Training & Nutrition - Here I go again, another attempt to get back into shape.

Here I go again, another attempt to get back into shape. First a little history, I was fat, I got into shape, I raced road and mountain bikes and made it to cat 3 on the road bike.

My racing "career" came to an abrupt end when I found out that I needed knee surgery about two years ago. My first two surgeries did not go well and left me with two screwed up knees. After the surgeries my surgeon told me that my riding days were over so I sold all my bikes and went on with life. I finally decided to get a new surgeon and had both of my knees operated on again. I was told that I would probably be able to ride but only on flat ground. In WV riding flat ground really isn't an option so I wasn't too hopeful.

On July 4th I decided to go against my doctors suggestion, I jumped on the bike for a short 18 mile test ride. It about killed me but my knees held up fine. The worst part was that I was 260 pounds at this point.

Anyway, it's been almost three months since I got back on the bike. I am down to 233 pounds and I have ridden 1,150 miles so far, including an impromptu solo century. My knees are doing pretty well on the bike but they still ache just about all of the time. At my last doctor visit the surgeon told me to keep it up and with each pound I lose my knees will feel better.

I realize that I will never race again but I am hoping to be able to hold my own on fast group rides. My goal is 180 pounds and then see if I want to lose any more or if I am happy with myself at that point.

If anyone is interested here is a link to my Garmin dashboard (http://connect.garmin.com/dashboard;jsessionid=64B5F3366F05A684312820EBCF00EE48?cid=844035)showing most of my rides.

Here is a very embarassing "before" picture. This picture was taken right around July 2nd.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b148/LowCel/ducks.jpg

I wouldn't call that an embarrassing photo. Stuff happens.
There is plenty of fun to be had without racing. I wish you the best of luck. :)

I wouldn't call that an embarrassing photo. Stuff happens.
There is plenty of fun to be had without racing. I wish you the best of luck. :)

Thanks, I appreciate it. It is still embarrassing though, this is most definitely not how I want to look and feel. I am doing my best to change it though, it's just going to take some time.

Here is my ride data from today. I screwed up and forgot to turn the garmin back on after the last regroup and lost the final six miles of the ride. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/51071084

I know the feeling. :)
My daily lunch ride is 19 miles with 500 feet of climbing. You can do a lot with shorter rides.
I use mine for all kinds of fun. Have fun and you will stick with it IMHO.

Congrats! Keep up the good work!

Congrats! Keep up the good work!

Thank ya.

Did sort of a short ride today, kind of an active recovery day. This was my first day using my new Sidi Ergo 2's and I didn't have them adjusted just right. Hopefully they will feel better tomorrow.

Here is today's ride data (http://connect.garmin.com/activity/51184692).

Can't really tell by this picture but I have lost almost 30 pounds since the picture in the first post was taken. I weighed in today at 231, down 29 pounds since the beginning of July.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b148/LowCel/IMG_1126.jpg

Cool. Keep at it!

Today's ride hurt me. It wasn't extremely fast but it still hurt, especially the climb around mile 27.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/51430736

Congrats man, keep it up. Been tracking you via the garmin thread, and your rides have been improving nicely. Really love your bike too!

Congrats man, keep it up. Been tracking you via the garmin thread, and your rides have been improving nicely. Really love your bike too!

Thank you, I appreciate it.

Best of luck man, I'm also at ~230 and have a ways to go. We can do it.

Best of luck man, I'm also at ~230 and have a ways to go. We can do it.

Thanks and best of luck to you as well.

Today makes three months since I got back on the bike. So far I have managed to ride 1,273 miles and I have lost 29 pounds. Not too bad for a guy that was told that his riding days were over. :D

Past couple of days have been nice boring trainer days. Woooohooooo.....

Yesterday - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/51856872
Today - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/51856867

As of yesterday I have lost a 30 pounds, woohoooo!!!!

Good job on your progress Locell. Keep up the good work. You said how your knees hurt less as you lose weight. I recall reading someplace the amount of impact each lb of body weight puts on the feet. It was impressively large. I would guess that knees take a pounding too. The lighter you get the better. I would think that if you can notice it with moderate weight loss, that once you get down to your target weight, almost all of your pain will be gone.

IMO, I would have passed on the knee surgery, and just lighten up the load/pace or whatever on the knees.. Example, a couple decades ago, I could run long distances.. I was runnning about 5 times a week. After a couple years of that, and getting some knee pain, the docs told me my cartlidge was SHOT, and that I needed surgery. Also, I had the option to stop running. I choose to stop running..End result, my knees are still there, no surgery. No I can't run those long distances, but I can still run, and now riding the bicycle.

Since you have already had the surgery, I will stick with a workout/weight training program that targets losing weight. and go from there..

Once again, surgery should be the last, last, and really last resort..

Luck to you...:beer:

I was 230 also before(I'm 5'7") and it flat-out SUCKED. I'm now a ripped 165 and now realize the absolute WORST thing you can do to yourself is injury. Welcome back!

I needed minor knee surgery a few years ago, but had to get up on my doctor's desk to get him to order the MRI. He kept saying, "but no one could do what you do if they had a torn meniscus. It's not worth the money." I was right, he was wrong. Happens.

Glad you're feeling better. Keep at it. You know what to do.

I needed minor knee surgery a few years ago, but had to get up on my doctor's desk to get him to order the MRI. He kept saying, "but no one could do what you do if they had a torn meniscus. It's not worth the money." I was right, he was wrong. Happens.

Glad you're feeling better. Keep at it. You know what to do.

Sounds like what Lowcel needed was more than minor surgery. It's hard to say what's right for someone unless you are in their shoes. It does sound like the first Surgeon messed things up, but complications happen all the time. Glad to hear you're finally on the road to recovery and fitness!

The question is though - are you still dabbling in RC cars? :D

The question is though - are you still dabbling in RC cars? :D

I've still got a few rc cars but I am about ready to start putting them up for sale. Who knows, might end up with enough to pick up a Quarg crankset. :D

Thought I would post a quick update for the week. I had a few really nice rides last week so I have decided to take today off.

■Monday – 13 mile mtb ride, first mtb ride in about four years
■Tuesday – 25 mile group night ride, had a blast. First night road ride.
■Wednesday – 19 mile group ride, short and sweet.
■Thursday – 25 mile solo ride, partly a night ride
■Friday – rest day
■Saturday – 44 mile group ride
■Sunday – 44 mile solo ride

All in all it was a great week of riding. I’ve lost a little more weight, 33 pounds to be exact, only 47 pounds to go. :D

Keep the work up! I'm tryin to lose me some weight too with the goal of 190 as well!

Keep the work up! I'm tryin to lose me some weight too with the goal of 190 as well!

Thanks and good luck reaching your goal as well.

Time for another weekly update. I had a pretty good week of riding and felt great for all of the rides except for yesterday (Sunday). I just didn't have it in me so I ended up cutting the ride short.

Monday - rest day
Tuesday - 25.6 mile night group ride
Wednesday - 23.1 mile group ride
Thursday - rest day - 10th anniversary so went out to dinner with wife
Friday - 32.4 miles with a couple of forum members
Saturday - 36.9 mile solo ride
Sunday - 25.2 mile with a couple of others, cut ride short

My weight stayed the same this week, however my diet was absolutely terrible for the week so it's not really a suprise. Hopefully I can control my eating this next week.

LowCel, I hope you get to your targeted weight soon, just in time for your new PSIMET carbon wheels.

I lost a good bit of weight myself, from 245 to 170 in about a years time. I'm about 5'8. A lot of it is how much, followed by what you eat and drink. Do you have a picture from your cat3 racing days? Your power readings seem really great for 2 bad knees!!

I lost a good bit of weight myself, from 245 to 170 in about a years time. I'm about 5'8. A lot of it is how much, followed by what you eat and drink. Do you have a picture from your cat3 racing days? Your power readings seem really great for 2 bad knees!!

Thanks for the kind words, I certainly appreciate them.

Here are a couple of pics from my previous life.

This is a shot of me winning a cat 4 race.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b148/LowCel/GreenTour1a.jpg

Hanging out with my nephew.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b148/LowCel/001a.jpg

Time trial that I lost by two seconds. :(
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b148/LowCel/WheelersTimeTrial.jpg

One of my old Fuji's.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b148/LowCel/Fujiandme.jpg

Hanging out before a race somewhere in Ohio.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b148/LowCel/ourWVabros4-2-06.jpg

Just thought I would post a link to Saturday's ride, looks like my numbers are slowly getting better. :D

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/54095283

Thx for sharing. Those pics are great. You'll get there again. The look on your face on that first pic is one of determination. That guy can definitely do it. 700 max watts is awesome , even on knees that haven't had surgery. I look forward to your posts in the Garmin thread. I personally am trying to get to 155-160, but the eating part and finding hours are the toughest.

Thx for sharing. Those pics are great. You'll get there again. The look on your face on that first pic is one of determination. That guy can definitely do it. 700 max watts is awesome , even on knees that haven't had surgery. I look forward to your posts in the Garmin thread. I personally am trying to get to 155-160, but the eating part and finding hours are the toughest.

Thanks. My actual max wattage is 1082 watts, not overly impressive but not terrible. During the Saturday ride I hit some new highs for other times though, including my 30 minute which is what I really need to start working on after I finish getting a good base in. I want to get in at least 2,000 - 2,500 before I start concentrating on interval training.

Good thread; I'm glad you started it. It's giving me some encouragement to get back on the straight and narrow with respect to my weight. In 2005 (pre-cycling), I lost 70 lb. on the South Beach Diet. It slowly crept back on and despite starting on the bike again about three years ago, it still crept on. I've gained most of the weight back (although I feel a lot healthier than last time I was this heavy), and it's time to get back on top of my weight.

Congrats on your success, Lowcel. I know you aren't where you want to be yet, but you're obviously going to get there. For whatever it's worth your accomplishment is extremely impressive to me. Keep it up! Hopefully you'll also keep posting your results. :D

Thanks Doohickie and Southpaws, I appreciate the kind words.

I had another good week/month of riding. I managed 151 miles for the week and 579 miles for the month of October and I am already looking forward to next month. I am going to start the month with a rest day tomorrow though. :D

I have lost a couple more pounds, I am down to 225 pounds, I'm still fat but I am down 35 pounds since July 4th. Not too bad in my opinion. I want to lose another 45 pounds and then I will see how I am feeling and if I want to lose any additional weight.

Here is a link to all of my rides on Garmin (http://connect.garmin.com/explore?owner=lowcel#owner=lowcel&sortField=relevance&currentPage=1)if anyone is interested.

Thanks Doohickie and Southpaws, I appreciate the kind words.

I had another good week/month of riding. I managed 151 miles for the week and 579 miles for the month of October and I am already looking forward to next month. I am going to start the month with a rest day tomorrow though. :D

I have lost a couple more pounds, I am down to 225 pounds, I'm still fat but I am down 35 pounds since July 4th. Not too bad in my opinion. I want to lose another 45 pounds and then I will see how I am feeling and if I want to lose any additional weight.

Here is a link to all of my rides on Garmin (http://connect.garmin.com/dashboard)if anyone is interested.

Awesome job!

Just amazes me that you could take that much time away from cycling, gain the weight that you did, and then come back from knee surgery and ride what to me is a massive ride times and distances.

BTW, your link goes only to the generic Garmin dashboard, but I found your ride results page here (http://connect.garmin.com/explore?owner=lowcel#owner=lowcel&sortField=relevance&currentPage=1). That Garmin is a sweet device!

Thanks, I appreciate the compliment and the correction on the link. I still feel very slow and am actually dissapointed once I get out there and realize how slow I am compared to how I rode during my previous life. I will find myself planning my route thinking about how I should be riding, then once I get out on the bike reality kicks in, it sucks! :(

Nice night ride this evening, feels like I am getting stronger every week I do it.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/55324934

I ended up having a really nice ride on the trainer last night.

30 second intervals on the trainer, absolutely sucked! After the last one I had to get off of the bike and walk outside to cool down, I was actually afraid I was going to pass out.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/55418790

When I did them on 10/5/10 they were: 448, 432, 443, 454, 417
Yesterday they were: 536, 535, 538, 491, 536

Time for another update. Weighed in three pounds lighter than I did a week ago so I am still going the right way.

Thursday night was supposed to be a group ride but nobody showed due to a 30% chance of rain and someone calling from somewhere saying it was raining. I ended up doing solo hill repeats. It was cool (40's) and dark so it was perfect. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/55530791

Friday ended up being a rest day. I put a few goodies up for sale online and ordered a new frameset. It was a nice day even if it was a bit expensive. :D

Saturday I did a shorter ride since I had a group ride planned for Sunday. I put 30 miles in with a couple of decent climbs. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/55713216

Sunday was supposed to be a group ride but nobody showed. Apparently everyone had other plans and it had nothing to do with it being cold. :rolleyes: I put in 40 miles with a good bit of climbing. Even though it wasn't that far it definitely did a number on my legs. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/55898391

Unfortunately for the week my mileage was down from where I wanted it to be. I only ended up with 123.4 miles for the week. :(

Today is another rest day with a pretty good week of riding planned.

keep going. Im hittin the trainer now myself. I cant hack the chili air except in the woods. Keep Diggin. The scale will stop and thats when you gotta get tough, you know that so take advantage of the way its moving.

Great work.

Time for another update. Weighed in three pounds lighter than I did a week ago so I am still going the right way.

Thursday night was supposed to be a group ride but nobody showed due to a 30% chance of rain and someone calling from somewhere saying it was raining. I ended up doing solo hill repeats. It was cool (40's) and dark so it was perfect. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/55530791

Friday ended up being a rest day. I put a few goodies up for sale online and ordered a new frameset. It was a nice day even if it was a bit expensive. :D

Saturday I did a shorter ride since I had a group ride planned for Sunday. I put 30 miles in with a couple of decent climbs. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/55713216

Sunday was supposed to be a group ride but nobody showed. Apparently everyone had other plans and it had nothing to do with it being cold. :rolleyes: I put in 40 miles with a good bit of climbing. Even though it wasn't that far it definitely did a number on my legs. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/55898391

Unfortunately for the week my mileage was down from where I wanted it to be. I only ended up with 123.4 miles for the week. :(

Today is another rest day with a pretty good week of riding planned.

Dude, I don't know what your situation is but look into Adult Stem Cell research. I don't mean the embryonic stuff I mean the adult stem cells that can be harvested from your body. Check out a company called Regenexx.
Find out what you can and see if something can be done about your knees using those techniques. Let me know.

<<<<<<<< 174

<<<<<<<< 174

That's awesome! I'm right around the 220 mark and holding. :(

40 pounds lost, 40 to go!

keep that in mind tho.

I still have a long way to go but thought I would post my progress pictures.

July 3, 2010.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b148/LowCel/ducks.jpg

October 1st, 2010.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b148/LowCel/IMG_1126.jpg

January 28, 2011.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b148/LowCel/IMG_2231a-1-1.jpg

Nice job man. :thumb:

Got myself in a bit of a rut too, looking for some inspiration. :(

A couple of good workouts already this week.

Yesterday:

4-6x6 minute threshold intervals (258-299 watts) with two minute recoveries. I only managed to do five intervals, didn't have the sixth one in me.

Average wattage for the intervals were 288, 290, 288, 284, 282

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/66249073


Today:

2x20 minutes tempo (215-257 watts), 5 minute recovery.
1st interval - 250 watts
2nd interval - 255 watts

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/66376920

Finished my workout. One hour on the trainer with 1x45 minutes tempo (215-257 watts).

239 watts average
152 bpm hr average
0.816 IF

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/67693657

Other trainer rides for the week.

Wednesday. 2x20 minutes threshold intervals (258-299 watts) with five minutes recovery. IF 1.058

1st 20 minutes - 271
2nd 20 minutes - 267 (hit lap button by mistake so lap 4-6 all combine to be second interval.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/67481478

Tuesday. 10x20 seconds high cadence seated sprints. IF 0.9

This time (2/08/11) c/w - 119/626, 119/666, 119/585, 119/582, 114/552, 117/564, 114/605, 116/541, 114/546, 115/546 - avg 117/581

Last time (1/11/11) c/w - 121/384, 123/401, 123/495, 135/553. 118/490, 120/536, 115/537, 118/554, 121/564, 120/526 - avg 124/504

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/67344232