ReptileBoy

Hi Everybody,
I was in here a few months ago. Determined to ride, diet and lose weight. Well, that did not last long. Got back to my old ways and even gained weight. So now I am restarting again soon. Will turn 51 in a couple weeks. With my age I really need to change my bad ways and get on to a healthy one. I also post in the clyde section.

Taking my bike in on Monday to have a tune up done on it to be safe. Buying a bike computer there that they will install for me. Planning out my eating routine now. I realized I do need routine for eating and exercising.

So please help me with your advice and motivation to get me going again. Thank You all.

Biker395 

Have you a partner for your rides? Are you riding to places you really want to go?

My experience is that most people's willpower is not up to the task of making what is needed ... a change in lifestyle. What does it is to find a way to turn what is good for you into something you really enjoy. Then, the lifestyle choice comes easy. Or maybe it's just me ... my willpower sux.

So my advice would be to join a bike club. Get a hold of some other people to ride with. Make your destination someplace you want (or need) to go.

The Bullshifters are a pretty hip bike club in Phoenix. Some of their members are active in this forum.

OldsCOOL

Just put your butt on the seat and go 1/2mi further than the previous ride. If my scope/scale is a bit optimistic, go a block or two further. Soon you will find the joy of getting out on a frequent basis. Good to see you back at it.

JerrySTL

Have fun. Seriously. You are more likely to stay with an exercise routine if you are enjoying it.

practical

1. Make it social. Find a Meet Up in your area (Google Meet Up) and find a group that goes biking, walking, hiking, etc. It's more fun to do things with others.
2. Find routes and bike paths that you like riding. Ride them often.
3. Search for new routes. Use Google maps or Map My Ride to find good routes that you will enjoy riding.
4. Consider the following: Get biking gloves and biking shorts. GET A MIRROR. Think of other things that will make you more comfortable and productive (mileage and speed).

jon c. 

I'd agree that fun is the ticket. I started again in my 50s after a long, long absence from the saddle and I stick with it because I enjoy it. Do whatever you need to make it fun and keep it fun. For me, that means not worrying too much about speed or distance goals. I just ride roads I love to ride and let the rest take care of itself. I'm lucky enough to have miles of great roads right outside my door, but if you don't see if you can find somewhere nearby where you really like to ride.

dual650c

It seems you are coming here for encouragement/validation.
Okay.
Simple plan - make a "I rode this far today" thread and make a commitment to post your rides as you do them. You/we will be able to see whether or not you've maintained your commitment to yourself/to us by "reporting/recording" or your rides here.

That idea works for some people. . . not so much for others.
YMMV

jim_de_hunter

I've learned that I can't be so regimented about my training/riding. I'd make a plan and the first time something got in the way, as life usually does, I'd fall off completely. Now, I try to get on the trainer everyday. Sometimes I can only get on for 15 minutes or so. Then, when I get 3 good sessions in a row, I take a recovery day. A lot of my recovery days are unscheduled because I can't get 3 good sessions in a row because of something or other. But I train a lot more now than I ever have before.

icyclist 

1) From what I've read and experienced, exercise won't help you lose weight. Instead, it'll make you hungry. That's OK, though, because you'll have burned off some weight. So it'll mostly be a wash, because you'll eat enough to replace what weight you lost. Of course, exercise has a host of benefits, but not weight loss.

2) You don't have to exercise at all to lose weight. You can lose weight by cutting out the amount of food you eat, irrespective of exercise.

3) Don't lose weight too fast. I guarantee you're body will rebel and you're going to end up going on eating binges. Lose the weight gradually. Eat enough to satisfy your hunger, but not enough to maintain your weight. It may be a delicate balance, but you'll find it if you're motivated to lose weight.

4) Keep a record of what you eat. There are apps to help you, but all you need to do is keep a record for a while with pen and paper, or with a word processing program.

5) Weigh yourself regularly, and before long you'll know, without needing to look over your record, how much you can consume in a day to keep from gaining weight.

6) Stop eating sweets. Cut back on alcohol. Think salads and soups and apples and pears. It takes a lot of lettuce to equal in calories an order of onion rings. Eat eggs with cheese, not a stack of waffles with maple syrup. Stop drinking sodas (at least stick with diet sodas). Do not imbibe energy drinks - they're loaded with sugar, which have a lot of calories. Have a hamburger without the bun. Or have the bun and skip the French fries. But also reward yourself once in a while with ice cream or fries or whatever.

7) If you live with someone else and you own a refrigerator and a cupboard to store food, you're going to have a tough time losing weight. Because having food in the house, which your housemate is going to want to do, is going to offer you a lot of temptation to eat more than you need to.

If you don't try to starve yourself, though, if you cut back just a little on what you eat, enough to gradually lose weight, you won't want to clean out the refrigerator when you go crazy with hunger.

ReptileBoy

Hi. Thank you for your comment. No, I do not have a partner yet. I am not even riding right now, but will soon. I am trying to choose a day to start, after I get my bike tuned up, which will be on Monday.

I do need to find places to ride. So far all I did last time was go around my block over and over. So I think some better scenery is in order. I will check into the bike club. Thanks.

ReptileBoy

Thank you.

TriDanny47

Motivation can come from either end of the emotional energy spectrum. I rode fairly seriously for health, fitness, and stress relief in my 20s. Then life happened and it was really hard to find the time and energy. I worked crazy long hours for several decades - just how it goes in my field. And it was easy to fall into the trap of poor diet/chronic sleep deficiency/little exercise. Especially if your work uniform is a suit and tie, the only physical aspect of the job is grabbing a client binder that weighs 3 lbs at most from the file room down the hall, and everyone you hang out with lives the same existence so life is about Starbuck's and "let's do lunch at" so eating healthy is tough. That got me to middle age in pretty typically American bad shape, overweight, malnourished and weak.

Three years ago I was diagnosed with a potentially fatal but treatable bone marrow/blood disorder. Scared the **** out of me - and made me realize all of the false gods, so to speak, I was chasing. I vowed to change my ways - first thing I did was get my bike off the garage wall, blow of the almost 20 years of dust, and take it in for upgrades/maintenance.

Literally the most life-saving decision I made short of finding a great medical team who has "been there" for me when I needed them. It was very traumatic to me to face that - getting back on the bike was my pressure relief valve. Especially the first few months after my initial course of treatment. I look back now and realize I was running on pure adrenalin - doing distances on the bike I had no business doing physically and fighting a lot of side effects from the drug cocktail I have to take permanently.

Out of that fear base motivation came the realization that I love bikes and I love cycling. Just about more than anything except the people in my life. I have gotten a great deal of enjoyment immersing myself in the cycling world.

2012 sucked - diagnosis and treatment and acceptance of a new "entity" in my life that wasn't even on my radar screen one day, then full-blown a few short weeks later.

2013-2014 - each year got better physically and in terms of coming to terms with this new reality.

Start of 2015 - I was in such a good place - riding, running, swimming doing 5K/10K races for practice, training 2nd season on a triathlon team etc. All fell apart at the end of winter with bad news from routine tests, then two family members had health crises as well - I had to have revisions in my own treatment, and both of my relatives passed away a few days apart. That's life, no guarantees, bad things happen.

Well, I hardly got on a bike all summer/fall - maybe 600 miles total.

Things are settled now - had to administer estates etc - easy for me but just took time. Now I just have to get through Christmas and I'm free to get back to a serious training schedule.

OP - you can find the joy in cycling and it can become a part of you - if it's "your thing" - may prove not to be, maybe your thing could be swimming or running or hitting the gym for a cardio class or something - just don't give up on the ultimate goal - and have fun with it.

big john

I agree that keeping it fun is a reason to keep doing it. Having someone to ride with can also be a big help.
At times when I've felt burned out or just tired of riding I will make a change like switching to the mountain bike or solo riding instead of groups.
After 30+ years I still want to get out on a bike whenever I can.

p.s. I am also over 200 pounds and cycling has helped me control my weight, partly because I know if I gain weight it's going to suck when I climb. I have no control over food other than that.

ReptileBoy

Thanks. I need to start out by just riding. Not to go fast and try to beat my time. Previously when i rode i would go as fast as i could.

ReptileBoy

Thanks. I do need to find some bike paths here.

ReptileBoy

Thanks. Last time i started riding it did feel like a chore. But that was because i was going too fast etc.

ReptileBoy

That is a good idea. I may consider doing that. Thanks.

ReptileBoy

I am looking at getting a trainer also so in case i do not feel like going outside. I wont have an excuse then. Thanks.

ReptileBoy

Thank you for your advice.

ReptileBoy

Thank you. Sorry for the problems you had/have.

ReptileBoy

Thanks.

Dave Cutter

There can be a time (or times) in our life when we sense the death spiral. I get the impression from your posts... that you may be feeling an impending problem.... due to your current state of weight, fitness, and age. I could be wrong, and I hope I am. But if I am not you may not have a minute to waste.

Always share your health concerns with a healthcare professional.... like your doctor. Don't wait till after this or that.

Don't limit your solutions to preconceived ideas. Cycling is a lot of good healthy fun, and can be a nice low (no) impact exercise. Going to a gym (in bad weather) is good too. Dancing with the kids Wii (game console) is fun, improves balance, and burns calories too. Just walking is better exercise than not walking. Parking your car so you have a little extra walk when going to work or shopping adds free walking exercise... and requires no extra time, cost, or preparation. Do anything and everything. No retreat, no surrender.

Doc_Wui

Living in Phoenix, you've got the advantage over us in the cold climates in the next few months, as far as doing things outside.

I'm 67 and dropped from 210+ last Spring to 190+ this month. It will take some will power to keep it off during the holiday season. I attribute it to more physical activity, especially with my new found interest in biking. Usually in winter, all I can do is take walks, but snow often thwarts even that activity, and shovelling it is of little help for fitness .when you're a geezer. With the El Nino effect keeping Chicago in the 40's and 50's thru December, I've ridden a half dozen times this month.

Nice to have old jackets fit again, and have an impetus to buy a new one too. I last got down to 190 (quickly) with a no carbs diet 12 years ago, but that didn't last.

Anyway, good luck!

dim

I've just got back on a bike 13 weeks ago .... overweight, out of breath, very unfit, but keen to get into shape .... here's what I have found out so far ..

as Christmas/new year was close, I decided not to overdo things yet by starving myself or cutting out on luxuries such as beer and good food, but try and get fitter first, then cut out the bad stuff in early new year, and start eating proper food in Jan

so far so good .... much fitter .... cycle faster and further and getting stronger daily ... I've lost lots of weight and feel strong

so, my advice is dont starve yourself in the beginning .... eat what your body craves for, and cycle faster and further as you get fitter

fietsbob

When its difficult to restart on a hill , turn around, go downhill get up some momentum, then turn around and try again .

If still too difficult, It is OK to Get Off and Push