Time to get Lean?

Time to get Lean?

Postby jbotti » Sun Oct 01, 2017 4:57 pm

I guess for me it was. Since I quit racing on the bike a few years ago I had gained 13-15 lbs going from 176-180 to 190-192. I am 6 3" so its not like I had gotten obese. I also focused a lot on strength training and at least when I was diligent with the strength work my % of body fat had stayed the same (but as soon as I was less diligent my % of body fat went up). My daughter said to me one day "you definitely now have a Dad body" which didn't seem to bother me too much at the time but the phrase seemed to get stuck in my head. I tried multiple times over the past two years to eat less, work out more but I never lost any real weight. The only thing that really bothered me was that it just felt like a one way street and I found myself accepting the inevitability of getting older (57 now) and with it coming steady weight gain even if it was slow and gradual.

I was in NY a few weeks ago and I read a book on diet and exercise and there was absolutely nothing in the book that I didn't know. I had just forgotten and hadn't had any real focus on what and how I was eating. I was eating a low carb, higher protein diet with focus on good fats and on lower fat proteins. The biggest focus of this book is an elimination of all white flour, all sugar and only get fats from the proteins consumed while at the same time eating less to create some caloric deficit. This book also emphasizes eating more carbs but the right kind and cutting unnecessary fat (which is the opposite of the current low carb high fat craze). I am 3.5 weeks into it and I have lost about 8 lbs. However within the first couple of days my sleep radically improved and my energy level increased substantially. Just as most people are somewhat allergic to alcohol, the same is pretty much true for sugar and white flour. I really had no idea how large a negative impact it was having on the way I felt both physically and mentally (some minor anxiety issues that I was feeling went away in the first week and have not returned). Then there is the benefit of just being lighter, which adds to the increased energy. Weight makes us feel sluggish and lifeless (at least it does me).

How will all this affect my skiing? I don't really know but I skied just fine at this weight for years and I still do strength training specific for skiing. Are my legs as strong now versus a month ago? No way, we lose muscle and fat in about the ratio that it exists in our body (or lose muscle even faster than we burn fat). But I am not and will never be a WC racer and my body will hold up just fine through ski season.

For me this is a change that I will make permanent. The results are just too strong to go back the eating the old way (yes I will eat more calories when I lose anther 3-4 lbs but the right calories).

I figured I would throw this up for anyone that needs a little push to commit to getting leaner into ski season. Maybe this post will push a person or two over the edge.
Balance: Essential in skiing and in life!
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Re: Time to get Lean?

Postby skijim13 » Mon Oct 02, 2017 8:29 am

Both Lorie and I eat a high protein low carb diet, when we do eat carbs they are the complex carbs like whole grains and brown rice. We also do heavy resistance training as well as cardio and stretching exercises which requires a higher level of protein intake. I use the Whey protein drinks and the pure protein chocolate bars (180 calories with 21 grams of protein). I take in about 160 grams of protein per day in small amounts divided over the day (25 grams max per supplement) for my body weight of 163 lb. at 5' 9''. We do not use any refined sugar in the house or eat any fried foods. I have been able to keep myself at the same weight since high school and still wear the same size pants.
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Re: Time to get Lean?

Postby DougD » Mon Oct 02, 2017 10:26 am

I'm among the rare mature adults who has never had an issue with weight control. No credit to anything I've done, just skinny genes.

On graduating college I was 5ft10 and 128lb... skinny. Forty years later my height & weight are exactly the same... still skinny. At no time has my weight ever exceeded 140lb. The one time it reached that (20 yrs ago) I felt like a hippo. Cut out desserts and backed off the carbs... lost 10lbs in a week and kept it off.

My weight fluctuates reliably from 125-131 depending primarily on carb intake. If I exceed 130 I feel heavy & cut back. Takes just a day to drop 3-4lbs.

My problem is muscle mass... as in not having any. Tried a weight training regimen with high protein diet in my 20s. Six months of hard work and stuffing myself produced exactly... nothing. I could lift more weight but there were zero measurable changes in my size or weight. Apparently my metabolism can burn thru all I can eat without converting any of it to retained tissue.

Not a bad problem to have... not a problem at all to those who struggle to keep pounds off... but frustrating still.
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Re: Time to get Lean?

Postby Obrules15 » Tue Oct 03, 2017 6:43 am

jbotti wrote: No way, we lose muscle and fat in about the ratio that it exists in our body (or lose muscle even faster than we burn fat).


You should read about intermittent fasting for weight loss (I say read, not try because everyone is different).

It seems as though in true fasting (not just calorie restriction) the body down regulates the mTor pathway which sends the body a signal to up regulate growth hormone (kind of makes sense as the body wants to preserve lean muscle so it can go hunt and kill something to eat) and studies seem to indicate no muscle loss relative to fat loss.

I decided to drop a few pounds because my prediabetes markers & insulin resistance are up so my research was more focused on decreasing insulin resistance. However, I found the muscle preservation data to be very interesting.

I'm also looking into the DNA testing that will elaborate on how your genes are programmed to burn fat & carbs, and whether you respond better to endurance exercise or power/HIIT type exercise. It's fascinating. It doesn't take into consideration epigenetics (adaptations to current conditions) but it still seems like it might be useful. If nothing else it seems to be validating why I always hated certain types of exercise :D
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