Has anyone bought Chris Carmichael's new book on eating/training? I am hopeful that this will be the answer to optimum fueling to get down the lean-fighting weight. If anyone has taken a look at it I'd love to know your thoughts.

I think I am really not eating enough , I bet I don't get more than 1800 cals on my worst day , maybe more like 1500 . I must be in some slow mode metablization , according to the body weight VS activity tables - calorie intake / website. I should burn 700 -800 cal. on a 10 mile ride , still no steady weight reduction I have the best luck with tuna salad lunch, protein drink in the AM, Grilled fish & steamed zucchini or grilled asparagus Dinners, plus a ton of fiber (better out than in ) . Once a month I get slammed,at old town on margaritas & fish tacos, a few trays of chips & salsa, Hey a mans got to live..... The run might help .

Except for the margaritas that sounds like a very good diet, or a start on one. I drink some wine occasionally because the hard stuff really screws with my blood sugar. I'd live on vodka if it wouldn't kill me. :) Gotta' stay far far away from that stuff.

-Robert

---

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." ~Anne Frank

If I remember the research correctly from my exercise phys days, it shows that people tend to lose more weight when adding high intensity intervals to a fitness program. Keeping your Hr at a certain level to "burn fat' is more a myth. If you run/ride easier a greater % of your calories will come from fat. As you make the exercise more intense a greater % from carbo's. At the duration and intensity your exercising at it matters not where it's coming from. Intensity also increases the amount of calories you burn post workout. Post steady state run you will burn X and post interval run will burn X+Y.
Smaller dinners are smarter. If you can eat the same number of calories but make breakfast the largest meal, dinner the smallest you will not gain as much as someone who eats traditionally.
I can lose about 1kg in a week to 10 days if I switch to a fruit + yogurt dinner schedule. I usually only do this before races though. Hope it helps, feel free to PM w/ any questions.

---

Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

Excellent write up with many great things to follow. Thank you.

Smitty

Plain & Simple. Way to go.......Thanks

Apolack1 wrote********************************************************************

70 mi a week? you should do that in a day (i.e. long rides that long... or longer). Also, throw in more intensity, 17-18 is pretty slow. You push yourself harder and youll lose weight.

*************************************************************

I thought for a road bike on rolling hills with a few stop lights, 17 -18 mph wasn't a bad average , I hit 20 - 26 on the flats for a mile or so, 150 -160 BPM out of a 177 max. I just have to get more miles.

If you have the time, more miles on the bike is a good way to burn those calories. If you don't have the time, running is quicker, simply because you burn more calories per hour when running compared to biking.

---

Quid quid latine dictum sit altum videtur
(That which is said in Latin sounds profound)

Heli -

It's simpliest terms, as mentioned..... Calories In < Calories Out = Weight loss.

However, it's not exactly that simple. My first question to you is what is more important....being a triathlete or losing weight while having a beach body. Also, how old are you and what is the % of body fat?

With that said, you need to control both sides of the above equation.

On the food side, it really sucks. The fact of the matter is that the body can surive on MUCH less than we truly eat as a nation. However, if you deplete your system...it's just as bad, if not worse, than eating too much. I learned how little the body needs when my girlfriend was competively body building. Literally...meals should be 1/2 cup of veggies and 1/2 chicken breast, in general. Cut out the FAT. There is simply no good reason to eat high fat products EVER (minus monosaturated rich nuts)

On the calories OUT side.....it pretty darn tough. Not only do you need to burn calories, but you also need to increase your metabolic engine. Put more wood in the furnace! In your case, you'll need a minimum of 1 hour of heavy cardio a day...perhaps 2 hours to reach your goal. Run, bike...whatever. Do whatever exercise which you can sustain a higher heart rate. For most people, it's biking. Rememer...I said sustained. Running is BY FAR a better bang for the buck, but running 2 hours a day is unrealistic.

The most important change you can make is lifting weights. Lifting weights not only tones areas, but it stimulates muscles growth....which burns much more fat than aerobic exercise. Look at the typical marathon runner and compare them to a sprinter. Who would you rather look like? Hit the weights HARD, do more sprint workouts HARD, and stick to your plan. Your body will begin to burn fat while you sleep as it's repairing your muscles. Eat protein when you make up and right before you go to bed. But, only within your caloric limits.

Lastly, buy a Tanita scale. Not 100% accurate, but will give you a baseline to measure success. Drink LOTS of fluids.

Good luck.

Actually, for just plain weight loss, pure interval training has shown to be fantastic, if you can hack it. Go to www.trainforstrength.com and order his mod1 cds and try to do those 3x a week. They are very intense bodyweight, interval based workouts. Doing sprints, either using a bike, running, or on a versaclimber using the tabata protocol, will not only help lose weight, but it will help you get faster. At the same websight, look under workouts and then select the article called Taku's Intervals. I have plenty of weight to lose, at least another 40lbs. I have dropped about 20lbs already since April. I just started eating in moderation and began training for triathlons. And getting better at triathlons means more to me than losing weight, so the weight loss is a nice side effect for me. I never could lose weight, just to lose weight. I needed a goal. Maybe think about that.

Now if anyone can make my Trek 2120 more comfortable and help me go faster for cheap, I'd be grateful :)

Take care,

John

Most of us haven't a spare 4hrs to bike every day. Given time limitations the best way to both improve and lose weight is intensity and variety. If you are riding at the same effort and same distance week after week you will reach a plateau. Throw in some sprints, hill climbs etc. Try for a long ride once every 3-4 weeks and maybe an off road ride on the weekend. Add some circuit work of 10-15m. of strength exercises a couple of times per week. If you can, try to get a couple of those 3.5 ml. runs in as well. Chip away at it and those lbs. will gradually fall off. Good luck.

run two times a day--a 5k in am and a 5K pm?!

that's not good advice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

this sounds like a recipe for injury!

remember this person needs to ease into running as to not hurt themself. a 5K 3 times a week to start out if plenty!

This may be completely obvious to you but it's not just "eat right" - you should "account" for the calories you take in as fluids as well. Water, black tea and black coffee is all I can think of right now that is not a significant source of calories. However, the glass of orange juice every morning or your afternoon cup of chocolate milk, sports drinks, alcoholic beverages, sodas... I hope you like plain water...

Well I run/walked early in mornings, worked out fine for me. See the page beneth.

---

__________________
http://www.nasvik.se

First off how old are you? If your somewhat aged, your base metabolism is about zero;-). Just turning 40 and not eating alot, I've had to go to pretty high mileage to get the fat off. I've just turned 5,500 biking miles since Jan, simming 45 min 3 times a week and running 5 miles 3 times a week. Since Jan i've lost only 10 lbs. I never skimp for exercise energy but don't eat alot. I wouldn't diet, but do examine if you're taking in a little too much. I also never train with an energy aid if it's less than two hours. If over I drink and eat as I should.

that's intersting. This is something that I'm going to adopt into my training, as all of the gatorade, gu, etc makes me feel like a fat cat after training sessions...thanks for the tip. meow!

you should "account" for the calories you take in as fluids as well.

I do tea in the AM / a pepsi at lunch / a ice tea or 1 beer at dinner or after my afternoon ride water in between. My numbers say I need 3200 calories a day if I ride , I must be at a bit over half of that for my intake.

remember this person needs to ease into running as to not hurt themself. a 5K 3 times a week to start out if plenty

***********************************************************

I am with you buddy, I don't want to blow out my knees , if I do start I will run short jogs to acclimate to the new work out.



Thanks to all that posted great info. ,the scale hasn't droped but I feel better and my climb speed is up 3 mph on the bike , blood pres. & resting pulse better than ever , not that they were bad.

["I also never train with an energy aid if it's less than two hours"]

I'm amazed at how many calories people bring and consume on a 1,2 or 3 hr ride. I've seen people go through 4-5 gels, 2 bottles of sprots drink and a powerbar or two for a 45 mile ride.
They wonder why they can't lose weight?

---

Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

I suggest you dont consume any sheep

Actually, all you need to do is burn more calories than you consume. It doesn't matter how you do it.

One thing I've found that helps is to eat mostly lean protien, fresh fruits and veggies, and stick to brown rice, and whole wheat pasta for starches.

so if it doesn't matter how I do it...would I get fat if just cookies or doughnuts accounted for every calorie I consumed in a day? say, 1800 calories of cookies.

I know that sounds ridiculous and I'm not being a smart cat. what I'm trying to figure out for myself if it's really about calories or if it's about food choices too. when I look back at my food journals it seems that I loose weight when I eat cleaner foods, as opposed to just staying within a proposed calorie limit with not so clean food.

also I wonder how much body type plays a part of it. some people just have a body type that holds on to more fat, and others can't gain. arnold schwartz. spells this out nicely in his old bodybuilding bible book...

endomorph, mesomorph, ectomorph I think the types are...and each one of these body types have specific needs to loose weight.

Endomorphic tends to build muscle quickly but also tends to get heavy and hold onto fat

mesomorph tends to gain muscle and is a solid muscular figure

ectomorph is a long lean figure and generally has long thin muscles--has difficulty gaining muscle or weight.

is anyone familar with this?

im lucky. i can usually eat as much as like whenever i want, whether im training or not and not put on too much weight.

when going into a taper, my body's weight seems to come down automatically even tho im eating basically the same amounts...altho im not doing the rides which require 3 snickers bars, 6 gels, 3 powerades and 2 cans of coke ;)

exercise in the morning is best way to speed up your metabolism. swimming is goodto do first thing.

I am at work at 6:30 AM , I could get 45 minutes of running in. I normally I ride at 3:30 pm and get home to cook up dinner. I may starve off some weight and get into running.