paul100

Absolute precision is tricky here, but the figures given above are broadly correct... see e.g: http://www.fao.org/docrep/006/Y5022E/y5022e04.htm

Right, the changes can be relatively small... but whether you regard them as "insignificant" is a matter of perspective. For a highly trained athlete a 3% improvement is huge... that would mean Haile breaking the two hour barrier for the marathon. I suspect, although I don't know for sure, that there's more scope for…

I agree with pretty much all you've said, but I did just want to comment on this. Part of the point of running training is that you improve your running efficiency. So, in the long term, you hope to be able to run the at the same speed for lower energy expenditure or, alternatively, run faster for the same energy…

I've no idea what a p90x plyox is... but, for max calories/hour burnt you need to need to do cardio stuff that works the big muscles of your body (legs and bum) ... the best things are running, cross-country skiing, rowing, cycling. That's not to say that you shouldn't do other stuff as well... variety is the spice of…

Quite - it's an estimate, but individuals vary a lot, and your max and rest heart rate will change with exercise (and with age). You can accurately assess your max heart rate - but it's quite hard work and shouldn't been done by anyone who may have any kind of heart problem. Google for "max heart rate stress test"...

I like PB&J... but not as much as PB& Marmite on toast... I'm not sure if Marmite is common in the US?

I tend to have wine more than beer, but either way I like to have a glass or two most evenings. Of course it's quite calorific, so you have to take account of that in comparison to everything else you're consuming... but for me the answer is to do plenty of exercise and then you have more calories to play with in the first…

If you guys believe that the laws of physics somehow don't apply to this situation there's little point in arguing about it :/

I weigh myself every morning... If you do weigh yourself that frequently then be prepared for things to move around a bit... hydration and the amount of waste in your gut (for example) can change from day to day and mask the true trend a bit. Be consistent about when you weigh yourself - just after you get up (having had a…

Right - well if you're confident that you're getting the calories in correct, then it must be that you're mis-estimating the calories you're using. There's no getting away from the fact that you can only lose weight by burning more calories than you consume. Conversely - if you're not losing weight then you must be…

At the end of the day it's calories out vs. calories in - if you're logging all your food and exercise, and that's showing a consistent calorie deficit and you're still not losing weight then you must be incorrectly recording the data. The first step to figuring out what's going on is to get the data correct, then you can…

Whatever time you can manage. If you have a busy life it's good to fit things in around your work life... I used to cycle to work for example - it was just as quick as driving across town so it didn't actually take up any extra time.

fruit juice, fruit smoothies, milk ... and water.

I've done the Paris marathon for the last 4 years. This year I also did the Amsterdam marathon (only a couple of weeks ago) in a new PR of 3:21. Aiming for 3:15 in Paris in April....

Lentils and other pulses. Quorn is a great meat substitute (is it marketed in the States?)

If you have a fever then you should rest. Generally speaking it's OK to exercise through a cold, so long as all the symptoms are above the neck... if you have any kind of chest infection then rest until it's sorted out. On a related note people often confuse flu with colds... and claim they have flu when really they have a…

When you get on the scales and it reads less than the last time? Sorry - I guess I haven't gotten the hang of this :)

If your goal is to finish and you don't care about the time then the trick is to run at a very gentle pace. At the start of a race it's easy to get excited... there will be adrenaline flowing through your system, some people will go off very fast; if it's a big event there may be spectators urging you on. Ignore all of…

I'm not sure about the "until the arm is at least parallel with the floor" bit. In my book it's a proper push up when your nose touches the floor and you've kept your back and neck properly straight. If you bend your back or your neck then it doesn't count...

When my kids were babies I bought a bike trailer that converted into a jogging stroller. When they were small I fitted a car baby seat into the trailer. This worked really well - I was able to go for cycle rides and runs with the baby. They would usually fall asleep from the motion, but if not seemed very happy in the…

Start by simply logging *all* your food and exercise. Just seeing where your calories are coming from (and going too) helps you figure out what you need to change in order to lose weight.

I make soups with all kinds of vegetable bits and pieces that need eating up in the fridge. Just steam or boil until tender. Add stock (or water and a bit of seasoning) + any other kind of flavouring you like - all kinds of herbs and spices can work well - just experiment to see what you like. You can either liquidize to…

Twice a week of 30mins is not a lot really as far as making a significant difference goes. As a starting point I try to do something every day... that might not involve actually going to a gym, or pulling on my running kit, but at least go for a walk or replace a car journey with a bicycle ride ... or whatever.

Well... I just joined this site, partly in order to get a better understanding of where my calories came from. I'm actually suprised that a couple of glasses of wine in an evening is relatively little compared with many things. Yesterday I ended up having 3 glasses of wine (some friends came round in the evening) - which…

Generally the more running you do the higher the proportion of carbs you should have in your diet. If you skip carbs you'll find you lack energy to run.

How long you wait depends on your experience and how hard you ran your half marathon. A half marathon doesn't beat you up quite the same way as a marathon, but if you do it at the best pace you can then it'll still take it out of you... so by all means take a day or two off running afterwards. But as long as you don't have…