Uphill performance lacking?

[PaulSB]

In saying that........I have read several articles debunking the whole fat burning zone thing and saying a high intensity burst of exercise actually raises your metabolism for much longer and therefore burns more. Best not to get too much into it methinks!

Yes I've read the same and agree caution is the byword. My regular cycle buddies, you know the old duffers bunch 😂, have all sorts of theories, numbers and diets**

I base my conclusion on three things; I commuted 36 miles/day and ate like a horse for a year, a great friend with qualifications in diet/exercise (learning the correct fuel for an activity) and the current lockdown.

All three have resulted in lost fat from the waist and an increase in strength and stamina. I've taken the leader board on three age groups in 10 days!!!

** I get lost with it all. One guy has a new diet every month!!! Each time he orders something different in the cafe there's a chorus of "New diet"

I think it's easy to get confused by all the numbers and these really only apply to those with dedication. Fat burn zone and correct food for me.

 

[PaulSB]

I hope the post above explains my view?

Expand, please?

 

[Globalti]

Doesn‘t always need a “lifestyle” change as weight is rarely put on in a short period but has built over many years. Often just cutting the beer back, smaller portions is sufficient. These aren’t lifestyle changes just moderating what you are eating and drinking.

Er.... isn't cutting back on food and drink exactly that? A lifestyle change?

My brother who is seven years my junior lives in Michigan and since he moved to the USA he has grown and grown. Not just his belly but his chest and shoulders; he is now just a big guy all round. He has always been quite greedy, enjoying big blowouts and eating out at restaurants a lot but I sometimes wonder if the general hugeness of him isn't down to growth hormones in American meat.

A few years ago he flew over from Detroit to Amsterdam and thence to Manchester. Arriving in the morning he told me he had eaten breakfast on the flight in to Amsterdam and another breakfast on the local flight to Manchester but he was still hungry so we stopped at a cafe and ate a big fry up before heading to my house. After he had left I was cleaning his room and under the bed I found a receipt for... a full cooked breakfast from one of the many cafés inside Amsterdam's Schiphol airport! So that was four breakfasts! No wonder he's huge!

 

[Proto]

Intermittent fasting looks interesting.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/intermittent-fasting-surprising-update-2018062914156

 

[PaulSB]

Intermittent fasting looks interesting.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/intermittent-fasting-surprising-update-2018062914156

Yep. I've got a couple of friends who are in to this one. Another one who is currently in to riding on a "no breakfast" regime and eats for two in the cafe, another on a high protein/ no carbs diet, he blew up and went home!!

Seriously though I have no knowledge to debunk any of these theories and wouldn't dream of doing so. My observation though is regular exercise in the fat burn zone with diet which feeds the exercise works** Amongst my group I'm the only one who gets remarks about my weight.

** This is a really important point and one which I think many people fail to grasp/understand. Compare oneself with a car, fill the car, drive it, burn the fuel. Fill the cyclist with the right fuel, cycle, burn the fuel.

If the body is stressed and finds itself regularly deprived of the correct fuel it will hoard and store anything it can. These reserves the body stores for the times when we put it under stress through exercise. The body stores these reserves as, guess what, fat!!

Therefore fuel the body correctly, exercise at rate to burn that fuel, eat normally and the body will not lay down fat reserves. Be careful not to binge too much on useless calories such as chocolate and alcohol - both of which are very, very tough for this man!!

 

[Proto]

Tim Noakes is interesting, too, an advocate of low carb/high fat diet. He’s against, for example, carb loading before endurance events.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Noakes

http://thenoakesfoundation.org/

 

[Globalti]

We need to hark back to thousands of years ago when Man was a hunter-gatherer. He ate whatever he could, whenever he could, which is why the huge feast still has cultural significance and he sought out whatever delivered the quickest calorie hit, which is why our brains are so wired to appreciate sugar and fat. Much of European, African and American history was determined by rich people's appetite for sugar.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Er.... isn't cutting back on food and drink exactly that? A lifestyle change?

No it’s just eating and drinking a little less. No change in lifestyle.

 

[Drago]

As time goes by the initial promise and scientific evidence to support intermittent fasting is looking a little less certain.

Only genuine, wholesale lifestyle changes work. 99% of people who simply change their dietary habits way more after 5 years than when they started.

 

[Proto]

As time goes by the initial promise and scientific evidence to support intermittent fasting is looking a little less certain.

I’m interested in this. Can you share a link to any research/evidence?

 

[Proto]

Er.... isn't cutting back on food and drink exactly that? A lifestyle change?

If you mean ‘dieting’ , I believe the evidence is that something like 95% of dieters return to a higher weight than their starting weight over time. Brilliant business model for Weight Watchers. The human body is very good a becoming more efficient when faced with restricted diets, so inevitably, unless you starve for the rest of your life, you will become fatter.

 

[dodgy]

I hope the post above explains my view?

Sort of. There is no doubt that the harder you exercise the more calories and fat you 'burn' in absolute terms. You may burn more fat proportionately at lower heart rates, but you will still burn more fat overall if your heart rate is higher. This is not in question.

The 'fat burning' zone theory has been largely if not universally rubbished these days.

 

[matticus]

I think what's most useful is training your body to USE fat during exercise. Which should make you a better "machine", and may reduce hunger during/after rides. This is why fasted rides *IMHO* are good.
It's all very hard to study, with so many variables, and I've seen the same arguments go round in many many repeated circles!

 

[CXRAndy]

Multi hour zone 2 HR rides will build big stamina, burn fat. If you ween yourself of fast sugars the body adapts to utilising fat as more of a source of energy.

You still need carbs for higher intensity rides, but not as much

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Multi hour zone 2 HR rides will build big stamina, burn fat. If you ween yourself of fast sugars the body adapts to utilising fat as more of a source of energy.

You still need carbs for higher intensity rides, but not as much

Didn’t think the hill in question was long enough to require hours to get up.