Energy/Sport Drinks in relation to dieting

[bennydorano]

I've lost a fair bit of beef this year (starting in January - 16+st to current 14.5st & I'm 6ft 2"), I'd say losing the weight stalled around July and I would still like another 1/2 to full stone of me yet. I have been fairly strict with myself all year and knocked drinking, eating take aways on the head - I personally think Bread and Energy drinks have been the main reason I've stopped losing weight.

Cutting bread would be a humungous effort for me (and I intend to have a real go at it in January) but would the energy drinks play that big a part in effecting weight loss efforts? I'd say on average I would have been out on 4x2hr rides a week since probably May time and I'd say I would have 2x500ml Lucozade sport or Club Energize on nearly every ride.

 

[Herzog]

I'd say on average I would have been out on 4x2hr rides a week since probably May time and I'd say I would have 2x500ml Lucozade sport or Club Energize on nearly every ride.

For a two hour ride, you could easily get by on water and dried fruit. For weight loss, take it nice and slow (so you could still maintain a conversation) for longer, rather than a full-on run at pace. Going slower may feel counter productive but you'll use more fat than you would do going at a pace which leaves you gasping.

for example, zone 2 http://www.abcc.co.uk/Extras/hrcalc.html

 

[bennydorano]

It would be a big enough factor then?

I'd generally be in 16-18mph average on my own over a rolling course that would include a few hills (and that's a huge improvement for me from last year). Probably not much different in our group(mostly all newbies like myself), although over the summer months our last 10-15 miles would always be 20mph+average

I'm 38 btw. Thanks for the link too.

 

[Garz]

Try making your own sports solutions and as Herzog says, if your not blasting it you can get by reducing the sugars or just water alone.

 

[Dan B]

Googling says Lucozade sport is ~ 140Kcals per bottle, so two of them per ride is as much as a mars bar.

A two hour ride at 16-18 mph is about 35 miles. Using the 40-calories-per-mile rule of thumb, that says you're drinking 300Kcal and burning 1400. If that's not enough, your choices are drink less or ride further :-)

 

[vickster]

Try the Lite Lucozade version if not anti-aspartame? I think it's 50cals a bottle and tastes ok, a couple of different flavours

Looking at the GSK site, the non lite version contains aspartame too

http://www.lucozadeshop.com/orange-500ml-body-fuel-drink/01784.html

 

[lulubel]

For a two hour ride, you could easily get by on water and dried fruit. For weight loss, take it nice and slow (so you could still maintain a conversation) for longer, rather than a full-on run at pace. Going slower may feel counter productive but you'll use more fat than you would do going at a pace which leaves you gasping.

Losing weight happens as a result of creating a calorie deficit, not by using any particular tricks to make you burn more fat while you're on the bike. If you don't consume as many calories as your body needs, it will make up the difference by taking it from your fat stores regardless of whether you've cycled fast or slowly.

Doing long, slow rides is useful if you want to get your body good at doing long, slow rides, but it won't benefit your weight loss any more than doing short, fast ones, as long as the total amount of calories burned is the same.

 

[PK99]

For a two hour ride, you could easily get by on water and dried fruit. For weight loss, take it nice and slow (so you could still maintain a conversation) for longer, rather than a full-on run at pace. Going slower may feel counter productive but you'll use more fat than you would do going at a pace which leaves you gasping.

for example, zone 2 http://www.abcc.co.u...ras/hrcalc.html

The fat burning zone is a myth. "The main error with the fat burning zone premise emanates from a basic misunderstanding of absolute (total) versus relative (proportional) values."

http://exercise.about.com/od/weightloss/a/The-Truth-About-The-Fat-Burning-Zone.htm

http://www.brianmac.co.uk/fatburn.htm



http://scienceblogs.com/obesitypanacea/2010/06/the_myth_of_the_fat_burning_zo.php

 

[Herzog]

Losing weight happens as a result of creating a calorie deficit, not by using any particular tricks to make you burn more fat while you're on the bike. If you don't consume as many calories as your body needs, it will make up the difference by taking it from your fat stores regardless of whether you've cycled fast or slowly.

Doing long, slow rides is useful if you want to get your body good at doing long, slow rides, but it won't benefit your weight loss any more than doing short, fast ones, as long as the total amount of calories burned is the same.

It depends on which energy system you are using whilst training, it's not a trick. Short fast rides are more likely to utilise the anaerobic system (depending on how short and fast you go), whereas longer less intense rides will use the aerobic energy system. It's not as simple as energy input vs energy expended.


Another thing to consider is that calories and fat are wholly different parameters.

 

[Herzog]

["The main error with the fat burning zone premise emanates from a basic misunderstanding of absolute (total) versus relative (proportional) values."

Which means?

 

[Garz]

I agree that higher effort sessions would be more beneficial than the lower 'fat burning zone' sessions however another factor to implement would be people cannot or shouldn't always ride at the higher threshold. This is not only poor training advice but would encourage injury risk and over-training.

To me, when people mention the slower fat burning sessions, I interpret them as slower rides that you would use in addition to your higher effort workouts.

To simply say they are a myth is false as they worked for me in the past.

 

[Garz]

The fat burning zone is a myth.

http://exercise.abou...urning-Zone.htm

This first article is a contradiction. It blatantly states that

The body does burn a higher percentage of calories from fat in the fat burning zone

​

Okay...

Then mentions the obvious (and ties in with what lulubel said) that to lose calories you need to work at higher intensity. She was right when your assisting the workouts with watching your intake consumption. This may achieve a crash diet tactic but is not ideal for long term weight loss.

What irks me also is people who read articles (or dont) and paste them in forums that fail to add to the discussion. To simply quote

The main error with the fat burning zone premise emanates from a basic misunderstanding of absolute (total) versus relative (proportional) values.

is a poor attempt to be fair.

 

[Dan B]

It depends on which energy system you are using whilst training, it's not a trick. Short fast rides are more likely to utilise the anaerobic system (depending on how short and fast you go), whereas longer less intense rides will use the aerobic energy system. It's not as simple as energy input vs energy expended.

I doubt very much that any ride over about, say, 5 minutes, is going to use the anaerobic energy system appreciably more than the aerobic. How long can you stand the lactate for?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_systems

 

[Herzog]

I doubt very much that any ride over about, say, 5 minutes, is going to use the anaerobic energy system appreciably more than the aerobic. How long can you stand the lactate for?

To an extent I agree, that's why I put the bit about "how short and fast you go". The problem is, if you're alternating between systems (i.e., intervals - whether planned or not), the efficiency of the the body to breakdown fats as an energy source is reduced.

 

[Alien8]

Benny - it depends upon how you want to play it. You can go the calorie counting, training zone, HRM etc route or you can simply ride longer and harder (my preferred approach). Perhaps you need to reassess your whole diet to get a better handle on what you're actually consuming - and why wait until January to cut out bread if you think bread is an issue? Good luck.