What is the best way to swim for weight loss?

Herb, i have a very very hard time losing any weight while swimming. as a very fast friend of mine said, "don't we swim so we can eat?" it seems that the more/harder i swim the more i eat. and i can really woof it down. as far as refined surgar goes, i'll take mine in the form of 4 scoops of blue bell mocha almond fudge ice cream. hmmm, maybe that's my problem. ok, make it 5 scoops. according to the bmi table that jim posted for his 50 free chart, i'm over weight. heck it says i've been overweight since i was 20 (which i can barely remember). weight loss will always be about calories in vs calories burnt.

The best way to lose weight is to couple physical exercise with caloric reduction. In order to maintain your physical exertion you will need proper nutrition. Google Myplate.gov and design meal plans around fruits, vegetables, grains, and lean protein. It's not rocket science, it's a lifestyle. I'm not being a smart _ss, I just get tired of watching people spend lots of $$$$$ to obtain something which should be a simple balance of lifestyle. :applaud: Exactly! Thanks for stating what I was thinking as I read through this thread, as well as other threads on the topic.

Are high yardage/slow aerobic swims a good method? Even the best method? Sorry, I'm sure this topic has been covered numerous times. I've been away from the forums and the pool for a while. And I've packed on some pounds. I just got back in the pool the other day after a 6-9 month layoff and have no immediate ambition to compete again. I'm thinking a realistic goal is to complete a 5k this summer and just focus on getting back in shape and not worry so much about the clock and sets and such. Figure I will get too frustrated and just want to swim just to swim for now. When I was training and competing for a few years in Masters I never got too far above 2000 yards but would do hard sets (for me) of 15x100, etc.. Would I actually lose more weight if I instead swam 3-4k yards of just lap swimming? ....Also, I just read in my swimmer that Leslie Livingston has given up weights and dryland. Isn't that a complete 180? Losing weight is a challenge for me, the only way it happens is by eating less. Consuming fewer calories.

I've been working on losing weight for a few years now with very little success. I started out with some workout videos (kick boxing was my preference), moved on to swimming, and then (hearing it was 'the best way to lose weight') started running. The most success I've had at any given time period in the past 3-4 years was last summer. During the summer swim season (late May through late July) I lost about 10lb. What did I do differently? I was swimming about 2.5hrs a day, doing doubles, 5 days a week (I did often miss the Masters practice, but swam at least once a day 5 days a week, averaging 7-9 swims a week). I swam long course with my Masters group in the early AM and then later on swam with my kids' age group in the intermediate group. Sadly, when swim season ended, I had nowhere to swim for a while. I had to go back to running (which I hate and am really no good at). I ended up breaking my elbow doing that (see?). Luckily, it was healed in time for the fall/winter swim season to start up. Unfortunately, I regained the 10lb in the time I was unable to run OR swim (UGH). I dropped a little weight at the beginning of fall season and then held steady until the last couple months when I was able to start swimming 5-6 days a week again. I've had times when I was just running, times when I was just swimming, and times when I was running and swimming. The most successful thing for me is to swim 5-6 days a week for 60-90min at a time. With regards to calories - I definitely eat MORE with all that swimming! But remember the most important thing about calories is that it's not nearly so much about quantity as it is about quality - especially when swimming. You can eat all the fresh fruits and veggies you want and still be losing weight. Make sure you're cutting back on as much processed food as possible and focus on eating fresh foods. Cutting back on desserts, refined sugars, and not over-doing it on alcohol will help too. There are websites/apps that can help you find the right balance for how many calories burned versus consumed to follow. But, I found, that I still had to maintain a pretty high level of activity in order for any of it to work. I'm not a big eater. I often only eat 1200-1500 calories a day, less when I'm not swimming, and I'm still overweight. I have to be really active in order to shed any pounds. We are all different and it can take some work to find what works for you. There are some vitamin/mineral type supplements you can take to aid with metabolism as well. Not diet pills, just nutritional supplements. Like CoQ10, Omegas, etc. Also, some people find protein shakes to be helpful. As far as what kind of swimming work outs to do - just keep it varied! Muscle confusion is important. Doing the same type of workouts over and over won't get you very far. Work in some drills, work in some speed sets, work in some long slow swims. Variety is the best way to go for just about everyone. Anyway, sorry this is so super long. :blush: Hopefully it was at least helpful! Good luck!

Body by vi. Only hope. Just ask them

I've wondered the same things about HIIT vs LSD type swimming. I myself prefer short sprints and keeping the heart rate at a spike... probably my track sprinting background. For me in the last 7 weeks I have seen my body composition change as my belly has been reduced. I've probably lost 6-8 lbs so far. The big key as you guys mentioned is the diet. I've all but eliminated soda from my diet... down from drinking 30-45 oz a day of sugared pop to averaging 20 oz a week total. (That is in the last 2 weeks). I've also stopped eating my usual candy bar in the morning. Now I will say I drink a lot more black coffee w no sweetner now and that has kept the withdrawals from the cokes at bay... I also feel like I have a lot more energy at work and when I get home. I hope to get down to 240 by March (from over 255) and then by May be about 220. It'll be interesting to see how much of a difference that makes in terms of how I feel in the pool and speed.

There are a few women I have seen at the pool that do countless laps. While I always thought it looked incredibly boring, they are very thin.

I completely agree. But (also not trying to be a smart _ss) sometimes it's not that simple. I've followed all the recommendations/instructions what-have-you and still not been successful at losing weight. I've counted calories, modified what and how much I eat, been very active, and had no luck. I don't know if it's just genetics, but that's how it is. I'm in much better shape and am very strong and have great muscle tone, but in 4 years I've only lost about 15lb (and that's been up and down and all over the place). By protocol, with the information I've followed, what I do *should* have yielded a 1-2lb loss per week. Not quite! Anyway, not really trying to argue or anything. I've had some very disheartening and disappointing times these past few years and got really tired of a lot of people telling me "Losing weight isn't hard at all! Just adjust your diet and activity level and off it goes!". I've since given up on the idea of losing weight. I'm just swimming because I love it and I want to get better at it and be able to compete. Sometimes I get bummed that I'm not lighter/thinner so that I can be faster as a result, but I just use that as fuel for my fire to make me work harder. ;) I think higher fat/protein and lower carb than what is standardly recommended helps most people who can't lose weight "conventionally." Like 50% cho instead of 65%

The best way to lose weight is to couple physical exercise with caloric reduction. In order to maintain your physical exertion you will need proper nutrition. Google Myplate.gov and design meal plans around fruits, vegetables, grains, and lean protein. It's not rocket science, it's a lifestyle. I'm not being a smart _ss, I just get tired of watching people spend lots of $$$$$ to obtain something which should be a simple balance of lifestyle. I completely agree. But (also not trying to be a smart _ss) sometimes it's not that simple. I've followed all the recommendations/instructions what-have-you and still not been successful at losing weight. I've counted calories, modified what and how much I eat, been very active, and had no luck. I don't know if it's just genetics, but that's how it is. I'm in much better shape and am very strong and have great muscle tone, but in 4 years I've only lost about 15lb (and that's been up and down and all over the place). By protocol, with the information I've followed, what I do *should* have yielded a 1-2lb loss per week. Not quite! Anyway, not really trying to argue or anything. I've had some very disheartening and disappointing times these past few years and got really tired of a lot of people telling me "Losing weight isn't hard at all! Just adjust your diet and activity level and off it goes!". I've since given up on the idea of losing weight. I'm just swimming because I love it and I want to get better at it and be able to compete. Sometimes I get bummed that I'm not lighter/thinner so that I can be faster as a result, but I just use that as fuel for my fire to make me work harder. ;)

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to weight loss. Some people respond to exercise; some to diet; some to both; some to neither. Almost everybody has a range of maybe 7-12 lb. that our internal systems of weight regulation defends with a remarkable degree of vigor. Increase your activity loads dramatically, and your appetite will go up to compensate. Decrease your food intake, and your metabolism will slow down to compensate for that. Unlike desire and willpower, these internal mechanisms are relentless and work 24/7 to keep you in your range. That's why the stats on recidivism--i.e., people successfully lose weight, only to regain it all back--are so grim. The best studies on intensive lifestyle intervention have shown that only about 30 percent of people can maintain a 5% decrease in body weight over two years. Obviously, there are people like Stewart who respond exceptionally well to the combination of swimming and a healthier diet. But it's also quite likely that he is being helped in his quest by genetic factors that allow him to respond so well. Not everyone has these. There are a host of other putative contributors to weight gain that are largely out of a person's control--for instance, if you were either a very low or very high birth weight baby, or your mother was obese when she had you, the odds of you being heavy as an adult go up significantly. (Interestingly, if your formerly obese mother has bariatric surgery and loses weight before she has your sibling, that child is not so likely to become obese.) It's all a bewilderingly complex business, and regardless of its impact on your weight, swimming is going to be good for you in a multitude of ways. I know it's hard advice to accept, but if you can focus more on how you feel than how you look, you will realize swimming is its own reward!