Introductions - Hello everyone!

I'm Ed from Gainesville, Florida. I just joined today! I started riding a bike because I received a bunch of tickets from the Alachua County Sheriffs office (expired license, expired tag, and no insurance). Yeah, I know, I was a knucklehead. Also, my weight was 340lbs and my blood sugar was @ 560mg/dl. Those two experiences drove me to do some physical activity, like playing more tennis and taking up bike riding.
As of 22 Jan 2011, I've been riding my bike for 9 months. Right now I have a "WalGoose", which is a Mongoose bicycle sold by Walmart. It is the XR 200 which is supposed to be a mountain bike. At almost 40lbs, it won't do any mountain or soft trail. And besides, what mountains do we have in Florida? I also have a Landmark cruiser also from WalMart. That was the bike that got me into bike riding. I'm also planning to sell this bike in the near future. I don't want 3 bikes in the house!
I do most of maintenance and lubrication on the bikes. If I break a spoke or get the wheels out of true, I send it to the bike shop.
For my 1 year anniversary, I plan to buy a better bike, most likely a Marin. I want to start going longer distances than the 11mi (one way) commute to work.

Hi Ed,

Thanks for joining.
Have you been able to drop any weight riding to work?
Take a look in here for some new friends.
http://www.bikeforums.net/forumdisplay.php/248-Clydesdales-Athenas-(200-lb-91-kg)

Hi Ed,

Thanks for joining.
Have you been able to drop any weight riding to work?
Take a look in here for some new friends.
http://www.bikeforums.net/forumdisplay.php/248-Clydesdales-Athenas-(200-lb-91-kg)

Oh yes! I've lost 50lbs and I did that w/o following a diet plan. I would like to follow a nutrition plan and lose 50 more pounds. The weight is taking a toll on my knees!

Wow...50 lbs is good.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/708874-Hmmm-now-you-ve-got-me-thinking.?p=12118780

More power to ya.. Just don't ever stop riding.

Oh yes! I've lost 50lbs and I did that w/o following a diet plan. I would like to follow a nutrition plan and lose 50 more pounds. The weight is taking a toll on my knees!

As a general rule "diet" plans do not work so your statement of a "nutrition plan" is a more on a proper train of thought. Diet plans generally put you on some odd-ball eating regime that is not always healthy and is very difficult to stick with. And once you've lost the weight (if you do lose) and resume eating normal foods again the weight creeps back on. You will be far better off by simply continuing with the exercise and changing your eating habits to more healthy and less food. In other words, make a lifestyle modification that you can maintain for the rest of your life. It may take a little longer to drop all the weight you want, but you didn't put the extra weight on quickly so don't attempt to take it off quickly. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends 2.5 pounds/week as a healthy and safe rate of loss. They also recommend strength training as an effective way of losing weight since muscle cells burn more energy than fat cells, even at rest. You don't have to go to a gym to do that either. A simple home workout consisting of some crunches, hip flexors, lunges, and arm strengthing with stretch cords of some type will be sufficient to see noticeable gains quickly without an expensive gym membership. Just start slow and increase a little each week (maybe 5 to 10% on the number of repetitions.)

Congrats on the initial loss and keep up the good work. :thumb: