I don't suppose those waffels from the previous post will be included :)

Its interesting that the article focuses on reductoin of body weight, rather than increasing strength. That is, or should be, the obvious starting point.

And Brittda, I was eating waffles and pancakes nearly every day last summer, and was at my lowest body weight since the 1970s. So enjoy! :)

thehitman

Buried toward the beginning of the article is:

"You can raise your PWR by becoming lighter and maintaining or gaining muscular strength or as I like to say, by becoming leaner and meaner! Many triathletes can improve their PWR simply by decreasing their percentage of body fat, while maintaining lean mass, through “effective weight loss� (EWL). The prescription for EWL involves a controlled-calorie nutrition plan, low-to-moderate intensity aerobic exercise, and resistance or strength training."
(italics added)

The rest of the article discusses the weight loss aspects only. The issue of increasing your PTW ratio by gaining power, it would seem, is a much more complex one.

Coincidentially, last summer I was as low as 147 lbs, and at 5' 7", and could have lost another 5. I'm probably 10 pounds heavier now, and would like to be at 150 by the end of April.

thehitman

Interesting article and similar in tone to an e-book I recently purchased, "Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle," by Tom Venuto. I was introduced to Tom's writing through a link on a local cycling club page.

I am very skeptical of this sort of stuff, especially since Tom is a natural bodybuilder. I thought he couldn't possible have information relevant to me as an endurance athlete, but I started reading some of his articles and was impressed.

Tom very much follows Marcus's philosophy that body comp is far superior in determining true lean body mass. And I realize just how much work I need to do in this area.

I think a lot of the nutritional information we get as triathletes is conflicting, at least for me it has been. Many people advocate losing weight but that often comes at the expense of losing muscle. I know that I lost 15 pounds on Weight Watchers in 2004 and have kept it off, but I couldn't figure out why I never got any faster on the bike after losing the weight.

It never occured to me that I likely lost lean muscle mass and still probably carried close to the same amount of body fat. Reducing body weight isn't enough, nor for me, is it even my goal.

Reducing body fat and improving lean muscle mass is now my main focus. I realize lately just how tied to the scale I've been but it really isn't telling me the whole story. So I'm going to order a caliper and start tracking my progress by looking at all the metrics...body fat %, total weight, lean body mass and fat weight.

The other key thing I think few common 'diets' address (at least in my experience with WW ) is the source of calories. I know there is much debate about a calorie being a calorie but my focus is to start timing my meals better (every 3 hours) and eating as clean as possible (cut out refined sugar and processed food).

Another key issue I found refreshing in Tom's article, and an issue I think is critical for us very active folks is how many calories one needs in a day. I know when I was on WW, I was eating far too few calories a day (~1300 on average) for the amount of training I was doing. Tom is of the belief that greatly cutting calories is counterproductive to losing body fat because your metabolism goes into coast mode and often shuts down completely. His approach is to slightly decrease calories and increase exercise and strength training...again a different way of thinking for me.

And finally, I realize the #1 issue I've had of late is really distilling what in my mind is my ideal self? Is that abs like Heather Gollnick or legs like Serena Williams? What is my ideal self and how will I feel when I reach that? I think the main thing I've derived from Tom's e-book is goal setting and positive affirmation...seeing myself as a lean, mean triathlete...not just looking at other people and saying 'gee, I'll never look like that.'

Anyway, sorry to ramble (and no I'm not getting kickbacks from Tom Venuto) but I've been thinking a lot about these very issues Marcus addresses in his article. And I feel like I'm finally finding information that makes sense and is useful to me.

Cheers,
Lara

To Inlovewithcerve,
NYC Triathlon Consulting Services plans on writing an article addressing your question in the weeks ahead.

To Lara,
Thank you for your comments.

Marcus A. Garand, RD
Director of Sports Nutrition
NYC Triathlon Consulting Services