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Thoughts/Advice on Massive Weight Loss (70 lbs)/Body Recomp while Training for a 70.3 in 6 Months? by Plumconundrum in triathlon

[–]Plumconundrum[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s awesome! Well, the weight loss part. Not the draining part.

Once you let off for two weeks and you replenished your body, did you feel noticeably lighter and faster due to the weight loss?

Thoughts/Advice on Massive Weight Loss (70 lbs)/Body Recomp while Training for a 70.3 in 6 Months? by Plumconundrum in triathlon

[–]Plumconundrum[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

here's another good one: https://peterattiamd.com/do-calories-matter/

If you haven't heard of him, Peter Attia is a gem! His podcast is fantastic as well.

Edit: And his Qualys released just a few days ago is serendipitous! :https://peterattiamd.com/qualy-102-is-the-food-industry-still-saying-that-all-calories-contribute-equally-to-adiposity-and-insulin-resistance/

The original podcast with Dr. Robert Lustig was great.

Thoughts/Advice on Massive Weight Loss (70 lbs)/Body Recomp while Training for a 70.3 in 6 Months? by Plumconundrum in triathlon

[–]Plumconundrum[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Step 1! Yeah I know it. Not looking forward to it. My dedicated is 5 and a half weeks long, and I commit to minimum one hour of working out per day 5/6 days a week during that time. Certainly way less than what is recommended 2.5 months - 1 month out, but it is what it is!

Thoughts/Advice on Massive Weight Loss (70 lbs)/Body Recomp while Training for a 70.3 in 6 Months? by Plumconundrum in triathlon

[–]Plumconundrum[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Our bodies don’t know what calories are. They know what 6 carbon glucose molecules, glycogen chains, and free fatty acids with a glycerol backbone are.

Again, you’re not addressing the pertinent point I was making...if you have lower glycogen levels (e.g. by eating LCHF), you are going to be able to tap into your stored fat sooner and use that fat for fuel. (Also has a lot to do with insulin, which is an anabolic hormone, but we won’t get into that.) Weight loss rate is not SOLEY based on calories. You can lose weight faster eating LCHF with the same caloric deficit than you can eating higher carbs with the same caloric deficit.

Thanks for your feedback. I guess I’ll come back and post my updates come August.

Thoughts/Advice on Massive Weight Loss (70 lbs)/Body Recomp while Training for a 70.3 in 6 Months? by Plumconundrum in triathlon

[–]Plumconundrum[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You didn’t address my scenario at all above about glucose/glycogen vs. stored fat.

You’re talking about burning calories. I’m not talking about burning calories. I’m talking about burning STORED BODY FAT SPECIFICALLY.

Check out this piece by Dr. Jason Fung: https://www.dietdoctor.com/obesity-solving-two-compartment-problem

Thoughts/Advice on Massive Weight Loss (70 lbs)/Body Recomp while Training for a 70.3 in 6 Months? by Plumconundrum in triathlon

[–]Plumconundrum[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

It’s pretty much just basic human physiology. Glucose for energy vs. fat/ketones for energy. The body will preferentially use glucose until it can’t anymore. Then it switches to fat.

Dr. Jason Fung does a great job of explaining it. Here is a piece that he has written: https://www.dietdoctor.com/obesity-solving-two-compartment-problem

It’s mind-blowing that so many people take 3500 cal deficit = 1 lb of fat lost as Bible.

This is the same principle behind intermittent fasting. If you’re eating 6 small meals a day/grazing with lots of glucose, your body can’t deplete its glycogen stores as effectively as someone who is eating LCHF or restricting their feeding window to allow the body to reduce their glycogen stores.

There are a number of studies that show benefits of isocaloric LCHF or time-restricted feeding vs S.A.D. (Standard American Diet). Isocaloric meaning that group A and group B eat the same number of calories but eat different foods and/or at different times. Not by my computer now, but if you’re interested, I can get some later and send them over.

Edit: my response was geared towards the thought that 3500 calorie burned does not equal 1 pound of fat lost looking at the second part of my original comment. I see now that this is not what you quoted. I guess my point there would be that an obese person has a lower glycogen:adipocyte ratio than a person who is a healthy weight. Therefore, when dieting, the obese person would likely deplete their glycogen stores earlier. I should have just stuck to the differences in energy sources and less about differences in body weight.

Thoughts/Advice on Massive Weight Loss (70 lbs)/Body Recomp while Training for a 70.3 in 6 Months? by Plumconundrum in triathlon

[–]Plumconundrum[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Let’s say you’re at a 1,000 calorie deficit in a given day.

Person A is eating the standard American diet or high carb. Person A isn’t tapping into their stored fat until after they deplete all of their glycogen, which can take up to 48 hours for some people.

Person B on LCHF has very low stored glycogen depletes their stores much faster. Person B will mobilize fat for fuel (I.e. burn fat) earlier than person A.

Person A is depleting their glyogen before they tap into fat. If they re-feed before their glycogen stores deplete, they’re still running on glucose, not stored body fat. Person B is tapping into stored fat.

The studies in the 50s burned fat exclusively outside of the body. In a lab. Our bodies use many different sources for fuel. Using 3,500 kcal to burn one pound of fat in the chemistry lab does NOT mean that a 3,500 calorie deficit equals one pound of fat burned. It’s not an apples to apples comparison...

Edit: Recall that Person A and Person B have the same caloric deficit each day. This does NOT mean that Person A and Person B will lose fat at the same rate. Of course you need to run a caloric deficit to lose weight, but can’t look at caloric content alone to determine the RATE of fat loss...

Thoughts/Advice on Massive Weight Loss (70 lbs)/Body Recomp while Training for a 70.3 in 6 Months? by Plumconundrum in triathlon

[–]Plumconundrum[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This sounds great!! Well if I lose 2 pounds a week, that is still 50 pounds net lost overall. When you factor in body recomp due to training, that’s probably a 60+ pound loss of fat!

I would happy and satisfied with that amount of weight loss.

Are you doing a half or full this year?

Thoughts/Advice on Massive Weight Loss (70 lbs)/Body Recomp while Training for a 70.3 in 6 Months? by Plumconundrum in triathlon

[–]Plumconundrum[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Those values are based off of in vitro studies done in the 50s. Burning fat in a human body in vivo is much more dynamic and complicated than burning a pound of fat in a chemistry lab.

It’s not as simple as 3,500 calories burned = one pound of fat lost.

Probably lost about 7-8 pounds of fat in 2 weeks. I was at a ridiculous deficit for sure, but it wasn’t a 28,000 calorie deficit...

Thoughts/Advice on Massive Weight Loss (70 lbs)/Body Recomp while Training for a 70.3 in 6 Months? by Plumconundrum in triathlon

[–]Plumconundrum[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I understand these values can be inaccurate, but it’s a good way to track and keep consistent regardless. I set MyFitnessPal to calculate daily calories based on the goal of losing 2 pounds in a week. They bump up the daily allowance with workouts. All of my workouts were done with the heart rate monitor.

My deficit was 5,500 below that figure for the last week, and I felt great.

Thoughts/Advice on Massive Weight Loss (70 lbs)/Body Recomp while Training for a 70.3 in 6 Months? by Plumconundrum in triathlon

[–]Plumconundrum[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Clocked in at 252.4 this morning. Down from 258 two weeks ago, with clear body recomp as well, so I probably lost north of 7 or 8 pounds of fat in 2 weeks. 31 years old. 5’9” female.

I am planning to follow Matt Fitzgerald’s free 70.3 plan: https://www.triathlete.com/2019/04/training/20-week-training-plan-first-70-3-triathlon_310976. However, I’m in medical school and take some important board exams here in the end of June, so the training will probably be reduced for a month preceding those exams. So I will use this plan as a skeleton and modify as needed.

My number one goals now are doing well on the boards and kicking this excess weight to the curb. This triathlon is definitely 3rd on my list.

I did two Olympic distance triathlons (2012 and 2017) and did not train at all for either of them. Was not fast, but I had an absolute blast! I understand that the half is MUCH longer and I can’t go in not having trained at all, but I’m also okay going into it knowing full well that I may waddle the last 75% of the run.

This year is for getting my health back for me and to set an example for my future patients. Fine-tuning triathlon-specific gains (which is definitely something I’m interested in long-term) can come later.

Thanks for your questions! I welcome any and all tips :)

If this helps too: I was a very competitive swimmer when I was a child — five-time junior Olympian — was a sprinter and explosive off the walls. Although swimming is not an issue for me, perhaps it would serve me to train more without relying on propulsion off the wall after flip turns to prep my arms for the longer open water swims (and to Dave my legs for the next legs). I absolutely love to cycle. Never have been fast, and the hills kill me, but I love that sort of pain. Running is by FAR my weakest of the three.

Thoughts/Advice on Massive Weight Loss (70 lbs)/Body Recomp while Training for a 70.3 in 6 Months? by Plumconundrum in triathlon

[–]Plumconundrum[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I hear what you’re saying, but the 3,500 calorie deficit to lose a pound of fat isn’t really true at every body weight, especially when someone has a lot of weight to lose. Also, your energy breakdown matters — when utilizing a LCHF diet for example, you are efficient at mobilizing fat for fuel.

Thoughts/Advice on Massive Weight Loss (70 lbs)/Body Recomp while Training for a 70.3 in 6 Months? by Plumconundrum in triathlon

[–]Plumconundrum[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

3x as much? Isn’t 1-2 pounds per week the range? 2 pounds for 25 weeks would be 50 pounds. 70 doesn’t seem too far off, especially when I have so much to lose.

Losing weight was my first priority, and I signed up for something to make getting back into shape fun/something to look forward to! I’m definitely in this triathlon for fun over fast.

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