[COLOR= #0000ff]Hi, Sando![/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]I'm relatively new to biking, so don't really have a lot of expertise in a biking schedule for you. It looks like you're already biking about 8 miles twice a day in your commute, which is great, but of course a weekend ride couldn't hurt. If you get a lunch hour, you might consider going on a half-hour ride during that time. That would add 2.5 hours of biking in to your routine; but more importantly, it would a) rev up your metabolism again during the mid day to keep the munchies at bay, and b) limit the time you can sit and snack or overeat during lunch, if you tend to do that.[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]What I do have a bit of knowledge in is dieting, having done it most of my adult life. (The interesting thing is that it never worked until I started cycling every day.) Before I discovered I could lose weight through cycling, I went to a bariatrics surgeon. They're the kind who specialize in obesity, and he's a big shot at the University of San Francisco, so he's no hacker or quack. I've learned some very important things through him. Such as....[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]1) It really is about calories in, calories out. If you expend 2500 calories a day and take in 2600 calories, that extra 100 calories WILL be stored as fat. It doesn't matter if all 2600 calories are eaten as LETTUCE; the extra ones will be stored as fat. It's what the body does with them, and we can't change that. All the stuff about no sugar or no fat or no carbs or whatever is just a way of helping us limit the NUMBER of calories we take in, and we obviously should strive for a balanced, healthy diet -- but it's still calories in versus calories out. That's why exercise is so very important. It helps use up excess calories. You're already exercising well.... so let's get on to the part about food. [/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]2) Dieting fails, at least in the USA, a staggering NINETY-EIGHT percent of the time. 98%!! That means only TWO percent of the people who take weight off will keep it off. The chances of our being one of those 2% is... well... 2%. Again, exercise will help, and the 2% who keep it off do exercise regularly. But -- he asked -- why do the other 98% fail? Because DIETING SUCKS. According to him, it doesn't matter how determined you are or how much will power you have, because as humans we like to eat, we like to eat GOOD food, and if we don't love the food on our diets, we give in and eat food we do like. So what's the solution?[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]3) You have to 'diet' by eating foods you DO like. That's such a mind-blowing proposition that it's hard to grasp, because we've been taught all our lives that dieting means eating only non-starchy green veggies and salad and grilled meat. Which is fine, for a while, in the summertime. But eventually we all want something creamier or sweeter or crunchier or breadier, and only those 2% can handle salads and grilled meat for very long. What this fantastic MD helped us see was that you CAN enjoy foods while you lose weight. And when you're eating foods you LIKE on your new meal plan (I don't call it a diet, it's simply how I eat now), you're never tempted to cheat or give up. Here's how: [/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]The first thing he suggested was buying a book titled Eat This, Not That. I bought it, and it's great. I read through it first, and I keep it in my car. Because what it does is tell you, very specifically, what to eat wherever you are instead of what you usually eat. It doesn't tell you to never go to McDonald's. It tells you what to EAT at McDonald's... and Starbucks.... and Red Lobster.... and Outback.... and all those places we usually cave in and eat without knowing how many thousands of calories are in what we usually eat. It has helped me more times than I can count. The doc noted that he had been eating a burger at Jack in the Box, I think it was, that he learned had nearly 1,000 calories! He didn't stop going, he simply changed which sandwich he ate, and now he eats a teriyaki chicken burger, I think it's called, with half the calories. The thing is, he LOVES it, so he doesn't miss the other burger, and he saves 500 calories every time he goes there. If you do that very many times, those previously ingested calories add up in a hurry, and you lose weight without realizing you're 'dieting.' There is also a new version for the home, called Cook This, Not That, that takes typical recipes people cook at home and revise them for you. I'm going to buy it too.[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]The second step is to make a rule that you write down/type in/keep track of every calorie that goes in your mouth. How you do it is up to you. I love Fit-Day.com for myself, but there are dozens of free sites like that if you don't like that one. The point is to use one. If You Bite It, You Write It. It makes you accountable to yourself. It also makes you begin to figure out exactly how many calories are in what you're eating, and how you're eating more than you think you are. It's a real eye-opener. And CalorieKing.com is a great site for finding out nutritional stats. [/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]The last thing is that you must find foods that you truly enjoy that are lower-calorie in nature, at least compared to what you usually eat. I've spent the past 4 months looking up diet recipes on about every online site you can imagine, trying them out, revising what I didn't care for, pitching some, and saving the ones I really like. Did I have a few meals I ended up not liking? Yep -- just like when you order something new at a restaurant and don't care for it. It didn't kill me; I just threw out that recipe. But I kept a file of the recipes I did like, and we've perfected them to our taste, making some spicier, some blander, etc., all the while keeping the calories correct. Hubby and I now have about 30 supper-time entrees that we LOVE, most of which are in the 350 to 450 calorie range. I've lost 45 pounds since July, and he -- although he didn't have as much to lose and ate lots of foods I didn't -- has lost about 25. The thing is, we will KEEP losing until we're slender, because we love what we're eating, so why should we stop doing it? Last night we had a chicken-and-dressing casserole that was creamy and meaty and DIVINE. My kids, who are not dieting, request it when they come home to visit because it's so good. And it only has 388 calories for a large portion. [/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]Anybody can go online and do the same thing, if he really wants to learn to eat in a way that will take weight off and keep it off. I am also willing to share my recipes, if anyone would like them, because it has been such a revelation to me that I really can eat the kinds of 'normal' casseroles and soups and meals that I enjoy, and still lose weight. I'm loving it![/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]I wish you success in this effort. There's nothing harder than losing weight permanently. And there's little more exciting than learning how to do it.[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]Have a good one![/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]Sierra[/COLOR]
