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2005/02/09, 08:02 PM
I am a chef and am constantly around food. I have to taste everything to make sure it is ok to serve. I am technichnally not overweight for my height, but I know I am. I go to the gym at least 5 days a week, do at least 45 min of cardio. I am having a hard time losing weight, but I am trying. Any advice?
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2005/02/09, 08:11 PM
you are doing too much cardio. are you lifting weights?
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if you get me started on quentin tarantino films, chances are you won't be able to shut me up.
excuses are really good for making you fat.
margarine is a liar who announces, "i am butter!"
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2005/02/09, 08:33 PM
How can you do too much cardio? I thought 60 min a day was recommended?
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2005/02/09, 08:34 PM
30 min is sufficient.
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Still trying to find out how to do the Hollywood Free Press.
Ivan
carivan@freetrainers.com
Montreal Canada
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2005/02/09, 08:43 PM
i sent this to you in a p.m., but i'm posting it here as well. i think lots of people on the site can benefit from it.
Can Cardio Keep You Fat?
By Cliff Latham, M.S., ASCM, NSCA
Go to any gym in America and you'd be instantly convinced that cardio is the answer to America's weight loss woes. Spinning routines, Hip Hop Dance classes, Body Pump and rows and rows of people spending hours on the elliptical trainers.
Let me ask you this: are you getting the results you wanted, pounding away endlessly on a treadmill? Then listen up.
Cardio isn't the holy grail that so many people advertise!
Steady state aerobic work (droning on endlessly at one speed) never works long term in the real world. Now for those of you out there who will no doubt get caught up talking about health, cholesterol, etc., I'm not arguing with you, you are definitely right. We're discussing aerobics strictly in terms of fat loss.
However, for fat loss, the research is indisputable: high intensity work is far superior.
Alright here is some science: At some point your body becomes so efficient at your routine that it just doesn't burn as many calories for the same time investment anymore. It makes sense. If you go jogging with an Olympian, who burns more calories? You of course. So what do most people do when they hit a plateau? Begrudgingly increase their routine duration and run into the same problem very quickly. They plateau again and again.
Less results = loss of motivation = I quit!
Let's take a look at the differences between an upbeat, more intense cardio session and hours of easy cardio:
Easy: Burns more fat as a percentage than carbohydrates. True, but the amount of fat burned is like a Honda Civic running for 50 miles on a gallon of gasoline. This results in miniscule amounts of fat and calories burned. In other words, IGNORE the "fat burning zone" workout on the treadmill screen. I've got a better one for you below.
Intense: Burns more carbohydrates and a lot more fat, i.e. you burn a lot more calories as a whole. And that is the goal!
Easy: Decrease in muscle building hormones, which equals quick muscle loss and eventually slows fat loss and eventually throws you onto a big, frustrating plateau.
Intense: Increase in muscle building hormones, including growth hormone and testosterone (yes, women, you want that too!). Keep the Ferrari (muscle) in your body so that it burns fat 24 hours a day, not wasted into the atmosphere as heat energy! Keep the muscle, burn the fat.
Intense: Does weight training build muscle? No. It breaks down muscle and the body ADAPTS by building more muscle, which in turn burns more calories and fat 24 hours per day.
Easy: if we burn a little higher percentage of fat during easy cardio, that is we "encourage the use of fat during our workout", do we ADAPT by becoming more efficient at storing more fat? Some of the top experts in the industry think so.
I've witnessed a lot of individuals complete whole marathons and do so in impressive fashion, mind you. But during their months of training, they lost very little fat, much to their dismay. Shocking? Not really. On the flip side, I have trained hundreds of individuals like sprinters and watched them lose all the fat they wanted on no more than 2 miles per day! Why? Because the body can efficiently "slog" through a marathon (again, certainly darn impressive) while carrying extra fat. A sprinter simply cannot be efficient carrying any extra fat. So why are world class marathoners so fit you ask? Because most of their work is incredibly intense AND long! Trust me, ugh, I know, I've been one of them!
In terms of fat loss - calories burned are the most important factor. And if easy cardio burns less calories than intense cardio, wouldn't it make sense to go harder?
So if we accept the fact that muscle is a major factor in your fat burning engine - and aerobic training makes that engine smaller (costs you muscle) and more efficient at burning fat (remember more efficient means it burns LESS fat) - how can having a smaller, more efficient fat burning machine burn more fat? It doesn't.
So now you can walk into any gym in America and sadly shake your head at everyone spending hours on the treadmill and heading to their favorite hip hop class. Remember though, you have to start slowly and progress a little at a time. But no matter where you start, you can start to create a muscle-building, fat burning machine during your next workout!
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if you get me started on quentin tarantino films, chances are you won't be able to shut me up.
excuses are really good for making you fat.
margarine is a liar who announces, "i am butter!"
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2005/02/09, 11:01 PM
Awesome post Howdie.
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2005/02/09, 11:51 PM
wow thanks, that's informative. :)
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2005/02/13, 10:27 AM
Howdie, nice article! I hope you don't mind my taking it and stickying it!
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Vision without action is a daydream, Action without vision is a nightmare.
-- Japanese Proverb --
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2005/02/13, 10:35 AM
That was very informative good post.
DX
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2005/02/15, 04:16 AM
that is one of the best posts I have seen in a long time...thank you..
I would love to hear of your progress on this!
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2005/02/15, 04:17 AM
by the way...I am NULL on 3 posts up!! LOL:)
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2005/02/15, 06:39 AM
I'm not a chef but in FS management. I feel your pain! There is nothing worse than trying to lose weight and being surrounded by food all day. Dermil is right, limit the size of your samples. Make sure you try to eat 5-6 small meals a day instead if 3 larger meals - this will help curb your cravings. Good Luck!
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2005/02/15, 07:00 AM
Lets not forget though the importance of cardio for newbies to fitness. Airobic training is essential to begginners for strenghening the cardio vascular system before the HIT can be done safely.
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2005/02/15, 01:44 PM
newboy, did you read the entire article? it is about aerobic activity strictly in terms of fat loss, and it clearly acknowledges that beginners will not be able start with full-intensity h.i.i.t. no one is disputing the necessity of cardio for strengthening the cardiovascular system — this is, as stated in the article, strictly regarding fat loss. even i, not a beginner by any stretch of the imagination, include distance running at a steady pace to keep myself in shape for h.i.i.t, which i do no more than twice a week. however, if i didn't do h.i.i.t., the percentage of body fat i lost during my last cutting phase would've been significantly less.
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Quoting from howdiekat:
paragraph 3: Steady state aerobic work (droning on endlessly at one speed) never works long term in the real world. Now for those of you out there who will no doubt get caught up talking about health, cholesterol, etc., I'm not arguing with you, you are definitely right. We're discussing aerobics strictly in terms of fat loss....
last paragraph: Remember though, you have to start slowly and progress a little at a time. But no matter where you start, you can start to create a muscle-building, fat burning machine during your next workout!
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if you get me started on quentin tarantino films, chances are you won't be able to shut me up.
excuses are really good for making you fat.
margarine is a liar who announces, "i am butter!"
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