Where's my Shoes? - Weight Loss Thread
 

Sensitive subject I know, but how about a thread on weight loss. How much better would your swing be without the extra baggage? We have some excellent resources on this site for anyone interested in shedding a few pounds.

Vickie!

Easy questions but there are those "situational" factors.

What does the body prefer to burn in the form of energy? Fat, Carbohydrate/Glucose, or Protein?

If I walk a flat 18 holes, am I getting a good fat burning workout?

If I spend an hour on the range, what source of energy do you estimate I'm using the most?

I love this subject so watch out!

Bagger

The First Tee
 

At least 20 views and no one bites. Pun intended.

Come on. Anyone curious how to shed a few? Just a hint...Like golf, there are quick fixes and long term fixes. The quick fix can be bought over the counter and through "pop" instruction. Most quick fixes can be harmful and don't last.

Let me explain why I started this thread. Over 60% of us are overweight. According to the CDC 1 in 3 of us are obese. Some of it from excess, but I would argue that it's lack of good information and of course, lifestyle...ouch.

Again, it's not hard to shed fat and pounds with the right information in hand. This thread, like the rest of the site is to make you a better golfing machine regardless of age or ability. Tune up time! The holidays are fast approaching.

Tee it up.

Bagger

Very brave of you Bagger and as you might have guessed I have much to say. Since I don't believe in a quick fix I have to wait until my work day is complete to contribute so I will be home later today and will post most enormously. Thanks for suggesting this conversation. Vik

Really quite simple
 

If you take in more calories than you consume, you put on weight. Simple eh?

I know that most Americans eat portions larger than they should...

I know that most Americans eat way too much fats...

I know that I cut the size of my portions unless it is a special occassion.

I have started eating more fruits

Haven't eaten anything out of a can in a year or so.

Drink water not soda's.

Still haven't completely converted to whole wheat products. Still have some processed or refined flour contents.

Now if I can only quit the Triple Cholocate Banana Splits I will probably be okay.

Also have been walking for exercise and in the past 3 weeks or so have for the first time in about 30 years starting walking and carrying the golf bag. The course being hilly has limited me to 9 holes so far, but with the exercise that Vickie as given along with a few others, the pounds are dropping and I feel better.

Re: Really quite simple
 

True. And if you take in less than you burn, you lose weight. But if you're concerned about actually keeping some muscle on, those foods have to be good ones. 1500 calories of fast food is going to be less calories than you burn, but good luck losing weight doing that.

Basically you need to do some cardio minimum 2-3 times a week - any type will do. Also, you obviously need to watch what you're eating. No junk, no simple sugars, nothing high in saturated fat, etc.

tongzilla's brief guide to fat loss
 

Indeed, where you get your calories is important too, but unless you understand the calorie concept, nothing else matters.

There are so many opinions about how to lose body fat that many people end up completely confused and they don't do anything!

They've read about 27 ways to diet, 34 ways to do cardio, 101 ways to lift weights and 79 supplements to take. But they still don't have a clue how to start.

The "paralysis by analysis" syndrome.

The most important thing you can do is take action. Just begin the journey and figure it out as you go.

Actually, losing fat is not that complicated. You don't need a PhD in exercise physiology to figure out that any exercise is better than no exercise. You don't have to be a genius in nutritional biochemistry to figure out that an apple is better than a pop tart. Getting lean is simple: Exercise. Eat healthier foods. Eat smaller portions. Isn't this stuff just common sense? Didn't your mother tell you this?

The most important dietary factor in fat loss is not how many grams of carbohydrate, protein or fat you eat, the most important factor for fat loss is calories.

I'm appalled at how many people claim to sincerely want to lose body fat who admit they haven't a clue how many calories they eat.

Get serious! If you don't have the faintest idea how much you're eating, how can you expect to make any progress?

Did it ever occur to you that your ONLY problem might be overeating!

Do you realize that too much of anything gets stored as fat?

That's right - even if you're eating nothing but "natural and healthy" foods, if you eat too many of them, you're still going to get fat.

Portion control, my friend, portion control!

On the other hand, if you're under-eating you may be slowing down your metabolism. There's a fine line.

Don't get caught up in minutia - focus on fundamentals.

Paying attention to detail is important in G.O.L.F. -- and it is good advice. Unless you haven't mastered the fundamentals yet. In that case, it's the worst advice you could follow. Exactly the same in fat loss.

Emerson said, "The height of the pinnacle is determined by the breadth of the base." The heights you reach will depend entirely on how broad a foundation you build.

Forget about supplement dosages
Forget about macronutrient cycling
Forget about tempo manipulation
Forget about glycemic indexes
Forget about the latest Bulgarian or Russian periodization program
Forget about ALL the minutia until you have the fundamentals down cold!

Master the fundamentals first!

And what are the fundamentals to fat loss? In my opinion, they are:

(1) Burn more calories than you consume
(2) Do your cardio
(3) Lift weights
(4) Eat small, frequent meals and never skip meals
(5) Keep your fat intake low, but include adequate amounts of essential fats
(6) Eat natural foods; avoid processed & refined foods
(7) Eat more natural complex carbs, fruits & vegetables
(8) Eat lean proteins with each meal
(9) Think positive: visualize yourself as you would like to be.

If you're not doing all these things, and you're looking for the perfect supplement stack or the optimum periodization plan, I'm afraid you're barking up the wrong tree.

It's not that details don't matter -- of course they do. The Law of Accumulation states that every success is a matter of hundreds or even thousands of tiny efforts that often go unnoticed or unappreciated. Everything counts. Everything either helps or hurts. Nothing is neutral.

The problem is when you get bogged down in minutia before you've even learned the basics. Minor details produce minor results. Major fundamentals produce major results.

Don't major in minor things. Lay your foundation first, then move on to the finer points. And remember, as Jim Rohn says, always be suspicious of someone who says they've found a "new fundamental."

Rx For Life
 

Hall of Fame post, Leo. Thanks!

Tongzilla has posted a complete answer for you Bagger. I agree that most people start focusing on minutia before just setting up a three point plan. Don't skip meals, don't overeat, and eat your food in it's purest form possible. I think it was Martee that said he wasn't eating out of cans. This leans toward the glycemic efffects of foods but I will add this. When you eat clean, fresh foods, your body receives all of the nutrients that it is looking for in the calories you consume. If your food is deficient in nutritional value, as Matt suggested fast foods are low in nutrients and high in calories, your body will keep craving more and more calories as a way to satisfy it's chemical needs (vitamins and minerals, and even
water).

Here's an over simplified review of clinical nutritional information that directly addresses your question Bagger.:

The fact is that your body needs all three macronutrients (fat, carbs, and protein) to appropriately and efficiently provide energy to your body. Additionally, your body is always burning a mix of fat and blood sugar (glucose in the blood stream that has been converted from stored glycogen in the muscles that it makes from carbohydrates with the help of fats and proteins.) The proportion of fat and sugar (and carbs are sugar plain and simple whether it's broccoli, bread or candy; the molecular structure determines it's ultimate effect in your diet and on your waistline) is determined by your level of health and fitness, your level of physical exertion in life and in exercise and in recreation, and your eating patterns. Carbohydrates are always touted as the energy food which has caused much confusion in a climate of the low carbohydrate diet craze. You may have heard of BMR (basal metabaolic rate) which addresses the most vital of your caloric needs to beat your heart, provide cell regeneration and all of the life providing body functions. Additional calories are necessary for movement which is why everyone's life requires a different caloric intake.

Now a quicky about fat burn. The body, in it's infinate wisdom, recognizes continuous movement that raises your heart rate to a specified point above your usual oxygen requirements to require more energy / calories. This type of activity is called aerobic (with oxygen) Since we have a seemingly unlimited capacity to store fat (and I will add that one gram of fat supplies twice the fuel effeciency of one gram of carbohydrate or protein) your body will begin to mix in more fat and less sugar when you are in an aerobic capacity. The problem with walking 18 holes is that you stop and your heart rate recovers so you don't maintain your aerobic output and you don't go as effeciently into fat burn. However, if you continuously walked the distance of 18 holes without stopping to hit the ball or wait on your partners, your heart rate would stay elevated and your body will mix in more fat and continue to burn more fat to keep you moving while preserving the limited sugar required by the muscles to function.

Golf does add life activity which is always preferable to a sedentary lifestyle so it has great value. More movement means more calories burned period. More movement also means a healthier body and a stronger system and, I believe a healthier person all around. Golf should not be considered your opportunity for cardiovascular/aerobic exercise that is for the purpose of fat burn because it's not continuous. Range work is going to be anaerobic (unless you have a thousand balls lined up and just hit one after the other without proper set up for address and what's the good of that in your practice?hum?) and while it burns more calories than watching TV it will not require 'significant' additional calories to'significantly' impact your fat output.

One of the simplest ways to start controlling your nutritional needs was coined by weight watchers. Your meat portion should not be larger than the back of your fist (yes this means a larger person needs more calories but don't go overboard) your starchy foods (potatoes, rice, pasta, bread) should look smaller on your plate than your meat, and your vegetables (broccoli etc.) should take up twice as much space as your meat.

Your body has a mechinism to trigger the brain that it's nutritional needs have been satisfied. But over the years of imbalanced eating it has gotten lazy and confused. It may take a few days before you feel like you are getting enough food when you cut out larger portions. But after about 3-5 days you will begin to find that you feel better after you eat and that in fact you are satisfied and your energy will be balanced throughout the day.. The body can adjust it just needs a little time and consistency.

The simplist way to keep from over eating is to make sure you eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. Skipping meals indicates to your body that there is a need to increase the energy reserve system and that means your fat cells. Again, your body has a limited capacity to store non fat energy resources (carbs) in your muscles and liver (the resource for brain energy) so if it thinks you're not feeding it frequently enough it will accomodate you and build up a spare tire in case it needs emergency reserves.

Even though I create a body composition analysis for every client where we set the quantity and food choices I wait two to four weeks into the workout program. Prior to this I use the same suggestions I just listed) Why? Because it is as Tongzilla said. Unless the individual has begun to take care of the simpler aspects of making logical food choices, the other stuff just complicates the process. Once I have a five day diet journal that shows portion control, high quality food choices, and no trash foods (fast food, chips, soda's) we take a baby step forward.

Trust me, When I studied nutrition 30 years ago I thought I had to put everybody on a specific diet on Day 1. The results would be very effective but short lived because the patient didn't have a personal understanding of the process. Now my people feel much more in control from the start and have a clear understanding of what is working and when they make good and bad choices so that they don' have to keep starting over with a new plan.

Eat variety, eat slowly, eat clean foods, eat frequently, eat smaller portions, . . . eat like a grown up. Get regular exercise, cardiovascular, strength and flexibility. ENERGY IN (calories in food) - ENERGY OUT(calories burned in activity) It's all about balance. As in golf, as in life.

Vickie

A common profile
 

Tong and Vickie - You always exceed my expectations! Thanks for the time and calories expended on these posts. :D

Let me give you a profile. This was me a couple of years ago and it may mirror many on this site.

Middle aged Male
20 - 25% over ideal weight
Light weekend activities
Eating relatively healthy, balanced meals
Not much attention to quantities consumed
Had an occasional sweet tooth
Average 1 alcoholic drink/day.
Dined with clients once or twice a week
No regular exercise program
Desk job

Where should this person start and what can he expect after following your advice after 6 months, 1 year?

Many Thanks!

Bagger

First I hope you meant 20-25 pounds overweight and not percentage which would put you in a very high health risk category. I hope you can shed some light on this for me. But for my part Bagger, your most obvious starting point is to get into regular exercise. Your existing level of cardiovascular - pulmonary health (heart, lungs, and vascular system) would establish how much and how rapidly you move your work up. For bare bones beginners, I always recommend starting with a two day a week full body strength training program that is followed by about 15-20 minutes of cardio. The first two weeks would include two more days of cardio/aerobics/walking for 20 and building to 40 minutes. At this point you would add two more days at the 20 minute mark and move up to 45 minutes on those days as well. It is a general rule of thumb that 3 days at low level cardio is heart smart and at higher levels is low level training. To change body composition; that is to say to reduce fat and increase muscle function you need 5-6 days a week. Remember the goal is to reach your goal in a short enough period that you would be able to maintain your weight and positive body composition with good diet and go back to 3 days a week cardio and incorporate more strength in the mix. Once you have your frequency of cardio set you can begin to worry about how fast your are going (pace) and increasing your time and mixing up the levels of intensity you use. Frequency is king in the beginning, duration is second and pace is third for maximal conditioning and long range results.

By having a strength workout, which you will remember burns calories like crazy, you will improve the capacity of your muscles to use oxygen, thereby improving your results from your cardio. As you become stronger you will feel your capacity to keep your aerobic program up become easier which is the catalyst to take your work to higher levels of intensity.

Since I do all in home training with mostly golfers that fit your profile I know the biggest challenge we have is creating a program that doesn't overwhelm mentally, scheduling and energy. I would approach this differently if you were already exercising regularly but only in terms of how quickly you exercise.

Don't forgo your strength training at the expense of the fat burn aerobic work. Muscle stimulation requires a lot of calories, in fact when you are working at a high strength level you can actually burn more calories than in a fat burn cardio level workout. The only difference is in the percentage of fat and carbs you burn. I have examples if you are interested but it's pretty confusing. The important point is that muscles are your metabolically active tissue and use up lots of calories and the better muscular health you have the better cardio system you have, the better posture you have and the more energy you will enjoy in your life.

So I certainly didn't answer your question. It is really all so relative to your present health, your diligence, and the energy you can bring to a program that can only be specified for each individual. There is no reason in one year that you could not methodically and safely loose 20 lbs (and it can happen sooner if you can bring yourself to the work).

Remember CALORIES IN - CALORIES OUT. If you really want to track a program then you need to find a personal trainer and let them help you put together the numbers. Make sure you get a trainer that passes your interview not only so you trust them but so that you are sure they understand your objectives. I often work with someone for six weeks to put together their program and then we touch base several more times, to tweek their program, throughout the year.

I'm so glad you started this thread. I can assure you that there are many opinions regarding the best way to approach your program. It is all subjective and should be based on mental and personality strengths and weakness in addition to more fitness based criteria. Take it all in and enjoy experimenting. Get to know your body thru your mind. And finally trust that the program you define is right for you. Less is not necessarily more and more is not necessarily better. It must be something that feels right and works in your life and finally provides some measurable, if somewhat slower than magic, results.

Let's keep it going. Vik

Success Stories
 

Vickie,

I would love to hear about some of your success stories.

Golfers that you have worked with who not only reached a new level of health and fitness, but whose game also improved as a result.

Go ahead, beat the drum!

Thanks,

Bagger

Vickie Magic
 

For the past couple of months, I've been working with Vickie on rotator cuff, rhomboid and lat exercises, learning to isolate those muscles from the 'core'. In my last 36 holes, I've missed three fairways. Is there a 'connection'?

I've known for quite some time what to do.

Now I'm doing it.

Your call.

Ok Yoda, I hear your call. I am so delighted, for you, that you have benefited from the work we are doing together. And I mean together. As a fitness tutor I am downloading more information than a lot of people want, or think they want, to know. The approach I take is not as easy or mindless as most training protocols . . . but neither is the athletics of golf. All of my testimonials are on hard copy as my wonderful people send me letters. I need to retype them here and will then be able to provide some more examples of training the whole body for perfect performance on and off the golf course.

It is actually funny that most of the people I work with come to me because of a referral to help them deal with a specific pain, shoulder, neck, low back. The end result is that they write me a testimonial that refers more to the things in their life that are important and never remember the initial problem. This is as it should be. We should be able to keep our physiology in a superior state and have little symptoms that just keep us on track to have our best life possible.

You can go to my website www.thephysicalexperience.com and see one testimonial from a great man who forgot to tell you that his two neck surgeries didn't decrease his pain but our work did and his health improved and his distance increased. We laughed many times, and he offered to resubmit his testimonial but I rejected his offer. This is the great stuff of training. You just really get to experience a higher level of life. No need to revisit or recreate problems. Just live . . . and live well . . . and happily.

Vik

Hello rwh, Been under the weather this week so sorry for the delay. The real truth is that for all the workouts that could be available, as posted many times on various threads, Yoda's is pretty specific to his physical issues. If you look at some of the exercises I suggested to Martee for his shoulder pain you will find the basic starting point for all exercise programs with my golfers. The most important thing to remember is that your form should be as specific when you exercise as it is when you execute your best golf stroke.

Yoda and I don't do anything really new in his general program but we pay close attention to the misbehavior of his muscles as they agree to perform a movement. By isolating his mental attention to the mechanical function of the exercise at hand, we improve his ability to control his movements in every physical performance; exercise, golf, and regular life activities. The secret is in proper application of the geometry of movement. . . Sound familiar.

Just remember that you do reach a point (appropriate to your physical condition) that it is time to change both your exercises, their order, the resistance, and the application. Let me know if you don't find the exercises on the previous threads. I need to make a log of their locations anyway. I will try to post these generally recommended exercises tomorrow.

Vik

Yodas new workout routine ...:D

More Than Meets The Eye
 

What you don't see is my Calvin Klein underwear. I'm the guy on the box. :D

Strenghten your "engine"
 

*********disclaimer: I do not advocate against diets for overweight. But I think that "getting in shape" is a more healthy and balanced approach than "losing weight" allthough the latter can be an important path towards the former.**********

I've always been a pretty slim and skinny person. But I've had the privilege of moving weight from around the body to the "love handle" belt surrounding my waist and then back again. In other words: Going from muscles to fat and back to muscles again.

Eating healthy is important. I will not argue about that. The weight of the norwegians is increasing as it is in most of the western world.

But the funny thing is, we are not eating more calories than previous. What has changed during the years are, we are not using our bodies as much as we used to. Our engines are getting weaker too. We burn less calories when we are using our bodies and we burn less calories when our bodies are "idling". We probably burn less calories when we are sleeping as well.:p

This trend nowdays goes from generation to generation, but it also happens to individuals like myself who were (more or less deservedly) pretty fit in the 20 and 30 - but who have lost muscle mass and aerobic capacity and endurance since. (The apetite tends to be pretty fit, however.)

For long and short term effects - get that engine back in shape. And if you do - be aware that muscles are a lot heavier than fat. As long as you are able to walk/run/swim/cycle faster and longer - or as long as you are increasing the strenght in your large muscles - you are probably on the right track even if the pounds don't drop that easy.

I did a lot of aerobic training in my youth - trying to become the best I could in a sport called orienteering. We read all the books and tried to follow "state of the art" training methods. In hindsight I think we were way to scientific about H2 get in good shape. Nowdays I have a more simple view of things (reflecting slightly lower/different ambitions I must admit - bot hopefully more wisdom as well):

1) Don't challenge any medical conditions if you have any.
2) Do something you enjoy or else you will quit.
3) You improve at what you practice. If you practice walking you get good at walking. If you bench press, that's where you will improve most. If you want to hit the little ball harder, throw in a few exersizes where you hit the ball as hard as you can. Etc.

Variation is required if you want to improve your general form, and specific exersices at the right intensity and duration is needed for improvement in specific areas.

4) Do it so hard and/or long that you get tired. You need to wear down (parts of) your body to recover to a higher level. (This is where we ordinary people have a big advantage over the fittest part of the population. They may have to do several workouts to get the same training effect as we can accomplish in 45 minutes.)

5) Rest at least long enough beween workouts so you are fully recovered in the parts needed for your next workout. In my experience it can be anything between 1 day and 8 days, depending on fitness and type of workouts.

6) Don't worry whether you are following the "right" exersize program. If you get the good-tired feeling afterwards, you've had a good workout.

7) For weight-training and technical training involving motoric skills: Worry about doing the exersises right. Get help if needed.

8 )Remember: One good exersise will improve your form for the rest of your life. If you stop exersising your form will decline on just about the same rate as before, but starting from a higher level. Moderate training doses during a short winter can have long lasting effects. So even if your workout regimen doesn't last forever, your very next workout will be good for you.

9) Start easy if you haven't exersized for some time. Full effort from day one is asking for injuries.

10) It's ok to compete with yourself from time to time, but if you do it every time, pretty soon you will not be looking forward to your next workout. It's a bit like trying to beat your handicap every time.

11) We are now heading for cristmas so remember: Every christmas meal tastes twice as good after a good workout!

Have fun, train, rest & eat healthy and enjoy it all!

Well folks, another genius has joined our ranks. Bernt wrote "Have fun, train, rest & eat healthy and enjoy it all". Taking command of you own physical capacity is a stroke of genius and Bernt stated as clearly as it gets. Glad to have you on the forum Bernt. Lot's of good information shared from many perspectives helps us all to find our way to our best day on the golf course. Vik

Vickie,

I'm very interested in types of exercise; moderate vs. intense and their effect on fat burning, cardiovascular health, and hormone response.

I'm of the belief that heavy intensity workouts; although anaerobic (without oxygen, hence reduced fat burning) promotes latent fat burning due to a higher post workout metabolic rate than lighter workouts. In addition, I've seen studies suggesting heavier intensity workouts for men promote a higher levels of Testosterone production which stimulates more rapid muscle development and an overall metabolic increase.
Lower intensity workouts help promote better cardiovascular health and burn fat more efficiently during the workout. Can you help me understand how the body reacts to each type of exercise; moderate vs. intense and how these exercise modes should be used to maximize fat burning and overall fitness?

Another loaded question!

Thanks,

Bagger

Hi Bagger, I addressed some of this in an earlier post but realize that the more we know the more we realize we want to know. I have actually been working on a piece that addresses this area of balancing fitness. I have a little more work to do so I will use you as a catalyst to get deep into my writing. It will be Tuesday, however, since I have some product to complete for my weekly clients. Thanks for the deep query into success with balanced fitness. Vickie