General Cycling Discussion - I lost 100 pounds!

That's right! I just got on my scale today and weighed in at 182 lbs. 2 1/2 years ago, I weighed 282 and was very sedentary. I finally got fed up with being fat and decided it was past time to do something about it. A lot of people I talk to ask me how I did it, and they look incredulous when I tell them that I started eating right and exercising. They seem to think that there must be some kind of magic pill necessary to lose weight.

But here's proof that there's not; I haven't taken a single weight-loss drug or tried any "fad" diets. I simply started eating right and exercising. I switched to diet soda and water instead of sugar soda and juice. I stopped buying snacks of any kind (Doritos are my biggest enemy!); if they're in the house, I'll eat them! (I did ease into this by buying block cheese as a snack for a while. The "trick" is that I can't eat that much cheese by itself before I'm tired of it! :) ) Most importantly, I stopped eating until I was full and instead stopped before I was full. It was difficult to leave food on my plate, but I learned to think of it as saving it for leftovers.

I had in mind an ultimate goal of losing 100 lbs, but I started with setting a shorter-term goal of 10 lbs. at a time and gave myself a realistic timeframe to do it (1-2 months). I kept track of my weight nearly every day on my computer. Seeing the downward trend on that graph is very motivating for me. If it starts to slow down or go up, I get motivated to try a little harder.

I got to 230 after about a year, and I stayed there (+/- 10 lbs) for another year.

At the start of this summer, I met up with a highschool friend (my highschool prom date, actually :) ). She had lost a lot of weight since I knew her, and she was starting to train for a century ride in September. So I thought, "Why not?" and starting riding my bike too. At first I could barely handle a 1/2 mile ride without being completely dead and having to sit for half an hour in front of the air conditioner to recover! Now I'm doing a 45-mile RT commute twice a week plus 50+ miles on the weekend and more when I can find time. (You don't have to ride that much to lose weight, but you may not be able to help it; it's addicting! :D )

So if you're trying to lose weight by biking, you can do it! If I can lose 100 lbs, you can make your goal too. Start eating less and riding your bike more. It's that simple. I now have a heightened appreciation for all the out-of-shape bikers I see struggling up the hills; I hope everyone gives them encouragement when they see them.

And for those of you who have lost weight, I give you a well-deserved congratulations!

Tim

Congratulations Tim! :)

tnorman, you are truly an inspiration.:thumbup:

Congrats. That is the best century I have heard of :)

That's so awesome, congratulations!


you know, i've gotten the same look when people asked how I do it, and I've only lost 30lbs. I think people are just lazy and want some magic answer... so they get disappointed when they realize that there isn't some magic item or pill that they can take to lose the weight. That's why you see things like "the 48 Hour Hollywood diet"

which you can't lose 10 lbs in 2 days and expect to keep it off since it's just water weight, but people don't realize this

again, congratulations!

:beer: :beer: :beer: that is something to celebrate for... bud...

Congratulations. Well done.

Congratulations man. Be proud of yourself, because you did it the right way. Now you will be happy, as you'll keep that weight off forever.

Good for you Tim, keep up the great work. :D

Congrats Tim, your story should be an inspiration to anybody who wants to lose weight and keep it off.

I reached a weight goal this week that I'd like to share. I am now at, just below, and just above the weight I was at when I quit smoking 2 years and 2 months ago (I fluctuate by as much as 5 pounds through the week). During the first year of non smoking my sole goal was to remain smokefree, I didn't worry about the weight gain. The next year I started to concentrate on losing the 30 pounds I put on when I quit smoking. It took 14 months, but it is weight that is going to stay off, no fads, no diets, no magic pills, just a structured exercise program and a little more common sense (like not eating the whole bag of Doritos ;) ) in my selection of what I eat.

Kudos to us :thumbup:

First of all congrats! Keep up the good work!

I quit smoking about 2 years ago and desided to get into shape around Jan. of this past year. I have an eliptical trainer and have lost 50 lbs. on it.
A few months ago I desided to get back into biking, there's just so many laps you can do in the living room on the nordic track, to help with the exersize. This forum and the web in general have been a god send for someone who has had to start from scratch. I have learned so much about riding on the road with MVs and being safe in the process.
This spring I plan on getting a dedicated road bike, I have a Trek 7500 FX now but want something to get even faster on.

Any hou, congrats and let it be known that it is mind over matter when it comes to weight loss. Change the life style!!:p

Congratulations! I registered just to tell you to keep it up. Started riding again in May and have lost 30 pounds already.

tnorman, what a great story.

I just stumbled upon something I'm a bit proud of, too. My drivers license, originally issued 7 years ago when I moved to CA, states my weight as 215. I beefed up to (I think) about 250 there for a while shortly after getting the license. That's a lot of weight for me, although I'm 6'4".

I started bike-commuting almost six years ago and overall biking has helped me maintain my weight over the 7 year period. I'm 41 years old now and maintaining weight, much less losing it (as I've done a little recently), is tough to do. Biking has enabled me to do it.

Not quite the dramatic weight loss story you offer, but I think having the same weight 7 years later -- during the weight bearing years leading up to my age of 41!! -- is a testament to bike-commuting.

Congrats Tim! Cycling is the wonder-drug. :) I started off 3 years ago at almost 220. I was in the low 170's all last summer and in the mid to upper 160's this summer. It's hard to argue with results. Keep up the good work!

*fubar5 hides his newcastle and pizza under the computer cabinet*

Yeah uummm, cycling is great ummm, eat right!! umm, beer is bad!! ummmm yeah.....I am superfit and light-weight huh huh huh huh, you better believe it!!! I teeter between 145 and 150, and I can't pinch and inch, yup.....well maybe 3/4 of and inch, when I make up that extra 1/4, then I'll do soemthing about it *buuuurp* huh huh, I want to be a racer when I get grow'd up!!! I'm 18, I've got a few years left before I get serious...weeeeeeeeeeeeee oooww!! Lance Armstrong is goin' to have his hands full when I get to the Tour!!!

Back to seriousness, that is so cool!!! I will never look at out of shape cyclists the same.

Congratulations Tim, That's great news.

I also have lost some weight, from ~220 two years ago to just under 190 right now. I'm hoping to go below 170 by next summer (165 was my high school swimming weight, some years back; make that 40 years back).

I have some other suggestions for people.

* I now do not to add any cream or sugar to my coffee. If it tastes bad, I add water to dilute it; coffee is now a drink, not a "food" while I'm working. I still have some cream in my coffee at home, but that's rare compared to the daily intake at work.

* I am not eating out much, but taking my food to work. And, I'm pretty much limiting my intake of food to what I take. If I have to go to the vending machine, it's for nuts or granola, not candy. I even passed up the small Hershey Bars at a meeting yesterday.

* I make my own granola, using wheat, barley, and rhy flakes, raisons, and soy nuts, or peanuts. I eat this instead of processed cerial, which has a lot of sugar. I'm trying to stay away from processed foods and refined sugar. If I eat too much refined sugar, I can get hypoglycemic some hours later.

I hope everyone here takes heart from these stories, as obesity is a nation-wide problem, and directly related to our lifestyle. Bicycle commuting has helped me replace that lifestyle with a more healthy, active lifestyle.

John

That is phenominal! congra`ts, you are living proof and an inspiration to all others.

Must of cost you a fortune to restock your Wardrobe tho` :D

I know exactly what you went through. Back in 1995 I weighed 277. A year later I was down to 177. Although my weight has fluctuated by 20 # since then I am able to get it back to where it belong within a few months. Right now I am at 180. As you said the important thing is to learn good eating habits. That has to be a life time comitment otherwise you end up where you started. I realy can thank biking for helping me get the weight off and keeping it off. Started off mountain biking, which is my first love and now also do a lot of road biking. My wife and I bought a mountain tandem this year which is a real hoot. Congratulations on your accomplishment!!!:beer:

What a FANTASTIC and inspiring story!! It doesn't seem right that something that is sooooooooooooooo much fun to do can also be sooooooooooooooooo good for you.

Great job, and thanX for posting your story!!! :) :) :)

Let me add my congratulations to all of you with your weight loss and fitness stories. My story isn't as dramatic, but cycling has certainly helped me to control my weight and improve my fitness, as well as being a great pastime.

Congrats Tim,
I know how good you must feel.
I am down 126 from my all time high of 424. Biking is what I neded to keep me on track.

You rock!

ChipR

Originally posted by willic
Must of cost you a fortune to restock your Wardrobe tho` :D

Actually, I'm trying to convince my coworkers that baggy pants and shirt are the new style! Yeah right :) Someone said I looked like a scarecrow last week! I borrowed a leather hole punch from a friend so I could add two more notches to my belt, and I'll probably go shopping this week.

Thanks everyone for sharing your accomplishments as well! Congratulations to you all! It's encouraging to see how many others have fought the same battle. And for those of you who are still struggling, don't give up! We're cheering for you. :)

Tim

Way to go Tim!:thumbup: Is that the outline of a sixpack I see? :)

You just came pretty close to describing what I started doing this spring :eek: Scary, isn't it.:D Well, 60 pounds later I'm a happy camper:D... well except for a little mush around the edges, but thats just extra skin, yeah, thats it, just skin ;)



Originally posted by willic

Must of cost you a fortune to restock your Wardrobe tho` :D

Tell me about it! And I started losing weight to make my clothes fit better HA! yeah right. So far I have only one pair of bluejeans that fit me, 36- down from a 42, Oh yeah! OooH! Oooh! Haha!


Later, Paul :cool:

Fantastic result Tim, and as you've done it without faddy diets, you'll find you'll be able to keep the weight off.

Congrats.

Congratulations that is a fantastic achievement.:thumbup:

I have never heard of such an incredable weight loss. Just imagine you were carrying the equivalent of 2 big dogs in excess weight!!.. Well done. It certainly has given me incentive.

I started eating sensibly this week and my aim is a modest 30 Ibs weight loss.
I have put £1.00 ( $1.60) in a jar every night this week that I have not eaten a cake or choc bar. I have dedicated the money to the local cat rescue centre and I will add £5.00 for every 1Ib weight I lose also. I have £12.50 already and its a great incentive to know someone else will also benefit. ( why the odd amount? well I fess I sneaked a donut Saturday!):(

Blimey!

Well done lads n lasses

Hey Tim....Congrats!! Very well done. I know that that is a tough thing to do. I too have lost a bit since beginning to bike about a year or so ago.
It's a great feeling to knowthat you can look great and feel better. It's great to see us rallying around each other and cheering support!!
Keep up the peddling every one!!

B:beer: