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Weight loss

Hi guys was hoping to get some advise! I'm training 13.5hours a week and cut down my calories to try and power up those hills but don't seem to be loosing any weight and have read many articles about athletes cutting gluten to loose weight. I mainly it non refined grains and avoid manufactured carbs so will avoiding gluten have much impact/ any other weight loss ideas?

Comments

  • HarryDHarryD Posts: 425
    Hannah,



    We'd all like to power up those hills. Weight is part of the answer as is cardiovascular fitness and strength. There is an optimum weight to perform at your best; too high and you are carrying an excess load, too low and your body looses strength and won't recover properly from training.



    Some cruel questions. What is your weight, height, target weight and if possible your % body fat (and how it was measured)?



    Not sure if avoiding gluten will help. Generally I ignore magazine and website articles unless they accord with respected books on the subject. Magazines rely on advertisers for much of their income and don't want to upset them by what is said in the features. There is also something of a herd instinct so topics become 'fashionable'



    One way to get up hills better is to train on them (but not overly) with hill reps and during general rides. Stay seated as much as possible, work the legs not the arms and try to keep the upper body still. Avoid bending side to side and that comic nodding action you see so much of



    If you want to strengthen your legs try doing squats, step ups and leg press. Also do core work to stabilise your body. These workouts do pay dividends if planned and progressive. Beware that there is a load of drivel written in magazines and on websites about strength and conditioning (some just poor and some simply wrong). Joe Friel's Triathlon Training Bible is sound and sensible



    Hope this helps
  • Andrew4Andrew4 Posts: 190

    Hannah

    I would ask, how long have you been training for? Are you relatively new to the sport or are you a seasoned performer.

    If you've been around a while it might be that your body is adjusted to where it needs/wants to be based on the stresses you put it through. Do you mix up your training, e.g. include HIIT sessions to boost metabolism, if you focus too much on low and slow then some studies will show that your basal metabolism will adjust accordingly, i.e. it'll burn less as well, so try and keep things mixed up.

    Another idea which can help promote fat metabolism but limit chronic loss of muscle is nutrient timing and doing fasted session. I will often try to do a circa 60 minute run of 80 minute easy fasted ride (before breakfast) in order to promote metabolism and then get your food in afterwards. This means your body promotes fat burning during your easy ride (very good) and then is fuelled to recover and rebuild strength afterwards (also good). Conversely, if you find you don't eat much during the day and fill up at dinner time you are giving your body lots of energy and nothing to use it for apart from stock up on fat, which isn't what you're looking for.

  • I'd be wary of cutting down calories on that training schedule... i do a similar amount, eat like a horse and after about 10 months of steady weight loss have settled down now.

    I guess some of it comes to what you're eating as well.... 

    As above though, it depends where you are in the training, if you're new to it, it may well just be that you're converting excess body fat to muscle, thus your body shape/make-up is changing but you're not necessarily losing weight.

  • I lost 105 lbs in about 18 months. Advice is get a nutritionist as they will reteach eating habits and choices. This was my biggest success factor. Good luck!
  • Cutting calories is not a good idea generally when you´re doing that amount of training.

    Cutting carbs as you are is good, and will help generally, but you must consume enough otherwise to maintain yourself in a helathy state - I´d suggest you increase your fat intake (saturated especially) and also protein.

    Losing weight is good, but only if health is not affected and if you´re training for a long distance event, then health is vital, as bein slightly over-weight is preferred to under weight.

    Make sure that you are training correctly; ie at the correct intensity as this will also affect your weight - slower is better as it adapts your body to burning body fat

     

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