Concept2 Forum

Hi guys! I'm very new to all this. I JUUUSSSTT rowed my first 5,000 at a stretch. I did it early in the morning. I had a few cups of coffee beforehand and some water. Had been out of the house driving the kids, too. But I noticed two things:

1. While I am NOT fast, I was noticeably faster.

2. Paradoxically, I felt the 5,000 was a bit more of a struggle. Not a lot - I still felt great. I'd done 4,500 straight the late afternoon before w/a 300 warm up. So, I'd been working toward this. But it wasn't fatigue straight out.

So, I was wondering if it was because I hadn't eaten anything. If my goal is weight loss - and it is - I was wondering what for breakfast and when to work out has helped people lose more weight on an erg.

Thx!!

if i do my rowing in the morning, i don't eat anything before hand.
I have a mix of BCAA powder that I use in my water and I drink that as I row.

I don't need any carbs or glycogen in my body if I'm doing my cardio in the morning. i want my body to start burning fat right away and not the carbs and suger in my liver.

I think the best time of day to row is when it fits into your schedule. I feel stronger in the afternoon compared to the early morning.
As long as you are doing it on a consistent basis and your diet is good, you will loose weight.

I agree...workout when it's best for you. I just started back up in January and have been getting up at 5:45am every morning to fit in my 25 minutes (6,000 meters). It's the only time I have with work and kids. I tried doing it after work initially...while it was easier in that I was "warmed up" from the day, it was too hard with moving dinner time out, and sometimes being late from work. I know that as much as 5:45am is hard, I won't be bothered or disturbed and can just do it.

Before I workout I have a few glasses of water, that's it. Thirty to forty minutes after my workout I eat. M-F I have a bowl of Multigrain Cheerios (about three to four cups), a yougurt, and a banana. One the weekends I substitue the Cheerios for eggs, either fried or scrambled. I'm down almost 80 pounds in 3 months doing this.

Good luck!

napoleon1815 wrote:I agree...workout when it's best for you. I just started back up in January and have been getting up at 5:45am every morning to fit in my 25 minutes (6,000 meters). It's the only time I have with work and kids. I tried doing it after work initially...while it was easier in that I was "warmed up" from the day, it was too hard with moving dinner time out, and sometimes being late from work. I know that as much as 5:45am is hard, I won't be bothered or disturbed and can just do it.

Before I workout I have a few glasses of water, that's it. Thirty to forty minutes after my workout I eat. M-F I have a bowl of Multigrain Cheerios (about three to four cups), a yougurt, and a banana. One the weekends I substitue the Cheerios for eggs, either fried or scrambled. I'm down almost 80 pounds in 3 months doing this.

Good luck!

80lb drop is awesome.
I'm down 30lbs

I only drink water before my work out, and my usual breakfast (sandwich and tea) after.

If I do intervals, I drink some gatorade too.

Wow! Napolean! Tell me more.

Here's my quick story. I used to be 325lbs. Dropped to low 200s on Atkins. But felt dreadful. Sprung back to 245. Then I got serious. I cut my carbs, adopted a vegetarian lifestyle (ETL, China Study...) and fell to 179. Great weight for 6' me! Lately, the holidays and some time in Rome have had me drift up into the low 190s. Too big!

I really wanted to clean up my eating, but also get into a regular exercise routine. That's been missing. I found rowing because one of my sons wants to row crew next year. We bought the erg and I really enjoy it!

So tell me a bit about how you accomplished this terrific result! Particularly since I still have a low-carb mentality built into me. Multigrain cherrios scare me.

shorelinelaw wrote:Wow! Napolean! Tell me more.

Here's my quick story. I used to be 325lbs. Dropped to low 200s on Atkins. But felt dreadful. Sprung back to 245. Then I got serious. I cut my carbs, adopted a vegetarian lifestyle (ETL, China Study...) and fell to 179. Great weight for 6' me! Lately, the holidays and some time in Rome have had me drift up into the low 190s. Too big!

I really wanted to clean up my eating, but also get into a regular exercise routine. That's been missing. I found rowing because one of my sons wants to row crew next year. We bought the erg and I really enjoy it!

So tell me a bit about how you accomplished this terrific result! Particularly since I still have a low-carb mentality built into me. Multigrain cherrios scare me.

A drop from 325 to 179 isn't bad either.

You could make improvements using the following consideration: Low-carb is not essential to loosing weight. It is more generally about low-calorie and if you want your weight loss to be sustainable then it is about balance.

Note that for a large man 6000m in 25min is almost 500 kCal which is already equal to a fifth of the sedentary lifestyle energy use. If this is done every day then it is a big part of the entire weight loss program. Difficulties with such hard exercise activity is that it makes people hungry and make them eat more than they use. For some people weight loss requires a slow progress to remain balanced. The biggest trick of a good diet is the realisation that weight loss simply requires time.
A target of 3kg a week is not a good idea. It is nice when it happens automatically but you have to remain healthy and also you should feel well with the new eating habits and life pattern or else the pounds come back after the program is over. Sometimes being fat isn't unhealthy when compared to some dieting practices (this is especially true for perfectly healthy women who only want to look better in their swimming suit). You can safely focus on 0.5-1 kg a week which is already very hard to sustain.

shorelinelaw wrote:Wow! Napolean! Tell me more.

Here's my quick story. I used to be 325lbs. Dropped to low 200s on Atkins. But felt dreadful. Sprung back to 245. Then I got serious. I cut my carbs, adopted a vegetarian lifestyle (ETL, China Study...) and fell to 179. Great weight for 6' me! Lately, the holidays and some time in Rome have had me drift up into the low 190s. Too big!

I really wanted to clean up my eating, but also get into a regular exercise routine. That's been missing. I found rowing because one of my sons wants to row crew next year. We bought the erg and I really enjoy it!

So tell me a bit about how you accomplished this terrific result! Particularly since I still have a low-carb mentality built into me. Multigrain cherrios scare me.

Well in my case I went from one extreme (overeating and not exercising at all) to another (putting myself on a strict diet and exercising daily). I basically eat the same breakfast and lunch everyday but my dinners I am more open. I am not on any particular diet like Atkins or South Beach...I basically just apply the simple principle of creating a calorie deficit (calories in vs. calories out). Granted I am not eating junk...in fact since I've started in January I have yet to stray or treat myself, even though my wife has been begging me too...HAHA. At a high level, I only drink water...period...nothing else. I eat the same things for breakfast and lunch with no snacking (lunch is another yogurt, some carrots, deli meats like chicken or turkey, almonds, cheese, a pear (or apple, or orange)...and sometimes I'll have some beef jerky). Dinner is the only meal that changes...I just make sure I eat a veggie and always have some meat...like chicken, pork, turkey...Buffalo is a GREAT meat (I know you aren't into it, assuming you are still a vegeterian) but it's leaner than chicken, turkey, and fish and is protein packed. I don't hide from baked potatos or anything "carb loaded" like that...like I said, although I am not eating junk it's just calories in vs. calories out. So that's more or less what I have been doing. It wasn't easy...the first 2 weeks - 1 month was very hard fighting cravings (even now I would love a pizza or some Chinese food)...but once you get past it and see results it's pretty easy to stay motivated. Believe me though...I still have those mornings (today was one) when I wake up and just wish I wasn't exercising. While I did see some rapid weight loss, I do see it slowing down a bit. The reason? Being 80lbs lighter means I should be eating a little less in terms of calories and my diet - as good as I think it is - hasn't changed to accomodate that change in size...plus it's normal to plateau. Hope this helps...my case is certainly not for everyone. I still have a ways to go...the stomach weight is fighting for it's life...HAHA. Thanks.

Boy, you folks put me to shame. I'm really impressed at the weight loss numbers you are talking about.

My weight loss was 50lbs total (235 to 185) over about 8 months. I've maintained the loss over the past 8 months within a band of +/-5 lbs.

During the weight loss, I aimed for 2 lbs a week, mainly by eating healthier, about 500 calories less and doing about 1000 calories of exercise per day. This created about a 7000 to 10000 calorie deficit per week.

Once I got to target weight, I realized that I liked exercising a lot more than dieting, so I gradually added more calories into my diet at the same time that I ramped up the intensity of what was now "training" instead of "exercising". When I started in September of 2009, I struggled to do more than 2K in about 8:15. This last February, I competed at the CRASH-Bs, and placed in the top 1/3 for my age group with a 6:43. Over this past year, my workouts have gotten longer, between 60 and 90 minutes per day, 6 days a week, not because I wanted to burn the calories, but because I wanted to get faster.

For the first time since I was in third grade, I feel do not feel like a fat person.

Greg,

Thanks for the input. You have impressive numbers yourself...I would love to have your 6k time (I think 23:46.7 was my best). I think the lighter I get the faster I will ultimately move. I just recently moved my damper from 8 to 6 (another thread on this blog) and I am finding I have to row a lot faster to keep my time and calories for 6k...harder, but it feels like a better workout. I am looking forward to the day when I can enter "maintenance mode" with my weight rather then weight loss...that pizza I have been craving is first on my list. Back in the day (rowing in college when I was 185lbs) I was doing 10k a day on the erg...and running 5 miles...I know I'll never be that way again but getting as close to it as possible is the goal. Thanks.

By the way. I haven't been the same since I did that 6K a week ago. I think I busted a lung!

Wow! You guys are amazing. I can't even imagine anyone losing 80 pounds in 3 months without a knife! I am very much a newbie, but it sure keeps me fired up reading stories like yours.

Hi! Corollary to the same question:

OK - ASSUMING that you DO NOT eat before you row. What is your favorite breakfast after you row. I just did 5,500 today. Takes me under 30 mins. I think 6,000 is going to be my immediate target. Once I hit there I think I'm going to halt the climb for a few days and see how I feel. I have to tell you: 5,500 felt GREAT today....but it was work.

So...after rowing I needed to eat something. I threw a few blueberries into a mug with half a tablespoon of almond butter. I ate some of it...but then it just wasn't making it for me and I was worried about the sugars. I put it down. So....I made some spinach, onions w/a little egg-whites and some soy cheese/bacon for taste. Not much. I steamed a few pieces of broccoli too. That was better.

I'm curious what people have found effective after rowing when they do not eat beforehand.

I will outline what I do (it's listed above too). I row on an empty stomach. For breakfast I do:

M-F: I have 3-4 cups of Multigrain Cheerios (1% milk), a non fat yogurt, and a banana.
Sat-Sun: I substitute the Cheerios with three eggs (fried or scrambled), and keep the Yogurt and banana

1 hour before: 1.5 cups crispix with 1 box of raisins and 1 cup of nonfat milk, 1 banana, 1 tall nonfat latte
Workout: 60-90 minutes (1000 to 1500 calorie burn)
30 minutes after: 1 cup of fat free greek yogurt with 1/4 cup of granola, 20 Oz of Gatorade G2 plus

As you can see, I am not restricting carbs, but I watch fat. I tried eating less before, but found that I could not go as hard or as fast.