Diggy18

Hey!
I've been working on loosing a few inches around the waist for the past couple of months, and I finally got bored with jogging so I got a bike. I haven't ridden in almost 15 years, and it's freakin' awesome!

I had good success with cutting back my circumference while jogging and counting calories, but after riding for about 60 to 90 minutes a day for the last week or two, it really seems like my body is using up muscle instead of fat. I mean, it seems that my waist has stayed the same, but that my shoulders, chest, and arms have gotten smaller. (I also do some weight lifting about 3 hours a week, and this routine has stayed constant.) Anybody else ever have this happen?

On a related note, since starting biking I have been HUNGRY (much more so than when I was just running), and that's making it harder to keep my daily calorie consumption at a deficit. As it is, I usually have a deficit of about 500 calories, but some days it's closer to 1000. Am I eating too little, and forcing my body to cannabalize itself?

capsicum

Possibly. Try to put one of your meals immediatly after your workout(minutes count) this will help stop the catabolic(muscle eating) metabolism so that the anabolic(muscle building) one can kick in. Muscles are catabolized some on all people during any long workout and will continue to do so for a while after the workout but giving a shot of calories (carbs and protein that is, I don't know how low carb diets affect this) right after will dramatically reduce the amout of catabolic breakdown in the muscles. This is also the only point in time that the muscle will really carb load with glycogen, the rest of the time most of the carbs are stored as fat(some still goes to muscle glycogen but mostly fat).
Also if your not on the low carb craze try to use 70%/15%/15% calories from carbs/fat/protein making sure you get the carbs from whole grains not from sugar or refined goods. Its been proven that this 15% fat diet will significantly reduce appetite (measured in total calories)verses the standard american 30% calories from fat and you already seem to know that its total calories vs calorie use that determines weight gain/loss. As an added benefit 70/15/15 is the one recomended for long distance athletes.

BeTheChange

Remember to stay well hydrated. For your body to access the fat stores you have to be very well hydrated (fats are hydrophobic). The muscles are surrounded by water (read:blood) even when you are very dehydrated, but it takes being quite hydrated to tap into that fat. Good luck.

ultra-g

I heard that the last place men will lost weight is around their waistline. Possible that your burning off the fat around your arms, shoulders?

capsicum

I just thought of one more thing. Miso soup, get it at a terriyaki or sushi joint. It's mostly broth(low cal) and costs like a buck but for some reason it's one of very few things that really satisfy my hunger. If you have a Japanese market around you can get the stuff to make it cheeply but I wouldn't recomend the dry packets in the oriental sction of the supermarket.

If you make it your self try this:
4 cups cold water
4 3"x3" pieces of kombu (dried kelp, keeps very well)
heat on medium untill it just boils
add half a handfull of bonito flakes (dried smoked tuna, also keeps well if sealed)
turn off let stand a few minutes then strain.

Bring back to a boil add 8- 14 OZ of diced firm or extra firm tofu, a few tablespoons of chopped onion(finely chop) or green onion(course chop), and if you like(I do) one or two sheets of nori-sushi seaweed or sea laver or just toasted sushi seaweed(all one and the same) cut into 1 inch squares.(the tofu doesn't keep but is in all major supermarkets [around here anyway], dried seaweed sheets stay fresh well over a year in a good ziplock)

Then just when its back to a boil turn off the heat and add 4-5 tablespoons of Aka-miso.
Thats the red soybean paste (shiro-miso is the light one but I don't care for it as much, they also have a very dark brown miso with a stronger flavor)
Note: You must mix the miso with a little liquid to make it runny before adding it or it won't dissolve quite right.
(miso will keep for months in the fridge after opening, as it is fermented [so are beer and yogurt so chill] and it has a high salt content [diluted when in soup])

Lastly.... eat it, better than any chicken soup I've ever had.

Diggy18

Yeah, maybe it is only that I started to burn off the fat on my arms and shoulders rather than waist.

As for that miso, maybe I'll have to try it. I just got back from living in Korea for 9 years, and I often ate this stuff called Tan-jjang Chigay (or however you want to spell it in English) - I think miso is the Japanese version of that. Hmmm, and interesting idea for an energy meal.