robncircus

Reading the goals thread it seems several of us are trying to lose weight. I have recently been doing the Engine 2 diet by Rip Esselstyn and I'm down 15 pounds since early November. Rip is a former pro triathlete and retired firefighter. The diet is vegan/plant based and they key is you can't use oil or excessive salt in the cooking. I stick to it 5 days a week but enjoy me a nice cheeseburger on the weekends. I feel great, fit into old clothes again, and have not noticed any negative side effects on my cycling.

May not be for everyone but check it out: https://www.theengine2diet.com/

Cheers

Rob

EventServices

Weight loss isn't a well-guarded secret. Like most things, it's about will power and personal goals. It's just that most people need to read about it in a way that they're willing to accept.

Eat less. Eat better. Exercise more.

robncircus

Yeah I know but I figured I'd share. And to be honest, I eat more now than I ever did in the past. The major difference is caloric density. Lentils and brown rice are far less dense than say chicken. Another way to look at it; a burger is maybe the size of two apples. However, it has something like triple the calories although the quantity of food is the same.

Matt2.8NJ

I dropped 21 lbs in 2009... from 181 to 160ish now. Used TrainingPeaks and counted calories... but most of all was the realization that I was eating too much crap! Once I got over the mental hurdle and TP showed how many calories were going into the system it was a snap.

aham23

^^^^ nice work. i am pretty impressed with the nutritional database that TP has. what makes a huge difference is the ability to see all "custom" foods that everyone has entered. most of us health minded cyclist eat a like. i mean, i searched for Fat Tire and bam, it was there. later.

Longfemur

Fat is fat, and calories are calories. It doesn't matter at all whether they come from vegetable or meat sources. If you suddenly start eating less sodium salt, you are likely to end up carrying less fluid volume in your body. Since one litre of water weighs exactly one kg (about 2.2 lbs), it's easy to see how much apparently fast weight loss can be attributed just to having less fluid in you, rather than less fat, especially when combined with exercise that makes you sweat. That's how you "lose" 15 lbs in a month or two. Long term, there's only one way to lose weight: eat fewer calories than you use on a daily basis, and then when you have achieved the weight you want, eat only about the same calories as you use.

In addition to this, most people who go vegan do so without adequate knowledge about appropriate amounts and combinations of proteins, and so they end up protein malnourished... which means the body consumes its own muscle tissue in order to get the protein it thinks it needs. Result: significant loss of muscle mass. Muscle mass is not fat. You don't want to lose muscle mass, even though it would make you weigh less.

People today are suckers for marketing and anything that they see in the media. There is no special diet. Just eat no more calories overall than you use in a day, and be patient. You don't need to contribute to any doctor or other supposed expert's fame and fortune, and certainly not to any corporation's. People like to "believe" in things because they have been raised to believe in magical fairies since birth.

Grumpy McTrumpy

fat is not fat.

you were correct about calories though.

Longfemur

Fat definitely *is* fat, as far as weight gain goes. Of course, in terms of other aspects of health, some fats may be healthier than others. But they are still the same in terms of any weight gain.

Flatballer

Did you actually just say that he lost 15 lbs of water weight over 2 months?

You realize he'd be dead right now from dehydration?

Grumpy McTrumpy

Be specific. Are you referring to ingested fats or human adipose tissue? Subcutaneous fat? Visceral Fat? Yellow bone marrow?

carpediemracing 

As stated above, losing weight is about a net loss of calories. How you do that, at some level, is besides the point. Yeah, you can't just starve yourself (although Floyd would skip eating for a day or two if he needed to "lose weight"). You need whatever nutrients. Blah blah blah.

Losing water weight is part of that initial drop in weight, but, no, it's not all water weight. But the numbers can be deceiving because they seem high but maybe really aren't. 5 pounds the first week isn't unheard of, but the actual weight loss may be 2 lbs, maybe 3; the rest is water or waste or whatever.

I've come down perhaps 20# (181 to 161). It's not about any weird diet or anything like that. For me it was about reducing calories however I could, watching what I ate. I figure I have another 10 lbs or so before it gets stupid, but it's interesting to see how the whole thing's been progressing.

If I'm hungry I eat, even if it'll put me over. I figure that starving myself isn't good, else my body will hoard everything I eat. I just try and eat better. My late night snack yesterday was a banana, not a 3rd dinner.

I use a straight-forward calorie counting site, my-calorie-counter. The "activities" section has a lot of stuff, and the cycling is based on (believe it or not) wattage. I usually select 150w avg since most of my rides are 170-190w, but I don't give myself those calories for the day - I don't say, "Hey, I rode 1500 calories worth, I can eat 1500 more". I figure the calories burnt is optimistic so I ignore it. I'm taking more days off, yeah, and usually I end up over my calorie count when I ride, but I focus on calories in, not allegedly expended.

At some point I'll need to figure out what I need to eat so I don't bonk on longer rides, or so I don't lose strength. So far I'm pretty good - same kind of fitness as I had at the end of the summer, just 20 lbs lighter. I can ride 2:40 on the trainer without getting too tired, but I can forsee the need to eat calories if I'm riding longer than that. I have no idea how to approach a race day yet, nor a "long" ride (5-7 hours).

cdr

ridethecliche

I lolled.

Glad it worked for you OP, but there is no fraking way that I'd ever go to a vegan/vegetarian diet. Though it is possible with Indian food, minus the oil thing for you.

Everything has its place, you just need to find the balance.

Congrats on the weight loss. If your strength gains are coming along as well, you're going to have a ****** season.

ridethecliche

Just want to say a few things here.

1) I don't think you're at a point where your body is close to entering starvation mode. In addition to just counting calories, make sure you're eating a balanced diet (protein, carb, fat balance) and you'll be good. If you feel the need, take a week or so where you gain a pound or so. That will ensure that your body won't enter starvation mode. Couple that to your monthly recovery week, so your body will repair itself well during that time.

2) Longer ride nutrition. If you're eating during the ride, there's no way you're eating enough to counter the caloric expendititure you get, especially if it's on a 3+ hr ride. So eat during the ride. Baked potato, cliff bar, fig newtons, whatever. Your on the bike nutrition shouldn't change much. Fear of weight gain isn't rational here.

3) Pre raceday nutrition. Have a big bowl of pasta the night before, and a good breakfast before there race. CDR, you race crits and from what I've read of your nutrition stuff before the race it looks like you're gearing up for an 80 mile race not an hour long ordeal.

But at the end of the day, you know better than me what works for you. As you go on here, you're apparently teaching your body to be more efficient with resources. That's a good thing.

Spreggy

You left out Belly Blubber.

teetopkram

Truth here...my personal trainer knows I am a vegetarian who is reducing calories to lose some weight, but is forever preaching to eat protein, protein, protein, etc, so to not lose muscle mass.

carpediemracing 

I realized I forgot to say something. Egads.

If it works, it's good. So, for example, I need to be actively involved with the diet and it helps if I can see numbers, charts, graphs, etc. I found one site that works for me and decided to stick with it.

I wouldn't be able to do a vegan diet (tried it for a while when dating someone who was experimenting with diet - also tried gluten free, "rice cake diet" - pretty much ate rice cakes for a while, bagel diet - just bagels due to being broke and getting free bagels, etc). And I've gotten links on different diets and such, which I appreciate, but just to get me to diet at all took me all this time. I lose too much traction if I start adding other things. So for me it's less fat, less calories.

And, again, if I'm hungry, I eat; my body's trying to tell me something. Yesterday I did some snow shoveling, helped decorate cookies (ate 1), rode the trainer till I almost cramped, and ended up going 30% over my daily calories. Today I'm the lightest I've been so far.

cdr

ridethecliche

Your progress is awesome.

You're going to kill it at bethel and I'm going to come watch and scream for you to "GO GO GO GO GO!"

big john

I'm glad to hear that you're doing so well. I hope you can get back to 100% this spring.

Rob, congrats on the weight loss. Maybe we'll ride together again sometime? Nobody's put together a BF ride in a long time.

logdrum

I've been a vegetarian since I was twelve. Indian food is light because oil is lighter than water. Although tasty that stuff will kill you and you will put weight as fast as Micky D's

Sometimes we overeat because it is emotional and that is hard to overcome. Being a vegan or vegetarian does not make you weak or your body eat itself out. If it did I should be 120 lbs only but sadly no. There are fat or even obese Vegans.

For me what killed me is having kids and I am not 132 anymore. You cook for them and invariably eat what you cook for them

Calories can creep on you. Today with oatmeal/rasin with soymilk for breakfast, half a cup of pasta and a bowl of salad with home made Italian dressing and a tablespoon of Feta for lunch , I am already 800 calories maybe even more . If I want to loose weight I should probably stop for the day or just eat miso soup for the evening. LIke that is going to happen.

ridethecliche

I'd like to point out, that there's a tremendous difference between home made indian food (aka healthy) and most over greasy oily sloppy restaurant indian food.

brianappleby

Not sure if I should hijack this thread or start my own, but I need to lose at least 9 pounds of fat by April. This would take my bodyfat from 15% to 10% What is a reasonable rate of weight loss, and would it be better to start now or wait until Feb or March?

Thanks,
B.

MDcatV

start now, target losing 1 to 2 #/week until you hit target weight, then maintain through a good training diet. i find using fitday.com helpful as you can enter your current weight, goal date and weight, and it'll tell you what you need to lose to get there (like #/week or whatever).

losing a # of fat requires a caloric deficit of 3500 calories. not much magic in that other than not opening your mouth everytime your elbow bends.

khatfull

I lost 100+ pounds (~280 to ~180, 6' tall) by simply counting everything that went into my mouth (still do) and this simple ratio: 50% carbs, 30% protein, 20% fat. On non-exercise days I eat about 1800 calories and ramp that up on days with exercise, or the day before in the case of an upcoming long ride. I eat everything, including ice cream almost every day. I don't crave, I don't want. I eat meat or eggs at every meal. When putting together a meal I try to incorporate as many colors (of vegetables) as I can. The only two "weird" things I do: 1) eat sweet potatoes/yams instead of white 2) supplement protein when necessary with dried egg whites. A 1/2 cup measure for portion control is your friend.

Whoever said this is correct: weight gain or loss is simple math. Eat more calories than you burn, you gain weight. Burn more calories than you eat, you lose weight. IMHO all the diets, fads, and all that other crap is simply that, crap. IMHO we were created as omnivores. Balance, moderation, and willpower are the keys. Not a formula.

brianappleby

I have no doubt that 280 to 180 requires dedication, but at 6'2" and 175, the low hanging fruit is gone.

Enthalpic

your whole post is describing a formula then you finish with “not a formula”


Weight change = (kcal consumed – kcal burned)/ 3500 kcal/lb

Sure looks like a formula