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2006-12-15 12:09 PM

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cork
Subject: weight loss and muscle loss
I am in my second year of training and want to lose some weight but never dieted before i have a question

If i am feeeling hungry eespecially late at night is my body eating at fat stores or muscles to find energy?





2006-12-15 1:59 PM
in reply to: #625059

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Master
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Portland, OR
Subject: RE: weight loss and muscle loss

How late at night? As a general rule, if you're dieting you should consume all of your calories before 7pm (or at least two hours before bedtime). Are you sure you aren't having a craving for something? (As opposed to real hunger.) How many calories a day are you eating? Are you spreading your meals out throughout the day in 5-6 small meals or are you eating "three squares"?

Give us a little more info! Also, what is your current training like? Your eating plan will vary on a training day vs. a rest day.

Sharon 

2006-12-15 2:10 PM
in reply to: #625059

New user
17

cork
Subject: RE: weight loss and muscle loss
thanks

I work shift so finish at eight and might not finish training til eleven i normally eat a recovery meal after this.
when i work night shift am always hungry before bed but lately am just ignoring it and sleeping

i eat four or five smaller meals a day when i work and three when i am off

more wondering am i losing some of my hard work if i am dieting and training at the same time?
2006-12-15 2:45 PM
in reply to: #625059

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Master
2051
20002525
Portland, OR
Subject: RE: weight loss and muscle loss

There is definitely a balance.  You have to be careful when you diet that you don't lose the muscle mass you're trying to build up while training.  So the weight will typically come off a lot slower when you train because, ideally, you want to replace fat with muscle.  Sometimes that doesn't reflect on the scale but will show up in BF% lost.  I have a Tanita Ironman scale that tells me what my BF% and my muscle mass is.  I pay attention to those numbers just as much (if not more so) than my weight. 

My weight didn't change much for 4 weeks but I lost 2.5% in BF.  Success!!  I would encourage you to eat 5-6 smaller meals even on your days off.  Are you tracking your caloric intake?  If you're not using another online plan (calorie king, training peaks, etc.) take a look at the one on this site.  And use the logs, too...I just started and it's very cool to see the charts and people send you "inspires"!

It's good that you're aware of losing muscle mass.  Most dieters just want to see that number on the scale go down and don't realize that when you lose weight quickly, you're losing water and muscle, not fat.  This can be detrimental to an athlete.  Take it slow and work your training plan.  Are you on a training plan??

Also, I meant to ask you something before.  You said you've never dieted before.  Is there a reason to now?  If you're not overweight (overfat) you may want to postpone "dieting" until after you accomplish some of your race goals.   You may just need to write up a nutrition plan as part of your training program.  Again, without knowing where you are and where you want to be, it's hard to say.

Good luck!
Sharon

2006-12-15 3:23 PM
in reply to: #625059

Elite
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Denver, Colorado
Subject: RE: weight loss and muscle loss
Sharon made some good points. You can definitely shift the balance away from muscle loss by doing some weight training. You may not like it, and many on here have said that weight training is useless for triathletes. Fine, let's assume it's useless for triathletes. It's not useless for fat loss. Whenever you are in a caloric deficit, your body will want to dump muscle because it's more "expensive" to keep around then fat. Muscle requires protein and nutrients to maintain; fat just kind of sits there. By weight training, you are giving your a body a reason to keep muscle mass. And don't worry about getting too muscular. It is very hard to pack on lots of muscle while dieting. You'll most likely just keep the muscle you have. If you've never weight trained before, you may gain some muscle, but you will not become huge.

Also, make sure you are taking in adequate amounts of protein. This is essential for maintaining muscle; otherwise, your body will break down the muscle in order to get necessary amino acids. Ideally, active adults should take in around 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight. This may seem like a lot, and it can be difficult to get that much, but this is the "ideal;" at a bare minimum you should take in 0.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight.

Finally, after you exercise, and especially after you weight train, immediately (i.e., within about 20 minutes if possible) have a post-workout drink that contains protein and carbs. There are plenty of fancy protein shakes on the market, and if you like those and your budget allows for it, those are great. However, a simple yet effective post-workout drink is chocolate milk. You read that right - chocolate milk. Don't worry that chocolate milk is not "on your diet." After you exercise, your body is in a prime state to replenish. Your body will use the carbs to replenish glycogen stores in your muscles and the protein will go to muscle repair. In fact, I've read that even if you're on a low carb diet, you can essentially ignore the carbs in a post-workout drink because your body will put those carbs to good use, as opposed to converting them to fat. Obviously, don't go crazy with the chocolate milk - use common sense.
2006-12-15 5:25 PM
in reply to: #625059

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Master
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Portland, OR
Subject: RE: weight loss and muscle loss

Excellent point on the weight training.  It's such a regular part of my training plan that I assume everyone else does it as well.  The chocolate milk thing is new to me...but I like it!!  I usually drink Hammer Recoverite after my workouts or (if I'm out) I'll eat 3 eggs with wheat toast and peanut butter.



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