Whats wrong need some advice

[slsail]

I am 46 male
took off of riding for 15 years
I decided I needed to get some exercise again so The only exercise sport i enjoy is riding.
I am
5'7'
190 lbs
Started riding more in may this year and increasing distance and frequency monthly
I am trying to do 12-20 miles a day 5 days a week with a 30 mile day in there somewhere most day are around 14miles
At map my ride i log my miles and sometime nutrition.
According to them ( i do ride at decent pace throwing in some intervals 2-3days a week.) i am burning 600-900 cals a day
I should be eating 2800 cals
last few time i used the nutrition calculator I am below the 2800 cals.
Not loosing weight, I do believe i am gaining muscle back from years of light exercise.
My riding is getting stronger but still not loosing weight.
I am eating 10 time s better than i used to
Cut out all junk food replaced with nuts fruit etc.
tuna sandwiches instead of lunch meat
broiled chicken
pasta, salads, less red meat overall drastic change in the make up of my diet and amount I am consuming.
So my question is what am i doing wrong ( i am not oosing weight) some people notice i am a little thinner.
Is this a correct theory or am i way off.
My riding requires 2800 cals
I am eating less than that, so is my body storing fat or am i still converting fat to muscle still and eventually the fat will start to come off.

 

[Sunny44]

You may want to try eating even less. I am 5'10 and need about 2400-2600 calories to maintain my weight but I try and eat around 2000 and that usually lets me loose about a pound a week if I stick with it and do a good job keeping up with the diet. Some key things to remember...

1. Eat quite a bit less calories than you burn in a day + exercise. If the difference is only about 100 calories that will not amount for much.
2. The longer the rides, and the more you build up the more likely you will be to loose more weight (also the speed increase).
3. The healthy way to loose any weight is at about a pound a week, anything more than that is generally unhealthy.

 

[maydog]

Calorie counting can make one miserable - have a plan but don't stress about it. Also consider that the online calculators model the nominal or average person - variation from person to person can be large. To me, it sounds like you are doing the right things and developing healthy habits. Body weight/fat is only one aspect to health and fitness; improvements in quality of life are far more important.

Keep active, eat smart and the weight will come off slowly.

 

[DAL1955]

"I should be eating 2800 cals"

I think this is where your problem lies... 5'7, 190 lbs and 46 YO has a BMR of about 1650 cal to to lose 1 lb per week at a basic activity level.Even if you compensate for the 600-900 daily burn, you shouldn't be over about 2200-2500 cal. As far as still converting fat to muscle, you really don't, you exchange it. You lose fat, and build new muscle, hence a reduction in your body fat. If you have access to a gym, they usually have machines that can estimate body fat (see one of the personal trainers) if you really want to know your body fat %.

I suspect you are a typical victim of overestimating your burn and underestimating your intake, I know I was/am. It take significant discipline to really and consistently lose weight while cycling. I'm 5'9, and started at 191 lbs in January. I'm 170 now, and my body fat has dropped from 19 - 16%, mostly from cycling, but if that is all you do, your weight loss will slow as your body becomes acclimated to the workload. Try changing up your exercise routine once in a while just to use some different muscles. You can still do cardio work, but add in a elliptical or treadmill workout once in a while.

I would also suggest that you try a tracking site like daily plate (livestrong.com) or one of the other food and nutrition tracking sites. Be very diligent for a few months and really track everything you eat, from the fluids you drink while riding to the creamer in your morning coffee. Try to eat 5-6 small meals and snacks, and make sure you are getting about 125+ grams of quality protein a day. Daily plate has several calculators for estimating BMR, activity burn, etc.. A workout of 600-900 cal is really pretty light. I would try not "compensating" for those burned calories in your daily diet for a month or so and see how your weight responds.

 

[Froze]

Look into the South Beach diet too, it may help you...or it may not, but worth a shot.