Thirith on 1/9/2010 at 08:16
@DDL: I do an hour on the home trainer three days a week (I work on the muscles in my arms, back and chest three other days). Do I understand you correctly that, by doing this within 3-4 hours from my last meal, I basically burn the sugar stored in my muscles but burn very little fat - and basically I'd have to do the hour on the bike after getting up in the mornings?
DDL on 1/9/2010 at 13:49
Pretty much. You'll burn some fat, certainly (it's not a "burn A then switch to B", it's a slightly more gradual shift in balance) but far less than you'd manage if you forced yourself into aerobic exercise while starved.
Mind you, as noted above, you'd do this if you're really really keen on fat loss, so people trying to shed fat asap, or (more commonly) body builders who want to get skeeery muscle definition without all that pesky fat smoothing out all those bulbous veins and stuff.
Really though, there is absolutely no downside from getting regular aerobic exercise (well..barring gratuitous excesses of it, I guess), no matter what time, or what fed state, or for how long. Any is good. You may not enter the magical "fat burning zone", but you'll be increasing your level of fitness, raising your resting metabolism (metabolic rate remains elevated for several hours after exercise), and burning energy which you'd probably store as fat otherwise -if muscles/liver are still loaded with glycogen when you feed again, they'll just ignore the extra sugar and you'll store the excess...as fat. So you could view it as prevention rather than cure. Also as noted, muscle work is good: more muscle == more energy expended just to keep being you: it's expensive tissue to maintain.
Also bear in mind that these are general guidelines, and not everyone responds in the exact same way: some people just never get fat, others can put on a kilo just from looking at a doughnut advert. My routine pretty much consists of pre-breakfast running, breakfast, weight training midday, but no food (except large coffees) from breakfast until dinner -which is basically crisps and beer, plus an apple. I should probably be dead, but it seems to work for me. So your mileage may vary. :D
Thirith on 1/9/2010 at 13:58
Thanks for the info. :-) I'm one of those guys who could eat pretty much anything and any amounts... until I hit the magic 30, at which point my metabolism changed. Right now I'm on the chubby side - nothing extreme, but I wouldn't mind losing a couple of kilos and definitely don't want to add more weight, at least not in the form of fat. Doing my regular workout has definitely made me feel better in my body, but a bit less of a belly wouldn't be half bad. Perhaps I'll see whether I can do one of my weekly hours on the home trainer in the morning before going to work, rather than in the evening.
dvrabel on 1/9/2010 at 14:32
Quote Posted by DDL
but no food (except large coffees) from breakfast until dinner -which is basically crisps and beer, plus an apple. I should probably be dead, but it seems to work for me. So your mileage may vary. :D
Isn't a diet like this going to increase the risk of long term health problems?
Sombras on 2/9/2010 at 11:51
DDL, as a runner, cyclist, and reluctant swimmer, I've done a lot of reading on nutrition as it pertains to exercise, in addition to having done a lot of experimentation in my "fuel" routine. Your explanation of energy types and use is devastatingly concise and easy to read, which makes it very helpful. THANKS!
CocoClown on 2/9/2010 at 16:38
Useful info indeed!
One question though... I've heard that, once you've exhausted the glycogen stores in the muscle... the body replenishes it from whatever it's got available. So if you exercise really hard for a short period of time, and completely drain the glygocen stores, you'll continue to burn energy after exercising.
Figured that was the principle behind high intensity interval training anyways. Presumably that energy can come from fat?
/delurks
kabatta on 2/9/2010 at 16:40
How exactly do you gain a gut? I already eat the most fatty foods and the most unholy combinations with the catch that after a fixed amount I get nausea. I swear, I never understand what you people eat. :weird:
SubJeff on 2/9/2010 at 16:53
How old are you? And how much do you really eat and exercise? For years I wad the same as you, struggling to put on weight, but I was too young and far to active. Things change.:)
D'Juhn Keep on 2/9/2010 at 17:16
Joining in the DDL nutrition information appreciation station
Would you be able to explain the effect of protein on muscles? I was told you should take it (as a shake) immediately before or after lifting, is this right?
kabatta on 2/9/2010 at 17:33
Quote Posted by Subjective Effect
How old are you? And how much do you really eat and exercise? For years I wad the same as you, struggling to put on weight, but I was too young and far to active. Things change.:)
I am 21, I eat anything that comes in my mind and I do not exercise.I sit in a chair all day.
