Training & Nutrition - Weight Loss Club

Hi guys!

I am supposed to ride a bit today, or at least this weekend...but I am actually nervous and afraid of getting back on the bike! Have you ever heard of anything so silly?

Nothing to it, it's like riding a bicycle. So much so, that it is riding a bicycle.

You know it's easy or they would never have come up with that trite saying. Just get on it and pedal a couple of time... it'll take care of the rest.

Az

Well, I just got back from my usual hourish spin. I was totally exhausted and my lungs were burning! Oh dear, I am out of shape. :(

One of the reasons I think I had a hard time...I ate a GIANT bowl of pasta and sausage about an hour before (not realising that we were riding soon afterwards) and felt AWFUL.

Oh well...I'm back in the saddle!

Welcome to the USA, and Welcome back to the forum! :D

WWW.TOURDEPANTS.COM :eek:

Today is the start of the 4th Quarter Weightloss Challenge over on BikeJournal.com (http://208.44.116.190/thread.asp?ThreadID={CBE05138-F1D8-4F7A-A6DE-6BCB4470C3EF}).

Today is also the last day to sign up for this challenge. The challenge is to loose 15lbs by the end of the year. FitDay.com (http://www.fitday.com) journaling is one of the requirements.

I'd like to invite anyone here who is interested to check it out. :)

Link refs:
http://www.bikejournal.com
http://www.fitday.com

I purchased the Road Bike roughly three months ago with a goal of losing 40lbs. I have lost 22lbs so far and I feel pretty confident about surpassing my original goal. I weighed in at 260 and was originally shooting for 220. At 6'3" I believe that 200lbs is about optimum weight for me. I had been trying just dieting for a couple of years with little to no exercise and I only gained weight. Bicycling has become quite the exercise of choice. In fact I am afraid that I have become hopelesly addicted and have been making the LBS pretty happy here of late.

In fact I am afraid that I have become hopelesly addicted and have been making the LBS pretty happy here of late.It’s OK, we all understand. We all suffer from the same addiction. You are among friends now. Nice job on the weight loss! Keep at it and let us know how you are doing.

Hi guys....long time, no see. ;)

Did a new best (longest) ride today! 38.3 miles :) :)

WOOHOO! Great job king!!

Way-to-go King Termite! Keep at it.


OK, It's Monday and I'm feeling a bit guilty because I was a bad boy last night. (not that way!) I live in Austin, TX and last night was Lance Armstrong's Retirement/Thank you party. BTW: Totally free! Lance and the city picked up the tab. A guy by the name of Bob Schneider (http://www.bobschneidermusic.com/) opened and Sheryl Crow headlined the concert.

I drank way more beer than I should have and dinner was a cheeseburger and chocolate malt from the best greasy spoon in town… ouch.

My goal this week is 80 miles and no splurging!

Does anyone else have a goal for this week?

Dwayne! Dude, you look GREAT! I'd like to know how many miles a week you normally ride. Also a little more detail on the weights. Not so much on the exercises themselves, but more so the schedule. How many days a week you lift/ride and the duration of the lifting session. I've been VERY lax on my lifting over the summer. I'm afraid it shows in my photo of the year. I'm working on getting back into the swing of things for winter. Thanks.

EDIT: Do you know what your estimated BF% was when each photo was taken? I've found the scale can lie like crazy, but the BF% is a much better mechanism to measure progress.
Sorry for the long delay in replying.

My schedule varies quite a bit depending on how busy my weeks are, so this isn't set in stone.

As far as weights go: I try to get to the gym three times a week (more in the winter). Chest and triceps one day, biceps and shoulders the next day, repeat. I usually try to do different exercises each time, too, just to keep things fresh (or at least different combinations of exercises). I also do abs every time, too. In the winter I'll go more often and split things up, so chest one day, biceps the next, shoulders after, and so forth. Lets me hit each body part harder I think. I usually spend about 1-1.5 hours at the gym (depending on the weather and mood).

As far as mileage goes: I try to get out at least 3 times on weekdays, otherwise I get cranky. Sometimes I'll commute to work (26 miles round trip), sometimes I'll go on mtb group rides, sometimes I'll go for a road ride. I mix it up. On the weekends I usually like to do longer trips. For example, this past weekend I went on a harder road ride on Sat (46.5 miles, 2.5 hours), and on Sunday I drove 1.5 hours to do a 32mile mtb ride). I use the weekends to get to places I usually don't get to do under the week. I did invest in an HID light though, and it's been terrific for extending my ride times during the week.

The two big things that helped me lose weight are really watching what I eat (thanks to fitday) and throwing slicks on my hardtail and doing lots of road rides.

I'm going to order a set of calipers the next time I order whey protein again (should be soon), then I'll be able to give you a BF % idea.

Hi guys....long time, no see. ;)

Did a new best (longest) ride today! 38.3 miles :) :)


Good for you! :beer: I tried doing 45 miles today after 6 weeks off....plus I miscalculated my food consumption on the ride...the last few miles were not pretty....I think I hit a high of 6 mph! LOL!

I gotta' ride more! (And eat less) It's just not coming off like I want it too! Darn it!

WWW.TOURDEPANTS.COM :eek:

I gotta' ride more! (And eat less) It's just not coming off like I want it too! Darn it!

WWW.TOURDEPANTS.COM :eek:
Be patient, young grasshopper … Only through practice and hard work will the proficiency become a lifestyle change. This reward will only go to the ones who continue to run… or bike. :D

Ahhh, thank you Sinsei. :D

I lost 61 LBS (now 5'10" 161) between Dec, 2002-June, 2003, and it's been off since. I owe my success to Weight Watchers, as well as cycling. I ride 6 days a week, averaging 180 miles per week. I also do some strength training about twice per week.

Mike!
You ROCK! That is awesome… I have to admit I’m bit jealous. But I know nothing is for free and you have certainly paid in full for your success. 180 per week! …that is amazing. I’m at 60 miles per week and about to kick it up to 80.

Are you at your goal? What is your best advice?

Great Job!
W.J.

Hey all:
I am wondering if any of you have gone through -- or ARE going through -- what I am wrestling with, which is a sort of ambivalence about my weight.

I know I am doing the right things -- work out three times a week, riding at least 45 miles a week (not as good as Mike or W.J., but getting there) and eating right -- and I am seeing progress in the way my clothes fit, etc.

The problem is, I can't seem to get myself to step on the scale, or to use the measuring tape around my waist. I used to get antsy waiting for the next Monday (my measuring day), but now it jujst doesn't seem to be a big deal. I should say that, in order to weigh myself, I need to go to my doc's office. At 6'7", 360 lbs, Wal-Mart doesn't carry scales that work for me. :D

I am wondering if I should push myself to do it. I sure could use the reinforcement, but I also wonder if maybe I am past the need for the scale to provide that.

Any thoughts?

I would say that if your clothes are fitting looser, you're cool. I wouldn't worry about it. Peace, Ritz.

WWW.TOURDEPANTS.COM :eek:

Mahoolihan,

I think you should have some feedback mechanism. If that is the tape, then do it. Better to see the changes early on (better or worse)to you can make adjustments in a timely manner.

I'm off the bike at least until Wednesday when I go back to see the doctor. I dislocated my patella last Thursday. I'll know if I have to have an MRI when I see the doctor on Wednesday to rule out an ACL tear.

Sorry to hear that Zin. Hope the knee repairs quickly. Thanks for the advice. Thanks also to Ritz for the feedback. I think, truthfully, that I am scared to do it. I am worried I will not get the results I wanted and get discouraged. *sigh*

Mahoolihan - if you have been watching your diet and scale for awhile now, you might just be hitting an acceptance phase . . . that you know you are doing the right things and have accepted that it takes time. It could be that the conscious changes you have been working so hard to make are now part of your daily lifestyle.

You might have fun monitoring your energy levels for awhile just to change things up . . . paying attention to how different foods make you feel (rather than numbers on a scale or tape measure). That's how I discovered sweet potatoes and oatmeal . . . both give me great energy for endurance workouts. And fruits give great sugar boosts without the crash that comes with cookies. 1/2 pineapple is my favorite so far.

Or have your cholesterol checked (and eat oatmeal every day and check it again in three months). Or check your resting heart rate. . .and bike every day then check it again in three months. Lots of different ways to monitor health improvements as we go. You might just need to shake things up a bit and consider other ways of checking your progress.

Sandy

Mahoolihan,
It is always good to get a doctor’s supervision when trying to lose weight. But there are a lot of people who have lost a lot of weight without ever stepping on a scale. I agree with Zin… weight loss is too much of a mental battle without some sort of positive feedback. Maybe the fact that you are doing and eating what is right is enough to keep you motivated. If that is the case, then you could wait 6, 9, 12 months and then go to the doctor to see your progress.

Good luck,
W.J.


Zin,
I feel for you and hope everything heals pronto!

Thanks Wonker and Sandy. I appreciate the suggestions. You may be right Sandy ... your suggestions prompted me to begin thinking of alternative ways of monitoring success. Interestingly, my weight and cycling workouts have seemingly hit a wall. My body isn't recovering as quickly, and the aches are getting a bit old. The nutrition angle is ache-free, which automatically makes it more appealing. :D Thanks again.

Well wishes Zin! Knee injuries are NO FUN! (Motorcycle crashes cause them too!) Peace, Ritz.

WWW.TOURDEPANTS.COM :eek:

Alright guys, I'm back....

I've gone all summer without logging my food, and its no coincidence that I haven't lost any weight since June, I've actually gained a few pounds.

I've lost all of the good eating habits I had, and my portions are out of control. I'm eating just to entertain myself. I logged my food today for the first time, and I broke 5000 calories and I think I forgot some things.

So this is me, crawling back to the Weight Loss Club, I need help and motivation. I am going to start logging all of my food again at fitday.com.

True champions aren't the people who never fall... They're the people who keep getting up! Welcome back Zach.

Welcome ( back ) Zach!!

thanks guys. its a new day and i am going to make some changes.

fall, dust off, get back up, start again, good fuel, good exercise, feel great, feel energized, feel amazing, feel a little impatient, feel like taking a short cut or 'just one bite', start to wobble, fall, dust off, get back up . . . repeat

That pretty much summarizes my diet and exercise experience. Accepting this has helped me lose 35 pounds. I've accepted that falls happen now and then, but I'm getting better at catching them during the wobble.

It's true, the success is not in avoiding falls completely (weddings, birthday cake, etc), but in getting back to the healthy living a little quicker each time. I thought I would pass that on.

I have a first to share. This weekend I went to a wedding and planned to eat 'whatever I want', so I was pretty focused on healthy eating for the ten days before. At the wedding, I ended up talking and visiting so much that I ate less than I would on a normal day. I actually came back with a deficit on the scale. Giving myself days off for special occasions make the world of a difference for me. I enjoyed the bites I had (and really just forgot to finish because waiters were so quick to pick up any unattended plates).

Sandy

Rock on Sandy!!

Alright guys, I'm back....
fall, dust off, get back up, start again, good fuel, good exercise, feel great, feel energized, feel amazing, feel a little impatient, feel like taking a short cut or 'just one bite', start to wobble, fall, dust off, get back up . . . repeat

Good job to you both. We have all fallen and this is the stuff that motivates me to get back up. If losing weight were easy then there would be no need for this thread. Thanks for sharing and be sure to post the success you are about to encounter.

If losing weight were easy then there would be no need for this thread.


Wonkerjaw, one word... AMEN!


WWW.TOURDEPANTS.COM ;)

One of the coolest things I can testify to is that some of my "thin" friends are seeing me lose enough weight to be noticeable and more than that, they see me "becoming healthier" between my diet and the cycling.

They (thin friends) are now coming to me for advice asking me about my diet and exercise and stuff. That's kind of cool. :)

Just thought I'd share that. ;)

Cool indeed!

One of the coolest things I can testify to is that some of my "thin" friends are seeing me lose enough weight to be noticeable...
This is soooo true! How much weight did you lose before you started receiving comments?

This is soooo true! How much weight did you lose before you started receiving comments?
I'm probably at about 40 or 50 lost now. I'd say about 30 before they started noticing, around 40 a few started paying attention and asking me what all I was doing.

Is anyone else watching NBC's Biggest Looser? I watched last season and am hooked on it this season as well. I'm shocked at the amount of weight some of these folks are loosing each week. I am also inspired by the work they are putting into the weight loss.

Just thinking out loud here. . .
I have some specific goals outside of weight loss that greatly depend on loosing the weight and improving my overall cardio capacity. I'm specifically thinking of the Triple ByPass next July. I feel the pressure of this event looming large on the horizon. RESULTS! I say. RESULTS! Give me RESULTS!

For some time now I have felt on the edge of a major brake through in my physical fitness. On the fence between being the athlete that I now know is within me. The uncertainty of it in the back of my mind of how to give that athlete the permission to flourish. To blossom into the now. Sorry. Working for a mental health organization exposes one to different views of one's thoughts.

How do we, those of us on this quest, flip the switch to unleash this inter-athlete that lives within each of us? The plan is before us. Eat better. Move more. Simple. It is so simple that to my mind it should be as simple as a binary number. 0100101. Simple. Perhaps it is within this simplicity that my mind latches onto it and attempts to make it a more complex task.

What do athletes do? I'm not talking elite level athletes. I'm talking the guys that do well in local amateur events. What do those guys do? How did they make it to the level that they are?

I have my plan mostly laid out to achieve. To give my inner-athlete permission to come forth. Now, I have to figure out how to force myself to get out of my own way! Thats right. I am the one holding that inner-athlete down. Not giving him the time and effort he needs. Not committing to putting the time in the gym. One the bike.

We must commit! Put in the time. Effort. Just do it! The results will come if we just listen to that inner-athlete.

What do you tell yourself? What do you do? How are you giving your inner-athlete its due voice?

I am now at 294, down from 330 in july. I put on alot of muscle in the last 4 months, especialy in my legs. im happy with my body, but i have about 60 more pounds of fat to drop. whats crazy is that if i got down to 215, i would be at 0-3 percent body fat!

I am now at 294, down from 330 in july.
Rock On! …that’s a good 36 lbs. start. At 3% you would be a ROCK! Be a nice goal to achieve... I say go for it.


How are you giving your inner-athlete its due voice?
Now I know why you changed your login to Zin! Well stated. This gives me something to mentally chew on… no pun intended.

I have a friend from college who recently lost 75 pounds (over the course of two years). He joined Weight Watchers. He said he was usually the only guy in the meetings which he hated and loved (but mostly loved, he admitted). We recently had a phone conversation about the social side of weight loss. When I told him that 20 pounds is when people freaked out (which freaked me out), he said, "try losing 50 pounds and having no one notice." Now that he has lost 75 and is at goal, people are suddenly noticing. They think he lost it all within three months because that's when they started noticing. He said overall he liked it better that way because the habits were solid before his body 'went public.' Thought I would pass that on.


Zin - you might have fun reading a book called Mental Athlete. A lot of it is pretty sport specific, but you might it gets into the mental side of competing. There are things you can do to awaken your inner athlete mentally. I used to be a competitive athlete, then was overweight and inactive for a decade, then struggled with all of the mental stuff that comes with starting over and I'm now active and learning a new sport (tennis) still have a few pounds, but feel good. Mentally there is not a lot of difference between the struggle of putting the shoes on and going for that first walk and competing seriously . . . the difference is in the detail, but the feelings are exactly the same. Some of it is fear of the unknown.

One of the most interesting experiments I do is a visualization. It's sort of a meditation. I still do it when I find myself struggling. It always gets me through humps. They say everything begins with visualization. Yours might take different forms, but to give you an idea . . .

first thing in the morning and before bed sit on a pillow on the floor (so your back is straight)
settle in, close your eyes
take 10 deep breaths in and out (keep count on your fingers)
after the 10 deep breaths visualize a beautiful (perhaps familiar) scene . . . I usually imagine a field of sunflowers
there is one other person in the field in the distance walking towards me
this is my 'ideal' self or 'athletic' self
as she walks towards me, I see first a silhouette, then try to see specific details of what she looks like
at the beginning, she remains a blurry silhouette, but
the longer I do this (over the course of several weeks or months), I imagine that we sit down to have a conversation
what would she tell me if she could? what would I ask her? and sometimes we just sit.

It has always worked best when I am consistent, even if I just do the ten breaths and say a quick 'hi' to my athletic self.

Sandy

WonkerJaw
LOL. It is something that I am trying to figure out myself. I just wonder if anyone else looked at loosing weight and getting fit the same way. I'm a long way into this fitness and weight loss journey after loosing over 100lbs. I'm to the point where I think I'm ready to become that athlete.
Sandy
Thanks for the information. I have been doing some mental imagery with a friend of mine who lives in Boulder, Colorado. It has helped quite a bit. The sticking point is moving from the imagery to the physical world. I'll see i I can find the book too. It sounds interesting.

Hope everyone had a good weekend. I have some good news for this Monday… I'm down another five pounds which brings the total to ten pounds. We had some birthdays to celebrate in my family this weekend. I had a great thirty mile ride Sunday to help balance the abundance of food and cake.

I've got a metric century coming up next month. Is anyone else training for a ride, run, walk, swim, etcetera… etcetera… etcetera?

I'm riding like crazy, for me anyway. I'm currently at 2361 miles for the year of 2005. My problem seems to be equating food with feeling good! My mood always seems to elevate after I eat, and I enjoy that "High" for a while, then I get all remorseful and beat myself up for eating so much, or just the wrong thing! How do Y'all deal with this? Remember, this is a support thread, and if we can't be gut-level honest,this will wind up just being a pep-rally. Thanks Guys and Gals. Peace, Ritz.

WWW.TOURDEPANTS.COM ;)

I'm riding like crazy, for me anyway. I'm currently at 2361 miles for the year of 2005. My problem seems to be equating food with feeling good! My mood always seems to elevate after I eat, and I enjoy that "High" for a while, then I get all remorseful and beat myself up for eating so much, or just the wrong thing! How do Y'all deal with this? Remember, this is a support thread, and if we can't be gut-level honest,this will wind up just being a pep-rally. Thanks Guys and Gals. Peace, Ritz.

WWW.TOURDEPANTS.COM ;)


That's amazing....2361 miles? I am doing pheonominal for me at about 800 miles for the year. I feel like a complete rookie. LOL

Don't know how to cope with that "high" from eating syndrome...would like to work on that myself.

Great news Wonkerjaw! Keep it up!

Ritz, when I want a "treat" or comfort food, we only get a "single serving" package. Most of the time my wife and I split it between the two of us.

As for the riding your "butt" off. I feel your pain man! I'm at 3350 miles for the year and I gained weight! UGH! I am thinking that daily consistent riding is more important that overall miles alone. An example is that 20 miles 5 days a week will work better for weight loss than a single ride of 100 miles on the weekend. Last year I was far more consistent in my rides. This year I've got many more long rides spread out over the month to make the same, no, more miles than last year. Last year I lost weight. This year I gained. This is not to say that we shouldn't do our longer rides. In fact, I believe that if I had time to do a metric daily, I'd be dropping wight like a candle loses hot wax.

Yeah K.T.,the mileage is kinda hard for me to believe too! But it's all in black and white under rider stats on Bikejournal.com. It's under the name "Ritz" (Original, I know.)

Zin, check the same stats, I am pretty regular in the riding, problem is I'm pretty regular in the eating too! I'll get the hang of it eventually. Thanks for the single serving tip, that could help a lot. I read somewhere that you can achieve satiety by consumeing as little as three bites of something if done slowly. Peace, Ritz.

WWW.TOURDEPANTS.COM ;)

Sounds like good stuff is happening here.

I always feel better after I eat. The difference is with really bad food the good feeling is followed by a crash, followed by days of cravings for bad food. I know healthy foods will make me feel better. They give me even more strength and endurance during the 2-3 hrs. after the meal.

Just change what you eat . . .oatmeal with a grated apple and cinnamon . . . a sweet potato with cinnamon . . .1/2 a pineapple . . . chai tea . . . pumpkin and flaxseed muffins . . . a bowl of Go Lean . . . extra dark chocolate . . . candied ginger . . . a really ripe mango . . . a bowl of blueberries . . .rice cakes with pumpkin or nut butter . . .

Sandy

Sandy, you're making my mouth water! :D

Ritz,

Everytime someone here mentions checking stats on Bikejournal (and I attempt to do so), I leave the site shaking my head. Is there no search function there? For the life of me, I can't figure out how to narrow the list of riders down except geographically. That's fine if you're looking for local riders. But, if not...

And that's only if I'm looking for your profile. If I look under Stats, it lists by mileage rank but still no search function.

I hate to be critical but it's like the world's lamest interface if you're looking for something other than your own stats. Or am I the world's lamest user, and I'm just not figuring it out?

Sorry for the hassle Bransom! Try this link: http://www.bikejournal.com/journal.asp?rname=Ritz .