weight loss

As Shaky pointed out, 3500 calories = 1 pound of fat, rather than any combination of fat and lean, as I had posted earlier. I maintain that the equation is a useful rule of thumb for healthy people trying to lose fat pounds. I've used it successfully myself.

Well kids, on the who eats more when issue, I just got off the phone with my mom, yes I called my mom on this, and asked her to think back to when my sister and I were in high school and the different sports seasons. Specifically, I asked her if there was any season that we ate more food and if so, which one. Hands down and without hesitation, swimming was first, followed by basketball, then softball/track & field. Softball and track remained relatively normal in food portions and how often we ate. Basketball "hunger" increased but no where near what swimming did. Mom agreed, what we ate during the swim season (thank goodness we didn't swim all year round!) was at least double our normal food portions. Mind you, my sister and I were not (still aren't - hee hee) overweight either. I remember being very lean and very toned. Things that jiggle now surely didn't back then. (Oh, I can't wait to get back into the pool!) So, it's been just over 10 years since I've graduated, however I clearly remember eating like there was no tomorrow. I could consume an entire pizza and still be hungry. Wanna laugh? On the nights of a home meet - we'd run home and eat a pizza before we swam then had dinner after the meet! On nights of an away meet - mom would pack an extra lunch for us to eat on the bus then had dinner after the meet - we had to eat! Shaky, since you've an unusual (and slightly abnormal) amount of technical knowledge on the white-meat-dark-meat-muscle-top-and-bottom-workouts....can you tell me why during the swimming season my sister and I drank milk like we owned the cow? It's a safe bet that during the swim season we would consume 2-3 gallons of milk a week - MMMMOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! Okay, I'm laughing at myself right now. I can't add anymore to this thread...hee hee. After my confessions of eating like a whale, you probably think I look like one - I'm going to do some crunches - that would be the exercise, not the chocolate bar!

Jerrycat, An example of fat-loss: I started swimming about 4-5 weeks ago. 2000-3500 Meters a day. I have no idea if I lost any weight, since I decided to not obsessively weigh myself. I am watching my diet and calorie intake, and I've noticed I dropped one dress size within the last month. I also noticed a lot of positive changes in the muscle tone, upper and lower. I read somwehere several years ago that one dress size change usually adds up to 8-10 pounds of fat loss. Hoping this continues so I can be around 4 or 6 in 2 months :) Also, I started off coming out of very sedentary lifestyle for couple of years. For those of you who have been working out all along, you may need to introduce different kind of change in your diet/exercise style. As for swimming and fat... Our bodies tend to react to being cold (lower temperatures in water) by wanting to store some fat, which can lead to extra hunger. I tend to be very hungry after a distance swim. Occasionally I take an appetite surpressant. When you're that hungry, sometimes it is too easy to overeat. With an appetite suppresant, I can limit the calorie intake to what I need, rather than what I feel like.

I can tell you that swimming will help you lose weight. After I got out of college I started to gain weight. Being 6'2" I got up to 215 pounds or so. I got sick of it and started to swim to get in shape. After a month or so I had dropped 10 pounds. I stayed at 200 or so for a long time, it wasn't until later I realised I was gaining muscle. Now, two and a half years later, I'm down into the low 180s and dropped a bit more then 3 inches off my waist. I still have a bit of a tire around the middle but I'm in good shape.

Originally posted by dulfin ...can you tell me why during the swimming season my sister and I drank milk like we owned the cow? It's a safe bet that during the swim season we would consume 2-3 gallons of milk a week - MMMMOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! I'd be interested to hear this one too. Still need to satisfy the milkshake craving daily (although I make sure to use skim milk now :) ). I remember an age-group swim clinic where they mentioned that the lactate in milk would be good during training, as it is close enough to lactic acid. If your body gets used to disposing more lactic acid, that would help to delay fatigue during races. (This was the '80s, so I don't know if this is "urban legend" or valid sports nutrition.)

Originally posted by dulfin can you tell me why during the swimming season my sister and I drank milk like we owned the cow? Beats me. I learned the other stuff because I noticed that proponents of different types of exercise and different diets seem to create their own individual mythologies to explain what's happening in the body, and the explanations were inconsistent and sometimes contradictory. Even on this site, I found discussions that would seem to make sense if swimming were the only type of exercise in existence, but which fell apart as soon as you tried to apply the same conclusions to other sports. But because people tend to stick with specific sports or specific diets once they've bought into a particular mythology and resist crossing into unfamiliar territory, the myths seem to be perpetuated forever. I just kept reading and looking for explanations that made the most sense. I do that sometimes when I get a bug to learn about something.

Originally posted by jerrycat Hey Everyone! I've noticed that it was so much easier to loose weight with running, as opposed to swimming. It seems even though i'm swimming hard, the 13 or so pounds that I need to loose haven't budged. When I was running, my diet didn't have to be really clean...in fact I ate pizza at least once a week, and found that it helped me during high mileage. During running, my weight was very low despite the pizza habit. While swimming makes me hungrier, and I'm probably burning more calories per workout, the weight loss isn't there. Why is this? Thanks, Jerrycat

Well, I'm proud to say that I've gotten myslef on a better nutrition plan, and have lost two pounds. Also, I'm going to therapy to rehab my knee, and also have added some additional cardio to my routine. I'm doing 6 days a week of workouts, rather than just 3 or 4 as well--and wow! d o I feel better! This diet includes clean proteins and lots of veggies...it's great, and I'm eating 5-6 times a day. Also, I've quit drinking...so there's nothing but imporovement that's going to happen from here. Thanks for the info everyone--this has been so very helpful! Go swim! and have an awesome weekend!! ;) Jerrycat

Hi jerry, when you finish your swim work out or training . take approx. 5 minutes rest . then swim 50 or 100 laps at a reduced speed or moderate speed. the trick to useing calories is as much constant movement as you can do. when you are done ,drink water and eat fruit and vegys. by the way do this all freestyle and do not stop, untill you have reached 50 to 100 laps. when you have supper have protiens alot. but once you have finished supper , go back to water and vegys or fruit. Also maybe excerise in the gym, using the same eating routine. Of course after you can make eating and workout adjustments.

Shaky is probably right. The relationship between legs muscles and fat loss/muscle gain sounds accurate. Weight lifters realized this years ago, which is why squats are so important weight lifters. I enjoy fitness swimming. One thing I've noticed at nearly every pool, is that those who do just one stroke(usually free style) and do it enlessly, don't look good. They're usually a little chubby. Swimmers who mix it up, and do at least two strokes, and take rests between sets, tend to look much better.