From: jverheul@lucent.com
Subject: Re: Your weigth loss strategies
Date: Fri, 02 Jan 1998 09:01:17 -0600

>
> I, like Ullrich, need to shed a few pounds while I'm getting in my base
> miles.  I using some guidelines I've used in the past (cut out all
>  non-diet soft drinks and other junk sweets, no fried items, etc), and I'm adding
>  one (reduce/eliminate high-glycemic foods).  I'm looking for tried-and-true
> tricks you may have used that have been successful.  Loosing weight seems
> to be unnecessarily difficult for me, even for the amount of training that
> I do.

Having followed the excellent discussion on this thread as to the "Zone"
diet, as well as how simple it is to lose weight, I offer my own personal
tricks. If you'd like scientific reference, I'll tell you God spoke to me
through my microwave oven.

This may seem too simple, but besides what I actually eat, I make sure to
have my larger meals at breakfast and lunch. I typically consume large
breakfast, medium lunch, have a mid-afternoon snack if I'm hungry or am
training hard that day, then a light dinner. I make sure dinner is
lighter foods, with an emphasis on fruits and vegetables. The theory is
that one digests breakfast and lunch and then uses these calories in the
afternoon (late for me since I have a job) training session. The light
dinner is to avoid going to bed with a full stomach, and to avoid
overloading your system after a hard workout.  If I did a hard workout
that day, I'll have a protein supplement in the evening as well.

I have no scientific proof of the validity of this eating schedule, but
it fits my (working 8-5) lifestyle pretty well and has helped me control
my weight while maintaining a consistently high energy level.

I don't count calories so much or worry about glycemic indices, but I do
take the general message of the "Zone" diet to be "eat a bit more protein
and fat than you think you have to, an all-carb diet is not very
healthy". I have noticed that I need protein to perform consistently, and
that a bit of fat & protein (eggs) with my breakfast is a good thing for
morning races that are either long or cold and wet. I think Andy Hampsten
once talked in an interview about how his team director had everyone eat
a steak on the morning of a cold, wet stage. Similarly, an old training
partner (who was a former National team member) once told me I had to
heve some eggs with breakfast prior to a long race. Same concept, the fat
& protein in the meat or eggs is a "slower burning" fuel that you'll need
on such days.

These simple tricks allow me to control my weight, maintain a good energy
level, and aren't so complicated as to tax my feeble mind.

Good luck!

John Verheul

--------------------------------------------------------------------

From: "D. Lee" 
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.racing
Subject: Re: Your weigth loss strategies
Date: Fri, 02 Jan 1998 08:33:58 -0800


No proof or scientific data, but for me two workouts a day are 
almost a guarantee that my weight will stay under control. 9-10 hours 
per week spread over 10 or more workouts and I have no weight problems.
If my schedule won't allow this but I can still manage the same 9-10 
hours per week on say 6 workouts/week, I gain weight. This is been true
when I was just doing triathon training, was just biking, and only 
running (but at a slightly reduced training volume - more like 8 
hours/week). I have 3 possible explanations. 

1) I've read somewhere (don't recall the source) that your metabolism
remains elevated for several hours after 30 or more minutes of 
exercize. So the more workouts you do, the more weekly hours of 
higher metabolism you gain.

2) I work out harder on two workouts.

3) I am just wrong in my perceptions (I keep training diaries but 
don't accurately track my weight).  

FWIW,

dave

Return to Coaching Classics