In his great book Gold Medal Nutrition Glenn Cardwell highlights '10 dopey ways to lose weight'. He suggests for weight loss you do not:
- Restrict Fluids, Yes you do weigh less but you would overheat quicker and your muscles will work less efficiently.
- Excessive Sweating, don't head towards the sauna even though you will lose up to 2 - 3 liters of sweat it will also have a negative effect on your skills, endurance and concentration.
- Not Replacing Lost Fluids, can easily happen in a training session where the athlete does not focus on fluid consumption. Aim to weigh yourself before you head out and then after you get back. Refilling with the difference.
- Diuretics, these are drugs that make the body lose fluid. They are designed for individuals who have a medical condition where excessive fluid builds up not for those who need to make weight.
- Strict Diets and Fasting, these can make your stores of carbohydrates decrease and result in you becoming crabby, tired and train poorly. If you do run out of carbohydrates your body will start to use your muscle stores for energy making you weaker!
- Low Carb Diets, these are particuarly bad as they reduce the fuel your body needs to complete higher intensity exercise in the first place. Your glycohen stores can run out in 24 hours and you will then lose aerobic performance and body weight.
- Laxatives, these force food through your intenstines so less calories are absorbed. This can lead to a reduction in potassium, leading to heart beat irregularities and possible death.
- Vomiting, this can be a serious eating disorder and requires specific medical help. Watch out for 'Russells sign' which is where the middle finger and the index finger has been damaged by stomach acid, if you do susspect someone has an eating disorded urge them to get medical help.
- Enemas, yes they will help you to get rid of some weight that you would have passed in the following 24 hours. But they can cause damage to the bowel lining and as you would suspect it is slightly un-natural.
- Unusual, there are many other strange ways athletes have tried to lose weight over the years. The only way to lose weight safely is to watch what you are eating and exercise in the right amounts so you have a 500 calorie defcit in calories per day.
We are happy to train anyone within the following area and we can train anyone anywhere when providing a plan over the phone or via email.
Our local area is generally a 30 minute drive from Burgess Hill this includes.
Burgess Hill, Hassocks, Keymer, Ditchling, Hurstpierpoint, Haywards Heath, Cuckfield, Lindfield, Turners Hill, East Grinstead, Lewes, Barcombe, Plumpton, Chailey, Uckfield, Crawley, Gatwick, Barcombe, Handcross, Warninglid, Horsham, Cowfold, Billingshurst, Storrington, Henfield, Washington, Dial Post, Partridge Green, Steyning, Bramber, Fulking, Poynings, Hove, Southwick, Brighton, Rottingdean and Falmer.
