Fatness drive 2013 - update

[d000hg]

Do you mean something like this?

Scales with Body Fat Sensors

Yeah I think so - weight is just a number and even physical shape isn't 100% accurate (I imagine building your stomach muscles when fat could make your tum look bigger, IBS/bloating can distort your shape) but being able to see the amount of blubber in your body reduce would be intersting.

Our scales are old and crappy, maybe I should splash out. Current ones often fluctuate 2lb if you use them 2-3 times in succession, or tell you you weigh more after you take a massive wee.

[d000hg]

What is 'excessively muscular' ? Is it really true that muscular people tend to get fat as they get older?

Interesting topic. We've probably all seen the photos of Arnie as he ages and the normal view is that muscle turns to fat. But does it, or does it simply deteriorate and then the person gets fat?

[Mich the Tester]

It's hard to lose tummy weight in particular but its possible with two things (1) intensive cardio-vascular workouts that make you sweat (2) eat less and better

(1) in combination with long, steady endurance work, keeping the HR around 65% of max HR; two interval cardio-vascular sessions a week and one or two long walks or bike rides is a good combination. In fact, the latest ideas on cycling and distance running training are pointing to 'polarised training', which involves spending about 20% of exercise on very intensive work with the HR at about 90% of maximum, 70 % at the 'long slow steady 60% to 65% and only 10% in the typical cardio range; the combination seems to burn fat effectively and improve heart and lung function more effectively than lots of exercise in the in-betweeny range you see at aerobics classes. One qualification; people need to spend a couple of months building very basic fitness before doing the intensive stuff that pushes your heart rate up close to its limits, but if yo're already running without troubles, you could try this.

[sasguru]

Why do you specifically mention sweating Sas, simply as a sign the exercise is high-intensity or something specific? Lots of people talk of sweating off weight but surely that's only water and therefore a fake weight loss.

Why would 30min high-intensity exercise be better than 60min medium intensity?

Of course you can't "sweat off" weight.
I just mean cardio-vascular stuff that makes you sweat, getting your heart pumping, burning calories, intense exercise that should be slightly out of your comfort zone.
At the gym I see some fat people who need to lose weight doing a gentle canter on the treadmill thinking that's helping.
I recall reading that the intensity matters more than the duration (phnah phnah), but can't remember why.

[d000hg]

Of course you can't "sweat off" weight.

It would be nice if exercising enough to sweat made you hot enough the fat melted and could dribble out somehow

[sasguru]

What is 'excessively muscular' ? Is it really true that muscular people tend to get fat as they get older? It's perhaps true that people who have the genes to build a lot of muscle will also have a tendency to get fat if they don't exercise, but I also think a lot of people who exercise and play sports seriously into their 30s also go on and exercise a lot in older age, albeit differently. So you see rugby players becoming runners, rowers becoming long distance walkers and cyclists, and all sorts of combinations; it's really down to the individual. I know that having trained 5-6 days a week for most of my life and having the kind of appetite that supports that, I have to keep exercising. My heart chambers are enlarged and I can eat a lot; I can cut back on food or keep on exercising; the second is easier and I think most sportspeople know that. Can't produce statistics for it as I can't spend all day googling; too much work/CUK bulltulipting to be done!

Problem is when you get older physical things (joints etc) can stop you exercising as much as you want to.
It would be interesting to see some data on longevity in football versus rugby players (obviously adjusting for lifestyle and other factors). I may be wrong, but I'd bet my bottom dollar that footy players live longer.

[original PM]

I am sure I read somewhere that sweating does help as it reduces the amount of water in the fatty deposits which makes them easier to break down and get rid off...

or it may have been about not drinking to much water as it increases the amount of water in fatty deposits which etc etc etc

or I may have just dreamt that?

[Ticktock]

It would be nice if exercising enough to sweat made you hot enough the fat melted and could dribble out somehow

Some guy I used to work with tried to make me (and my very, very unfit body) do interval training at lunch times with him in the park. I hadn't had any decent intensive exercise for quite a while. At one stage I did think that something was going to dribble out of me, but I don't think it was just fat.

[MyUserName]

Interesting topic. We've probably all seen the photos of Arnie as he ages and the normal view is that muscle turns to fat. But does it, or does it simply deteriorate and then the person gets fat?

No, it does not. This is utterly impossible.

[BrilloPad]

(1) in combination with long, steady endurance work, keeping the HR around 65% of max HR; two interval cardio-vascular sessions a week and one or two long walks or bike rides is a good combination. In fact, the latest ideas on cycling and distance running training are pointing to 'polarised training', which involves spending about 20% of exercise on very intensive work with the HR at about 90% of maximum, 70 % at the 'long slow steady 60% to 65% and only 10% in the typical cardio range; the combination seems to burn fat effectively and improve heart and lung function more effectively than lots of exercise in the in-betweeny range you see at aerobics classes. One qualification; people need to spend a couple of months building very basic fitness before doing the intensive stuff that pushes your heart rate up close to its limits, but if yo're already running without troubles, you could try this.

I just can't read paragraphs like this. I just get out of the house and do whatever I feel like.