DrIsotope

I'm going to start carrying a pocket full of bacon. At all times. And whenever anyone mentions their stupid oats, I will pull out a slice of bacon, and while staring directly into their eyes, eat said slice of bacon. To let them know that I'm bringing balance to the universe. Then, while they're spending half an hour to cook their stupid oats, I will ride away gleefully, powered by bacon and the joy of not being full of flavorless oats.

Disclaimer: I grew up poor. Like really poor. I ate oatmeal at least once a day until I was perhaps 12 years old. Plain oatmeal. Sometimes I had something to mix with it, most times I didn't. Eat oats or go hungry. So I've been trained in a wholly Pavlovian fashion to hate oatmeal. I genuinely cannot eat it. The notion of it is uncomfortable, the sight/smell of it gives me a lump in my throat. Typing about it right now gives me that lump in the throat. So when the steel cut crowd starts into their horsecrap, I rapidly switch from disgust to the desire to punch them in the face with a bacon-clenched fist. It's really shot up the "annoys the crap out of me" leaderboard, right behind vegans and crossfitters.

chefisaac

Op: You know what to do and it sounds like you're dedicated to it. I've lost a total of 140 pounds so far, no surgery at all, and I am still losing. A few things I've had to tweak along the way. And feel free to ask any questions if you need to:

- log everything you eat. Weigh and measure everything. This will allow you to really see what you eat in a day and what you eat in a week. And once you've established that, it becomes a tool that you can use to look back on when you're off track. Helps you regain focus.
- on the inside of your door of your place, our a piece of paper with you weight goal and make tick marks that represent every pound you want to lose. Break them up into 5 increments. Mark off every pound you lose and reward yourself with something non food for every five pounds you lose. It's fun and having it on your front door before you leave really helps to stay focus. I have about 35 pounds more to lose and is method really helps me stay the course.
- try avoiding simple carbs most of the time. They are processed by your body too fast. Complex carbs especially with sweet potatoes are great for when you need energy. I ride a lot now for commuting and I use is as energy.
- make that switch with food and understand that the crap you put into your body will make really bad energy inside of your body. Keep to lean proteins, sometimes treat yourself to a nice steak, enjoy your veggies, eat fruit when in season, and explore the world of cooking and using spices.
- checkout this app called TwoGrand. It's an app that allows you to track ur food through pictures and it brings a little fun into it with social media. This is one of two major ways I track. I like it because I can see a visual of what I've eaten that day and may days before and allows me to track my goals and exercise.
- find your triggers and avoid them. Sugar... Processed sugar... Is my weak point so I avoid it. I know if I have something sweet, it's a roller coaster of bad eating.
- learn to pick yourself up. An analogy I like is if your car has a flat, you don't slash the other three tires on your car. If you have bad meal, stop, think, learn and pick yourself up. That's what makes the difference between someone losing weight for good and someone that will gain it all back and more. Learning to pick yourself up is key.
- you will need to understand that riding a bicycle will not lose the weight. It's all the eating. There is an old saying that goes like is..... Sculpting a body is done in the gym, losing weight is done in the kitchen. Riding had sure helped me create a calorie deficit but at the end, I eat more often then I ride so you'll need to face the elephant in the room and tackle your eating habits.
- introduce some sort of resistance and weight lifting program. This can be done in a number of ways. HIIT works great, 5x5 program is really cool, kettlebells rock! I lost and still lose a lot of weight with this in mind and practice because muscle will burn fat faster versus cardio and the EPOC,which is the burn that happens after exercise, is longer and more efficient after lifting then cardio. But take the best of both worlds and introduce HIIT or kettlebells. Kettlebells is really tough and fun.
- be accountable. It's tough doing this by yourself. If I may suggest, look into Weight Watchers. You don't need to but any of their products, just sign up, go to a meeting once a week, get weighed in and learn. They have really worked for me. I use it as an accountability tool and the people who go to the meetings and now my friends and we lean on each other. Matter of fact, during the holidays, we've created a text chain among some members which helps us be on track everyday.
- eat clean. Stay away from processed foods. Learn to cook if you do not know how. Processed foods takes it toll on the body. Not good.
- be mindful of your salt/sodium intake. This was a tough change for me because I am a chef but now in my personal cooking, I use a lot less salt. And I enjoy the true taste and flavor of the food. Local, organic scrambled eggs for example.... Not salt. Perhaps black peppers maybe a herbs too and they are a delight!
- understand you bare not alone. But hook up with people who have the same goals as you.
- lastly, check your pm messages. I'll send you over another resource.

billyymc

Soak them overnight in the fridge in a little water and milk and they take a lot less time to cook.

Steel cut oats are slightly better for you than rolled oats which are way better for you than quick oats.

Oats cut with carbon fiber are lighter and faster than steel cut oats.

indyfabz

Pfft. That's not poor. We were so poor we had to eat the burlap sack the oats came in. Kids in school called me "Mr. Ed." And speaking of school, we had to walk 20 miles to school and 20 miles back. It was all up hill both ways. At night I used to dream that we had enough money to afford shoes.

PatrickR400

I had the same issue you've had; a slight weight increase, I assume due to muscle replacing fat. I am loosing weight and my body is changing shape; e.g. 2 holes on the belt and pants in constant danger of falling. The weight is just a number that does not really matter, except to be in the group . Fitness is the important thing here.

Now the issue of what or more to the point how you eat is important. I ride 3 - 4 time a week, 12+ miles on each ride, and try to never be winded (about 135 bps average heart rate). Your mileage may vary but in my case the evening of a ride I eat something (e.g. tofu curry) that is high in protein. Other days I go for high fiber food, mostly vegetables.

Protein and fiber are harder for your body to process so you feel full and that help with the cravings. If I have cravings, I get up and do something instead of walking to the fridge.

All the best

RR3

The number of miles ridden does not equate to much if any fat loss. The extras 2 pounds could be increased plasma volume.....you are getting fitter or you might just need to evacuate your bowels.

DrIsotope

Uphill both ways wasn't the worst of it-- it was the snow. And the snow wasn't even the worst part of the snow-- it was the mountain lions. So many mountain lions. But at least they (usually) kept the bears from chasing us.

JohnX

maybe you should try to cut out one thing to begin-say sugar. worked for me for 25 pounds, but then you have to get more serious generally. which is where I am.

DMC707

Hell yes

DMC707

Thats heady company ! Crossfitters are extremely annoying

Black wallnut 

As you can see in this thread there are lots of different strategy to lose weight and keep it off. You need to find what works for you. I agree with #DrIsotope in that bacon is manna, yup plenty of fat and salt at the same time but it has been a part of a healthy weight losing diet. Since we raise our own pigs on occasion and chickens full time for both eggs and meat guess what my protein sources are. Supplemented with fish and sometimes beef.

However I also am changing how I eat to see if I can restart my weight losing. I'm going to start eating salads for dinner rather than lunch and make my larger meal lunch. That may make a difference for me with what I consume and how I exercise. My Dr. agrees with my thinking. I enjoy beer after exercise however the problem with that is then after that I have dinner and the beer is likely putting my body into fat storage mode so what ever I eat may be going to maintain and slightly increase my fat stores, I gained a couple ponds over the last 6 months. It really is more complicated than what we eat it is also when we eat it.

NYSteve

I may not know a lot about biking, however, I know weight loss. No one way works for everyone.

I have lost over 250#'s I still have another 150 or more to lose,

I follow a Way of life (not a diet) called NSNG which stands for No Sugars No Grains. This guy is a Trainer, and an Ultra Cyclist, and he has a podcast called America's Angriest Trainer, his name is Vinnie Tortorich. He and I believe if you cut out all grains, and all foods that have added sugar's or sweeteners, you will lose weight.

I would download a couple of his podcasts, he is very funny. Never made me feel bad for being a fatty.

Want to see something really interesting and exciting, and proof that you don't need a cliff bar or steel cut oats, or pasta to fuel your ride, check out Fat Chance Rowing. This is a husband and wife team that rowed 2400 miles from CA, to HI with no carbs, or oats or any other stuff people think they may need for fuel.

JakiChan

If you're exercising hard your body can hold on to water while your muscles repair. A sudden jump in physical activity can lead to some water weight gain, but should fall off quickly. Assuming your eating is on-track that is.

JakiChan

And I started eating steel cut oats because THEY TASTE BETTER. Better flavor, better texture. OTOH, I throw in Splenda and cinnamon.

Rowan

Just explain why quick oats aren't as good. I am talking about the ones that start out as normal rolled oats and go through additional cutting before they are packaged. Not the stuff that is in individual serving packets with sweeteners and flavours.

billyymc

Rowan - the quick oats are more highly processed, and while the nutritional values are similar the glycemic index is higher as the processing goes up.

I probably overstated that - so rolled are better for you than quick, but not way better. In my experience quick oats leave me feeing hungry much sooner than rolled.

Rowan

Hmmmm... I will check tomorrow night at the supermarket the two packages to see what differences there are in the nutritional details (which in Australia are comprehensive). I will report back in due course.

Willbird

If you feed the oats to some creature, the eat the creature, the macro's are simpler :-)

Francis73

Tracking what you eat is a real eye opener, once you understand how many calories your taking in eating your normal diet you will clearly see what needs to change. You can never out exercise a bad diet. I recommend the myfitnesspal app. I started using that when I started riding and currently am down 27lbs in 5 weeks riding an average of 40 to 50 miles a week but the change in my intake calories vs my output is the biggest factor in my weight loss

Willbird

I agree it is a very good ap, I have used it for something like 480 days and minus 125 lbs. It is indeed an eye opener. The ap is very versatile too, I'm using it for a very low carb experiment right now.

jsigone

Are you able to ride long er than 10 miles per day? Or are you time dependent, meaning as you get faster you can ride more miles in the same amount of time.

I do most of my riding at lunch these days, so 60-65mins on the bike is what I get per day.

DarthMonkey

To get this back on topic and off the oats tangent.

Good Luck Scott. Don't be bummed about a few pounds.

Now to try and be helpful
Are you resting two days in a row every week or 2 non-consecutive days? How active are you on your off days? How do you feel after a 10 mile ride, are you wiped out or do you still have a little left? Are you trying to do some intervals as you ride? 10 miles isn't too short for intervals and they build speed and endurance faster than steady biking, but a combination of both seems best for most people.

Good Diet advice has already been given here - myfintesspal and a scale will really help you understand what you are taking in. Stay as hydrated as you can handle, both riding and not-riding. Also make sure you eat some good protein and carb after any difficult workout longer than 30 minutes, but keep the size proportional to the work (ideally 20-40% of what you just burned). Difficult workout is based on how hard it is for you. Things like having to breathe heavy, getting a good sweat, etc are all good indicators. A small piece or jerky and a piece of fruit might be appropriate. The idea is to give your body protein to repair/grow muscle and keep blood amino acid high enough, and a little carb/sugar to replenish some of the glycogen. You want some glycogen replenishment to come from fat, but if it all does then your body responds by making you hungrier and that can lead to binge eating.

It can be tough but you can do it!

scott757

My rest days change week to week based on how I feel. Generally it'll be Tues and Thurs or Wed and Thurs. I did 10 miles last night and felt pretty good. Other than the sore legs from the 18 miles the day before. I'm not doing intervals. I'm just trying to ride my best and speed up and slow down based on how I feel at the time.

I use MyFitnessPal. It's helpful. I try and stay away from processed stuff and useless snacking. My struggle really comes later in the evening.

DarthMonkey

Try doing some intervals. It might be easier on the last ride before a rest day. I alternate between two different types of intervals. Type one I stay in my normal gear (or one lower) and spin the pedals as fast as I can (works on pedal rpm). The other one I put the bike in the fastest\highest gear and go as fast as I can (works on strength and mashing ability). For both, I do it for 2 minutes then spin normal/rest for 5 When I started the best i could do was hard for 1 minute then easy for 7 or 8, but it didn't take long - a few weeks to get to the 2/5 ratio that a trainer friend recommended. You need some clear smooth light traffic pavement for this and a phone app or stop watch with alarms helps so you can just listen for the beeps rather than taking your eyes off the road to look at a watch. You don't need to do intervals for your whole ride either. The point is to build bigger stronger muscles. They weigh more, but they also burn more calories, even at rest, and they let you bike further and faster which also helps burn calories.

So you have a late evening snacking issue (so do I). The good news is it can be managed. What time of day are you riding? Is the snacking desire worse on ride days or rest days? What else are you doing in the late evening? What time do you normally eat dinner and when do you go to bed?

scott757

I have a single speed road bike right now. So the intervals would be pedal as hard as you can for 1 min and then attempt to not fall off you bike from passing out for 7 mins (repeat).

My snacking issue is bad all the time. Nothing seems to make it better or worse. And it isn't helped by my inability to go to bed earlier.