Swimming for weight loss

[vheogl]

It seems there's conflicting advice with regards swimming and weight loss. Some say its great as it uses all muscle groups and a fair amount of energy while others say that due to the reduction in body temperature swimming actually has a counter effect by increasing appetite and actually encourages weight gain. Which is the more accurate argument?

I've been swimming for as long as i can remember and recently have increased the amount i swim. I'm currently swimming 3 times a week for at least an hour often up to 2. I'm not particularly fast but i swim continuously for this time and manage about 75 lengths of 25 metres for every hour I swim which is pretty slow.

If i'm swimming for weight loss is there a way to increase this? I'm assuming speed would help? If i want to speed up is there any particular way i should go about this? In addition to swimming i'm running 3/4 times a week for about 30 minutes and my appetite i find has actually dropped yet my weight has maintained the same or there abouts it's a little frustrating.

[Shamandura]

If your eating more caused by swimming, that would make since as counter effect for losing weight. If someone wanted to lose weight by swimming, they still most likely are going to need to increase their calorie intake, but shouldnt do so to the point they are eating back all that they lost.

[Cassiel]

There's a good swimmer on these boards somewhere who can tell you more (I wish I could remember the name - sorry). If you look back a ways, I asked a similar question 1-2 months ago on the same board. That member helped me a great deal.

What I found with swimming - I was using it to cross train, so I don't know if it was the running or the swimming that helped me lose. But I've been a runner for years and a swimmer for only months (I know how to swim because I did it all growing up and took lessons but I haven't done it consistently since I was 13). What I noticed that swimming did for me, and running never did, was that it improved my body shape. I'm female, so it was nice to see a tuck around my waist and better overall posture. I've always been straight-shaped like a teenaged boy (I'm still pretty well shaped that way), but swimming pulled in my abdomen. Also, during the time when I was swimming a mile every day, my running improved in leaps and bounds. My cardio seemed ten times stronger - I felt worked like a dog while swimming, but when I'd run, I was able to go at an intensity I'd rarely reached before. So swimming, whether it helps you lose weight or not, still really does great things for your body.

[greensgood]

It seems there's conflicting advice with regards swimming and weight loss. Some say its great as it uses all muscle groups and a fair amount of energy while others say that due to the reduction in body temperature swimming actually has a counter effect by increasing appetite and actually encourages weight gain. Which is the more accurate argument?


If i'm swimming for weight loss is there a way to increase this? I'm assuming speed would help? If i want to speed up is there any particular way i should go about this? In addition to swimming i'm running 3/4 times a week for about 30 minutes and my appetite i find has actually dropped yet my weight has maintained the same or there abouts it's a little frustrating.

reduction in body temp from swimming? hmmm, thats interesting, but really doesn't make much sense to me, especially b/c i swim in a fairly cool pool and still end up hot and as sweaty as you can get while in water :) and the basics for weight loss (calories burned > calories eaten) don't have much to do with body temp, swimming burns calories, and burning calories can lead to weight loss. also for many, appetite is suppressed from working out.

do you want to lose weight or be in better shape? so much focus is placed on how much we weigh, when that is really not the issue for many people (especially young women), your main concern should be percent body fat, and how your clothes fit (aka your measurements). you can make changes to your appearance and improve your health and not gain or lose a single lb, just depends on how much fat your body is made of and how you metabolize food.

SO, swimming for weight loss (in general), yes faster will help, because it will increase your heart rate, however if you offer some resistance that will help increase your heart rate and strengthen and tone (improve your metabolism), swim with ankle weights, try using a kickboard, or just use your arms for a few laps. there are some pretty cool water work out devices out there (resistance bands, a floaty thing that helps you run in place etc.).

BTW your appetite probably decreased b/c your metabolism is changing, which is good! don't worry about weight, measure yourself and track your improvement based on those numbers instead.

[Cassiel]

If your appetite has decreased, yeah, it's probably from the working out and that is a good thing! This is one thing many people DON'T get out of swimming. For a lot of people, swimming makes them hungrier. I was always like that, from when I was a kid. Hungry as a horse the minute I got out of the pool and begging mom to let me get some candy out of the municipal pool vending machine.

The idea about lowering your body temp is a pretty wide-spread theory even among sports doctors. The theory I have heard, though, is not related to increased appetite due to colder temperatures, but the tendency for the body to want to store fat against the cold, so that you might end up with a layer of subcutaneous fat to make you warmer. I don't know if there is anything to this, but if you watch the olympics, caucasian female swimmers in particular seem to have a softness to their bodies in comparison to other athletes. I don't think it looks bad at all - I've always wanted to maintain a softer look at a lower weight, but running and cycling tend to result in the opposite, a sort of sharp leanness that isn't always very feminine. Umm, I just realized I am assuming you are female and would want this, when I don't actually know...sorry!

If your weight hasn't also dropped despite the appetite decrease, as always, that's probably due to muscle gain. A lot of people trying to lose weight run into that problem of assuming things aren't working because the numbers on the scale aren't diminishing. Check yourself by how your clothes fit or by measuring yourself instead. The scale, I find, is always uncertain (due to water retension, what time of day you weigh, and...ahem...intestinal content...).

This is what my research and personal experience have found, anyway.

[cstadt]

I lost weight/gained muscle when I swam on my highschool swim team. I didn't eat more though... ?

I swam for 2 to 2.5 hours 4-5 days per week on the season

[KellyBon]

I do 400 warm up
300 kick
20x50 evens fast, odds slow
300 pull

My main form of exercise is running, but I like to swim atleast once a week. You need to throw in some fast swimming/sprints, or your going to plateau.

[sweet_wheat]

the key to loosing weight when you swim is pushing yourself. leisurely swims are good for warm ups and cool downs, but get some sprints in there.

[~~v~~]

The swim you are doing now is equivalent to strolling through a mall in terms of exercise. You need to work on speed and endurance. Try doing sets of 100. Time yourself. Then try to come in faster the next time. Leave on the top of the clock. So if it takes you 1:45 the first time, try for 1:43, then try for 1:40, and so on... It may take a while but you'll be surprised to see what a difference this makes.

[zoebird]

interval training is the key. two have mentioned it here, and i wrote about it before. do a search.

[swimsweetie401]

I've been a swimmer for a long time, so maybe I can help. I didn't read all of the posts because I don't have a lot of time, but here's what I know:

I haven't heard that swimming is counterproductive to weight loss. Just look at the pros. All of them have incredible bodies! However, I have heard that swimmers tend to have a little bit more fat on our bodies for "insulation." Is that true? I really don't know.

As for weight loss, please do not judge your progress by a number on the scale. During my last swim season, I gained twelve pounds of muscle while my pants were literally falling off of my body! The more you swim and the better you get, the leaner you will be, which is a great reward! Most of my swimmer friends, myself included, look trimmer and stronger during the season. I drop a whole pants size after a 3 months of vigorous training, six days a week for two hours each day.

My appetite always decreases when I start swimming, most likely because of an increase in activity. As long as you don't find yourself starving or not getting the proper nutrients, then I'd say that you are a lucky duck! :p

Don't get frustrated. Weight loss takes time, no matter what activity you are engaging in. Again, don't look at the scale, look at your body. Good luck to you! If I didn't fully answer your question, please let me know! I love to help fellow swimmers! Feel free to PM me as well. :)

[veggiemeggie]

I've been a swimmer for a long time, so maybe I can help. I didn't read all of the posts because I don't have a lot of time, but here's what I know:

I haven't heard that swimming is counterproductive to weight loss. Just look at the pros. All of them have incredible bodies! However, I have heard that swimmers tend to have a little bit more fat on our bodies for "insulation." Is that true? I really don't know.

As for weight loss, please do not judge your progress by a number on the scale. During my last swim season, I gained twelve pounds of muscle while my pants were literally falling off of my body! The more you swim and the better you get, the leaner you will be, which is a great reward! Most of my swimmer friends, myself included, look trimmer and stronger during the season. I drop a whole pants size after a 3 months of vigorous training, six days a week for two hours each day.

My appetite always decreases when I start swimming, most likely because of an increase in activity. As long as you don't find yourself starving or not getting the proper nutrients, then I'd say that you are a lucky duck! :p

Don't get frustrated. Weight loss takes time, no matter what activity you are engaging in. Again, don't look at the scale, look at your body. Good luck to you! If I didn't fully answer your question, please let me know! I love to help fellow swimmers! Feel free to PM me as well. :)

+1000!

As a fellow swimmer, I totally agree :rockon:

I love that there are swimmers on this board!

[Licence]

I do 400 warm up
300 kick
20x50 evens fast, odds slow
300 pull

:wayne: Wow, I'd love to be able to do this type of regime.

I work out 5-6 times a week, run 10km races etc, so am pretty fit myself but have never been a strong swimmer. How long and how many times a week swimming do you think it would take someone like me to get to this level - the reason I ask is because I would like to do a triathlon at some point? Thanks.

[~~v~~]

Join a masters swim group in your area.
http://www.usms.org/

[KellyBon]

:wayne: Wow, I'd love to be able to do this type of regime.

I work out 5-6 times a week, run 10km races etc, so am pretty fit myself but have never been a strong swimmer. How long and how many times a week swimming do you think it would take someone like me to get to this level - the reason I ask is because I would like to do a triathlon at some point? Thanks.

Sounds like your in shape. Do you swim now? I started swimming for triathlons. It use to be my weakest of the 3. Now I love the swim part of the tri! This workout isn't that hard. It is only 2000 yards. I do it once a week. When I'm training for a tri, I will swim 3 times a week. I joined masters swim at the gym a couple of years ago. It helped perfect my stroke, kick, breathing, everything. She was such a great swim coach, I learned so much from her. She no longer works there, such a bummer.

[KellyBon]

Join a masters swim group in your area.
http://www.usms.org/

Yes!!!!

[Licence]

Sounds like your in shape. Do you swim now? I started swimming for triathlons. It use to be my weakest of the 3. Now I love the swim part of the tri! This workout isn't that hard. It is only 2000 yards. I do it once a week. When I'm training for a tri, I will swim 3 times a week. I joined masters swim at the gym a couple of years ago. It helped perfect my stroke, kick, breathing, everything. She was such a great swim coach, I learned so much from her. She no longer works there, such a bummer.

No, I very rarely swim. To be honest, its just so much hassle compared to just going to the gym and doing cardio / weights exercises. That's the main obstacle for me, hence if I had a triathlon goal, that might spur me on.

I'll have to check if there's anything equivalent to masters swim classes here in Britain.