Running & Weight Loss

Did you start running months ago & are disappointed with the results you’ve seen? While running does burn mega calories, here are some reasons you may not be seeing the weight-loss results you're after.

Post Run Pig-Outs

Burning tons of calories can cause a famished feeling afterward, but it's important to refuel the correct way. Choose junk food as your recovery food and not only are you overdoing it on the calorie front, you'll be hungry again in the next hour. Although a post-run snack is essential, make sure it's packed with protein and filling carbs and does not exceed 150 calories. If you exercised before a meal, enjoy a sensibly portioned plate, and don't go overboard as a way to reward your efforts. If you still find you're utterly famished after a workout, it probably means you need to fuel up before you exercise.

You Don't Run Enough

If you're running and not seeing results, look at your calendar. Doing one 45-minute run once a week or a couple 20-minute runs won't burn enough calories to lose weight. In order to lose a pound a week, you'll need to cut 500 calories each day, through a combination of diet and exercise. If losing weight is your goal, run three to four times per week and incorporate other forms of calorie-burning cardio and/or metabolism-boosting strength training on the other days.

You're Burning Less Than You Think

You just got back from a run, you're covered in sweat, and you're convinced you burned over 500 calories. But did you really?  If you didn't run for that long or that fast, then you're not burning as many calories as you thought. It's best to track your workout just to be sure, using a heart rate monitor or a running app for your phone.

Same Workout, Different Day

If you found a great three-mile loop in your neighborhood, running it for a few weeks can help running become a habit. The problem lies with continually doing the same running workout. Your muscles will quickly adapt to the demands you're placing on them, which is a surefire way to hit a weight-loss plateau. Avoid this issue by mixing up your running workouts: include speed intervals, hills, long runs, short runs, and run on different surfaces and in new places to keep your muscles guessing and continuously strengthening. As mentioned earlier, it's also important not to make running your sole source of exercise. Include other forms of cardio as well as strength training since muscle mass burns more calories and speeds up your metabolism.

It's Not Just About the Scale

Running is one of the best ways to tone your lower body because it helps diminish fat while building muscle. Muscle tissue is more dense than fat tissue, so it takes up less space. This means that although your weight might not decrease (and might even go up a little), other body measurements will change, such as waist circumference, bra size, or the shape of your tush. The number on the scale isn't always the best way to monitor your progress. Even though the scale's not budging, you might be able to fit into those skinny jeans you had your eye on.

Original Source: http://www.fitsugar.com/Why-Running-Doesnt-Help-Weight-Loss-23050499

Food Baby

Surely we’ve all heard of the phenomenon that is the food baby. When indulging doesn’t quite do justice to how much you truly just ate, all of a sudden your stomach is protruding and making you, men or women, look as though you’re pregnant. The growth of your stomach may sometimes make you feel as though your stomach is about to burst.

Did you know that your stomach can go from holding a shot glass size when empty to holding up to 4 liters, or a little more than a gallon of milk? The point at which you are normally comfortably full is usually only 1-1.5 liters. When you overeat, you normally get a feeling of discomfort, but when you make it a habit to eat that way the feeling of being miserable will go away because your stomach muscles will stretch. Over time, when you consistently are over-stuffing yourself, you are causing your stomach to adapt to be able to hold more food and liquid. Your stomach doesn’t shrink back up to its normal size and then you will require more food to make you feel full. The pain you feel from over eating will also be caused by your body working overtime to digest the large about of food you consumed. 

Do you normally feel like working out after you’ve just binge eaten? No, most people don’t and it’s not something you should force either. When you exercise, the blood flow to your digestive track is lessened, which leads to nausea and bloating. So don’t think that a hardcore workout is going to help that food baby disappear. If anything, go for a walk which will help your stomach muscles grind and push food into your intestinal tract faster. You also, however, should not go lie down or go take a nap although sometimes that is exactly what you want to do. It is suggested that you stay upright for at least half an hour. 

So if you want to avoid the sensation of being along 7 months into your pregnancy, pigging out, binging, going hog-wild, are all activities that should be avoided.  

Via:

http://www.shape.com/lifestyle/mind-and-body/7-disturbing-facts-about-food-baby

Antioxidants & Training: Harmful or Helpful?

Chances are, you’ve heard that antioxidants can increase the impact of workouts. They became popular dietary supplements when they were said to soak up the highly reactive oxygen molecules, or free radicals, that are generated during activities. When there is an excess of free radicals in the body, there can be cell death or tissue damage. Since scientists believe that our body creates too few natural antioxidants to counteract the free radicals, many serious fitness performers began taking antioxidant supplements.

In a new study performed by researchers at the NorwegianSchool of Sport Sciences in Oslo, it was discovered that athletes who were given large doses of vitamin C and vitamin E supplements, did not develop as many markers related to mitochondrial creation as those who did not take an antioxidant supplement. More mitochondria, especially in muscle cells, means more energy and, by and large, better health and fitness. The creation of new mitochondria is, in fact, generally held to be one of the most important effects of exercise.

Physiologists have begun to suspect that free radicals may play a different role during and after exercise than previously thought. They are now thinking that free radicals are not as harmful as they once thought. Without free radicals, the biochemical reactions that end in strong muscles and better metabolic health seem to start. Since most of the free radicals are absorbed by the antioxidants when the supplements are taken, it would seem that antioxidants do not increase the benefits of working out. 

Although they are not yet sure, physiologists believe that it is only the concentrated versions of vitamins C and E that will force losing the benefits of exercise. The natural ones that come from eating foods such as blueberries should not be problematic to training.

Via: 

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/12/why-vitamins-may-be-bad-for-your-workout/?_php=true&_type=blogs&ref=nutrition&_r=0