Wenn man bedenkt, dass man bei stärkeren Steigungen ab ca. 7% auf dem Rad durchaus 5 Watt pro Kilogramm Körpergewicht mehr treten muss, wird schnell klar, warum die Bergspezialisten oftmals richtige “Hungerhaken” sind.

For example, 10kg more body weight means about 50 watts more power to be put on the pedals. There are similar examples for running. But how do I manage to reduce my weight without losing strength and vitality?

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Let's start with the "worst case scenario" - the zero diet.

Because with this example, some basic knowledge can be conveyed very quickly. If we as humans do not consume any energy over a longer period of time, our body reacts extremely intelligently, it gradually breaks down the largest energy consumer and this is our muscles. The extracted protein is converted into energy. Thus, the basal metabolic rate, i.e. the required amount of calories per day, also decreases, because less muscles also means less basal metabolic rate.

If we return to the usual dietary habits after such a diet, then we come to the well-known yo-yo effect. Because with less basal metabolic rate, even more fat is now stored with an identical energy intake compared to the diet behavior before the diet. At this point it should be clear to everyone that there is hardly a worse solution for an athlete, because actually we want to weigh less, but by no means lose muscle. So it's all about reducing the "problem areas" and therefore the fat. To put it in a nutshell: It's not so much about weight reduction as it is about reducing body fat. How do you reduce body fat without reducing muscle mass?
To answer that, you need to know a few key things.
One important premise first: dieting can only be based on a hypocaloric diet. That is, less energy is taken in through food than is consumed.

Next, we come to the important key hormone: the body's own insulin. Insulin represents the door opener for our cells. Unfortunately, however, this is also a form of one-way street. In other words, high levels of insulin in the blood also mean that fat burning, i.e. the production of energy by using our fat reserves, cannot take place. This quickly makes it clear that an important prerequisite for fat burning is that insulin levels in the blood are not too high. This in turn means that we must keep our blood sugar constant.

Here, science has provided us with a simple solution when it invented the glycemic index. This states that the GI(glycemic index) of a food is higher, the more the blood sugar rises after the consumption of a food.

Dextrose (glucose) with the number 100 was set as the standard. If you want to keep the blood sugar and thus unnecessary insulin peaks low, you have to make sure that you eat foods and drinks with a low GI. Here I recommend to deal more closely with the LOGI method.

By the way - who does not know them, the people who eat very little, but very regularly throughout the day and who complain, nevertheless, do not lose weight.

In the morning the jam on a small white flour roll, at work a cappucino with a teaspoon of sugar, at noon next to the light salad a coke and in the afternoon to a small cookie again an espresso with sugar.
The insulin spikes are pre-programmed and the high insulin level does not allow any fat burning during the day. Over years this nourishing habit can lead then even to the Diabetis type 2.

Actually, I always have a nice picture in mind: Thousands of years ago, we were still running after food, sometimes with bows and arrows, and were happy when there was something to eat. Today, food runs after us on every street corner and at every opportunity, and the sugar content has grown many times over. Our bodies are not adapted to this and we are now experiencing the negative consequences.

Let's summarize a few key points for clarity:

1. to reduce or make the unnecessary fat pads disappear, we need to take in less energy than we consume.

2. to do this, it is helpful to keep our blood sugar as constant as possible so that we stay in fat burning mode for a longer period of time.

3. foods or also special diet products with a very low glycemic index can be used for this purpose. The LOGI Guide by Dr. Worms (RRP € 6.99) is also very helpful here.

4. to protect the muscles, it is useful to substitute amino acids or protein products, especially in the evening.

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Further, valuable tips on the subject of BIA and Light

1. muscles are heavier than body fat for the same volume. Exactly this fact leads many a person to the wrong conclusion.
If we do sports during the diet and supply ourselves very well with the required amino acids, it is quite possible that we have lost e.g. 3 kg of fat, but at the same time have gained 2 kg of muscle mass. The delta of only 1 kg is therefore misleading here.

If you want to do it right, take a BIA measurement (Body Impedance Analysis) for help. Some doctors, fitness studios and pharmacies offer this service.
It is important to take a baseline measurement, at least one intermediate measurement and one final measurement. During the BIA measurement, the body is divided into its three main components, i.e. the percentage of muscle mass, fat and water is measured. This is the best way to keep track of whether you are on the right track even during the diet. Please do not rely on the simple, cheap scales with fat analysis, here the fluctuations are sometimes very high.

2. light does not automatically mean healthy and light. By this I mean the extremely widespread use of artificial sweeteners. Current studies even show that some people react with a higher insulin committee here as well. I don't even want to go into the many critical studies, especially about aspartame, at this point.

 

You are welcome to download this article from the series "Das muss mal gesagt werden" as a download as PDF.

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