Are you training many hours a week and still carrying extra weight?

Are you training many hours a week and still carrying extra weight?

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Most people think folks who do long runs or any other long distance racing are all skinny little things. If you ever looked around at local races or triathlons, you know that is not the case.

Why is that? These people are training like fiends, right? Unfortunately I see people struggling with this conundrum all the time, myself included. I think the major culprits are our addiction to sugar and not listening to our bodies when we get out there.

For the most part, we’re bad regulators of energy. We overestimate the calories we burn and underestimate the calories we consume. You just did a 2-hour bike ride, you must pre-load with a bagel and treat yourself with a pizza, right? I’ve actually thought that for a long time…

Another factor is the “chronic cardio” syndrome. For those who don’t know what that is, it’s all about going on a rollercoaster ride where you exercise at too high of a heart rate zone and then basically crash and need a quick fix (usually sugar) to get back up. And repeating that a few times a week. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a time and place for high intensity but most people spend too much time in their higher zones, especially undertrained part-time athletes.

We also have to take into considerations our body types and our hormones. For a while I couldn’t really lose weight since my adrenals were way out of whack. I’m still working on that. If you’re working hard (and smart) and still not seeing the results you’d like, I would also chat with your doctor to see your blood levels, chat with a naturopath about hormones or with me to see what we can do to help.

If you ever one of my workshops or been coached by me, you know that my motto is basically “less is more”. This differs if you’re trying to make the Olympic team but most of us are just getting out there to be healthier. Make sure it’s not detrimental to your overall health.

Looking like a meth addict is not fun or sexy either but there is a sweet spot. Get there in as a healthy as possible way as you can!

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