A guide to 50lbs weight loss on the Concept 2

[rhr]

For those interested in dropping their body fat percentage (and weight as a result) using the Concept 2 in conjunction with a sensible nutrition programme here is guide to help you along the way. Whilst our bodies and metabolisms are all unique (so results will vary) the methods below are the ones I used to lose ~50lbs in approximately 25 weeks last year. My stats are now, 43 yrs, 1.91m, 82/83kgs, 11% body fat. In addition my cholesterol, blood sugar etc are in perfect shape.

I will start with nutrition:
1. Drink lots of water (if you're over 200lbs then 3 litres +, more if you're training)
2. Eat lots of fibre
3. Eat small meals throughout the day; don't skip meals
4. Eliminate junk food and replace white bread / rice / pasta with barley, brown rice etc
5. Combine protein / carbs / fat in each meal
6. Eat lots of "good" fats
7. Typical split (with training 6x week) is 40% carbs / 40% fat / 20% protein
8 Eat above your basal metabolic rate calorie allowance (do not starve)
9. Try and eat before 8pm (no snacking after!)
10. If you are an ex smoker like me your levels of dopamine will have been affected. Meat, dairy, nuts, seeds and bananas are supposedly good solutions. I can vouch for the nuts and seeds.

The high fat and fibre content in your food will make you feel satiated (full) and they slow the release of carbs into the digestive system. Despite cutting back my calorie intake I never feel hungry (one of the things I promised myself when I started) thanks to changing the quality of my calories.

Exercise:
The beauty of the Concept 2 is that the machine carries your weight for you. Previously I have used running as a weight loss exercise. The problem is that my heart rate climbs to well above 80% of my HRR quickly. So the vast majority of the calories I burn running (5 min / km for 1hr) come from carbohydrates, very little comes from fat. By comparison when I row (2:00 / 500m) for an 1hr my HR is at UT2 or just above meaning 65% fat usage and 35% carbs. PLUS I am burning more calories rowing at 4min / km than I am running at 5 min / km. PLUS if I exercise at above 80% HRR using carbs my appetite for carbs (and in general) goes up substantially whereas rowing at below 70% of HRR my appetite is contained. You may be different but I find hard training sessions = hunger. Eddie Fletcher specifically states that losing weight whilst on his marathon training programme is not recommended. He's right, I tried his plan whilst losing weight and I couldn't continue as I started to eat more carbs to keep up with the tough training schedule.

Recommendations are:
1. Longer rows at 75% of HRR or less (UT1 but preferably UT2)
2. Try and row fasted first thing in the morning (insulin levels are low, body learns to better metabolise fat as an energy source)
3. Do some weights / resistance exercises to maintain muscle mass
4. Increase either distance or speed, never both at the same time

To lose 2 lbs a week required a combination of reduced food intake and training to create a 1000 calorie deficit per day. If you're over 20% body fat (men) and 30% (women) you can probably exceed 2lbs / week early on. As you progress that number will fall.

I hope this helps, if you have questions please feel free to ask.

P.S. Since I posted this on the UK forum a few months ago I changed my training schedule to include more weights (4x week) and running sprint intervals / hill repeats and less rowing. My weight hasn't changed (184 lbs, 6ft 3, 44 yrs) but my body fat has dropped to around the 9%-10% range. Down from 23%-24% at the start and 13%-14% just rowing. We are all different but I found that if I was honest with assessing my food intake and training the calories in / calories out formula was spot on when just rowing. It may have diverted for a week here and there (could be glycogen related) but on balance the maths was exact. After I included weights and sprints etc I benefited from EPOC (post burn) and the calories out was better than suggested.

Good luck

[Howard N]

Thank you much for your info.

[Cikan Vuz]

Hey, great tips THANKS!

I am still waiting for the time when my muscle memory is in check as so far, in these past 3 weeks since I began working out again I have now gained 11 pounds. sigh (I consume the average of 1270 cal a day).

I spoke with a trainer and he agreed that it is my old muscles and their memory kicking in and I have a challenge to get my visual on the weight loss instead of looking at the scale.

With all the great advice here, like yours, I am hoping within a month or two I see some results =])

[rhr]

Thanks.

I have been following your thread.

By comparison I was in the "fortunate" position of starting my transformation already exercising twice a week. In addition, whilst overweight, I was quite fit and could burn >1000 calories an hour from day 1. The issue was a poor diet, high in sugar. Whilst I still eat carbs they are now mostly complex, high in fibre, and therefore they release sugar slowly into the system especially when eaten with protein and fat.

Looking at your profile it is highly likely after 15 years of inactivity that you have depleted your muscles and have some level of insulin resistance. This will slow the weight loss process in the early stages. The good news is that as you exercise more you will deplete your glycogen levels, this should make your muscles "up regulate" your insulin receptors to replace the glycogen used. Resistance training will also improve fat burning throughout the day, with your background in weight training this should be familiar territory. It's all about firing up your metabolism again.

Your daily calorie intake, IMO, is way to low, perhaps even dangerously so. After having been inactive for years and eating thousands of calories a day (feast) you're now starving and exercising (famine). Your body probably thinks you're trying to kill it off, you could hardly blame it for holding onto it's fat stores when faced with its new "famine" environment. When I started dropping body fat I weighed around 230 lbs standing at over 6ft 3, I never ate less than 2,300 calories day. Currently doing 8 hours a week of weights / running / rowing etc I eat 2700 - 3000 calories a day weighing a stable 183lbs with 9-10% body fat. By all means cut out sugar, salt and excessive fats but don't starve yourself. 1,270 calories to sustain someone who weighs 230 lbs is woefully inadequate. 1,270 calories to sustain someone who weighs 230lbs and is exercising regularly is outright dangerous with respect to their metabolism and muscle mass.

IMO 1,800 calories is the minimum I would recommend. Made up of fiberous carbs, clean protein and "good" fats. Looking at your past lifestyle, your time for your first 6k row and your level of fitness you have the potential to be a very competitive heavyweight rower if you lose 50lbs +. Provided you maintain your muscle mass whilst you lose that weight and put in some serious training I don't see why the 6k American record of 23:27 isn't within your grasp. Check out the Pete Plan for 5k's and perhaps follow that.

[Carl Watts]

Some good stuff there but as you pointed out we are all different and it depends on your body type as to the results.

For me the body fat is 21% according to my scales but it was 28% so rather than losing weight which has not changed,my body composition has instead with just rowing.

The rowing has been good for the Cardio system as well but its sports specific and does nothing for me in different sports like running. For serious weight loss however, I found you cannot beat running so use the Erg until you get the weight down and then if you really what to shead the extra kilos start running as well.

[rhr]

Carl you are efficient on the rower. You may find your body doesn't burn the calories it used to for the same row. A lot of experts recommend changing your routine every 16 weeks as it taxes the body more to do a new exercise. My guess is that you could lower your bf down from 21% quite quickly (provided your diet is ok) if you incorporated weights into your training. I don't mean 5kg or 10kg dumbbells I mean 60%-75% of 1 rep maximum weights doing compound exercises, 8-12 reps for muscle gain. At night I do dumbbell sets in front of the TV, it isn't an inconvenience and has become a habit. If you could incorporate some running sprints and hill repeats + plyometrics that would also help.

We are all unique but I am confident that muscle gain through weight training and sprints etc will transform anyone's shape over time. Cardio on its own, especially if that means repeating 1 discipline, yields diminishing returns. Not even that if you use cardio as a justification for reward snacks or meals. Weight training doesn't, IMO, stimulate the appetite in the same way. Weights do however boost the metabolism.

[Dano]

I am presently losing about 1.7lbs -1.8lbs/wk. I eat 12% below my MBR, and I burn about 600 or so calories a day I do not eat back. I would say I have a 'slow metabolism'.

At present I eat anything I want, including 'bad foods', just try to stay in daily calorie limits.

For exercise I walk an hour each night, and erg from 20-50 minutes depending on effort per piece.

I put this up as just nother example of what is 'different' that is working.

[rhr]

Looking at your diet and exercise programme suggests around a 900 calorie deficit per day so your weight loss correlates perfectly to the calories in / out formula. On that basis your metabolism seems fine.

There have been studies on what diets people can lose weight on. The issue surrounding "bad foods" relates to lack of energy given poor nutrient content. I guess you can get away with it doing walking as an exercise and still lose weight. It would be interesting to see if you could manage something more intensive like the Eddie Fletcher marathon plan eating whatever you like.

Have you monitored your body fat percentage during the weight loss? Either with calipers or simply measuring your waist?

[Dano]

No monitor other then the scale.

My other tool has been using www.loseit.com, a great tracking and 'facebook-like' community of 'losers'. It works excellent for me.
Using the rower has almost been a joy this time around. In the past I have had a series of them from a Model B on, but never was
that enamored of them. Now I almost miss it when I do not row every night. Then again, I am no spring chicken anymore and with
three hip replacements behind me, the last in April (a revision), some muscles just don't work quite as well as they used to.

I hope to eventually lose about 60lbs, and if I hit that I think I can maintain it pretty much forever so long as I keep tracking what I eat. And rowing.

When I look back on what I used to eat, especially in quantity, I am amazed I didn't look like the Michelin Man, though I am still fairly big.

[foxglove]

Thank you for the tips. I'm back to using the erg for weight loss and fitness because it has worked before. I particularly appreciate your tips about how not to eat too little, or too little fat or protein, or exercise too hard, to maximize weight loss. I know there's a lot of science behind this, how hard it is to restrict my diet when I row too hard or too long, or eat too little fat. It's helpful finding all this info in one place. Also, the reaffirmation to use waist measurement as a better indicator than the scale of improved fitness.

[rhr]

Some further thoughts after trying and testing new diets / training regimes and reading other people's posts - for what they are worth.

TRAINING
The holy grail of training on the Concept 2 is to create a training plan for yourself that:
- ensures you don't suffer an injury
- allows you to train hard / easy / hard / easy many times a week
- facilitates improvement in your performance through either / both distance / times
- promotes the ability to oxidize fat efficiently as a fuel source [see below for aerobic training]
- maximizes the calories you burn without increasing your appetite
- keeps you motivated to continue exercising long term and consistently

Whilst it is true that exercising at greater intensity [and higher heart rate] will burn more calories there is a risk of injury but more importantly there is the chance of increased appetite and that your body hurts more afterwards and you are not keen to exercise for a couple of days. Listen to your body and decide if this is true for YOU. If so you're better off doing only "easy" days for a while until you're fitter. I like the concept of feeling like you've left something behind after each workout, this will ensure that you are not over-training. There's a long road ahead of you - plenty of time to leave nothing behind and push all out. To start with rather build slowly.

To that end I am a big fan of aerobic training - "build the engine before you rev it". In Concept 2 speak this would translate into UT2 (65%-70% of heart rate reserve) or as a general guide 180 minus your age. At this heart rate the primary fuel source is fat. If you aren't particularly fit when you start rowing getting more efficient [pace / 500m] at this heart rate is invaluable. I.E. as you get fitter you can row at a faster pace / 500m whilst staying at the same heart rate. What's central to aerobic training is to make these gains whilst still using fat as the primary fuel source. In addition your heart becomes more efficient at pumping blood to your muscles. In my opinion you are unlikely to generate materially higher power output (watts) at a high heart rate versus a lower one if you haven't built a solid aerobic base. Translated - I don't think you get much bang for your buck pushing hard early in a training plan if you haven't built a strong aerobic base. Plus the risks of injury / muscle ache etc are high. How long should aerobic training last? Depends on how unfit and heavy you are to start - if you are relatively fit and come from another sport maybe 8-12 weeks, as soon as you can't make any further gains or are making seriously diminished gains week on week. Large and unfit - probably 18-24 weeks. Boredom is your biggest risk - to me that's better than injury or simply drifting away from rowing because of muscle pain. You can at least listen to music or watch TV when you row.

DIET

Low nutritional value carbs or "bad" carbs beget bad carbs. You eat them, have a sugar rush, don't feel full, crash and then eat some more - and so it goes round and round. It is one of the harshest realities of modern day. There is only one way to get off that merry-go-round and that is to not have junk food anywhere near you - full stop. Even running / rowing 100km+ a week plus weights I cannot out exercise a diet loaded with bad carbs. That's scary and a very inconvenient truth.

Don't feel guilty eating slightly bigger portions of 'healthy' foods if that will stop you craving [and eating] unhealthy alternatives.

[heroesfitness]

For those interested in dropping their body fat percentage (and weight as a result) using the Concept 2 in conjunction with a sensible nutrition programme here is guide to help you along the way. Whilst our bodies and metabolisms are all unique (so results will vary) the methods below are the ones I used to lose ~50lbs in approximately 25 weeks last year. My stats are now, 43 yrs, 1.91m, 82/83kgs, 11% body fat. In addition my cholesterol, blood sugar etc are in perfect shape.

I will start with nutrition:
1. Drink lots of water (if you're over 200lbs then 3 litres +, more if you're training)
2. Eat lots of fibre
3. Eat small meals throughout the day; don't skip meals
4. Eliminate junk food and replace white bread / rice / pasta with barley, brown rice etc
5. Combine protein / carbs / fat in each meal
6. Eat lots of "good" fats
7. Typical split (with training 6x week) is 40% carbs / 40% fat / 20% protein
8 Eat above your basal metabolic rate calorie allowance (do not starve)
9. Try and eat before 8pm (no snacking after!)
10. If you are an ex smoker like me your levels of dopamine will have been affected. Meat, dairy, nuts, seeds and bananas are supposedly good solutions. I can vouch for the nuts and seeds.

The high fat and fibre content in your food will make you feel satiated (full) and they slow the release of carbs into the digestive system. Despite cutting back my calorie intake I never feel hungry (one of the things I promised myself when I started) thanks to changing the quality of my calories.

Exercise:
The beauty of the Concept 2 is that the machine carries your weight for you. Previously I have used running as a weight loss exercise. The problem is that my heart rate climbs to well above 80% of my HRR quickly. So the vast majority of the calories I burn running (5 min / km for 1hr) come from carbohydrates, very little comes from fat. By comparison when I row (2:00 / 500m) for an 1hr my HR is at UT2 or just above meaning 65% fat usage and 35% carbs. PLUS I am burning more calories rowing at 4min / km than I am running at 5 min / km. PLUS if I exercise at above 80% HRR using carbs my appetite for carbs (and in general) goes up substantially whereas rowing at below 70% of HRR my appetite is contained. You may be different but I find hard training sessions = hunger. Eddie Fletcher specifically states that losing weight whilst on his marathon training programme is not recommended. He's right, I tried his plan whilst losing weight and I couldn't continue as I started to eat more carbs to keep up with the tough training schedule.

Recommendations are:
1. Longer rows at 75% of HRR or less (UT1 but preferably UT2)
2. Try and row fasted first thing in the morning (insulin levels are low, body learns to better metabolise fat as an energy source)
3. Do some weights / resistance exercises to maintain muscle mass
4. Increase either distance or speed, never both at the same time

To lose 2 lbs a week required a combination of reduced food intake and training to create a 1000 calorie deficit per day. If you're over 20% body fat (men) and 30% (women) you can probably exceed 2lbs / week early on. As you progress that number will fall.

I hope this helps, if you have questions please feel free to ask.

P.S. Since I posted this on the UK forum a few months ago I changed my training schedule to include more weights (4x week) and running sprint intervals / hill repeats and less rowing. My weight hasn't changed (184 lbs, 6ft 3, 44 yrs) but my body fat has dropped to around the 9%-10% range. Down from 23%-24% at the start and 13%-14% just rowing. We are all different but I found that if I was honest with assessing my food intake and training the calories in / calories out formula was spot on when just rowing. It may have diverted for a week here and there (could be glycogen related) but on balance the maths was exact. After I included weights and sprints etc I benefited from EPOC (post burn) and the calories out was better than suggested.

Good luck

Good advice here, I couldn't have written it much better myself, diet, training intensity and rest are definitely the key factors in weight management.

Spencer

[rhr]

I've been seeing a lot of commentary on the pros and cons of slow rowing etc for weight loss.

For what it's worth here are my thoughts:
- to get lean you first need to get fit
- to get fit you need to put in long and hard work
- to build up to long hard work you have to start somewhere - steady rowing below 70% of max HR or heart rate reserve is a good start
- don't compound poor aerobic fitness with bad technique - practice and learn how to row properly so that you're only limiting factor is fitness
- exercises that don't require you to carry your own body weight are a good idea - rowing, bike, skierg, swim etc - some use different muscles so combine them to workout for longer
- when you start out you will not be able to burn a substantial amount of calories through exercise - so food and energy intake is very important early on
- pay close attention to when you exercise [time of day], how hard you exercise and how these factors affect your appetite - when you find the optimal mix of these 2 then you have an opportunity to build a sustainable weight loss habit
- in addition to the above keep an eye out to see if you are more sedentary the rest of the day - the ideal would be to do the training in addition to our everyday chores not replace them!

Good luck

[jackarabit]

I resemble the very last admonition. Way too easy to take a long nap, particulary for those of us of retirement age! Jack