weight loss regimen

[ViaPagliano]

any tips on effective weight loss for cycling?

I've heard the mantra of "eat like a rabbit, work like a horse" - any meal suggestions to keep the energy going through the day/ride.

hopping back on the bike after 2 years of work/travelling really took it's toll on the waistline. I'm at around 160 lbs at 5'10" height.

What is my optimum weight?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

 

[Steampunk]

Optimal weight really depends on your build, body composition, age, etc. I'm also 5'10" and more than 30 pounds heavier than you, but I'm not sure I would be considered overweight in any non-cycling circles. Your optimal weight really depends on what your body can handle. And that goes for diet, too. Eating less and working out more is great, but it's also a recipe for a crash; you could find yourself hitting a wall and not having the energy you want/need. Frequently, more exercise does not result in more weight loss simply because the body is screaming for more calories to make up for the extra exertion.

I'm sure others can provide counsel on specific protein vs. carbohydrate balances, etc., but from a health and fitness perspective, I would be inclined to start by putting the scale away and getting on the bike and just riding. Start slowly, but work at getting your lungs and legs in shape before you start worrying about how much weight you're carrying.

 

[Cobber]

any tips on effective weight loss for cycling?

I've heard the mantra of "eat like a rabbit, work like a horse" - any meal suggestions to keep the energy going through the day/ride.

hopping back on the bike after 2 years of work/travelling really took it's toll on the waistline. I'm at around 160 lbs at 5'10" height.

What is my optimum weight?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

I would think you are at a pretty good weight already. I wouldn't try to lose weight by dieting if I were you.

 

[fatandfast]

Eat oatmeal,sounds dumb eat oatmeal and ride. Salad and oatmeal will make you faster. Drink water! always! at the bar and at dinner. Three months in you will shrivel and fly and the formula for fast will still not be know if you train hard. Fat kills! If you go too skinny you can come back but train hard without lots of food. Lots of chumps will chime in the pro 5000 calorie diet. You are not a pro. Don't eat and go fast.Fruit,rice cakes.boiled chicken will help more than any carbon wheel.EAT ANYTHING UNCOOKED. Whenever you feel tired sprint until your new license comes in. Calories are your enemy. No dairy,no dairy. Eat anything you want just nothing from a cow( milk,ice cream,yogurt,cheese) The goal of the mother cow is to make her offspring grow by 2000 lbs in 1 year,Fast is water based, fruit,veg and protein cooked in chicken broth and no oil. Understand extra fat and calories are for other people. If you are fat ride and work off your built up bank account. I look forward to a feedback after 2 months.Any fast guy will tell you that with a job and a family, diet is the most important thing you can control. Said by a millionaire "Get good habits and become their slave"

 

[splintersp3]

being of similar height, i find 160 to be a very comfertable weight. If you are cycling 5 days a week, you will still be able to eat alot and maintain. I have heard that to be a great climber one most have a 2lb/1inch ratio which for a person of your size means a scranwy 140 pounds. there is no doubt that this will make you faster, but like previous poster said, you may ring up some serious energy debts.

 

[scribe]

Eat oatmeal,sounds dumb eat oatmeal and ride. Salad and oatmeal will make you faster. Drink water! always! at the bar and at dinner. Three months in you will shrivel and fly and the formula for fast will still not be know if you train hard. Fat kills! If you go too skinny you can come back but train hard without lots of food. Lots of chumps will chime in the pro 5000 calorie diet. You are not a pro. Don't eat and go fast.Fruit,rice cakes.boiled chicken will help more than any carbon wheel.EAT ANYTHING UNCOOKED. Whenever you feel tired sprint until your new license comes in. Calories are your enemy. No dairy,no dairy. Eat anything you want just nothing from a cow( milk,ice cream,yogurt,cheese) The goal of the mother cow is to make her offspring grow by 2000 lbs in 1 year,Fast is water based, fruit,veg and protein cooked in chicken broth and no oil. Understand extra fat and calories are for other people. If you are fat ride and work off your built up bank account. I look forward to a feedback after 2 months.Any fast guy will tell you that with a job and a family, diet is the most important thing you can control. Said by a millionaire "Get good habits and become their slave"

Dang that was hard to read, but it is full of more goodies than a sack of halloween candy.

 

[runninboy]

Eat oatmeal,sounds dumb eat oatmeal and ride. Salad and oatmeal will make you faster. Drink water! always! at the bar and at dinner. Three months in you will shrivel and fly and the formula for fast will still not be know if you train hard. Fat kills! If you go too skinny you can come back but train hard without lots of food. Lots of chumps will chime in the pro 5000 calorie diet. You are not a pro. Don't eat and go fast.Fruit,rice cakes.boiled chicken will help more than any carbon wheel.EAT ANYTHING UNCOOKED. Whenever you feel tired sprint until your new license comes in. Calories are your enemy. No dairy,no dairy. Eat anything you want just nothing from a cow( milk,ice cream,yogurt,cheese) The goal of the mother cow is to make her offspring grow by 2000 lbs in 1 year,Fast is water based, fruit,veg and protein cooked in chicken broth and no oil. Understand extra fat and calories are for other people. If you are fat ride and work off your built up bank account. I look forward to a feedback after 2 months.Any fast guy will tell you that with a job and a family, diet is the most important thing you can control. Said by a millionaire "Get good habits and become their slave"

probably the most ignorant statement that i have ever reada year old bull is nowhere near 2000 lbs, but is loaded with more muscle than you will ever have.
For someone interested the weaning weight of a calf that is raised on milk will be about 25 percent less than a calf who has been feed corn.
So instead of avoiding dairy this guy should have said
"no doritos, no fritos, no corn!" but then again do you really want diet advice from a guy who describes himself as FAT and FAST?
i wouldnt either
ps i wouldnt follow the eat anything uncooked advice, salmonella & e coli can kill you then again you will **** your guts out before u die so at least your corpse will be alot lighter ))

 

[the truth.]

secret cycling formula

dont tell anyone

between u and me


ready




not a word now


eat less and ride more




revelation eh!

 

[forty four]

fat and fast does not understand nutrition be careful who you listen to dont starve yourself you will lose weight slowly that way and screw up your metabolism and lose muscle and power in the process. they your likely to gain it back you dont want to go up and down with weight its not healthy. eat 4 to 6 small meals daily containing lots of fruits vegetables whole grains lean meats poultry fish and dairy and you should have lots of energy to train and lose weight in a healthy manner. there are also useful supplements available which aid weight loss. p.s. moderate dairy consumption for most is a very healthy source of nutrient/protein/calorie dense food.

 

[Cobber]

Eat oatmeal,sounds dumb eat oatmeal and ride. Salad and oatmeal will make you faster. Drink water! always! at the bar and at dinner. Three months in you will shrivel and fly and the formula for fast will still not be know if you train hard. Fat kills! If you go too skinny you can come back but train hard without lots of food. Lots of chumps will chime in the pro 5000 calorie diet. You are not a pro. Don't eat and go fast.Fruit,rice cakes.boiled chicken will help more than any carbon wheel.EAT ANYTHING UNCOOKED. Whenever you feel tired sprint until your new license comes in. Calories are your enemy. No dairy,no dairy. Eat anything you want just nothing from a cow( milk,ice cream,yogurt,cheese) The goal of the mother cow is to make her offspring grow by 2000 lbs in 1 year,Fast is water based, fruit,veg and protein cooked in chicken broth and no oil. Understand extra fat and calories are for other people. If you are fat ride and work off your built up bank account. I look forward to a feedback after 2 months.Any fast guy will tell you that with a job and a family, diet is the most important thing you can control. Said by a millionaire "Get good habits and become their slave"

fat and fast does not understand nutrition be careful who you listen to dont starve yourself you will lose weight slowly that way and screw up your metabolism and lose muscle and power in the process. they your likely to gain it back you dont want to go up and down with weight its not healthy. eat 4 to 6 small meals daily containing lots of fruits vegetables whole grains lean meats poultry fish and dairy and you should have lots of energy to train and lose weight in a healthy manner. there are also useful supplements available which aid weight loss. p.s. moderate dairy consumption for most is a very healthy source of nutrient/protein/calorie dense food.

 

[richwagmn]

any tips on effective weight loss for cycling?

I've heard the mantra of "eat like a rabbit, work like a horse" - any meal suggestions to keep the energy going through the day/ride.

hopping back on the bike after 2 years of work/travelling really took it's toll on the waistline. I'm at around 160 lbs at 5'10" height.

What is my optimum weight?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Things that have helped me:

* Don't eat until you're hungry. Really.
* Drink a tasty beverage during the day (I like ice tea). Often people eat when they're thirsty.
* Snacking is a real killer for me. Again, having something to drink seems to help me not snack.
* Avoid the super high calorie items. Peanut butter things like that are super high calorie.
* If you are gonna snack, keep something like veggies around.

Finally, just enjoy riding again. If you keep riding and just eat sensibly,the weight will come off.

 

[mistahsinclair]

Things that have helped me:

* Don't eat until you're hungry. Really.
* Drink a tasty beverage during the day (I like ice tea). Often people eat when they're thirsty.
* Snacking is a real killer for me. Again, having something to drink seems to help me not snack.
* Avoid the super high calorie items. Peanut butter things like that are super high calorie.
* If you are gonna snack, keep something like veggies around.

Finally, just enjoy riding again. If you keep riding and just eat sensibly,the weight will come off.

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 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.

My basic plan on a work day looks like this:

4:45am - Get up and have a banana
5:30am - Gym for 1 hour
7:00am - Breakfast (oatmeal based with some protein)
8:40am - Snack
10:20am - Snack
12:00pm - Lunch (~500 calories, mix of protein and complex carbs)
1:30pm - Snack
3:00pm - Snack
4:30pm - Piece of fruit
5:00pm - 15 mile ride (something like that...45 mins)
6:15pm - Dinner (~600 calories or so, similar make up to lunch)
Later...glass of red wine

The total for the day will be in the 2000-2500 calorie range. I'm 6'-0" and 175.

This is just my plan that works for me, everyone is different...experiment and log your info.

 

[Cobber]

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 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.

My basic plan on a work day looks like this:

4:45am - Get up and have a banana
5:30am - Gym for 1 hour
7:00am - Breakfast (oatmeal based with some protein)
8:40am - Snack
10:20am - Snack
12:00pm - Lunch (~500 calories, mix of protein and complex carbs)
1:30pm - Snack
3:00pm - Snack
4:30pm - Piece of fruit
5:00pm - 15 mile ride (something like that...45 mins)
6:15pm - Dinner (~600 calories or so, similar make up to lunch)
Later...glass of red wine

The total for the day will be in the 2000-2500 calorie range. I'm 6'-0" and 175.

This is just my plan that works for me, everyone is different...experiment and log your info.

You lost me....

 

[cromagnon]

I lost a lot of weight doing something like this when I was on holiday -

wake up late as i like
2 weetabix, skimmed milk (or porridge - basically wheat or oats with no sugar or fat)
50-80 km ride (base miles tempo, no choice after a week you bonk before you even get on the bike haha) - take a couple of frusli bars, just water to drink
get home and shower, drink lots of water then sleep - it's about 2-3 pm now
2 weetabix, skimmed milk (or porridge - basically wheat or oats with no sugar or fat)
(so far about 700 kcal intake)
do stuff to take mind off hunger, play computer games, watch tv, do some errands

about 7-8 pm eat a normal meal regular size portion (e.g. grilled chicken with salad), got to do this in evening unless you like being literally woken up by hunger in the middle of the night trust me. The odd handful of nuts or glass of skimmed milk if you're utterly desperate.

 

[richwagmn]

]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.[/B]

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.

Just saying what works for me. I have no problem with overeating at meals when I'm hungry.

 

[grumpyphil]

time of weighin

All of the insights in this thread have been interesting and thanks for that. WHEN do you weigh yourself? I have read so many ideas on that subject it makes my head spin. NONE of it makes sense to me. Tradition says get up and p*ss, then weigh. I've done that, then drunk 1/2 a cup of coffee and taken a REALLY BIG dump. Weighed myself again and I weighed 2 lbs more! WTF??? I hope someone can explain this to me cuz it's a total mind f*ck for me. I just do not understand it. Oh, and I have a really great Tanita scale that is leveled.
Anyone who understands this stuff I'd love to hear from.

 

[kiwirider]

any tips on effective weight loss for cycling?

I've heard the mantra of "eat like a rabbit, work like a horse" - any meal suggestions to keep the energy going through the day/ride.

hopping back on the bike after 2 years of work/travelling really took it's toll on the waistline. I'm at around 160 lbs at 5'10" height.

What is my optimum weight?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Number one thing to do is to ignore 90% of the specific dietary advice posted here. Unless the poster is a qualified sports nutritionist, then it will be pure and simple dumb luck if they tell you anything worthwhile. And apologies to any of the other posters who are offended by that, but honestly, some of what is here is as bad as the crap that those stupid women's magazines spout ...

You can guess from my first sentence that my advice will be to go see a specific sports nutrition specialist. This doesn't have to be a one on one session (which can get pricey). Check out where you are to see if anyone does group sessions - or even see if there are others in your local bike club who may be interested.

The sort of course that I'm thinking of is what my nutritionist friend here runs on a monthly basis. It starts with a body composition and a basal metabolic rate assessment - done using an impedence machine (a InBody 520 - if you want to use this as a search to see if anyone near you uses it). Then from that you work out your ideal caloric intake - based on training needs, weight loss goals and other things. After that, she ran a specific sports nutrition session - which was actually aimed at the local in-line skating club (marathon skating's a pretty big sport here - before anyone has visions of fruit booters ...). All of this cost about $60 for a whole day session - and despite the fact that I got to know a fair bit about nutrition from when I went out with a nutritionist during my uni days I found it really eye opening!

Oh, and the best thing is that, as my friend is one of the top nutritionists here and works with a wide range of athletes (up to and including olympic level and pros) the quality of advice was far better than the stuff that has been posted on this thread ...

See if you can find something like that near where you are and I reckon you'll be losing weight, feeling fitter and riding faster!

 

[cromagnon]

Also ignore angry arrogant fools that fail at life, you (the OP) can listen to what people have done that has worked and combine that with some Journal research then decide for yourself. That's what I did, it's free just reading the abstracts is often enough particularly if it's a lit review. Remember life is full of failed theorists.

 

[mistahsinclair]

All of the insights in this thread have been interesting and thanks for that. WHEN do you weigh yourself? I have read so many ideas on that subject it makes my head spin. NONE of it makes sense to me. Tradition says get up and p*ss, then weigh. I've done that, then drunk 1/2 a cup of coffee and taken a REALLY BIG dump. Weighed myself again and I weighed 2 lbs more! WTF??? I hope someone can explain this to me cuz it's a total mind f*ck for me. I just do not understand it. Oh, and I have a really great Tanita scale that is leveled.
Anyone who understands this stuff I'd love to hear from.

Personally I weigh myself once a week. Every Thursday morning.

Get up. Pee. Put contact lenses in. Weigh myself and check body fat.

Weighing yourself at different times of the day you're likely to have more food/water/poo inside you. Whilst there is some chance for variation first thing in the morning your body will develop a pattern and it'll be pretty consistent.

I think weighing yourself after coffee and dump is just going to mess with your head. Your weight hasn't changed, but the scales know what you're up to...it's a conspiracy!!

 

[kiwirider]

Also ignore angry arrogant fools that fail at life, you (the OP) can listen to what people have done that has worked and combine that with some Journal research then decide for yourself. That's what I did, it's free just reading the abstracts is often enough particularly if it's a lit review. Remember life is full of failed theorists.

Considering your post comes straight after mine - are you trying to have a dig at me? If so - you're way wide of the mark ... and how are you getting on with your dilemma about recruiting your glutes properly that you posted about the other week?

 

[mistahsinclair]

Just saying what works for me. I have no problem with overeating at meals when I'm hungry.

Fair point.

As noted elsewhere in this thread it's all about the individual. Some things worked for one person, but not another.

 

[cromagnon]

are you trying to have a dig at me?

Not really but you tell me, I went to Loughborough and the place was infested with failed athletes on Sports Studies/Sports Science courses. They can be very dismissive of any "lay persons" insights. I am a master of (another) science myself, I just didn't abandon imagination or intuition to become one.

 

[elapid]

I have had nutritional consults when I was working hard and not losing weight. This was of little use to me because I was apparently doing everything correctly as far as proportions of carbohydrates, protein and fat; timing of meals; and calories counts.

I lost some weight when I started to train for along distance event - two 4 hour + rides a week which involved a lot of climbing, as well as my usual interval sessions and some fun on the trails with either the MTB or 'cross bike. So based on this personal experience, I would recommend long rides.

However, I will also say that based on your height and weight (and not knowing your body type) I hardly think you are overweight. If you've been able to maintain this weight with minimal exercise then I would suggest you are eating quite well. You probably just need fine tuning and time on the bike will do this.

Lastly, some links from Bike Radar for you regarding nutrition and losing weight:

http://www.bikeradar.com/fitness/nutrition/article/nutrition-eat-yourself-lean-and-mean-21252

http://www.bikeradar.com/fitness/nutrition/article/nutrition-how-to-trim-your-weight-17358

P.S. I don't think it matters when you weigh yourself, just as long as you are consistent. I weigh myself on the first Saturday morning of every month, before breakfast but after my morning constitutional! I figure I will be lightest then. Ha - anything to fool myself.

 

[ambrose]

Different things work for different people. We all have different reasons for why we stack on the kgs. some eat the wrong food. Others eat to much of the right food (very guilty).

Few things which I find effective in loosing weight
-eat less (ie smaller servings)
-skip desert, cookies, cake etc. plenty of time later for these things
-snack intelligently. Eg if dinner is half an hour away, don't eat etc.
-snack healthily eg something that is low GI, and can kill the hunger eg fruit
-drink water, and lots of it. juices, cordials, alcohol and cofee may taste good, but are full of calories. Also i find water can kill some of the hunger
-take your own lunch to work-that way you remove some temtation, and you know what your getting
-skip butter- tastes good, but you don't need it
-more kms if possible
-no energy drinks-full of sugar

probably alot more that i've missed, and probably pretty repetitive of what been posted, but its what works for me.

when weighing yourself, it doesn't matter when you do it, so long as its consistent (ie don't eat a massive meal one day, weigh yourself, then samsh 180 km the next time and think you've lost 2 kg). your looking for trends. this is more important. You will know when you get to a good weight.

One last tip-make sure you eat enough before your long rides. No one likes the bonk

 

[kiwirider]

Not really but you tell me, I went to Loughborough and the place was infested with failed athletes on Sports Studies/Sports Science courses. They can be very dismissive of any "lay persons" insights. I am a master of (another) science myself, I just didn't abandon imagination or intuition to become one.

Agreed that all too often people become blinded by their particular backgrounds - and accordingly dismissive of people who haven't been through their particular type of training ... The thread on Coyle's armstrong paper is a classic case in point - check out Coggan's posts for a dismissive academic!

And I agree about imagination and intuition - I've worked with far too many engineers and accountants who have lacked both to ever discount the value of those two traits. (And while I'm on a roll insulting professions - don't even start me on the MBA's I've worked with!!)

That said - I still hold to my original comments ... some of what has been posted is based on some straight out misconceptions and misinformation, and really does belong more in women's magazines than on here ...

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?