Interesting, I personally find drinking ice-cold water helps. Whether is is just because I prefer it cold, and because of that I drink more which then stops me eating too much, or there is a thermogenic effect which this study missed or something else. I find it helps me. Would be good if Anthony could post up more about it when he gets here
You've already got some good answers in there. Just to reiterate, stick to 1 set per exercise, take 5 seconds to lift the weight and 5 to lower it, and choose a weight that you can do at least 6 but no more than 8 reps with.
Do as many reps as you can, and if you do more than 8, next time increase the weight.
For your tea, the main problem can be milk and sugar as mentioned. 1 cup with milk and 2 sugars has roughly 80 calories (assuming semi-skimmed milk), so 4 cups later, that's 300 calories on top of your diet. That can be the difference between a deficit needed for fat loss and maintenance calories.
In terms of the calorie burning effect of cold water, there's been two studies done to date, including the one above, both of which were designed to test the thermogenic effect of water, not necessarily ice cold water in and of itself.
Both studies cited tested the outcome, but under different conditions so aren't comparible side by side.
Whole-room calorimetery equipment, which was used in the later study, is regarded as very accurate, and no less accurate than hooded equipment, which was used in the initial study, such as a douglas bag.
Like alot of science, the superhydration theory is based on seeing an outcome from a hypothesis, then hypothesising why that outcome happened.
In the case of superhydration, the outcome is that in tests those who drank more water lost more fat, all other things being equal. One part of the hypothesis as to why would be the thermogenic effect of having to heat the water to core body temperature.
At this stage, there's not enough quantity of research to say conclusively one way or the other.
What the new research has done though is said that in a later study, the thermogenic effect measured was not as great when compared to a previous study and measured under different conditions. So in a nutshell, it's inconclusive.
However, it doesn't cost you anything to drink your water from the fridge, or stick some icecubes in, and looking at the bigger picture, the temperature of the water is helpful to curb hunger pangs.
So whether the calorie burning is significant or not, we don't know for sure, but since it takes no effort of cost, I'd reccomend drinking it ice cold where possible as an adjunct to the increase in consumption.
If there's any of your questions I've missed, let me know.
first off, on the water front i have definitly been making sure i have had more than enough, in fact i think i'm probably over doing it! Is this a bad thing in anyway?
I have probably drunk 6-7 75cl bottles worth.
i haven't yet got to the gym, and i am set to start on monday, as i am just finishing work this friday.
Here is what i consumed today diet, please do point out anything you feel i should change.
Breakfast 8:00
A bowl of All bran cereal with semi skimmed milk
Small glass of Orange juice
Snack
slice of toast, w/ butter.
Lunch 1:00
Tesco sandwich (125cal) Chicken etc..
Apple
Snack
low fat yogurt/cereal bar
Dinner
Pasta in tomato sauce.
I calculated it to be under 1800 what do you think, is this a good enough diet, obviously the dinner will change. As i need more meat?
At first glance, I'd say double check the sandwich. As mentioned, one slice of bread is around 90 calories on average, so you may find the calories wwere per 100g rather than per sandwich.
Secondly, make sure you weigh your pasta accurately and use the right type of weight. If the nutirition says "When cooked" then you need to weigh it afterwards, or if it says "As sold" you need to weigh it before cooking. If you get these the wrong way around, you can end up eating three times the calories you thought you were!
I'd also reccomend getting in a light carb based snack before bed, such as wheatabix, or shredded wheat to keep the fat burners kicked in over night.
Matt - if you want something to spread on your toast without the fuss of weighing spreads etc try a low fat cheese triangle thingie- they come ready calorie counted.
first off, on the water front i have definitly been making sure i have had more than enough, in fact i think i'm probably over doing it! Is this a bad thing in anyway?
I have probably drunk 6-7 75cl bottles worth.
Matt.
not a bad thing at all. I usually have 3-6 litres of water each day. It is only bad if you glug it down in a short space of time without eating.
