w8lifter

A good article, what I've always said about 'gaining weight' in a short period of time.

Setbacks: No Big Deal!
By Karen Mikula

"I'm so disgusted! I gained five pounds in one weekend!"

According to the scale, yes. But don't panic! It's pretty easy to reverse it if you get right back into your regular eating habits and training schedule.

Can you really "get fat" so quickly? It would be pretty difficult. You would need to eat 3,500 additional calories to put on one additional pound. Studies show that only 39% of those extra calories are stored as fat. The rest are used for digestion, burned by a temporary increase in BMR, and converted into lean mass. Whenever someone complains about putting on several pounds in a short period of time, I always ask questions about their most recent meals. Most times their caloric intake, carbohydrate intake, or sodium intake was high. All three of these factors result in water retention.

Sodium overload is the easiest remedy. Just double your water intake for two days and your body will eliminate the excess sodium and water.

If your downfall was high calories or carbs, your body has converted the excess to glycogen, which now resides in your muscles. The weight gain is a result of the storage process. In order for your body to hold a gram of glycogen in your muscles, it must hold 2.5 grams of water along with it. Viola! Weight gain.

Drinking more water will not rid your body of excess glycogen. Activity will. Remember that resistance training is fueled completely by your glycogen stores. Cardiovascular activity also accelerates the burning of glycogen. That means a good workout will use up the stores, resulting in the release of excess water.

After your workout, eat a moderate amount of carbohydrates. Keep your calories to your average daily recommendation, and eat small, frequesnt meals, no more or less, for several days. The idea is to always replace your glycogen stores with fewer grams than your burned off. Never try to starve yourself or cut outcarbohydrates altogether. Your blood sugar levels will drop too quickly, and you'll wind up bingeing on the same types of foods that created the weight fluctuation in the first place! Give yourself a day or two of healthy eating and intense workouts. Within forty-eight hours, you'll be right back on track to your goal--and possibly one step further!

Karen Mikula is the founder and owner of In Quest, a unique personal training facility specializing in fat loss and body transformation. For more information on custom nutrition and exercise programs, visit Karen and her training team at In Quest, 17 Old Bloomfield Avenue, Pine Brook, NJ.

Dr. Pain

Totally INCORRECT!

I know this was FYI, but she has no credence, Her caloric values are correct, will her water storage fiqure is low.

Between hydration and BF storage (lipogenesis) I have seen competitors post contest (W8 knows where to find this info), BLOW UP, some as much as 20-25 pounds in as little as two weeks!

THIS IS SO DAMN FUGLY!

W8, don't use this article as justification for your EVIL Binging!


One KILO of BF on you will be 2% of BW ( a 20-25% increase in you BF), add in 2-3 pounds of water for increased glycogen reserves, and then stand back, way back!

DP

w8lifter

w8lifter

I sooooo needed to read this again, lol

nikegurl

i messed up my carbs so badly when i did a contest in college....do you know i actually looked BETTER 2-3 days after the show (which was after eating a moderate but not huge pig out)

i really didn't know much and just listened to the trainer at the gym. the depletion and load he had me do was a disaster. live and learn!

If you want to achieve things that others can't...

You have to do things that others won't.