Training & Nutrition - Weight Loss Club

After stalling in the 163-165 range for over a month (note to self, beer is non-productive), I'm finally making some progress again. 159 this morning. Just 10 more to go and I'll be in that 145-150 lb range I so desire. Hope everyone else's progress is going smoothly.

I'm really looking forward to the spring to get back out there and tackle some of them hills that kicked my butt in the past.

No time like the present.

Hmm, this thread seems to be dying down a little. I can only hope this means everyone is doing really well with their goals?

Down to 156 this morning, but have not been very good at getting much biking in this horribly snowy winter we're having. Luckily, I've been able to squeeze in plenty of other physical activity into the schedule. Hopefully, I won't be in too bad biking shape once the spring hits...

I'm definitely not down to your guy's weight yet, but so far I'm at 180. (I started at 273 though, so that's a big difference when climbing.) My goal is 165...then we'll see.

4/30/07 - 220 lbs
5/31/07 - 220 lbs
6/30/07 - 215 lbs
7/31/07 - 210 lbs
8/31/07 - 208 lbs
9/30/07 - 205 lbs
10/31/07 - 204 lbs
11/30/07 - 200 lbs

My tentative goal is to be down to 170 lbs by 6/30/2008.

UPDATE

12/31/07 - 197
1/31/08 - 194
2/29/08 - 189

Oh, and I was someone at work said I was a twig LOL...far from it. But definitely closer to it than I was before :D. That made my week

Hmm, this thread seems to be dying down a little. I can only hope this means everyone is doing really well with their goals?

Down to 156 this morning, but have not been very good at getting much biking in this horribly snowy winter we're having. Luckily, I've been able to squeeze in plenty of other physical activity into the schedule. Hopefully, I won't be in too bad biking shape once the spring hits...

its dying because we still have our winter weight and are crying bout it

hey guys... newbie here. I live in the Philippines and just recently bought a bike to try to lose 40 pounds... this is my goal... started at 215, down to 208. I usually bring a car to work but decided that the best way to lose weight is to start biking to work... at least 4 times a week. Biking to work takes an average of 40 minutes at a relaxed pace. Exact speed undetermined yet. My equipment is as follows:

Got a Mountain bike HT, Marin Alpine Trail. Figured that i needed to be versatile and comfortable on my first ride. Front suspension and i upgraded my ires to continental slicks to make the trips easier on the road. Besides that, changed my pedals and got clipless shoes to get some of that hamstring action going.

Anyways, hope to see improvement on a weekly basis as i try to clean up my food intake, still keep a gym regimen going, and bike 4 to 5 times a week back and forth from work. wish me luck guys.

Hey everyone. I've been over on the Clyde thread for a while. At 6' 2" I'm a perma clyde, I was at about 245 in November when I started going to what I like to refer to as "Crazy Gym" http://crossfitboston.squarespace.com/

Last I checked I got down to about 230 and recently started changing my eating habits. Loosely following the Zone diet, I've almost completely cut sugar out of my diet. I haven't been riding too much yet this season, mainly my 4 mile RT commute. I'm getting a touring bike and will start doing some long distance riding in the not too distant future.
I'm hoping to lose around another 25-35 lbs. Although with the weight training this goal may change.

Good luck everybody!

Update: Looks like the diet and increased spring activity is working well. I've lost about another 10 pounds! Just gotta keep away from the junk foods and keep on riding!

I'm fairly new here and have been riding since December and just love it. I'm defined as a Clyde but most people think I weigh around 185-190lbs as most of it is muscle, but in reality, I'm about 220lbs. I'd like to get down to about 205lbs but am not worried if I don't.

In addition to cycling between 10 and 20 miles a day, I'm also hitting the gym to keep my upper body musculature intact. I'm also doing some intermittent personal training which centers around using cycling as a basis for fitness.

At christmas time, I was 220. Last wendnesday (3/19), I was 198lbs. Bike commuting 2x a week (1.5 mi one way) and 10mi/weekend day.

I'd love to hit 150 by January 09, but 175 by September is a better goal. A little history: I'm 6'0", when I graduated high school, I weighed 138 lbs. When I graduated college (2000), I weighed 138 lbs. By 2004, I was married and 175 lbs. It took years to teach my wife to eat right, and its still a work in progress...

Well, I have to jump in here now. I had my weight down to 190 last year, but I picked (back) up some bad eating habits, and my weight went back up to 225. That's just too much. I still ride (and love to do it), but it's clear that my eating habits are what's throwing me off track. I'm 5'10, so I should actually be down below 180.

Over spring break, I got down to 221, and this AM, I weighed in at 219. That's a decent start, but I really struggle with getting hungry and craving snack foods (out of habit more than anything else). I've started drinking LOTS of water, and dropping some things out of my diet, so we'll see how it goes.

I like Chipotle a lot, but after looking at the nutritional content, I had to change what I was getting there. A chicken salad (chicken, lettuce, black beans, salsa and cheese) has about 475 calories. A "burrito bowl" (less lettuce, add rice), is about 650. A regular "burrito" is 1000 calories. So, taking out the "white" things (tortilla and rice) really makes the meal a bit more manageable nutritionally.

My schedule is on the go a lot, so it involves some fast food choices, but hopefully I can adjust it to make better choices (lower the carbs when possible, and drop the fried items). I've also added more whole fruits to my snack list.

We'll see how it goes...at least I'm commuting tomorrow, so that'll be 43 miles on the bike (which will help).

4/30/07 - 220 lbs
5/31/07 - 220 lbs
6/30/07 - 215 lbs
7/31/07 - 210 lbs
8/31/07 - 208 lbs
9/30/07 - 205 lbs
10/31/07 - 204 lbs
11/30/07 - 200 lbs
12/31/07 - 197
1/31/08 - 194
2/29/08 - 189
3/31/208 - 186

The progress continues. Had to buy some new cloths. No longer an X anything in shirts and actually M in shorts. Going to wait a bit longer before I totally replace the wardrobe though until I get a little closer to my goal. Don't want to have 2 major wardrobe replacements!

My tentative goal is to be down to 170 lbs by 6/30/2008.

JohnKScott! Wow Wow!
Nice going.
Right through winter. Do you do other exercise than bike? Obviously a combination but what percent do you attribute your success to exercise and what to diet?

Here is why I'm so impressed.
My own campaign was based on being fit for a fund raiser last August. I kept riding but my diet relapsed to at least some fast food and fewer veggies, milage dropped a bit and I'm slowly getting back on track and loosing weight again. Mileage is back to peak form and then some but I'm still pretty weak on diet.

I guess my weight loss is the result in behavior changes in exercise (almost all bike miles) account for 80% and diet is 20% of my progress. I rode 1000 miles last month for the first time since 1976!

A little update -- I'm down to 150 now which is just about my goal weight. I still have the remnants of love handles and would love to lose eventually, and hopefully that'll happen with time. I'd be happy to stay 145-150 for a long, long time. I've had to gradually replace my clothes which isn't so much fun on a student budget.

It's biking season again finally and I'm really enjoying all the time I can spend outside.

JohnKScott! Wow Wow!
Nice going.
Right through winter. Do you do other exercise than bike? Obviously a combination but what percent do you attribute your success to exercise and what to diet?

Hehe...thanks.

Mostly cycling. Although I swim once in a while (wanted to do a sprint triathlon this summer but probably can't register for the one I want...so I may just do my own "unofficial tri). I was on the trainer all winter. Tried to ride 5 days a week and get outside on weekends when nice enough. Usually got in 4-6 hours of training a week plus some core exercise. I really tried to target my training toward intensity since I only had a short amount of time (5AM to 6 AM) for most of my workouts. So I did a lot of time trial/interval type stuff mixed with recovery and tempo stuff and days off. I also tracked my calories and just ate sensibly. Didn't really limit myself that much. Just didn't gorge myself like I can have a tendency to do sometimes :o.

At some point the weight loss became only a secondary goal. My primary goal was to become more fit and increase my power, speed and stamina on the bike. That's really taken over, but it's still fun to watch the weight come down a little each month. Especially when the power numbers are going up at the same time.

Your chart didn't look all that bad. Just a little winter hibernation :D. You'll get rid of it again! If you looked at my overall where I started 12 years ago (at about 250 or so) there are some deeper peaks and valleys than that! :D

A little update -- I'm down to 150 now which is just about my goal weight. I still have the remnants of love handles and would love to lose eventually, and hopefully that'll happen with time. I'd be happy to stay 145-150 for a long, long time. I've had to gradually replace my clothes which isn't so much fun on a student budget.

It's biking season again finally and I'm really enjoying all the time I can spend outside.

Congratulations! I usually hate spending money on cloths. But it is a little sweeter when the size is smaller :D

I haven't really been paying much attention to my actual weight. I actually just wanted to get rid of my gut but I despise running. I remembered as a kid I really liked riding my bike so I decided to try commuting to work, it was only 7 miles after all. I bought a really inexpensive Peugeot in June 2007 and started riding. I was around 220lbs then. I lost 30 lbs by fall just commuting and taking 25-40 mile rides on the weekend. I had no winter gear and had to stop when the snow started falling. In January I got some winter stuff and started riding/commuting again. I gained about 10lbs during the time I had to stop and a lot of strength and endurance. I was surprised how hard it was to start over, almost like starting for the first time again. I started some light training in prep for a possible century this summer. Right now I'm hovering around 185lbs.

Went from 250lbs (football weight) to my current weight of 204lbs in about 4 months. Low intensity cardio 4 times a week for an hour(plus a good diet and heavy lifting). My bf% is around 15-14% so i'm not flabby at all. Still looking to cut down to 190 especially now that i ride.

I got my bike put together and got so much heavier that I thought my forks were broke because they sagged so much haha. I started riding again but then my third boy was born a month ago, so I never got a rhythm down... and I am burning to get riding again. Even though my ass hurt just sitting my 230lb 5'7" frame (formerly 165lbs) on my seat. You know what I did notice though was that being a skinny smoking rider was more uncomfortable than a fat nonsmoking rider. Ya my legs are on fire after just riding down the street but I can stop and gain my composure when I need to. Couldn't do that much while smoking. And I know that I'm gaining muscle in my legs from hauling my extra 60+ pounds and I'm gonna be FAST when I get this weight off.

Anyone else have a problem with wanting to ingest massive amounts of food once beginning an exercise routine? I'm going to start riding again in a month and I'm having some anxiety about the food battle.

Ok...April is coming to an end. Update time...

4/30/07 - 220 lbs
5/31/07 - 220 lbs
6/30/07 - 215 lbs
7/31/07 - 210 lbs
8/31/07 - 208 lbs
9/30/07 - 205 lbs
10/31/07 - 204 lbs
11/30/07 - 200 lbs
12/31/07 - 197
1/31/08 - 194
2/29/08 - 189
3/31/08 - 186
4/30/08 - 182 (official last weigh in for April was on Saturday)

Had to buy some new cloths. Bought all new Dockers for work. Got rid of my old 38's and am now sporting 34's. I figure these will last a while but I suspect I'll have to hit the 32's once I get down to my goal weight. But these will last with a good belt cinch for a while :D.

My tentative goal is to be down to 170 lbs by 6/30/2008. Not sure I'll make that exactly but I should be within 5 pounds or so. So definitely I'll hit it by the end of summer (if not sooner).

Time for me to get back on track. I really got into down hill skiing this winter. Turns out not enough to keep my weight in check. I managed to gain almost 20lbs. Target weight is 175lbs. (my doctor's number from his handy dandy chart) I am not sure 175lbs is realistic for my build, but will certainly try to hit that number.

I'll need everyone's support, if you are willing to kick me in the ***** now and then! :D

:fight: Kick!

Thanks! I needed that! :D

I have gained 17 lbs over the past 6 months ... I was already planning on commuting after I rebuilt my bank account from paying my high a*s insurance premiums. So I havent road anything yet. I'll try to update after I've been commuting and see where I stand weight wise! I am in good shape. I go to the gym and still do my yoga. I just stop by Burger King every morning. So I really need to watch my nutrition!!! Exercising has never been an issue for me. It's always my food. I think my bike commute will be more beneficial for me nutrition wise and not so much exercise wise. I dont think drive thrus allow bikes. :D

Welcome and good luck!!

I am down to 203lbs this morning! Sure is difficult to break the 200lbs barrier. Well, at least in my mind... ;)

23 years old....been in top shape all my life from swimming

started biking...went from 180 to 170...yay!

but its all muscle i lost in my upper body...boo!

before and afters, still want to drop another 40

big dude in blue

1.5 months ago I was at 235 lbs. however my ideal weight is 175-180 lbs. I'm now down to 217 lbs. so I'm on my way to my current goal of 180 lbs. My strategy has been to completely change the way I eat by starting to eat according to the philosophy of the Zone Diet, weight training 3 days per week, riding the bikes at the gym for 30 minutes, and cycle commuting approximately 6 miles to work daily 3 miles both ways. Cycling as an adult is new to me and I'm 45-years-old. I my longest ride so far without stopping is 7 miles and I'm loving it so much that even though I just spent $600 on a commuter bike I'm seriously considering buying another more serious road bike my goal is to join a bike club and become a serious cyclist.

before and afters, still want to drop another 40

big dude in blue

that big guy behind you on the bike is checkin you out.

Grats, godd job.

he was mean muggin' everybody

1.5 months ago I was at 235 lbs. however my ideal weight is 175-180 lbs. I'm now down to 217 lbs. so I'm on my way to my current goal of 180 lbs. My strategy has been to completely change the way I eat by starting to eat according to the philosophy of the Zone Diet, weight training 3 days per week, riding the bikes at the gym for 30 minutes, and cycle commuting approximately 6 miles to work daily 3 miles both ways. Cycling as an adult is new to me and I'm 45-years-old. I my longest ride so far without stopping is 7 miles and I'm loving it so much that even though I just spent $600 on a commuter bike I'm seriously considering buying another more serious road bike my goal is to join a bike club and become a serious cyclist.

Congratulations. Sounds like good progress. Keep at it and before long that 7 miles will be 100 miles ;)

Well I lost around 5-10 pounds recently, but not due to biking. We were trying to find a new apartment and with all of the stress of that, added with tax season, etc.....then I got the flu. So When all was said and done I was down to about 210lbs. I'm going to shoot for 180, see how I look and feel and go from there.

The main thing people need to realize is that you still have to eat. Starvation is not the way to do it, and you're usually in a worse condition in the end than when you started. Lose too much weight too quickly and your body starts feeding on your muscles. The key is eating the right foods. You'd be surprised how much food you actually have to eat when you're eating right.


Determining your Basal Metabolic Rate (http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=811783)

Scroll about half way down the page to where it says:
First Step: Calculating Your Basal Metabolic Rate
This article is from a bodybuilding website, but pay no attention to that. Eating the right foods transcends all sports. It' a real good article about consuming the right amount of calories in a day. Yes it is a little biased towards weightlifting, but the information is there.
The author says to lose weight, take your final BMR(Basal Metabolic Rate) and shave off 20% of it. It's not an exact science though. People with faster or slower metabolisms will have to adjust it a little bit.


Hope this article helps.

250 -> 175 between October 1999 and April 2000... Been 170-180 ever since.

250 -> 175 between October 1999 and April 2000... Been 170-180 ever since.

Nice work!!

i weighed 240 about a year 1/2 ago. i started riding frequently and now include 1 century ride a week. i am currently at 189 and have not been able to go any lower. my goal is 170, i do spinning class m-w-f, weight and pilates t-thur. cautious of what i eat and very weary of supplements. Any tips?

End of May report...

4/30/07 - 220 lbs
5/31/07 - 220 lbs
6/30/07 - 215 lbs
7/31/07 - 210 lbs
8/31/07 - 208 lbs
9/30/07 - 205 lbs
10/31/07 - 204 lbs
11/30/07 - 200 lbs
12/31/07 - 197
1/31/08 - 194
2/29/08 - 189
3/31/08 - 186
4/30/08 - 182
5/31//08 - 178

Bought some more new cloths. The large size shirts I bought last month are now a bit to baggy for my liking. Found another brand that is a little more sculpted looking. Also bought some cargo shorts for our vacation coming up. Waist size 32 (last dockers I bought were 34's). I'm not a clothes shopper, but I have to admit that it's a lot less tedious task when stuff fits well and looks good hanging on my frame.

8 more pounds to my goal/re-evaluation weight. Summer travels are going to play a little havoc with my eating habits in June. Disney for a week. But if I can be sane I might be able to still pick off a couple more pounds in June!

Determining your Basal Metabolic Rate (http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=811783)

Scroll about half way down the page to where it says:
First Step: Calculating Your Basal Metabolic Rate
This article is from a bodybuilding website, but pay no attention to that. Eating the right foods transcends all sports. It' a real good article about consuming the right amount of calories in a day. Yes it is a little biased towards weightlifting, but the information is there.
The author says to lose weight, take your final BMR(Basal Metabolic Rate) and shave off 20% of it. It's not an exact science though. People with faster or slower metabolisms will have to adjust it a little bit.


Hope this article helps.

That DID help. If only to confirm what I was already guesstimating about calories burned etc. I assumed I was killing about 3900 calories a day, that page made it 3883 - and I've been working to sucking in about 3000-3100 a day so i can lose the spare tyre, which was also confirmed by it. So thanks very much!

Now if someone could take that bottle of Jack Daniels away from me during the evil weekend slumps, this'd go a LOT quicker... Still, I've lost about 14lbs in 5 weeks, which is a target I set, and am happy sticking to.

thanks again.

John

That DID help. If only to confirm what I was already guesstimating about calories burned etc. I assumed I was killing about 3900 calories a day, that page made it 3883 - and I've been working to sucking in about 3000-3100 a day so i can lose the spare tyre, which was also confirmed by it. So thanks very much!

Now if someone could take that bottle of Jack Daniels away from me during the evil weekend slumps, this'd go a LOT quicker... Still, I've lost about 14lbs in 5 weeks, which is a target I set, and am happy sticking to.

thanks again.

John

Congrats on the progress!

Put that bottle down mister!

:D

I started riding again on February 24, 2008 and I weighed 229.6lbs. Right now I weigh 209.8lbs for a lose of 19.8 lbs so far this year. My first goal is get below 200lbs, then from there I'd like to see if I can make it down to 175-180 range.

I found sparkpeople about 5-6 weeks ago and it has helped me lose 9.8 lbs. Before that I stalled after the initial 10.

Congrats on the loss!!

In Oct 2007 I weighed in at my heaviest ever - 204 lbs. As of 20 Jun I was down to 166.8 lbs. The way I did it was (1) cut out all soda (which actually helped alot) (2) started running everyday (was soon up to running 20-25 miles a week) and (3) started watching what I ate and counting calories. Went from a waist size of 38 down to a 33, now I'm slowing building up my new wardrode.

I'm at 270 at the moment. I'm eating salads,walk the treadmill and bike around the block unassisted and go for 30 mile one way runs with my engine bicycle. I do get some cardio on that for I pedal without engine about 20% of the ride there and back.
Hopefully in time when I lose enough,maybe by next spring I can try that 30 miler unassisted.Or at least bring up that percentage.
Meat I think is my Achilles heel. I hear your body only needs meat once a week.
I came off a quintuple last year so the doc tells me not to go too far. Sometimes it's hard not to for after I eat what I'm supposed to,a good walk or an unassisted bike ride takes away the hunger pains.
Water does that too. Lots of water.

10 months ago, I was at 180 and could barely ride 5miles without dying. Thanks to some riding and other sports and not being completely blind to what i eat, I'm now maintaining at 142. For 5'10, I don't think I should get too much lower than that. This site was really helpful in getting me started on watching what I ate and making the committment to exercise more.

Hi all!

Just weighing in my own victory.

Was 340 lbs last September. As of December, I was 315, and as of today, I'm at 265 lbs. 75 lbs in 9 months. I'm shooting for 100 lbs in 12 months. Wish me luck!

before and afters, still want to drop another 40

big dude in blue

That big dude is me now. Wow. It's possible. So possible.
THANKS for sharing!!

Last year I decided to start cycling and wanted to get into shape. I'm 6'5" and I was 312 then. I got down to 290, but I didn't really get into cycling until late in the summer. I tried to ride through the winter, but the combination of cold & dark prevented me from riding a lot. I went for a while on the trainer, but gave up on it as well. At the end of the winter, I stepped on a scale and registered at 326lbs. This was not what I wanted to see. I had to buy all new clothes a size up and was not thrilled about not being able to buy anything in a regular store.

So I got back on the bike as soon as the weather cooperated and now more since DST came back in my favor. I've also started commuting to work by bike a few days a week.

This morning I hit 301lbs. Down 25, and now I'm starting to feel and look like I should. For whatever reason, 8 of those lbs has come off just since Sunday. My ultimate goal is about 230lbs, but I don't really have specific number, I just want to be in better shape. 275 is the next milestone I'm looking forward to.

The diet end of it is the hardest for me, but with the hot weather, I do lose some of my ravenous appetite thankfully. I hope I can keep this going and find a way to make it through next winter without a serious lapse again.

About 3 months ago I got on the scale. 205. Ugh. I've never weighed that much. It was so much of a shock I went and did something about it.

I cut intake down, though kept eating the same stuff. And I started riding again. Yesterday morning I was down to 186. No idea when the weight loss will stop. I could stand to lose 20 or 30 more.

Lost fourteen pounds in a little over two weeks and am continuing to drop. I am cutting back a little on the training and eating a bit more seeing how I am losing weight too fast, but my goal is to get down from 255 to 215 by the fall season. Wish me luck.

woot! Got on the scale this morning at 299.8! Goodbye 300. Really odd week, my weight seems to be just falling off at the moment. It'll plateau soon and I'll have to start working hard for it again.