Your One Thing?

[iain]

Six years ago I decided to workout again and went from 11st 4 to about 13st 4lb in 3 years. I did once touch 14 by forced eating 2 years ago but hated it...

It would be interesting to know how much was lean mass in this as that would redefine your lean mass. A BMI of only a shade over 20 was low for someone your height, but difficult to judge without knowing your body shape. (My BMI is flattering as I have a long neck!).

I did little exercise for 5 years in my late 40's. my weight increased about 15%. but when i lost it and started rowing again I found that my lean mass had declined atleast 5% despite this being before muscle loss rate from aging really hits its stride!

I walk 3 miles at least 5 days a week and cycle or row at least 4 miles, 4 days a week, resistance training 4 days per week high reps time under tension.

Interesting balance. 4 miles on a bike is a very short session and very different to rowing for the same distance (I have seen 1/3 quoted). Looks like resistance training is most of your exercising with the rest adding a bit of recovery and low level endurance, but would depend on the nature of the sessions! In contrast I am only managing 2-3 sessions a week all on rower, but generally total distance of a session over HM. 1-2 a week are usually threshold or above, but still getting slower from a low base, particularly over 5-10k.

[GlennUk]

I followed the 5-2, IF diet for a couple of years and dropped from c16 stone to about 12.7 5stone, im 5'11''.

I had not used the erg much between 2011 and 2021, and decided in may last year to get off my butt and dust it off. After Xmas 2020 i had put on a few pounds, and was following the IF plan id adopted whilst erging and hadnt found it an issue.

However, in Jan i started following the Eddie Fletcher marathon plan, having completed my intermediate goal in May, i am now following his 100k plan.

Halfway through the marathon plan i found i was finding constantly I had aching muscles and at the end of some session, i was very tired and whilst i was erging for relatively long periods this appeared to come on relatively suddenly. ( I suspect actually it was a cumulative effect and i had just not noticed it).

It was the first time that i have ever felt the need to eat more and consider my intake not just of calories but protein and carbs specifically. In my mid 20s - mid 30s I ahd been fairly fit and slim, never worried about what i ate or drank despite often exercising three or four times a day at my peak.

Apart form general energy levels i looked at my diet and found i had a much lower protein intake than the recommended values in the EF plan. I dont have the number to hand, but i was quite surprised at the apparent deficit.

So it came as a surprise to find that erging 70-90k per week should be different, stupid i know as i was 60 in jan.

Anyway, i have now reversed the decline in weight and have regained some of the weight i had lost, but i am finding the exercise 'relatively' straight forward, easy is not he right word, but i am not struggling like i was mid way through the marathon plan. No more aching muscles either.

IF worked for me, but i dont find it fits in well with erging long distances, so i am eating three meals a day when i exercise (3 times this week, 2 x 2hr sessions and 1 x 30 minutes) and restricting my intake on other days. I have lost a few pounds over the last couple of weeks but not to the detriment of the exercise plan.

So no longer If in the true sense, but varying my intake based on exercise for the day.

Interesting thread.

[OregonERG]

I have potatoes most nights. I dont like pasta or rice, its boring.

Hilarious that eating potatoes is your "one thing" that kept you trim over the years! I love this forum.

My wife is German and she would gladly cook "potatoes most nights" but I would weigh +200 lbs if she did that.

[mict450]

I've heard of the potato diet. Penn Gillette used to be a big, fat guy. Now he's a tall, thin guy just by eating nothing but potatoes. Take a pass on the sour cream, butter, cheese whiz & bacon bits.

[rowingdude]

I just row a lot.

I eat responsibly, prioritizing protein and complex carbs over fats and simple carbs.

I've lost 25# this year just from rowing every day.

I don't follow a diet, just be responsible for yourself and make good choices. If you need the structure of a "diet" to do that, good on you.. but at the end of the day, if you use more than you take in, your body has to go to its stores for energy. This is common sense.

[dmcfall]

My one thing (and that of thousands and thousands of others): Low-carb, high-fat.

Read Gary Taubes ("The Case for Keto"), Gary Volek, PhD, and Stephen Phinney, M.D., PhD ("The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living").

"The absence of hunger on LCHF/ketogenic diets is as consistent an observation as can be found in nutrition science."

[Rick]

Regular strenuous exercise.

I can keep weight down by moderating intake or content...

Those two things are the two that don't work for me.

Running and rowing as hard as I can just makes me hungrier. The extra calories burned doing a 15 mile run (versus a 6 mile run) are just gobbled up in that evening's meals because of the "I am ravenous!" feeling. As for moderating intake, well, if I could do that, I wouldn't have a problem in the first place.

I guess I would be fine if I just ate half as much as I usually do and was always slightly hungry. But as it is, once I start eating, I usually indulge (since I am always hungry from working out).

Yes, I’m always in a calorie battle. I’ve had success with the “intermittent fasting,” eating during 8 hours of the day and just water or tea the other 16. It’s helped knock out a lot of snacking I didn’t really realize I was doing.

The reason I need the hard work, though, is that I’m not as young as I used to be and the strenuous exercise does a lot to keep my muscle and bone mass up, and my heart and lungs healthy. That also seems to keep my metabolism perking. I’ve tried the other ways and, for me, I just get less healthy and more heavy… the opposite of my goals.

I get what you’re saying, and agree that you have to find what works for you. But you did ask what my one thing was! So there ya go! Best wishes in finding your best way.

[Parky]

ANother sufferer here who has tried the "Potato Hack" diet. Nothing but spuds cooked in a variety of ways, but nothing else. Re-heating the spuds and letting them cool down again messes with the starches and can really help with weight loss. My first time trying it, I lost 9lbs in 5 days, so I do think it's a good way to kick start weight loss.

(As an off-putter, my grand daughter's friend tried it for 4 weeks, but while out walking the dog was caught short - messy!) So don't over-do it or stray too far from a loo.