Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - I'm a clyde and am new here so hello

Hi all, just wanted to introduce myself. I had a physical today and am a little depressed. My A1c is back up to 7.4 from 6.7 a few months ago. Thing is I stopped exercising and started binging again. Can't seem to stay on the right track. What do you do to maintain your diet and exercise regimen? By the way, I am 5'8" and weigh 218 lb today.

Hi all, just wanted to introduce myself. I had a physical today and am a little depressed. My A1c is back up to 7.4 from 6.7 a few months ago. Thing is I stopped exercising and started binging again. Can't seem to stay on the right track. What do you do to maintain your diet and exercise regimen? By the way, I am 5'8" and weigh 218 lb today.

Hello and welcome, please check your sanity at the door and bring a selection of Monty python quotes.

The first thing to teach your self is , it is not a diet. IT has to be a life style change complete and total. Diets are temporary affairs that only work for as long as you can maintain them. You have to change how you approach food , best way i have found is to stop buying it when i go shopping you can't eat what you don't have.

Exercise Regiment sounds to much like work :) i ride because it is fun, the side benefit is the losing weight part. That is how i have found it best to look at .

As with all this You mileage may vary and you should speak to someone has the correct medical training etc etc blah blah blah don't cry to me if your legs fall off and you bike catches fire etc etc :)

Welcome and now for something completely different.

Howdy! First off, don't be so hard on yourself.
It's just like when were learning to ride a bike;
we fall down but we get up and try again.

When I started riding again 6 years ago, I weighed
over 230 lbs.(I'm the same height as you). I tried
commuting to work the 1st time(17 miles one way)
and afterwards I thought I was going to pass out :)
I started biking to work once a day, then twice, then
3 times a week. Now I ride to work 4 times a week
and I'm down to 191 lbs. Still have a bit to go, but
I'm getting there little by little.

It's good if you hang out with supportive friends,
especially ones that ride.

Thing is I stopped exercising and started binging again.

You need to honestly identify what's causing the depression and the binging. It may be a friend, work, family - something is triggering an emotional response. Some people respond to emotional stress with alcohol or drugs. Sounds like you happen to respond with food which is what I do as well. If you can identify what's knocking you off course that's the first step to NOT letting it own you. Exercise and proper eating have to be a priority. It's like work or school. If you don't eat right and exercise it's like you're flunking a class or not getting a good performance appraisal. Put your health and self-esteem first and other things will fall in place.

Welcome aboard.
Trust me, you are not alone. Heck, when I started last year in July I was 5' 8" and 270 and couldn't ride but 10 miles in one hour. Glad those days are long behind me. I'm no taller now than I was but I am thinner.

As Tergal so eloquently put it... you can't 'diet' you have to change your lifestyle. If you need to seek professional help then do so. Find some folks around that ride, find a bike club that does rides. Don't be afraid of gettng out there with others and by all means stick around here and perhaps join the 'get on your bike and ride' post that Chefissac started for this month.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/814598-100-Plus-Mile-Club-May-Edition-Shine-up-the-bike-and-lets-ride!

It will keep you motivated to get out there when you see others racking up the mileage. Whatever you do please *DO NOT* ask what your cadence should be.

That said, a five ounce bird could not carry a one pound coconut.

Thanks for the replies. I pledged to ride 100 miles in May. I hope it wasn't too late to join and that trainer miles count.

Hey Perry1963, welcome. I'm pretty new, too. I had an A1C of 11.6 last January. I took it down to 8.9 in April through lifestyle changes. Still high, I know, but my doc thinks I can get back down to normal by my next A1C in July. Are you testing your levels? I had a lot of resistance, but I've been doing it and it's helping. I find that since I've eliminated the grains and sugars, I no longer have cravings, so I don't binge anymore. marksdailyapple.com. That's what did it for me. It's not a diet, although I am dropping weight. It's a way of life. The fact that you're even willing to talk about it seems like a really good sign. You're not ready to give up. That's what I think is so great about the Clydes/Athenas. We're the ones who didn't give up!

Hi all, just wanted to introduce myself. I had a physical today and am a little depressed. My A1c is back up to 7.4 from 6.7 a few months ago. Thing is I stopped exercising and started binging again. Can't seem to stay on the right track. What do you do to maintain your diet and exercise regimen? By the way, I am 5'8" and weigh 218 lb today.

1) Find sports that you love to do and do them as often as possible. I tried all of the standard stuff as a kid (baseball, football, soccer, etc) and it all felt like work. Discovered late in life that I love[i] bike riding and rock climbing. Doing something fun makes it much easier to find the motivation to get up a bit earlier or ditch the 1000-calorie burger+fries lunch for a 250-cal Clif bar and a workout.

2) When you step out of the shower, drop your towel and take a look at yourself in a full-length mirror. Do you really want to look like [i]that? Seeing a fat blob staring back at me in the mirror was a powerful motivation to make some changes in my lifestyle...

We all fall from time to time. The key is getting back up. I don't know that getting back up ever gets any easier but, after you do it enough times, it just becomes who you are. Hang in there! :)

Welcome Perry, there are those that wish and there are those that will, the difference is in YOU! Gather a support team both here and locally and enjoy riding. Your health will improve as a benefit of your enjoyment. I'm 5'9" and my highest weight was 289, now down to about 240 depending on the day.

i understand, its hard sometimes to stay with a difficult diet and exercise regimen. i cut calories to 1500 recently and fell off last week due to stress and a few life speed bumps. i think this week i will start again but not so dramatic maybe 1800 calories. thing is it all happens to us where we wonder and slip its about the drive to keep going after we fall. so get back on it and keep pushing. you may or may not slip again but just keep getting up and trying.

when i would weight lift i found having a training partner helps on the days you dont want to go.

Welcome, Perry. I started at an inch shorter than you and several pounds heavier. The good news is that now, 4 months into my program, I'm an inch taller than I was!

(Actually, I'm an inch taller if I measure myself first thing in the morning. The old Catholic school boy in me won't let me use that height when I figure out my BMI and stuff, though...)

The real good news is that I'm down to 179 lbs. But we all know losing weight is easy. Keeping it off is the trick. (A trick I never mastered in the past.) You've got lots of good support and encouragement here, though...