A few questions, Motivation, calorie Intake, Avoiding carbs. - Fed Up Of Being Fat!
 

=) Happy Day's!

I am in no way an expert, just saying what I have noticed in my life. But some of the things you're saying make me question if you're experiencing a bit of depression? I'd suggest going and talking to a doctor if you can; they'll give you wonderful advice on diet and exercise in general. Have blood work done to see if there are any issues you're unaware of. For example, I just recently was diagnosed as having insulin resistance (or pre-diabetes). Luckily, it can be remedied in my case with diet and exercise - which is part of what brought me to this forum.

Once you've seen the doctor try keeping track of your daily calorie intake. No fun, but very effective. I use a website called Sparkpeople, but I know there are others out there to help track calories/fitness.

As for places to go while you're biking: how about to the library? To a friend's house? To run simple errands?

Do you have someone you could ride with or at least help keep you motivated?

For me the most important thing is the hope that I can change and lead a happy healthy life free from the excess weight.
When I first started out at 352 I read every post on this forum to indoctrinate myself in the belief that I can change.
Three years later I'm now 212 and have wonderful respect for the helpful friendly people on this forum.


Welcome and good luck.

Charlie

Well when the doctor told me I could lose weight, eat better, and exercise regularly or I could start taking insulin shots I chose to straighten up. I had to lose 70 lbs and it wasn't easy but I did it. The best part is now that it is gone I feel so much better that I don't mind having to work at keeping it off.

The only thing that will allow you to lose weight and keep it off is your commitment to do it. It can't be a diet it must be a lifestyle change. We all are trained from birth more is better but when it comes to food it is not. Restaurants serve so many unhealthy choices with huge servings and make it so easy to over eat. Finding healthy choices is a daunting task. When we eat we are always in a hurry and our food doesn't have time to settle so we eat three times as much as is necessary to get full.

Read labels and know what you are eating.
Do some research online about what calories you require and how many you can eat and lose weight.
Set realistic goals in on when you want to reach certain levels of weight loss.
Find healthy foods that you like and stick with those.
Join a weight watchers or similar support group to help you with motivation and keeping on track.
learn to do exercises you enjoy not that you dread.
Realize that if you are eating healthy and exercising you are benefiting from your effort even if the weight is not coming off as fast as you think it should.
eat on a schedule every couple of hours so you know when your next meal/snack will be and stick to it.
Drink lots of water and stay away from sodas especially diet.

It is hard at first but gets easier. In the end weight loss comes down to calories. If you eat less calories than you burn you will lose weight.

You can do it and it will be worth it !!!!!

Because of your young age I bet just a few small changes will make a big difference. Cut out the junk food and get on your bike and ride. I'll bet you'll see good results. As far as motivation goes find out what works for you. Try group rides, schedule a big ride and train for it, perhaps some competition with friends?

You're smart for realizing you're headed down a bad path and wanting to change that.

Welcome to BF and enjoy your ride!

I use an app. There are several... many are free. I use the free version of the app called Lose It! My Fitness Pal is good as well.

The apps will help you learn portions and calorie content.

Smile! =)

*only* 86Kg? I say that because I'm the same height and started riding when I was 19 Stone and and a few rocks. (19 sounds way better than 270)
Your first step was recognizing the problem.
I can just echo what others have posted and put my spin (read - what works for me) on it.

When I consider food, when I am eating right, I look at it as 'would my grandmother recognize it?' (probably your great great grandmother since you are so young). There are so many foods now that you get out of a box/can that are loaded with, for lack of better words, crap. I don't worry about the sugars or carbs that come from whole foods (fruits or vegetables). I eat a lot of fish, chicken, lean red meat, apples, oranges and green stuff.

What motivates me? That's a tough one as there are many reasons that I ride. The fear of falling over dead and the wife selling all my stuff for pennies on the dollar or giving it away is one.
Racing is another. Nothing better than good ol competition.

You have to find something that will motivate you. Find a ride (sportif?) that you would like to do and ride until you know you can do it.

Welcome aboard and don't eat stuff from a box... for the most part (Oreo's come in a bag, they're OK :) )

When you get to be the age of some of us, you realize that many who are dead were fat and/or smokers.

How many fat 90 year olds has anyone seen?

Fat smokers die in their 50s.

Working a full day at a stressful job and 20 mile spin or a 5 mile walk does wonders for one's brain and the endorphins are nice, too.

I won't give you any advice because you wouldn't like it.

I wont add to the food bit much except to emphasize that as a general rule, natural is better.

As for the riding, you mentioned you are sometimes motivated at night, so, what you should do at night while you are motivated is to plan what route you would ride, make sure your bike is ready, have all your cycling clothes ready to put on and then when you wake in the morning you would not have to do any thinking, it is all planned already. The one extra thing that will sometimes help when the alarm goes off - DO NOT THINK of ANYTHING except JFDI. I often say that to myself, and then get up - Just F'n Do It!!

Also, got a smart phone, or a garmin? Sign up for Strava and log your rides. You can start to build riding friends and hold each other accountable by logging your rides on Strava. There are lots of other good benefits as well, but give it a go.

If you get one of the weight loss apps, like MyFitnessPal (and you can use the website in addition to or in lieu of the app), they have formulas to come up with caloric requirements for a desired weight loss.

That's a lot depending on your energy expenditure. Use the apps to get your calories per day, but I'd guess you're going to be in the 1600 calories a day range if you want to loose 2 lbs a week.

Everything has calories - as others have said; stay natural. You can't go wrong with vegetables for snacks.

I'd recommend you read a couple books. I am far more motivated in my weight loss when I'm reading a book. I really got a lot from "Eat to Live", "Fat Chance", "Why We Get Fat and What to do About It", and "Wheat Belly". Also good, but less about weight loss is "Salt, Sugar, Fat; How the Food Giants Hooked Us".

As with everything nutrition related; you can't put out an opinion with out starting an argument (different tactics work for different people). What worked for me (50 pounds later) was a combination of MyFitnessPal (so I actually know what I'm eating), eating more fruits and vegetables, less refined or processed food, exercising (mostly biking 'cause I like it), and eliminating all wheat and most dairy (eliminated ALL of my food cravings). Your mileage may vary, and you may have to try a variety of things to work.

I find the nice thing about tracking your calories with an App like MyFitnessPal is it encourages you to exercise; you can eat more food and still loose weight.

Before I figured out how much easier the diet was with out the wheat, I used to tell people "I bike for Pizza." If I did 50 km on the bike, I could eat a pizza and still lose weight.

I started my [serious] weight loss journey at around 240. I'm 192 today, and hope to get down another 25 pounds or so (but I'll know when I get there, if that makes sense).

MyFitnessPal has a huge online support community, and as I'm sure you'll find; so does Bike Forums. My two warnings for you: 1. everyones opinion (including mine) is just that; an opinion. They may be based on fact, conjecture, experience, anecdotes, or a mixture there of. So take it all with a grain of salt. 2. There are people who both consciously, and unconsciously (and frequently unwittingly) want you to fail. I can't tell you why (I'm no psychiatrist), just be prepared to steel yourself against the "One doughnut won't hurt", and "You're thin enough.", and "but it's [insert holiday / special occasion], just have one _______".

Stay strong, good luck, and let us know how it goes and how we can help.

jesus i could have written that first post. i too find it so tough to get out and cycle. but like that again when i am out i feel i could go forever. i just get high when i am on the bike and think to myself now this is great, i'll do it every day or whatever. next day the couch seems like the better option. i don't know why. maybe its the weather, self-consciousness, laziness, job stress etc. or culmination of all. like i know how good it is for me to get out and i know i will love it when i go out but i find it hard to put these into motivation.

i agree with someone else there that said get a riding buddy. best motivation for me is i don't want to disappoint a friend by not turning up although this hasn't worked so well lately either.

as for calories, you can eat as much as you like if you cycle enough so work on the cycling and diet will follow. don't cut out carbs or sugar because your brain needs them. only restrict sugar if you are diabetic. obviously natural sugars are best so fruit and veg - loads of each. stick with the food pyramid.

Nutrition & Dietary Information | Croi Heart & Stroke Charity

think there is a food pyramid on here somewhere.

some tips for motivation that i use

* get into bike mechanics, buying bits and pieces to upgrade your bike - keeps you interested (i know you said you are unemployed but you can still trawl the secondhand shops and what not)
* photography - bring a camera and show us the scenery
*map reading - get an ordnance survey map of the region and try and mark out a few nice spins
*friends & family - get others involved - a problem shared and all that
*youtube - youtube is great for inspirational videos but don't get hooked like me, i spend more time watching than doing -
*keep us up to date with your progress!!

For motivation... ride a little every day. Even if it's just a little. Even if it's just around the block.

Next, use the fact that you rode to help curb eating. Tell yourself "what's the point of eating xxxxxx, since I'll just have to ride it off later?"


Next, realize you will not lose weight (to any significant degree) due to exercise. You will do it through changing what you eat. You didn't put on the weight because you cut a bunch of activity, you won't lose it by adding a bunch of activity.


Lastly (this is huge, and can't be stressed enough), stay away from the wrong foods. Don't buy them. Don't have them in the house. If they aren't available, you'll not be able to just grab and munch.

The good news... If you eat well every day for only 3 weeks.... (Every day)(make it a challenge)..... you will find you are no longer hungry, and you're OK without the junk calories.

Getting through the 3 weeks is not easy, but the results are what you want, more than the food.




Signed,
Guy who has been through what you've been through, and has lost 23 kg in last 9 months

Just jumping in to add weight (Ha!) to the suggestion that you start tracking. I am a fan of MyFitnessPal.com myself but some people love Lose it! and others. If you have a smart phone it makes it even easier to keep your logs up to date using the apps.

Also I'd suggest that you don't start cutting your intake right away, for a week or so just log what you eat so that you have a concrete idea of what you were eating like - once you start cutting you might not remember. Also, take an unflattering picture or two for comparison later.

With your age, you should have a much easier time seeing results than some of us. In addition to the cardio that your biking is going to give you, don't neglect strength training. You have quite a bit of muscle right now and you don't want to lose it as you lose weight - if you're eating at a deficit you won't gain much in the way of muscle but you can help preserve what you currently have.

i wouldn't mess with your diet too much full stop. you're only 19 so you are possibly still growing. like the last poster says too try other activities like swimming, walking too. would be great for building other muscle groups and plus might motivate you even more.

Have some fun...
Ride to someplace you want to see, some place you liked to go and haven't in a while, someplace you've always wanted... Or do a ride you'd be proud to have done... Be it 10 miles or 1000...
Works wonders for motivation.

The brain does not need sugar.

Consider a Paleo diet.


Your Brain On Ketones | Psychology Today

I lost 68 lbs over the course of a year by moderate changes in diet and exercise.

Clearly with diet, I suggest you don't want to make radical changes that you can live with over the long term. Yo-yoing, going up and down is actually bad for you as well.

I started by doing modest exercises - walking, biking, taking the stairs. Over time I increased them.


Diet wise, I replaced white pasta with whole wheat (more filling and more nutritious) and moderated the portion size. I did the same with bread - whole wheat bread or a rye bread is more nutriously dense, so you need/want less of it.

Probably the most important diet tip. EAT MORE VEGGIES. Whether its salads or soups or raw, eat more. Cut out starches like rice and potatoes and replace with more veggies. If you are eating veggies without butter or sauce, eat as much as you like. If they have sauce or butter, eat less, but eat them.


Get lots of sleep. Yes there are studies that show that weight loss efforts are enhanced by getting enough sleep.

Cut out the junk, replace with healty snacks. Fruit has natural sugars, but it also has vitamins that you need. Nuts in moderation are good snacks, hummus and raw veggies are easy and healthy. Crackers are healthier than crisps. Cheese in moderation is better than junk food (and protein helps you feel full). Moderate consumption of alcohol. Add more plain water to your diet.

Loveing the rideing atm!

Lots of people here have given great advice on food, calorie tracking, etc.

One thing I would recommend is get into a routine. Get up and get to sleep at the same time every day. Get a good night's sleep - 8 hours works for me, you could be more or less. After awhile, you'll wake up on your own without the alarm clock. Get into a "work" routine even though you currently aren't working. Spend a set amount of time looking for a new job or spend that time making changes in your life to get a job - training, apprenticing, school, whatever you think you need. Finally, get into a routine for exercise. It could be riding, walking, running, weights, or a rotation of all of these - whatever you want - but stick to the routine. The idea here is to keep yourself busy, occupied, and away from the fridge. Finally, don't have snacks/junk food in the house. If it's not there, you can't eat it. About your comment about fruit - I don't think I've ever met someone that got to unhealthy weight levels by eating fresh fruit. So if it's a bag of crisps or an apple - eat the apple.

I started about 6 weeks ago at 267 and I am at 242 right now. How I got there is what I have started calling "planned eating". I don't mean to say that I have a plan set out every day of what I am going to eat. But instead, I start with a goal, and structure all of my eating towards that goal. I use myfitnesspal to track what I eat, and have learned a great deal about how many things I was eating before that were way heavier on calories than I ever imagined. I would have just guessed that I was probably consuming around 3000 calories per day, but if I had tracked it back then, I was probably closer to 4000 per day knowing what I know now.

So what is "planned eating"? Well it is like this. I am currently getting ready to ride the Houston to Austin MS150 next weekend which is a 180 mile ride over two days. I have been doing training rides of 40-60 miles one day each weekend for the last 10 weeks, and doing 45-60 minute spin classes at the gym 2-3 nights per week after work. So I know that at certain times, I am going to want to eat certain foods, and I don't want to lose weight at the expense of consuming all my muscle mass when I ride. The guidelines for myself are that I want to net 1500 calories per day, I want to exceed 20% of my calories from protein (preferably about 15%, and I want my carb calories to make up around 40%. I also know that when I work out hard in the spin classes (these are hard workouts taught by road cyclists at our gym, not bouncy aerobics instructors teaching to fun music) I am going to want to give myself some protein and carbs to recover and will only eat a small dinner or snack afterwards. I also know that I want to eat about 300-400 of my calories each day as snacks outside of my regular meal times to keep my hunger level under control.

So on a day where I plan to spin that night, I start with the 1500 for the day, take off 200 for the snack I am going to eat right after the ride...something like yogurt covered almonds or some crackers and turkey jerky...then I take off the 300 calories I plan to eat for dinner, and that leaves 1000 calories for breakfast, lunch, and snacks pre-workout. I may go slightly over that knowing that I will burn 400-600 calories working out, but I try to actually eat as close to 1500 as possible except on long ride days. So I can pick out something to eat for breakfast that is around 300-350 calories (perhaps an english muffin with turkey sausage and cheese), something for lunch that is around 350-400 calories (perhaps two chicken fajitas tacos on low carb tortillas with half an avacado), and then three ~100 calorie snacks to eat in between.

In effect, I am starting the day by planning what I want to be able to eat at the end of it, and then working backward from there. It is far easier than it sounds and becomes a routine very easily, but for me, having my eye always on that goal at the end of the day helps keep me from overeating earlier in the day, and having multiple small snacks (almonds, greek yogurt, tangerines or bananas, etc) helps me not feel too hungry between meals. I feel like I am always eating something, but because I am making much better choices with the help of myfitnesspal, I am eating far fewer calories.

As for the riding, definitely give your self not only a ride date goal, but a realistic performance goal. Decide you want to ride in a specific ride...and then decide what you want your average speed to be at the end. That will give you not only the motivation to get out and ride, but something to work towards along the way in terms of performance.

You need motivation try this; with your family history of Diabetes your odds of getting it are greatly increased. You can minimize the risk by getting active now before gaining any more weight. Get your diet under control. Exercise need not be a chore but seriously stop making excuses like it is too cold or raining and just get out there. You will likely find that even when it is cold and or rainy riding your bike is still fun. If it rains there a lot get fenders. No matter where you live you will be able to find weather that works as a convenient excuse to not get outside, don't use it. At 50 I sure wish I would have taken care of myself when I was your age and weight. You might not need to give up some of the foods you enjoy however for long term health and weight control keep in mind that there is a cost for calorie dense foods such as pizza (manna) and that cost is miles or hours on the bike, 20 minutes +/- per slice at a hard effort longer if you are going slow.

Start tracking calories. Just do it and be completely honest with yourself while doing it. Lie to others but not to yourself. This is one I avoided for years and is a great tool, tracking calories. It only works if you are honest about it. Measure and weigh or if estimating over estimate. If you are eating chips and the label says that 14 are a serving, count out 14 or 28 or whatever but log it. If you grab a handful then log it as 42 chips or three servings, seriously. Find a job, preferably one away from the food service industry. If you are working you might not have time to munch. YOU have to want to do this.

THIS. And, you will feel better, too! I eat whole grain bread and cereals. Lean proteins, lots of veggies... SOME fruit. And rice. I love rice (white....)

Use a calorie tracker. Myfitnesspal is great, either an app OR online! I use my android smartphone, it works great. But you have to be very dedicated to using it and you must put in accurate numbers... I lost 10lbs in the last 2 months, and still losing slowly. Last two weeks I've met a new gal and I've slowed a bit, but Its staying off, and I feel myself not as hungry still and wanting healthier options :)

You can still eat anything you like, but cut your portion sizes. In half, or even less.

And start running as a cross-training option.

I pretty much skimmed the above posts and there is a lot there that is solid advice/experience. Here's mine.

I started at 135 kg and got down to 95. It took me five years. I did not go on a "diet"*. I simply changed some things about the way I ate. I like to make a comparison to alcoholism. No, it isn't alcoholism, but there are similarities. People often over eat, or drink to feel better. The consequences of the over indulgence makes them feel worse, so they eat, or drink, more to feel better.

In the case of an alcoholic the solution is simple (notice I am not saying easier). Quit drinking. It is more complicated for the foodaholic. One cannot simply stop eating. I take an approach of trying to abstain from certain foods. Anything in a package made by a company here in the states called Hostess, and similar products are on that list. Soda pop, candy bars and potato chips. I often backslide on the chips, but I just jump back on the wagon.

* I had health problems caused by excess weight and years of over eating. I was prescribed by the doctors something called "The Mediterranean Diet." Unlike Atkins, or the various Paleo diets, there is no one commercial entity pushing a specific plan for it. It is a general set of guidelines set by various health organizations, like the American Heart Association. It promotes a balanced diet of mostly unprocessed foods with lower amounts of animal protean, with emphasis on chicken and fish, and avoidance of highly processed carbs. Lots of fresh vegetables, nuts, olive oil, and small amounts of cheese.