Swimming to lose weight... how to get started?

[xCxStylex]

Conclusive, no.

Anecdotal, yes.

Better safe than sorry if you ask me, and it's better to train your body not to crave sweets and other nasty crap.

Not to question your accuracy, but has there been any conclusive, scientifically backed studies that have shown adverse long-term (or short term) side-effects from drinking artificial sweeteners?

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Not to question your accuracy, but has there been any conclusive, scientifically backed studies that have shown adverse long-term (or short term) side-effects from drinking artificial sweeteners?

Artificial sweeteners have been shown to cause some serious physiological problems. However, the studies used very high amounts of these sweeteners to induce those effects. The resulting problems are rare, but do definitely happen.

If you drink soda, I'd say the sweeteners are the least of your problems. Benzene and sodium benzoate are both known carcinogens (proven in research) and are present in amounts that can actually do damage to the human body. Soda is terrible due to the massive amounts of fructose. Diet soda is still terrible because it's a caricongen cocktail, just minus the loads of sugar.

 

[DyslexicHobo]

Just an update...

I kind of stopped swimming :x

but on the upside, my dieting has lost me 11 lbs already!


I haven't cut anything completely out of my diet, I just try to not eat past when I'm full. I also stay away from things that are obviously terrible for me (I get brocolli or mixed veggies instead of mashed potatoes or french fries). I also force myself to eat a Kashi granola bar (only about 9g of sugar) at around 10am so I don't have to eat a big lunch.

 

[conorvansmack]

Nice job on the weight loss!

 

[xCxStylex]

Ugh. Keep up the swimming, it's still warm, do it while you can

Also, try this, isntead of eating until you're full (and not past that), eat until you're not hungry anymore.

Just an update...

I kind of stopped swimming :x

but on the upside, my dieting has lost me 11 lbs already!


I haven't cut anything completely out of my diet, I just try to not eat past when I'm full. I also stay away from things that are obviously terrible for me (I get brocolli or mixed veggies instead of mashed potatoes or french fries). I also force myself to eat a Kashi granola bar (only about 9g of sugar) at around 10am so I don't have to eat a big lunch.

 

[Gillbot]

umm, jump into the water?

 

[thepd7]

Just an update...

I kind of stopped swimming :x

but on the upside, my dieting has lost me 11 lbs already!


I haven't cut anything completely out of my diet, I just try to not eat past when I'm full. I also stay away from things that are obviously terrible for me (I get brocolli or mixed veggies instead of mashed potatoes or french fries). I also force myself to eat a Kashi granola bar (only about 9g of sugar) at around 10am so I don't have to eat a big lunch.

Boo and yeah. Get back into working out but great job on losing weight still!

 

[MrMatt]

you'd be even better just eating skinless broiled chicken breast instead of the subway sandwich, at least for now

 

[HardcoreRobot]

You have obviously never swam. On an olympic pool that's 500m. 500m of swimming (proper swimming at least) is definitely burning more than 100 calories. Hell, running a mile burns over 100 calories as long as you aren't a snail.
...

50m, not 500m

agree thats not much swimming. the breathing will get better once you get more used to swimming and improve your stroke. Any movement is good though, and you should start where you are comfortable. Just be sure to set goals and try to improve. Increasing the distance in a specific time frame is one way, increasing time is another.

also just want to reiterate that most of your weightloss is going to come from dietary changes, not exercise (though exercise is still important)

 

[spamsk8r]

you'd be even better just eating skinless broiled chicken breast instead of the subway sandwich, at least for now

If you want to torture yourself with lack of flavor and variety, sure. What he's doing now is working for him, so no need to get crazy strict about it yet.

And if/when you do need to get stricter on the diet, seek out something like the Paleo diet that allows you to eat a ton of healthy, tasty food and still lose weight without worrying so much about portion sizes or lack of variety/flavor.

 

[summit]

try increasing the number of laps you swim by 1 each time you swim.

 

[MrMatt]

If you want to torture yourself with lack of flavor and variety, sure. What he's doing now is working for him, so no need to get crazy strict about it yet.

And if/when you do need to get stricter on the diet, seek out something like the Paleo diet that allows you to eat a ton of healthy, tasty food and still lose weight without worrying so much about portion sizes or lack of variety/flavor.

If you're eating for pleasure there is much much much more wrong in your life than the shape you're in. Eating is for fuel only. Occasionally a meal can be fun, but you shouldn't be eating for pleasure. I've eaten plain broiled chicken breast 6 days per week for about 6 months now, and I'm fine.

 

[kamper]

If you're eating for pleasure there is much much much more wrong in your life than the shape you're in. Eating is for fuel only. Occasionally a meal can be fun, but you shouldn't be eating for pleasure. I've eaten plain broiled chicken breast 6 days per week for about 6 months now, and I'm fine.

I think you're insane.

 

[brikis98]

If you're eating for pleasure there is much much much more wrong in your life than the shape you're in. Eating is for fuel only. Occasionally a meal can be fun, but you shouldn't be eating for pleasure. I've eaten plain broiled chicken breast 6 days per week for about 6 months now, and I'm fine.

You know it's possible to eat healthy while still enjoying your food, right? And you are aware that eating a varied diet is typically healthier?

 

[MrMatt]

You know it's possible to eat healthy while still enjoying your food, right? And you are aware that eating a varied diet is typically healthier?

Absolutely. But eating is fuel, just that. If you can ENJOY what you eat, then fine. But saying to avoid broiled chicken breast because it's too bland is ridiculous. I didn't say not to eat varied anywhere either.

 

[kamper]

Absolutely. But eating is fuel, just that. If you can ENJOY what you eat, then fine. But saying to avoid broiled chicken breast because it's too bland is ridiculous. I didn't say not to eat varied anywhere either.

And I suppose sex is just for reproduction...

 

[shortylickens]

If you're eating for pleasure there is much much much more wrong in your life than the shape you're in. Eating is for fuel only. Occasionally a meal can be fun, but you shouldn't be eating for pleasure. I've eaten plain broiled chicken breast 6 days per week for about 6 months now, and I'm fine.

BLEH!
D:
ick

 

[brikis98]

But eating is fuel, just that.

Yea, right, and running is nothing more than a way to get form point A to point B, clothes are just to keep you warm and a house is just to keep you sheltered from the elements. In a survival sense, obviously this is true, but in the modern world, you're totally missing the big picture.

If you can ENJOY what you eat, then fine. But saying to avoid broiled chicken breast because it's too bland is ridiculous.

Taste in food is a personal thing and there is nothing wrong with not eating something because you don't like it. I'm sure there are foods out there that repulse you and the fact that they may be healthy or nutritious wouldn't change your mind. Moreover, trying to adhere to a certain diet is a difficult endeavor as is; eating food you do not like will make it exponentially harder. And since there are plenty of alternatives to plain broiled skinless chicken breast, if that isn't your thing, there is no need to force feed it.

I didn't say not to eat varied anywhere either.

You said earlier that you have "eaten plain broiled chicken breast 6 days per week for about 6 months now." If all your meals are like this - the same food, day in and day out - then you are not eating a particularly varied diet.

 

[SearchMaster]

You have obviously never swam.

I was a swimmer growing up, I can pretty much guarantee I've swam circles around you in my lifetime

Most calorie calculators show swimming at a moderate pace to burn ~500 calories per hour, at least at my body weight. My pace may have exceeded "moderate" (hard to gauge what that word really means), but his pace was probably under it.

I assumed he was not swimming an Olympic pool, most are 25 yards (or meters), so 10 laps is not a huge amount.

 

[Kipper]

I was a swimmer growing up, I can pretty much guarantee I've swam circles around you in my lifetime

Most calorie calculators show swimming at a moderate pace to burn ~500 calories per hour, at least at my body weight. My pace may have exceeded "moderate" (hard to gauge what that word really means), but his pace was probably under it.

I assumed he was not swimming an Olympic pool, most are 25 yards (or meters), so 10 laps is not a huge amount.

And most of those calorie calculators are wildly off mark, because they need to account for a multitude of variables, least among all of them the pace of the individual. You need to account for differences in training, cardiovascular capacity, body weight/composition, swimming style (efficient or not). It's wildly elastic, so I would tend to err on the VERY conservative side - which 500 kcal/hour is not.