Weight, Diet and Exercise
 

Since my last report here (weight was 185#) I've picked up the intensity of my exercise routine and increased my food intake to match it. Foods now eaten include more animal protien in the form of cheese, fish and buffalo meat. I find myself eating one of these three products daily now. The strength in my legs is amazing, as I find myself pedaling while up off the saddle at least half the time.

The current weight is 188 lbs. It has been holding steady, with occasional lows of 185 and highs of 190, for what seems a very long time now. The biggest dietary change from last year (when I weighed well over 200#) is a reduction in grain consumption. I eat less breads now, a lot less.

WTG I ihave lost over 40lbs doing the same thing, basically if you can't recognize what's going in your mouth then why eat it. White bread you see no grain, brocollii looks like well brocolli. I do eat some simple carbs after a hard ride to up the glycern levels but that's it. I find if I don't I just want to keep eating.

I'll get complex carbs in me by eating Pasta a day before a hard ride --- although sometimes I'll have some pasta for lunch after my noon workout, just 'cuz --- while eating fruits and drinking smoothies blended with fruit, cacao and honey on a daily basis.

If and when I do eat breads, I eat the hard breads, unrefined grains that appear grey color. ANd, yes, reducing my intake of refined grains has also helped me to suppress my appetite, keeping it under control even when working out at a pretty hard pace.

Energy levels are almost beyond belief. For the past 6 months, I've been getting up at 6 AM, every morning, and then alternating between exercise and working all day long, and half the night, my head hitting the pillow for almost instantaneous REM sleep, starting at about midnight. Intensity of the exercise is 2 to 2.25 resting heart rate for at least a couple hours per day, with peak intervals hitting 2.75 RHR.

Edit to add: I still mix in an Emergen-C Vitamin package with my water, at least twice a day. Once after I wake up and again when I arrive home from work. Sometimes, I'll down a pkg after dinner, as well.

Charles Washington lives a zero carb lifestyle. He has "reprogrammed" his body to use fat as an energy source rather than carbohydrates. A web page about his lifestyle/diet:

http://blog.zeroinginonhealth.com/about/

It's very interesting reading and motivating to someone like myself that has had diabetes for a couple of decades.

I have tried drawing on fat reserves during intense exercise, especially when I weighed above 220. No luck. The fat would not turn to sugar fast enough and I constantly bonked out.

It took me about a year to find the formula that worked for me. That formula is the Emergen-C everyday, followed by a fully nutritious daily diet.

I eat absolutely no junk food: no pastries, cakes, cookies candy bars, chips, whitebreads---man, I can't even name all of that which I no longer eat. Instead, I eat the healthiest, most nutritious option available. Today, that choice led to FAzolli, where I ordered up some speghetti with meat sauce and a side salad.

Even though, I prefer a wheat pasta over commercial stuff sold at the restaurant, I needed the complex carbs in the pasta to carry me though tonight's aggressive ride without getting worn-out for an even longer ride tomorrow.

I'm not a morning person, so I sleep in until the last possible moment where I'll have time to feed the cat, shower, and get dressed, without being late. So this means I get breakfast at work - there's a deli downstairs. I have about a five mile ride in to work, almost entirely uphill. I've been told that working out ( especially good cardio, which I'm not getting that much of on the morning commute ) before eating that day forces your body to draw almost wholly on stored fat reserves. We'll see how it goes.

I'm thinking that you can probably do a seriously intense ride for those 5 miles without bonking too. It would be interesting to see if you run out of energy halfway into work or if you will be able to maintain that intensity thoughout the ride.

Oh, I'm sure a seriously intense workout in the morning ( before breakfast ) would be fine - other than showing up sweaty. I'll give it a try one of these days, and bring a change of clothes to not avoid my coworkers. :D

The last time I bonked was on a 50 mile ride, and on a light breakfast, so I'm certain the 5 miles to work with no breakfast won't be a problem. And truth be told, I didn't find a light bonking to be such a terrible experience ... endorphins masked the unpleasantness, so I just ate lots of fruit when I got home, and read a few chapters of a Carl Sagan book.

Actually, it's insane. Human beings are NOT carnivores...human beings are omnivores.


According to Atkins, the only way to burn fat for energy is to completely cut out all carbs and put your body into ketosis, which takes about two weeks of zero carbs. Cutting all carbs means no fruit and only leafy veggies. Some nuts are OK (almonds, I think) and berries in moderation. A pure no carb diet requires supplements, particularly potassium - you just can't get that without fruit.

I tried it for about nine months...lost 40 pounds, felt like crap. That was before I started riding so I have no idea how it would have affected my cycling.

Any diet that eliminates fruit and veggies is insane.

Actually, human beings can make the choice as to what they eat.
You are criticizing something that you proved to yourself works.
Atkin's does not eliminate fruit (berries- you said it yourself) or vegetables (leafy... but you better know what this includes if you're doing it right)
I contend that you feel it's "insane" because whatever you did was obviously difficult. Getting fat is easy... but it's actually more insane than sticking to a diet plan that is healthy and keeps you lean.

A link to a discussion on potassium and low-carb, no-carb diet:

http://forum.zeroinginonhealth.com/s...d.php?tid=1010

Cutting out all carbs is not only personal torture but it makes me go dumb as can be. I use carbs as one of my source of Glucose while not diabetic I become very lethargic, dumb as a rock and pretty nasty if my insulin levels don’t stay fairly steady. Carbs for me are more as a source of glycogen ready to be absorbed during long workouts.

I took part in a program at my gym which was all about eating and training for performance. We did seminars on the foundations of not just healthy eating but eating that aids performance and recovery. After years of diet fads it was not only the first one that made real sense but also one that I could stick to.

I now look at food in 3 ways.
1) Does it benefit my training?
2) Does it benefit my recovery?
3) Does it benefit my overall wellbeing? (IE Steady blood sugar levels.)

If I answer no to any three then I'll consider why I want to eat it but more to the point how long would I have to exercise to remove it from my daily intake total.

My only rules are 6 small meals per day. At least 3L of water per day, lots of dark leafy greens like spinach with every meal and 25g of protein per meal. ( 1 serving of protein within 15 minutes of finishing any exercise.)

First 90 Days results.
- 18.6lbs
-14.3% body fat
+ 65lbs on the Bench Press
+ 170lbs Leg press.
+110lbs squats

I'm not trying to preach, weight and diet has been huge battle for me I'm just sharing my experiences.:thumb:

Yes...that's what makes us omnivores: we can eat anything that has nutrients. We are only limited by our own decisions.


I proved only that it works as a weight loss mechanism. I have no proof (either positive or negative) as to whether or not it is particularly healthy. All I know is that (anectdotally) my body craved bananas, oranges, apples, corn, milk etc. in addition to potatoes, bread, pasta and "junk food".


Actually the Atkins diet (again, just for me) was not at all difficult. It is the only weight loss program that I've ever tried where I didn't feel hunger. If I was hungry I could grab a handful of olives or a hunk of meat.


True dat!

I'm just not convinced that a diet plan that totally eliminates fruit (berries are NOT fruit: they're berries), grain and most veggies IS healthy. Yeah, you can survive on it, but I just don't think it's good for you. No data to support that contention, just my own experience.

I have lost 44lbs since last spring, this brings me down to 226lbs. My high was 335lbs when I was 27yrs old. I change the type of food I ate and definetly the amount and as of last year started to ride again. I eat less processed foods and more fruits, yogourt and vegetibles. My goal is 185lbs within the next year, but that will take a lot more dicipline on my part. I am know 47yrs old, ECB1

This is the key: portion control, and less processed food, along with increased activity (and we all know our particular favorite way to be more active).

Good luck with it EC!

Cutting down on the carbs
 

I limit carbs depending on activity level. Ate a lot of carbs this week, but got in 244 miles, at least 1/2 at a good pace in group rides. Lower carbs too much and get dropped YMMV. Did lose about 25# since early March, down to 209 now, would like to get to 185 or maybe lower.

Good luck

The last three posts fit me to a Tee...

I've lost over 30 lbs in the past year simply by moderating what I eat e.g. *less*. We cook from scratch so the diet was not crap- just a little less sufficed. Aerobic exercise was not part of the equation I just got back the bike in December and ride 5-6 days a week for an hour or so all told.
--last March I was at 204 lbs which @ 5-8 was notagoodthing(tm) today 171 and happier with myself.