Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Metabolism myth or fact?

I am a muscular 5'10" 260lb 50yrs old. I have legs like telephone poles, broad shoulders and big chest and arms AND a big gut -"my snowmobile suit" of fat covering it all. I swim and bike regularly and lift weights

I love to exercise and eat mostly healthy food in average (not diet size) portions. I love to exercise and get cranky when I restrict my diet.

Scientists would call me a mesomorph. When I exercise, I get stronger and build my endurance but I never seem to lose much weight. When I was young and blasting around New England on my ten speed, I weighed 130-150 depending on how hard and fast I had been riding the on the weekend. I had fantastic endurance.

My genetic heritage is German-Irish. I know I should diet but find it difficult to find a real world diet that works for me. I don't want to sound like an excuse but I think I may have what is called a "slow metabolism".

I suspect most of us on this forum have similar metabolisms. From the posts, every seems to be a pretty athletic yet still struggle with weight.

I would like to get my weight to at least 190 without killing myself. 165lb is considered ideal. I think I could have more fun riding at a lighter weight.

What worked for you when you finally got the weight off?

Do you agree with the idea of "slow metabolism" or do you think it is a myth?

OUTdamnstanding post....I don't have an answer for you, but we could almost be twins-I have about 15lbs on you. I was rail thin in HS, and into college-then I got big like my dad (320+ he was, I have thankfully never hit that). I wanted to join the Army at 22 (and 270) and ended up taking a semester off of school to just focus on losing weight. I didn't lose enough, but my mother getting cancer and my splitting my time between school outside of Omaha, NE and a little town in SE Nebraska (about 75mi apart) and the stress that caused resulted in a lot of weight loss. Basic showed me what was possible without weights at all, but I certainly wouldn't want to do a lot of that running right now, plus I got discharged because of an accident that blew two discs so I couldn't do my MOS anymore, hence the biking now. I'm looking forward to any of the fitness gurus here to answer your post. Im pretty sure if you search around here there are a lot of of these guys/girls that are our size and larger that have lost a lot just riding. I think the focus is more off if you are riding-you don't pay attention so much. I know that I hate excercising for excercises sake so I mostly approach weight lose as a math problem right now-(physicsdiet.com and read hackers diet) less in, more out. I weigh myself every day and track the moving average-as long as it goes down, even if I spike, then im still losing weight. No real excercise other than mowing my yard in the last month and im down 7.9 lbs. *shrug*

Spike what is your daily menu now?

when you say bike swim lift reguarly what is the schedule?

I am a muscular 5'10" 260lb 50yrs old. I have legs like telephone poles, broad shoulders and big chest and arms AND a big gut -"my snowmobile suit" of fat covering it all. I swim and bike regularly and lift weights

I love to exercise and eat mostly healthy food in average (not diet size) portions. I love to exercise and get cranky when I restrict my diet.

Scientists would call me a mesomorph. When I exercise, I get stronger and build my endurance but I never seem to lose much weight. When I was young and blasting around New England on my ten speed, I weighed 130-150 depending on how hard and fast I had been riding the on the weekend. I had fantastic endurance.

My genetic heritage is German-Irish. I know I should diet but find it difficult to find a real world diet that works for me. I don't want to sound like an excuse but I think I may have what is called a "slow metabolism".

I suspect most of us on this forum have similar metabolisms. From the posts, every seems to be a pretty athletic yet still struggle with weight.

I would like to get my weight to at least 190 without killing myself. 165lb is considered ideal. I think I could have more fun riding at a lighter weight.

What worked for you when you finally got the weight off?

Do you agree with the idea of "slow metabolism" or do you think it is a myth?

SLOW METABOLISM is REAL. You have a symptom of LOW Thyroid. Ask your Dr for a 30 Day trial of ARMOUR THYROID. I take 60 mg once each day.l

What are the symptoms of low thyroid? Im 277ish, eat less than 2200 calories a day 5-6 out of 7 days a week. My BMR and adjusted MR should shed rather quickly with eating the calories that I do, and I track them pretty much religiously, but I only manage to lose a lb or so, maybe, a week. I don't exercise much, but a caloric deficit is a deficit so it shouldn't matter.....

A pound a week is a safe, sustainable and healthy weight loss rate. You don't tend to cannibalize n=muscle tissue and actually burn on fat.

Lose it slow and you have a better chance on not regaining it as well, since you also make a basic change in lifestyle......

What are the symptoms of low thyroid? Im 277ish, eat less than 2200 calories a day 5-6 out of 7 days a week. My BMR and adjusted MR should shed rather quickly with eating the calories that I do, and I track them pretty much religiously, but I only manage to lose a lb or so, maybe, a week. I don't exercise much, but a caloric deficit is a deficit so it shouldn't matter.....

I used to tell myself this same thing. I even went to my doctor to have a thyroid test done. It came back normal, and she told me what I did not want to here. I needed to excercise more. It took me another 5 years, and gaining another 30 pounds before I finally decided to do soemthing about it. I could always eat less and lose 15 pounds in a few weeks, but it always came back within a few months. This January I decided to get off my butt and pick up my used mountain bike out of the garage and start riding. 6 months later, I have lost 53 pounds, and ridden about 900 miles.

I encourage to visit your doctor and have him check you out, but while a thyroid problem may exist, it is just usually an excuse.

I am a muscular 5'10" 260lb 50yrs old. I have legs like telephone poles, broad shoulders and big chest and arms AND a big gut -"my snowmobile suit" of fat covering it all. I swim and bike regularly and lift weights

I love to exercise and eat mostly healthy food in average (not diet size) portions. I love to exercise and get cranky when I restrict my diet.

Scientists would call me a mesomorph. When I exercise, I get stronger and build my endurance but I never seem to lose much weight. When I was young and blasting around New England on my ten speed, I weighed 130-150 depending on how hard and fast I had been riding the on the weekend. I had fantastic endurance.

My genetic heritage is German-Irish. I know I should diet but find it difficult to find a real world diet that works for me. I don't want to sound like an excuse but I think I may have what is called a "slow metabolism".

I suspect most of us on this forum have similar metabolisms. From the posts, every seems to be a pretty athletic yet still struggle with weight.

I would like to get my weight to at least 190 without killing myself. 165lb is considered ideal. I think I could have more fun riding at a lighter weight.

What worked for you when you finally got the weight off?

Do you agree with the idea of "slow metabolism" or do you think it is a myth?

First, see your doctor, there are a couple of medical conditions that can cause slow metabolism, thyroid is one, but there are others. If the doctor clears everything....

Get a small notebook, carry it with you, right down EVERYTHING you eat or drink, then join one of the food tracking and calorie sites, to see what your intake is, lots of people think they eat better, and eat less then they really do. Also track every bit of exercise that increases your heart rate, and track your caloric burn. If you want to lose weight, at the nominal rate, you need to make sure your burning 7000 more calories then your taking in, on a weekly basis. Best is to add a nutritionist who specializes in working with athletes, to your medical team.

Here is the correct explanation of metabolism (This is not directed at the wogster, just for anybody interested)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metabolism


There is no such thing as "slow" metabolism, unless you have a disease:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/slow-metabolism/AN00618

http://www.holisticonline.com/Remedies/weight/A2005/weight_cedarquist-weight-metabolism.htm

I used to tell myself this same thing. I even went to my doctor to have a thyroid test done. It came back normal, and she told me what I did not want to here. I needed to excercise more. It took me another 5 years, and gaining another 30 pounds before I finally decided to do soemthing about it. I could always eat less and lose 15 pounds in a few weeks, but it always came back within a few months. This January I decided to get off my butt and pick up my used mountain bike out of the garage and start riding. 6 months later, I have lost 53 pounds, and ridden about 900 miles.

I encourage to visit your doctor and have him check you out, but while a thyroid problem may exist, it is just usually an excuse.

You can have thyroid withing the "normal range" and still be Hypothyroid. Your Dr should also run a test for antigens your body may be producing that attack your thyroid...It's called Hashimoto's and is an auto-immune disease. I'd been very active, put hours every day in the gym and still gained an average of 10lbs/yr.
Once I convinced my MD to do the tests...and it took a loooong time to convince her to do so...she announced that I had Hashimoto's and needed to take Synthroid. (Well DUH!)
My dose now is 125mcg and I'm finally feeling better and losing weight.
Most MD's won't even consider testing men for thyroid problems...so it remains an undiagnosed problem for a great number of us.
Insist on the full range of Thyroid Tests (not just T4) if you are having problems.
(steps down from soapbox)

A few years ago I noticed I felt cold all the time. My Dr. determined I needed to start taking thyroid pills. I take 100mcg of Levothyroxine (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/medmaster/a682461.html) every day. Just had a blood test last week and my TSH was 2.94 on a normal range of .40 - 4.5 so that problem is long gone.

Made a big difference.

Next week I start a cycle of anabolic steroids and EPO!

http://www.gain-weight-muscle-fast.com/image-files/steroidsvial.jpg http://iambossy.typepad.com/i_am_bossy/images/txlandiscelebration.jpg http://www.joelbieber.com/drugreactions/images/epogen_by_davita.jpg




Just kidding!

Umm befroe we startwritting prescritons should we lok at his diat and excersice routines?

Oppp my son is nt paying attention.. i'll think i'll give him his rittlin.

LOL. That's a good one!

You can have thyroid withing the "normal range" and still be Hypothyroid. Your Dr should also run a test for antigens your body may be producing that attack your thyroid...It's called Hashimoto's and is an auto-immune disease. I'd been very active, put hours every day in the gym and still gained an average of 10lbs/yr.
Once I convinced my MD to do the tests...and it took a loooong time to convince her to do so...she announced that I had Hashimoto's and needed to take Synthroid. (Well DUH!)
My dose now is 125mcg and I'm finally feeling better and losing weight.
Most MD's won't even consider testing men for thyroid problems...so it remains an undiagnosed problem for a great number of us.
Insist on the full range of Thyroid Tests (not just T4) if you are having problems.
(steps down from soapbox)

I am glad that you finally received a correct diagnosis. However, my point was not that your situation does not exist. My point was that most people that think they have slow metabolism are simply underestimating their caloric intake and overestimating their exercise level. I fell into that category. I wanted to blame my obese condition on my genetic makeup or the way that I was taught to eat or a disease or anything that I could come up with other than admitting it was own fault. Once I finally accepted responsibility for the condition that I had put myself, it became a lot easier to start to fix it.

Before you know what you should do to lose weight, you need to find out what you're doing to maintain your present weight. Start by keeping careful track of what you eat and how much, and how much exercise you get. It doesn't take much to lose weight slowly. For most people, 500 calories a day less than what they need for maintenance would cause them to lose about a pound a week...100 pounds in two years.

While these are many fine comments and theories, I am mostly interested in what people found that worked for them. I am not looking for a scapegoat, just to understand what I assume other heavy athletes like me found helpful. I assume it will be diet. I haven't really thought about thyroid issues. I have used a cool program called, DietPower to monitor nutrition and exercise calorie expenditure.

Like many I suspect, I have low blood pressure, resting heart rate and fast recovery, decent endurance as a result of exercise. Frankly, the only major health factor that I miss is that I am statistically obese. I feel great but expect I could feel better at a lower weight.

What worked for you?

What worked for you?What works for me is eating less than what I need to maintain my weight. That's really all there is to it as long as you're otherwise healthy. Eating about 500 calories a day less than what you need for maintenance should cause you to lose about a pound a week.

There are medical conditions that can effect your ability to safely lose weight, so you should see your physician. Way more common than thyroid problems amongst people with your (and my) BMI is type II diabetes. If you've become insulin resistant, that will definitely put a major crimp in your bodies willingness to burn fat. Anyone our size should be having their blood glucose checked as part of their regular physical to rule that out.

On the whole, far more people think they have a medical condition that makes then adverse to weight loss than actually do. (and I say this from the perspective of someone who has been morbidly obese most of my adult life without a medical condition to blame it on).

To lose fat (which is what we all want to do... not lose weight). You've got to create an energy deficit between calories consumed and calories burned. Most people under-estimate how many calories they eat, and over-estimate how many calories they burn.

To learn how many calories you are eating you probably need to start a careful log. Websites like fitday.com or sparkpeople.com can make this task much easier. You'll probably also want to invest in an inexpensive food scale and measuring cup. As an earlier poster pointed out, developing a true understanding of what you eat is a great gift to your health.

To learn how many calories you are burning is even trickier. Our bodies burn calories to keep us alive even when we are completely sedentary. How many calories we burn is sometimes called your Base Metobolic Rate (BMR), or more accurately your resting daily energy expenditure (RDEE). So here's the first bad news for people like me that are carrying too much body fat. Fat doesn't take very much energy to maintain... muscle and lean body tissue burn much more energy. So if you're 5'10 260lbs with 40% body fat, your RDEE is going to be 1900 calories a day, but if you're 5'10 260lbs with 30% body fat, your RDE would be 2150 calories a day. Someone can't look at you and give you an accurate body fat estimate. Once you get pretty big, the calipers and tape measurement techniques don't work very well either. Electronic scales that use Body Impedance Analysis don't work. So to get an accurate estimate of your body composition you need to find a service that uses Hydrostatic weighting, air displacement plethysmography (Bod Pod, http://www.bodpod.com/, 1-800-4bodpod to find a test center near you), or Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA).

Once you know your RDEE, you need to log your exercise and figure out how many calories you're burning. By measuring your blood and breath while you exercise (such as during a VO2 MAX test), a lab can create an estimate of your calorie burn at a given heart rate for a given type of activity. So for example you can learn that you burn 8 kcals/minute on a bike with your HR between 130-135 bpm. Most estimates (such as on the exercise machines at the gym, on websites, and in bike computers, etc...) are grossly inaccurate. Here's the bad news for us big guys about burning calories during exercise. Biking isn't so great. The problem is that if a 130 lbs man and a 260 lbs man each run 7 miles in 45 minutes, the 260 lbs man will have burned almost double the calories of the 130 lbs man because he has to support twice the weight during the entire exercise. But if the same two men go on a flat bike ride for 45 minutes at the same pace, they are going to burn almost the same calories as each other (less true if you're regular bike rides are always up hill). Now any exercise that you enjoy and will do frequently is a great exercise, but all things being equal if you are a significantly overweight clyde, running (or some other full weight bearing exercise) will give you more more bang for the buck than does cycling. So if cycling is going to be you're main form of exercise, hit the hills as often as you can, or supplement your cycling exercise with some time on the treadmill, or even taking long walks.

There is one other key thing you can do to help you lose fat... gain more muscle. If a 260lb man with 40% body fat, adds 10lbs of muscle (by strength conditioning at the gym for example) his RDEE would jump from 1900 kcal/day to 2000 kcal/day making it easier to create a daily calorie deficit. Building muscle while losing fat isn't super easy (doctors used to believe it wasn't possible), but it can be done. You'll want to make sure you take a good dose of protein withing 30 mins of your strength building exercises.

A deficit of 7000 kcal/week is going to equal 2 lbs of fat loss per week. It's not healthy (and not sustainable) to dramatically restrict how much you eat, so if you want to lose weight more quickly the only answer is to jack up the calories you burn through increased exercise (time and intensity), and muscle building. If you're willing to exercise strenuously a couple hours a day, and make a moderate restriction of the calories you eat, you can safely lose weight very rapidly. It's just hard to do.

spike what is your workout routine?
how often do you swim?


here is my thread i i had last week you might want to review
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=430579

Here's the bad news for us big guys about burning calories during exercise. Biking isn't so great. The problem is that if a 130 lbs man and a 260 lbs man each run 7 miles in 45 minutes, the 260 lbs man will have burned almost double the calories of the 130 lbs man because he has to support twice the weight during the entire exercise. But if the same two men go on a flat bike ride for 45 minutes at the same pace, they are going to burn almost the same calories as each other (less true if you're regular bike rides are always up hill). But the good news about biking is that it's so much more fun than running that you'll likely do lots more of it!

I'm no expert. Not even close to an expert. I think, though, that, if you are exercising regularly--3 to 6 times a week--and not losing weight, then you should look at some "lifestyle" changes in your diet. Balanced meals with small portions of protein, complex carbs, fat (all the stuff we're supposed to have) and some attention to eliminating junk food and drink. Diet soda is one thing that ought to go. When I don't drink it, I feel better and I think I can drop weight better. Drink water, at least as much water as you drink other stuff right now. Vegetarian meals sometimes, with protein like soy, may help. Most important is to not starve yourself. Your body needs to be fed properly to lose weight. If you eat too little, you will hold on to fat and lose muscle.

Diet soda is one thing that ought to go. When I don't drink it, I feel better and I think I can drop weight better. Drink water, at least as much water as you drink other stuff right now. If the choice is diet soda vs. regular soda, the diet soda is definitely the way to go. But don't drink huge amounts of any soda.

Stout. Thanks for the thread. It was very interesting. I currently swim 5-6 days a week appx 1500 yards, lift weights 2-3 x per week row and cycle. I mix routines up to keep my interest. I will vary intensity duration, muscle groups, etc. I hate to micromanage my diet which is probably the problem why I am still heavy. I follow a Olympic Rower, Xeno Mueller (www.gorow.com (http://www.gorow.com)) who won the Gold Medal about 8 years ago and has a fitness club and is an instructor. Despite his exercise intensity, he still gained 50lbs of fat in a few short years. He claims that he has a superslow metabolism. Currently he is logging his weightloss on Utube using Nutrisystem.

I share a similar, genetic heritage (he is Swiss, German). Strength/Endurance has always been my athletic edge. I now think my slower metabolism is the reason why.

I am not buying the swiss german genetic heritage.

More than likely its your diet.
watch you portions and NO fast food. if you goto a resturant. Salad only. Like Steck tip salad.

I'm not a doctor but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night...

The human body runs on chemistry. There is no magic here.

Energy in vs energy out. If you're actually doing a lot of exercise, then your basal level of metabolism contributes only a relatively small component of total energy expenditure. The likelihood of a true hormonal or metabolic disturbance being the PRIMARY CAUSE of obesity is pretty damn low. In Western societies, it is rarely anything other than the fact that you eat too much and not exercise enough.

There was talk of hypothyroidism up this thread. Yes, it is not rare but very mild hypothyroidism does not cause any substantial weight gain. Subclinical Hashimoto's thyroiditis is generally asymptomatic.

Basically it comes down to this: there aren't very many fat people in a famine. If fate has rolled you out a bum deal in terms of your genetics, then this is a reason to do MORE exercise.

Regards.

I am a muscular 5'10" 260lb 50yrs old. I have legs like telephone poles, broad shoulders and big chest and arms AND a big gut -"my snowmobile suit" of fat covering it all. I swim and bike regularly and lift weights

I love to exercise and eat mostly healthy food in average (not diet size) portions. I love to exercise and get cranky when I restrict my diet.

...

Do you agree with the idea of "slow metabolism" or do you think it is a myth?

I don't think it's a myth, but I think it applies to very few of those who have "tried" and failed to lose weight. There's a saying, "When you hear hoofbeats, look for horses," meaning that you want to consider the simple explanation for a phenomenon first before you go looking for more exotic possibilities. When you look at the specifics, it turns out that most people who have tried to lose weight and failed have a simple caloric imbalance: they're taking in more than they're burning. Their exercise isn't as vigorous as they think, they're consuming more calories than they think, or both.

It may come down to something like thyroid in your case. If I were your doctor, though, I wouldn't even consider writing for the test in the absence of other symptoms -- not without having a very specific talk with you about exactly how much you are exercising and exactly how much you're eating. You might as well save yourself the trouble and expense and do it yourself. Keep rigorous track of everything you consume, including beverages and so-called "diet" foods, and also keep track of your exercise -- not just duration, but miles and intensity. If you don't have a heart rate monitor, use the perceived exertion scale (http://sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/strengthening/a/030904.htm). Then run it through a calorie counter. I suspect the answer you'll find is that you need to do some adjustments on the eating or exercise side, if not both.

I am a muscular 5'10" 260lb 50yrs old. I have legs like telephone poles, broad shoulders and big chest and arms AND a big gut -

I love to exercise and eat mostly healthy food in average (not diet size) portions. I love to exercise and get cranky when I restrict my diet.

Healthy food? What are you listing as healthy?

I thought the same thing, Topped out at over 300#s (6' 4") a couple years ago, and then found to be type II diabetic, explaining my symptoms of thirst and restless legs, and interruptions during sleep.

I learned via ADA classes, I was eating healthy, (more my wife was preparing healthy meals), but the wrong type of healthy meals for my needs. Also portions were more than I needed.

Now, I struggle every day with maintaining low glucose readings, (with no or very small carbohydrate intake).

Smaller portions, snacks between the 3 meal plan system, and plenty of water have allowed me to eliminate 2 #s per month without an issue, and last visit to Dr indicated that to continue as been done and the slide will pickup momentum. Even though my morning readings are high, my HA1C reading indicated I am averaging well within safe levels, indicating my system is processing glucose when active, (rises when at rest).

My fat is protecting my stomach muscles, and organs, and diet will only cause increase storage, avoid meals skips and keep constant intake on moderate portions will condition your fuel system that it is OK to process stored fuel. (this is hard when traveling for me, but proof has been the last several weeks, working from home location, I have lowered weight, just by eating and exercising with regularity.)

I respect your regiment, and suspect I understand your compact power house build, yet like me, less single intake at a meal, add a protein low carb snack, increase water hydration and your expected results may be achieved.

Now back to working on this front bumper...

You need to get a recumbent. Us 'bentriders don't call it a snowmobile suit- it's an aerobelly.:)
As for the metabolism, I was able to eat pretty much whatever I wanted and not gain weight until I was in my mid-40's, because I was active at aerobic activities (running, biking, hiking). Then the weight slowly crept up over the course of a few years to where I was 30 pounds overweight. I suspect I lost a little muscle mass because I wasn't strength training, which would slow the metabolism a little. So I added strength training to my regimen and started counting my calories. I was astonished to find that some of the "little snacks" I had been eating were over 1000 calories! So I ditto recommendations to carefully measure what you're eating. You could write everything down for a week and calculate the calories, without trying to change anything. From that week's journal, good candidates for cutting back should be obvious.

Thanks Bab2000 for relating your experience. That is what I had hoped the thread would be about- not guesses what may be wrong with me. I agree that it basically works out to be a math problem of calories... The reason I bring up genetics is because I suspect like many others on this list I happen to be pretty strong. I can outswim and out lift most guys I run across yet still carry much fat. Slender guys must scratch their heads to wonder how I can do it. If you look at most endurance swimmers, you will notice that they are um,, ample. At high levels of competitive sport certain genetic heritages dominate= Ethiopian marathon runners, German Rowers, African american everything else (except sailing and polo). Each genetic determination for fast/slow twitch fibers, energy storage and consumption, gives the athlete his "edge".

So the mystery answer to my quest for weight loss has been revealed?

The four letter word D-I-E-T ?

What are the symptoms of low thyroid? Im 277ish, eat less than 2200 calories a day 5-6 out of 7 days a week. My BMR and adjusted MR should shed rather quickly with eating the calories that I do, and I track them pretty much religiously, but I only manage to lose a lb or so, maybe, a week. I don't exercise much, but a caloric deficit is a deficit so it shouldn't matter.....

If you're eating 2200 calories most of the time and (I'm guessing) well over 2200 for at least 1 day a week, and STILL managing to lose a lb a week with little exercise, that's pretty darn good. If you can do that consistently, you'd lose over 50 lbs in one year. Considering you probably didn't put all the extra weight on overnight, you can't expect it to come off overnight. Sounds like you're doing alright to me. If you want to increase the rate of weight loss, try cutting another 200-300 calories a day or (better) upping the exercise.

So the mystery answer to my quest for weight loss has been revealed?

The four letter word D-I-E-T ?

No, not that :eek:, I still believe that MODERATION is your best approach, from what you shared.

Small lifestyle changes can make even bigger health style changes toward your objectives.

All the best.

PS: I made my choices because I want to watch my grandkids grow taller. Youngest will be 15 when I reach 70, kinda want to be there watching their journey, and other ones that may come along.

The reason I bring up genetics is because I suspect like many others on this list I happen to be pretty strong. I can outswim and out lift most guys I run across yet still carry much fat. Slender guys must scratch their heads to wonder how I can do it. I would also avoid shelving this issue to genetics.

No one in my family is diabetic, from either maternal or paternal history. Told mine was spawned by lifestyle and can only be changed by changing my lifestyle, (hard to reverse 30 years of little incorrect choices.:innocent:)

From your description, I can name at least 20 fellas I know or knew that fit your image, to a "T". Take care, continue your physical regiment, just try a little restraint at meal times, and I bet bigger rewards will be observed.

Again, best wishes for the future.

"Here's the bad news for us big guys about burning calories during exercise. Biking isn't so great. The problem is that if a 130 lbs man and a 260 lbs man each run 7 miles in 45 minutes, the 260 lbs man will have burned almost double the calories of the 130 lbs man because he has to support twice the weight during the entire exercise. But if the same two men go on a flat bike ride for 45 minutes at the same pace, they are going to burn almost the same calories as each other (less true if you're regular bike rides are always up hill)."

The big difference is that this 260-lb man just isn't going to make it 7 miles in any 45 minutes. And jogging a mile and flopping over dead isn't going to lose me any weight, either.

The bike statistics seem majorly suspect as well. By those numbers, bicycle weight just shouldn't matter at all, and all the pro racers might as well use cast-iron bikes.

I recall reading long ago in a diet-n-exercise book, the guy's theory was that when you get more fit, you also burned more calories doing the same activities. I don't know how true that is, but just looking at calories burned during exercise might be misleading on that account.

Back to the original question, I know people that eat like birds, and I know fat people, but I don't know any fat people that eat like birds. I do know a guy that's in the hospital right now for miscellaneous problems somewhat related to weight and fitness. They were saying one problem he had was that he just wouldn't get out of his chair- just sit there and ask other people to do stuff for him. You can skip a lot of physical activity just by being a couch potato. If you don't do anything but sit, it's not going to be hard to keep your weight up.

I would also avoid shelving this issue to genetics.

No one in my family is diabetic, from either maternal or paternal history. Told mine was spawned by lifestyle and can only be changed by changing my lifestyle, (hard to reverse 30 years of little incorrect choices.:innocent:)

To that I would add, there's some suspect logic in diets that rely heavily on genetics or ancestry. The problem is that, with few exceptions, we don't live like our ancestors -- even back a couple of generations. My grandparents did hard physical labor all day -- I have a desk job. My diet should not be their diet.

I blamed genetics, matabolism, etc for decades. The facts were I just ate too much and excercised too little. But that was just me.

You swim 1500 yard per session? or a week in total?
Do you drink beer or other alchohol?

I would seriously stop thinking this is genetic. Focusing on that blinds you from other issues that you cant solve untill you recognize them.

Myth. Eat less. Its all about an energy balance on your body, what you bring in (eat) versus what you burn. Get a diary and write down everything you eat, every snack, every cracker, everything.

I recall reading long ago in a diet-n-exercise book, the guy's theory was that when you get more fit, you also burned more calories doing the same activities.

I think this is only true if you're doing the exercise for longer periods of time or at higher intensity due to your increased fitness. If you do the same exercise day after day, week after week, your body will adapt to it and it will actually become easier (= fewer calories burned). I know that when I started riding two months ago, the 2-mile commute to my office would have me sweating and winded. These days, I wouldn't even notice a ride that short...

Spike: as others suggested, I think you probably need to modify what you eat. And possibly the way you exercise. Do you push yourself during exercise? Or have you been doing the same amount/type of exercise for an extended period of time? Diet-wise, I'd focus on controlling calories as well as eating the right types of food. For myself, I notice that my body finds it incredibly easy to turn sugar (soda, candy, cookies, ice cream, etc) into fat that goes directly to my stomach! Complex carbohydrates and lean protein seem to be less likely to end up stored as fat.

5'10" and 242lbs here. My fighting weight (college sports, etc) was 200, but 14 years has allowed the extra to creep on. I am built like a fire hydrant, but still have fat-this is because of lifestyle. I know this because I have type 1 diabetes and thyroid issues in my family history, so I get them checked out regularly to make sure I am still clear. My issue is always the balance of calories in vs out, and what type, as well as exercise amounts. I used to think I exercised enough, but then w/ work and other issues in life, would count and realize I havent done anything in days or a week or 2. This is one of the reasons that I started biking to work. For us bigger guys, it is a bit more of a struggle...not because of genetics or lineage, in my opinion, but just because we are bigger.

From a diet standpoint (meaning only what I eat, not a program or anything), I have cut out soda wherever possible, as well as 'casual' alcoholic consumption, meaning anything more than 1 drink unless it was a rare planned night out. I am increasing my lean meat and veg consumption, but overall, limiting portion size, AND NO SECONDS!! Also, I am trying to eat more than just 2 or 3 times a day. I am shooting for 5 'meals' of smaller size, and try not to eat anything after 7pm. My commute is 10 miles each way, with a lot of hills, so it is 20 miles of hill work per day.

I am down 8lbs in 3.5 weeks (started at 250), and have not felt that I have been limited in any way.

My goal is 220 for now. From there, who knows?

Interesting post vbclown.

I also think, for myself, that a history of weight loss followed by regain and also being on a SSRI anti-depressant in the past has also messed up my metabolism.

I'm just getting started and I'm experiencing the same thing. I've changed my diet and I get drastically more exercise than I used to. I'm losing about a pound a week.

When I was in the military I lost about 70 pounds between fat boy camp, basic and infantry school. Most of that was lost in 90 days. Even after that I still kept losing, and I ate like a pig but most every waking minute was exercise. Anyone who saw me eat then would think I had a very high metabolism. It wasn't metabolism, it was exercise.

My point is, your perceived "metabolism" is very subjective. Most of the time you can substitute the word velocity for metabolism and still be correct. :p

Yes I swim 1500 yards almost daily with varying intensities and strokes to make it interesting. I consider this a moderate workout. Because one utilizes so many different muscle, I find the activity quite relaxing. I cannot say that I am doing it at high HR (90-95%) as one might do to improve conditioning for racing but more at the 65%-85% HR. At times, I have spent in other aerobic activities at high intensitys with my Heart Rate Monitor. Rowing is an excellent exercise utilizing 80% of your muscle mass.

I agree with everyone that genetics is a non factor. Since you cannot do anything about your genetics, why worry about them? I am only offering my body type as a factor which others may share in common with me. I am sure there are other body types that have their challenges as well.

For lunch today, I had a rice cake. Don't mess with me.

Only place ive ever been where squaring a bunk could become a 5 minute Front Leaning rest. You stay like that for 3-5, 8, 10 minutes at a time, several times a day ( and don't forget rifle PT "Its only 7.5 lbs") and you'll lose weight just so the Drills don't find it on you to help you lose it.

*lol*

"I recall reading long ago in a diet-n-exercise book, the guy's theory was that when you get more fit, you also burned more calories doing the same activities."

Let me rephrase that. The theory was that a fit person would burn more calories even when NOT exercising. A guy with more muscle walking across the room would use more calories than a guy of equal weight with less muscle. (In addition to walking across the room a lot more often!) Like I said, I don't know if it's true or not.

"I recall reading long ago in a diet-n-exercise book, the guy's theory was that when you get more fit, you also burned more calories doing the same activities."

Let me rephrase that. The theory was that a fit person would burn more calories even when NOT exercising. A guy with more muscle walking across the room would use more calories than a guy of equal weight with less muscle. (In addition to walking across the room a lot more often!) Like I said, I don't know if it's true or not.

I was watching tv speciale about the morbidly obese and the amount of calories a person that is in that condition while at rest is pretty phonominal.

i dont have the original source so i am pretty much talking out of my crack.

Yes I swim 1500 yards almost daily with varying intensities and strokes to make it interesting. I consider this a moderate workout. Because one utilizes so many different muscle, I find the activity quite relaxing. I cannot say that I am doing it at high HR (90-95%) as one might do to improve conditioning for racing but more at the 65%-85% HR. At times, I have spent in other aerobic activities at high intensitys with my Heart Rate Monitor. Rowing is an excellent exercise utilizing 80% of your muscle mass.

I agree with everyone that genetics is a non factor. Since you cannot do anything about your genetics, why worry about them? I am only offering my body type as a factor which others may share in common with me. I am sure there are other body types that have their challenges as well.

For lunch today, I had a rice cake. Don't mess with me.

Sont starve your self dude. If you do it wont work.
instead of the mcd eggmcmuffin (or 2 in my case) a poched eg or oatmeal
Instade ofa big lunch. Salad with steack or chicken etc.
just eat right and don't over eat.
I lost 50 lbs but it took a year. But i had to stop drinking to do it. But that was not for wiehght loss but it was a noticable side effect.

Actually, genetics are a factor, but you are right that other than behavior modification that maximizes your potential, there's little you can do.

Some of us simply store on calories to fat faster and sooner than others. In a famine,or a society where the food supply isn't so assured, it's a survival advantage. In today's society, though, it's a potentially lethal expression of a gene, but it's one that you can counter if you know the tendency is there. Use the tools to achieve your goals is all we really ever advocate in here. It's a reason, not an excuse, and like any reason, if you don't make it an excuse, )which you aren't, by the way!), you'll achieve your goals. Maybe not as fast as others, but who cares? You are still improving your cardiovascular fitness, and getting stronger every day. :D

Yes I swim 1500 yards almost daily with varying intensities and strokes to make it interesting. I consider this a moderate workout. Because one utilizes so many different muscle, I find the activity quite relaxing. I cannot say that I am doing it at high HR (90-95%) as one might do to improve conditioning for racing but more at the 65%-85% HR. At times, I have spent in other aerobic activities at high intensitys with my Heart Rate Monitor. Rowing is an excellent exercise utilizing 80% of your muscle mass.

I agree with everyone that genetics is a non factor. Since you cannot do anything about your genetics, why worry about them? I am only offering my body type as a factor which others may share in common with me. I am sure there are other body types that have their challenges as well.

For lunch today, I had a rice cake. Don't mess with me.

I don't have much more to say, but I can throw my 2 cents in. I'm another person that has hypothyroidism. Basically, I just wanted to say that most doctors tend to fall into the category of most of the posts in here. So with that and coupled with some of the attitudes that come from those posts (you're not sick you need to run your rear end around the block a few times) it's a war to get them to even diagnose. Much more of a war to get them to treat. (and the word "war" is not far from the truth) And much more of a war for me since I'm a man.

I won't get much into my story regarding this disease and these wars (the cause of about 70% of my health problems right now), but I'll just say that I gained about 70lbs within a 6-9 month period after a thyroid cancer surgery and all doc had to say was "You're doing just fine from the surgery" and "you need to exercise more and eat less". Putz.

(and for those that want to know, I can dig up a list of the symptoms if I'm asked)

I'm not a doctor but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night...
WTF?