The Mega-Mile Weight Loss Plan

To Lose the Pounds, Eat
In February, Matt, a Denver attorney, signed up for Ride the Rockies. In this venerable Colorado cycling tour, 2000 riders average about 60 miles a day for a week. Matt really wanted to do the ride but he had a hidden agenda: Matt was 10 pounds over his best athletic weight and he figured that the tour would be a great opportunity to drop those unwanted pounds. He would cut calories during the ride and the mileage would do the rest. The 10 pounds would miraculously melt away and he’d finish lean and mean. Great idea, right?

Unfortunately, it didn’t work. Midway through the tour he looked terrible—tired, lethargic, drawn. He couldn’t figure out why he felt so bad even though he had done sufficient training. He was slow on the flats, miserable on the climbs, grumpy with his friends—and he didn’t know why.

The solution to Matt’s problem was simple—eat! No one can ride 100 miles over a succession of big climbs on a starvation diet. With a little planning, Matt could have lost weight and still enjoyed the Tour. The same approach works any time you do several consecutive long days of exercise—a backpacking trip, a walking tour, a running camp or just a week’s vacation that you’re devoting to exercise. To see how, let’s look at five myths surrounding weight loss and exercise.

Myth #1: You burn more fat at low exercise intensities.
While it’s true that you burn a higher percentage of fat, compared to glycogen (muscle fuel), at low intensities of 60 to 70 percent of maximum heart rate, you don’t necessarily burn more total fat. That’s because you consume a higher total number of calories at higher intensities. Even though the percentage of fat burned is less, the total fat consumption is greater. So if you want to lose weight, it makes sense to increase the intensity rather than twiddling along at a supposed “fat-burning” pace.

Myth #2: You’ll lose more weight during long endurance exercise if you restrict calories and carbohydrate.
The fact is that you need calories, especially carbohydrate calories, to fuel your long workout. If you starve yourself, you’ll go slower, therefore burning less fat (see above). And because your body won’t have much glycogen to work with due to your carbo-poor diet, you’ll feel miserable. Finally, glycogen is the brain’s fuel. Run low and your mental processes slow down—not a great situation when you need good reflexes to pilot a bike down mountain roads or pick your way along a hiking trail on a ten-day trek.

Myth #3: You can lose 10 pounds a week safely.
Matt’s weight loss goal of 10 pounds during the week’s ride was unrealistic. Safe and successful weight loss is a long-term project. A week of riding won’t make up for 51 weeks of poor nutrition and badly planned exercise. A safe and sane weight loss goal for the week would have been one to two pounds.

Myth #4: Fat burning ends when the workout ends.
As we’ve seen above, you’ll burn more fat during workouts if you go at a higher intensity. But the fat-burning process continues for several hours after your ride, hike or run because exercise elevates your metabolism long after the workout is over. And the more intense the workout, the longer this calorie-consuming “bonus” lasts. Matt would have been smart to eat more so he had plenty of energy to tackle the ride at a faster pace. His increased capacity for faster riding, resulting in more calories consumed, would have more than offset the added caloric intake.

Myth #5: If you don’t eat a big breakfast before long workouts, you’ll jump-start the weight loss process.
Matt’s biggest mistake was skipping breakfast each day. He figured that if he rode 20 miles to the first rest stop on an empty stomach, then grabbed a banana and an energy bar, he’d get a head start on the day’s caloric restriction. Instead, this regimen merely assured that he was running on empty from the start. By mid-morning, he was so energy-depleted that his pace had slowed to a crawl and even Rocky Mountain scenery no longer moved him. Worse, he spent the whole ride dreaming about big greasy cheeseburgers and this led to binge eating in the afternoon and evening.

Eating the Mega-Mile Way
What should Matt have done to lose some weight and still enjoy the Tour?

• Eat a substantial breakfast of carbohydrate with some protein, then snack lightly at each rest stop.
• When the ride ends take advantage of the muscles’ increased capacity for fuel storage by eating a high-carbohydrate snack in the hour following the ride. A moderate, nutritious dinner and a snack before bed help further replenish glycogen stores for the next day’s adventure.
• Plan on losing only one to two pounds for the week.