we lift weights and build more muscle tissue. We have to forget about that cherished number, and instead shoot for a fit body that looks good, and screw the numbers. Muscle tissue is our "furnace" where fat is burned. We can increase or decrease our muscle mass by exercise or being idle. If we go on a starvation diet, and lose, say, five pounds in a week, it will be mostly water and some protein from our muscle reserves. Now we have a smaller "furnace" due to the loss of muscle, and equal or perhaps greater fat reserves to burn off. This is why "cyclic dieters" find it increasingly difficult to lose weight with each attempt. Their furnace gets smaller, and the "pile of logs" (fat) gets bigger, and so the losing battle goes on. So, we have to get control of our eating, and exercise more frequently at an aerobic level. There is an excellent home exercise video series that Dayna and I use to prepare for Tevis, called "Slim in 6" and it's on a website called Beachbody.com. It's user friendly, graduated, and you're not sore after the workouts. They include a list of foods you can eat (not a diet), and you can do it in the privacy of your own home. If you follow the program, you will be in the best shape of your life. So, to sum up, eat the right foods more frequently, engage in more sustained aerobic exercise, smile more, laugh more, and go rent a good horsey movie tonight. Dr Q, world renowned weight loss expert. (Now can I have my cookie?) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|