January/February weight loss challenge

[Trek420]

A little late, 169.

[gnat23]

I *think* what happens during a long ride is two-fold. One is simple dehydration, the other is a purge of your body's glycogen.

Glycogen is how your muscles store sugars for quick energy. Each gram of glycogen also stores about four grams of water with it, if I remember my biology right. For about the first hour of a long ride, your body can pull energy from muscle glycogen, which drains some of the water as well, until it switches to the slower burn of the liver-glycogen production, fat-metabolism, or the dreaded ketone metabolism (bonking).

When you're done using your muscles, you'll eat a recovery meal or whatever, and one of the first things that gets replenished is that glycogen and the water that goes with it. It's like a sponge that soaks up water and stores it back into those muscles for future use, sometimes a little more than you may have stored before the ride.

I remember in the old days when I was playing around with carbohydrate cycling and heavy weight lifting, I could get my weight to swing six pounds in a day, and a glycogen refeed would cause my arm muscles to *pop* and the scale would skyrocket. What you're seeing is probably not as quick or dramatic, but it might be the same issue. Either way, it's not a reflection on true fat-loss or -gain, unless somehow you're taking in WAY more cookies and burritos on the ride than you're burning. Then you're on your own. :-D

-- gnat!

[WindingRoad]

I totally forgot to weigh myself today at the gym. I've been doing extra workouts during my lunch hour and I'm discovering some really cool mini workouts on my iPhone through Nike. Problem is, apparently my body is not used to this. I did a pretty hard ab workout today and I was lethargic the rest of the day. I actually started getting a migraine towards the end and had to leave my lab early. My point is I am getting REALLY tired after these workouts but I don't have but maybe 30 - 45 minutes tops to get something done so I like to do them full throttle. Since I am trying to drop a few pounds I have been watching calories pretty closely too and I think I'm may not be eating enough protein??? Can that cause a sudden onset of fatigue like this? I just had a complete workup with my doctor so I know I'm good there. I do take iron for slight anemia but have never had it drain me like this has? I'm relatively new to trying to increase muscle from resistance training so I don't know what the usual and customary amount of protein vs. carbs distribution is during a building stage?

[Tabby]

holding at 137.

[Tabby]

It is a fine line to eat enough to keep your body fueled for a work out and to still have energy and also drop weight. Everyone is different, but for me, after a long ride or good work out, I eat a banana. It perks me up, gives me an extra fruit for the day, is good nutrition for the 100 calories.

I would say your body is wanting some nutrition.

[ultraviolet]

220. The past couple of weeks have been a killer, so my stress is sky high. Stress and weight loss don't go well together for me. My eating is fine, but my body holds on to everything when I get stressy. Bah.

[azfiddle]

Yahoo- back down to 113.4 this morning :-)