Finally losing weight

[Mike Jacobs]

Like those many posters I've seen - it should almost be a sticky - who couldn't figure out why so much riding didn't result in weight loss, I finally have success. It's called a DIET and, as all versions suggest, a "lifestyle change."

I finished this season with success in all objectives except weight loss, and now that the weather is getting hot (S. Florida) I'm taking some time off to lose weight before getting back to the long rides.

Here's something I've learned so far that may be of help - a reduced calorie diet, or even a low-carb diet, can make you feel sluggish and fatigued. After all, dropping to 1,200 calories a day after living today's "supersized" dining style you are giong to have a few bad days as your body adapts. I've chosen to put my energy into family and work, and let the cycling slide for a couple of months.

I'm 1/4 to my goal after 2 weeks and I actually feel like getting on the bike today to do a short ride of 20 miles or so. If I hadn't taken the break I don't think I could have stayed with the diet... it's been hard enough as it was.

One more thing - I almost quit the first day of nutrisystems because of the small portions (didn't know about the effective cheats then). It was a real shock to realize that my "portion-image" is about 4X what is necessary. That bowl of spagetti picture in my head that I think of on Italian night - it's actually for the whole family, not MY plate!

Hopefully I'll be climbing with the skinny guys up front next season!

 

[Xsmoker]

Congrats are in order, keep up the good work.

Enjoy your new lifystyle.

 

[Mike Jacobs]

Congrats are in order, keep up the good work. Enjoy your new lifystyle.

Much thanks for the encouragement, it means a lot to me and others who find this thread with the same objective.

Just another note to them - long rides and diets don't really go well together (at least at first IME)... after 1 hour my HR was in the high 160's and even though I slowed waaay down for the 2nd hour it took 2 or 3 hours to feel any recoved. I think maybe an hour is enough until I reach the desired weight goal and can begin working hard at it again. Maybe onger rides on a reduced calorie diet will become easier with time.

One thing for sure - anybody going through this will be motivated to keep the weight off because you will NOT want to every repeat this. It's NOT fun, even as I see the pounds dropping. I keep thinking about how much more I'll enjoy the long rides without the 45 pounds of "fuel reserve" I'm carrying with me.

 

[Imanewbie]

Much thanks for the encouragement, it means a lot to me and others who find this thread with the same objective.

Just another note to them - long rides and diets don't really go well together (at least at first IME)... after 1 hour my HR was in the high 160's and even though I slowed waaay down for the 2nd hour it took 2 or 3 hours to feel any recoved. I think maybe an hour is enough until I reach the desired weight goal and can begin working hard at it again. Maybe onger rides on a reduced calorie diet will become easier with time.

One thing for sure - anybody going through this will be motivated to keep the weight off because you will NOT want to every repeat this. It's NOT fun, even as I see the pounds dropping. I keep thinking about how much more I'll enjoy the long rides without the 45 pounds of "fuel reserve" I'm carrying with me.

Yea the Mrs and i are going through the same process , some days she comes home and is really discouraged , " i eat hardly anything , i ride my **** off and im hardly loosing any weight!!".

The thing is you have to eat to loose weight , if you starve yourself your just going to turn down your metabolic rate as your body goes into starvation mode.

There is no hard and fast answer to dieting , there wouldn't be a first world obesty problem if there was. We have lost a lot of weight and still gained muscle mass and fitness at the same time, and i put it down to gaining a greater understanding of our bodies, what happens to the food we eat, what types of food to eat for our meals, how to target our fitness program for weight loss and patience!.

Hang in there Mike!

 

[House]

The simplest thing to do is to look at your portions. Most people use big dinner plates and eat everything on it (remember your parents making you "clean your plate or no dessert"). Use smaller plates and stop before you are full. You will be eating plenty of calories to be able to train and still lose weight.

 

[GuiYoM]

I work as a weight lost coach, If you need any help, i'll see what I can do, without selling any ********.

feel free to send me something; [email protected]

 

[Austin Flyer]

I'm counting my calories with the help of www.myfooddiary.com. Pretty straight forward.

 

[watts4speed]

Here's something I've learned so far that may be of help - a reduced calorie diet, or even a low-carb diet, can make you feel sluggish and fatigued. After all, dropping to 1,200 calories a day after living today's "supersized" dining style you are giong to have a few bad days as your body adapts. I've chosen to put my energy into family and work, and let the cycling slide for a couple of months.

1200 calories a day is too much. Keep it to 500 cals max and you'll feel better. Your loosing more muscle at 1200 calories per day which reduces your metabolic rate. Also reduce fat not carbs in your diet. Your body needs carbs to fuel the muscles. I've reduced weight by counting calories and taking it off gradually over the months without experiencing fatigue problems and loosing power.

 

[Austin Flyer]

Explain to my why "reducing" from 1200 to 500 would stop the metabolism and muscle loss? I thought the recommendation would be the other way around.

 

[Xsmoker]

Explain to my why "reducing" from 1200 to 500 would stop the metabolism and muscle loss? I thought the recommendation would be the other way around.

I saw that earlier, I'm guessing he misread the post.

 

[Austin Flyer]

I think he meant cut the "reduction" in total calories per day to 500? I guess we'll see

 

[watts4speed]

I saw that earlier, I'm guessing he misread the post.

I think your right. I misread the post which I sometimes do.

 

[Mike Jacobs]

Watts4speed: I'm a little confused about your post and the follow-ups. Are you suggesting a 500 calorie a day diet? I'm at 1,200 now and feeling faint!

 

[Mike Jacobs]

House: are you right about THAT. I've heard it over and over again, but it only hits home now that I actually SEE what a "real" portion LOOKS like.

A 1,200 plus or minus calorie a day diet does not have to be all pain, however. There are ways to dress a balanced diet up with low cal mushrooms to get the feel of more meat, and unlike low-carb diets you can make burritos and have your turkey-dog in a bun.

My wife, of course, is loving all this. As a weight-watcher for most of her adult life this is all one extended "toldjaso" for her. She's supportive, however, and though I don't like to admit it she's been right all along. She likes to hear THAT too.

 

[Mike Jacobs]

After 1 week of feeling diet-fatigue, I finally felt like taking a ride this weekend. A mix-up with my wife meant I had to ride 30 miles instead of 15, but I enjoyed it after being off the bike for 2 weeks.

However, my HR shot right up to 165+ and no matter what I did it rarely fell below 150. The first half was at 16-18 mph but the second half was between 12 and 14 for an average speed of 15 mph over 2 hours. I felt fatigue like I haven't felt in a long time, and knew I had done wrong.

I gotta remember, priority is losing the weight. Only then will I start training again. One thing I need ti consume more of is PATIENCE.

 

[House]

House: are you right about THAT. I've heard it over and over again, but it only hits home now that I actually SEE what a "real" portion LOOKS like.

A 1,200 plus or minus calorie a day diet does not have to be all pain, however. There are ways to dress a balanced diet up with low cal mushrooms to get the feel of more meat, and unlike low-carb diets you can make burritos and have your turkey-dog in a bun.

My wife, of course, is loving all this. As a weight-watcher for most of her adult life this is all one extended "toldjaso" for her. She's supportive, however, and though I don't like to admit it she's been right all along. She likes to hear THAT too.

Just by doing what I told you to do and drinking a lot of water I have lost 15 pounds since late January.

 

[watts4speed]

Watts4speed: I'm a little confused about your post and the follow-ups. Are you suggesting a 500 calorie a day diet? I'm at 1,200 now and feeling faint!

Sorry for all the confussion that's my fault. I'm suggesting a diet with a net 500 deficit.

The trick with doing a 500 calorie deficit is knowing you metabolic rate and calories burned in daily activity. Mine's about 2000 cals + what every my power meter indicates I burned cycling. Following this formula I can loose a pound a week (500 cals a day) like clock work and not suffer. I've never lost any faster than this. I read somewhere that Armstrong would maintain a 200-300 calorie deficit per day so his training wouldn't be affected by his weight loss.

 

[Austin Flyer]

I'll agree with watts4speed. I don't have a power meter, but use my Polar HR Monitor. It also counts calories, but the PM is probably more accurate, since HR is affected by such things as Heat, fatigue, etc.

 

[Mike Jacobs]

SNIP...The trick with doing a 500 calorie deficit is knowing you metabolic rate and calories burned in daily activity. Mine's about 2000 cals + what every my power meter indicates I burned cycling. Following this formula I can loose a pound a week (500 cals a day) like clock work and not suffer....SNIP.

I've seen information like this before but it never *meant* anything to me before - thanks. Funny how long information sometimes takes to become inteligence. Not that I have any real inteligence about it yet!

So, the next question is how to estimate a metabolic rate. I found a simple calculator online suggesting mine is 3,048 based on weight and digestion, on a sedentary day (I could also enter activity level 1-4). I also found references to other calculators, but do you think this estimate is sufficient? It doesn't take in to consideration age or body fat, for example.

Using this rate, I think you (Watts4sped) were suggesting a diet of 2,500 calories a day, right?

 

[watts4speed]

I've seen information like this before but it never *meant* anything to me before - thanks. Funny how long information sometimes takes to become inteligence. Not that I have any real inteligence about it yet!

So, the next question is how to estimate a metabolic rate. I found a simple calculator online suggesting mine is 3,048 based on weight and digestion, on a sedentary day (I could also enter activity level 1-4). I also found references to other calculators, but do you think this estimate is sufficient? It doesn't take in to consideration age or body fat, for example.

Using this rate, I think you (Watts4sped) were suggesting a diet of 2,500 calories a day, right?

The best way I've found is to track you weight loss. If you loose a 1 lbs per week on average then your at a 500 calorie deficit. I've been on a diet for more than 2 years so I've been able to dial in my metabolic rate pretty closely. 3000 sounds high for being sedentary but I'm not an expert by any means, and it depends on various factors. If you are actually burning 3000 cals/day and your diet is 1200 cals/day I'd be surprised if you were not light headed and feeling lousy since your in a starvation mode which is what I've seen reputable articles on dieting recommend against.