Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - How long have you been losing weight and/or riding?

I just though of this because yesterday was my one year anniversary of beginning my weight loss. I'm down about 67 lbs. However, it's only been a bit over six months since I bought a bike.

How about you?

It's been an up and down battle, but I seriously kicked into gear this year and have worked off 20+ pounds and covered a bit more than 1000 miles. Half with my husky for company and half solo. Dog gained 3 pounds in solid muscle.

Started riding at 260 lbs 13 yearsa go. After being taunted by a couple of 150 lb friends on some mtn climbs, I decide to train my butt off. I just wanted to take them to school and kick their arses. I watched my diet and really pushed myself while riding. Dropped down to 218 lbs (the pic). I increased my mileage from 4,000 to 7,300.

Needless to say, I own them now!:D.........Well, they won't ride with me anymore so I got comfy and put some weight back on. Ride with the wife now so I don't push myself like I did. Back up to 245. When I find someone that I want to punish, I'll start training again!:p

I don't ride to lose weight, just staying healthy. My belief is that too many cyclists think too much into the scientific view of losing weight. Counting calories, heartrate, eating carb to protein ratios. I say eat sensible and punish your arse while riding up some big mtn climbs. The weight will fall off. Not many people willing to do the hard work. They'd rather sit around and read about the studies and and scientific theories!:D

About 3 years ago after some hard work! Now I'm just lazy!:p
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l267/gulpxtreme/beanz3.jpg

I started at the very end of April. I've lost 47 pounds to date. Ridden 2640 miles.

I haven't used biking as weight loss. I have used my life style change and biking is one part of my life style change. I changed eating habits, exercise habits, reading and TV habits. More time on my feet and less time on my ARSE, as Mr. Beans calls it.

I just though of this because yesterday was my one year anniversary of beginning my weight loss. I'm down about 67 lbs. However, it's only been a bit over six months since I bought a bike.

How about you?

Congratulations on the weight loss.

My anniversary is December 21, 2005, when I was hospitalized with a suspected heart attack. It was a false alarm, thank God. But it was the last straw. Laying in the cardiac ward, having blood drawn every two hours - this was my future unless I decided to change it. I was 400 pounds, give or take a few. I've made changes, and continue to make changes, to my lifestyle. I was down more than 150 pounds, although I've put some back on.

My cycling anniversary is December 24, 2006. I took my first bike ride, never having learned as a child. One mile, one crash when a mailbox jumped in front of me ( PA doesn't have a leash law for mailboxes), and my first crisis in cycling - the chain came off and I thought I'd wrecked the bike. Good times!

Congratulations on your accomplishment.
I started getting serious about diet and excercise (riding) in May of 2008.
Started at 335 lbs now 298 - broke the 300 mark just yesterday.

So I lost an indeterminate amount of weight last year, had my bike stolen, gained a bunch of it back.

Got a new bike this spring, and am down maybe 20 pounds.

I started at the very end of April. I've lost 47 pounds to date. Ridden 2640 miles.

I started riding about the same time, but I've only ridden about 1700 miles. That's awesome.

I haven't used biking as weight loss. I have used my life style change and biking is one part of my life style change. I changed eating habits, exercise habits, reading and TV habits. More time on my feet and less time on my ARSE, as Mr. Beans calls it.

Oh, exactly. Like I said, the lifestyle change (and weight loss) started before I bought a bike. The bike just gives me a means to exercise that isn't boring. I've also found I can ride to work now.

Congratulations on the weight loss.

My anniversary is December 21, 2005, when I was hospitalized with a suspected heart attack. It was a false alarm, thank God. But it was the last straw. Laying in the cardiac ward, having blood drawn every two hours - this was my future unless I decided to change it. I was 400 pounds, give or take a few. I've made changes, and continue to make changes, to my lifestyle. I was down more than 150 pounds, although I've put some back on.

My cycling anniversary is December 24, 2006. I took my first bike ride, never having learned as a child. One mile, one crash when a mailbox jumped in front of me ( PA doesn't have a leash law for mailboxes), and my first crisis in cycling - the chain came off and I thought I'd wrecked the bike. Good times!

That is an incredible achievement! Congrats to you!

Luckily I had ridden a bike a lot until I turned 16, and the magic of the automobile pulled me away from bikes. I didn't have to learn to ride, and I already knew to look out for the unleashed mailboxes. :lol:

Started July 1st 2008. I had a physical the end of June and found out that my blood glucose was really
high. Have made major changes in my lifesyle, no more cookies, doughnuts,and alcohol. Weight is down
to 217 ( was 260) and am hoping to be below 200 by the end of the year. I am really not sure how many miles I have ridden, will try to keep track this month,but I walk 3 miles every night plus sit-ups and
push-ups

Oh, exactly. Like I said, the lifestyle change (and weight loss) started before I bought a bike. The bike just gives me a means to exercise that isn't boring. I've also found I can ride to work now.

My problem was that I coached sports for my two lovely daughters and never made time for myself to get in shape. I made the change and can probably swim farther now than I could 25+ years ago in high school. I don't think I am any better on my bicycle as far as distance goes, but maybe I am a little better there. I was a basketball and baseball player in high school, so I was always in somewhat decent shape, but was never a runner and now I can run 5 miles without dying. :-)

Back in '85 at 245 I started riding. I actually got down to 160 after three or four years. Unfortunately, real life intruded and I stopped in '91.

Last October, at 268, with (controlled by two medications) high blood pressure and a diagnosis of diabetes, I started lifting and doing some walking. I started riding again September 1st. I'm now down to 190, and I've ridden slightly over 750 miles in the last two months.

I'm off the beta blocker and my metformin prescription was cut in half a couple months ago. I'm expecting to be totally off the metformin at my next checkup, and hopefully off the remaining BP medication also.

[QUOTE=The Historian;7773395] One mile, one crash when a mailbox jumped in front of me QUOTE]

You were supposed to yield. Inanimate objects always have the right of way.

Back to the OP, I lost 120 pounds in a year and a half of biking and counting calories. In the year and a half since, I put 3 pounds back on, but it's all muscle, I'm sure.

[QUOTE=The Historian;7773395] One mile, one crash when a mailbox jumped in front of me QUOTE]

You were supposed to yield. Inanimate objects always have the right of way.


I was young and foolish. :(

I was young and foolish. :(

I was young(er) and foolish. :( editted for clarity:roflmao2:

Joined the Y in August 2007. Bought the bike in December 2007. Without putting a tremendous effort into it (not nearly as much as I should be!!), I'm down 40 lbs overall, and not sure how much in inches in assorted places.

Joined the Y in August 2007. Bought the bike in December 2007. Without putting a tremendous effort into it (not nearly as much as I should be!!), I'm down 40 lbs overall, and not sure how much in inches in assorted places.

AND IT SHOWS! I didn't friggin' recognize you last time we crossed paths! A few more and you'll be too fast to catch with the lens!:thumb:

This past Christmas my extended family was sitting around complaining about being overweight (because most of us are). I finally decided that enough was enough. I had tried to lose weight a few times over the last 5 years, but it was always by just trying to eat less. That would work for a few weeks. I would take off 10-15 pounds, and then I would put 20-25. This time I decided that there had to be some exercise involved. I love playing sports, but family life and my job do not allow for a whole lot of organized sports activities. So I decided that the only solo exercise I had ever actually enjoyed was riding a bike. So January 1, 2008 I got the old mountain bike out of the garage. I bundled up and went and rode 3 miles. I thought I was going to die, but then later that week I did it again, and the next week I did it again and again, and then pretty much an average of three times a week every since then. The distances are much longer now, and the speeds are much faster, but the enjoyment just keeps getting better. In the last 10 months I have gone from 329 to 255. I had wanted to get to 225 this year, but that is not going to happen. I think that 245 will be much more realistic. I would like to get down to 200 eventually, but I have already done what I started out to do. I just wanted to be able to reengage in life. I did not want to need to shop at big and tall stores, or not be able to fit in theatre seats or any of the other things that come along with being obese. I also wanted to be able to do stuff with my kids whenever they wanted. Last week I played soccer with them for 45 minutes and they were the ones asking for a break.:D


I just though of this because yesterday was my one year anniversary of beginning my weight loss. I'm down about 67 lbs. However, it's only been a bit over six months since I bought a bike.

How about you?

Rode as kid then strictly as commuter/student for 2yrs after HS - weighed 140+ 1990. Since then I've peaked at 224lbs. Car died in Jul 2007 and have been car free ever since. Have lost 25lbs with minimal exercise and dieting. Also, the only biking I did until this year was commuting/errands/shopping.
Now I'm trying to do more recreational riding and recently finished a metric century. My diet is terrible because I eat too much of the wrong things and for the wrong reasons.

Rode a lot in my 20s, then started again after my daughter was born 4 years ago.

Did a year of MTB, often with her in tow, then bought a cross bike. Now ride about 2000-2500 miles a year.

I'm 6'3. When i started i was 240, then fell to 220 or so and now hover around 230. I'm pleased with my fitness, resting BP and the like, and have a lot of muscle i didn't.

Here's me, with my daughter in august

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd133/adrien_028/034.jpg

Was close to 250 in June. Started riding in July and picked up a new road bike in early August. So in 4 months I am over 1,500 miles and down 25+ pounds. Next year I will make it to less than 200. The less I weigh, the easier it becomes.

August 2006 I was 388.
As of this morning (nov 2 2008) I am 313.

I will be sub 300 by Thanksgiving.

I had about 12 months of active weightloss in those 2 years, and 12 months of maintaining, mostly the cold weather months. I HATE treadmills, and only had access to an indoor track for 3 months of that time. I've bought more cold weather gear this past week than I had in the whole past two years so this winter I won't be kept from being outside, even if I cant be on the bike.

I just bought the bike a month and a half ago, and I can most definitely tell the difference already. The weight hasn't come of much faster, but it definitely moving. The legs are stronger, and the belly a little smaller.

I had peaked at a bit over 250 in September '07. As I approached my 48th birthday, I decided to give my mostly unused MTB to my older son as he had outgrown his bike. I was averaging maybe 10 miles a years between the age of 18 and 48 so figured he could use the bike more than I.

I found an old MTB on Craig's List for $40 and decided I'd pick it up so I'd have a bike for the couple of times a year my family dragged me out for a ride. It needed a lot of work so I started working on it. Hadn't wrenched on a bike since I was a kid but it turned out that I still enjoyed it. Started taking the bike on short test rides to check out my work and rediscovered how much fun riding was. The "test rides" got longer and more frequent and my wife started coming along.

500 miles later I was approaching the end of the year, was riding 5 - 10 miles most days and had lost some weight. I didn't intend to make a lifestyle change, it just happened. A few months into 2008, I was riding further and going weeks without a day out of the saddle. I was saving for a new MTB when I was given an old Schwinn road bike (a '77, the same year I graduated high school).

It felt wierd at first but I really liked the feel of the road bike. Picked up an old Schwinn for my wife and we started doing more distance. The money I was saving for a new MTB went to a new road bike (entry-level Schwinn but it introduced me to modern componentry). Then I bought my wife a new road bike and the miles started increasing. I'm now over 3,000 miles for 2008, lost over 30 lbs. since I returned to cycling, commuting to work most days and working to average 100 miles a week.

My wife and kids have always been in much better shape than I. We went on a camping trip last month that involved a lot of hiking. To my surprise, I had to slow down for them! I'm at 220 lbs. (a weight I hadn't seen since my early 20s), 6' 1" (I actually stand an inch taller than I was a year ago) and feel great. My weight loss has leveled off but that's OK with me. I'm riding for how it makes me feel, not what the scales read.

Like most, I rode a lot as a kid, but pretty much stopped entirely when I got my drivers' license. Since the age of 17 my two wheel experiences were entirely powered by internal combustion (I've been riding motorcycles since 1972).

In March of 2006, purely on a lark, I bought a Schwinn from a Target and my girlfriend bought a beach cruiser from a local hardware store. We would go out for about five miles every three or four weeks. We stopped riding for the winter in September '06, and picked it up again in the spring of '07. In '07 we rode every weekend instead of every month. We rode all winter when the weather allowed. This year I have been riding four or five days a week, and now have a Trek hybrid, and recently purchased a Salsa Casseroll.

As for the weight loss and life style changes...well, I posted this in the "former smokers" thread about two weeks ago:


January 2007: weight 260; smoked a pack and a half a day of unfiltered Lucky Strike (my brand of choice since 1978); could barely climb a flight of stairs without stopping for a rest half way; six pack of Coor's nightly; fifth of Jack Daniels weekly (sorry - they don't make fifth's anymore...750ml of Jack per). Woke up one morning and said to myself "Today is the day I quit smoking." I wore the patch for a very brief time, and I put the sixty bucks a week that I wasn't spending on smokes into a separate ING account. I decided that I was going to make some other radical changes to my life, too, including taking the Arizona bar exam so I can bail out of the rust belt when my youngest graduates high school next June.

August 2007: weight 280; still drinking the six gun every night...I needed the beer to wash down the constant shots of Jack. At least my wind was improving and my girlfriend and I were riding our big box bicycles twenty miles at a time at least once a week. I decided that if I was going to take a bar exam twenty five years out of law school, I'd better pass the dam thing, which meant studying. I figured studying would be easier without the beer and the Jack, so I gave up drinking, too. I added the sixty buck a week that I wasn't spending on licquor to the ING account.

February 2008: weight 240 (just from not drinking beer); flew to Phoenix with my girlfriend and stayed for a week. The bar exam was two days; the rest of the time was spent sightseeing; Sedona, Grand Canyon, cactus league baseball...oh yeah, the Sixers were in town and beat the Suns the night before we left to come back to Philly. The trip was bankrolled by the "vice money" in that ING account. I even had enough left over to buy a real bike from a LBS.

May 2008: weight 225; I surpassed my total 2007 cycling mileage (about 800 miles in 2007); got the results of the bar and I passed.

October 2008: weight 220 (I've plateaued 'cause I'm still too fond of junk food). I've ridden several centuries, both supported and unsupported, and I'm approaching 2500 miles for the year. I sold my gigantic, expensive house and my son and I just moved into a nice apartment in a converted Victorian in a small college town.

So there's my story.

A year ago I was at 360 pounds, I started cutting back on my carb intake and portion size, and got down to 320 by this past March. I had done something simular a few years back and lost 75-pounds, figured I could do it again easy, but this time I would try exercising too.

Then in April a co-worker died suddenly from a heart attack. I called the next day for a physical. While there I was diagnosed with stage-2 hypertension. I asked the doctor what exercising I could do and his response was, "NOTHING"! With my high blood pressure, he wanted me to only take short walks until I could be evaluated by a cardiologist.

While I waited for my appointment my wife suggested I pull my bike out (a 1991Raleigh CX Dash Plus) and get it fixed up. After passing my stress test in May I started riding. First a mile, then three, and soon I was riding 7-8 miles at a time. I put a total of about 350 miles on it and then in August I got a Specialized Allez. I've got about 650 miles on it now too, and I am presently holding steady at 297 pounds.

My cardiologist kept me from doing _anything_ for a good 10+ years and during that time I more then doubled my weight. So new cardioligist and I was cycling a bit then I moved cross country and stopped for a while. Was almost up to 3x my weight when I first saw my Texas cardiologist and had another new one who put me through some tests and told me to get out and walk or ride my bike but to keep the HR low. *sigh* Oh well so I've been back on the bike since May 2007 and lost a bit of weight but haven't lost a pound since March 2008 :(

Might be starting a spin class or two and the HR limitation has been raised a bit so hopefully that will kick start something. If that don't work soon I'll be ordering me up some of those 6 a day cookie squares and eat just that and a smoothie for a year and get some training wheels for when I faint on the bike :eek: ;)

I started riding 18 months ago 58 years old and 220 with a 40 inch waist. After 7000 miles I'm now turning 60 years old at 180 with a 34 inch waist.
The 220 was mostly fat but the 180 is more muscle. When I was 220 I couldn't do more than 1 or 2 pushups. Now I do 3 sets of 50 pushups and 85 situps most weekdays now. I went from XL to Medium shirts and riding shorts.
I want to lose 20-30 more pounds so I can climb better but I'm not in a big hurry.
This riding is a vicious cycle , buy a new bike, lose weight, get faster, ride more, lose more, get faster, spend more on bike stuff, ride more and so on.

I started out a skinny college kid:

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e341/Doohickie/Bicycle08/20a.jpg

Like many of us, I put on some extra pounds. In 2005 I finally had enough and lost 70 lb. in 6 months on the South Beach Diet, from 240 to 170 lb. I was able to get rid of all 7 pills I was taking every day.

http://webpages.charter.net/doohickie/Click_On_Index/2006Photos/SBDBeforeAndAfter.jpg

I held it for a while, but it turns out I actually lost more weight than I intended. I tried to gain a little back, but then I gained a little more than that, and by this year I had gained most of it back.

I started commuting on my bicycle occasionally in February, but still gained weight. I finally got serious when I got back from vacation in July weighing 221 and got back on the South Beach Diet. I just couldn't stick with it as religiously as I did in 2005. I lost some weight but then I stalled out. So in September I turned up the gain on my commuting. I try to ride every single day, except for those days when I have off-site meetings and riding all around town just doesn't make sense.

I've lost down to 193. I'd kind of like to lose about 10 more pounds and call it good.

A couple recent pics of me in the 190s:

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e341/Doohickie/Bicycle08/Picture184.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e341/Doohickie/Bicycle08/Picture033-1.jpg

Started riding at the end of July at 283 and change. Mrs. Zoxe and I got upgrades from our Walmart bikes and rode 500 miles in the first 3 months (which is a lot, considering when we started we could barely do 2 or 3 per night). Last Friday I was 259, or ~24 lbs lighter.

My weight is now lower than it has been in the past 5 years, and I feel like I'm peeling off layers of age like tree bark.

Now that the weather is cooler, we're riding a stationary bike. I hate this but I'm losing weight again after having plateaued (sp?) in early October.

I have been eating better at work and trying to eat sensible dinners. The weekends are my bane, and will end up traveling a good amount this fall for work (with coworkers that "only two" quarter pounders is considered cutting back). I'm a little scared.

I have a fairly modest goal of being 250 or under by the time of our 10th Anniversary cruise to Hawaii next April. When we started, losing ~35 lbs seemed like a big number. Now I'm only 9lbs away and have 6mo to go. Once I hit it I'll simply pick a new goal. :)

I started my weight loss back in March. I also started riding bikes at the same time. I was at 250 pounds back then. I lost weight at a steady rate for 5 months, ending at 159-165 pounds. For the last 2 months and a half I've remained in the same weight. I've been more flexible with my calorie intake and I've not been riding as much (bike was broken, then I fell from the bike, then it got cold). Or maybe is just that the closer you get to your ideal weight, the harder it is to lose the last pounds. Either way, I am maintaining the weight and not gaining one single pound back which is good.

I started on a Walmart bike, a cheapo MTB. I upgraded to entry level road bike (trek 1.2). Lately all my cycling purchases are cycling clothes. And I still need new base layers, long bibs, long sleeve jerseys, fleece jacket, winter rated gloves... etc etc.

Started the year at 348lbs, started riding regular in June. I have just past 700 miles on my Sedona. I am now hovering around 303-306lbs, haven't been riding the last few weeks but just set up the trainer in the family room so I am hoping to go below 300 by Dec. This has been amaizing for me as I am a disabled Vet with neck, back and knee issues. I just decided if I was gonna be in pain I might as well try and lose some weight and improve my health. Its been painful but my blood pressures down from 165/110 to 120/74 last check! Looking to get a new bike in 2009 as a reward for hitting the 80lbs lost mark (around June I am hoping).

Congrats to everyone!

Started July 1st 2008. I had a physical the end of June and found out that my blood glucose was really
high. Have made major changes in my lifesyle, no more cookies, doughnuts,and alcohol. Weight is down
to 217 ( was 260) and am hoping to be below 200 by the end of the year. I am really not sure how many miles I have ridden, will try to keep track this month,but I walk 3 miles every night plus sit-ups and
push-ups

from one newbie to another, welcome aboard! I started bicycling in August 2008.My starting weight was 405lbs, I'm 380 this morning.

My goal is to make it a major part of my commute. My rides average 55 minutes each way, but I've had some bad days( head winds, crank fell off, snow, etc) that have lengthened the ride to 1 3/4. I've been able to average 3-4 trips per week, but would like to get it up to 4 days per week(8 trips)

I've lost 45 lbs, mostly from my pre-op diet from lapband surgery. I've had to wait 6 weeks for my first adjustment, so I've gained 15 lbs. My adjustment was yesterday, I've lost all sense of hunger, again.

Best of wishes to everyone!

Tyler

you guys are great. No magic here, just confidence, determination and a little community mixed with humor. Thanks for the inspiration. I made it below 200, plateaued and return to this forum for reality check. Mileage dropped off and weight climbed.
Just last month milage up and weight down. Weird, Huh?
Got a lot of work to get the long term trend going down.

6 feet tall, 46 years old

A timeline:

2007
Jan 265lbs - 2 kinds of BP medicine. Went on diet. Bleah. Rented a bike a couple of times: fun!
April 240lbs - Yay!
Saved my pennies and got my own bike in May: Whoo Hoo!
Sep 215lbs - went backpacking in Yosemite - bicycling-as-aerobic-training saved my "rear" (you know the word I really mean)
October - no more meds!

2008
Jan 220lbs - rode into campus one way (27 miles) a couple times a week for the spring semester.
April - found friendly local bike group
June 225lbs
wrecked my shoulder in June - no bicycling for me! aaaaaaaaargh!
Oct 245lbs - aaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!!
Back on bike in Oct - once a week.
Nov 240lbs: dieting again. Bleah. One kind of BP medicine. Bleah.
Shooting for biking 2x a week in November (must take care of shoulder)

liz

I have been eating better at work and trying to eat sensible dinners. The weekends are my bane, and will end up traveling a good amount this fall for work (with coworkers that "only two" quarter pounders is considered cutting back). I'm a little scared.


Just think, while they are eating multiple burgers, you can dominate the conversation. :)

But really, think of it like this: you have the chance to model good eating habits to your coworkers and passersby.

I have to keep this in mind for myself when eating out with (non-dieting) friends and family.
Preaching to my plump friends does not work, so I hope being an example will!

liz

Not as extreme as you guys...

Was an avid biker throughout my childhood, then when I went to boarding school, I started running and rowing crew. By my Sr. year, I could polish off 5 miles in a bit over 32 minutes. Then...I went to college. Too much dorm food, cigarettes and beer, and I went from a 6 pack and 175 lbs to a "keg" and 225 lbs. by last year. Started commuting to work as much as possible, watching what I eat (i.e. no more school lunches! - I'm a teacher) and now I've dropped to 217. The goal is to do the Hilly Hundred next year, as well as the Indy Mini marathon in 2-3 years.

As for the weight loss and life style changes...well, I posted this in the "former smokers" thread about two weeks ago:
WOW _ Quite a tale!! Incredible. Glad to here of all the changes..and the honesty of your stiry. I am sureit well help a ton of people. It is amazing what the cycling habit will do for people! I Am amazed with al the stories -and in fact with how I have chnacged by riding a bike. Juts haveing it in my living room makes me happy!!