Diet and Health FAQ

Tagged As: Diet Coke Nutrition

Question:
Hey there, I've been sitting around too much the last four years and have gotten out of shape. The last week I've decided that I'd try to get into the swing of things again. I eat pretty resonable, though I used to drink lots of coke (1.2L/day) and milk (1L/day 2%), which I imagine most of my calories came from in the day. I've started jogging, though I can only make it about 12 minutes right now without totally dying (though I do walk/run for the next 10 minutes). I've cut down to about 700ml of 1% milk, and drink diet coke instead of coke. I have a few questions here for anyone that has reference. 1) How many calories have I cut down on by changing to diet coke (1.2L of diet coke = 5 calories/day). I don't have any stastics on coke/pepsi regular cola. 2) How long will it take before I can jog fairly well for 20-30 minutes straight? 3) I'm planning on taking about 3 weeks of jogging before I start in on some weight training. I've heard it helps to build up your cardiovascular system before you begin your weight-training. Is this true? Or should I just jump in and start tomorrow on the training (ie... I have to buy a membership somewhere, and this is going to cost me money). 4) I'm 230lbs, 6'4, medium build, 42 inch waist, fat really only in the stomach area, not much muscle mass right now. I've gained this weight really slow, and I'm probably only 100-200 calories above the equalibrium (or whatever it's called). By dropping 275 calories with the milk, and less the colar calories, how long will it typically take to lose 6 inches on my stomach. I'm estimating 4 months if I do all my training right. Is this estimate close? 5) It's cold up here in Canada, and when I jog I get a sore throat and cough for about 3 hours afterwards. Is this something I will get used to? Is this serious (should I train indoors)? 6) When I do barbell curls, the muscles in my forearms get very painful (not sore as they should). This feels very much like shin-splints. What is this, and how can I avoid it? Rest usually helps, but this means I can only do the curls about 2 times a week. Thanks for any help.

Answer:
Hi Bob! The last time that I looked at the nutrition panel on a 12oz can of Coke Classic, it read 39 grams of sugars, which comes out to about 156 calories per can. Three cans come out to 36 ounces, which is just-a-little-less than 1.2 liters, so you are talkin' about 460-someodd calories/day difference between the diet Coke and the regular. >2) How long will it take before I can jog fairly well for 20-30 minutes >straight? Figure on it taking 2-3 months. If you can get there faster, then more power to ya', but I think that 2-3 months is reasonable. As a matter of, fact, I would suggest that you work on walking briskly for a while instead, at least until your hour cruise speed gets a bit faster than 15 min/mile. As a matter of fact, I would suggest sticking with walking until you get your speed up and your technique down to the point where it actually becomes _easier_ to jog than to walk. For me, the cutover speed is about 12 min/mile, and I stand about 5'11. As you are a few inches taller (and no doubt have longer legs), I suspect that your cutover speed will be a bit faster still, once you get your technique down. When I talk about walking technique, I am talking about learning to get the most out of every part of your stride, from your arm swing (swing through a long arc, and more from the shoulders than from the elbows.... ie., a long pendulum swing) right thru the pushoff from the toes. When you can cover the flat ground reasonably well over the course of an hour, then start including some hills. >3) I'm planning on taking about 3 weeks of jogging before I start in on some >weight training. I've heard it helps to build up your cardiovascular system >before you begin your weight-training. Is this true? Or should I just jump >in and start tomorrow on the training (ie... I have to buy a membership >somewhere, and this is going to cost me money). Why not start doing some calisthenics _now_? You can do freehand squats, toe-raises off of a step, good mornings and pushups, to start. If you have trouble doing pushups on the floor, then do them against a countertop, or against the seat of a chair, or against a stair tread that is high enough to allow you to get 20 reps/set. As you get stronger, then use ever-lower objects until you can do 20-or-so on the floor. No membership required and no excuses, as you already have all of the equipment that you are gonna' need..... at least for the first few months. >4) I'm 230lbs, 6'4, medium build, 42 inch waist, fat really only in the >stomach area, not much muscle mass right now. I've gained this weight >really slow, and I'm probably only 100-200 calories above the equalibrium >(or whatever it's called). By dropping 275 calories with the milk, and >less the colar calories, how long will it typically take to lose 6 inches >on my stomach. I'm estimating 4 months if I do all my training right. >Is this estimate close? You are talkin' about 700 fewer calories per day now, what with the reduction of cola calories and milk calories, and that even by itself, should put a dent in your waistline. How long will it take to drop 6? I don't rightly know, but I suspect that 8 months or so is a much more realistic time frame than 4, as the first inches tend to come off faster than the last ones. As a data point, it took about 6 months for me to lose 4 off of my waist. As before, your mileage may vary. >5) It's cold up here in Canada, and when I jog I get a sore throat and >cough for about 3 hours afterwards. Is this something I will get used to? >Is this serious (should I train indoors)? It sounds like you are pushing yourself too hard.... >6) When I do barbell curls, the muscles in my forearms get very painful >(not sore as they should). This feels very much like shin-splints. >What is this, and how can I avoid it? Rest usually helps, but this >means I can only do the curls about 2 times a week. Either do the curls only twice per week, or reduce the weight for a few workouts, then build back up over several workouts.