The FastDay Forum

I'm reading the book too - about a third of the way through. Still can't get my head around how to introduce more NEAT into my sedentary life without the expense of a treadmill desk (love the idea though!) but no doubt all will become clear in due course.

My standing desk is going well, legs are going solid- have to remember to do more stretches

Do you know what I'm finding amazing? How quickly that timer goes off when you're working!

I've got a stand up desk, and move around as I work, but not enough. So this arvo I put a timer on for 25 minutes, with the idea that every time the timer goes off, I'll do squats. Well every time it goes off, I think "what, already?" No way I'd move nearly this much without the timer!

Think I'm going to keep the timer handy everytime I'm working!

I went for a run on Tuesday morning and found myself wanting to sit down when I got back, rather than my usual standing/moving - maybe this is why some studies show running does have the weight reduction effect your expect - you compensate for the run with more rest.

Couple of thoughts...I sit on my butt all day...my butt is small...my abdominals are huge.....I have a few always thin inlaws and they are nervous all the time they never sit down...constant movement.

Theres an article in Waitrose Weekend today about NEAT, with a couple of paragraphs by James Levins, as part of their 28 day lovelife summer plan. 10 ideas for bringing NEAT into your life - nothing earth shattering, but all good. Some nice calorie counted recipes too

I love my standing desk, and would battle to get used to sitting down again - but now I'm wanting a treadmill desk. Look at this one, it would fit my desk perfectly (apart from a pesky door being in the way)
http://www.treadmilldeskaustralia.com.au/tr1200-dt3/

I'd love a treadmill desk! What a great idea to walk while you work. But I'd also just settle for a bike so I could bike to work... that's always a good idea, to combine your commute with exercise! Both would be the best.... it's just great to MOVE!

I use a bike for transport whenever I can. I have a trailer so that I can even do groceries on it. Sometimes I find myself making excuses to drive rather than cycle. Thing is, once I'm on my bike and riding I do much prefer it. But when it's cold or wet or windy or I know I'll get swooped by magpies at least twice on the way, well it's easy just to say "sod it, I'll drive".

Diplomacy and observations read and appreciated !

Kencc: not sure you are quite correct in your assumption - if you are carrying fat it is available as an energy source for exercise but not necessarily at the rate required for running quickly. What happens is that exercise depletes muscle and liver glycogen stores, which are available instantly, and afterwards fat is turned into glycogen to replace the losses. Unless the exercise completely empties the reserves there would be no restriction felt - and you certainly notice "hitting the wall" in a marathon for example - and I know I can walk hard (4mph) for >4 hours on a fast day without running out of reserves. Yes, when I got home I laid in the bath for an hour, semi-comatose, which is an extreme version of what Minumonline was referring to, but it does not indicate I had been eating too much that week...

CreakyPete wrote: and afterwards fat is turned into glycogen to replace the losses.

Not strictly true. Fat is not a major source of glucose or glycogen. Fatty acids released from fat stores are burned directly by the muscles and so can ketones produced during fasting, this is not a rapid reaction so that high intensity exercise is fairly impossible once the glycogen stores are used up (though this takes days if not exercising hard).

Muscle fatigue (hitting the wall) is not the result of the depletion of glycogen reserves. Nor is muscle fatigue caused by the accumulation of lactic acid. Muscle fatigue is caused by the decrease in pH caused by the conversion of glucose into lactic acid. The pH of muscle cells may fall to 6.4 during intense muscular activity. As the pH decreases, glycolysis slows, slowing down the production of ATP, producing fatigue.

During fasting or during excessive activity, muscle tissue is degraded into amino acids and the carbon skeletons are used for fuel. Muscle tissues lack the enzymes to convert protein into glucose. Instead, the amino groups are converted to form alanine. Alanine is released by the muscle tissue into the blood stream where is absorbed by the liver, and converted into glucose by gluconeogenesis.

Running a marathon requires the mobilization of several metabolic fuels and requires the cooperation of the liver, muscle and adipose tissue to mobilize the energy so that it can be tapped for the long run. Trained marathon runners have increased glycogen stores and burn equal amounts of fatty acids and glycogen during the run. In order to do this, the blood sugar level must be low to produce a highglucagon/insulin ratio. This high ratio mobilizes fatty acids from adipose tissue. These fatty acids are absorbed by the muscles, and oxidized completely into CO2. Enough glycogen is spared this way, to sprint towards the finish line.

carorees wrote: Not strictly true. Fat can't be turned into glucose or glycogen. Fatty acids released from fat stores are burned directly by the muscles and so can ketones produced during fasting, this is not a rapid reaction so that high intensity exercise is fairly impossible once the glycogen stores are used up (though this takes days if not exercising hard).

Glycerol from lipids enters on the right ??

How do low carbers maintain blood sugar if fat can't be turned into glucose or glycogen ?

I liked this one, shame about the language

oops, we'll try it as an attachment

carorees wrote: Fat is not a major source of glucose or glycogen.

Note I said "major". The main source of fuel once glycogen is depeleted is the fatty acids is what I was trying to get across. The glycerol component is indeed converted to glucose.

Low carbers (and fasters) use a mixture of both gluconeogenesis and glycerol conversion to maintain blood sugar, but because of the use of ketones/fatty acids by most organs, not much glucose is needed (only red blood cells are using glucose in this scenario).