The science of fat-loss: Why a calorie isn’t always a calorie
I just stumbled onto this thought provoking article by Dr. Michael Eades on fat-loss. The article focus on calorie counting and why it is flawed, in a sense.
Through my own un-scientific experience, I can conclude that calorie counting is definitely not a sure bet. The type of intake as well as the frequency plays a mayor role in weight-loss.
Filed under: Diet
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Not quite swimming with the big kids yet…
So I only slept around 4 hours last night (work, bleh) and by the time the gravel pit whistle blew, I was ready to hit hay. Alas, none of that. I dragged my lazy butt to the pool. Reason got the better of me. I thought an half-an-hour in bed wouldn’t have the same effect as the same time spent in the pool.
Coincidently, I met a friend of a friend there who swam with a tri-swimming group. We got talking and I asked about their practice routine. Today they were doing 24 x 100m laps at 1:50. Uhm… yeah my 1500m at 2:15 is nowhere near what they’re doing. Apparently their distances vary between 2000-5000m!! Yeah, I have a lot of swimming to do before I’ll be able to join those guys.
Logbook Activity
- Type: Swim
- Date: 02/25/2008
- Time: 16:45:00
- Total Time: 00:33:35.00
- Calories: 287
- Distance: 1500 m
- Average Pace: 2:14.33/100m
Filed under: Swim
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Quick swim
I did a quick swim on Friday. I waited for the thunderstorms to pass, which only happened at around 6pm. I went to the local pool, only to find out that they close at 7pm. I was only able to swim 400m. It was a quick 400m and I managed to keep my breathing steady, breathing on every second stroke. I was going as fast as I could without drowning. Its really the first time I’ve been able to breath ‘normally’ at such a fast pace, so I’m still glad I did the short stint.
I’ve been working (actual work) my butt off again and didn’t manage to train at all this weekend. I hope this isn’t going to become a regular thing, since I love training over the weekend. I usually manage to get a couple of extra hours in.
Logbook Activity
- Type: Swim
- Date: 02/22/2008
- Time: 18:40:00
- Total Time: 00:08:18.00
- Calories: 121
- Distance: 400 m
- Average Pace: 2:04.57/100m
Filed under: Swim
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Thinking of buying a second hand bike? Think again.
I visited the cycling shop today to help a friend pick a mountain bike. She’s a bit of a beginner and needed some advice. Turns out I was merely there for moral support, since the salesman/owner was a lot more clued-up than I am.
I was amazed at the advances that’s been made since the birth of my Schwinn Moab in 2002. The materials used, design and fabrications are light years ahead of what was used back in the day.
When I decided to buy a bike in 2006, my friend offered me $500 for his Schwinn. I thought it was a pretty decent price, since he hardly ever used it and it was as good as new. Just to be sure I wasn’t getting ripped-off, I went to the shop to get a price for that model. I saw black and red one from the same range going for around $900.
Ok $500 against $900… no-brainer right? Two years later… think again.
See bikes are similar to computers. The technology is constantly evolving and improving. Had I decided to buy my friend’s 2002 laptop for $500 in 2006, I’d be an idiot. The same principle applies to cycles. The advances obviously happens at a slower pace, and perhaps less noticeable pace, but they are certainly there.
Today you can buy a brand spanking new bike, with more or less the same the specification as my Schwinn, for around $400. So my deal wasn’t too bad, but in hindsight it wasn’t that great either.
One also needs to consider another practicality of buying a 2nd hand bicycle; the hidden costs you are bound to be unaware of. Often times the bike needs a service, where they pick up a number of parts that needs replacing. In the end I had to pay $100+ just to be able to get going. Not to mention the effort of having to take the bike into the shop every other week, once you’ve discover a new ailment.
So unless you’re thinking of buying a gem of a second hand bike, be sure to consider the deteriorating value, hidden costs, and the time and effort it might take to get it going.
Filed under: Gear
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Just entered for my second sprint triathlon
It’s been a busy three weeks since my first triathlon. During my first race, it was clear that my running and swimming needed some work. I focussed a lot on the running and managed to improve my swimming too (even though I haven’t really done much swimming).
So I’ve just entered my second sprint triathlon, which is part of the Joburg City Triathlon Series for 2008. The event is held at the Victoria lake in Germiston on the 2nd of March. I considered doing the Olympic distance, but my body is telling me to take it easy. I might be pushing a bit too hard at the moment. I don’t feel that my “base” is strong enough and I want to avoid injury at all cost. So I’ll keep pushing, but within limits.
I did the previous race in a 1:34:47 , which was within my target zone of 1:30-1:45. So let’s up the ante a bit and set my target zone to 1:25-1:35 for the next race - given that the conditions are the same. Not too sure I’ll be able to increase my results by 10%, but I wouldn’t be stoked if I could!
Filed under: Triathlon
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Chill run
I wasn’t planning on running today, since I did a strength training session this morning. My friend asked if I wanted to go and it sounded like fun so I went for it. He doesn’t train often, but still can handle a respectable pace (respectable for me at least). My legs were a bit unresponsive and lazy, but it was still a good run with a number of hill climbs.
I’m having a cracker of training week. Sure makes up for the dismal week before.
Logbook Activity
- Type: Run
- Date: 02/20/2008
- Time: 17:30:00
- Total Time: 00:41:24.00
- Average Heart rate: 158
- Max Heart rate: 174
- Calories: 456
- Distance: 6.72 km
- Average Pace: 6:09.61/km
- Ascent: 98 m
Filed under: Run
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Strength Training - 1 hours - 02/20/2008
Logbook Activity
- Type: Strength Training
- Date: 02/20/2008
- Time: 06:00:00
- Total Time: 1:00:00.00
- Calories: 220
Filed under: Strength Training
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Swimming by leaps and bounds
I did a 1,500m swim this morning!! I must say that I’m quite impressed with my progress, considering I’ve only been swimming since the beginning of the year. Also, I only swim around once or twice per week. My pace and obviously technique has also improved quite a bit.
I did three sessions of 500m, with a minute break between each session. No breaks in the session itself this time round.
The next triathlon is on the 2nd of March and I’m toying with the idea of doing the Olympic distance. I’m sure I’ll be able to finish the race, but I’m also sure I’ll finish dead last. I don’t know. We’ll see how it goes these two weeks.
Logbook Activity
- Type: Swim
- Date: 02/19/2008
- Time: 06:15:00
- Total Time: 00:37:14.00
- Calories: 317
- Distance: 1500 m
- Average Pace: 2:28.76/100m
Filed under: Swim
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Cycle - 1.4 hours - 02/18/2008
Logbook Activity
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 02/18/2008
- Time: 05:30:00
- Total Time: 1:26:50.00
- Average Heart rate: 153
- Max Heart rate: 178
- Calories: 1095
- Distance: 31.72 km
- Average Speed: 21.92 kmph
- Max Speed: 55.3 kmph
- Ascent: 336 m
Filed under: Cycle, Mountain Biking
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White water rafting weekend
Man, what a weekend!! I’m still on high!! We went rafting in Mpumelanga (South Africa), close to Hazyview. We left around 4pm on Friday in my friends new Subaru Forester - a really brilliant car if you’re going to do some moderate off-roading. We arrived at the campsite at around 7pm, with just enough sunlight to get the tents up. Some of our friends were already there and the camp fire was well on its way. By the time everyone arrived (16 in total!!) we started the barbecue, or “braai” as it’s called down here. I went to bed after dinner, a few cold ones and a lot of laughs… some of my friends should rather have been stand-up comedians.
The following morning, I got up before the rest of the bunch and had a great run up the river, through the forests. After a very refreshing and icy shower (boiler in the men’s room wasn’t working), we had breakfast and headed down to the event organizer’s offices to gear up.
We got all the necessary safety gear and unnecessary safety speeches before hitting the water around 9:30. We were in two-man rafts, so you had a lot more control and the rapids were much more exciting than with the six-man version. Unfortunately, the roughest rapid was a level 3 (they go up to 5), but it was still a lot of fun. We stopped half way for some snacks. There was also a rapid nearby, which you could go down without a raft. You get a bit of a bump on your bum, but nothing serious. Pretty cool.
The entire trip was about 2:30 hours long, including the 30mins break. I would highly recommend this activity. It is good exercise and a lot of fun.
The rest of the day was quite laid-back. We went to a local brewery to watch the rugby - our equivalent of American football. It was the first game of the series, which includes teams from Oz and New Zealand. My team won against another local team - Cape Town based. After the game we had dinner at the very impressive Casa do Sol. They served a mouth watering buffet and I sure got my money’s worth!
The next day we had a quick french toast breakfast at the camp site, packed up and headed home. We stopped at a number of places along the way. One of which was the Lowveld botanical gardens in Nelspruit. It isn’t really your average botanical garden. There is a huge river with a series of cascades and quite an extensive hiking trail. We hiked through the gardens for an hour or so, and headed home.
I loved this weekend! It matched all my requirements for a perfect break-away. I surely won’t forget this one.
Logbook Activity
- Type: Other
- Date: 02/16/2008
- Time: 09:30:00
- Total Time: 2:00:00.00
- Calories: 500
Filed under: White Water
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