Training & Nutrition - Weight Loss Club

Don,

That's awesome. Keep up whatever you are doing. I'm down to just under 200 from 218. I'd like to get down near 185 but it is going slow for me as well.

Good luck

Haven't checked in for a while - probably because I was going in the wrong direction...was down to 204 but got back up to 215 around the first of the year...weighed myself yesterday and was down to 207...doing nothing but watching what I eat...a little bit of riding...a lot of walking...feel ready to make a big push this summer to reach 185-190...Right now I really want to get under 200...haven't seen that in over 10 years...still, looking back i find it hard to believe I was up to 250 just 3 years ago...I think I'm more amazed I put that kind of weight on

Hey guys I'm new here :) Anyway I'm 5'8" and a month ago was 210 and now I'm down to 190. I started riding 15-40 minutes a day with a 2 hr ride once a week or so. I cut out most alcohol, eat fruit and vegetables daily, and eat lean cuisine/weight watcher type meals for dinner every night. It's good to hear all of your success stories and I'll keep ya'll updated with my progress!

Hello all,

I am new to the forum and I have to say thanks to all for their inspirational stories and support.

I am a 44 years old, 6'-0" and have been racing and training on bicycles for most of my life. That is until I got lazy a few years back and cut out the racing and way back on the training routine (isn't it fun being lazy!).

I have never eaten poorly and both my wife and I are mostly vegetarians (easier to prepare, less expensive than meat and it tastes good). In my lazyness, I have managed to put on ~20 lbs over my ideal weight of 163-65. I am now back on the bike commuting to work each day (16 miles each way) and I do a ~30 mile ride on saturday or sunday. I have only been at this for a few weeks and I have not seen any weight loss. My wife says that I am too impatient and that building muscle mass will offset the drop in fat mass. I know that she is right. I just want to get back to where I was quickly!

The question that I have is associated with hunger. What foods do all of you eat throughout the day that keep you from being hungry? I find that my 2000 calorie per day regimen seems reasonable but that I am hungry at mid-morning and mid-afternoon. Are there foods that keep this hunger away better than others?

Thanks again,

Steffan

Steffan,

Those are times i find the hardest as well, i eat three equally sized meals throughout the day and the budget for two snacks at the times you've asked about. I usually have an apple or bannana or some carrots and a glass of water and find the additional water helps me to feel full and munching the other snacks satiates my need to "chew" on something. This works for me and i used to be a full-fledged junk food/soda snacker. Take care.

Mike

I haven't checked in in awhile and have completely stalled out, maybe even regained a bit. I'm riding a LOT but don't have the discipline to stick to the diet changes. Discouraged. My body feels better when I eat properly and I KNOW this even though it's hard to put in practice sometimes. Today I'm going to start tracking the rides and meals on Fitday.com again, after about a 3-week break, to make sure I'm getting the right calorie deficit. Counting calories works for me and again, I know this ... just have to put it in practice.

still struggling with the last 10-15#s :(

I bottomed out at 192 last august but Im back up to 202. I really want to hit 190 or 185 by mid summer but its coming off so slowly now.

Im riding 100-150 miles a week and I am ALWAYS hungry. The desk job isn't helping either. I am trying a fiber supplement to curb the cravings and it seems to work a little. I have tried hoodia and it didn't do anything. I had used green tea when I was first starting out and it worked well but it seems to have lost its effectiveness.

Thats all down from 270 in Dec '05.

Katie and Pityr,

I'm stuck too at 246 down from 260lbs. - lets all motivate one another to break through!!! You rock and you will accomplish everything you set out to do!

Mike

I've got a family reunion coming up in mid July. What a motivator!
I was a steady 163-165 (still way over my ideal weight, I'm only 5'3 and medium framed). I bought a tanning salon in Feb. I also own a bar. When I was working the bar I was upright, moving and burning the calories I ate so I maintained weight. The salon is me sitting in a chair for 9 hours surfing the net and cleaning tanning beds. No more walking 3 miles a day just at work.
In the last 3.5 months I've gained 12 pounds! All in the belly fat area that women tend to gain when they hit 40.
So, I've been riding 30 minutes a day in the morning before breakfast then eating small meals during the day. A total of about 1600 calories per day. Nothing after 8, and 80 oz of water.
I'm also doing the hoodia thing and it has helped me a bit. I love the jittery feeling it gives.
I'm down 4 pounds in the last week. Prolly too much, but it's a great way to help me keep at it.

The one thing for me to remember is that as I lose weight, I also have to cut more calories. If I need 1700 calories to maintain 170 pounds, then I will only need 1600 to maintain 160 pounds. 1500 when I get to 150 and so on. I think that's why people platuea when dieting. They forget to cut more calories as they get thinner. Right now I'm at 1600 calories a day, 400 burned on my bike. I'm 'allowed' to have 2050 if I wanted to maintain my current weight (174) so the 1200 I end up with gives me a defeacit of 850 per day.
I refuse to eat celery and carrots. Carrots have too many carbs and taste like carrots.
I eat a banana (also too many carbs but the best way to replace potassium after a ride) and peach yogurt for breakfast with a multi vitamin. I have protein (usually 4-5 ounces of chicken) and some sugar free jello for lunch. I have strawberries or watermelon or a peanut butter spoon (scoop of peanut butter that I slowly devour) for an afternoon snack. I drink skim milk sometime during the day (i love milk) and drink Crystal Light lemonade all day. I double the water so it's not so sweet.
If I absolutely NEED sugar, I eat a ONE SMALL SCOOP of vanilla ice cream as a treat. I've learned to eat ice cream really slowly. If I can make one scoop last 7-10 minutes, I'm satisfied. And I don't feel like I have to deprive myself of things I really love, but I don't go overboard and eat a whole half gallon like I've done in the past when trying to diet.
My husband is a legs and butt man. After 14 years of marriage, I just found this out. I want to have a nice butt and slender legs so when he looks at me, he smiles. It'll be the hardest thing I've ever done, but I want to be a size 8. Dont care what the scale says, just what size non-stretch jeans I can slip on and button easily. I'm a 12 now.
I've made a deal with myself.
For every 5 pounds I lose AND keep off for a week I'll buy myself a new jersey. I live in bike jerseys.
I want a few that are $80-90 and can't justify buying them for my fat body. So I'll be buying all the new jerseys in a size M. When I reach a size 8 I'll fit into them perfectly. It's better than rewarding myself with food.

Good luck to all. It's hard to lose weight and keep it off. It's hard to go from eating anything we want and getting bigger to realizing that we need to be smaller, healthier and eat better and less. It's right up there with quitting smoking. We can only do so much in one day. If we fall off the wagon, we need to brush off the crumbs, climb back on and do better tomorrow.
Good luck to us all.

As of today, May 21 (from May 12)
I'm down 5.5 pounds and 9 inches.
yay me.

Ginny in Denver,

You Rock!!! You are keeping me fired up, thank you for sharing your success!!!

Mike

201 as of this morning. Got a business trip at the end of the week an I'm hoping to not gain the # back :( Airport food isn't all that great for ya...

just a little update slash motivation for everyone.

calorie counting and an obsession for cycling helped me drop 60 pounds in 2006. Now I run 10 to 15 miles a week and bike 75 to 150 a week. i am still smart about what i eat, but have much more freedom these days.

it can happen for you too. there is no magic formula. hHard work is the key. good luck all!!

later.

As of this morning, I am down 29 pounds. I have been working out, biking and watching what I eat. I started weighing in about 6 weeks ago.

I feel like a different person. (But I still have a long way to go. I'm still 244 lbs and 5' 10".)

Down another pound.5 this week (7.5 total), though wishing it were more (looking for 3 per week).
No real inch loss I could find.
Need to up my daily training ride by 15 minutes, I think.
I rode for 1.5 hours today and will again tomorrow to jump start this week.

First post for me after lurking for about a week. And might I add you guys are such a HUGE motivation! I'm a soon to be 22 year old grad student. I'm 5'10 and just weighed in on my brand spankin' new Tanita at a hefty 180 lbs. I'm looking to get down to 160 over the course of the year. I'll be a groomsman in a wedding coming up in early July so I'll gladly take any weight loss before then, but reading these posts, I'm not expecting much in the first few weeks -- any loss/shape change that happens will be bonus!

I'm overweight thanks to years of hardly any activity other than running off to class and the odd pickup game of frisbee once a week. Oh and of course 2 non-diet soda's a day and eating out (hence mainly junk food) every day for the last 5 years, didn't particularly help. Over the last few weeks I've made the transition to home prepared meals. I've been off soda for 2 weeks now and am drinking plenty of water. I got a used 2005 Bianchi boardwalk a couple of months ago and have started putting some miles on it. I've put in ~15 miles/day for the last three days and hope to continue a regimen of 15-25 miles/day, 6 days/week (we're blessed with many trails here in beautiful Madison, WI). On the rest day I plan to continue with good ol' ultimate.

I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Good to hear from the new members and others with the ongoing success. Despite a two week visit from the in laws that included alcohol every day and no healthy food, I'm now down to 185 from 190 three weeks ago (thanks to framing a house almost every day). I'm really motivated now to push to 175 in the next few weeks, I'll keep ya'll posted!

Back again this year... Got down to 178 last year.... Back up to 205.....Ugh.....

200.2 . hope to be under 200 by the beginning of next week :)

I have no precise idea what I weigh right now. 17 days ago, morning after 50 mile bike ride, 151.5 (that's a multi-decade low), yesterday, after 2 wks of travel with scant biking, several days each of conference food, and then down home southern comfort food, 165. This morning, after jog, 159. I don't care about the error, or intraday distribution, in weight estimates, but I'd like the 'correct' value to top out around 155, which would be down an even 40# from 195 Labor Day 2006. I'm ~5'8".

Last time I checked in I was down to about 200. I've only lost a little more since then, down to just under 196 this morning. However, I have been changing. I had taken my belts in a while back and cut 2 1/2" of them. I am now on the last hole again and need to shorten them again. I was wearing 36 pants slightly tight and have had to change to 34's that are slightly loose. I am feeling great but still have about 10 more to drop.

Good luck all

It pains me to say it, but I'm back. First posted on here two years ago, with a goal of going from 213 to 170. I made it to 173 and found I was happy with that. Kept my weight in the 175-180 range until about January of this year. Then things started to go down hill. Tipping the scales at 193 right now, but I'm determined to get back to about 175 by late summer. The big key will be regaining the discipline to eat well. At 213 I was so embarrassed that it was easy to force myself to eat right. As you can see below, it worked:

January 18, 2005 --> 213 lbs.
February 21, 2005 --> 203 lbs.
March 30, 2005 --> 190 lbs.
May 2, 2005 --> 184 lbs.
May 27, 2005 --> 180 lbs.

Target --> 170 lbs. by September 2, 2005.

But now I'm in this precarious spot where whenever I lose a few pounds I slip into that "aw, that's good enough" phase and let myself off the hook. I'm enough overweight that I know I need to drop about 20 pounds, but not to the point where I can't live with myself. I'm hoping that making this a public battle and committing on here to dropping the weight will force me to stick to my guns. Hold me to it!

June 1, 2007 --> 193 lbs.

Target --> 173 lbs. by September 2, 2007.

Last time I checked in I was down to about 200. I've only lost a little more since then, down to just under 196 this morning. However, I have been changing. I had taken my belts in a while back and cut 2 1/2" of them. I am now on the last hole again and need to shorten them again. I was wearing 36 pants slightly tight and have had to change to 34's that are slightly loose. I am feeling great but still have about 10 more to drop.

Good luck all

I sense another Southern African on the forum. Lechwe -- are you from Zambia? I am Zimbabwean. My family lived in Kitwe for 2 years (1994-1996) and I attended Lechwe School.

Newbie to the forum and biking. After several years of being in great shape left the Army and started college. Needless to say I went from 175 to 235 in three years time. I started riding the bike this week at the gym and I've knocked out 50 miles in 10 mile increments. I find biking to be alot easier on me right now because of my weight I'm only 5'8"

Pluse I have a 230 mile bike ride in September I have to get in shape for. I have loved reading the post in this forum they are very motivating.

Thanks! I'll keep you posted.

Ginny, Checkin In!

So far, down 9 pounds and 11 inches Since May 8.
Feelin good!

I'm in my early 50's and about 30lbs over wieight. I decided to establish a serious routine and stay with it until the weight is gone. April 1st was my start date and I've lost 10lbs.

Now I ride 4 times a weeks: one day is a long day (3hrs) at a relaxing pace and the other days are for hills, interval training one is against the clock. The other 3 days a week I lift weights and do a 5k run after lifting.

My diet requires that I eat eight times a day (small meals of course). I take in about 200 grams of protien, 100 grams of carbs and no more than 20 grams of fat each day. (The only exception is the day that I ride 3 hrs....I have a couple of carb bars for the ride). I make each meal with fresh veggies, fruits, and don't eat any red meat. Fresh fish, canned tuna, and boneless/skinless chicken breast are the meats I eat.

I really enjoy the heathly foods and my body can tell the difference.

Have a great day

I went from 250lbs to 195lbs, so I lost 55lbs eversince started biking last year. For my 6'2" body frame, 195lbs is the ideal weight but I'm looking to lose another 10lbs. The commute is 12 miles one way (24 miles both way) to work everyday and still eat loosely. Here in Atlanta is pretty hilly and windy, so I do get a pretty well rounded cross training. So far I have logged 3000 miles from May 2006 till now. Feels great without the extra burden on body. Backpain and ankle problems went way. Clothes won't fit anymore.


H23NC,

Nice jobs Ginny and H23!! My commute is about 12 miles each way also, I reeeally need to start biking it (without getting run over :( ...

I sense another Southern African on the forum. Lechwe -- are you from Zambia? I am Zimbabwean. My family lived in Kitwe for 2 years (1994-1996) and I attended Lechwe School.

Unfortunately I have never seen the continent although that is a dream of mine. I chose that screen name because the Lecwhe is one of my favorites and I have always wanted one. It was also a different name than everyone else had. Only people from over there have any idea what Lechwe means so it keeps the others guessing.

Jrn,



Thanks. I'm sure you can do it too, especially living in Hawaii with the nice weather all year round and the expensive gasoline tax overthere. How many pounds you're looking to lose? Keep up with the bike commute. later.




H23NC,




Nice jobs Ginny and H23!! My commute is about 12 miles each way also, I reeeally need to start biking it (without getting run over :( ...

Hello everyone. I currently weigh about 260-270 and am about 6'2". Can't believe it, I was about 225lb when I got out of college about 2 years ago. I'd love to get back down to that and lower. Just need to get riding a decent distance daily and eat better. I bike commute, but I only live about 2-2.5mi from work so it is a quick 10-15 minute ride.

H23,
I think the main obstacle for me commuting is my wife thinks it's just very dangerous in general riding on roads with cars. I think we'll have to compromise somewhere in the middle. I've gone from 210 to 185 since april but my ideal weight is somewhere around 155-165. I'm still pluggin along!

I am in my mid 40s, 6' 2" 250, but I am a life long weightlifter as well as a new biker. My goal is to cut about 20 or 25 more pounds off my frame, while maintaining as much of my muscle mass as possible, so far its been successful, mixing my workouts with biking 2 or 3 hours a day, still doing the heavyweight workouts in the late afternoon and doing the starimaster at the gym in the evening (I have cut back to every other workout), but I am thinking that as the weather gets better, I will be spending even more time on the bike, until summer hits like a flat iron (Texas!) so I will likely be dropping the stairmaster until late in the summer...

But what I really need is nutritional guidance, as I know next to nothing about real nutrition, except dont exceed meal sizes and stay away from junk...

I have lost another 20 pounds since I posted this, and my am biking, on average, has increased to 250 miles or so a week on my Trek Madone 5.9 SL. I've also ridden in 5 rallies (including the MS-150) and I do 4 group rides a week (averaging over 21 mph) and 1 day on the velodrome track here locally on my Bianchi Pista. I have been bitten by the ride bug and its sunk its teeth in deep! :D

New guy here. I just started cycling about 2.5 months ago. And I hit the ground running. I love this and can't get enough of it. Each time I ride I feel I have accomplished something. I am 22 years old and I have struggled with being obese my entire life. I was at my heaviest about 2 years ago, 450+ lbs. Now I am at 260 lbs. Yay me! I picked up cycling as part of a weightloss activity but in the short amount of time I have been doing it I have fallin' in love with the sport.

My goal weight is 180.

Josh,

That's awesome. Keep up the good work.

Josh,

Welcome to weight loss club and bikeforums. You're doing great, keep up the good work.

Come down to Nashville sometime and we will go riding on the trace. I would like to get some riding done in hills around m'boro too.

Have you joined the local bike club yet?

Josh,

Welcome to weight loss club and bikeforums. You're doing great, keep up the good work.

Come down to Nashville sometime and we will go riding on the trace. I would like to get some riding done in hills around m'boro too.

Have you joined the local bike club yet?

I acctually work in Nashville. I recently did the Tour de Nash. We had a ride on Sunday that went down Windrow Hill, 45+ mph downhill, that was the first time I had gone that fast. I am sending in my dues tonight to officially join, http://www.mborobike.com . I am always looking for new places that are safe to ride around here.

My weight has boinged up as high as 168# from a low on May 14th of 151# (started around 195 last summer, I'm 5'8"). Nonetheless, my new 32" waist pants still fit, and the 34" ones are staying baggy and I've top-shelved them. I have basically stopped all biking but my commute, trying to avoid/mitigate ankle injuries, plus I had a bunch of travel so wasn't even biking, and was eating bad (or, rather, good but naughty) travel food.

I think it's all good, that the point estimates of weight I got from my scale were not necessarily capturing the range of variation in my weight from hour-to-hour or day-to-day (that 151 thing I know was a fluke, 1st thing in the am, day after 50+ mile bike day), so I'm not going to really worry unless I start bulging out of these new pants. I am drinking boatloads more water now, so I think I may have fewer dehydrated low-weight points to capture on the scale.

Great job Josh! I just started riding two weeks ago on the staionar bike at the gym. This past Saturday I got myself a road bike. I have not owned a bike since I was a teenager. I live in Ashland City and I'm currently looking for good places to ride. If you know of any please drop me a PM.

Great job Josh! I just started riding two weeks ago on the staionar bike at the gym. This past Saturday I got myself a road bike. I have not owned a bike since I was a teenager. I live in Ashland City and I'm currently looking for good places to ride. If you know of any please drop me a PM.

Thanks and PM sent

I'm new to this forum and was able to read some of the success stories. My current wt is 230 lbs, and my max was 265lbs two years ago. Was on and off biking, and struggled a lot to lose wt. I started to bike to work about 26 miles roundtrip 3x/week and 40 miles during the weekend. my target wt is 180 and I'm 5-11.
I know I can do this...

tagalog, way to go. You're doing it and you're going to achieve your goals. Continue what you're doing. All the best.

This has to be the BEST thread on the internet!

So many people. so much in common, so inspiring.

I need to lose 25-30 lbs. Been riding only 2 weeks, and made some slight diet changes.
So far, I only lost 4 lbs, but it's a start.

4 pounds is more than zero! Don't knock it!

Pound by pound!

First posting. just joining. I have been cycling for the last two months. main reason is that I love it but also to lose weight. Currently 235 pounds. I didn't weight myself before starting but my current weight is about what I remember my weight being the last time I was weighed about 7 months ago. I am a bit suprised I haven't lost more. I have been slowly increasing the amount i cycle in terms of distance and strenuous effort. Over the last month I have climbed 1500 meters probably on average every two days. I have also covered probably an average of 20kms a day (mostly off road). I am definately getting much stronger on the bike or fitter. My question is should I be concentrating on anything to increase weight loss? I should mention that my diet has also improved although no major change.
Look forward to hearing responses

You should figure out about how many calories you're consuming each day. I've found if I don't count calories, I invariably consume much more than I think I am.

My guess is that your caloric intake is still too high. If you're taking in more than you're burning, you won't lose weight, even if you're riding regularly. You probably need to tighten up your diet.

Welcome, BTW!

You should figure out about how many calories you're consuming each day. I've found if I don't count calories, I invariably consume much more than I think I am.

My guess is that your caloric intake is still too high. If you're taking in more than you're burning, you won't lose weight, even if you're riding regularly. You probably need to tighten up your diet.

Welcome, BTW!

Yep, those are the basics. Actually tracking your calories can really open your eyes.

Another check in from Ginny!

I weighed in this morning at 166! That's down from 178 on May 8. I went an entire week without losing, just hovering at the 170 mark. So I decided to stop going by what my sports nutrition book and cut out carbs unless I'm going to road ride that day. Since my morning training is on my trainer BEFORE I even eat breakfast, I don't do carbs for it. My body has never gotten along with carbs, though they are the fuel for the muscles. So if I know I'm going to road ride I'll eat a PB&J about 30 minutes before the ride and have water/gatorade mix in my bottle. It's just the right amount for my 20 mile ride and doesn't pack on or keep me from losing. So I got over that hump and and losing nicely.
Please don't chide me for cutting out carbs (I do get some, just in veggies, no pasta, bread, rice, beans), some bodies just don't deal well with them.
But, I'm doing well, eating a big salad at lunch with cheese and chicken chunks. Good amounts of protien, but right in the calorie range I need to be in. Loads of water, but have been adding Crystal Light Lemonage packets, no sugar, no carbs and 5 calories per 32 ounces. Gotta have flavor lately.
Got a tandem bike and we're having a lot of fun on that. Keeps me close to the husband in more ways than one and keeps me from pushing so hard to keep up with him that I stay OUT (high) of my perfect HR.
And we can have full conversations about life, love and the pursuit of happiness.
The DH is also trying to lose which makes it even easier for me.

Well, that's my check in!
166 with 26 to go!

I track my weight and have been biking this year like crazy, almost daily. I fluctuate eating fruit, veggies and fish then relapsing to burger, pizza and ice cream. I haven't figured a convenient way to track calories. There was a web site system but I didn't feel like logging in everytime I grab something and it took 15 min or more to record my daily intake. How do you folks do it?

Another check in from Ginny!

I weighed in this morning at 166! That's down from 178 on May 8. I went an entire week without losing, just hovering at the 170 mark. So I decided to stop going by what my sports nutrition book and cut out carbs unless I'm going to road ride that day. Since my morning training is on my trainer BEFORE I even eat breakfast, I don't do carbs for it. My body has never gotten along with carbs, though they are the fuel for the muscles. So if I know I'm going to road ride I'll eat a PB&J about 30 minutes before the ride and have water/gatorade mix in my bottle. It's just the right amount for my 20 mile ride and doesn't pack on or keep me from losing. So I got over that hump and and losing nicely.
Please don't chide me for cutting out carbs (I do get some, just in veggies, no pasta, bread, rice, beans), some bodies just don't deal well with them.
But, I'm doing well, eating a big salad at lunch with cheese and chicken chunks. Good amounts of protien, but right in the calorie range I need to be in. Loads of water, but have been adding Crystal Light Lemonage packets, no sugar, no carbs and 5 calories per 32 ounces. Gotta have flavor lately.
Got a tandem bike and we're having a lot of fun on that. Keeps me close to the husband in more ways than one and keeps me from pushing so hard to keep up with him that I stay OUT (high) of my perfect HR.
And we can have full conversations about life, love and the pursuit of happiness.
The DH is also trying to lose which makes it even easier for me.

Well, that's my check in!
166 with 26 to go!
Nice Ginny! It sounds like you're doing really well! I would looove to get a tandem so I could ride with my wife, despite being very skinny she's never been an athlete and can't come anywhere near to keeping up with me on a bike. I want to get a road bike (currently ride a full suspension everywhere) but I think as soon as I do that I'll wish I had bought a tandem (and vice versa). Oh well, maybe one of these day I'll make up my mind :p