Noob here... Questions about weight loss and where I should start? I'm 325 now...
 

First off, Hello to everyone. I'm new to the forums but have been trolling around the FG/SS forums a bit so far. I like it around here.

I'm 33 years old, 6' tall, 325 lbs and am on a mission to loose 100 lbs. If this sounds a bit too hefty a goal, let me start by saying its a long term one. I've done it in the past (I've lost 55 in the past but that was 11 years ago and a lot has changed) but the weight came back from horrible eating habits and lack of daily exercise i.e., 20+ years of skateboarding until lower back problems with sciatic nerve pains made it hard to continue. I've always been a big guy but never had any trouble being active. I decided a bicycle may be the smartest thing to do to try to aid in this quest.

I bought my first bike in over 20 years the other day... a Specialized 'Langster Comp' fixed gear track bike. I've since fitted it with a Shimano Ultegra front brake, a more comfy Selle Italia saddle, stronger KOOL chain, Bontrager Crowbar 5 degree riser bars w/ Oury grips and some leather toe straps (I just cant ride drops and I'll graduate to Bullhorns I'm sure).

I'm intrigued by the similarities fixed gear riding has to skateboarding with the sub culture, camaraderie (clicky as it may be) and simple connection to the street... but let me be the first to tell you I could care less about 50 yard skids and leg over, step throughs or 6 minute track stands... I bought this bike to have fun with some friends and LOOSE WEIGHT.

So... Whats my 1st step. I'm comfy on the bike. Do I ride 1 mile? Do I ride 3? Do I ride 20 minutes? Do I ride 40? Do I ride with a water bottle? Do I ride early in the morning before breakfast? Do I ride every day regardless of muscle soreness?

I'm hoping I can handle my diet i.e., caloric intake, nutritional meals and eliminating crap food/drink (been vegetarian for almost 8 years but until now, had a problem frequenting the Butterfingers in the vending machines) but I was looking for a little guidance as to where to start this exercise regiment. Any help will be sincerely appreciated.

Rich

p.s., My Bike...

http://a921.ac-images.myspacecdn.com...4aa27750e0.jpg

Don't overthink it. Just go ride, and see how you do. The more fun it is, the more likely you are to stick with it.

And, as you know, if you want to lose weight you got to get the diet cleaned up.

Good luck!

Here's my plan (It has worked for me)

Ride a lot, but don't overtrain. 3 days a week, 1 hr per ride can be one of your first goals.
Most fitness people will tell you that your body won't burn fat in the first 20 minutes of
excercise. That's just the warm up. Don't worry about speed- just get your heart rate up
and keep going as long as you can (without causing yourself injury)

Just as important- the eating habits. I've been a serious cyclist for about 3 years but I
never lost any weight till I controlled my eating, starting about 6 months ago.
PORTION CONTROL AND QUALITY is the key. Never be afraid to eat too little at a meal.
Keep healthy snacks on hand as a follow up if you feel hungry later. Your feeling of being
full occurs about 20 minutes after you are actually full. So, if you are unsure at the end
of a meal, wait 20 minutes before having a snack. Drink lots of water- never be dehydrated.
Drinks that contain calories can be very sneaky. It's easy to lose track of caloric intake
with drinks. I could write all day about this topic, but I leave it here. Good luck!

PS- A more padded, comfortable seat on that bike may make longer rides easier. It won't look very stylish though.

Good luck on your goal. With teh support you will get here it should not be too difficult for you. Here are my reccomendations based on what has worked for me but you will have to adjust to what is best of you.

To begin with since you have set fairly substantial goal my first reccomendation would be to go see your doctor and get a physical. Tell him what you goal is and if he has any concerns or reccomendations for you.

After that I normally try to ride in the morning before breakfast as it seems that if I can get my heart rate up in the morning I have more luck burning fat all day long. Most people have told me anything under 1 hr is a waste of time. I desagree with that and most indoor training sessions for me go no longer than 45 since I get so bored.

Get in a routine and do it everyday or every other day and as was said above get your eating habits under control or you will strugle with wieghtloss. I still struggle but am geting better.

Keep us posted and good luck.

small world, Rich. I know of you from the VW scene (that I've been out of for about 10 years now).

Anyway, you need to get yourself into a routine of riding and exercise and stick to it. can you commute by bike to work? what about little things like riding to the grocery store? find ways to work cycling into your daily life and it will be harder to find excuses not to ride.

best of luck.

I'm going to add to what *new*guy said:

keep it simple!
set aside time and stick to a timed schedule
(need to do this for at least two weeks before it STARTS to become a routine)

Once you have the routine down then you watch the progress
You should monitor your time and miles if on a bike, and figure out how to add to it if possible

Now is the part separate from the routine, "Calorie count"
what's your "calories in", and "calories out" (miles on bike)

If you get the ratio right, then it's just about time

Thanks everyone. I have a grasp on dieting i.e., changing my diet and not fad diets. I usually eat pretty good meals but also usually ruin them with sodas, multiple servings and WAY too late at night. I loose weight when I cut soda 100%, stop eating sweets and count calories (which is what I'm back on now) but I seldom exercise so I'm hoping my bike will fix this.

It's 35 degrees here in Baltimore so instead of 1 hour daily rides, I'm thinking of riding down to a local (and seriously overpriced) gym to get a membership. Indoor pools sound lovely but if I can cardio train and do some mild weight training (I'm already a friggin linebacker of solid steel... ok I'm sumo wrestler...) I'll be happy... and the round trip commute there and back should be a warm up and warm down. My doctor has said with my blood pressure under control now (Lisinopril daily now), I should be exercising as often as I want. A personal trainer or guide at the gym should be helpful. We'll see...


I hated my job so I quit LOL... I dont have a bag or basket or rack or anything to carry anything to/from any stores but I will have some workout clothes if I join that gym so I'm probably gonna have to get a bag. I'm sure I can fit cycling into my daily routine.

Small world indeed. Why are you out of the VW scene?

You for sure will drop weight easily, however you will need to adjust your eating style too. What also helped me drop weight was running, if you mix riding and running, you will boost your workout level. I guess in the end, just make sure your staying active, I play paint ball and as you can see in my avatar I ride sport bikes too. Stay active!

make sure the bike fits well so that you can eventually ride for at least 60min+ comfortably.

Have a plan, ie put aside the time to ride consistently every week and if possible have a good route where you can judge yourself, you want to eventually doing the ride as a training ride as opposed to a sightseeing ride

make small adjustments to your diet, www.fitday.com is a good place to see how much calories you consuming and where you can trim a little.

the hardest part with any program is sticking to it to actually see consistent results

It's 19 degrees and and ice field outside; it's going to be an interesting ride to work. I hate my job, too... hmmn ;)

I'd suggest you get a messenger pack to haul groceries/gym clothes, whathaveyou. I've found Chrome messenger packs (like a backpack) to be ideal and I can easily carry 60lbs of groceries in my backbone. Just make sure you get a bag that suits your current needs but also has some flexibility for later when your needs might change. The Chrome bags have a waterproof lining, for example. You might think you'll never need that feature, but even if you don't plan to ride in the rain, sometimes it just happens. no... i'm not a shill.

The gym is a great way to be active and can be especially good to keep you motivated; especially once you have some workout buddies who will make sure you're showing up when you say you'll be there.

As for why I'm out of the VW scene? At one point I had 5 dubs. I had a pristine MkI GTi, a heavily modded MkIIIGTi VR6, a 90 corrado G60, an 84 rabbit vert (POS), and an 88 Rocco 16V that was wicked fun. I started selling cars off when I split with my wife and basically, I never stopped selling until they were all gone. Now I've been car free for around 5 years. Anyway, sorry for the long story there. :)