Stop thinking like a fat person!
October 24th, 2007 by Robin Frankland
I was looking at the Triathlete Mag website the other day when I stumbled across an article title The Starving Athlete. After giving it a read I wondered how many of us out there are suffering from this syndrome in an attempt to achieve the perfect physical condition before a major race but what really stuck with me was the final line, which is also the title of this blog, “stop thinking like a fat person!”
I have previously documented my personal struggle with my weight which has resulted in me being very aware of everything I eat as I build up to my next main race, Ironman Western Australia. As a result I am currently very close to my perceived perfect race weight and body fat percentage. The problem with this is that I have no reserves and given that I am also in the hardest part of my training program this leaves my immune system susceptible to germs and viruses.
Being a father of two young boys, it is extremely hard to avoid these germs since they are exposed to so many on a daily basis and will inevitably bring them home. Under normal circumstances I tend to carry a little more weight and believe that this aids me in combating these viruses but right now I have already had to take one ’sick day’ and if I am not careful there may be more.
What Matt Fitzgerald’s article did was highlight the fact that there are two main causes for persistent fatigue, which is a precursor to low immunity, and those are over-training and under-nourishment. Now I am a firm believer in the Floyd Landis school of thought on over-training (albeit a bit tongue in cheek) but thats for another blog. On the other hand I do believe that I am suffering from under-nourishment, both as a result of my own desire to be in peak condition come December 2nd and the times we live in where everyone is striving to lose weight.
One cannot turn on the TV or open a magazine without seeing hundreds of adverts promising miracle weight loss. Everywhere I go I am surrounded by people ‘on diet’, many of them fooling themselves into believing that what they are doing will result in the perfect body. It’s the curse of the modern age and there are millions to be made, should you stumble across the secret elixir that will allow you to eat and drink whatever you like yet maintain that ‘perfect body shape’.
At the end of the day I only have myself to blame. I should know my body better and should be more patient. To date I have not started a major event at greater than my ideal weight (body fat percentage). To get caught up in the marketing messages and propaganda that is out there is not something I pride myself on and from here on in I am going to go back to what works. I am after all and athlete, maybe not an elite athlete but an athlete nonetheless, and its time to start thinking like one. Which means ensuring that I am fueling my body appropriately.
There will be no more bonking, no more training sessions that leave me feeling empty, I will strive to eat a healthy diet but won’t starve myself and come December 2nd I will take to the start line knowing that I have enough ‘gas’ in the tank to achieve my goals.
October 31st, 2007 at 6:31 am
Hi Robin
If you dont mind me asking, how tall are you. It might be in one of your links but I could not find it.
I reckon you right about training with a bit of reserve, but my opinion is you can still be at 15% body fat with no reserve or at 6% body fat, with plenty reserve. Stress, work and training and coping or recovering from stress and training are more important determinants than body fat percentage as an indicator of reserves. An obese person can be overtrained and have no reserves.
Your body needs about 3.5 to 4% (say 2.5kg of fat) for essential optimum body function. 2% over that would be around 1.5kg of fat. At 9000cal per kg of fat thats enough for over 4 days without food or close to two Ironman races. So 6% is theoretically quite a buffer in the modern day and age where we never further than shouting distance from food.
My point is not that u can have a super low body fat, but rather that the totality of your lifestyle, diet, training, stress work kids etc.. Is what is causing low reserves. For a lot of people trying to lose weight (going from say 12% to 8%) may be the straw that breaks the camels back but it is a small part of a larger problem.
Genetics plays a huge role obviously, but also in determining what training load you can or cant absorb, and so they tell me how fast you go.
If u get sick everytime your body fat drops below a certain point, my opinion would be that you probably a little close to the edge in the first place.
I am certainly not advocating a low body fat for everyone, just that we might be looking in the wrong place for the problem. Most top age groupers are leaner than the pro’s anyway.. Part of the problem, i.e trying too hard.
Hey who knows? Thats whats fun about it.
October 31st, 2007 at 7:32 am
Just wanted to add my 5 cents.
I have started as an obese person. In 2004 I had 90 kg (few grams up or down) and since I am 171 cm tall this means that I had a BMI of 30 which qualifies me as obese. I had more than 40% body fat. When I think about it now I am amazed myself.
I immediatelly lost some 25 kg with running and than got into triathlon. I was aware of the fact that I will go faster if I am lighter and I was jelous when I would see some other athletes who were super lean.
But I realized that these athletes were doing professional or close to professional sports in one form or the other for many years more than me. Their metabolism adjusted to become more efficient over time. It took a lot of time but they already completed that process much before me. Considering most triathletes came into triathlon from swimming or some other background they did not have issues like I do about loosing weight.
Also I have noticed that each new season it is harder for me to gain weight but easier to maintain and lose it. This year I started the season with 61 kg which is only 2 kg more than my “ideal” racing weight (what I think is ideal). It felt much easier. Both my body is adjusted and my lifestyle has changed. I am more efficient in processing energy just as I know better which foods to buy in a supermarket.
So conclusion is that it takes several years for your body to become stable at lower fat state. Every season it learns a bit more. You also learn a bit more.
Even though you were a professional cyclist your body forgot what it learned during that period, and it forgot very quickly. In 2006 you started from zero again and it will take few years for it to be as efficient before and therefore more stable and working at full power with low body fat percentage.
My coach has around 3% body fat but it took him decades of training to get to that. He maintains it without any problems while my fat storage still goes up and down all the time. This is also an example of my unstable character.
October 31st, 2007 at 1:20 pm
Wow, at 59kg for your height that would be ideal for a world ranked runner (mean values for top ten ranked male runners in 1996 was around 2.9cm/kg). I am interested to know, how did you arrive at your “ideal” weight?
I have never read about ideal height to weight ratio’s for triathletes. But I would imagine that they would be a bit heavier than pure runners. Elite Ironman athletes (i dont know this for a fact) seem to be a bit heavier built than the ITU athltes.
Would love to read any studies done on triathletes, or any reccomendations or guidelines for that matter.
Anyway seems we pretty much agree, obsessing or forcing weight or any part of training is unwise, some things take time. losing 25kg is unbelievable. A new person. Admirable.:smile:
October 31st, 2007 at 10:18 pm
To answer the first question I am 184cm and weigh 75kg at my ‘ideal/race’ weight.
Much like Nikola I too have had to stage a comeback from being overweight (107kg in 2003) so my body is still learning how to be lean again. You are most definitely correct though in assessing that my breaking point is higher than it may be for someone else and this is due to a number of factors (work, family, training, etc.).
I think we all agree that to perform as an athlete you need to think like one and that means you cannot count every calorie and become obsessed with your weight because inevitably your performance suffers. Sure a kilogram lost is supposed to translate into a 1% performance gain (Noakes) but if the cost is that you become ill then that gain is worthless. Of course this does not imply you follow a poor diet or eat excessively but then thats not thinking like an athlete either.
As such I am being less conservative about what I eat and in the last two weeks I have regained my strength and passion for train which is great, even if I am a kilo or two heavier than I believe I need to be.
December 29th, 2007 at 3:24 am
Hello, This is Mary
I am 36 years old with 2 toddlers. My youngest just started day care last week- which still feels a little strange. I haven’t had this much time to myself in years. First thing I want to do is lose the extra pounds I put on during the last pregnancy. One of the girls next door has suggested I join her walking group two days a week. After my first pregnancy I lost around 35 pounds using the Herbalife products, but when I called the man that sold them to me three years ago he told me this week he doesn’t sell them anymore. He told me to look on the internet. It’s disappointing because he was really nice and he called me regularly to make sure I was using their products correctly. It was nice to have someone checking in with me every week to see how I was and it kept me motivated.
I searched on the internet for someone that sells Herbalife in New Jersey. I found many websites but I don’t want
just to buy the products, I want to find someone trustworthy that sells the products so I can also meet them and get started again.
Could anybody here recommend someone in New Brunswick?
.
Thanks, Mary
December 31st, 2007 at 12:44 am
Hi Mary,
>From one mom to another I think I have a solution for you!! I want to lose 40 pounds, and I’ve lost 28 so far!!! I am feeling fantastic and have more energy than I did when I was in college. I went through three different Herbalife distributors until I found the person I felt really actually cared about me and helped me to start getting results. The bottom line was that I wanted to find somebody that could offer me good prices, but that could also check in with me to make sure I was doing ok.
I used to drive two hours to meet with my first distributor in West Haven, Connecticut. I even brought the girls with me a few times because I couldn’t find a babysitter. Today my Herbalife coach does everything over the phone and it is much easier with my busy schedule. You can order Herbalife online on his website, you get the shakes a few days after with FedEx and then you can setup a telephone meeting once a week to make sure you are doing the program right.
His name is Danny Castello and his website is http://www.goshape.com. The number is (310) 928- 3835. He and his girlfriend Michaela actually do most of the coaching together as a team, but she has an Herbalife site as well: http://www.puresteps.com. He does most of the motivation on the call and gives you important facts regarding nutrition. He can be a bit tough but he really wants you to get results. She is a bit softer- so they make a good combination. Actually I also recommend joining his newsletter first so you can see the articles on nutrition. They also have videos so you can see who they are before actually calling them. Its nice because they actually use the products too. You can see on their websites.
Hope this helps!
Liz