Did you know that most recreational athletes that sign up for an endurance endeavor with a main goal for weight loss, are in fact flabbergasted that even with the increased physical activity, weight loss does not come easy, in fact many even gain weight. There are a number of reasons for this:
1. the positive reason is because the new athlete may be losing fat, but gaining muscle fiber. Muscle being denser than fat, offsets the scale from budging, but the athlete is getting leaner…
HOWEVER, this is not the case for every new athlete – many actually gain more fat – the common reasons:
2. Offsetting the calorie burn with calories consumed (in other words a calorie deficit is not created even with the many extra hours of training)
3. Not fueling properly – many athletes trying to lose weight decide to skip the pre work out calories, and the during work out calories thinking they will burn more fat this way, or that they will have these calories after the work out anyway, so why have double?
– research shows that athletes who do not fuel their workouts land up eating way more calories post work out than they would have if they fueled earlier.
REMEMBER: without fuel you will not burn fat… glycogen (immediate source of energy) that comes from carbs, is required to create the flame for fat to burn in… without consistent replenishing of glycogen, fat will not burn effectively. This ultimately results in muscle burn instead!!
So enjoy that pre work out carb!! what are some of the pre work out meals you find work best for you…
