So...the gym is bad?

[Coley]

I'm quite lost. How much gym would result in burning muscle rather than fat? I go 3 times a week and do do some cardio (5 mins on rowing machine and 12 mins on cross trainer) along with various weights and toning exercises.

So is going to the gym going to make me burn muscle? I obviously don't want to be doing that.

Help!!!

Nicole.

 

[icemoose]

Doing cardio when on a VLCD does burn muscle and is not encouraged.

The best thing to do is toning exercise.

So walking, swimming, pilates, yoga etc.

Not treadmilling it!

Happy to say the new Fitness with Cambridge programme explains all this very well and is out in a few weeks.

Thanks

M.

 

[Coley]

Right....grand. Thank you Mr Moose. I shall be not doing that lark any longer. What about when you are on the higher programmes? Sorry for asking so many questions just don't want to be burning my lovely muscle!!

 

[gaijingirl]

This is completely at odds with what my counsellor has told me.

As I wrote elsewhere, sport is very important to me (tennis/badminton/squash). Also, cycling is my mode of transport.

Plus, I used to do triathlons and had to stop as I could no longer run due to my weight. I was looking forward in a while to be able to get back to running.



BTW... i'm on LL

 

[Kate]

It's the intensity that makes all the difference. Of course you can do cardio exercise as long as you keep the intensity low e.g. walk instead of run. You can still use the rowing machine and the cross trainer, but keep them on a low setting and don't overdo it. It's high intensity cardio that has to be avoided on a VLCD, not all cardio!

Edited to add: gaijingirl, you're right - keep up the sport and the cycling, just don't overdo it while you're on a VLCD...and don't start running until you're on a higher step. I think when Mike says "cardio" he means intense cardio like running or high impact aerobics.

 

[Princess]

The gym is bad - best news Ive heard all year lol

 

[gaijingirl]

You know what... I did make a point of asking him (my counsellor) about this before I started and again at my pop in. Both times he said it would be fine. He even opened the door to let me in with my bike and helmet (and he's at the top of a hill that can only be described as strenuous, whether on a bike or by foot!).

 

[Kate]

One thing to remember is that if exercise is already part of your life, you will be able to cope with much more in terms of activity than someone who is inactive when they start the diet. Am I right in thinking you already cycled and did sports? If so, your body will be much more used to the activity. If you're concerned, you could invest in a heart rate monitor and keep an eye on your heart rate to make sure you're not overdoing it.

 

[gaijingirl]

Yes.... I've always done lots of sports. I have a heart rate monitor which I already use. When you use a HRM you can tell when you are working in the fat burning zone (aerobic) or at a higher intensity (anaerobic).

Almost certainly 80% of my exercise will be cardio/aerobic (ie fat burning) - occasionally I might go a bit over if I'm running late for something on my bike or trying VERY hard to win a game! Squash, for example, would tend to be (for me anyway) more anaerobic. Actually I'm not playing squash at the moment, but I was hoping in a couple of stone's time to get back to it.

However, I'm concerned at the advice that we shouldn't be doing aerobic exercise. Especially as - as it says in the wikipedia article below - the early stage of all exercise is anaerobic.

If I started running for example, I would almost certainly want to combine aerobic running with bursts of anaerobic exercise (fartlek) in order to improve my speed!

Wikipedia explains the difference well.

 

[HorseyCarrie]

See, where I get confused is the fact that swimming and walking ARE cardio. Anything that raises the heart rate above its normal level through aerobic and anaerobic exertion is cardiovascular. Things like weights machines and yoga are resistance workouts and classed as toning.

I have also always been sporty and continue to work with a personal trainer.

 

[abstruse]

I can't wait for the fitness program! I have been swimming (I breast sroke slow in the granny lane ) and walking and feel like I am more energized and less hungry after I have done something.

 

[Kate]

However, I'm concerned at the advice that we shouldn't be doing aerobic exercise.

I'm fairly sure that's just a misunderstanding

 

[Laurie]

I love swimming but at the moment im too self consious to go. Shame it isnt the summer my friend has a pool in her garden i wouldnt mind that. Hopefully when i've lost a bit more weight i'll pluck up the courage to go!

 

[gaijingirl]

I'm fairly sure that's just a misunderstanding

I hope so... icemoose is a counsellor and obviously knows his chips! (mmm chips... )

Doing cardio when on a VLCD does burn muscle and is not encouraged.

As Horsey says, any exercise is cardio (in the sense that it works your heart muscles).

My understanding of it is:

Cardiovascular exercise exercises your cardiovascular system (heart, lungs, blood circulation). Therefore it involves aerobic exercise.

Aerobic exercise refers to "Aerobic literally means "with oxygen", and refers to the use of oxygen in muscles' energy-generating process. Aerobic exercise includes any type of exercise, typically those performed at moderate levels of intensity for extended periods of time, that maintains an increased heart rate."

The two terms seem to be used interchangeably.

I think that perhaps what CD are probably getting at (reading between the lines) is that they don't want people who may not have previously exercised to suddenly get on a treadmill and run until they drop.

What is worrying me is the implication that being on a VLCD means that our bodies function differently and therefore we shouldn't be doing aerobic/cardiovascular exercise as it will impede our weightloss!?!

 

[HorseyCarrie]

My lighterlife lady told me I had to stop rowing competatively for now! I am no longer on LL, but I would still have continued. Because these diets are high % protein, they preserve muscle, so muscle loss should be minimal. Let's face it, 500 calories is much much less than we need without exercise (and all weighing differently, we all need different amounts to just survive - breathing, eating etc), so why would doing some exercise and earning extra calories, make much difference, especially with the protein balance the way it is. Because the diets are severe calorie deficit (and any calorie deficit diet is the same), there will always be muscle wastage. You need calorie excess to produce muscle and a calorie balance to maintain it. These sorts of diets are the best at preserving muscle, but for me, if it meant being severely unfit in the name of being slim, I wouldn't continue with the diet. But that is just me!

 

[abstruse]

Hey Laurie..

I was a bit nervouse to go as well. I went online and got one of those vintage boy short one pieces. Its got girdle support and boob support.. its great. I find it also helps going during peak granny time. they don't swim as fast in the lap lanes and after having lived as long as they have are not at all judgemental- Even the 80 year olds that look hotter than me in their swimming suits

I love swimming but at the moment im too self consious to go. Shame it isnt the summer my friend has a pool in her garden i wouldnt mind that. Hopefully when i've lost a bit more weight i'll pluck up the courage to go!

 

[icemoose]

Sorry what I mean by cardio is high intensity cardio where you are raising your heart rate too high.

I think the term used at the conference on Saturday is conversational exercise only where you should be able to hold a conversation while exercising without being out of breath in anyway.

M.

 

[Kate]

so why would doing some exercise and earning extra calories, make much difference

Basically...because carbs are stored in your body as a ready fuel source (glycogen) but fat isn't. During high intensity exercise you need to produce fuel quickly and in large amounts. If you have no glycogen in your system at all, your body struggles to convert fat quickly enough for it to be used as fuel, and if it can't get fuel from anywhere else it will go for the next best thing - muscle. This is why high intensity exercise is not advised.

If you're already active, though, your body and your fuel systems are more efficient so you can work harder and for longer without "hitting the wall".

 

[gaijingirl]

Sorry what I mean by cardio is high intensity cardio where you are raising your heart rate too high.

I think the term used at the conference on Saturday is conversational exercise only where you should be able to hold a conversation while exercising without being out of breath in anyway.

M.

Thanks IM.

So basically it is the same principle as it is for anyone who does exercise in order to burn fat. If you go to a gym and get on a treadmill and plug yourself into a heart rate monitor you will need to be running at that sort of level (conversational) in order to be in the fat burning (aerobic) zone as opposed to the anaerobic zone. Basically if you've still got enough oxygen to talk then it's aerobic (which means "with oxygen")!

Thanks for clearing that up. It's really set my mind at rest. Especially as I've just come back from a game of tennis which I lost...

 

[Coley]

Phew, so if I can talk then it's fine? My heart rate is high, been checked out, just one of those people, but it does mean that all this don't go 100 bmp thing doesn't work for me. When I'm sleeping my HR is 110!! oh well.....,back to the gym tomorrow then!!