The thing that turns dreams into reality is effort (gym!)

[TheDon]

I'm sure you're familiar with the concept of hitting the wall,

Oh God Yes ! My average training run is only between 50 -60 miles these days and it 's great to be 25 miles from home and start to get 'the knock' as cyclists call it. I tend to carry a banana for that ; what is you opinion of them ?

Also where does protein come in all this ? I use CNP protein bars and was advised by a mate on the British Cycling Performance team to eat one when I get in from a ride. What is your opinion of that ?

Thanks for your previous answer; this has really made me think.

Bananas are great for instant energy, they're one of the highest sugar fruits.

You're probably better off drinking a glucose drink as you go along that will avoid you hitting the wall by keeping you constantly topped up though (and it's cheaper if you make your own too, all they really are are sugar, water, and flavouring).

Protein afterwards will be to avoid muscle loss. Cardio burns muscle, it's an unavoidable fact (and as I said before why no long distance athletes have any major muscle mass) so eating protein afterwards will be to limit this as much as possible.

[tonyh29]

Bananas are great for instant energy, they're one of the highest sugar fruits.

Meh, real champions use jelly beans

Used to watch in amusement all the banana eating competitors at my races , munchin away on a vile food because that's what they were told

I'd be over the finish line with my hand in the sweet bag whilst they were still working out what to do with the banana skin

[mrchnry]

eat better, move around more.

[Dante_Lockhart]

I've only got to look at a cake and I'll gain weight.

Usually because I'm eating a doughnut at the time...

[BOF]

Enjoying TheDon's posts here. Very interesting stuff. Question though. If the sole purpose of someone's exercise or regime is to lose weight and nothing else (the assumption being that there's already plenty of fat in the person already), then is it not better to take whatever diet would ordinarily be recommended and replace as much of the fat in it with protein instead? Now I appreciate that dietary fat in and of itself doesn't necessarily make you fat, but surely the less fat you consume the better; as long as it's not being replaced by carbohydrates? Wouldn't the body then take the fat from it's stores and burn that instead?

[andyh]

cardio vs weights has aleays been interesting to me.

I do loads of cardio 4 to times a week but little or no weights.

I have had this argument with my brother in law, who only does weights.

Serious question:-

Who is considered fitter, someone who can press 100kg or someone who can run 10km in 60 mins ?

[Dante_Lockhart]

For weight loss I found that doing weights helped immensely. I lost more fat doing weights 3 times a week and 1 big cardio session than just doing cardio.

[tonyh29]

Wouldn't the body then take the fat from it's stores and burn that instead?

which is the whole theory behind the Atkins diet , and wildly believed to be flawed * / True * (* delete according to pov)

there would of course be other factors involved but take a look at the various Arctic explorers in early days who get stranded on the ice caps ..they had an abundance of food around them (fish, seals, penguins etc) , but it was pretty much 100% protein ... did they look a bundle of health when rescued ..or did they look half starved and wasted away ?

[BOF]

I was always told that you should always finish a workout with weights. The rationale being that your muscles continue to burn long after you've left the gym whereas cardio stops working as soon as your heartrate returns to normal.

[BOF]

Wouldn't the body then take the fat from it's stores and burn that instead?

which is the whole theory behind the Atkins diet , and wildly believed to be flawed * / True * (* delete according to pov)

there would of course be other factors involved but take a look at the various Arctic explorers in early days who get stranded on the ice caps ..they had an abundance of food around them (fish, seals, penguins etc) , but it was pretty much 100% protein ... did they look a bundle of health when rescued ..or did they look half starved and wasted away ?

Yes but doesn't Atkins say zero carbs? My question isn't asking about absolutes or zeroes, it's only about taking a fundamentally healthy dietary starting point and further reducing the fat content.

[Shillzz]

I do weights 3 times a week, supplemented with a bit of 5-a-side and squash for cardio.

If you're doing weights a good tip is not to over-do it. Don't work out for more than 45/60 minutes and if you're looking to build muscle you need to "fail" between 8 and 12 reps for each exercise.

Go as hard as you can, or don't bother at all is the mantra.

Also visit myprotein.co.uk for all your supplementary needs.

[BOF]

And again, let's assume the person isn't stranded in the Arctic, that they're normal and don't need to burn 8,000 calories a day (that's probably the greatest contributor to being a starved rescued explorer).

[tonyh29]

And again, let's assume the person isn't stranded in the Arctic, that they're normal and don't need to burn 8,000 calories a day (that's probably the greatest contributor to being a starved rescued explorer).

in the particular case I saw the pictures from they got stranded in the ice but built a camp on an island and rode it out until rescue ... so in that regard they were probably as energetic as your average office worker just having seal with their coffee instead of donuts

[BOF]

There is huge energy required to stay warm. If we're comparing apples and oranges then we're pissing in the wind :?

[AshVilla]

I do a lot of HIIT training but I also like to do Cardio and Weights in the same session preferably weights first while i still have enough energy to lift enough with cross trainer or treadmill after preferably cross trainer as there is less impact on the joints as my knee's have taken a real beating

People tend to think that by doing weights they will put weight on in a way that is true muscle weighs more than fat but it also looks a damn sight better like someone before has mentioned doing weight training is a great way of burning calories people tend to think that cardio is the best way of losing weight i tend to think weights are plus you tone up in the process

Diet is more important than anything if you dont fuel the fire it doesn't matter what kind of exercise you do you wont build muscle if that is your aim do not be tempted to starve yourself to lose weight your body will just go into starvation mode and you will put more weight on i tend to have alot of small meals spread across the day rather than large meals 2 - 3 times a day

I use PHD ISO Synergy which is an all in 1 supplement before and after my workout it contains everything creatine, protein e.t.c I used to hate fitness but then i got the bug now i'm in the best shape of my life

I used to weigh 16 stone and have the pics before i was a right fat git i now weigh a healthy 12 stone which is good for my height and its mostly lean muscle It was very tough but worth it in the end one of my biggest mistakes was eating a lot before bedtime

I recommend meal replacement shakes as well if your a snacker just drink one of those if you feel hungry they contain balanced carbs e.t.c so you wont put weight on but i recommend a decent brand and not the slimfast rubbish though

One more thing if you do weights make sure you have a suitable break between workouts i tend to leave it at least 48 hours that doesn't mean do nothing just workout a different muscle group or cardio for example do not workout your arms for 2 days in a row try your legs or back they need time to rebuild and grow back larger

I wish you luck anyway knowledge is power and power is change

[tonyh29]

There is huge energy required to stay warm. If we're comparing apples and oranges then we're pissing in the wind Confused

don't think you are allowed either on a low carb diet :winkold:

the example was more about the effects that a low carb diet can have on the body , the weather and calorie consumption are not really that relevant .. the example was more about the effects the high protein diet caused them

lets assume you cut carbs and consume 1000 calories a day instead of the guideline of 2500 .. a lb of fat is around 10,000 calories if i recall .. so therefore after 6 days you should have lost a lb of fat ... people go on the Atkins type diets and loose 4 -8 lb in a week .. so what are they losing ? and if they continue on the diet why do they then plateau like everyone else does that goes on a diet ...

[Stevo985]

For weight loss I found that doing weights helped immensely. I lost more fat doing weights 3 times a week and 1 big cardio session than just doing cardio.

Doing weights will help to make sure the weight you lose is fat, and not muscle mass.

You can't really cut and gain muscle at the same time. Gaining muscle requires additional calories per day, cutting requires a deficit, so the two can't really go together (despite popular belief, you can't turn fat into muscle).

However, gaining muscle does increase your metabolism, so it does make sense that if you are gaining muscle, you will probably lose fat afterwards assuming your diet stays the same.

But an intense weight session will burn calories and, as BOF says, tends to keep burning for longer than cardio.

However, i'd always been told you should do it the other way round. Start with weights and finish with Cardio.

[BOF]

The plateau is because while diet is important, it will only do some (albeit most) of the job. At some point, lifestyle must change too. I plateaued on a diet and I'm still hovering around that mark now. I lost 2 stone 11lbs (39lbs) and I did it by the numbers. I eat healthily (a bit of everything) and used the basic "calories in minus calories out" approach. I reduced carbs and fat enormously and at it's most extreme I was consuming ~700 calories a day. I haven't rebounded as the myth would have you believe, because I haven't gone back to what I used to eat. "Fat Brian" is still in there somewhere because I can still eat a heroic amount if I want to, but I just don't want to anymore. My body has re-drawn it's requirements in line with maintaining my current weight. What used to be a 'diet' has now become what I eat every day and I've an extremely healthy diet now

[tonyh29]

I lost 2 stone 11lbs (39lbs)

:notworthy:

over what period out of interest

[BOF]

About a year. The killer I found was that for the first month you lose sod all, because your body's metabolism is at it's slowest and it still hasn't cottoned on to what you're doing. So psychologically it's tough to keep doing what you're doing and seeing no return for it. Once you get through that period however, the weight falls off. I wasn't particularly enormous to start with either. Came down from 15st 11lbs to 13st even. 38" waist to 34".