Training & Nutrition - Beginner Cyclist Looking for Help on Diet and to shed fat.

I'm about to pick up my road bike as soon as it arrives at the shop. My Goal is by next summer to be in great shape and cycling at a good top notch. 2 Summers from now I will begin to enter sprint tri's. As for now I'm 6'5" and 245 lbs and probably around 25-28 percent body fat. So my main concern is obviously to shed fat. I would like to be somewhere around 205 by the beginning of next June and I think it might be capable with a slow and persistent 1 pound a week. I'm trying to preserve as much muscle mass as possible but will probably lose some upper body muscle mass since i'm trying to be a cyclist and not a body builder and i'm fine with that... So anyways I've picked up a Cycling book and by beginning of next season I'm going to pick up the Cyclist training bible that is a little more advanced... I've noticed that all of the diets in these books are high carbohydrates/ moderate protein/ low fats.. something like 50/30/20 ratio in carbs/prot/fats. Would this kind of diet still pertain to me even though i'm tryin to lose fat? Would I still keep carbs this high?? Being the weight i am, I will probably start out around 2500 cals/day and see where this takes me...

Carbohydrates will be from fruits, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, vegetables.

Proteins will be from Fish and chicken, tuna.. I'm going to limit red meats..

Fats will be from healthy fats, fish oil, almonds, natural peanut butter....

As far as my training goes since i'm entering late in the riding season i'm gonna be just getting base miles in.. I'm gonna shoot for starting out 100/ wk. I'd like to still continue to lift weights maybe just 2-3 /wk and just do a whole body thing. How does everything look?? Any Suggestions? Thanks, I appreciate it...

Congratulations on getting in to cycling, it's addictive!
If you really want to loose weight it's best to cook everything yourself. It is really easy to over eat in the restaurant. Specially with U.S. jumbo portions! You can also track your caloric intake better, if you want to do that. Good websites are fitday.com and calorie-count.com. The later one has a better database, but fitday has better setup for entering custom food item. Which I prefer.
It's pretty easy to take in your daily requirements of fat. Actually the challenge is not to go over. So I wouldn't worry about adding "healthy" fats just to meet your requirements. Just make a better decision on your food choices based on fat contents.
I believe eating healthy starts in the supermarket. When you buy stuff look at the ingredients, and make your decisions then on whether to buy it or not. Personally I found if I buy it, I'll eat it. So I try to buy healthy stuff.
I know it's been pushed on people "three" meals a day, but thats not really the best way to go. Ideally you want multiple smaller meals throughout a day. I think it keeps your metabolism up, but more importantly it keeps you from over eating. I found with three meals a day by lunch/dinner I get hungry so I end up eating more then I really should. Eating through out a day prevents that.
Loosing weight, and keeping it off is not an easy thing to do. You really need to change your life style to succeed. When your friends pork down on those chicken wings, and wash them down with massive amount of soda it takes self control to order something healthier and water instead of soda. Thats another thing avoid soda, even diet one, like the plague it is. It's not healthy and is just empty calories.

Good luck.

Thanks for the reply.. Yea I'm not new to this diet thing.. Eating 5-6 times a day, Its just that my goals have changed. I used to be all about building muscle and I did it.. I'm a pretty stout, thick muscled guy. So i know all about eating whole foods and which to eat. I guess my question was pretty simple. All of the diets in the cycling book talk about high carbs, moderate protein and low fats. I understand you need alot of stored carbs for energy expense on long rides..... So i guess my question is this.. Even though I'm trying to melt the fat away, should i still do the high carb thing? Will all this riding tap into my stored fat even though i'm eating all these carbs to use for energy??? Thanks for your reply and thanks for your welcomes....

I'm about to pick up my road bike as soon as it arrives at the shop. My Goal is by next summer to be in great shape and cycling at a good top notch. 2 Summers from now I will begin to enter sprint tri's. As for now I'm 6'5" and 245 lbs and probably around 25-28 percent body fat. So my main concern is obviously to shed fat. I would like to be somewhere around 205 by the beginning of next June and I think it might be capable with a slow and persistent 1 pound a week. I'm trying to preserve as much muscle mass as possible but will probably lose some upper body muscle mass since i'm trying to be a cyclist and not a body builder and i'm fine with that... So anyways I've picked up a Cycling book and by beginning of next season I'm going to pick up the Cyclist training bible that is a little more advanced... I've noticed that all of the diets in these books are high carbohydrates/ moderate protein/ low fats.. something like 50/30/20 ratio in carbs/prot/fats. Would this kind of diet still pertain to me even though i'm tryin to lose fat? Would I still keep carbs this high?? Being the weight i am, I will probably start out around 2500 cals/day and see where this takes me...

Carbohydrates will be from fruits, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, vegetables.

Proteins will be from Fish and chicken, tuna.. I'm going to limit red meats..

Fats will be from healthy fats, fish oil, almonds, natural peanut butter....

As far as my training goes since i'm entering late in the riding season i'm gonna be just getting base miles in.. I'm gonna shoot for starting out 100/ wk. I'd like to still continue to lift weights maybe just 2-3 /wk and just do a whole body thing. How does everything look?? Any Suggestions? Thanks, I appreciate it...

I like the basic food approach of South beach, though it doesn't have enough carbs if you cycle a lot. Basically, you limit simple carbs when you aren't riding, and then right before, during, and after, you eat simple carbs because you need them for energy.

Your diet looks good. You could also add in other complex carbs - whole wheat bread, brown rice, etc.

100 miles/wk is a lot of mileage to start out with. I'd suggest starting closer to 40 miles/week, and work up from there. From a weight loss perspective, fewer longer rides are better than more short ones, as long as you make sure to get your recovery nutrition right (if you don't, you'll get hungry and can easily overeat). This will also help you keep as much muscle mass as possible.

Have you thought about intermediate goals for next summer, to help keep you motivated? Lots of people of all weights use a century as a good goal. I also know a fair number of people who do sprint tris even if they're carrying a lot of weight, so you could do one of those next summer, assuming your joints can take the running with what you weigh now.

I like the basic food approach of South beach, though it doesn't have enough carbs if you cycle a lot. Basically, you limit simple carbs when you aren't riding, and then right before, during, and after, you eat simple carbs because you need them for energy.

Your diet looks good. You could also add in other complex carbs - whole wheat bread, brown rice, etc.

100 miles/wk is a lot of mileage to start out with. I'd suggest starting closer to 40 miles/week, and work up from there. From a weight loss perspective, fewer longer rides are better than more short ones, as long as you make sure to get your recovery nutrition right (if you don't, you'll get hungry and can easily overeat). This will also help you keep as much muscle mass as possible.

Have you thought about intermediate goals for next summer, to help keep you motivated? Lots of people of all weights use a century as a good goal. I also know a fair number of people who do sprint tris even if they're carrying a lot of weight, so you could do one of those next summer, assuming your joints can take the running with what you weigh now.

Hey thanks for your reply man... Yea Recovery and everything shouldn't be an issue with seeing i know alot about it and definitely know that you have a window of opportunity to replace the muscle with glycogen and protien.. And yea that does sound like a good goal. A century by say may or so. LUckily right now I'm in school and don't have to work so i'm really gonna hit this training thing hard with a good diet and see where it takes me.. I guess i'll just have to see at first how many miles per week to do and adjust from there so i won't be overtraining. Again thanks for the replies...

A couple of weeks ago I met a man who lost more than 40 pounds. He is training for a half-marathon. I do not know how much time it took for him to drop the weight. He used a heart monitor and says one is a good investment. Your body burns fat more efficiently when you exercise at 65 to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate. There is a new formula for figuring your maximum heart rate. Divide your age by 2 and subtract the answer from 210. Then multiply your weight by 0.05 and subtract that from the answer in the sentence above. Men add 4 to this. Women add nothing. The old formula was 220 minus your age.

I went to Wal-Mart and found a MIO Sport watch on closeout for $30. The Sport is no longer in production. It does not require a chest strap, but it is not always easy to get a reading while you are riding, either. Your arm must be relaxed and you cannot be riding on bumpy road. I very lightly guide the bike with my fingertips while it coasts and keep my arm very relaxed. I get a reading almost everytime. Also, my watch has been in a warehouse for a couple of years, so I installed a new battery and that helps, too. You can always stop riding and put two fingers on your jugular vein for ten seconds to get a count you multiply by six. Soon you will be able to associate your breathing rate with your pulse range.

There will be plateaus in your weight loss during which it seems you are stuck. When you figure your average per week, do it over a month or more to avoid getting really discouraged.

i'm in the same boat and made excellent progress over the last few months. i had to loose a few pounds, improve my blood pressure and lower cholesterol. cholesterol is low now, blood pressure is perfect, and i lost about 20 pounds with another 10 to go.

here a short list of things i changed:

i removed meat wherever i could. i like meat but i only eat it when it is really worth it (cote de boeuf at steak frites on 17th street in manhattan for example. i will never become a vegetarian.)

i removed all sugars. i use splenda for my coffee. there is a diet soda now and then. i like flavored waters a lot.

i try not to follow my instinct and eat a mountain of carbs after coming back from a long ride. i made a bunch of different vegetable soups and froze them in large portions (makes for interesting looking huge ice cubes). i pick what flavor i like on my return and warm it in a pot while taking a shower. this is a good base and by the time i meet friends in the corner cafe there isn't room for more than an appetizer.

i agree with the poster above about shopping: you buy it and you will eat it. i don't buy the huge packs of sweets at the supermarket. i will however stop at a patisserie for whatever i like. it's unlikely to be confronted there with 2 pounds of shrink wrapped cookies and i would be very selfconscious about ordering the fourth helping of creme brulee from the cute little waitress there.

this is not practical and more an observation. i started to work at an office with extremely thin and fashionable people and i somehow adapted to the local culture. the BBC recently posted an article about contagious fat at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6914397.stm

... and i love to ride my bike of course. i used to do the occasional drug in the past and now cycling does the same for me (and is far less likely to kill me). exhaustion is a kick just as good as what you can buy from the guy at the corner.

one last one maybe: keep a log of your miles. i bought a cheap garmin205 GPS unit and i religiously log my miles in ascent on my mac. it comes with training center for mac and pc which is excellent as well. i hear positive things about sporttracks for the pc. you can see how you improve month after month. i collect my miles like other people do baseball cards. hundreds and thousands by now. it is a VERY important motivational tool for me.

it is unlikely that you will read my post if i make it even longer i guess :-)

If you drink booze, stop.

I'd actually say stop getting calories from liquids of any sort. Booze is the worst when you're trying to lose weight in a healthy fashion though.

Sounds like you've got a great plan for success. Good luck!

no alcohol

no extra sugar on anything

no soft drinks

no fast food

limit desserts

lots of fresh fruit and veg

drink lots of water

ride lots

Eat no cakes and drink no beer
7 inch cranks and a 90 inch gear......Big Ed

Eat no cakes and drink no beer
7 inch cranks and a 90 inch gear......Big Ed


90"?? Only for heats....

Strap on a 102" for the final and get a push from John Kennedy!!!

102!!!! Must have been at Wangaratta. :D

I tried to follow Ryan Bayley on a 96 when was pushing 100 and nearly popped my aeorta.

102!!!! Must have been at Wangaratta. :D

I tried to follow Ryan Bayley on a 96 when was pushing 100 and nearly popped my aeorta.


Wang....102 was both the gear size and the temperature.

Was at Shep one new year's when Tigs spilt a can of Sprite on Billy-Joe's girlfriend.....she was not happy, but we were pissing ourselves. But that's another story :D

102....must have been a mild day at Wang. I saw Patey ride a 1.02 1000m handicap there once. Who says steroids don't make you ride fast.

102....must have been a mild day at Wang. I saw Patey ride a 1.02 1000m handicap there once. Who says steroids don't make you ride fast.

The Raging Bull.

I stuck the mitt out at Glenvale Cres the morning after he won the Austral from -20.

Nearly pulverised my hand.