Posted by CareBear04 on February 3, 2005, at 20:39:57
hello everyone-- i've been trying to educate myself about nutrition, metabolism, and exercise. my drs want me to get my metabolism going again by eating more and exercising more. in the fall, i lost a lot of weight unintentionally. after a throat injury from an endoscopy, i couldn't eat or drink much, and i think i lost something like 5 pounds that week. maybe a lot was water, but i didn't have dehydration symptoms like low BP or thirst. when i was hospitalized, they found a really low prealbumin level, which they said is indicative of malnutrition. they also found a lot of ketones in my urine, which i guess comes from excess breakdown of fat or something? anyway, you would think that my metabolism would grind to a stop when i stopped eating and drinking properly, so that amount of weight loss is a mystery. since prealbumin measures a protein, would low prealbumin mean that my body used up protein stores? my brother takes protein supplements to help build muscles. he's 17, and in the past few months with martial arts and weight training, he's gone from rail thin to looking pretty built. so what i conclude from that is that protein is necessary for muscle building. during aerobic exercise and strength training, is fat burned first or protein? i've read today that dieters should exercise to get their metabolism up first, then cut calories because when they are out of shape, the body doesn't access fat and goes straight to burning protein. can anyone explain this? when i got really underweight, my prealbumin was low, but my albumin, which changes only over weeks or months was right in reference range, telling that the problem was of recent onset. if i had stores of protein left, why did my body turn to fats and start burning them right up?
i've starting exercising again this week. i think my body was made for distance walking and running. i used to run about 5 miles a day and liked it and went to school in ny and loved walking everywhere. that kept off the freshman 15 and other lbs from dining hall food. in the fall, i got really deconditioned and sedentary like a fragile old person. even so, on a recent overseas trip, i was able to walk quickly and keep up with everyone, even after two months of lying in bed. i've walked about 4 miles a few times this week without much trouble. i think those muscles just have to be built back up. i guess walking is the best form of exercise for me because i can do it at a fast pace and without much strain. as for swimming, it's a new kind of exercise for me. i used to swim competetively, but i've only swam once in about eight years, so i'm very out of shape. i've heard different things about swimming-- that it's good whole body exercise or that it's not good aerobic exercise for reasons like that it's too hard to do for the required 30+ minutes. if i don't eat much protein, especially not meat, will i gain muscle or will my body break down protein during exercise? i could never do atkins or south beach because i like carbs too much and don't much like protein foods.
one more question-- since finishing growing and everything, my exercise has been of the same sort, and my figure hasn't changed much. i'm built like a little boy-- small shoulders, waist, hips, and so on... no curves to speak of, unfortunately. as of late, i've been more underweight and "frail," as my dr put it. my dr is conservative in his expectations, and he says 2-3 pounds more would be good. assuming that i gain that in muscle, will i look healthier and broader, or because of the decrease in fat, will i look thinner and more fragile? i'd like curves and esp breasts, but i don't think those are created by exercise, huh?
poster:CareBear04
thread:452737
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/health/20050105/msgs/452737.html