Exercise and Nutrition Q & A

I started a thread like this in the VSG forum yesterday and got some really good questions, thought I would see how it does in the main forum. If you have any questions about Exercise, Nutrition, WLS, Cooking, Food, please feel free to post it here, you may be asking a question that everyone would like to see an answer about.

Great post, thanks Keith!  

What do you think about the best times to eat protein when working out? I try to do something protein wise on my way to the gym(takes me 30 mins to get there) then drink 32 ozs of fluid or more while working out, Sometimes I will have a meal with in an hour of my work out but not always. I sometimes feel like I should be carrying a protein bar or even PB crackers with me to eat in the car on the way home.

You are pretty much right on. When I workout, particularly weights (not so much for cardio only) I try to get around 20-30g or protein 30-60 mins before the workout, and then within an hour after my workout I will eat some protein and carbs and by carbs I do not mean carbs specifically but whatever is in my plan for the day that has the most carbs is what i will eat in that meal. I have on occassion gone higher carbs and it does help with recovery. This morning is a great example. I had a protein shake (~30g of protein) on my way to work, takes me about 45 min. I worked out when I got there, then after I was showered and at my desk I had a protein bar (20g of protein) and as soon as I had some room I ate a banana. Peanut butter is a good post workout food because it has some carbs and protein. 

My trainer wants complex carbs and protein (peanut butter on whole grain bread) before a session and a protein drink within 45 minutes after .

i

 Do 30 minutes of weights with him and then 45 minutes of cardio.

That should be the other way around. The carbs post workout help to shuttle the protein into your muscles to help with recovery. Your trainer is telling you that so you have energy but most trainers do not understand how WLS works, so you need to be careful with carbs in general but also with the advice they give. It is very basic textbook nutrition which does not really apply to us because we do not want to use carbs for fuel, we need to use fat for fuel.

I do have a question which seems really dumb probably, but here it goes.  I work hellish hours, so it is hard for me to exercise.  I am good about what I eat, when I eat, drinking all my water for the day, and getting in more than enough protein.  I haven't been working out really if at all. I do see a stall in my weightloss, but I haven't weighed myself recently because I get depressed when the number doesn't go down.  Am I not necessarily losing because I am not exercising, or could it be something else?  I am doing my best with exercise, but sometimes I am just so tired that I need a good night sleep.  That is my other issue...by the time I get home and have dinner and work out, it only gives me about 5 hours or so of sleep maybe a bit more.  Thoughts/words of encouragement?  Last I checked I was about 20 lbs down from surgery which was 8 weeks ago.

Thank you!

humm, a number of things could be causing you to be in a stall. Not eating enough, eating way to much (you would have to eat 3500 calories or more to gain a pound.)  Others things factor into it, are you losing inches? its ok not to weigh your self but do your clothes feel bigger?

Do you work 7 days a week? How about just adding in a at home workout that you do as soon as you get up? something like http://www.pinterest.com/pin/70791025365656904/ 

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/70791025364980877/

OK, so while we had this magical surgery to help us with portion control, the surgery itself does nothing for weight loss. Now there are some contributing factors to how quickly you lose weight but assuming everything is functioning as expected, then weight loss works like this:

Your resting metabolic rate + Calories burned from exercise = Daily Calorie Burn

Calories from Food Consumed - Daily Calorie Burn = Net Daily Calories

If your Net Daily Calories is negative you lose weight that day, if it is positive you gained weight that day.

Now if that deficit is say 250 calories per day then it is going to take 2 weeks to lose 1 pound.

Depending on your age, weight, fitness level your resting metabolic rate is somewhere between 1500 and 2400. That is the calories you burn just being alive. Any exercise you do adds to that number.

So if you are sticking to the 600-800 calorie per day diet and your resting metabolic rate is around 1800 you have a calorie deficit of 1000 calories so you could burn as much as 2lbs per week. However without exercise your resting metabolic rate slows down. A high stress job and/or lack of sleep and/or intense exercise increases cortisol levels which further slow or stop weight loss.

Now you don't have to go crazy with exercise you should try to get 30 to 60 minutes of concentrated walking each day. You won't burn a ton of calories with that but its really good for fat burn. Another thing you could do is start your day with some exercise to fire up your metabolsm. Every day when I get up even before I go to the bathroom I do 10 pushups, 10 situps and 10 squats, and then 40 jumping jacks. Then I go to the bathroom and drink a bunch of water. I have a ton of energy during the day from that.

There are lots of exercises you could actually do at work on your breaks and stuff, it doesn't have to be about sweating your ass off in the gym, it can be a couple of body weight squats, lunges, stretching, etc. 

Also keep in mind that weight loss is not a race, it doesn't have to melt off for you to be successful.