eidkr1

Hi all

I am brand new here, just as the title says, 6 Feet tall 346 Lbs , 36 year-old . I just ordered a Trek shift 4 hoping it would withstand the weight abuse . should be here next Friday, as far as planning and gearing to weight loss, any advice or ideas how to start , like small trips few miles or just hit the road?
is Trek shift 4 a good choice ? the only bike I could find with weight support up to 350 LB with good spokes , I got the 21 inch frame and 26 inches wheels (advice from my LBS that 26 are stronger than 29) for heavy people

BigMo59

Welcome! I'm a newbie here myself and just looked at a Shift 4 last week. The LBS had a 21inch Shift 2 that I got on and it seems like a good ride to me. I'd say your gonna love it!

Willbird

Looks like a cool bike :-), set up close to how my 2001 trek 7200 is as far as gearing anyway. I was around 280 when I started riding June 1 this year. First ride was about 9 miles :-). I have logged nearly every ride on Cyclemeter iPhone ap.

i log and plan intake using myfitnesspal. Today I weighed 227 :-). 5'10" tall here.

I did walk quite a bit before I started riding....but my right knee was not up to hauling a 304 lb guy around at a rapid pace :-).....riding was much lower impact.

But welcome, :-)

bill

MattInFla

Welcome! Congratulations on embarking on a riding sport that will bring you both fun and weight loss success

eidkr1

Thank you all for the replies
Bigmo59, Thanks it is a comfort to know that I invested in the right bike, those bikes are not cheap, I stayed away from Walmart, target and academy given my weight would just make me suffer with a bike that I need to fix every other ride.

Willbird, thank you so much for the apps idea, I downloaded both apps and will start tracking my performance, you cannot improve what is not measured, so thank you again

Matt, thanks may be one day I will come cycling from Texas to Florida hahahah

WonderMonkey

Congratulations on doing something to improve yourself. Now that you are on your way with some exercise I hope you are also addressing your nutrition. 80% (or some number close) of your success is in the kitchen, meaning nutrition. If you got your exercise right but your nutrition wrong you are throwing away a whole bunch of effort.

Nothing says you have to leap to a 100% clean eating lifestyle and bike 50 miles a day, but work towards getting there so you can get there in a sustainable way.

eidkr1

Sir you hit the nail on the head, I am a terrible cook and I rely most of the time on fast food on the way back from work (which could be 18 + hours) , recently I started moving away from the fast food and going to whole foods the semi cooked section that requires only baking, heating or minimal prep. since again I am a terrible cook to the point that the fire alarm goes off whenever I attempt cooking something, it is not ideal but it is the best fit for me so far, I tried my fit food but did not like it at all . I am open to any suggestions

eidkr1

the only one thing I cannot get ride of is 3 raw sugars in my black coffee, only 2 cups a day so 90 calories of raw sugar, I don't think that's a deal breaker. but I got rid of the soda (1 L per day ) and replaced with plain water, cannot do Gatorade, coconut water or whatever , they all taste like sickness to me

WonderMonkey

I was similar except that I worked full time, coach, etc. and had no energy to prepare food smartly. I should have, but didn't. I'll PM you something.

WonderMonkey

Mt. Dew was my issue. Three of them a day. I did replace them with something else which I am pleased with.

Nikon shooter

Welcome, you're among friend here, most if not all of us have been where you are now. I myself only started riding again a few weeks ago after a 20+ year hiatus. Bike fit is crucial to comfort. Sounds like you have picked a great starter bike. As for apps, if you use Strava, I think it's free, you can join the Clydesdales and Athens club, see the sticky above. I'm finding it's fun to share and keep up with other riders, as well as a great inspiration, I look at some of the miles those riders log and dream about doing something like that some day.

txgonzo

I used sparkpeople to track nutrition and lose weight. Last summer I was 240+ and started using it. Now I'm 213ish and have hovered around that for months. But like someone said above me here, it's about moderation. You're not going to be able to go hardcore from the jump, you'll drive yourself insane. Good luck with your loss. Btw I just recently bought a bike(haven't had a chance to ride yet) but I'm excited.

WonderMonkey

You will! Though I've been riding on and off again for a while I started at zero miles in 2013 and can now ride 50 milers as I please. They aren't easy but I can do them with intensity (for stretches) and not be laid up for a week after!

eidkr1

Thank you so much, I got your PM, cannot reply as I am a newbie , I will certainly look into it and thanks again

eidkr1

that's pretty cool, at least I can update you guys and see if am lazy or committed haha. thanks

baron von trail 

I drink black coffee. I weaned off sugary drinks eons ago, but like you kept adding it to coffee for years. I eventually went black cold turkey. It tasted bitter at first, but within a week I was hooked. Now I gag on sugar in coffee.

Black wallnut 

Welcome. Lots of folks get started on a comfort bike. I started on a hybrid. Take your time and enjoy the ride. Build up duration of rides slowly and listen to what your body is telling you, pain should not be what it is saying however fatigue, soreness and discomfort can just be part of your body adapting to riding a bike especially if you are not doing anything currently for exercise. it is better to do a little each day, adding a minute or two each day than to ride a bunch and suffer and have to take a week off. Build a base before adding intensity. Most of all enjoy the ride, if you don't enjoy it you will be unlikely to keep doing it. Set some goals that you can reasonably obtain the go after them.

chefisaac

First thing you want to do is control what you eat. Are you monitoring what you eat? Tracking what you eat? That is key. If you don't do that, all the riding you will be doing can be just thrown out the window.

Last summer, I rode logged about 3k miles and did not lose a pound. Why? Because I didn't have control of what I ate.

Null66

VERY NICE BIKE!

Great gearing!
Marvelous wheels!
Lockout on front suspension!

Oh and good mounting option for rack!

Hope you take great care of this beautiful machine and STILL ride the wheels off!

Willbird

Yea I drink stuff with no sugar...black coffee, "brown" tea, no sugar :-). I do not have room in my 2040 calories a day for 90 cals of raw sugar :-). I'd much rather have some dried cherries or a couple fig newtons :-).

One thing about what Black Wallnut said, some soreness and being tired was natural for me, and I gauge things more by how I feel the NEXT day, for awile starting out I would be whipped when I went to sleep, but spring right out of bed all recovered the next day :-).

Bill

Jarrett2

Welcome and Congrats! Taking this step could be one of the best things you do.

In January 2013, I was 405lbs. I started using a calorie counter app to lose weight. By May 2013, I was down to 375 lbs. It was a good drop, but I wanted a way to accelerate the weight loss, so I bought a bike. It worked.

Recently, I hit 257 lbs and I'm still dropping. The combination of the calorie counter app and cycling has made dramatic changes in me physically, which has made huge changes in my health, well being, personality, etc. All positive across the board in ways I didn't expect.

My recommendation is don't try to do too much to fast. Take it easy. 1-2 lbs. a week is plenty. Don't feel the need to push yourself on the bike. It may feel easier than say running, but it there is a lot of exercise going on even when it feels like an easy ride.

I used the LoseIt app for calorie counting, but if I started over again, I would probably use the MyFitnessPal app. It's food database is larger and it integrates with lots of exercise apps. For cycling app, I have an Andriod phone, so I used Cycledroid for a long time. But any app that let's you track average speed, ride time, distance traveled, etc. is fine.

I just recently purchased a Garmin Edge 1000 bike computer (only because I've started doing longer rides and phone battery is struggling as GPS) and it turns out that it integrates with MyFitnessPal automatically. If I wasn't so entrenched in the LoseIt app, I would switch because having your exercise auto populate into your calorie counter app is really nice.

Initially, I tried to eat too few calories while cycling and it wore me down fast. So don't feel like you have to starve to lose weight when cycling regularly.

Take some photos now. Front angle, side angle. Maybe near something for reference. Take some measurements as well. Waist for example. I wish I had, but I didn't when I got started. Once the weight started falling off, I wish I would have had something to compare it too.

Also, I'm recommend to keep some progress notes. I have a little spreadsheet I started when I first started riding. Fields like this:

Date
Distance
Avg Speed
Max Speed
Ride Time
Ride Type
Day
Pre Ride Weight
Post Ride Weight
Ride Notes


I also add up how many miles I've done in a month, how many in a year, how many total. Doing little things like that help keep me motivated as it shows progress. For example, I rode 2,189 miles last year. I couldn't believe it, but those little daily rides added up. This year I've done 1,688 so far for a combined total of 3,877 miles since I bought my first bike in May last year. I'm trying to crack 2,000 miles again before the end of the year. Little things like that keep it fun. The Strava bike app is also pretty fun. I'm just getting into that now. Did my first King of the Mountain today

Most of all, just have fun and document as you go. If you dial in your caloric intake and throw a little cycling in there, the pounds will FLY off of you. Good luck!

Jarrett2

Welcome and Congrats! Taking this step could be one of the best things you do.

In January 2013, I was 405lbs. I started using a calorie counter app to lose weight. By May 2013, I was down to 375 lbs. It was a good drop, but I wanted a way to accelerate the weight loss, so I bought a bike. It worked.

Recently, I hit 257 lbs and I'm still dropping. The combination of the calorie counter app and cycling has made dramatic changes in me physically, which has made huge changes in my health, well being, personality, etc. All positive across the board in ways I didn't expect.

My recommendation is don't try to do too much to fast. Take it easy. 1-2 lbs. a week is plenty. Don't feel the need to push yourself on the bike. It may feel easier than say running, but it there is a lot of exercise going on even when it feels like an easy ride.

At first just tooling around your neighborhood is a good start as long as it is safe and low traffic. If you get bored of that, see if you can find a bike trail in SA. If you look at Google Maps for the area, then switch it to cycling instead of driving, all of the bike paths will light up in green on the map. Those are a good places to start. Safe, no cars, no dogs. Just be respectful of other walkers/riders on the trail. Follow any posted rules of the trail, stay to the right, check behind you before pass, pass on the left, say "Coming up on your left" as you pass someone, those kinds of things.

I probably did 1000-1500 miles on my local trail before venturing out on the roads regularly. Eventually you might get too fast to safely ride on a slow trail and need to find a new spot, but for a while, they are a great place to be.

Just yesterday I did a ride on the Austin Veloway that is south of Austin. That's a great place to catch some easy miles. Very safe, bike friendly deal. Might be worth a drive up on the weekend if you can't find something you really like in SA. Looking at Google Maps on my phone, it shows some bike trails around the river down there in SA that look nice.

I used the LoseIt app for calorie counting, but if I started over again, I would probably use the MyFitnessPal app. It's food database is larger and it integrates with lots of exercise apps. For cycling app, I have an Andriod phone, so I used Cycledroid for a long time. But any app that let's you track average speed, ride time, distance traveled, etc. is fine.

I just recently purchased a Garmin Edge 1000 bike computer (only because I've started doing longer rides and phone battery is struggling as GPS) and it turns out that it integrates with MyFitnessPal automatically. If I wasn't so entrenched in the LoseIt app, I would switch because having your exercise auto populate into your calorie counter app is really nice.

Initially, I tried to eat too few calories while cycling and it wore me down fast. So don't feel like you have to starve to lose weight when cycling regularly. The calorie apps will tell you how much to eat pretty accurately.

Take some photos now. Front angle, side angle. Maybe near something for reference. Take some measurements as well. Waist for example. I wish I had, but I didn't when I got started. Once the weight started falling off, I wish I would have had something to compare it too.

Also, I'd recommend to keep some progress notes. I have a little spreadsheet I started when I first started riding. Fields like this:

Date
Distance
Avg Speed
Max Speed
Ride Time
Ride Type
Day of Week
Pre Ride Weight
Post Ride Weight
Ride Notes


I also add up how many miles I've done in a month, how many in a year, how many total. Doing little things like that help keep me motivated as it shows progress. For example, I rode 2,189 miles last year. I couldn't believe it, but those little daily rides added up. This year I've done 1,688 so far for a combined total of 3,877 miles since I bought my first bike in May last year. I'm trying to crack 2,000 miles again before the end of the year. Little things like that keep it fun. The Strava bike app is also pretty fun. I'm just getting into that now. Did my first King of the Mountain today

Most of all, just have fun and document as you go. If you dial in your caloric intake and throw a little cycling in there, the pounds will FLY off of you. Good luck!

SammyJ 

Wow, Awesome start.

Good choice on the bike. DO not get discouraged! If it means 3/4 miles around the block for a while, keep going. Lot of good advice I will not repost!

dagray

Welcome

Get out and Ride. I was only able to go 1.5 miles in March of this year and it took three hours to recover after; just yesterday I took my heaviest bike (Raleigh Talus 29er) out and did seven miles with two train over passes that have steep grades to them. I started at 396 pounds and 6 foot 3 and now am down to 374 pounds.

I drink one pot of black coffee, over a gallon of water with a little lemon juice added, and try to stay away from sugary food/drink (I do occasionally allow myself a treat of a donut or chocolate, but not often).

linnefaulk

I still put raw honey in my tea each morning. I get local honey which helps with allergies. Two teaspoons is 40 calories and more than sweet enough for a pot. the only time I get sweet tea is when I am dead tired and need a quicker boost than plain tea. Even then I can only tolerate half sweet half unsweet.