If you're working out hard, but not losing weight, this excerpt from a recent email conversation with one of my clients may help you.
I just read this in my strength and conditioning textbook:
“During high intensity aerobic exercise, almost 100% of the energy is derived from carbohydrates, if adequate supply is available. However, during prolonged, submaximal, steady-state work, there is a gradual shift from carbohydrates back to fats and protein as energy substrates.”
My interpretation is that part of what has been inhibiting your fat loss this last month has been your higher intensity during cardio. It’s counter-intuitive to think of exercising at a lower rate, but when you do, you burn fat. Since you have switched over to eating five to six meals a day, you always have that “adequate supply” of carbohydrates available, and as you have said that your heart rate has almost always been higher than the numbers we came up with when you calculated your target heart rate, you have almost always been burning the available carbohydrates in your system.
This doesn’t mean that the exercising you have been doing is wrong, to the contrary. By getting your heart in better shape, you have been strengthening it. As that progresses, it will be easier for your heart to do more work, which will lower your heart rate when exercising. That’s why this next month of doing the longer cardio is going to probably feel like you’re barely working hard, which may feel strange, but that’s what happens when you get in shape. The things that used to be really hard are much easier, and you’re still getting the benefits!
Cutting down on carbs too much will make it hard to have enough energy to do your weight lifting, so be careful of that.
Use your extra energy to do really well on your weight training days.
You can also see why cutting out carbs and doing long cardio can assist in rapid weight loss, because if there aren’t any carbs available, your body will use other substances in the body. That’s good in the short term for weight loss, but it’s not a good long term goal, because your body ultimately wants to burn carbohydrates when exercising hard. When you do your Triathlon, you’ll want to have plenty of carbs in your system to perform at your highest level. You’ll also want to have a strong heart and well-trained muscles, which is where the weight training and higher intensity cardio comes in.
So don’t despair that you haven’t been losing much weight yet. You’ve been getting yourself in better shape, which will only benefit you in the long run.
Finally, it keeps coming back to consistency. Consistency is the key.
Adam
