weight loss regimen

[runninboy]

Interesting observation (and I'm as guilty of this as anyone) - why is it that we are generally happy to call on experts to "tune up" simple machines and systems like our bikes, cars, electrical appliances and houses, yet we are so reluctant to call in experts to do anything other than remedial work on the most complex systesm that any of us will ever have anything to with ... our own bodies?

+1. I think if someone is serious about losing weight, i would defintintely not do it without consulting a nutritionist. Just from personal experiences i know quite a few athletes who consulted with the same nutritionist and did very well.
Basically what worked for all of them was the theory that your body continually adjusts.There is a study from Tufts that explains that the glycemic index of foods thought to be fairly standard, varied by individual.
So a serving of white bread instead of being a 70, ranged from 40 to 130.
But what was even more amazing the food had a varying index according to time of consumption.
Ok getting back to the nutrionist, this person worked on the basis that people make too drastic adjustments when trying to lose weight, then the body compensates and you dont lose weight, and sometimes end up actually gaining. So the trick is to log all your food intake, time of day, exercise routine etc then make very small adjustments in intake while maintaining the same output. By cutting back 2-3 percent the body basically does not perceive the reduction as potentially life threatening so you lose weight slowly and consistently.
This is basically a laymans explanation but if you understand that blood sugar levels are not dictated solely by food intake but also by stress than you have a rough idea of what u need to do.
but you need someone who knows the correct numbers like a good doctor or nutritionist otherwise you are self medicating in a way, not a good idea.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

I'm at around 160 lbs at 5'10" height. What is my optimum weight?

I'm a tiny bit taller and only wish I weighed that little.

Then again, I'm almost 50. Your age will affect your program. What works for me, may not work for you.

A friend lost nearly 100lbs. How? He was fat to begin with. Moderate exercise, no junk, ate slow with a lot of nibbling. Stopped when he was full. But that may not work for you.

Another friend lost weight on the Nutrilife system. But that may not work for you.

Another friend lost weight abandoning the American "clean your plate" mentality. But that may not work for you.

Some lose weight on the Atkins diet. Some as a vegan. But neither may work for you.

Getting my point? Too many variables involved to cull enough information from a website. It's like drinking water from a rainstorm.

The only thing I can say about riding is this: Try long, moderately paced rides. If you can get an HRM, buy it, and use it, and try to stay in the zone and make a lot of rides of 3 hours in length (depending on your age). It will help turn your body into a calorie burning machine. Probably.

Otherwise, get a nutritionist. And when you get serious about riding (I mean, racing serious, or anything over about 3-4,000 miles a year) get a coach.

Another trick is to take a long trip to altitude and get exercise there. Anything over 6,000' (2,000m) or so should really help. If you can get to somewhere like Leadville, Mammoth Lakes, Alta, Val Thorens, etc. that will help more.

 

[Aapjes]

I completely disagree with not eating until you're hungry. Eating small amounts throughout the day prevent you from feeling hungry. If you get to the point of feeling hungry you will, more often than not, overeat.

Your body takes about 15 minutes to realize that you've eaten something...you can pack away a lot of food for 15 minutes before your body gets the idea it's being fed. With that in mind eating slower (smaller bites perhaps) means your body will get the 'being fed' message when less has been consumed.

I think that depends on the person. My body reacts very quickly. But even if it doesn't, that doesn't mean that you have to keep eating. For me, the snack is simply to make it to the next meal. The size of the snack depends on how many calories I burned that day, not on how hungry I am. So I don't allow myself to overeat. An alternative is to eat more slowly, so your body has time to react.

I do agree strongly on the drinking/thirst point. Sipping water throughout the day will keep hunger at bay also.

Typically I drink water through the day (sometimes green tea or similar) and have a snack, fruit of veggie, every 1hr 30mins or so.

I strongly agree with drinking water, especially if you have a sweet tooth (like me). I switched from sugared tea to water and that cut a lot of calories.

As for that intermediate snack, you can also eat nuts. While they are high in energy, they release it slowly, just like most fruit and veggies. So they will last you a long time.

 

[fatandfast]

I have really enjoyed reading this thing. If you wrote down that work like a horse eat like a rabbit, and eat veggies and fruit, eat before you bonk, eat nuts, and drink water you should be okay. Calories are very simple if you take more than you need you have left overs. To the guy that said salmanila is everywhere he is right and that sucks. I was not saying to eat sushi and steak tartar at every meal. Instead eat oat meal everyday it is one of the wonder foods. The only thing I think was over looked was to write down what you eat during your process so you know what works. I stick by my statement that ice cream, cheese and lots of dairy are bad for training racer. That guy who said I am fat idiot is probably an exec at Ben and Jerry's. Truth be told I am 6 pounds over weight and I have a mercy on even myself. The more you hear and read about racing success ,Wiggins,Cav,Armstrong, and on and on weight loss plays a role in winning. In a recent book by ex racer Joe Parkin he said there is a way that a pro/great racer looks and he is right.slender.

 

[cromagnon]

I stick by my statement that ice cream, cheese and lots of dairy are bad for training racer. That guy who said I am fat idiot is probably an exec at Ben and Jerry's.

hehe Also horray for oats and weetabix.

When I was losing weight, a spartan simple diet helped me stay on a spartan simple diet.

If I ate fatty/spicy or junk food, I wanted more. I did not want to go back to oats or weetabix. I wanted more fried egg and chorizo/bacon bagels or whatever, so I quickly ditched the girly "give yourself a treat once in a while" advice. I'll treat myself to hill sprints instead.

 

[ViaPagliano]

Thanks for all of the feedback - I especially enjoyed all of the posts regarding meal recommendations.

grazie a tutti

 

[BroDeal]

I have never been fat, but I do the occasional trail running ultra and it is really important to be as light as possible. Any extra weight greatly increases the pounding your feet take over a hundred miles and climbing speed goes way down. I weigh about what the OP does when I am in "medium good" shape. I like to target 150 as a race weight, which means not only a low body fat but also loss of some muscle in my upper body,

In general this is what has worked for me:

1) Count calories. Winging it does not work. You need to know how much you are eating. Buy a scale and weigh your food. Keep a record of everything you eat with calorie totals for the day.

2) Eat with 1 above in mind. Since you need to be able to estimate how many calories you are consuming, you cannot eat anything that you cannot get an estimate for. This rules out things like restaurant meals. It really helps if you prepare food only for yourself. If you prepare something that will be eaten over three days, it may be easier to estimate the calories in the whole preparation rather than a single serving. As long as you eat it all over three days, your average calorie count will come out right, even if each day is a little off.

3) Keep track of your day to day weight and graph it so you can see your progress. It helps if you have a goal and a realistic length of time to achieve it.

4) Guess your base metabolic rate and target it as the number of calories to eat per day. If you are doing large volumes of exercise then add a two or three hundred calories, but not much more than that.

5) Longer exercise sessions work better. A three hour ride is good. Five or six hours is better. What feels most effective is knocking out eighty to a hundred miles and not eating anything out of the ordinary afterward. It is really hard to lose weight doing moderate amounts of exercise per week. All that twenty minutes, three times a week stuff is total crap. If you try that and stray by as much as a morning muffin, you won't lose anything for the week. At least twelve plus hours per week is nice.

6) Go nazi hardcore for six to eight weeks. Think of it as a long training block where the goal is to shave your weight. Live like a monk. Simply do not eat out at all for the duration. This means no falling off the wagon for the block. A single day of pigging out can erase a lot of gains. Diets like body for life use a free day once per week, but I have found that limiting such free days to once per month is far far more effective. Going a whole six to eight weeks without a free day does wonders.

 

[Parbar]

Another vote here for weetabix. That's good stuff, but man is it hard to find around here. At least when the wife does find some and brings it home, she leaves it all for me.

 

[gjdavis60]

Get your weekly distance up to 170+ miles and you're going to lose weight. Period. It doesn't matter what you eat. Everybody I ride with loses weight during the season, even the little climbing monkeys.

 

[Dude17]

I'm back on my bike for the first time in about four years and 50 lbs. It is the pounds that I'm more concerned about. I've only got about four hours to ride a week (two, one hour rides during the week and a two hour ride on the weekend). I can't commit to more because I just don't have the time (baby in the house), so the advice to "ride moderate pace long rides" (which used to be my MO when I was riding for about 15-20 hours a week) doesn't work for me right now.

So, should I ride basic tempo rides (as my conditioning improves) or try to work in intervals etc if my main objective is to lose weight? After I've shed some pounds I'll think about maybe training for some kind of ride, but that isn't even on my radar at the moment.

 

[Ninety5rpm]

Portion control

The key is portion control, and eliminating or at least severely limiting starch and saturated fat.

The tools at livestrong.com can really help accomplish this, especially The Daily Plate.

 

[pedaling squares]

Well, you've heard a lot of advice, some probably very good for you, some probably very bad. Here's my two bits.

"Eat like a rabbit, work like a horse." I just don't get that. Your body is a complex machine that requires good quality fuel to grow, perform, and sustain itself. There is a reason why horses don't eat like rabbits. I agree with the folks who have cautioned you about running out of fuel if you combine a rabbit-like diet with increased exercise.

"Eat little, eat often." This suggestion has worked well for me. Don't misinterpret that as eating less. When I monitor my diet and increase my exercise, I find myself eating more food per day. And I get the results I want. Better quality food mind you, along with lots of water, and consumed at regular intervals instead of a mass binge at the supper table.

"Consult with a professional." Take kiwirider's advice and see a nutritionist. You have questions, you are getting all kinds of conflicting advice, save yourself the trouble and get help from a pro.

One last thing. At 5'10" 160 lbs you cannot have much weight to lose, assuming that you have four limbs. This will of course depend on your body type, so I won't suggest an optimum weight. If you are young and still hope that Bjarne will call, then maybe you want a Schleckish physique. If not, then I hope that you have a healthy self-image. Many amateur cyclists who look to the pro peloton do not, so be careful.

Best of luck.

EDIT: Forgot to say - write down everything you eat/drink and at what times, for two weeks. Take this to the sports nutritionist. And don't live by the scale, if you lose fat and gain muscle your scale won't tell you exactly what is going on.

 

[pedaling squares]

I'm back on my bike for the first time in about four years and 50 lbs. It is the pounds that I'm more concerned about. I've only got about four hours to ride a week (two, one hour rides during the week and a two hour ride on the weekend). I can't commit to more because I just don't have the time (baby in the house), so the advice to "ride moderate pace long rides" (which used to be my MO when I was riding for about 15-20 hours a week) doesn't work for me right now.

So, should I ride basic tempo rides (as my conditioning improves) or try to work in intervals etc if my main objective is to lose weight? After I've shed some pounds I'll think about maybe training for some kind of ride, but that isn't even on my radar at the moment.

Congratulations and welcome back. I have the exact same situation in my house. I suggest riding tempo until you reach a level of comfort on the bike. If you commit to those 3x per week, the pounds will start to come off in no time. Once you are comfortable on the machine and have regained some fitness, I suggest finding a few short routes where you can practice hill climbing, interval training, TT, and other things to get the heart rate up. Michael and Dede Barry wrote a book that has plenty of suggestions for shorter rides, no doubt there are other good resources too. The best possible resource may be a riding partner. Nothing is better for motivation, and then competition.

 

[kiwirider]

The key is portion control, and eliminating or at least severely limiting starch and saturated fat.

Beeep!! Wrong answer - at least as relates to starch.

The human body functions primarily on carbohydrates - both above and below anaerobic threshold limits. Proteins play a very minor role in diet and muscle building (they're a catalyst for carb use rather than the theory that most of us believe which has them as an essential building block). Fats also play an important role - eg., you need fats to be able to extract the maximum possible nutrients from greens.

Anyhow, to come back to the point about limiting starch - and I'm just using your post as an example of what many people have posted here Nintey5rpm, so it's nothing personal - yes, it will cause you to lose weight. But ... it'll also limit your ability to exercise if you keep at it too long (as you're not refueling and are depleting glycogen stores over an extended period of time). Also, if you get too low - eg., eating a few hundred calories over basal metabolic rate (which is your body's basic, inactive survival level energy requirement) as someone suggested - you'll cause your body to hook into survival mode. That means that the metabolic rate drops off while you're staving it (cos that's what that advice means) and, when you start eating again normally, your body assumes that it is in for a temporary period of sufficient calories and starts storing the calories away like crazy (usually as fat - depending on how much muscle mass depletion you've had over that period of time - which is the principal factor behind yo-yo dieting ...

Also, I'm sure that you want to make sure that you lose body fat, not lean body mass ... Again, if you get your energy intake and output out of wack - and take in the wrong types of food (ie., insufficient carbs) you'll start depleting muscle mass ... Yeah, the weight'll go ... just the wrong type of weight ...

Anyhow ... I'd just say again ... if you are really concerned about losing weight - and want more than just a gradual reduction over time as fitness and exercise levels increase - check in with a qualified sports nutritionist - preferably one who also rides (or does some other form of endurance sport) who can help you out ...

 

[kiwirider]

One last thing. At 5'10" 160 lbs you cannot have much weight to lose, assuming that you have four limbs. This will of course depend on your body type, so I won't suggest an optimum weight. If you are young and still hope that Bjarne will call, then maybe you want a Schleckish physique. If not, then I hope that you have a healthy self-image. Many amateur cyclists who look to the pro peloton do not, so be careful.

Best of luck.

Good advice Pedaling Squares ...

Only other comment I'd add is to this is, because you are pretty close to an ideal weight, don't expect to lose weight too quickly - somewhere in the region of 0.5kg/1lb per week would be a good target to aim for.

To give my own experience, when I shifted over here last August, I weighed about 78kg/171lb (I'm also 5'10") - combination of a NZ winter and getting ready to move inducing inactivity and a few extra kg. I picked up the exercise when I got here, using a combination of running and riding. Over the course of the next couple of months I dropped 4kg/10lb. I dropped another 2kg/4lb over the cross season - due to increased intensity with racing and increased mileage. My weight picked up a bit over the winter - due to putting on upper body muscle for XC skiing. I've stayed around there over this spring and summer - although my body fat has definitely dropped off compared to 12 months ago ...

 

[Ninety5rpm]

Beeep!! Wrong answer - at least as relates to starch.

The human body functions primarily on carbohydrates - both above and below anaerobic threshold limits. Proteins play a very minor role in diet and muscle building (they're a catalyst for carb use rather than the theory that most of us believe which has them as an essential building block). Fats also play an important role - eg., you need fats to be able to extract the maximum possible nutrients from greens.

Anyhow, to come back to the point about limiting starch - and I'm just using your post as an example of what many people have posted here Nintey5rpm, so it's nothing personal - yes, it will cause you to lose weight. But ... it'll also limit your ability to exercise if you keep at it too long (as you're not refueling and are depleting glycogen stores over an extended period of time). Also, if you get too low - eg., eating a few hundred calories over basal metabolic rate (which is your body's basic, inactive survival level energy requirement) as someone suggested - you'll cause your body to hook into survival mode. That means that the metabolic rate drops off while you're staving it (cos that's what that advice means) and, when you start eating again normally, your body assumes that it is in for a temporary period of sufficient calories and starts storing the calories away like crazy (usually as fat - depending on how much muscle mass depletion you've had over that period of time - which is the principal factor behind yo-yo dieting ...

Also, I'm sure that you want to make sure that you lose body fat, not lean body mass ... Again, if you get your energy intake and output out of wack - and take in the wrong types of food (ie., insufficient carbs) you'll start depleting muscle mass ... Yeah, the weight'll go ... just the wrong type of weight ...

Anyhow ... I'd just say again ... if you are really concerned about losing weight - and want more than just a gradual reduction over time as fitness and exercise levels increase - check in with a qualified sports nutritionist - preferably one who also rides (or does some other form of endurance sport) who can help you out ...

My bad. When I say "starch" I mean white flour, potatoes and refined sugar. Probably should come up with another word that actually means that. "empty calories", perhaps?

 

[ViaPagliano]

thank you for all of the replies.

to be more specific about my question, I want to drop about 7-10 lbs.

I'm really starting to take the "eat less, more often" advice and I feel better energized throughout the day. I guess what really took it's toll at the end of the day and during the ride was abiding by the normal 3 meals a day rule.

 

[Dude17]

Congratulations and welcome back. I have the exact same situation in my house. I suggest riding tempo until you reach a level of comfort on the bike. If you commit to those 3x per week, the pounds will start to come off in no time. Once you are comfortable on the machine and have regained some fitness, I suggest finding a few short routes where you can practice hill climbing, interval training, TT, and other things to get the heart rate up. Michael and Dede Barry wrote a book that has plenty of suggestions for shorter rides, no doubt there are other good resources too. The best possible resource may be a riding partner. Nothing is better for motivation, and then competition.

Thanks. I'm appalled at how out of shape I am at the moment. There is the mental image of one's fitness and the reality. The reality smacked me in the face a few times this past weekend. I'll just ride tempo for a while.

Thanks again.

 

[jofost]

First a little back ground: I bought a bike the end last October. It had been years since I had rode and I was a bit out of shape to say the least. My first few rides were 5 miles or less and on a good day with the wind at my back I might have averaged 12mph. A few weeks into riding I was wondering why a 40 year old would ever buy a bike. I began to make excuses, it's to cold to ride, to windy etc... By April my bike had around less than 100 miles of use and at 5'6" I found myself weighing in at 191 lbs, 4lbs heavier than the day I bought the bike.
At the end of April I did two things I started riding regularly and started a weigh****chers diet plan that my wife was on. Since the end of April I have loss 31lbs and rode over 800 miles. The two went hand in hand I would have never logged the miles without the loss of weight nor would I have loss that much weight without riding. The deit I was on allowed you to eat what ever you wanted as long as you did not go over a certain number of points. Points are determind by a combination of calories and grams of fat. Your point total allowed is determind a combination of weight age and sex.
The biggest thing the deit did for me was made me aware of what food I was eating and how much of it I was eating.
I did a 42 mile ride this weekend and my average speed for the ride was 18.4 mph. No that's not fast but it's a lot better than where I started.

 

[ViaPagliano]

First a little back ground: I bought a bike the end last October. It had been years since I had rode and I was a bit out of shape to say the least. My first few rides were 5 miles or less and on a good day with the wind at my back I might have averaged 12mph. A few weeks into riding I was wondering why a 40 year old would ever buy a bike. I began to make excuses, it's to cold to ride, to windy etc... By April my bike had around less than 100 miles of use and at 5'6" I found myself weighing in at 191 lbs, 4lbs heavier than the day I bought the bike.
At the end of April I did two things I started riding regularly and started a weigh****chers diet plan that my wife was on. Since the end of April I have loss 31lbs and rode over 800 miles. The two went hand in hand I would have never logged the miles without the loss of weight nor would I have loss that much weight without riding. The deit I was on allowed you to eat what ever you wanted as long as you did not go over a certain number of points. Points are determind by a combination of calories and grams of fat. Your point total allowed is determind a combination of weight age and sex.
The biggest thing the deit did for me was made me aware of what food I was eating and how much of it I was eating.
I did a 42 mile ride this weekend and my average speed for the ride was 18.4 mph. No that's not fast but it's a lot better than where I started.

That sounds like an excellent achievement. Congrats!

Did you find yourself tired from eating less? What kind of foods did you eat pre-ride?

 

[jofost]

I actually found myself having more energy. I got in so much better condition from riding that the eating less never really made and difference. As to what I eat pre ride, nothing special. I eat a lot of fruits, bananas and grapes and such. But pretty much eat what I want just careful on the amounts.

 

[hfer07]

I'm back on my bike for the first time in about four years and 50 lbs. It is the pounds that I'm more concerned about. I've only got about four hours to ride a week (two, one hour rides during the week and a two hour ride on the weekend). I can't commit to more because I just don't have the time (baby in the house), so the advice to "ride moderate pace long rides" (which used to be my MO when I was riding for about 15-20 hours a week) doesn't work for me right now.

So, should I ride basic tempo rides (as my conditioning improves) or try to work in intervals etc if my main objective is to lose weight? After I've shed some pounds I'll think about maybe training for some kind of ride, but that isn't even on my radar at the moment.

when your problem is time to train/ride=make the most out of those rides-raise the intensity as much as you can-shot rides at elevated heart rate will help to burn calories faster-perhaps you should get a stationary trainer to squeeze a couple minutes to spin while staying at home

 

[Dude17]

when your problem is time to train/ride=make the most out of those rides-raise the intensity as much as you can-shot rides at elevated heart rate will help to burn calories faster-perhaps you should get a stationary trainer to squeeze a couple minutes to spin while staying at home

I HATE the trainer (not as much as I used to, but still...). Basically, the four hours a week was a "negotiated" (okay, I said, here's what I need) agreement with my wife who also gets four hours to work out (running is her thing). She also works full time (self-employed, so she's really working all the time). The rest of our time is dealing with the baby and the house. As I have lots of other interests, the spare minutes that I do get aren't going to be used on the bike.

Thanks for the advice. Once I get a little more comfortable on the bike again, I'll start ramping up the intensity.

 

[durianrider]

Im ripped all year long. Looked the same for the last 10 years. Set pb's in both cycling and running this year. Im 34.

Ive been vegan for the last 10 years. High carb, low fat. UNLIMITED carb cals. No junk. No oil. I eat so much food people just freak out.

NEVER limit your calories. Just cut out the junk and eat like a machine on the wholefood plant carbs.

Worked for my gf too.

 

[podiumgirl]

57 years old. 25+ years a vegetarian. Carbs and caffeine. Ride 50+ miles x 300+ days a year. One has to be a little cuckoo. 6'3" 145lbs...