What i have learned in the past two weeks

[Mach1Mike]

First let me start by giving you my story and how i finally dusted off my orginal 1 owner 1989 Schwinn Woodlands Mountain bike and got off my 285lb 42 year old fat ****! So for the past couple month i have watched one of my good friends quit smoking and loose some weight and talk about his new love for bike riding. It perked my interest as i am now an old over the hill football playing jock who balooned from 225lbs lean when i first bought my bike to this 285lb Gorilla and i must say the thought of getting some of my old body back and most importantly my wind back because let me tell you i cant chase my boys around the playground twice before i am huffing and puffing and taking a break sounded pretty appealing . My beautiful wife is a 110lbs and a runner and is fit and trim and i want to be that healthy fit couple i stare at when we are out..

So anyways back to how i got to the point to dust off the ol' Woodlands and go peddling. My youngest who is 5 said told me someone said fat people dont live long and he was worried about me. Dam what a reality slap in the face. So two weeks ago i dusted off the bike put air in the tires and rode 5 and a half miles and felt great.After that i did a 15 mile ride and one more 5 mile ride i then changed my tires to street tires and put on flat grips and then i talked my friend into joining me on a 45 mile bike ride from Crystal Lake Il where i live to Genoa City Wisconsin and back. Thats when i learned something after being told all week there is no way i can ride 45 miles on my 4th ride out i learned that i can not only meet goals but can shatter them. I can sit on my **** and watch TV and Die early or i can get off my **** and get healthy for my family and most importantly myself. Biking has had a big impact on me these past two weeks and tomorrow i go buy my first pair of biking shorts and pedals with cages on them so i can have power on up strokes too.Life is full of excuses and i refuse to be!

Last thing i learned......Gold Bond is my friend! Nothing like the feeling of a thousand Icey knomes massaging your boys before a ride to prevent chaffing ) and A and D ointment if you do chaffe! So there ya have it from lazy former jock car salesman to road and trail busting newbee! Cant wait to see what the next ride brings!

Ride on my friends!

Mike

 

[Mach1Mike]

I picked up a Giant Roam 1 today, and rode it 9 miles back home and conquered some hills that I have never been able to climb before. It felt great.

 

[Dave Cutter]

I just went from 257 pounds to now mere ounces from my goal of idea weight (183 pounds).

I was a cyclist already but an injury last season had reduced my ride-time. Last Thanksgiving I started watching what I ate and dropped 12 pounds through the holidays. I was sure when I returned to cycling the pounds would just melt off. Spring came early here this year and I was cycling every decent day. But I didn't lose weight.

On May 15th I bought a android tablet and downloaded a little app that looks up and helps track calories. It counts calories eaten and burned by various exercises. There are a ton of similar apps for android and apple. Most are designed to work great on smart phones. It was the diet and exercise combo that worked for me!

Of course.... I also did the normal stuff. I gave up potato chips and other food-****. I drink plenty of water and sleep nearly 8 hours a night (and with no before bed snack) and I still make sure my meals are balanced, good nutrition. But that's it. Nothing complex, or trendy, and no magic pills. Just plain old simple calories in.... calories burned.

If I can do this anyone can. Keep your faith... remember the creator made each one of us capable of controlling our weight. I don't know if I will live longer. I most certainly live better... now. I can't remember of anything in life that was better fat.

 

[Mike Betts]

I agree with you that anyone can do it, i am on no special diet. I just cut back on portions,reduce my sugar intake and soda intake and added more fruits and veggies. Then there of course i added cycling and i enjoy it. I am looking forward to tomorrows bike ride at Rock Cut state park. So thank you for the vote of confidence and including our creator in the discussion.

Best wishes!

 

[67Rally]

Mach1Mike,

Your story is very compelling and not to dissimilar from many guys' stories.My own has some parallels (my kids were concerned about their blimpdad) and I was starting to accelerate my health problems while actively sitting on the couch, night after lazy night.

I could sense that things were getting close to being catastrophic with regards to my health. My at rest HR was usually in the 90s. I was routinely getting the, "your BP is getting close to being pre-hypertensive" comments from the doctor. My glucose an cholesterol numbers were at the high end of normal range. My weight was a solid 377 at what I call, "my precipice moment."

I wasn't always this way. I was active duty Navy and very athletic (team sports: football, baseball softball, cycling, triathlons) during my service. I severely injured my back, damaging the L3, L4 verts and suffered from collapsed vertebral spacing and bulging discs. When I was discharged after 10 years of service, I gained about 30 pounds. I subsequently destroyed my right shoulder (rotator cuff tear) and avoided surgery for 9 months...finally opting for it. I gained a bunch more weight.

With the added weight an inactivity, my back pain worsened. This went on for 14 years until I relented to two years of prodding by some veteran friends to get to the VA for treatment. I did and my life changed. I saw a spinal specialist who took me through some of the most effective and painful PT (for 5 months) to open my disc spacing, relieving the pain enough for me to begin and sustain regular consistent exercise.

In April of 2010, I took down my road tire-equipped mountain bike, placed it on my wife's trainer, planted all 377 pounds aboard and started pedaling. I did this regularly...starting with 25-minute rides (all I could sustain). I increased the trainer time and the sessions. A month later, I took the show on the road, riding for distance and hard workouts.

By September 29, when I weighed myself for the first time since commencing, the scale read 305. By the end of the 2010, it read 238. I took down my 1985 Specialized Allez SE from the hooks and had all the components updated with Ultegra 6700. Got some new wheels and tires. I added an ADAMO ISM Century saddle and got it dialed in. By March 1, when I began riding it, I weighed 205 pounds.

I turned up my training working up to century rides as 2011 progressed from winter through spring. When I started my first Seattle to Portland ride (204 miles in one day), I weighed 177 (which I hover around today).

I've ridden 14,355.74 miles (as of this morning) since April 24, 2010 (almost 6,000 of those on the trainer). I lost a few solid months of riding this summer as I crashed (88 miles into the 2012 Seattle to Portland), destroying my shoulder (clavicle, ligaments, etc.) and my road bike. I am 6+ weeks post op (plate +9 screws and lig repair) and I have ridden 4 of the last 5 days on the road, though the distances are short due to my pain and weakness in the shoulder, elbow, wrist and hand from atrophy. It will take a few months to get it all back, but I will cycle throughout all the PT.

I did get a new ride out of the deal (2012 Specialized SL3 Roubaix Expert).

 

[qdc15]

Not anyone can do it. It's hard. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/icon14.gif

 

[Mike Betts]

Great story and thank you for sharing. Today I took my new bike out and at 6 am we took the hour drive to Rock Cut stake park to do some deep wood single track riding. We only had time for 10 miles but it was a hard 10 miles in tight trees and exposed rocks and roots. A very nice technical ride. The last 3 miles were on a deer path with fallen down trees to climb and jump over and a 100 yards of briar path to ride through,nothing like leaving behind chunks of flesh behind. Anyway this was a kick ass ride and I will look forward to the next woods ride. Until then I will increase my rides and continue down my healthy path. I'm down 8lbs and have more energy . Best wishes to all that conquer the bulge.

 

[67Rally]

Originally Posted by Mike Betts .

Great story and thank you for sharing. Today I took my new bike out and at 6 am we took the hour drive to Rock Cut stake park to do some deep wood single track riding. We only had time for 10 miles but it was a hard 10 miles in tight trees and exposed rocks and roots. A very nice technical ride. The last 3 miles were on a deer path with fallen down trees to climb and jump over and a 100 yards of briar path to ride through,nothing like leaving behind chunks of flesh behind.
Anyway this was a kick ass ride and I will look forward to the next woods ride. Until then I will increase my rides and continue down my healthy path. I'm down 8lbs and have more energy .
Best wishes to all that conquer the bulge.

Great job on the 8lb-loss and the ride!

Consistency is key. A contingency for the bad weather should be planned out now...if you can locate a good trainer for those icy, cold days so that you don't lose your momentum, you will succeed. For the last 2+ years, I haven't missed a ride/workout with the exception of a couple days following my bike wreck and my shoulder surgery.