Swimming as a calorie burner?

I know for sure I've gained weight since I started swimming almost 20 months ago. I was running before and weighed less and my shoulders were, well, obviously, much less broad. I don't swim as much as some of the aquaholics around here because of my labrum issue. But I still swim 4-5x a week with a few of them easy workouts of an hour focusing on drills and technique or aerobic lite sprinting. No way would that burn enough calories for me, and I hate to diet. So I have to run or cycle and weight lift to supplement my swimming. But I was definitely thinner when I was a runner. (Or maybe I'm just getting old and my metabolism is slowing down...:eek: ) So I disagree with that svelte (S)he-Man! Of course, (S)he-Man was training much more than me with that 1.5 hours 6x a week. I guess that would kill a lot of calories. Engine building seems to burn a lot more calories than limited sprint workouts. Don't you like running, Kristina? Or just too sad about the no swimming thing? :( Hang in there. Hope your eyes are better! :) Ok everyone is talking about weight loss calories burned. Is the issue "fat" loss, I go by mirror not weight. I can cut some junk yet..but not unitl the weathre warms up a bit...won't run on my knees aor back so bikig is apossible alternative. Swim intense and eat normally after wards for a week or two see if that improves what you see in the mirror not the scales. Forty you shouldn't have to diet.. just not binge on ring-dings, ho-hos or, god forbid, twinkies!

Speaking for myself, swimming does burn calories. I have swam sporadically for the last two months and I can see a difference in the mirror and how my clothes fit. I avoid the scale like the plague. Got Boost

So what the heck are Ring Dings? I've heard the term before but have never actually seen them. Is this some kind of regional thing? I'm more of a Little Debbie man than Hostess, personally :) Here Kirk..these things are great after a late swim. I wash mine down with a nice cup of tea....

My 2 cents- I think it is the interval work that helps me lose weight or at least maintain my weight. If I just swim easy for a few weeks, I will gain a few pounds. And this has become more of a problem since menopause. :(

I enjoy burning calories in many different ways. Sleeping is close to the top of my list. I have always considered sleeping an art form. I enjoy sleeping. Miles

I enjoy burning calories in many different ways. Sleeping is close to the top of my list. I have always considered sleeping an art form. I enjoy sleeping. Miles I've been told that the major amount of calories that you burn have more to do with your metabolism which burns calories while you are at rest (such as when you are sleeping as Miles points out) then the actual calories that you burn while exercising....and the swimming (and other exercise related activities like spin classes...jogging....etc..) help to increase your metabolism ....so the primary calorie burning that takes place as a result from exercising actually takes place during things like sleeping....but its still all connected to the exercising none-the-less. I, personally, have no actual expertise in this area ....so keep in mind that I am only passing on information that was explained to me by someone else who did claim to be an expert on the subject.....It sounded logical enough to me to be believable though. Newmastersswimmer

I have lost about 30 lbs over the last 3 years of swimming only. I did crank it up from 4 days per week to 6. It was slow and steady, the right way to do it. Recently I added cycling to work my legs some. As a distance swimmer a two beat kick does nothing for the legs(my trouble spot) and managed another 5 pounds there. Running is too painful the next day due to a bad back. Adding weightlifting is a great idea and will burn more fat. The one thing I had to remember through all of this was that even though I was not really losing pounds fast I was losing inches and that is what counts. Muscle weighs more than fat and looks alot better. So who cares what you weigh, its the inches that count. More streamline in the water. Donna

....yada... yada... yada.....and don't forget athletes NEED carbs and then treat yourself every once in awhile, too ... (or in my case daily) posted by FlyQueen Thats it Heather...rub it in now....Like salt in an open wound ....LOL!! Enjoy your youth while you can o.k. ....b/c before you know it your going to find out what that Violet chic found out in Willie Wonka....LOL!! (just j/k now Heather.....or am I?) Newmastersswimmer Not to brag (or perhaps to) I have fantastic genetics! My mom eats whatever she wants (always has) and is rail thin. My dad eats everything in sight (usually in mass quantities while forgettting to breathe) and is pretty thin, too ... I also eat a lot because I work out ...

here's a calorie calculator www.self.com/.../calculators ande apparently the calculator thinks's I'm a big, fat, lazy, butt...I need to do more to lose more weight... well that calculator can come round and kiss my speedo! :rofl:

here's a calorie calculator www.self.com/.../calculators ande I am a little suspicious about these things though Ande b/c the way I understand it, the amount of calories a person burns doing x amount of exercise of type y depends on a lot of variables that often vary widely from one person to the next. For example, A very nervous young chain smoker with a high natural metabolism could possibly end up burning more calories just standing around than someone else who is older and has a much slower metabolism ....even though the older person is riding a bike compared to the young chain smoker who is just standing in one place. The calorie calculators will often ask for your age and weight and other such info.....but even still, there are a wide variety of genetic factors and other factors that still vary so widely amongst the population that these calorie calculators might not actually provide a given individual (of a particular age and weight) with very accurate data? But since I am not an expert, I am mostly speculating here? The calculators might provide a decent "mean" result based on some statistical findings....BUT how well that mean actually predicts data for real individuals depends a great deal on things like the standard deviation of the overall raw statistical data for that particular person's age and weight (for a particular exercise and for a particular length of time)....And somehow I am thinking that the standard deviation associated to how many calories an individual of a certain age and weight burns doing this or that for so long could be a fairly large number (for all of the reasons I have already stated above)? Newmastersswimmer