Originally Posted by
jkemp9
Hi, I'm 21, 6'2", ~260lbs, and ride a 2006 58" specialized allez. 6'2"/260lbs may not seem too bad but I'm sure my BMI is terrible. I'm just curious how my routine matches up with others out there trying lose weight and get fit. My main concern, as I'm sure is the case with many of you, is to loose body fat. I think I ride pretty hard and can keep up with my much thinner friends (I can usually maintain 20 mph + or - 2 for the ten miles of straight trail that exist in Springfield, IL). I just can't seem to thin down. I've have been trying to rotate between shorter, more intense rides and longer, less intense rides (not that my long rides are easy by any means). I usually log 70-90 miles a week. Anyone have any suggestions to burn fat rather than build muscle? Any off-bike exercises that will help increase upper-body fat burning? I've considered supplement help but am a little leery about using a thermogenic or something like that. Does anyone have experience with these?
I have an 8-5 internship at the EPA so I can't really take all day to exercise and I don't have much time to prepare a good breakfast or lunch. so, I'm also curious about diets that people my age have had positive results with. I usually eat granola in skim milk for breakfast. Lunch is usually not healthy because I only have 30 minutes. Sometimes I eat with co-workers (Chinese or fast food) and when I eat at my apartment I have something microwaved (pizza bagels, left-overs, etc); not good... On nights that I ride I have spaghetti with tuna, pepper, and parmesian cheese (which gives me great energy) but on nights that I don't ride I usually eat pretty poorly (pizza, hamburger helper, or some restaurant, usually later in the evening). I don't want to eat tuna for lunch every day; what quick and healthy meals have you all found?
Any suggestions for any of these problems or any further help would be very greatly appreciated.
You are quickly setting yourself up to end up with type II diabetes, and that is NOT fun. Okay, now to sound like a broken record here.
Breakfast, granola is full of sugar, your probably better with a nice oatmeal, get a good pot, that is small enough to make a decent serving, put in a good amount of water, some flax seed and bran, bring water to a boil, at some quick oatmeal, and turn off heat, cover with lid, and let sit for about 5 minutes. Put in a bowl, and add milk, if you really need a little sweetness, add no more then a coffee shop sugar packet worth of sugar. The key is you need a good breakfast, this should really be the biggest meal of the day.
Lunch, it sure isn't sexy, but brown bag it, a sandwich and a piece of fruit, apple, orange, banana, are all good, add some water, and your good to go. The idea of lunch is enough to get you through the rest of the day, pack your lunch the night before, and leave it in the fridge. Use a reusable container like tupperware for your sandwich, a reusable water bottle, and a reusable cloth lunch bag. Not only do you gain a lot of control over what your eating, but you save a lot of money as well.
Dinner, should be the smallest meal of the day, if your riding, you can have a small, fast energy type meal pre-ride, then have a small post ride recovery meal. On days you don't ride, you skip the pre-ride meal all together. The key is to keep the evening meals small, especially on non-ride days. The idea is that you often don't do much after the meal, so your not burning off the calories, the body doesn't waste them, it stores them for later use.
You may also find it better to make your rides longer and slower, the problem with a short, hard ride, is that it doesn't burn fat, it burns glycogen. Then your really hungry because the body needs to restore the glycogen. A longer and slower ride, may work better, because it burns fat, rather then glycogen.