From weights to bike, need diet help badly!

[Tengumystic]

Well It's cycling season again and time to dust off the old Orbea and start hitting the road. Up until recently I had really bulked up hitting the weights hard and eating a very high protein diet, hitting about 250 lbs, and honestly I just didn't like the way I looked and didn't like how it slowed me down in martial arts.

So I cut 500 calories a day, laced up the running shoes, dropped weights for bodyweight exercises, and dropped 25 pounds in a couple of months. Now I'm ready to start putting some serious miles on my road bike as the weather warms and really want to make sure I'm going to be going the right way in my diet. Since I've been doing high protein for awhile now, I just really am leery of carbing out and don't know where I need to be.

I'm 32 years old, 6' 3", and as of this morning 225 lbs. My goal weight is 205, though I have found that dieting and cycling do not go well together. In fact I usually have to bring food with me to eat when I'm cycling (I eat every 30-45 minutes) or I'll bonk. I'm currently eating 1800-2000 calories a day, and need to figure out where I need to be for cycling.

I'm going to focus on cycling to get my mojo back for the first 4-6 weeks, after that I'll start to add back in some weights on off days (high rep), martial art training, and bodyweight training. Come the second month I'll start to work allot more interval training, sprint and hill training on the bike. I figured it would look something like this:

Mon: Cycling
Tues: Bodyweight or 12-15 rep range free weight circuit
Wed: Cycling
Thurs: Bodyweight or 12-15 rep range free weight circuit
Friday: Rest for religious purposes
Saturday: Bodyweight or 12-15 rep range free weight circuit after sundown
Sunday: Cycling

I really don't want to take more than one day off in a week, and actually would like to start working maybe a 30 minute dumbbell circuit at work during lunch on the cycling days.

My overall goal is to thin down, blast off body fat, build nigh insane endurance. The bike will be my primary tool until it gets cold enough for me to need tights again (I just can't handle the cold!)

I'm looking for advice on meals, suggested calorie range for me and supplements (though I can't take to many, almost any supplements kill my stomach), or just any other general advice and comments people might have. I've eaten like a weight lifter for so long that I don't even really know where to start!

Appreciate the help.

 

[tonyzackery]

I speculate the reason you've received no responses thus far is that your question is overly broad and it appears you've done little to no research in the forum using the "search" function. There is a plethora of information that has already been discussed ad nausem on dieting.

Search the "training" section of CF for information on training structure...

"Give a man a fish, feed him for a day, teach him to fish and he can feed himself for a lifetime..."

 

[QikSmurf]

+1

And the fact that you 'take a day off for religious reasons'.

Regardless of religious beliefs there is no reason to not excercise becuase of your religion.

If God/Allah/Buddha et.al wnated you to loose weight, they wouldn't ask you to take a day off from excercise. Think about it.

 

[JAPANic]

On Friday nights go for a 2 hour walk while you pray.

I've been having lemon juice and water only till noon or 3pm a few days a week and then eating a fair bit from 3pm till 8pm....and I've had the weight falling fairly well lately.
On heavy exercise days I eat a bit in the morning or for lunch.

I hit the gym on rainy days or whenever I feel I'm not too tired from work or riding. 2 or 3 times a week lately. 30 minutes warm up bike, then 2 or 3 reps on various machines...(lots of leg work)....then 30 minutes on the bike to cool down.

Extra sleep too has made a big difference...

Typical week for me lately.

Monday/Tuesdays/Thursday 25km in the morning and 25km in the afternoon commute on bike or a gym trip after work if I drive. lemon water or lemon tea till lunch time then if I'm really hungry I'll have a sandwich or a yogurt with a sports drink.
Wednesdays: Rest.
Thursday nights till Summer may turn into a heavy serious high paced criterium bunch training with some very fast guys....
Friday Rest and a long walk with my 2 dogs.
Saturday 40km TT or gym or both.
Sunday 100km bike or gym or both.

At the gym I do about 30km equivalent on the bike...

Going to start swimming too in a week....as part of the cool down at the gym instead of the bike.

The doctor told me to lose weight I only need 1600 calories a day but I know he doesn't appreciate how much exercise I'm doing. If I'm tired though I sleep and eat a bit more than I say I do.

I will pop a NITOR or 2 before my Sunday training rides as well and do the ride on a glass of milk for breakfast and sports drinks at the start followed by cola on the way home...then eat as soon as I get home and have a short nap.

Down 6kgs since February.

I am finding it easy now due to the weather (Spring here) and not feeling hungry at all. In Winter it's an entirely different kettle of fish.

On a week b4 a serious race I eat 3 meals a day....and don't try and lose weight.

A lot of people will disagree with what I do or you do and lots of people have ideas and plans that are completely opposite in every way. Experiment with your body till you find what works best for you.

I had a medical in Feb and my GPT levels were too high. I need to get that right and the lemon juice I think is helping to stimulate my pancreas/liver in the morning. Once I get my liver right my whole body should be ok.