Training & Nutrition - lose weight

I really need to lose some weight. Can you ofer me some tips about diet and training. I weigh about 90 kilos and have an office job. How many km should I do daily. At the moment I am doing about 25 km per day (almost daily) and about 40 km on Sunday. If I want to lose fat, should I cut down on carbohydrates?? My aim is to lose wieght and improve stamina.

weight loss I have found is mainly about burning more colories than you intake. there are several good sites that give u an idea what foods contain how much calories and how much biking it takes to burn that.

calories in foods (http://www.annecollins.com/calories/)


shows how many calories various activities burn (http://www.caloriesperhour.com/index_burn.html)


I also have an office job, and am overweight. I found that even with a lot of cycling I was not losing weight. I had to also modify my diet to lose weight. about 2 months ago I decided that I would get serious about finding a diet I could stick with. I started eating yogurt and fruit for breakfast salads for lunch and a good supper. In 2 months I have lost 15 lbs. I still have 70 or so to go but I have seen that is is possible now.


you might also consider cycling to work if u do not already. This can help you combine 2 things you want to do: get in shape and get to work.

Im not a big believer of that cut out the carbs stuff. Eat your carbs but make sure they are good carbs. I.E. eat a sweet potato instead of a regular one, whole wheat bread instead of white, raisin bran instead of rice crispies. There is also a lot of talk about calcium helping to fight fat. That means drink plenty of milk (skim only for me) and throw in some yogurt too if you can. Have a glass at dinner and make sure you have milk and cereal in the morning. Dont be tempted to skip breakfast. One more thing, eat a lot of smaller meals, dont have three big ones, have five or so, eat every three hours, keeps your metabolism up. Good luck and keep up the rides!

I believe in a balanced diet of whole unrefined sources of protein/carbs/fats and like others said for weight loss at least a moderate calorie deficit to energy expendature.I also eat small frequent meals .For exercise start out slow but consistant and work to gradually up the intensity and/or distance as both approaches have fat burning as well as fitness benefits.You may want to also consider weight training to build muscle and raise the metabolism both of which have fatburning benefits.But keep in mind the key as to diet and exercise is consistentcy make it a lifestyle and you can't go wrong.

Thanks for your advice and links. By the way I used to cycle to work, but i have changed jobs and am not allowed to do so now!!!
Thanks again

I have lost 70 pounds at present and have about 20 more to go. It has taken me 2 years to achieve this because I have done it on a slow, steady pace. I would work out and lose 10 pounds and then stay there for 2 - 3 months and then would work on losing 10 more pounds and so on. I did this so that I could adapt to the weight loss versus losing all 70 pounds at once and then gaining it right back.

The biggest key is to eat breakfast! I normally eat 2 pancakes or waffles, with calorie free butter and sugar free syrup, and 2 egg beaters. For lunch, I will usually eat a 6 inch roasted chicken sub from subway with 2 white chocolate cookies [my cheating for the day :-) ]. For supper, I usually eat a plate of mixed fruit and chicken salad.

This meal plan is working absolutely great fo me. I have started losing the weight again.

BTW, I do commute everyday, weather permitting. My commute is 12.5 miles one way. That gets my cardio in and I go to the gym for strength training, which is another key to losing. The more muscle you put on, the more calories you need to maintain it.

pletcgm I don't know why everyone thinks losing weight is a contest and the faster the better(actually I do but don't get me started on media/marketing bashing).Congratulations on restarting your weight loss .Be sure to enjoy the journey its not just about reaching the destination as fast as possible.More moderate rate of fatloss is healthier as well as sustainable.

Originally posted by RWTD
I don't know why everyone thinks losing weight is a contest and the faster the better. More moderate rate of fatloss is healthier as well as sustainable.

Since I have lost 70 pounds, one person at work started to lose weight by using the adkins diet. She lost 46 pounds within 5 months and then got off the diet. Now, 7 months later, she has gained all of her weight back.

That's why, as I said earlier, I lost it very slowly so that I could slowly adapt to the weight change.

Thanks for your advice

My diet plan is very simple, and only has four words: "Eat less, exercise more."

trmcgeehan, agreed! I lost 15 kgs in 14 months with no change in diet but 14,000 km of cycling.

I know every person is different, but I found that a good diet has been key in my fitness and weight loss. I, too, have a (boring as hell) office job. I just go in early so I can leave early to get all my riding in. I'm no nutrition expert...this is just what has worked for me...

I workout twice a week and ride 6 days a week - putting in about 150 miles/week. I try to eat 5 small meals during the day and have a "cheat" night on Friday's when we go out. I eat clean and haven't cut carbs. The carbs I do eat are pastas, rice, etc. I stay away from any kind of sugar (excluding, of course, my morning Starbucks) and try to limit bread. I try to limit the amount of carbs I eat for dinner, too...unless I am riding the next day. Since I mainly workout to keep muscle mass (you'll find a lot of riding will start chewing that up, as well as fat) I try to eat a lot of protein...mostly from drinking a Myoplex Lite in the morning and a couple of servings of Precision Protein during the day. When I snack I will eat bananas, nuts, cereal (like mueslix or grape-nuts), some hummus on pita, or have a myoplex lite.

I have been on this diet for almost 8 months and haven't found myself hungry or low on energy. I have lost a good amount of weight, but wasn't very big to begin with...i was getting a little doughy, though...that's when I up'd my miles and got serious with the diet.

I think you'll find that with a steady diet and good riding that the pound will start melting away...give it a few weeks and you'll start to notice. Get a good heart rate monitor to monitor the calories you burn during your rides and to make certain you ride within HR zones that will allow you to increase your fitness level, too...don't forget to eat or drink an energy drink on longer rides.

Good luck!

Paul