Training & Nutrition - Weight Loss Club

Zin - I have those friends too. Are yours over weight? They think I am way toooo skiny. Anyway, I am not really trying to drop anymore weight. I have changed my eating habits and plan to lead and eat a healthy life the best I can. It's not a diet for me anymore. It is just the way I eat. Chicken, Fish, Lean Meats, Veggies, Fruits, and so on. No more fast food crap. I am just aware of everything that goes in me. Heck, last night I had a few beers and a nice big NY Strip Steak! Cant beat that.

Aham - The friends that are telling me that I don't need to loose more weight are actually quite fit. My overweight friends don't have much to say about the subject. I know that I can drop more weight and plan to do so over next winter. For now, I like where I am. I am very happy with the progress of this past year. So, I plan to concentrate on cycling. Its easy to maintain my weight and as long as I continue to see body composition changes, I'm good. :)

Congrats on your achievements!

Aham - Thanks! Wow, you are going to make me blush. I don't think I'm amazing. Just in love with cycling. I'm amazed that you are at 184lbs at your height. I am shooting for 180lbs and I'm only 5'11". I have several friends who are telling me that I shouldn't loose any more weight. I just don't know.


I hear the same thing from my friends. I am 6'2" and weigh about 195.

First time I've seen this thread, might as well give it a go.
In June '05, I was 5'8.5 and weighed in at an unhealthy 260.
About that same time though, I began to ride my bike the 2 mile round trip to work and also began training at a local 24Hr Fitness place.
Aside from the ride, I also trained on an elleptical/cross trainer for 20 min, and performed various muscle workouts for 40-60 minutes, four days/week.
While sticking to this regimen, I wanted to see what would happen if I cut down soda intake from 24 cans/week, to almost none at all.
Throughout the year, I gradually increased the time and resistance on the elleptical machine.
By December '05, I was down to 215 and had been running the elleptical for at least an hour and performing the same amount, yet intensified muscle build/tone workouts five days/week.
The bike commute was still the same at this point, and the low/no soda plan appears to have worked out greatly. I decided to continue with this intensity level for the next six months.
Once June '06 came along, I was now(and currently still) weighing in at 170-175 lbs, yet most people say I look helluva lot thinner than that. I now tune the resistance to harder levels on the 60-120 minute elleptical sessions and the muscle work-outs have gone up slightly in resistance.
And most of all, my nightly bike commute has gone up to 11 miles round-trip.
However, I was commuting a 24 mile round trip a month and a half ago.
It lasted for a week until my boss decided to stick someone with a car at that post:mad: .
Luckily, the pay is the same at my current post, so I'm not really mad anymore.
Cool thing about this fitness regimen, I only changed my soft drink intake and lost all this weight.
The weight continued to go down and is still maintained, despite the foods I still eat.
But, then again, I only get my "grub-on and never pig-out", like Ice Cube says.

Tom - So, what do you make of it when your friends say you don't need to loose more weight?

bentstrider - Wow! You have made HUGE progress! Congratulations! Thanks for sharing your story here with us! I still find motivation within everyone's stories here.

I think these friends mean well and just dont have the correct idea of what a person should weigh and eat. I shouldnt weigh in at 230+ lbs and eat 5000 calories a day. No one should. I carried the weight well at 6'3'' as it all was in my gut. Now I am at 185 lbs, fit, have a healthy BMI, skip fast food, eat health and get comments like, wow you are too skinny. People ask me what diet I am on? Well, I am not on a diet. I am eating healthy. Lean meats and more veggies. Just becuase a guy doesnt eat at Taco Bell or McDonalds doesnt mean he is on a diet. Anyway, just my thoughts. Later.

Hi everyone,
I think I'll jump into this thread. I stay up to date reading everyone else's posts daily, it is very inspiring.

I just turned 29 years old, I'm 6' 0" and on January 1st I weighed in at 278 pounds. I have been trying to eat less and exercise more and as of Monday I was down to 257 pounds. However, I didn't feel like I had much structure to how I was eating, other than just trying to eat less. I felt clueless when it came to knowing what and what not to eat.

Over the weekend, I read the South Beach Diet book and started that on Monday. I explored Atkins in the past, and to me this program seems like a smarter more evolved version of Atkins. It seems like some of the main differences are that South Beach doesn't talk about getting yourself into ketosis (burning fat instead of glucose for the main body fuel), and it also stresses good versus bad fats along with good versus bad carbs.

So, I started following some of the principles from the South Beach on Monday at 257 pounds. So far I've been eating lots of salad, veggies, and lean meat. I've been cutting out all bread and anything else with processed flour. I plan on being really careful with the types of meat I eat, mostly chicken breast or turkey, maybe lean red meat occasionally. The first two weeks are the strictest phase, the book says you can expect to lost between 8 and 14 pounds before you move on to 'phase 2' where you start adding back more fruits and other items you eliminated during the first phase. In phase 2, your weight loss slows to a more normal 1 to 2 pounds per week.

I hopped on the scale this morning just out of curiosity, and it read 250. I'm curious to see if that 7 pounds comes right back or if its actually gone.

At any rate, after reading the book, it makes a lot of sense and I feel like I have some real guidance to base my diet off of. The Glycaemic Index really makes sense to me, and I feel like I am essentially just cutting out all of the junk food (with a few other exceptions like rice, white potatoes).

I'll keep everyone posted with my progress.

I'm now reading 'Eat to Live' by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. Looks like this book is highly recommended all over this forum.

I got upset with my progress. I broke down and started using fitday.com and saw how many carbs I was eating. Well I've done about 70 miles this week, eaten much better, and I've lost the same 7 lbs again. I'm sitting at 230, but with a new plan, and some good weather I think I have an idea of how to get below 220.

Small goals, achieve them, and then make a new goal.

Hiya, new here, here is my story. Always active, rowed crew in college, Marine Corps Infantry etc.. then I became a sloth. Married, kid, teaching. I found myself at 5'10, 265 pounds. In Feb of 2006, I did something about it. Road bike, cut my 2-3 pesi's down to maybe 1 a week. no useless food goes in my body regulary. Basicaly, no white flour type stuff or potato stuff or deep fried chips.
I started treating my body like in the infantry. I would pack a lunch for work, diet crackers, low fat cheese, cliff bar, fruit etc. I would eat 1 thing every hour.

As far as riding. when I first started, 10 miles at avg speed of 8 miles an hour would kill me. I remember seeing my cycle computer, and reaching 12 mph for a short period.

Now, this last week, I rode 30+ miles a day up at lake tahoe, doing the hills. My normal ride here at home is 25+ miles, 6 days a week. my flat ground no wind work-out speed is 18+mph. 20+ when riding with a club I just joined.

I train a different thing each day. Use a heart rate monitor, work-out in different zones, kinda a modified carmichael system I read in one of those books about lance.

So now it is July, and I am down 42 pounds. My whole life has changed. I can go eat MDonalds with my daughter without feeling guilty.Example, I went to disneyland vacation for a week, ate like crap compared to my normal style, jogged for a hour on 3 monrings, and still lost 2 pounds that week.

I can;t believe how much I like my life now. I havnt felt this good since I was in the Corps hanging out on some beach in Thailand or Australia. I am totally addicted to riding, and going to reward myself with a new bike when I hit 200lbs.

But every silver lining has a cloud. In the marines I picked up chewing tobbacco as a habit. When I try to quit, I want to eat. I want to quit, but putting it off for now. I wish quitting chewing was as easy as losing weight. So if you have any hints, let me know!

I hit a final goal, to drop 50 pounds. Thought I'd post a picture. This was taken yesterday, we were 1/4 of the way through a ride that took us up that rather straight dirt road, and up into a beautiful, and I do mean BEAUTIFUL canyon. Total ride was a hair short of 40 miles. I'm averaging well over 100 miles a week on that mtn bike. Loving every minute of it.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v79/Pugdawg1/MeBike7-9-06.jpg

A broader view.. those are the Ruby Mtns in the background:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v79/Pugdawg1/Me7-9-06.jpg

That looks really fun

Hi Ritz,

I read your post that you starting riding your Sun ez-1 recumbent at 308 lbs and it has been fine. I am so encouraged by your post because I am at that weight and I just bought my Super Cruzer today.

How are you doing now and how much weight have you lost? How often, or how far do you ride? I am so excited to read your post. thanks in advance. Diane

Day one to the site... finished by first ride in 25 years. darn my butt is sore. I got a bike from a friend FREE Real smooth ride... anyways today starts my weight loss program. I will be 41 next month and have not seen my ideal weight in 20.... kinda funny quit riding and the weight came on. ;-).

I decided not to worry about miles - but time on the ride. I rode for 17 minutes one way from the house and then returned. I will do this every morning for 2 weeks. Then I willl do the same in the evening.

I work nights, wife works days, I have 5 daughters 9 7 6 5 2 and attend University of Phoenix Online.

I am at 240 and want to be at 180... hard to set a goal for it all. So I figure 4 months to be at 200. That's 10 lbs a month. I have 40 waist and love to see 32 by the time all is said and done.

So I will log mile in Sept when the kids are in school and I can be gone from the house longer streaches at a time... already looking to get the baby a helmet and a seat!

I will be around off and on during the week.

I ENJOY THE INSPIRATION THAT YOU ALL BRING TO THIS THREAD... now it is my turn.

BIKE ON!!!

Hello,

I too struggled with cravings and such as I played with my dietary contents.

What I have found is ordinary foods don't contain the nutrients in quality, quantity or variety needed for cycling.

Give this a good going through and a try: www.GuideByGod.com :)

Troll!!!

Woho I lost 3lbs on average since last month.

Well I have been reading all the threads for the past week. I finally went on a ride yesterday for about 30 mins with my kids. The seat killed me. but reading all your inspirational messages. I'm finally going to take the plunge. I have been sitting on the couch for to long. I'm 6'0 and weight 255 and feel miserable. I want to keep motivated I believe that this will help. Thanks for everyone that was honest with there posting. My milage to work is like 35 miles one way. I would like to make that my goal. It just seems so far. Well Thanks everybody. I'm going to try to just to 45 to an hour tonight.

So, a number of weeks of progress and after two weeks holiday I'm back where I started! I'm back up to 190 after four weeks of one pound a week loss. The weight seemed to go back on pretty easily, I didn't think I was that bad! Anyway, it was a bit discouraging to see that but I have read every message in this thread and there have been a number of false starts, backsliding incidents and what not that others have endured and they all kept plugging away so I will do the same. I guess I just have to be more serious. I'll have to make sure I'm being accurate in my fitday logs because the calories in/calories out balance according to fitday should not result in weight gain. I don't think I'm cheating with either side of the equation, it just may be that their peanut butter sandwich has fewer calories than the ones I'm actually eating! Anyway, it was this thread that inspired me to start losing the weight, and it can inspire me again. Keep up the good work everyone!

Cheers,

James

I guess I might as well start somewhere.

23, 6'0" 250ish, hardly an athletic day in my life, but reasonably active (walked 1-2miles per day from school for the last 8 years)

I'd say my goal is to get to 200 by age 25. but mass isn't so much my concern as is shape and volume. I want to ditch my spare tire and get in good enough shape that I could do lots more athletic riding instead of my current (and recently added commute)

I did also a few months ago become mostly vegetarian. I'm wondering what I need to do w/regards to keeping protein/nutrient levels high enough to be athletic without eating meat.

I think that is a key to being successful....

Jim, this was your quote of Saru's statement "I bike around 150 miles a week and love it"
but I think there are actually two keys to this door :) The second one is in his other statement: "I made some fairly major dietary changes"

I noticed that myself, exercising helps me to drop pounds, but in order for me to keep them off - I have to ear properly. And by that I don't mean major dieting, just being reasonable in what I eat, how much I eat and when I eat. I've done this once already, about 2 years ago I went from 200lbs to 170lbs in about 6 months. Then I stopped exercising (completely) and returned to my bad eating habits, gained everything back in about 1.5 years, and now I'm on the second quest, going from 200lbs as of February, now I'm 175, target - 170 (I'm 5"9).

Exercising - I noticed it's important to vary what you do. Your body gets used to one type of exercise and you stop losing weight until you start doing something else - then you start progressing again. For instance - I mix bicycling (two or three times a week, 11 miles loop, cadence 80-100), tennis (one or two times per week, singles, 1.5 hrs on a court at a time), elliptical 30 mins random program on levels 15-17 one or two times a week and upper/lower body weight training (one or two times a week). Yes, I do at least one activity every day because you have to be agressive to lose weight, while maintaining it at somewhare reasonable level later on requires a lot less dedication :)

Eating habits - I still eat everything I ate before. I like good tasting food and I'm not into calories counting. I eat out for lunch every day! Just a few minor tweaks to my eating habits make it still possible to progress:
1. I make it a point to eat light breakfast, that way I eat less at lunch.
2. I eat 75% of what I feel I want to eat at lunch, allowing myself to get more if I still feel hungry 15 minutes after I finished my 75% (I sometimes I go for more, and sometimes I don't)
3. When I eat out, I try to pick healthier options (less junkier food) and also places where I like the food but I feel like they don't serve you enough of it (when I leave I feel that I could eat more) :) Actually, after some time I feel that the portion is just right and later on - I can even eat less of what they serve.
4. Finally, I try to ear my dinner as early as possible - say at 6:30pm as opposed to 8:30pm
5. I replaced sodas with sparkling water and drink unsweet tea (3 times out of 5) instead of sweet.

Thats' pretty much it. Worked well so far for me, see if any of this can help you, even if a little bit - it still helps a lot :) Don't give up, keep posting your progress!

I feel like I must introduce myself to this thread. I just turned 19 and at 5' 11" my weight is hovering around 245lbs, I feel like a blob. My highest weight was almost one year ago and I weighted 267lbs, I have not been trying very hard, but I think the 20lbs. lost was due to me cutting red meat out of my diet in January.

I have not eaten red meat nor fast food since January, but about two weeks ago I felt it was neccessary to take the next step. I have cut down on junk foods, and I make sure I eat enough, but lots of chicken, fish, and vegetables.

For excersize, I ride my road bike a few days a week, depending on the weather, and I go to the gym around 4-5 days a week. Typically I do some mild cardio and then lift 4 of those days, and then the fifth I do intense cardio or spinning. I am hoping to raise the cardio level soon, and to start dropping the pounds.

I have two current goals. First, I would like to be down to 210 or so by the end of December, my grandparents are taking the entire family on a cruise and I want to be in decent shape to pick up the ladies:p . My second goal is to complete and do well in a 5k run that my dad and cousins participate in every spring. Are these goals attainable? I am pretty dedicated, and I know a decent bit about both nutrition and excersize.

This is both so inspiring and so damn depressing I can't even express it all...

Got back to riding in May to get ready for a Century this fall, weighing in at about 215 (was 220-something last winter...) and since then I have not lost a thing worth mentioning.

I'm getting faster, I'm getting stronger, and I'm getting more endurance, and I've had some folks tell me I look thinner but the scale is just NOT COOPERATING :)

FWIW, I'm 6'3", would love to get to around 185-ish, or at least under 200 sometime this year. Fifty miles at a stretch on flattish ground is no problem, planning for a metric century sometime in the next week or two, but the weight is just not going down.

I've been pretty cautious about food, but am consuming carbs while I ride in training for the event... hopefully this is just fat turning into muscle, but the fat %age on the scale hasn't dropped either.

For what it's worth, this thread continues to inspire me. Every time I stop in, I leave feeling that weight loss and fitness is a real possibility — one that doesn't require ridiculous diets or whatever. Lately, as my weight has gone the wrong direction again, I've been spending more time here looking for continued inspiration. And I always find it. So thanks to all of you who tell your stories and struggles here. It helps! :)

its kind of cool to read about all of these success stories. ive been struggling to lose weight for a while now and its nice to have some inspiration. I decided to document my successes in this thread (if there are any). I think that telling people, people i dont know, will encourage me to keep it up without having to feel embarrassed about my weight. Maybe this is just the thing i need to keep me on the right track. I have a weight loss goal of 17 lbs. And I'd like to lose it by October 1, 2006. That means that I'll have to lose approximately 1.7 lbs per week. I know that I can do it because I've done it before, it's just a matter of disciplining myself. I get my new bike next week and, once I get that, there will be very few minutes in my day that are wasted on this computer or watching tv, so hopefully that will help as well!

I currently weigh 163lbs @ 5'9". 16 months ago I weighed 202lbs @ 5'9".

During the winter of 04-05 I discovered that it was possible to commute using a bike. An unrelated google search brought up BF and enabled me to make this discovery.
After my wife was involved in a car accident, I decided to give it a try. At the start I could hardly ride 2 miles and now I ride 250 miles a week on a tour bike. Next year I plan on picking up a race bike. Maybe to actually race. Maybe not. Maybe I just want to go fast :)
Anyhow, if I can do it anyone can.

I couldn't imagine 16 months ago I would be wearing spandex shorts and cycling jerseys.
....also I originally set my weight goal to be 160lbs. Almost there!
It will also be strange when I start having issues keeping weight on. However, I will believe that when I see it.

its kind of cool to read about all of these success stories. ive been struggling to lose weight for a while now and its nice to have some inspiration. I decided to document my successes in this thread (if there are any). I think that telling people, people i dont know, will encourage me to keep it up without having to feel embarrassed about my weight. Maybe this is just the thing i need to keep me on the right track.

Hi Esskay and welcome to the group.

I started posting here for the same reason. I had some success initially but then did a bit of backsliding but this place will still inspire me to keep trying. Good Luck!

Cheers,

Jim

Hi all, I am currently down to 207 - I think I was 218 or 219 when I started a couple of months ago. Ever since moving out to the new place, the weight is really coming off.

Since I am 6'2" I don't think I will go much below 190 - but when I get closer, I will know.

I swear I drop 1/2 a lb on my commute!

Since I am 6'2" I don't think I will go much below 190 - but when I get closer, I will know.

I don't know what your bone structure is like, but when my large-boned dad got to 170 lbs at one point, he was looking pretty gaunt. I always remember him looking nice at 185.

It is nice to check back into this forum now and again. I too received my initial inspiration from this forum and since January 06 I went from 235 pounds to 190 pounds. At 6'4" it is a good weight and my wife didn't care much when i dropped below that. I am not doing anything radical just eating right, no sodas, junk food, excessive booze and riding when I can. The biking becomes easier. At first you may not be able to do much and 15 - 30 minutes seems like a lot. If you look at the threads posted by zin, chealth and aham23 you can see people that had little biking experience and now ride centuries every time one is within driving distance. For me a fifty miler is no longer an event. I do 25 miles before work almost daily. This is still remakable to me.

Stay motivated, eat healthy, ride when you can and you will be amazed in the difference being your ideal body weight can make in your life.

240 lbs at 49.
160 lbs at 50.
150 lbs at 55.

Whey Protein Smoothies, vitamins
and Fish Oil.

260 - 7 weeks ago

235 - today.

Cut out alot and went back to military thinking.

No Riding.

S/F,
CEYA!

07/31 276lbs
207.31 miles this week

3/23 265lbs
7/31 216lbs

644 miles in july alone!

1/3/06 = 236 lbs
7/31/06 = 183 lbs

As the weight dropped I enjoyed cycling more and more. My story is this, I am not on a diet becuase that assumes that they way I ate before was proper. I eat healthy now. Control my portions and eat way more veggies. Of course, I am very active now with riding over 1400 miles this summer and running when I can not get out for a ride. I have done two centuries, a metric, and the 160 mile Ride Across Indiana. It is just amazing to me.

Everyone should keep posting back as this is such a great thread. Keep up the great efforts!!! Later.

1/3/06 = 236 lbs
7/31/06 = 183 lbs


Dude...Just how much weight are you going to lose...?

donamb,

I am pretty small bone - but have more than average muscle - so I am thinking around 190 seems right. I dropped about 3 lbs over the weekend - walked 100 acre farm and then had to dig canals during a big storm to redivert water - went from 207.5 to 204.5 in 2 days.

As I have less weight, I challenge the hills more - and so therefore seem to be increasing the weight loss. I really don't want to lose more than 3 a week though - my target is 2.

No diet and I have always eaten healthy, just more excercise.

So, a number of weeks of progress and after two weeks holiday I'm back where I started! I'm back up to 190 after four weeks of one pound a week loss. The weight seemed to go back on pretty easily, I didn't think I was that bad! Anyway, it was a bit discouraging to see that but I have read every message in this thread and there have been a number of false starts, backsliding incidents and what not that others have endured and they all kept plugging away so I will do the same. I guess I just have to be more serious. I'll have to make sure I'm being accurate in my fitday logs because the calories in/calories out balance according to fitday should not result in weight gain. I don't think I'm cheating with either side of the equation, it just may be that their peanut butter sandwich has fewer calories than the ones I'm actually eating! Anyway, it was this thread that inspired me to start losing the weight, and it can inspire me again. Keep up the good work everyone!


Hello again,

Well, my weight really does jump around a lot. A week after being discouraged about weight gain after weight loss, I'm almost back to where I was before the weight gain. 187 the last couple of days. Anyway, now it is time to blow away the previous low weight so that any backsliding won't get me back up to my maximum!

Cheers,

Jim

Dude...Just how much weight are you going to lose...?

I like 185 to 190 lbs., but I had a great cycling and running month in July so I just dropped weight without trying. I have been sick for the past three days and dropped five more, dipping to 178 lbs, because I couldn't eat. I eat when I am hunger and take in about 2500 calories on non active days. On active days I take in more. Guess a visit to Taco Bell every now and then wouldn't hurt? I like being skinny though!!! Later.

well i toped at 190 and drop slowly to 165 where i am now which is pretty good i gues i woudl like to drop 15 more. any suggetions on how

1.1.04 238

1.1.05 238

1.1.06 238

8.1.06 236

Must be the heat wave we are experiencing.

I commute 20 miles (RT) every day. I beginning to think that I need to adjust my diet.

1.1.04 238

1.1.05 238

1.1.06 238

8.1.06 236

Must be the heat wave we are experiencing.

I commute 20 miles (RT) every day. I beginning to think that I need to adjust my diet.


Are you trying to lose a bunch of weight? I've hovered in the 185-195 range for a long time but that is way too heavy. I am reasonably active as well but my diet did not allow weight loss until now. I have some room to increase activity but my commute is much shorter than yours. A lot of people here recommend Fitday.com so that might be a good place to start.

Cheers,

Jim

its kind of cool to read about all of these success stories. ive been struggling to lose weight for a while now and its nice to have some inspiration. I decided to document my successes in this thread (if there are any). I think that telling people, people i dont know, will encourage me to keep it up without having to feel embarrassed about my weight. Maybe this is just the thing i need to keep me on the right track. I have a weight loss goal of 17 lbs. And I'd like to lose it by October 1, 2006. That means that I'll have to lose approximately 1.7 lbs per week. I know that I can do it because I've done it before, it's just a matter of disciplining myself. I get my new bike next week and, once I get that, there will be very few minutes in my day that are wasted on this computer or watching tv, so hopefully that will help as well!

so i said i would post my progress on here and it has been one week since i started my diet. i lost 4.6 lbs! and i havent even received my new bike yet! my total weight loss goal was 17 lbs so only 12.6 to go! I can't believe I stuck with my diet, I'm very proud of myself! maybe I'll reach my goal before October! i hope so.

Were I live is pretty hilly for the area and so when riding back home I nearly die getting on top of the hill. Do you guys ride on flat surfaces or slowly increased your distance. My muscles scream when I read comment from you guys who have done twenty miles. Any advice would be great.

1.1.04 238

1.1.05 238

1.1.06 238

8.1.06 236

Must be the heat wave we are experiencing.

I commute 20 miles (RT) every day. I beginning to think that I need to adjust my diet.

Are you in Massachusetts?

My weight back in 2002 - 257

Now I'm around 232, but I really need to step it up and eat better. problem I had was visitors came, I ate. Visitors left, and more visitors came.. and I ate more.

So now I have to get back to eating better, and riding more.

==
Hills: I live in CT, but I'm from New Orleans originally. What used to bother me I can now do fairly easily. I have a couple of ugly hills in my town that I'm hoping to attack this weekend. They aren't going to be easy, but I'm going to have a go.

Last month I rode 500 miles, this month... I'm sitting at 55 as of today. Going to take some serious riding the next 24 days.

1.1.04 238

1.1.05 238

1.1.06 238

8.1.06 236




I know what its like:

5.15.06 229

8.6.06 225

But my body composition is changing. My legs are getting big and defined. Lower body looks like it doesn't belong attached to upper body. Now if I would just start losing my fat gut.:rolleyes: I started at 278 less than a year ago, and I'm still aiming for 200. I just have to move my "lose by" date. If you don't give up, you haven't lost, and you still might win.

I tried to stick with my cycling last year while I was active in this forum, but I started jogging too and wound up injuring my knee. Now it is a whole year later and my knee has recovered to the point I can ride my bike pain free. I'm back up to 255 lbs. at 5'8''. I got back on my bike this past weekend and have rode twice now, around 8 miles each time on my MTB. I am going to give it a few weeks before I climb back onto my road bike.

Chat some more later

11/08/05 - 230
02/18/06 - 208
06/26/06 - 218
08/04/06 - 206
Coming soon! 199! I haven't seen that in 10+ years

A year ago in November I got the wake up call - High Blood Pressure (140/120), high cholesterol (230), over weight. I weighed 230 (which was actually down from my high of 250). I went on the DASH diet and started using the treadmill. By February I was down to 208, BP controlled with medication, cholesterol down to 200 through diet. I did a little backsliding and got up to 218 at the end of June. After feasting on the 4th I decided to get back in control and really work to get where I wanted to be. I set the goal of 185 by the end of the year. I hate using the treadmill, and walking/running in general. I went into the base ment and found my trusty old Trek 1200. This bike took me accross Iowa several times from 1988 to 1994. It took me a couple of weeks to get it road worthy again, but now I'm back riding and loving it. Since then the weight has really started coming off. It's amazing what burning and extra few thousand calories a week can do. The next goal is to get off the BP medication. I think I'm almost there, but hopefully by the end of the year.

Last November my doctor told me I needed to change my life. What good is working so hard and not being able to enjoy it. He painted a bleak picture of a future I didn't want. Medication, procedures, and a limited lifestyle that wasn't very pleasant. He said with my lifestyle and family history it was pretty easy to predict what would happen to me if I didn't make some real changes. Fortunately my wife is right there with me on everything except the cycling. She never did like to ride. But I haven't given up on that yet...

Were I live is pretty hilly for the area and so when riding back home I nearly die getting on top of the hill. Do you guys ride on flat surfaces or slowly increased your distance. My muscles scream when I read comment from you guys who have done twenty miles. Any advice would be great.
When I first started riding, there were a couple of hills in particular that totally kicked my butt. OK, let me rephrase that, ANY hill kicked my butt. :o I'd have to stop, catch my breath, let my heart slow down and my muscles stop burning, etc. I just kept at it. Over time, having to stop because I felt like I was dying, became fewer and farther between. So now, there is only one that I still stop on for a break, but it's a long hellacious climb, and my next goal to conquer. I just kept at it, and I varied my rides. Sometimes a hill I had a bad time with, I stayed away from for a couple weeks, then I'd give it another try and do better on it because of the OTHER riding I was doing elsewhere. I still have only the mtn bike, but I put in many many miles on the road, as well as good ole singletrack. I think it really helps to do a bit of both. Just don't get frustrated and burn yourself out.

Long time lurker here, first post, just wanting to say thanks to all for the motivation and success stories that have inspired me on my own weight loss goal. It's been a looong road ( 3700 km this summer ) to get from 238 lbs on Mar 19 with a BF of 35.9 to 200.6 lbs on Aug 8 with a BF of 30.9. At only 5'7" I was in some kind of shape at 238, mostly round . When people comment on the weight I've lost I tell them that it's not lost, just spread thinly over the last 3700 km. Weight goal is 170 lbs by Jan 6 2007 and with the help and info learned here, FitDay,Brooks seats, Conti 4000, etc. I will make it!!