Living Car Free - Were you ever fat?

Or maybe you still are? Just wondering if weight or fitness issues played any role in your being carfree (or not being carfree).

Maybe being overweight encourages some people to be carfree, but actually discourages other people?

I'm not, and I guess I'm not really old enough yet at 22 to have had the chance to become properly fat. At any rate, fitness issues are more of a welcome benefit to being carfree than a reason I had for switching. I'm 5'11" and weigh about 145lb. I might've hit 150lb at some point, but nothing over that.

Today I'm 190lbs. Kaiser Permanente considers me "fat" and my doctor says I should be down around 175lbs. I'm trying but it's tough. I'm 52 and have always had a weight problem. Family heritage is Polish and Hungarian both are big eaters and I had problems with over-eating through-out my early years. I lost a lot of weight when I was in college since the cafateria food wasn't all that great and I rountinly missed meals due to some class scheduling conflicts. At my heaviest in 2000, I was 245lbs. My doctor at that time bluntly told me to lose some of the weight or risk a serious heart attack or stroke in the next 1-2 years. I discovered cycling in 2001 and it has been my sports love and passion since.

No. But a friend only three years older (he was 53) died of a heart attack in his sleep. That was one of the factors.

If I don't excercise, my weight creeps up. My heaviest was when I was 40 and I was about 270 lbs, I am 200 now. I figure I might get down to 190 (I am 6'2") or 185 at my lowest.

Cycling makes it easy to lose weight and keep it off.

I'm at 180 from a high of 230, at 6"1. (that's 81 and 103 kilos and 185 cm in real units). Most of that has been in the last nine months. Some is the bike; most is probably the vegan diet, as my former diet was very heavy in cheeses, full milk yogurt, and the like. None of this has anything to do with my being car free, or my decision to become an enthusiastic rather than merely commuting biker. It was gettting an xtracycle that did that. :)

yup! Still fat, but I've been slowly but surely losing weight over the last 3 years since I started riding due to health problems. I was alway carfree, but was considering getting a car at one point...

Since then I've seen just how wonderful of an alternative to public transit (and cars) cycling is, and it made me drop the idea of getting a car, at least as long as I am physically fit to walk and ride.

I was up to 245 this last winter. dropped 25 pounds this summer. I feel very comfortable at 6'3" 220#.

When I was just about to get out of highschool all I did was
drink beer and smoke pot. This was the 70's and that was a
standard, accepted teenage activity of that era.......I got disgusted
with myself becoming lazy, bloated up and all baby fattish :eek::cry:
I gave up meat and started to run, play B-Ball and bike everywhere.....
I got in great shape and fortunately remained that way.

I'm overweight despite my commute...my problem is I don't watch what I eat. But if I didn't bike I might be much heavier. 6' less a hair and 99kg...how's that for mismatched measures?

I've never been overweight. I used to ride a LOT when I was in High School. I'm 5'8, and when I was 18 I was 116 lbs when I went into the Navy(Had to get a waiver for being 4 pounds under the minimum weight for my height!) 8 years later I was 126 lbs when I got out of the Navy. At my heaviest (6 months after a knee injury that made it difficult to walk, much less bike) I was 147 lbs. Now I've been back on the bike since mid-May, and I'm back down around 128 lbs.

Here's to bicycling! :)

Or maybe you still are? Just wondering if weight or fitness issues played any role in your being carfree (or not being carfree).

Maybe being overweight encourages some people to be carfree, but actually discourages other people?

My all-time highest weight was 173 lbs. I'm 6'0" so I guess that isn't too fat. Now I have to eat constantly to keep from dipping below 155 lbs.

It's interesting to read the responses. This sure is a big issue for many people, including myself.

I'm 51, carfree at least half of my life, off and on. In 2000 I weighed about 325 and I had a heart attack. I started walking for exercise and for transportation, and eventually found it easy to be a carfree walker. I got down to 180, and started cycling, both for exercise and for faster transportation. But I still managed to gain back about 66 pounds by overeating "healthy" food. Now I have very gradually gotten my weight down to 201:), with the intention of losing 25 more pounds over the next 12 months.

So weight control is not the main reason for me being carfree, but it is one of the reasons, and cycling (both transit and recreational) is my main form of exercise for fitness and weight loss.

I graduated college at 5'11" and 165 lbs. I'm 205 now, but don't make me use that word. ;)

One of my main reasons for biking (not to mention that other thread...) is to lose weight.

Ditto for the college deal. I was hovering around 155/165, 6'1" and now I'm around 185. Being a jobless slacker might have something to do with it.

I recall reading a few years ago that many health specialists felt 40 minutes of aerobic exercise was the minimum and that an hour or more was needed for losing weight. But for fear of discouraging people they had to stick, publicly, with the 20 minutes 3 times a week rule.

Realizing the improbability of me achieving this while working 9+ hours a day, commuting by car an additional 1.5 hours a day, and somehow getting to the gym I decided to transform my commute to meet my aerobic requirement.

The second realization I achieved was that, in order to be able to commute every day, I needed to live closer to work. This following the principal that exercise every day was better for general health than a lot of exercise on just a few days a week.

So I moved into city and within a short walk of a Metro station. Now my commute is 10 miles one-way by bike. This gives me a total of 80 minutes a day of exercise. And if bad weather intervenes I can always just hop on Metro. Since a car was no longer necessary to get me to/from work and being that keeping a car in the city is ridiculously expensive I got rid of it.

So my path to car-free was driven by a desire to lead a more healthier life style.

I started college at my lowest adult weight of 185lbs. I finished my freshman year at about 210lbs. Since then I've never been below 200 or above 220. At 6'2" I guess I'm fat.
One of my reasons for commuting is for exercise but not necesarily to lose weight. I havn't really lost any weight because I eat to make up the difference. But I do enjoy cycling and eating (and beer) so it all works out.
Craig

God Bless You Roody,

It is nice to hear that a person whom has faced such challenges in life chose a path less travelled and triumphed as a result. I have a very ggod friend that was just diagnosed as type 2 diabetic. He registered blood sugar levels of 300+ at multiple testings. I am trying to get him into biking. I hope he will give it a try. Have fun and stay healthy my brother.

P.S. U of Michigan is currently ranked # 2 in the national college football rankings... Where is State? :D
Thanks, Lance. I forgot to mention that i'm a type 2 Diabetic also. The reason I forgot is that my blood sugars are now ALWAYS normal due to exercise, healthier eating, and weight loss. Some people won't be as lucky as me, but many will.

I recall reading a few years ago that many health specialists felt 40 minutes of aerobic exercise was the minimum and that an hour or more was needed for losing weight. But for fear of discouraging people they had to stick, publicly, with the 20 minutes 3 times a week rule.

Realizing the improbability of me achieving this while working 9+ hours a day, commuting by car an additional 1.5 hours a day, and somehow getting to the gym I decided to transform my commute to meet my aerobic requirement.

The second realization I achieved was that, in order to be able to commute every day, I needed to live closer to work. This following the principal that exercise every day was better for general health than a lot of exercise on just a few days a week.

So I moved into city and within a short walk of a Metro station. Now my commute is 10 miles one-way by bike. This gives me a total of 80 minutes a day of exercise. And if bad weather intervenes I can always just hop on Metro. Since a car was no longer necessary to get me to/from work and being that keeping a car in the city is ridiculously expensive I got rid of it.

So my path to car-free was driven by a desire to lead a more healthier life style.
Thanks, slow train. This is exactly what I was wondering about--whether fitness was a "primary motivator" for some people becoming carfree or carlite. Like you, one thing I discovered was that the best way to find time for exercise was to combine it with my commute to work. I ride only 4 miles to work, but the round trip alone provides me with more than 30 minutes a day of aerobic exercise, while driving would take nearly as long.

BTW, based on my extensive reading about fitness: 20 minutes/3 times a week will provide the absolute minimum exercise, but even this small amount will reduce heart disease, hypertension and diabetes for many people. 30 minutes/6-7 days a week is good for maintaining health. 60 minutes/6-7 days is a good level for optimum health for many people. For those of us with chronic weight problems, many will do best with at least 90 minutes/6-7 days a week. The last one is my target, and I've figured out ways to acheive it almost every week of the year.

Jumping in late here. I've always been car-free, but cycling (vs. public transit) is certainly motivated, in part, by a wish to remain fit and at an acceptable weight.

I gained maybe five pounds in college, but grabbed another 10-20 during a very depressing year of slackerhood after college before I grabbed a bike 5 months ago. currently I'm down to 230, I'd guess i've got another 30 to go.

For the record I'm still in the middle of slackerhood until someone starts hiring bachelor physicists with bad math grades...or until I train for something else.

At 5'6", a few years ago I topped out at 204. I had finished college and gotten an office job. I'd come home and sit on the couch, watch tv and eat a lot until I went to bed. The wife and I joined Weight Watchers and I lost over 30 pounds by watching what I ate and exercizing (mostly walking). Now I commute by bike and walk from one shopping center to the next. Bike commuting allows me to eat what I want. I no longer exercise because I eat a lot, I eat because I exercise.
Now i've been between 170 & 175 for at least a year and I can still enjoy Thanksgiving, which is good for my mental health, too.

out.

I don't look fat but I'm slightly above what my ideal weight is for my height.

Two year ago before I started biking everywhere I was 245 pounds and couldn't do a full push-up at that time I was at 40% body fat. I'm down to 235 today and aproximatly 20% body fat. I bike everywhere in any season, I'm a wilderness guide in the summer leading "at risk" youth on canoe trips and I'm currently training in russian martial arts, I can do 100 burpees in 8 minutes, chin-ups, pull-ups, dips and of course real push-ups. Cycling started me out but most of the exercise I get now is from training, I also do yoga now, I can press my face into my knees standing with straight legs and without pulling with my arms.
Cycling is a great start, but supplemental strength and flexibility training is key.

Bizarre metabolism. Hyperactive, 52 years old, built like a popsicle stick and not much taller. 105 lbs. Never gain more than a pound or two each winter, and sometimes get too lean in the summertime so I'm starved and eat like a horse. Thought I had thyroid problems for awhile but doctor says no. It may sound great, but it isn't so great when you have to eat all the time while riding.

My parents thought that kids weren't "healthy" if they weren't a little chubby, so I was a chubby kid until I got to high school and started playing football. The problem is that the eating habits we develop as children (with the encouragement of our parents) are very difficult for most of us to break; fat kids become fat adults.

As a young adult, I went into the military (Air Force) and made a conscious decision to dramatically change my eating and exercise habits. At six feet, I managed to keep my weight at 175 - 180 most of the time during my twenties, thirties, and early forties, but in my late forties/early fifties I got up to 220. I felt really uncomfortable at that weight, and through watching what I ate and moderate exercise (including recreational bicycling), I slimmed down to a svelte 190, which is where I am now at age 64. I still feel a little too heavy, but at least it's been stable for several years.

Since this is the Living Car Free forum, I have to admit I haven't been without a car since I learned to drive at sixteen, but I do ride my bike instead of driving whenever it's practical.

I've been fat as long as I can remember. Once I started riding a lot I started to loose some weight but it was never an extreme amount. I know if I stick with it I will loose weight ever time but I have to sort of ignore the weight loss aspect of riding or I spend too much time focusing on my lack of results and get discouraged. I'm planning to make 2007 my year to really work at it hard and try to get in the best shape I can. I'm about to start figuring out a year long plan for training that takes in to account the extreme differences in weather for each season. This time of year all the riding I do is the riding I need to do for transportation and I don't really go out just to ride unless it's a warm day which is pretty much never. I'm looking in to getting a trainer and putting an old road bike on it in the basement but I don't know how interested I'll really be to ride my bike and not be going anywhere.

I've never been the guy someone guesses as a rider by the way he looks, and I've always got a bad attitude of the seriously thin lycra clad "road warriors" I see around. It used to really bother me but over time I got used to it and quit caring so much. I still know when the mileage for the year is added up they will be in my rather fat shadow ;-)

Edit: I forgot to mention I am 5' 11" and was a little over 260lbs. I lost a quite a bit of weight but since winter hit I've started gaining it back and am at 243lbs

I used to be 245 lbs, 5' 6" tall. I was athletic up until I was a teen and got large when I was in my mid 20's as I started working desk jobs. I hired a personal trainer and started riding in my early 30's(3 years ago). I am now maintaining at 155 lbs. I could be a bit smaller but at least I'm healthy. Biking was one of the things that helped me lose weight, it's fun and easy on the joints. Bike love forever!

Never. With or without car my weight was always 125-140. I always eat as much as I want and I only gain weight if I work out. If I do not move I just do not feel hungry. When I used to telecommute I would spend all day on coffee sometimes.

2 yrs of biking steadily has me ~halfway (by weight) to BMI=24

I used to be 240 lbs.
Started drinking whey
protein smoothies and
riding bikes and I have
been 150 for the last 7 years.

There is RECOVERY from Obesity...

PM me for details... and NO, I am
not selling anything! But I will testify...
and NO, not about Jesus (or Scientology.:)

Was 356 lbs. Found a bike. Fell in love. Now 170 lbs. Hot damn, I'm only 21 years old.

was 206, started biking and playing rugby, went down to 125, started working out and now i'm around 145.

5'8" tall. Used to be 200 lbs 4 years ago. Dropped all the way to 135 lbs by last year. Started lifting and gained healthy weight. Have now been at 145 lbs for a while.

lost 38 lbs in first 8 months as a messenger and car free

Was 356 lbs. Found a bike. Fell in love. Now 170 lbs. Hot damn, I'm only 21 years old.
WOW! You lost a whole person! Amazing good work. Watch out that the weight doesn't come back. That happened to me. Now I've learned some of the techniques for maintaining weight loss:
Weigh yourself frequently and adjust food intake accordingly.
Exercise! 90 minutes every day is best for those of us with a history of severe obesity.
Adjust yourslf to the fact that you probably just can't eat as much as most other people. It's probably a genetic thing--us hardcore fatties gain very easily.

I have always hovered in the 150-155lb area. I briefly jumped up to 167lbs almost a year ago when I got really heavily into working out and building up muscle but that was planned because I wanted to build decent muscle to aid in fat loss later down the road. I have since dropped back down to 157lbs and I am planning to go all the way to 150lbs within the next six months or so. I could do it in a month; two at most, if I really wanted but I want to make sure my body adjusts and solidifies into a lean 150lbs of pure cycling muscle. I am 5'9" and a healthy weight rang for me is between 140-170lbs.

I also practice Tai Chi for flexibility and energy.

I also practice Tai Chi for flexibility and energy.
Great for balance too. Occasionally, this makes for interesting observations at red lights. ("hey... shouldn't I be falling over?... shouldn't I take my feet off the pedals?"). I have been doing short form Tai Chi for about 4 years, 3-4 times a week. Another thing I have noticed while doing it is a feeling of heat in the hands, almost like they are in warm water.

However, it has done nothing for weight loss. But then biking hasn't really helped much either. I weighed about 226 in 1998 and have gradually been losing weight since. I did manage to lose about 13 lbs since I started biking a little over a year ago. However, I currently weigh 193 which is 20 pounds over where I probably should be.

At this pace, I should hit my ideal weight by the time I am 80.

no... never been fat.. although I was headed that way a few years ago. Im 5'11" and weighed 187, but I was muscular with a good fat coating. Now I am down to 157 with a slight fat coating :) However, my secretary always tells me I am too skinny and I need to eat more butter.

I am fat and not carefree.... :( although it has been better lately...I am on the down side right now....LOL

Exercise is a must in my life....I am pretty good with the types of food it is the amount that I have problem with.....I am sure that is a psychological thing I have had most of my life....

Since I am on the down side life is good...you would think I would learn and stay here.....

You're little bitty people! I hope one day to get back down to 225, where I'm pretty thin.

I am fat and not carefree.... :( although it has been better lately...I am on the down side right now....LOL

Exercise is a must in my life....I am pretty good with the types of food it is the amount that I have problem with.....I am sure that is a psychological thing I have had most of my life....

Since I am on the down side life is good...you would think I would learn and stay here.....
I have the same kind of pattern. Did you know that there is more and more scientific evidence that some people--especially those who eat only wholesome food, but are still overweight--have a physical abnormality? They (we?) can't really tell when they're full and when they're hungry, due to abnormalities in two or more hormones. That's why portion control is so important. If your body can't tell you when it's had enough food, you have to consciously think about it. I suggest keeping a food log periodically to help monitor intake. A book that I found useful is The Portion Teller. Sorry, I don't remember the author's name.

I've currently got 20 lbs to go to hit the upper limit for the normal range BMI for my height, 5'8". (My avatar pic is me at 10 lbs heavier than I currently am.) That's my goal, but I don't think I'll try to go any lower. I know people use "big-boned" as an excuse for their excess weight, but I've got a size 10 ring finger, a 7 inch wrist circumference, a head circumference such that the only women's hats that fit my head are the ones I make myself, and sit bones so wide, the only Brooks saddle that fully supports me is a B-67. None of these measurements have so much as budged with my 55 lbs weight loss. I think I really do have a large frame, so a high normal BMI will suit me just fine.

I don't think I could have made it this far without being car-free and on a bike daily. Even if a gym membership were free, I know I'd never be consistent.

I'm 5'11", at my heaviest I was 225, now I'm at a steady 170. took about 6 months of riding around town, about 15 miles a day.

I'm not 100% car free (my wife has a car and I'll carpool with her 1-2 days a week) but before I started riding again (last July) I was 256lbs and I'm now down to 200-205lbs. At 5' 11" I still have some weight I could afford to lose but I've also built up a good bit of muscle on my 16 1/2 mile (each way) commute 3-4 days a week. I have an errand bike with a big basket that I use to run most of my errands and unless I have to pick something (or someone) up I can't carry I'm pretty much on my bicycle.

Being overweight and out of shape has definitely been a big motivator for me to get back on a bicycle after a ten year hiatus. I'm 27 now and have been overweight my entire adult life. When I was 18 I lived in Argentina, walked EVERYWHERE and was down to 185lbs, but between then and now I've been working sedentary computer jobs and at one point was up to 293lbs. As of about two months ago I've been at my lowest weight since I was 18, and I'd venture to say best shape ever. I have a ton more energy and have been feeling much healthier and better about myself. I don't really "excercise" besides lifting and racking heavy servers at work, but bike riding has really changed the shape of my body. It's been a nice change.

I can totally relate, livewirerc. I'm beginning to believe that for those of us who can gain weight by simply looking at certain food, our North American culture isn't very good for our health. We need to incorporate physical activity into our everyday lives. To be honest, I think this is my #1 reason for not getting a car again. Going to a gym is completely abnormal for me - my exercise has to have a "purpose", if I'm going to be motivated to engage in it. It's funny how at the turn of the 20th century, North Americans were dying of overwork. At the turn of this century, we are dying of underwork.

Im car free, but I dont think it has helped me in terms of fitness in any real way.

I used to be "thick". Then I got a messenger job in Chicago, and it all went away. I mean ALL of it. Within two months.

When I first started, my body temperature went way up, and even while sitting still or laying in bed, I'd sweat profusely. At night, I had to sleep on a towel to soak up the sweat. My skin was, and still is, always very warm. My friend's cats flock to me when I visit.

It's nearly eight years later, and my metabolism is still at full-throttle. Always warm, but the sweatin' has subsided.

At 6'0" I used to be a chunky high 180s. Now I'm low 160s.

Yay.

I'm still waiting for my roommate to get his car registered before I get his bike, but my decision to go towards a bike is more focused on economic, environmental and then health reasons. Aside from the fact I use the eliptical every time to warm up my body before working out, I think riding my bike as opposed to driving would be a great way to include cardio.

I'm 5'9". A year ago I was 124 lbs. I'm now consistent at 129 lbs with a 7% body fat count. With riding a bike, I plan to drive that down to about 5.5 or 6.0%. Working out and eating better should increase my weight to 140 lbs in about a year.