Posts by kaila_a

i think they are more accurate...i'm not sure how the heart rate monitors on those treadmills work though..... i think that if they have height weight and all that other stuff they can't be wrong by more than 50-100 calories...and that seems pretty negligible to me anyway.

hey i actually had big problems with this.......

both will decrease your body fat - but HITT in laymens terms makes you "skinnier".  when i was marathon training i got down to a bmi of about 17.5....i did a lot of HITT and i saw a lot of weight come off....i went to see my doctor and he said i was still healthy but should try to put on some weight.  SO now i'm a bmi of 18.4 but I have a lower body fat % (a percentage that is unhealhty for a woman and i need to increase) b/c i've started to weight lift.  so my doctor recommended that i start eating more fats heavy foods (i eat an extra 400 calories a day of fish, peanut butter, eggs).  so i guess if you are trying to lose fat do the opposite? hahahah.

I think HITT helps shed weight (obviously fat included) but weight lifting you can decrease you % of body fat while increasing OR decreasing your weight..

hey i've run quite a few marathons - qualified for upcoming boston......

IMPORTANT!!!!!! you shouldn't be doing the 10-12 runs 3 times a week!!!! just from personal experience/talk with my trainer you'll probably end up with an injury and it will not help with your endurance. 

i used to do long runs like you 4 days a week.....now i'm down to doing 1 long run a week (12-15 miles...which i build on during marathon training).  and i do 3 short runs during the week 3-8 miles....and twice a week i do sprinting. if you want to increase your endurance you should really incorporate sprinting....i used to run 6 miles in an hour...now i run 8 miles in an hour after doing sprinting (run as fast as you can for 30 seconds to 1 minute and then walk for 2 minutes....repeat 10-12 times)...

it seems counterintuitive but running less will actually help you to run more.  i used to get injured alllllllllllll the time...i would run at about a 6.5-7mile per hour pace........and i would be exhausted by the end....now i can run way faster and my endurance is soo much better!

hopefully that helps!

potassium is important b/c you sweat out salt....and if we go back to first year university biology class.....- your sodium potassium channels can get out of wack when you workout excessively by sweating. try drinking gatorade or tomatoe juice right before and after you run....both have a 2:1 ratio of potassium to sodium i'm pretty sure.  

by the way you should not be able to hold a conversation while running - you should be able to beat out a few words but it should be strained.  as well it depends on the type of run - if you are running a marathon then yes you should be able to talk - if you are doing a 20 minute hitt workout you shouldn't be able to get out more than 3 words.

if you want to get your pace faster considering doing sprint sets - walking for 2 minutes then sprint as fast as you can for 30 seconds --- repeat this 12 times and do it twice a week.  by incorporating this into my workouts i went from 6mph to 8 miles in 1 hour.

there are different reasons for getting them....for me when i started running i would get cramps alll the time....i went to see a personal trainer and he helped me to improve my posture, now they are a thing of the past... make sure you hunched etc. try and be aware of your body at all times.

some ppl get them from eating - experiment with what works for you...i go running first thing when i wake up so i usually have an ample snack before hand and it doesn't seem to bother me - for some ppl it does....if you are eating before hand try eating a small snack like a banana that breaks down slowly.

do you drink a lot of water during your workouts? i personally can't even drink when i go running - but i force myself to so that i don't get dehydrated - i agree with mexicon720 small sips are key

anyone can be a runner!

for me running is 80% mental - 20% physical....

when i first started running i did run walk intervals - run for 2 minutes walk for 2 minutes -- (some ppl who are experienced runners still prefer run walk intervals) i would do pretty much the same thing as you jogging at 4.5 or 5 and then walking at 4.0......

after about a year i'd bump up the time everyday until i got up to 6mph without stopping..... and now i run 8 miles in 1 hour (it took about 2 years to get here....but the hardest part is usually mentally pushing myself to finish my runs)

I would suggest maybe try adding in sprinting into your workout (if this is possible....you want to be safe! so i'm not sure how extreme your asthma is)...try spring as fast as you can for 30 seconds and then walk for 2 minutes...repeat this 12 times - throw this into your workout twice a week...the anerobic activity will improve your cardiovascular ability when you are trying to do your long distance running. 

BUT if you have exercise induced asthma you may want to see a doctor to see how hard you can push yourself physically

i always stick to vodka water with a squeeze of lime - 50 cal

gin and tonic - 50

high intesnsity cardio for at least 30 minutes

-interval training - long distance running etc.

also try adding in some weight training - if your scared of getting bulky throw in 3 sets of weights with 8-12 reps for all your muscle groups. -adding muscle increases your metabolism and burns fat.

no no i meant subtract 500 from your bmr if you want to lose weight and add onto that any calories you burn from exercising....what i wrote.

definitely not eating too much!

just to give you an idea i'm 5'4 maintaing 110 and i eat 2500+ on days i workout....

make sure that when you work out you have a snack 30 minutes prior and 30 minutes after you work out!!! it helps with muscle repair etc...

generally i take my basal metabolic rate and add on however many calories i burned with cardio - and if i'm lifting weights i add an extra 200 calories

so for you if you are trying to LOSE weight to have a deficit of 500 calories a day (so that you lose 1 pound a week) so I would take your basal metabolic rate say it's 2000 and subtract 500 - so 1500.....(for example)....if you are working out and you burn 600 calories then add 600 onto that number...ie. 2100....try not to stick to a cold formula everyday though - it's good to shock your metabolism some days - so if you were to eat 2600 one day you aren't going to gain or lose weight but i twill help with long term plateaus i find! it will also help your body transition more easily into a maitenance weight!

hey i'm 5'4 105-108ish pounds and i'm maintaining on 2500-3200 caloires....i've been maintaining for the last 6 months...when i eat less i find i lose weight

on days were i'm sedentary i eat just over 2000 which is usually once a week....

the other 6 days a week i train for marathons so i run 4 miles a day twice a week, 8 miles/1hr twice a week, 1 long run a week (over 12 miles) = 3200 calories....and then once a week i do cross training....

along with that i do weights on the 4 mile days.....

if you aren't training for a goal this probably isn't very helpful lol...but in the off season i'm thinking to cutting down to 2500 to maintain....

I'm glad to hear all this!....thanks for all the great replies....

my other question is - is it possible to lose your period through physical activity even if you still at normal weight.  I've heard of from ppl that you can I'm just wondering if this is b/c most ppl who exercise intensely are underweight - If i stay at about 110 and I continue to run an hour a day is this ok?

hey ya there is a lot of conflicting evidence about the drinking water with a meal thing....FOR ME it worked (maybe placebo effect).  Since my diet is high fibre/i'm very active I have the same problem.....my doctor suggested not to drink water with the meal because it can speed digestion by not diluting the food (again it doesn't actually make you lose weight or anything...so if you don't have problems with gas etc it doesn't really matter)....you can probably find some articles on the internet but it's kind of up in the air.

another thing though my doctor recommended was eating fruit only as a snack by itself and never after a meal...This REALLY helped.  fruit is quickly digested and will "rot" on top of the other food if you eat it after a meal or as desert.  if you try this out hopefully it works for you!!!

I drink vodka water with lime or vodka diet sev....50 cal per drink

generally stick with clears (gin and vodka are lowest) stay away from dark alcohol, rum, and sugary drinks! and beer is KILLER. white wine has less calories...but red wine has quite a bit more. 

the other perk is that the clears give you less of a hangover.  dark alcohol like whiskey, rye, tequila and red wine contain more congeners which give you more of a hangover (along with dehydration).