I recently picked up Matt Fitzgerald's book - Racing Weight & I think it's really solid. I like that it approaches weight loss from an athlete's perspective and it focuses on how to fuel your workouts while losing weight. I'd recommend it, for sure.

Thanks, that's great. Just checking it out now!

search "desert dude diet" on the main forum

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

Why would you want to be as lean as possible BEFORE starting IM training? If you already eat healthy, and workout and are not losing weight, don't you think that your body is telling you something?
Being super lean for most women is just not natural. Some women manage to, simply because it's their natural weight/shape. Others need a bit more weight. Nothing wrong with that.

You sound rather like my boyfriend who insists on telling me i'm "perfect as i am" which, quite frankly, i just don't believe, nice as that is.

I want to be as lean i can make myself and know that i am in the best condition possible after my base training. I know everyone has their more "natural" weight but the simple truth is anyone can lose more weight if they want to, you just have to focus hard and sacrifice - which i don't mind doing. I just can't seem to find the method that works for me at the moment, despite a lot of exercise and a strict diet. I just wanted to see if anyone on this forum could give me some advice/support.

most people can't sustain their leanest state for more than a few weeks at a time. wouldn't you want that peak of body composition to come when it will actually aid you - in a race, where power-to-weight ratio is most crucial?

if you're searching for the best way for you to lean down, though, you could try:

a) changing the ratio of macronutrients (try 60/20/20, 50/30/20, 40/30/30, or whatever else you like of CHO/fat/protein)

b) change the timing of your macronutrient intake (CHO in a.m. only, protein and fat in p.m.)

c) calorie cycle. for a baseline intake of 2,500cal/day, eat 3,000 one day, 2,000 the next, then 2,500 the day after, and keep mixing it up.

all of the above have been known to break plateaus. even just having one "cheat" day can help stoke the fat loss fire - go out to a restaurant and order everything you've been wanting to eat, but not allowing yourself. do not bring home leftovers that will tempt you to turn one day into 3, but on that one day, anything goes.

edit: also make sure you're eating enough (or you'll hang onto every calorie), and getting enough healthy fats (without which you won't be able to lose fat, but you'll lose hair and skin tone).

cheers!

-mistress k

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ill advised racing inc.

Thanks that is very helpful, am actually about to give zig-zagging my calorie intake a try and appreciate your other ideas too. Will see how i get on. Think my body is just so used to doing so much exercise on so little calories that it's adapted pretty well. Defo need to make some kind of change/s.

I will now carefully ignore this thread...

this makes it sound like i was right - when i hear the words "strict diet" from a female, that almost always means "gee, i can't understand why i'm not losing weight - i only eat 2 carrots and a big bowl of fresh air a day".

you have to eat to lose weight. use something to track your caloric intake - even at 5'4", you should not be eating less than 1,200cal/day.

cheers!

-mistress k

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ill advised racing inc.

No don't worry i'm not that stupid! I eat 3 healthy meals a day, just that i don't eat many carbs at all, even in full IM training (just in the morning when i have oats for breakfast) and i eat approx 1400 cals per day which is my BMR. I don't ever account for any exercise that i do though with my diet so i would never eat more than that even when i was training for IMC last year.

The only thing I worry about is that not being at your goal weight is shattering your self confidence and making you really unhappy with how you look (I think I'm properly paraphrasing). Not that I don't think you should try to be at your optimum weight - I can't say what that is - but that you potentially have your self-esteem wrapped up in that. I know this is off-topic so I'll shut up but it was what stuck out for me.

Hard to explain how miserable i feel now (not because of your comment Teags, but because of how i perceive myself). My confidence is quite low at the moment i guess and everything always links back to my weight and how i feel when i look in the mirror. If i'm truly honest with you guys i've always been quite on the brink of suffering from an eating disorder, got quite scarily thin once (7 stone) as opposed to my usual 8.5 and i always want to get back to that moment, even if back then i wanted to be even thinner than i was. Mostly i know it's stupid but that doesn't seem to matter. Sorry, i have now gone completely off subject :(

not healthy. no wonder you can't lose weight - your net caloric intake on big training days is probably in negative numbers, crippling your metabolism.

calories in - calories burned = net calories. your NET should never be below your BMR for healthy weight loss. go ahead, google it..

cheers!

-mistress k

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ill advised racing inc.

Well I'm sure it's something that you could always talk about here. People are really good about ED-related stuff.

I'm sorry your confidence is low and that you're struggling. I tend to the opposite end of the spectrum from you but I know it's hard, especially from an emotional/confidence perspective.

Is this something that you could benefit from being in therapy about? I'm just thinking it might allow you to work through some of those feelings and address what's going on. I do therapy (not always eating-specific) and find it quite helpful.

Not what you want to hear, and of course I don't know your whole siauation, but, the best weight loss advice might end up being:
1. see a therapist for your eating disorder/self-esteem
2. eat more
3. get a coach and train more efficiently


=race faster be healthy be happy

i had a coach last year for IMC, am considering a nutritionist this time round, which i think will be quite helpful. Anyone ever used one to good effect?

Beth Shutt (http://www.bethshutt.com) 100% the best money you could spend.

And, with all due respect, you should probably consider some additional counseling while you're at it. You're well beyond needing *just* nutritional help.

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I know I'm promiscuous, but in a classy way

Can you afford both? I would go for it if you can! Life changing experience for me (having a coach). We often get stuck in ruts and do the same things day in and day out. With a good coach, you will rethink training cycles, abandon your weird (and often hurtful) stigmas about training and get into a rhythm that works for your body.

For example, I never used to take a day completely off. Even if it was just a 30 min run or swim, I felt I was going to get slower and be bored if I didn't do at least SOMETHING every day. My coach had me take one day completely off each week and at first it drove me nuts. Then, my body started to "know" when the rest day was coming (Fridays), and I swear I recovered faster. Then, I just killed it on my weekend workouts, getting stronger, faster, burning more calories, etc.

Good luck I think that if you surround yourself with an army of good people- coach, therapist, nutritionist (ha! maybe you can find one to do all three!), friends, training buddies, etc. you'll have a killer season and a great time

Thanks guys, appreciate the support and suggestions.

D, i'm in London, UK so think your nutritionist suggestion might be too far away... will check it out anyway.

x2 and coming, on my end, from an 8yr fight with a clinical eating disorder.

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

A very effective way to lose weight is to ‘bundle up’ when doing your indoor bike trainer or treadmill runs. By ‘bundle up’ I mean: you are wearing 2-3 long sleeve t-shirts, a long sleeve sweat shirt/hoodie and sweat pants……and go!! For best results, no fan or AC. After 60-90 minutes, you will be completely drenched. Try this 4-5 times per week and you will lose some serious weight. Some people will say ‘it’s just water weight” which is fine, water retention makes one look bloated and gets in the way of you having that ripped look you might be after. Also, workouts like this burn way more fat than if your were running/cycling in tank top and shorts with a fan blowing on you. I believe doing sessions bundled up is good for an increase of at least 25% organic fat-loss vs not doing it. It takes some getting used to, and you’ll find yourself doing laundry much more often but if you really want to lose weight, you have to sweat. Why not increase the sweat rate?Good luck

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**All of these words finding themselves together were greatly astonished and delighted for assuredly, they had never met before**

Care to explain the physiology behind that?

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

I’ll try!! (Keep in mind, I am not a Tri-Guru, but I play one on the internet)

I think the ‘bundling up’ workout creates a huge increase in amount of heat one is generating: Hence the excess sweat. I also think that heat goes deeper than between the surface of ones skin and the fabric covering the skin.……creating a sort of 'thermogenic effect' that causes accelerated fat loss. Also, one is creating their own little tropical environment in there and this might help with heat acclimatization. If you tried it, your very first time, you might not be able to tolerate more that 20-30 minutes but the more you do it, the more you adapt, the longer you go and the more weight you lose. I know it works for me and for other athletes I have recommended it to. But like any other training protocol, people are either responders or non-responders because we each have our own unique physiology.

‘Bundling up’ workouts are effective for me. I can tell by looking in the mirror and looking at the scale. This is my experience and that of others. However, I don’t think it would hurt anyone to give it a try for at least 30 days…..unless you don’t like doing laundry 3 times per weekJ

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**All of these words finding themselves together were greatly astonished and delighted for assuredly, they had never met before**

The percentage of fat and carbohydrate burned during exercise is intensity dependent.

You have said that this weight loss method is water weight loss and that is true. When one becomes dehydrated, weight drops, and you may look leaner. However, rehydration - essential for future workouts, not to mention general health - is just going to put it back on. Chronic weight loss from that method = chronic dehydration.

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD