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Advice for losing body fat

Hi there,

Just looking for some advice, im trying to lose body fat by doing fasted swimming sessions.. my swim sessions are in the mornings before work for about 1hr 30, if i dont eat anything in the morning but have a bowl of cereal the night before, before i go to bed.. will this allow my body to use fat for energy but still allow me to train well?

Thanks!

Comments

  • HarryDHarryD Posts: 425
    Expect to swim worse, not loose body fat and possibly increase it

    To burn fat during activity you also need to burn some carbohydrate. Your bowl of cereal the night before and no breakfast will mean very low levels of glycogen and expect your body to save it for really essential functions such as keeping the brain working. If you exercise expect to have a much reduced performance you may also feel pretty grotty, nauseous and faint - not good in a swimming pool. Don't expect to burn as many calories overall either. If you don't work so hard, over time, your swim muscles will atrophy and you won't burn so many calories overall.

    Exercising in a starved state does have benefits for endurance athletes in that it trains the body to use a greater proportion of fat (large amounts even on a lean athlete) as fuel during aerobic activity so saving glycogen (limited amount even in a well trained athlete) for when it is needed such as going anaerobic on hills or chasing someone down. Note it is a change in the fuel mix. If you are going to do it start cautiously and build gradually. Say do 5 or 10 mins then have a carb based snack before continuing. Increase the starved part of your session as your body adapts based on how you perform and how you feel.

    To loose fat gently reduce the total amount of calories you eat as you continue training. Calories in versus calories out will determine fat levels rather than the fuel mix. Do an intense 'calorie burn' session and the next time you eat the fat will be stored as fat and the carbs will be used to replenish
    glycogen stores - excess carbs will be converted to fat. Do a 'fat burn' session and the fat will be stored as fat and if the glycogen stores are untouched all the carbs will also be laid down as fat.

    Hope this helps

    HarryD
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