Cut the weight, not the energy
Very too often people are told that eating less and doing more cardiovascular exercises equals to weight loss. What is missing in the equation is the definition of eating less, when to do cardiovascular exercises and what actually is lose.
It is true that eating less is good for weight loss, but you got to take more meals with fewer servings on the plate or else you will be just losing steam and feel lethargic the whole day. But would mean having the same calorie intake as before the regime. Well, eating more meals a day will keep your metabolism rate high throughout the day and you know that increase in metabolic rate equals increase in burning of stored fuel (read: fats). The increase in metabolic rate also improves the energy level and thus productivity. Thus more meal less servings is the way to go. (Read article: Eat like a champion for an example of meal plan)
Second missing condition: When to do cardiovascular exercises? Some people advocates doing cardio workout before taking meals, so as to increase the loss of fats during workout. When the body workout on an empty stomach, it will find other sources of energy to fuel the engine. The stored body fats and glycogen comes into the picture. On top of that, the body may undergo ketosis. This is the burning off of protein in the muscle for fuel the activity you are doing. This means you not only lose fats but also the lean muscle.
The proper way is to have a light meal high in complex carbohydrates like whole-meal grain bread with peanut butter or a muesli bar at least 1 hour before the training. This gives time for the carbohydrate to be digested and ready to fuel the body during workout. The bulk of fats that are burnt off happen after the workout. During the next 6 hours, your body’s metabolism will maintain high and thus burn off fats. This is provided that you complete at least 30minutes of cardiovascular exercise for the fats burning to kick in.
So be a champion, do the right thing. Lose fats, increase lean muscle and improve productivity with better nutrition.
(This is an article I wrote for my school’s Taekwondo club some time back)
February 9th, 2008 at 7:40 am
I found your blog via Google while searching for definition of ezine and your post regarding weight, not the energy | TheSummerLife looks very interesting to me. I was impressed by your site and offerings. I was looking at some of the articles and it really impressed me. All I can say is congratulations on creating this site and what took you so long? I look forward to returning.