Training & Nutrition - bicycling magazine's training software

has anyone tried using bicycling magazine's training software? according to the tour, it's kind of an interactive thing that starts by finding out things about you, like weight, diet, etc, and then kind of structures a regimin for you and tracks your weight loss.

http://www.bicycling.com/fitness

i'm 24 years old. 6 feet tall. 270 pounds.

a few weeks ago, i decided to commit myself to losing the weight, once and for all. so, i started working out a few times a week, walking a few times a week, eating less, and drinking alot of water.

then, on a whim, i decided, "hey, why should i drive to my girlfriend's house, when i could just ride a bike?" and so, i dug my dad's 30 year old, rusting to peices, schwinn cruiser out of storage, and started riding it. i soon remembered all the fun i had as a kid riding bikes around town. i fell in love with biking all over again.

i've lost 10 pounds already. in 3 weeks. but i know that it's normal for someone in my condition, who is just starting to lose weight quickly at first.

i've already bought a new bike, and plan to use bicycling as my primary form of exercise (because it's the only kind i enjoy, pretty much)

so, i came across bicycling magazine's software. i'm wondering if anyone's tried it. or if anyone, based on the tour you can take of it, thinks it's a good idea for me?

i think i'd be fine just going at it alone, eating well, drinking lots of water, and riding and working out often, but i think that kind of thing might be good for me. keeping track of things in numbers and figures always makes it more tangible for me, especially since it will be a while before i can actually SEE a difference.

hopefully, someone reading this will have tried it. please let me know how well-designed it is, and how well it worked for you. thanks everyone. happy cycling.

alvin

so, i came across bicycling magazine's software. i'm wondering if anyone's tried it. or if anyone, based on the tour you can take of it, thinks it's a good idea for me?

That's really up to you (and perhaps your doctor/nurtionlist). I have done their program and was rather shocked at the food portion (800-1200 calories per day!)That's less than even my BMR. Personally I found more value in Carmicheal's book The Ultimate Ride.

I'd suggest the following option (it's just a suggestion):
- Get Shasta Software's CycliStats (http://www.shastasoftware.com/CycliStats/) to keep track of all your cycling numbers (and you can do quite a few!)
- get a little spiral bound book and record your intake (food) -- EVERYTHING.
- Use the internet to determine the calories (roughly) of everything you intake.

You'll probably notice places where you can forgo something -- say a bottle/can of pop here, a candy bar there, etc. As you remove one thing or substitute it with something healthier you'll probably just continue losing weight. When I first did that, I lost about 30lbs in 2 months (unintentionally and without being hungry -- go figure).

HTH

Another way to calculate your food intake is to use fitday.com. I use the online one but they have one you can download. It will allow you to record all your food intake and then it does the stats of calories, fat, etc... for you.