Trying to lose weight - what the heck do I eat?!?!

[lpbaier]

Kraig: Great that you are taking charge and working on a weight loss/fitness plan. I am 55 and have been an active cyclist for decades. My motto is "live to bike, bike to eat". Thus, I knew I was in trouble in November when I had to have elbow surgery and would be off the bike for at least 8 weeks. Before my surgery, I started on the South Beach diet. I did not bother to by the diet book, but bought the SB cookbook. It is great with all the info about the diet in the first part of the book and then loads of excellent recipes in the cookbook. I lost 15 lbs while NOT riding and have managed to keep the weight off. I highly recommend the diet. It is sensible and gives you great eating options without all the hyperbole of fad diets. Get the cookbook and follow the directions for cleaning out your pantry of all the things you should not be eating anyhow.
Best of luck!

 

[Reid2]

Diet tip: think of the children sometimes and give them your imaginary food?

 

[jmitro]

good advice in here.
one more datapoint from my perspective.....it took 4-6 weeks of cycling every day before I started seeing any meaningful weight loss (I'm 6' tall, started at 194lbs). Now at 180+lbs after 6-8 weeks.
So don't feel discouraged if you dont' see immediate results. Keep at it

 

[ttdraig]

Firstly...Congratulations!

What to eat...that's hard, and not! - Nothing necissarily need omitting from your diet, however somethings need only consuming in moderation. There has been alot of good advice already, portion size, eating whilst riding, healthy snacks, good breakfast etc... I have some more sport specific/training nutrition advice.

Alot will depend on your training intensity and goals - Steadier longer rides aimed at base fittness/fat burning will burn consumed carbs initially and after about an hour will start to eat into your fat stores. High intensity training (intervals) and racing will break into your glycogen stored in the muscles for energy as it is fast to access. But this MUST be replaced in glucose form.

Base training, you need to fuel whilst riding. If just out for an hour I take a Carb fuel drink and sip every 10 mins to keep up energy and hydrated. for anything longer you will need food too. I take a bar on the hour and every hour thereafter as well as sipping liquid fuel (500ml/hr min). This should ensure you don't bonk on the ride or comsume the entire fridge contents on return! - I also have a protein recovery drink with a small healthy snack on return until meal time.

Intervals/races, these will dip into your glycogen stores, it will naturally replen in time, however if you are continually doing this kind of training, the level will only recover at the end off the season if you have time off! - I have got so bad with this that I had a craving for sugar and sat and ate the entire tub! so now I replen after every interval session or race with half a big bag of jelly babies, haribo, dolly mixtures, jelly beans etc...! - NO this is not great but is needed if you are hitting these reserves on a regular basis.

Rules I try to abide by:

• Good big healthy breakfast (waffles/toast, yoghurt, nuts and rasins, fruit juice, fruit, protein shake)
• Light lunch (scrambled egg/beans/spahetti/cheese on toast)
• Healthy dinner (use a smaller plate than usual, or don't put out as much - your stomach will shrink to adapt leaving you fuller on less!)
• Healthy snack mid morning and mid afternoon (to keep energy levels up)
• Eveining meal not too late, nothing after 20.00

Other:

• Your body NEEDS protein, this is your building blocks for recovery
• Your body NEEDS carbs, these are your fuel
• Always log your training
• Keep a food diary for a week or 2 to see where your weakness are - also helps to get into a routine
• Stay hydrated
• Treats like crisps, chips, chocolate, sweets are....err treats!

I hope this helps - I have foung a good website which may help as it has cycling training and nutrition advice links it's www.biketraining.co.uk hope it's useful

Good luck.

 

[fatfuck]

what are you thoughts on this?

 

[kmak]

My point of view - anything that sounds like a diet is very difficult to make it last. I prefer to think of eating "rules" and the simpler, the better. For me the rules are:

No bread, pasta, potatoes, white rice
No cow unless grass fed
The more a food has been processed, the worse it is for you

You seem to be on the right track, just up the vegetables in lieu of all of the fruit, and make sure you are getting enough protein.

Great start!

 

[vspa]

Originally Posted by pantlesspenguin .

Eek, wait a sec. Snacks are perfectly fine. You just have to watch what you're eating. For example, a bowl of plain oatmeal with fresh blueberries is fine for a snack. A bag of chips is not. My personal trainer encourages snacking in between meals to keep my metabolism up, & to keep me from getting too hungry in between meals. When my belly is empty, it makes me opt for heavier & usually more unhealthy options for my next meal. For example, I usually have 2 boiled eggwhites, a piece of light string cheese, and a banana for breakfast. If I have that bowl of oatmeal or a small bag of light popcorn midmorning, I'll be apt to choose a healthier option like a salad for lunch, instead of a big sandwich I'd choose if I was hungrier. Does that make sense? I typically get about 1400 calories a day, & that's spread out pretty evenly throughout the day with a big workout in the evenings.

+ 1

 

[jmitro]

Originally Posted by kmak .
No bread, pasta, potatoes, white rice

I'm just curious as to why you have eliminated these. Without all the extras, they can be great sources of carbs for energy.
Maybe if the intent is to lose weight, I could see being careful, but otherwise I feel the need to eat plenty of these.

 

[kmak]

Originally Posted by jmitro .


I'm just curious as to why you have eliminated these. Without all the extras, they can be great sources of carbs for energy.
Maybe if the intent is to lose weight, I could see being careful, but otherwise I feel the need to eat plenty of these.

I find I stay healthier and leaner if I really focus on getting my carbohydrates from complex sources - fruits and vegetables. More work but less sugar spikes, so I feel better. Certainly if you are really cranking out the mileage on a regular basis you need to get fuel from these simple carbs.

 

[jmitro]

maybe I'm not aware of something you are?
I always learned those were complex carbs. Simple carbs would be simple sugars like sucrose and glucose. Are you referring to food classification using the glycemic index?

Anyway, not trying to stir up trouble. Whatever works for you is what you should do /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif

 

[kmak]

Originally Posted by jmitro .

maybe I'm not aware of something you are?
I always learned those were complex carbs. Simple carbs would be simple sugars like sucrose and glucose. Are you referring to food classification using the glycemic index?

Anyway, not trying to stir up trouble. Whatever works for you is what you should do /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif

correct, complex carbs was the wrong term.

 

[Not Sure]

If you like sensations that stagger the brain, get some 100% pure, frozen pineapple juice contrate and eat it straight out of the can as a sorbet for desert.

I guess you could use any kind of juice concentrate but I'd look to make sure it is absolutley 100% pure of whatever it says on the front.

Too often it says 100% juice but then it turns out to be f-ing grape or apple juice instead of what it saiys in the front.

I don't think people mind apple or grape juice but they HATE it when the label SAYS raspberry then the contents
list apple and/ or grape as the #1 constituent!

I don't even think think people would mind if they slipped in a little grape or apple to control cost. BUT how can Anyone be so f-ing
stUUUUUUpid as to think that it is okay to label it strawberry juice then use 88% grape juice in the contents!?

I bet they don't get away with that **** in Switzerland or Germany, do they?

 

[dinodad]

I have tried a number of different diets and had some success but it was not lasting. Most of my dieting issues center more around cholesterol than being overweight...although I have recently ballooned to 215 lbs., which is the heaviest I have ever been (6'0). I am trying a couple of things right now and will let you know how I end up doing on it.

1. hardly any meat...period
2. a LOT of vegetables and fruit
3. whole grains

The big things for me has been

1. snacking...particularly breads, cereals and milk. These are a real battle for me. I like sweets but I can usually refrain. Evenings are my worst time for all of this, particularly just before bed.
2. social eating...I end up blowing my diet when I am out with others, special occasions, etc.

Hope this works for me because my numbers have got to improve...heart attack history in the family.

 

[vspa]

Originally Posted by dinodad .

I have tried a number of different diets and had some success but it was not lasting. Most of my dieting issues center more around cholesterol than being overweight...although I have recently ballooned to 215 lbs., which is the heaviest I have ever been (6'0). I am trying a couple of things right now and will let you know how I end up doing on it.

1. hardly any meat...period
2. a LOT of vegetables and fruit
3. whole grains

The big things for me has been

1. snacking...particularly breads, cereals and milk. These are a real battle for me. I like sweets but I can usually refrain. Evenings are my worst time for all of this, particularly just before bed.
2. social eating...I end up blowing my diet when I am out with others, special occasions, etc.

Hope this works for me because my numbers have got to improve...heart attack history in the family.

you should visit a physician and get your cholesterol and everything else checked up in the laboratory,
you will probably get medications/prescriptions to help control those levels out,
specially once you reach your 40's, the sooner the better because prevention is better than to cure !

 

[DAL1955]

Take a look at the LIvestrong/Daily Plate website. www.livestrong.com. There is an iPhone app that ties in with the daily plate feature lets you track food intake fairly easily and estimate calorie burn for various activities. I have been working with a trainer for a while now, and she advocates trying to keep a 40/40/20 balance of carbs, protein and fat in each meal. The leaner you are trying to get, the more carefully you chose the source of the cabs,protein and fat. I have lost 21 lbs in the 7 months and dropped my body fat from 19.1% to 16% in the same time frame following these guidelines. To be honest, I have a hard time getting enough protein most of the time and usually have 2 protein drinks a day (homemade) to get close to enough protein. My daily protein target is 150 grams a day on a 1500-2000 cal per day base intake. I started cycling about 5 months ago and ride or spin 5 days a week and my weekly burn numbers average around 7000 cal.

DAL

 

[Reid2]

We need a bit of comic relief, I think. You quit smoking? That's hard, and it promotes weight gain.

Doctors who worry, know that smoking in moderation, a pack or two per day, keeps the pounds away.

Not a cough in a carload,

Do not smoke in cycles.

 

[jmitro]

Originally Posted by DAL1955 .
ride or spin 5 days a week and my weekly burn numbers average around 7000 cal.

DAL

Hey, I'm just wondering how you are calculating this calorie expenditure. That seems awfully high, unless you're riding 2-3+ hours every day. My Cateye V3 cyclocomputer with heartrate monitor "calculates calorie expenditure" but I'm pretty sure it's inaccurate (+/- 50% as someone once stated.)

 

[Amazingjumps]

I got a job at a party rental company in Albuquerque setting up bounce houses and have lost 45 pounds since spring. I eat 5-7 small meals a day and drink over a gallon of water a day. Its working for me and Im getting paid!
http://www.amazingjumps.com

 

[Kraig]

What do you guys think about a Clif bar after a ride? I'm on my bike within 30 minutes of getting out of bed, so trying to choke one down pre-ride is pretty much impossible, so I just have a banana and a bottle of water. So after a ride is the Clif bar giving me anything I need to keep me going throughout the day or to build muscle, or is it just 250 calories I could do without?

 

[upstateSC-rider]

For me the hard part is keeping track of daily calories.
I have an iphone with Lose It and Livestrong but if I just want a snack and grab a few grapes, small apple and cheese stick, I get discouraged trying to find out how many calories that is...Coffee with some 1% milk and 1 tsp of sugar, 75 calories? 150? Who knows.
Potluck dinner is the worst, leftovers of different meals all with unknown (to me) calories.
Sometimes I just want to buy enough hungry-man meals for a month so I know exactly how many calories I'm actually eating.