Training & Nutrition - Why can't I lose any more?

Ten months ago I was 198 Lbs. now I am at 161 Lbs. because of a new diet and my bike!
Until last month I was losing about a pound a week then I just stopped and have been staying
at 160ish.I know I havent all of my fat because I can still have a good amount of it on my gut butt and back.
My mother is not helping by saying that I look fine and she is actuilly telling me i should lift weights to "bulk up" ehhh? My Doc says lose as mutch as possible (hes an athleet BTY) So do you people have any ideas on whats doing on?
Thanks, X-zen

are you a female? if not, you should stay there. you might not have any bodyfat left...

if you are a female, it sounds like you have gotten lighter, and therefore require less calories to keep your weight up. you need to reduce your caloric intake a pinch more then before. 1 pound a week is about 500 calories a day less, now that you are not losing weight, try to take in t a bit less.

and try lifting weights. if you increase your muscle mass, your metabolism goes up, since muscle requires more energy to maintain then fat. you dont need to get bulked up, and the female body doesn't get big like a guy's does. the hormones just aren't there.

I am a guy and i defently have fat left

you may have a lot less than you think, but if the muscles under it aren't toned(i.e. worked out to a certain degree) the area will still look flabby

wow, this sounds familiar...

I posted this in the weight loss club and got not much ideas for what was goin on.

Im in the same boat dude. Lets just get on some crack and then it will work.

Originally posted in "weightloss club".................

ok, Ive been watching this thread for a while now. I am officially able to enter in here and heres why. I am not as proud as I want to be because I will tell you all that I have lost weight with cycling but I have a problem now.

Anyhow, Im 31 years old, 5 foot 9.5 inches. Ex smoker since july 04'. I weighed in at 220 pounds on july 30th of this year after a beach Vacation. Immediately after the vacation I started eating better and riding my wifes elliptical. I started loosing weight 5 pounds, then 7 then 10 pounds. I went to my LBS and purchased an 05' Trek 1000. I have owned 3 other new MB's and this was my first road bike. Almost 500 miles later, I weigh in a just a tick over 200 pounds. My cholesteral has dropped 16 points to 172 my HDL is better as well as my LDL and triglicerides. My resting heart rate has dropped from 68 to 55 with a low of 50 but is currently back up to 60. I feel and look better.

BUT!

I am so freaking stuck on 200 pounds that I am getting really frustrated at this. It seems the more I ride, the more stuck I get. I am taking in 1500-2000 calories a day and on my ride days which can be 15 miles to 30 miles, I take in around 2500.

Now, I know everyone is different, but why have I become stuck? Has my body gotten use to the cycling? Am I not taking in enough calories? My goal is a lean mean 165 pounds by August 5 2005. I thnk it can be done but I know its gonna be hard.

I live in the mountains if NC and tonight is the first night I can truly say that summer is GONE. Its COLD outside. Anyhow, I purchased and trainer and I am commited to working out all winter long. I will not stop riding because I know it helps me and I look and feel better.

Please, if anyone has any idea how I can become "unstuck" and get under 200 pounds and continue the weight loss, please feel free to post here or email me. I have 35 pounds to loose and After the first 20 pounds just melted off, I figure "hey 35 more will be easy" well, its not and I am battling hard to keep from gaining.

Thanks in advance !
Chris

You guys may be taking in more calories than you think. I was 'stuck' until I began recording every single thing I ate. I use a program called FitDay which has the USDA food database built in, lets you track exercise and compare total calories eaten vs. expended. It will track numerous other things as well like weight, mood, energy level, etc., but those two are the primary things I use.

Once you start recording everything you eat (and I do mean everything) you will probably find yourself cutting back on snacks and portions so you don't have to fess up.

Ten months ago I was 198 Lbs. now I am at 161 Lbs. because of a new diet and my bike!
Until last month I was losing about a pound a week then I just stopped and have been staying
at 160ish.I know I havent all of my fat because I can still have a good amount of it on my gut butt and back.
My mother is not helping by saying that I look fine and she is actuilly telling me i should lift weights to "bulk up" ehhh? My Doc says lose as mutch as possible (hes an athleet BTY) So do you people have any ideas on whats doing on?
Thanks, X-zen

Whats your age and height? Also remember muscle weighs more than fat. I know Ive been losing fat lately but havent really been losing weight... Just keep at it though!

ok heres a good one.......

When something is 350 calories

then you read on and it says, calories from fat 90

do you add 350 + 90 and have 440 calories?

I always wondered that

ok heres a good one.......

When something is 350 calories

then you read on and it says, calories from fat 90

do you add 350 + 90 and have 440 calories?

I always wondered that

No. Of the 350 calories, 90 are from fat. The other 260 are from carbohydrates and protein.

By the way, when reading food labels, it is very important to note what the serving size is and how many servings are in the package.

Losing weight requires you achieve a calorie deficit (in other words, burn more calories than you consume each day). There's two sides to this equation - Calories In, and Calories Out.

What worked for you for weight loss at 198 is probably no longer sufficient at 161, because your basal metabolic rate is less now (a 161 lb body has to burn less calories than a 198 lb body).

Your choices are: exercise more, eat less, or do some of both.

You may want to get your body fat percentage checked at a local health club or university (or, you can get an estimate from this website http://www.he.net/%7Ezone/prothd2.html ).

Also, you might want to check your US weight percentile, using this web page: http://www.halls.md/body-mass-index/av.htm

yea, thanks all. I guss ill start recording what i eat, but how can you tell how many calories you use in a ride?

You need to keep track of your heart rate so you can use one of the many charts that tell you how many calories you burn at that rate. In order to get the most out of your rides you need to know what zone you are riding in. Keep up the good work and you will get there.

What you weigh is almost meaningless. As said, muscle weighs more than fat per unit volume. What percent body fat you have the numbers you should be concerned with.

Besides all of that, what you may be seeing that you have reached what is called a plateau. That is, your body has adjusted to your “new” diet and level of exercise. In order to continue to lose body fat you will need to re-adjust you caloric balance. In other words, kick it up a notch and eat less!

yea, thanks all. I guss ill start recording what i eat, but how can you tell how many calories you use in a ride?

Well, my CycliStats (http://www.CycliStats.com) program automatically estimates how many calories you burn on each bike ride.

But, it's very difficult to accurately estimate the "Calories Burned" side of the equation, given differences in metabolic rates and levels of activity from day to day.

I find it more useful (and, a whole lot easier) to just keep an eye on body weight. If it starts to creep up, eat a bit less and ride a bit more.

i have a scale that measures bodyfat percentage as well as weight. I got it from costco for about $40, and it's great. I don't know how acurate the bodyfat percentage measurement is, but I don't care. What I care about is that it's consistant. I've tested it by stepping on it multiple times in a row and got the same reading each time. So it may not tell my my bodyfat percentage, it will tell me if i'm getting leaner or fatter, which is after all what we want to know right?

You might want to try one of these out.....it helps a little with the "muscle weighs more than fat" thing.

oh, and I always weigh myself at the same time of day so I don't mess up the numbers with intra-day fluctuations.

Well, you have lost quite a bit of weight in a very short time. The "rule of thumb" is that any time you lose more then a lb week, you are doing something too drastic to be sustained. You have been running at that pace for 10 months which is doing really well.

Also weight loss tends to go in plateaus. I do not lose weight gradually, I tend to lose it episodically. I lose nothing for several weeks and then I drop 5 lbs from one weighing to the next. You could be in one of these things.

It could also be mental. I mean you have come a long ways and your image is probably set at 200 and not 160. So your incentive has slipped. Another thing, you have been disciplined for quite some time and maybe at the same time, you have let minor diet lapses creep in.

It is OK to coast for awhile. The major thing to avoid is gaining it all back which is very, very common. The hard part is not losing weight. The hard part is changing your basic diet so you can stay at your desired weight without driving yourself nuts with an unliveable diet or gaining weight back.

Hanging out at 161 for a month or two will allow your body and metabolism to catch back up with you. In the meantime, throw in some weights, sprints, and hill repeats to get stronger on the bike, but they will also rev the metabolic engine, so to speak. Focus on riding and fitness. Eat whole unprocessed foods.

If, in a couple of months, you want to try and lose some more, then it'll be easier and your body will be recovered. Losing weight is difficult on the body, after all.

You may want to get your metabolism checked, it's like $60 at a nutritionists office, so you know exactly how many calories you burn at rest. Then, track everything on Fitday.com so you can see how you're doing with nutrition. You may notice some differences. There's a saying "abs are made in the kitchen." In other words, diet is very important. A good healthy diet is your best option.

If you want to kick your excercise level up a notch, its a very difficult thing to do in normal everyday life. I find that a 2 week bike tour takes me to a new level of cycling fitness. Riding 6-8 hours a day will give your body a huge jolt. You will lose some form when you get back, but it is easier to maintain a good form than try to build one from a low base.

Xzen,
When I read your post, I thought maybe I wrote it. Same experience here, right down to the weight and height, and the b1tchy mom. I've been hovering around 162 for a few months. As soon as I stopped losing weight I starting weight lifting twice a week and ramped up my protein intake. Although I've stayed at 162, my body looks much different than it did when I began weight training 3 or 4 months ago. As of last week, I have quit weights, cut the extra calories and started more cardio. I'm expecting to see some more weight loss over the next month. I'm hoping that the change in regiment has kick started my body, we'll see. To the guy who said he wants to reach his goal by Aug 5, same here! I'm getting married on the 6th so that's my deadline for looking the best I can.

I am 56, male and 210 lbs. I use 50 calories per mile regardless of speed.

Do check the serving size of everthing. What most people think of a serving of ice cream is probably 3 or 4 servings. I think a small lunch box bag of chips is more sometime 2 and a half servings, not just one, and one bottle of Propel fitness water is 3 servings.

If I might add my two-cents...

I don't know if XZen gave his height, but to go from 198 to 161 and to still be fat suggests to me that XZen has done what is classic amongst almost all dieters.

Let me explain...

Your body requires, based upon a factor of lean body mass and level of resistence types of exercise, a given amount of carbohydrates, fats, and protein. When eaten in the right proportions that can actually equate to a lot of food through-out the course of the day. In this situation, the combined training and deprivation of food can very likely have resulted in the body looking to itself in effort to acquire the necessary nutrients, thereby metabolising muscle and not letting go the fat (the body will use muscle before fat). It is what I like to call the "skinny-fat man syndrome".

Muscle can be broken down to replenish glyocgen stores (as a source of energy in the absence of sufficent carbohydrates) or more often to produce amino acids for the purpose of cellular repair. If the body does not have enough protein being consumed, the body will release cortisol (known to cause fat retention), which promotes muscle tissue breakdown. The breakdown occurs in efforts to release amino acids and in particular glutamine which is essential for cellular repair.

The problem is that we are conditioned to believe that dieting means deprivation when in actuality it should mean providing the proper nutrients to support your activity levels and performance goals.

If you do not fuel your body with sufficient and consistent nutrition, your body will work against your hard efforts to make gains by borrowing from Peter to pay Paul. To rid yourself of fat stores, you must nourish your body in such a way that the body responds by releasing those stores that it no longer deems necessary.

In the case of XZen, I could not make a recommendation without getting a journal of his eating habits, height, level of acitivity, ecetera. However, for you to deprive yourself further of food or to push even harder in your training may only result in more frustration.

To sum my thoughts up...

What does all this mean? Well, if you do not provide your body with the fuel it needs to recover from the external demands you place upon it, it will respond in a counter-productive manner. This may, in fact, mean increasing caloric intake to sustain and even regain back lost muscle mass. You may then find you lose the fat.

Another poster said correctly that weight loss should be a very gradual process. This is very true. In doing so, you retrain your body and yourself with regards to how to best fuel it. You also produce a result that is ultimately sustainable.

I hope this is helpful.

Thanks,

N.

nail on head I think

When I do say like 1200 calories per day and burn off 600-800 riding, I think my body says wtf? and goes into shutdown to protect what it has already stored.

However, Ive found that if I eat healthy and regular 3 meals a day (no junk) then I can loose.

Good readin

XZEN,

How tall are you? What is your waistline measurement?

How many miles do you ride per week, what pace?

Xzen,
When I read your post, I thought maybe I wrote it. Same experience here, right down to the weight and height, and the b1tchy mom. I've been hovering around 162 for a few months. As soon as I stopped losing weight I starting weight lifting twice a week and ramped up my protein intake. Although I've stayed at 162, my body looks much different than it did when I began weight training 3 or 4 months ago. As of last week, I have quit weights, cut the extra calories and started more cardio. I'm expecting to see some more weight loss over the next month. I'm hoping that the change in regiment has kick started my body, we'll see. To the guy who said he wants to reach his goal by Aug 5, same here! I'm getting married on the 6th so that's my deadline for looking the best I can.

Update: It's been about 2 weeks since I've cut the weights/protein meals and i've dropped about 2 or 3 more pounds.

You guys may be taking in more calories than you think. I was 'stuck' until I began recording every single thing I ate. I use a program called FitDay which has the USDA food database built in, lets you track exercise and compare total calories eaten vs. expended. It will track numerous other things as well like weight, mood, energy level, etc., but those two are the primary things I use.

Once you start recording everything you eat (and I do mean everything) you will probably find yourself cutting back on snacks and portions so you don't have to fess up.

I agree. 4 years ago I weighed in at an all time high for me 233lbs. I started riding and immediatly began loosing weight even though I had not changed my diet. I dropped to 210 and stayed there for 2.5 years. Then I just quit buying things at the grocery store like chips/salsa, ice cream, colas, M&M's and in the last 3 months have lost down to 192lbs. I was eating a lot more than I thought and justifing it by riding longer and harder.

Loosing weight is simple. Create a healthy deficit. I changed just the food types and started loosing weight again. i.e. more vegitables, less bread, more oat meal, less corn flakes, an apple at night verses a bowl of ice cream, lay off sodas, grilled salmon instead of ground round. Really it was not that drastic. It was simply very small changes that I don't really miss. My rides are stronger also since I began eating smarter.

My goal weight is 185lbs. I am 6'2'' and 49.

Loosing weight is simple. Create a healthy deficit. I changed just the food types and started loosing weight again. i.e. more vegitables, less bread, more oat meal, less corn flakes, an apple at night verses a bowl of ice cream, lay off sodas, grilled salmon instead of ground round. Really it was not that drastic. It was simply very small changes that I don't really miss. My rides are stronger also since I began eating smarter.


This is exactly how I lost weight. I have definitely had plateaus, but I simply keep plugging away at the same general theory of lots of bike time, combined with as much as I want to eat as long as it's "healthy", and the pounds just peel off eventually.

I know the feeling of being stuck though. I went through a plateau that lasted about a month and a half this summer, but suddenly one morning, I woke up and the scale had slid down another five pounds. I am at another plateau currently and have been stuck for about three weeks, but I know it will move again eventually. Stick with it, and think of how much healthier you are making your body, rather than how much you can make the scale move.

This is exactly how I lost weight. I have definitely had plateaus, but I simply keep plugging away at the same general theory of lots of bike time, combined with as much as I want to eat as long as it's "healthy", and the pounds just peel off eventually.

I know the feeling of being stuck though. I went through a plateau that lasted about a month and a half this summer, but suddenly one morning, I woke up and the scale had slid down another five pounds. I am at another plateau currently and have been stuck for about three weeks, but I know it will move again eventually. Stick with it, and think of how much healthier you are making your body, rather than how much you can make the scale move.

It's good you're losing the weight, but I would urge caution with your "lots of bike time, combined with as much as I want to eat" approach. I've heard too many stories of folks averaging over 100 miles per week on the bike, but unable to lose weight. You're also setting yourself up for weight gain if you are unable to spend time on the bike (e.g., due to injury, job pressures, etc.).

The fact that you're losing means you're probably making good food choices, which certainly helps. But, for most folks, the "calories in" is more important than "calories out" for weight loss. Even though cycling is a pretty efficient calorie burner, it's not that hard to overeat, even if you're riding lots.

BTW - as you lose weight, your base metabolic rate goes down. So, the more weight you lose, the harder it is to achieve a calorie deficit. This is another reason for "plateaus" - what worked for weight loss before no longer works, because your metabolism is burning less calories per day.

Seems like people need to enjoy riding their bike more not be so fixated on losing weight.

Seems like people need to enjoy riding their bike more not be so fixated on losing weight.

Exactly, The joy of riding is what makes staying healthy (including weight loss or maintenance) so easy. It becomes part of your lifestyle and the rest just falls in place (with help from a little common sense).

It's good you're losing the weight, but I would urge caution with your "lots of bike time, combined with as much as I want to eat" approach. I've heard too many stories of folks averaging over 100 miles per week on the bike, but unable to lose weight. You're also setting yourself up for weight gain if you are unable to spend time on the bike (e.g., due to injury, job pressures, etc.).


No, no, I didn't mean that I eat a lot and compensate by spending more time on the bike, but I listen to my body and eat when I am hungry and make good choices. I think that this is the key to losing weight in the long run. Not over eating, and getting plenty of exercise. I actually did stop biking for about a week, and my appetite went down accordingly, and my weight stayed the same for the week.


BTW - as you lose weight, your base metabolic rate goes down. So, the more weight you lose, the harder it is to achieve a calorie deficit. This is another reason for "plateaus" - what worked for weight loss before no longer works, because your metabolism is burning less calories per day.

This is an interesting idea. I hadn't thought of it this way, but that would explain the plateaus. I have definitely noticed that I need less and less fuel as I get smaller. Not that I am hungry because I am taking in less food, but that my appetite has gone down as my weight goes down. It would be interesting to plot the two on a graph to see what the correlation is.

No, no, I didn't mean that I eat a lot and compensate by spending more time on the bike, but I listen to my body and eat when I am hungry and make good choices. I think that this is the key to losing weight in the long run. Not over eating, and getting plenty of exercise. I actually did stop biking for about a week, and my appetite went down accordingly, and my weight stayed the same for the week.



This is an interesting idea. I hadn't thought of it this way, but that would explain the plateaus. I have definitely noticed that I need less and less fuel as I get smaller. Not that I am hungry because I am taking in less food, but that my appetite has gone down as my weight goes down. It would be interesting to plot the two on a graph to see what the correlation is.

Thinking about this way way too much. Go and ride, have fun, enjoy life and make good health choices a habit. Leave the graphs to those who do not have better things to do like "ride a bike".

Thinking about this way way too much. Go and ride, have fun, enjoy life and make good health choices a habit. Leave the graphs to those who do not have better things to do like "ride a bike".
Yes, you're right. Sorry for my slip into "super dork-dom" there for a second! :D