Dirt Road

I lost thirty pounds over the last three years just riding. The next ten, however, have been a booger. 55, 215, and 6'0". Right now I'm playing around with the South Beach diet. (I looked at Atkins first, but it's a much to sacrifice.) I haven't actually STARTED the diet, but I have eradicated white bread and potatoes.

Anyway, about Clydeness, the other place I hang around is the old fart club in 50+. A lot of the guys there have more enthusiasm than me, but it's good to vary the gripin' some, so I visit here, too. I don't see that changing because my scale twinkles at me some day.

Willbird

I think there are a lot of good concepts in the South Beach approach, that said often "wheat bread" is just brown colored bread :-). I messed around trying to make my own whole wheat bread and it is a lot more difficult than making bread with a mix of white and whole wheat flour :-).

Personally I think logging every single calorie is one of the easier ways, you can still pick and choose carbs following the South Beach Glycemic Index guidelines. I do not yet qualify for the 50 or older forum....but December is not far off, I will qualify in December :-)

bill

linnefaulk

I agree with logging all your calories. Also removing refined carbs is a good idea. I switched from eating granola bars to Kind Fruit & Nut which have half the sugars and twice the protein.

Repeating dieting can mess with metabolisms to the point it take less calories just to maintain weight. This has happened to me. If I follow My Fitness Pal plan to lose 1.5 pounds weekly and don't cheat, I will only maintain my weight, I won't actually lose anything. So I don't eat back the calories I gain by exercising.
(Yes, I have MFP set for sedentary lifestyle. )

Willbird

Twenty or more miles a day, 6000 or more steps, 20-30 flights of stairs, it must relent and use fat for fuel :-)

Dirt Road

I have an affinity for jalapeno cheese bread. Fortunately I was given a bread maker some years ago and have been able to indulge. (Of course, the BEST thing to do with jalapeno cheese bread is to dip it in Chef Boy'Ardee spaghetti.) I should have said "all bread" instead of just "white bread." As far as I know, I haven't had ANY refined grains in over a week now. I'm still looking for a real whole grain mix for the bread maker. My favorite snack is two clumps of low-fat ricotta cheese mixed with vanilla extract and Splenda. Mmmm-mmmm!

baron von trail 

The first thing that makes me uncomfortable with higher weight is tighter pants. Funny how one day slacks will fit fine, then after a wash, especially following a weekend, you find them tight and realize it's time to go up a size.

Funny how I never seem to mind when the pants get a little loose. I am experiencing a taste of that right now, the pants are slipping on again and the belt buckles up one notch further down. Now that is comfortable.

WonderMonkey

I do agree that IS comfortable. Some people get UNCOMFORTABLE as they lose weight and their body shape and look changes. They feel odd. Even though they SHOULD be feeling better (unless they crashed to get to the lower weight) they don't.

Small example: In high school as a junior I settled in at playing football at 215lbs as a receiver. In our school (small school) I we either in at the line (tight end) or split out a bit to do short routes. I was in good shape at a bf% that I felt was good. However.... in baseball I felt more comfortable pitching at 225lbs (or thereabouts). Just felt better. Felt odd lighter.

I know the example is a performance based feeling but some have troubles getting used to their lower weight and body shape and derail themselves because of it. Instead of thinking "Where am I healthiest?" they go a different way. Maybe not even consciously. I get to talk to people frequently who are going through this.

nymtber

There is no forcing you to post here. And, there is nothing saying you can't post once you lose clyde status! We are here to help eachother do many things. Such as:

-support one another in weight loss and healthy living
-Offer advice for newbies looking for bikes
-help each other choose components, frames, wheels, tires, etc that work for cyldes/athenas.
-Act as a family that supports one another through the hard times.

I myself lost my "clyde status" on Friday, when, for the first time in probably 12 years, I weighed in under 200lbs. 199.8 to be exact! I started my official weight tracking in February at 228, and I have a goal of 180 by next summer, which so far looks extremely achievable!

I'll still post here. The roadie section is not very friendly in comparison!

Today I was 199.6. I slack on weekends sometimes, but 0.2lb is still a loss...LOL

Dirt Road

Congratulations!

That said, I'm amazed at how much weight I lose in BED every night. In the morning, after peeing, and before breakfast, will be my lightest weight of the day. Right after supper (the last meal of the day here) will be the heaviest.

linnefaulk

Oh no! Don't ever weigh yourself in the evening. SO depressing.

winston63 

Yep - I'm 5'8" as well. I'm now below 200 (actually managed to drop to 180 recently) but for me, this is still Clyde territory. I don't think I'll ever get down to 160, but 170 is a target I'm aiming for.

For the longest time I stalled at around 190, but upping my riding distance/intensity and watching portion sizes over the last few months got me down another 10 pounds. And I've got to say I feel better than I have in years!

baron von trail 

I remember riding at under 190 lbs. Wow. I could really fly. One winter later, I'm at 210.

I guess for me, the uncomfortable part of gaining weight takes time to set in because I did not really notice those 20 lbs as they were coming on. I noticed it the next season when all my summer stuff no longer fit and I struggled up hills. Nonetheless, that did not stop me from gaining 20 more pounds the following winter.

Willbird

My weight loss vs intake is suggesting my TDEE is pretty high, which means when I'm closer to my goal weight I will be able to eat quite a bit in maintenance, to come up with the amounts I'm losing using Scooby's calculator the only way I can come close is to use "7-21 hours a week of strenuous exercise/work". That high TDEE even BEFORE I started doing any non work exercise probably helped me protect from the crap I ate, the wife ate the same crap in the same qty and gained a lot more in the same timeframe.

InOmaha

I was 6'-1" tall and 175 lbs at 13. I managed to stay under 200 until college.

At 6'-3" my ideal weight when only doing cardio is 205 lbs. I know because I ran 5 to 7 miles per day 7 days a week for 1 year and settled in at that weight.

My ideal weight when adding in weights for cross training is 225 lbs. My wife likes the 225 lb me better and I fit in the same clothes.

To maintain this weight requires ~5 - 1 hour and 20 minute workouts per week and watching what I eat. To get below these weights requires depravation and longer workouts. I'd have to give up coffee and bourbon then do 2/day workouts to get below 200 lbs. And that ain't a life worth living.

squirtdad

Why are the knees sore? A lot of people find cycling helps knees as it builds up the muscles around the joint. The most important thing is so use a low gear, and pedal with less pressure then using a high gear.

dru_

I'm 6'3" and floating right on the edge (198-202 depending on the day of the week). Based upon current body fat measurements, I should be able to get to 185 while maintaining a healthy level of body fat, so I don't know that 6' is necessarily an automatic jail sentence .

Chitown_Mike

If I were to "move" out of this area I would still come to visit. The camaraderie here is unmatched in any other area of the forum, plus I love the stories and encouragement. Definitely don't see that in the A&S subsection..... :shivers:

FLEXjs

That's funny stuff.

5' 10.5" and 270 here. And proud of it.

Not everyone over 200 is fat.

baron von trail 

6'3", 185 seems about right to me.

werwer2012

I drove transport for fifteen years and now got bad arthritis in my knees and feet. So can't be on my feet very much without pain medication.

GT29

Self loathing takes many forms.. My least favorite is the "straight shooter".. This is all the "bad fat person" social horses__t wrapped in a "I know I'm bad but I'm I'm dealing with it" package. You are looking to get fit? Great? You feel bad that you are over weight? Well, maybe you should talk to someone about that. It's way more likely that as you get older you'll only get heavier, so maybe you should fins a way hold that idea. Rather than trying to get an entire forum on board with your fat quilt I mean..

In the end.. I wish you luck..

Dirt Road

I'm lighter now than I have been except in 1999-2000, which were the years I turned forty, worked every third day, and rode on the rest. Getting a much better job put the end that. Anyway, I've had a "beer gut" since I was twenty. It gets higher, tighter, and smaller, but it never goes away. I should really give it a name, right?

Willbird

I developed a case of "runners knee" from walking at 280lbs, too fast, and even jogging downhill, cycling was zero impact on my knees compared to walking.

linnefaulk

Cycling has saved me from constant pain. There is no impact and the moving helps with the blood flow and healing.

Willbird

Making sure the saddle is not too high is very important however, too low means you cannot develop peak power, too high can cause an injury, or so I'm told anyway :-).

Not directing that @ you linnefaulk, just adding it as general commentary on the subject.