OK, the title is, I'll admit, a little dramatic.
I went through body composition testing today. It was as bad as I expected it to be after 16 years of inactivity:
Weight: 212lbs
Body fat 32% or 68lbs
The machine also measured my resting metabolic rate at 1820kcal/day.
I figured out that it I don't gain an ounce of muscle I have to loose 42 to 48lbs in order to get to a 12% to 15% body fat range.
Now I need a good estimate of caloric output during swimming. Last session I swam about 2000y in 90min. I need to translate that into kcal per workout so that I can figure out the rest.
Does anyone know of any articles/sources on the caloric output measurement during an activity like swimming? I know about the myriad of websites with estimating calculators. I am after actual measurement if at all possible.
I wonder if it is as simple as using a really precise scale. Since 3500 calories is 1 pound it stands to reason that you might be able to measure calories burned by simply having a really good weight comparison before and after. A scale with repeatability of 0.1lbs or better might be all you need. In this case, 0.1lbs would be about 350 calories.
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Makes complete sense, of course.
What happens then with restricted calorie diets?
My BMR is 1820kcal/day. Say that I restrict to 1500 and reduce carbs to a bare minimum. Couple this with swimming 90 minutes five days a week and I should be well positioned to shed about 2lbs/week. Of course, this activity will build some muscle mass as well.
Now, let's say that I add weight training three times a week. Would I need to provide my body with more protein --in other words, not a calorie-restricted diet-- in order to promote muscle growth?
That's always been a question in my mind. If you want muscle growth, should you not increase calorie consumption in sync with exercise rather than restrict it?
In general you are correct.. for muscle growth you need an increase in calories; however, if you are new to lifting and swimming, you will experience for some significant period of time (really dependent on person) what they call "newbie gains" where you will gain muscle, lose fat, and pretty much feel awesome :) It doesn't last though but take advantage of it while it does. Not sure why the body experiences that, maybe it is the shock to the system which forces the body to preserve/build muscle at the expense of fat but it is definitely a real phenomenom.
Makes complete sense, of course.
What happens then with restricted calorie diets?
My BMR is 1820kcal/day. Say that I restrict to 1500 and reduce carbs to a bare minimum. Couple this with swimming 90 minutes five days a week and I should be well positioned to shed about 2lbs/week. Of course, this activity will build some muscle mass as well.
Now, let's say that I add weight training three times a week. Would I need to provide my body with more protein --in other words, not a calorie-restricted diet-- in order to promote muscle growth?
That's always been a question in my mind. If you want muscle growth, should you not increase calorie consumption in sync with exercise rather than restrict it?
In general you are correct.. for muscle growth you need an increase in calories; however, if you are new to lifting and swimming, you will experience for some significant period of time (really dependent on person) what they call "newbie gains" where you will gain muscle, lose fat, and pretty much feel awesome :) It doesn't last though but take advantage of it while it does. Not sure why the body experiences that, maybe it is the shock to the system which forces the body to preserve/build muscle at the expense of fat but it is definitely a real phenomenom.
