Selene Yeager Archives - 国产吃瓜黑料 Online /byline/selene-yeager/ Live Bravely Thu, 12 May 2022 18:33:42 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 https://cdn.outsideonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/favicon-194x194-1.png Selene Yeager Archives - 国产吃瓜黑料 Online /byline/selene-yeager/ 32 32 How to Ramp Up Training and Stay Healthy鈥擭o Matter Your Diet /health/nutrition/stay-healthy-during-training-any-diet/ Wed, 12 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0000 /uncategorized/stay-healthy-during-training-any-diet/ How to Ramp Up Training and Stay Healthy鈥擭o Matter Your Diet

Keto, paleo, vegan, and more鈥攚e've got you covered. A few key adjustments to these basic nutrition programs ensure you can tackle heavy-effort loads and still fuel the way you want.

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How to Ramp Up Training and Stay Healthy鈥擭o Matter Your Diet

Ask an elite athlete how nutrition factors into her performance, and she鈥檒l likely tell you that it鈥檚 just as important as her training plan. In many cases, she may even call it the most important factor. But the increased effort levels during training can make sticking to your diet tough since even healthy regimens often include eliminating classic performance foods鈥攍ike lean proteins if you鈥檙e vegetarian听or carbs if you鈥檙e paleo. If you fall into one of these camps, rest easy. A few small tweaks will give your body what it needs to crank at its full potential. We spoke with two sports dietitians who work with high-performing endurance athletes鈥擧eather Mangieri, spokesperson for the , and Barbara Lewin, sports dietitian for the U.S. Olympic Registry鈥攆or the details.

If You鈥檙e Keto鈥

Keto dieters get about 75 to 85 percent of their calories from fat and eat very few carbohydrates (generally fewer than 50 grams a day). Although revered by many endurance athletes, the keto approach to healthful eating can backfire if you aren鈥檛 deliberate about finding your fuel elsewhere, getting adequately diverse nutrient intake, and tracking whether your body is adapting to fat burning.

Emphasize Diversity: You need a lot of vitamins, minerals, and natural antioxidants when you鈥檙e training. Without a careful approach to keto, you risk micronutrient deficiency, Mangieri says. Make sure you鈥檙e not eating the same rotation of foods. Instead, rely on easy swaps to ensure you鈥檙e putting a variety of vitamins and minerals into your body without having to take a supplement.

Monitor Your Performance: It鈥檚 been the silver bullet for many athletes, but the keto program doesn鈥檛 have the same impact on every individual, so it remains debated. Many people can run a marathon or do a tri while following the keto rules of thumb, but science shows that increasing intensity typically requires carbohydrates, Lewin says. She recommends keeping a journal to monitor what you鈥檙e eating and how you鈥檙e performing in your training. It鈥檚 key to see if you鈥檙e falling off pace or exerting more effort to clock in at slower times without necessarily noticing it.


If You鈥檙e Gluten-Free…

Gluten-free athletes avoid foods that most others consider essential to their training. Thankfully, 鈥渆ating gluten-free is a breeze these days with so many healthy choices,鈥 Lewin says. But there are still a few pitfalls to watch for.

Skip the Packaged Foods: A diet packed with gluten-free bread, crackers, and pastas isn鈥檛 inherently healthy or useful for fueling hard training, since those foods often have added sugar or fat to make them more palatable. Instead, 鈥渆at naturally gluten-free foods like quinoa and starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes or corn,鈥 Mangieri says.

Go for Variety: Gluten-free dieters often eat a lot of rice products鈥攔ice bread, rice crackers, rice pasta鈥攕o they get a limited nutritional panel on repeat. Instead, switch up your alternative-carb products so you get a longer list of macros (and prevent stale taste buds). Try bean-based pastas, buckwheat pancake mixes, or corn tortillas instead of flour.


If You鈥檙e Vegetarian or Vegan鈥

Plant-based diets have become the darlings of the health world and the hallmark of many exemplary endurance athletes, but it鈥檚 surprisingly easy to eat a very unhealthy diet even when cutting out animal products. It鈥檚 less about what you aren鈥檛 eating and more about what you are eating, Mangieri says. 鈥淭o really perform your best, you need to be a well-rounded vegan or vegetarian.鈥 That means your pantry can鈥檛 be filled solely with energy bars and protein powder.

Pay Attention to Protein: Get your protein from real plants. There is a lot of amino-rich produce out there鈥攜ou just have to be a little more conscious of making sure you鈥檙e getting enough. It may be worth using a food-tracking app at the start to guarantee that you鈥檙e getting the recommended 90 grams a day. Besides beans and legumes鈥攍auded as plant-based protein sources鈥攃hia seeds, wild rice, oatmeal, and even potatoes contain that can be easily incorporated into your meals throughout the day

Be Mindful of B12: Strict vegans need to be sure they鈥檙e getting enough vitamin B12, which is naturally found only in meat and is essential for red blood cell production. Try incorporating fortified cereals or alternative milks a few times a day. If you鈥檙e really struggling to hit the mark, pop a B12 vitamin daily.

Time Your Fiber Wisely: 鈥淚 recommend that triathletes and runners reduce their fiber for two days prior to their race, eating fewer big salads and the like. This may actually reduce their weight by a few pounds and will reduce GI issues and the chance they have to find a restroom along the way,鈥 Lewin says. That鈥檚 tough for anyone who abstains from meat, but it鈥檚 important for being race-ready.


If You鈥檙e Paleo鈥

Athletes who fuel themselves on this ancestral diet eschew agricultural-era foods such as grains, legumes, dairy, and refined foods while focusing on meat, fish, fruits, and veggies. It鈥檚 pretty easy to be a paleo athlete as long as you time the carbs you do eat for adequate fueling and recovery.

Enjoy Those Well-Timed Potatoes: allows high-glycemic carbs like potatoes around your training and racing times to ensure you have adequate glycogen stores for high-intensity efforts and recovery.

Make Your Own Sports Drinks: Commercial sports drinks will be off-limits, but you can make your own from raw honey, sea salt, lemon juice, and water.


If You鈥檙e Practicing Intermittent Fasting鈥

Some athletes believe this approach helps them stay lean and fast. 鈥淭here is good research that this pattern of eating can be beneficial. You just need to practice it wisely,鈥 Lewin says.

Eat Enough: For athletes, the goal of intermittent fasting isn鈥檛 to go into starvation mode or to shed pounds quickly. Instead, it鈥檚 meant to increase your strength-to-weight ratio by triggering your body to burn fat stores. When you do eat, you want to make sure you consume enough to maintain muscle mass, restock your glycogen store, and stay fueled.

Time It Right: Schedule your high-intensity sessions close to your last meal so you have fuel on board. Avoid prolonged fasts of more than two to three days just before races so you don鈥檛 go in with depleted glycogen stores.


If You鈥檙e Eating Only Raw Foods鈥

Raw-food practitioners, notably , fill themselves with foods that haven鈥檛 been cooked, believing that modern cooking deleteriously alters food鈥檚 nutritional content. The foods you choose and how you prepare them can have a major impact on how well (or not) you do as you train.

Prioritize Protein: It鈥檚 easy to feel satisfied on uncooked foods yet miss out on getting the protein you need. Raw, less-processed food fills your stomach faster even if it doesn鈥檛 give you lasting energy. To combat this effect, eat a large variety of nuts, seeds, legumes, and vegetables, rather than just munching on raw crudit茅s and trail mix, to get all your essential amino acids without filling up first.

Think About Fiber: Fiber hits harder with a raw-food diet because your body has to do all the work of digesting it without the help of cooking, which might ordinarily kick-start the breakdown process. 鈥淎 high fiber pre-workout or pre-race meal doesn鈥檛 sit very well and usually doesn鈥檛 provide adequate calories,鈥 Lewin says. 鈥淭he same is true for recovery. Eating a high-fiber recovery meal means that you miss the window of 20 to 30 minutes after your workout where the body is able to most efficiently restore muscle glycogen levels and rebuild muscle.鈥 Juicing some of your foods will help eliminate some of the fiber while still providing nutrition.

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Today’s Paleo Diet Looks Nothing Like What Cavemen Used to Eat /health/nutrition/todays-paleo-diet-looks-nothing-what-cavemen-used-eat/ Mon, 12 Jun 2017 00:00:00 +0000 /uncategorized/todays-paleo-diet-looks-nothing-what-cavemen-used-eat/ Today's Paleo Diet Looks Nothing Like What Cavemen Used to Eat

Growing research debunks the myth that the paleo movement replicates the diet of our ancestors. Here's what they were actually eating.

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Today's Paleo Diet Looks Nothing Like What Cavemen Used to Eat

Followers of the paleo philosophy claim to draw their nutritional guidelines from Neanderthals. But stark differences in geography and agriculture, thousands of years of evolution, and a contemporary food industry stand in the way. Mounting evidence, including , confirms that grains, tubers, and sugary fruits were staples despite modern-day adherents avoiding carbs at all costs. Read on to see how a real paleo plate around the globe would have looked and how you can make a few tweaks to your paleo philosophy for major health benefits.

Africa: Given the vast size of the continent, there鈥檚 some regional variability in what you would have found, says paleobiologist Amanda Henry, faculty of archeology at Leiden University in the Netherlands, but wild yams, melons, and berries were eaten across nearly the entire area. Endurance athletes trying to eat paleo should take particular note of the yams since their energy demands often require an elevated amount of carbs to optimize performance.

Middle East: Heavily reliant on wild wheat, barley, and wild oats, especially concentrated where present-day Israel is situated, nobody was following a low-carb diet here, says Peter Ungar, professor of anthropology at the University of Arkansas and author . In fact, carbs actually were (and continue to be) key in fueling our brain function.

South America: Even hundreds of years ago, humans were subconsciously building some leeway into their diets to make room for the sweeter stuff. Palm tree stems and palm fruit were popular items in this part of the world, Henry says. Those eating paleo these days should think about practicing balance in a similar way.

North America: Henry says most of what was eaten here can鈥檛 be found today鈥攁 domesticated edible version of the sunflower, oil-rich seeds from a long-gone squash variety, and a cousin of barley native to the region. These foods would have supplemented some hunted meat but often would have been eaten on their own. Today, many paleo diehards turn to bacon and steak for protein, but it鈥檚 also possible to cut back meat intake and turn to other protein sources.听

Europe: The food available in this region mirrors the traditional paleo diet the most鈥攈eavy in produce and low in grains鈥攁ssuming people rounded out their plates with local proteins. Frequent foraging led to a diet consisting mostly of mushrooms, pine nuts, tree bark, moss, and wild grasses, according to the study in Nature.

Asia: People here feasted on millet, acorns, beans, and yams, with a little bit of wild grass thrown in, Henry says. Paleo is traditionally a strict low-carb movement, but in this region, people indulged in millet and yams as well. Even longtime paleo advocates recognize that adding a little flexibility to your plan鈥攖hrough healthy carbs or the occasional sweet treat鈥攃an prove to be highly beneficial for your health and performance.

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The Yogurt Cheat Sheet /health/nutrition/definitive-yogurt-ranking/ Thu, 20 Apr 2017 00:00:00 +0000 /uncategorized/definitive-yogurt-ranking/ The Yogurt Cheat Sheet

Take the guesswork out of the supermarket's most crowded aisle for good.

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The Yogurt Cheat Sheet

Americans spend $7.7 billion on yogurt every year, according to market research firm . But听it鈥檚 getting increasingly difficult to choose among the staggering array of flavors, styles, textures, milk sources, and fat contents on the shelf, with each making a case for why it鈥檚 the healthiest (and tastiest) option on the market. So we called in an expert, Melissa Phillips, clinical nutritionist at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics in Madison, for shopping tips.


The Type: Full Fat

What It鈥檚 Good For: When you鈥檙e hungry, plain full-fat yogurt makes the perfect snack. In moderation, fat keeps you feeling satiated longer. To punch up protein, the full-fat variety delivers about 300 milligrams () of calcium per cup.

Yum Factor: Creamy, rich, and delicious. Because flavors stick better to fat molecules, this yogurt delivers a richer taste.

Watch Out For: At 150 calories per cup, full-fat yogurt has as many calories as . Phillips recommends keeping portions in check.


The Type: Low/Nonfat

What It鈥檚 Good For: Similar to its full fat counterpart, low-fat yogurt delivers gut-healthy probiotics. When the fat is removed, the calcium gets concentrated, so low-fat varieties actually contain 鈥攁bout 450 milligrams per eight ounces.

Yum Factor: Like drinking skim or low-fat milk instead of whole, there鈥檚 no getting around the thinner body, despite the thickeners many brands add to pump up the texture. If you go this route, embrace the liquid-forward texture and avoid ingredient lists that include fake texture enhancers.

Watch Out For: Sugar. To compensate for the lack of fat, many brands , which can show up as dextrose and fructose, even in 鈥減lain鈥 varieties. The same amount of low-fat yogurt may have nearly as many calories as full fat, , which is worse for you. The low-fat yogurt market is also riddled with sugary add-ins like fruit on the bottom, granola on top, and/or lots of sweet flavorings. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e eating red velvet cake鈥揻lavored yogurt, you鈥檙e actually just having dessert,鈥 says Phillips.


The Type: Greek

What It鈥檚 Good For: Greek yogurt has enjoyed superstar status in the dairy aisle for some time now, thanks to its reputation as a protein powerhouse, with double the amount (20 grams in an eight-ounce serving) than standard yogurt. But it has other perks, too, namely less sugar. 鈥淭o make Greek yogurt, manufacturers strain regular yogurt multiple times to remove the whey, which also removes much of the lactose,鈥 Phillips says. 鈥淭hat also makes it better for people with lactose intolerance.鈥

Yum Factor: This straining leaves behind a yogurt with serious tang. Greek yogurt鈥檚 hallmark taste is often said to be the truest example of what totally natural yogurt should taste like without any additives or flavorings.

Watch Out For: Counter to their healthy origins, Greek yogurt brands have started adding ingredients more reminiscent of candy than of health food. You can now find pie-flavored varieties that pack as much sugar as a slice of the real thing, so be a vigilant label reader and choose wisely.


The Type: Skyr

What It鈥檚 Good For: This. It鈥檚 made from skim milk, which is warmed, fortified with live bacteria cultures, and strained of its liquid whey, which removes about 75 percent of the water, creating a dense texture. It's naturally low in calories (100 per serving) and contains more protein (17 grams per serving) than sugar (3 grams per serving). Since cultures are added in the production process, you鈥檙e introducing a different roster of gut bacteria than your other supermarket yogurts, making it an easy way to keep your digestive tract healthy.

Yum Factor: Delicious. Skyr is thicker than even Greek yogurt and has a hint of natural sweetness.

Watch Out For: Skyr is naturally fat-free, but read the labels. Some varieties have added cream, which increases the fat content and adds calories.


The Type: Goat鈥檚 Milk

What It鈥檚 Good For: Goat-milk yogurt is only just starting to enter the U.S. market. As the name implies, it鈥檚 made with milk from goats, but it鈥檚 nutritionally similar to regular cow鈥檚 milk yogurt. One unique benefit: it鈥檚 lower in lactose, says Phillips. 鈥淚f you avoid yogurt because you鈥檙e lactose intolerant, .鈥

Yum Factor: The flavor is similar to goat cheese鈥攕lightly sweet and salty, with that distinctive tang. It鈥檚 also softer in texture. Swap it in for cream cheese on your morning bagel鈥攜ou won鈥檛 notice any difference in creaminess, but you鈥檒l forego lots of fat and preservatives.

Watch Out For: Avoid the same sugar-bomb additives as you would in cow-milk yogurt. It鈥檚 also likely more expensive than its competitors: for example, the retails at $2 for a six-ounce single serving; meanwhile, go for as little as 89 cents for a six-ounce single serving.


The Type: Sheep鈥檚 Milk

What It鈥檚 Good For: As with goat-milk varieties, sheep-milk yogurt is a great alternative for people with lactose intolerance. It鈥檚 higher in calcium than other types of yogurt, delivering , compared to cow-milk options. It鈥檚 also a little higher in protein (13 grams ) than regular cow-milk yogurt. And because it holds up under high temperatures, it鈥檚 great for cooking and can be used as a nutrition-packed substitute for butter, oil, sour cream, mayo, or cream cheese.

Yum Factor: Sheep鈥檚 milk is thicker than cow鈥檚 milk, so the yogurt is creamier, with a hint of natural sweetness.

Watch Out For: Fat. An eight-ounce serving contains 12 grams of fat, which raises the calorie count to 200. Though much of the fat is heart healthy, it鈥檚 something to be aware of if you鈥檙e watching your weight. It鈥檚 also pricey and can be difficult to find in the store.


The Type: Nondairy

What It鈥檚 Good For: are popular among vegans and people who opt out of eating dairy. They serve up the same healthy-gut bacteria and have a similar number of calories as regular yogurt.

Yum Factor: Varies widely. Some soy brands are pretty close in flavor and texture to standard cow-milk yogurt. Almond-based versions are usually much denser. Coconut is the lightest, creamiest of the bunch.

Watch Out For: Sugar. This category is filled with sweeteners, like fruit juice and cane sugar, that are used to change up the flavor profile, says Phillips. These options also tend to be lower in protein and calcium so you aren't getting much added nutrition.

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3 Cycling Fitness Myths That Are Actually Kind of True /outdoor-adventure/biking/3-cycling-fitness-myths-are-actually-kind-true/ Thu, 23 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0000 /uncategorized/3-cycling-fitness-myths-are-actually-kind-true/ 3 Cycling Fitness Myths That Are Actually Kind of True

The fitness industry is packed with more mythology than the Odyssey and Iliad combined. Most of them鈥攖hink millions of sit ups will flatten a belly鈥攁re as real as the Cyclops. But a few are actually grounded in reality. Here are three oft-debunked fitness myths that are more fact than fiction.

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3 Cycling Fitness Myths That Are Actually Kind of True

The fitness industry鈥攎ore so than most鈥攊s full of myths. Everyone is looking for a quick fix or to sum up the basics of a complete workout in just a few words or less. But some of these easy takeaways, believe it or not, are grounded in reality. We spoke to Dr. Timothy Noakes and Dr. Stephen S. Cheung, co-author of Cutting Edge Cycling, to find three cycling tips that you should take to heart.

is a certified personal trainer, pro mountain bike racer, and triathlete. She has authored more than two dozen books and writes Bicycling magazine’s weekly column.

Cycling Myths That Are Actually Kind of True: You Can Spot Tone

Have you looked at a cyclist鈥檚 legs? Strong, chiseled quads and calves are the hallmark of the sport.

(Ant Clausen/)

Everyone tells you that spot toning isn鈥檛 possible, likely because of all the folks flopping up and down on the floor trying to whittle away their middle. But have you looked at a cyclist鈥檚 legs? Strong, chiseled quads and calves are the hallmark of the sport. Heck, the New York Times even did a feature on how competitive riders can鈥檛 find pants that fit because of their small waists and powerful thighs and glutes. The reality is this: Cyclists turn the pedals about 90 revolutions per minute鈥攖hat鈥檚 5,400 times an hour鈥攗sing their quads and glutes to do the work. All that spinning also sheds fat鈥攆rom all over. The end result is rock solid sculpted legs with the signature bulge over the knee.

To maximize cycling鈥檚 toning potential, head to the hills. Fighting gravity forces you to push down on the pedals with all your might, which triggers the same physiological adaptations and muscle building as resistance training. Full throttle sprints鈥攈ammering as hard as you can for 30 seconds and recovering for a minute (repeating 10 times) will also fry fat and build lean muscle for great legs.

Cycling Myths That Are Actually Kind of True: Exercise at a Low Intensity to Burn Fat

Elite cyclists become world beaters by spending a high percentage of their training time at endurance intensity

(IA98/)

Everyone wants you to forget about the fat-burning zone. And for casual gym goers, who would be better served to pick up the pace and scorch as many calories as possible (including a healthy afterburn) than whiling away their precious gym time at 120 beats per minute, it鈥檚 good advice. But endurance athletes like cyclists reap special rewards by spending a good portion of their training in this relatively easy realm.

Elite cyclists become world beaters by spending a high percentage of their training time at 鈥渆ndurance鈥 intensity, says kinesiologist Dr. Stephen S. Cheung of Brock University and co-author of . 鈥淎 critical physiological adaptation for cyclists is sparing glycogen during long rides. This cannot be trained with short intense rides that rapidly drain glycogen stores.鈥 Endurance-paced rides also train your body to be a better fat burner by building hundreds of thousands of capillaries in your legs, increasing the size of energy-producing mitochondria, and boosting production of fatty-acid binding proteins and fat carrying enzymes. Long steady rides also teach you pacing and condition your body (and mind) to be comfortable on the bike for hours, says Cheung.

Cycling Myths That Are Actually Kind of True: No Pain, No Gain

Cycling ultimately rewards suffering

(wellphoto/)

Sorry, this one鈥檚 totally true. You can ride 5,000 miles a year, but if you only go one easy speed, you鈥檒l get fitter, but you won鈥檛 get much faster. You need those easy base miles, yes. But cycling ultimately rewards suffering. Hard efforts that make your legs burn and insides ache raise your lactate threshold鈥攖he point at which your body creates more lactate than it can use and you鈥檙e forced to slow down. A higher threshold means that you can cruise longer at a faster pace before slamming into your ceiling. Cyclists also prize suffering; as the rider who is willing to suffer the most is often the one who stands on the top of the box in the end.

Equally important, a little pain lets your brain know you can handle hard efforts, so when it comes time to race, you鈥檙e more likely to start and finish fast. 鈥淭he brain paces you based on past experience,鈥 says South African exercise researcher Dr. Timothy Noakes. 鈥淚t wants to protect you. So if you鈥檙e going harder than it鈥檚 used to, it鈥檒l shut you down before you want or before you even have to. Training hard lets it know you鈥檙e safe.鈥

Get comfortable in the pain cave with LT intervals like under-overs. After a good warm up, increase to a steady, tempo pace for five minutes. Accelerate to VO2 (about 90 percent max) for a minute. Take it back to tempo for five minutes. Continue back and forth for 20 to 30 minutes.

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How to Lose Weight While Cycling /outdoor-adventure/biking/how-lose-weight-while-cycling/ Wed, 22 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0000 /uncategorized/how-lose-weight-while-cycling/ How to Lose Weight While Cycling

Got a few unwanted pounds to shed? Hop aboard the first 鈥渆xercise machine鈥 you ever owned鈥攁 bike.

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How to Lose Weight While Cycling

Spinning those pedals provides a fat-scorching workout that鈥檚 gentle on the joints, and actually fun to do, no matter how much you weigh. Here are eight easy ways to get leaner by bike.

SPIN BEFORE BREAKFAST: Set up your trainer in a pleasant, convenient spot and saddle up each morning for 20 minutes before breakfast. A recent study in the Journal of Applied Physiology reported that you burn fat better riding in a fasted state than when you鈥檙e fueled up. Though you wouldn鈥檛 want to try to do your longest, hardest workouts unfueled, this simple morning start up will burn more than a 1,100 calories a week and fire up the fat-burning process. It鈥檚 a trick pro cyclists have employed for decades, says Andrew Pruitt, Ed.D., director of the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine in Colorado. 鈥淲hen I traveled with USA Cycling, the riders couldn鈥檛 have breakfast until they pedaled 20 minutes.鈥

HIT IT HARD: Okay, okay. This one may not be easy per se. But it is fast. Real fast, which cycling lets you be without beating you up the same way, oh, say, sprinting down the street in your running shoes would. Research鈥攎ost of it done on stationary bikes (presumably because it鈥檚 safer and easier than treadmills) shows that high-intensity sprint cycling helps get you lean, mean, and fit fast.

Just 30 seconds of big gear, full-throttle sprinting sends your levels of human growth hormone (which helps boost lean muscle and burn fat) soaring 530 percent. Other research published in the Journal of Applied Physiology found that just two weeks of alternate-day interval training boosted cyclists鈥 fat-burning ability by 36 percent. Short sprint workouts also raise your metabolism so you keep burning fat after you鈥檝e racked the bike and hit the showers. Laval University researchers found that even when sprinters burned half as many calories during their actual workouts, they still lost nine times more fat in the long run as those who went longer (and burned more calories) at one easy speed.

WEAR LYCRA: Ditch the baggies and buy a Lycra cycling kit. It鈥檒l keep you honest at your next all-you-can-eat buffet and prevent unwanted pounds. According to Cornell University weight loss researcher Brian Wansink, 鈥渟ignal clothes鈥 like fitted pants help us track our weight gain and loss. Without snug clothes to sound the alarm, the needle on the scale inches up quickly. Wansink鈥檚 team found that prison inmates gained an average of 20 to 25 pounds six months into incarceration (despite abysmal food and plenty of time to exercise) without recognizing the gain because the baggy shapeless orange jumpsuits give no feedback. For active folks, there are no more unforgiving signal clothes than skin-tight Spandex cycling attire. Buy some with no room to spare and keep them in heavy rotation.

GET OFF THE BEATEN PATH: An hour of off-road riding burns more than 600 calories an hour鈥攎ore than cruising the same period of time on the road鈥攁nd it works your whole body, not just your legs. Pulling over rocks, roots, and logs builds muscles in your arms, back, chest, and core. Trade your skinny tires for your fat ones a few times a week to rev your calorie burn and shed your spare.

HEAD TO THE HILLS: Hills burn a lot of calories in quick order. They also build your core strength. Four-time Leadville winner and world champion mountain biker Rebecca Rusch uses standing hill drills to chisel her amazing upper body. Find a 10-minute climb and do a series of three hill repeats on it, alternating between standing and sitting, so you spend about half the hill charging out of the saddle. Standing not only raises your heart rate so you burn more calories, but also builds strong lean muscle in your shoulders, triceps, and core muscles as you rock the bike beneath you and power your way to the top.

PEDAL FROM HERE TO THERE: Commuting by bike鈥攅ven for just all those short trips around town鈥攊s often not much longer time-wise as sliding into the bucket seat and firing up the car, and it helps peel off pounds. One study found that the average bicycle commuter loses 13 pounds in the first year without overhauling their diet or doing other exercise.

EAT ON THE GO: Cycling allows you to do what few other exercises do鈥攅at while you do it. How does that help you lose weight? Because you can fuel for your workout specifically without overeating before and after鈥攁 common exercise-weight loss saboteur. Next time you go for a long spin, take some fig bars, a banana, and other pocket fuel and aim to take in about 200 to 250 calories an hour. You鈥檒l still finish the ride in the red, but won鈥檛 be ravenous, so you can eat normally for the rest of the day and gradually lose weight over time.

TRADE THE LA-Z-BOY FOR THE TRAINER: The average person watches nearly three hours of TV a day. Plop your portable trainer in your living room and pedal away to one or more of your must-see primetime shows. You barely have to work up a sweat and you鈥檒l still kill an easy 1,000 calories鈥攅nough to drop a pound a week if you do it three or four nights.

is a certified personal trainer, pro mountain bike racer, and triathlete. She has authored more than two dozen books and writes Bicycling magazine's weekly column.

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