New to Cycling - Must lose Weight! Please Help

I just finished reading all of the posts, and I wanted to second the poster that pointed you to the paleo diet resources. The website, http://thepaleodiet.com/, has good resources.

I'm not super strict, but I have noticed that by cutting out all grains, including rice/whole grains, beans (including soy), corn, and processed foods, it is easier for me to lose weight, maintain the weight, and my headaches have disappeared.

It is all about moderation, and obviously take all "nutrition plans" and diets with a grain of salt. I think eating "cleaner" and cutting out the processed stuff will be a big help to you. I exercise about an hour a day 6 days a week - and with that I basically only maintain my weight unless I am being VERY clean with my eating. I'm short, 5', and if I don't do anything I hover around 135-138. I should be at 125! But I can only do that with the exercise and the diet, and when I fudge on one the scale lets me know!

 

You need to take a break.

Workouts stress your body and rest is when it heals. After rest, your body is that little bit stronger and ready to be stressed again.

You can't just go hard day after day after day.

 

I am eating as clean as possible and I feel great. I am already starting to see my 3rd chin subside lol. I took an easy ride but my legs are killing me because I have not taken a break in over a week straight of riding. I will probably take a break tomorrow and do some pushups and other core exercises at home, maybe even hit the gym if I will have the time. I def want to take a 1 day break because I know that 1 day rest will dramatically how I feel on my bike.

My dream for many years has been to take part of the Bike Marathon in NY that takes place in early May. I am hoping next year I will be able to attend and finish it. It's 42 miles. .

 

Just wanted to post an update of my ride for today after a 1 day break

Distance 12 Miles
Trip Time 1:05
Avg Speed 10.33
Max Speed 22.40

Got a new seat. Told the guy at the bike shop that my berries are going numb and I am willing to spend upwards of $100 for a new seat, he gave me a $35 seat and said this is waht you need right now and nothing else. told me that if I don't like it I can bring it back and change it. Plus he gave me $10 for taking my seat. I rode home on my new seat, still felt uncomfortable but we will see tomorrow.

cadence still not working, he told me its a problem with Sigma, they don't make the best stuff and he would exchange it or if I want I can upgrade for a few bucks more to the Cateye V3, I guess I will just go with that.

It was 90F today, I had a bottle of water and a bottle of gatorade during my trip and If I wasn't short on time and my berries weren't numb, I could have kept on riding. Maybe it was the gatorade maybe it waas my stamina and endurance building, but the feeling was FANTASTIC!!!!

 

When riding make sure you are standing every 15 minutes or so, even if coasting just to keep the blood flowing down below. As I said before as your legs get stronger, less pressure will be carried by your seat. Until that happens, stand periodically and the numbness will be minimized

 

DAL, you have been very helpful thusfar, thank you!

I was standing every 10-15 minutes for a few seconds to get in some blood flow because I couldn't handle it. Even being off the bike I feel sore down there. Such a bad feeling. hate this! I hope it goes away tomorrow. can't wait to lose 50 pounds and get a normal bike with a normal seat.

 

This really started happening since I started to wear bicycle shorts. Can they somehow be causing this? Should I try not wearing them?

 

Don't call me to bail you out!

 

"I can't wait to get a normal bike seat" >> What saddle are you using now?

Unfortunately, you just have to endure... its like a rite of passage. It is odd that you are having more trouble now with shorts rather than early on. One question though.. is your current seat padded?, like a thick squishy comfort saddle that comes on some of the dept store bikes? If it is, what is likely happening is that the padding from the seat and the shorts are actually increasing the pressure by essentially bunching up in the center where you don't want the pressure. Again if it is one of those consumer type saddles, get thee to your bike shop ASAP and look for their "take-offs" box and find a relatively normal saddle with minimal padding. I know this is counter intuitive but the "too much" padding is as bad or worse than the "not enough". Shorts and a normal seat is usually the best compromise but will still take some time for your butt to toughen up

DAL.

 

Sorry; re the take-offs box - you may not know what I mean. Most LBS, especially the larger ones have a box of discounted saddles, some returns, some retired demo saddles, some replaced when a new buyer wanted a specific saddle. These items are usually pretty highly discounted. You don't need a $300 saddle, just a reasonable mid level road saddle. Look for flat, with minimal, but some padding. Start there and see how it goes. If you happen across one with the open center channel, I would try it. That type saddle made a huge difference for me, but may or may not be what fits you the best. Unfortunately in this area, only experimentation works.

DAL

 

I had a normal bike seat, padded, the one that came on my bike - cannondale quick 6, today I changed it for a more padded one with a gap in the center to relieve pressure. I will ride tomorrow, if i feel uncomfortable I will stop by the shop to change saddles.

I don't mind being a little uncomfy but its becoming almost unbearable to ride.

Tomorrow to the bike shop I go. they are getting annoyed of seeing me already lol.

 

It's not a rite of passage. Having the wedding tackle endure pain and numbness and it being something that every male cyclist should go through is a bit like saying that all people who own guns need to accidentally shoot themselves in the foot... at least once...

Cheap shorts are like russian roulette and are the worst place to seek a bargain. Go cheap in the grocery dept but not in the cycle store where the very comfort of your meat and two veg is at stake. Cheap shorts can be OK or they can suck more than wearing jeans and tighty whities that are way too tight. My personal experience with better quality shorts from Pearl Izumi, Descenti, Santini and Castelli is that it's all good stuff and I've never had a problem with them.

The Holy Grail of bike equipment - saddle, shorts, shoes and mitts. If any of those are giving you serious grief then you might as well be riding a something you got from the free section on Craigslist instead of a fancy lightweight bike.

Onetrade,

If your bike shop is annoyed at you trying to become more comfortable on the bike you should either request a bit of help from them to assist you or go somewhere else.

A page or two back you mentioned that you'd cut out the junk and were eating "clean". Unfortunately from what I could make out you cleaned out the carbohydrate rich foods which are very important to cycling. No carbs generally leads to low glycogen which leads to no "go." And why the obsession with protien? An attempt to building muscle that you aren't fueling? Why?

 

So far I bought one one pair of cycling shorts as they are not very cheap and I just them wash every other day. They ran me $80 and they are by Specialized. The guy at the store said they aren't the best but they are good. Originally I picked out cheaper shorts and the guy at the shop told me that I should spend my money in this department and gave me shorts that aren't too expensive and are good.

I was really kidding about them getting annoyed, If they would get annoyed I can find another bike shop in a heartbeat. I don't want to buy online, i rather go to the store, buy it there and have them install anything if needed.

I used to be into body building several years back. At 23 years old I started at 225lbs and within 6 months I was a stabilized 180 all muscle. Life taught me, stay away from Carbs and stay close to protein. I am aware that isn't the case for biking but I want to lose as much weight as I can and not slowly. I eventually gained all the weight back and more, got lazy, busy with work, life, got married, had a baby, etc...

I still eat carbs, just not much and it's all whole grain carbs that I consume.

I still don't have biking shoes and use regular commuter pedals. The next upgrade would be shoes and pedals after I replace this bike computer and resolve this numbing issue. I will get completely different shorts and see if that helps any.

 

@swampy - It's not a rite of passage. Having the wedding tackle endure pain and numbness and it being something that every male cyclist should go through is a bit like saying that all people who own guns need to accidentally shoot themselves in the foot... at least once...

I've yet to meet a beginner that didn't experience some discomfort from the saddle while getting used to riding a road bike. In that sense, it is a rite of passage. The seeming extreme discomfort onetrade is experiencing is, I agree, not normal; hence my various recommendations for a different saddle.

DAL

 

I rode on the new saddle and it felt a little better. I will see how it feels in another few days of driving and if it feels good then I will leave it, if not then I will need a new seat.

I had my Sigma computer taken off and a Cateye V3 put on and as soon as I figure out how to use it I will post my results on my next ride which is Monday.

Going to Atlantic city for the weekend for a Bachelor party which means my ride on Monday should be VERY long, lol

-Allen

 

Oh another thing, when I ride I feel a lot of pressure on my hands, even with padded gloves, do I need to raise the handlebars a little bit? Maybe I am riding too hard leaning forward causing excess numbness to my twig and berries?

 

As a fellow cyclist, to another fellow cyclist:

I really think you are expecting too much too soon! It takes time, money will not buy comfort!
A few days, and a few miles won't cut it! We all went through these things.

To take a bit of pressure off your hands you might move the seat forward some.

I think if you stop worrying about the equipment and ride more, these things will
work them self out.

Please do not take what I have said in the wrong light, I am trying to help!
I have been riding a year, and the first few months were hell.

 

Hmmm, let's see. I raced back in the 80s and 90s and then took 10 years off and gained 80lbs. You'd expect that after a decade my wedding tackle had become unaccustomed to sitting on a bike for hours, a bit like being a newbie part 2, yet despite the extra layers of lard nothing ever went numb, instantly chaffed and looked like raw braising steak or turned blue and fell off. To be honest, despite knowing dozens of cyclist I'd never really heard of so many people "suffering" from such debilitating saddle woes until I joined this place. That said, I never went through those woes the first time around either because I was told not to skimp on the cycling duds. You dont need to buy Assos priced gear but pretty much anything made by a good manufacturer that fits properly. Fit is as important as perceived quality. When looking for the causes of crotch woes, look first at the immediate point of contact - the shorts. Saddles can't mystically rub the skin off your groin but an I'll fitting pair of shorts will bring the misery in double quick time.

 

Wash them every other day? Please tell me you don't ride every day ...and I'm the one with the username of swampy? Instead of thinking "diet" think "fuel". What does your body need to ride more? The more you ride the more fat your body will use as fuel. The key is not to eat in excess if you're training hard to gain power or to manipulate your eating to eat just enough in balance if you're trying to lose weight.

 

lol @swampy. I do ride everyday and I try to wash them everyday but sometimes I forget and ride every other day. I don't want to invest into more shorts now knowing that I will lose weight and they will become useless fairly quickly.

I need to eat clean, if I don't eat clean food and try keeping my cal count down then I won't lose weight. I have to find the right balance. Drinking Gatordade during my rides helped quite a bit. I was forced to take a 2 day break, so now I have to hit the bike twice as hard.