magohn

Hi all,

Today is the day I switch from MTB training to training to ride my road bike on a 200 mile, 2-day, summer, sponsored ride in July. I've ridden the ride twice before and though a great experience, my weight distracted me from the overall enjoyment. I am usually mid-280'lbs but would LOVE to be in the 240's by ride day - July 13th, 2013.

I know exactly what my problem is. Though I ride plenty, its my diet. I'm good while at work only having a couple of cups of coffee, piece of toast, a lean cuisine and an afternoon snack (cashews etc). Its when I get home. I'm so hungry I will eat a largish dinner (large portion of whatever we are having - instead of 1 bean burrito - I will have 2 etc), and then I snack on bad stuff (yoghurt, nuts, couple of cookies etc - not awful, but enough to stall weight loss). Also, most nights I will ride a 6 mile loop for exercise but that makes me more hungry and seems to add to the dilemma. What I gain from the ride I lose to being 'extra hungry'.

So what can I pick up at the store to replace:

My love of bread (toast, sandwiches etc) ? I love bread so much, I have my own breadmaker. This is a big one for me - BREAD!. I could live off toast.
My love of sweets (cookies, yoghurt etc) ?
My large dinner? Perhaps smaller portion more frequently?


I by no means 'pig out' at night, but seem to eat just enough to offset the riding. I use 'MyFitnessPal' to track cals and usually stay below 2300-2400 - but still no weight loss in for awhile. I remain stable.

I am self-aware enough to know that I planned to lose 40 lbs the last time I started training for this 200 miles and only lost 10lb. A success but it still made the 200 miles a challenge. I remember being so disappointed with myself on ride day and I was STILL in the 280's and knew I had a challenge ahead.

Any grocery suggestions? I cant really go too radical such as the Paleo diet as I have a wife and child and need to diet within a more mainstream flavor both for finances and 'ease' on the family. I work 40+ hours a week (stationary at a computer) so the diet suggestions have to be 'doable'.

Thanks all.

kc0bbq

Part of the reason you're binging at night is it looks like you're starving yourself all day. Eat more early, and stuff that digests slower like protein and really complex carbs.

Bread isn't necessarily a problem. Too many people are hung up on carbs.

I love bread and pasta a ton. What made it work for me was simple - get a kitchen scale.

magohn

Well, I tell myself that too. However, I've been allowing a few slices of bread a day and the weight loss is non-existent for quite awhile now. I want to really 'mix it up' and shock my system into weight loss mode.

I just changed my usual breakfast and had, one scrambled egg with green peppers. I'm going to try a few days with no bread.

Here is an example of a 'regular' day for me. I ate a sandwich for lunch and pasta for dinner as I had a biggish ride the net day. However, still under my allowed cals for the day.

Rock31

One egg with green peppers seems very small for breakfast....I would try and add something else in there.

Do you eat anything with your sandwich? Veggies? Nuts?

magohn

Thanks, but Im trying to find SOMEWAY to start the loss process. If I eat my allotted 2600 I actually seem to gain weight. I usually eat an egg on toast or cheerios but that's not working.


No, just the sandwich. Today, I will eat a Lean Cusine for lunch (320 cals).

ill.clyde

I'm roughly 280ish right now too ... got down to 260 last year, hoping to get there again and ideally lower. I will say that it seems to me taht 2,600 calories is more than you need a day, or at least, more than you need to take in if you want to lose weight. I was down to 1,800 calories a day last year, and it worked. I'd also advocate more fresh fruits/veggies and less Lean Cuisine. And don't underestimate the power of protein in your diet. It sustains you longer than carbs will. Not saying carbs are evil, and I agree with a previous poster, too many people are hung up on carbs. All things in moderation

magohn

Thanks - maybe a couple of 'turkey burgers' would help me. You can see from the screenshot that I am usually under 2200 cals a day and I don't count the exaggerated '618' cals for exercising. So in other words I was 1000+ cals UNDER what they recommend for the day. As stated that's a pretty good representation of my daily activity/intake. I walk at least 1 mile (weekdays) on a treadmill and ride 5.5 miles at night (3x a week). Then I either go for a longer ride at weekend.

ill.clyde

You'll want to up your miles then ... 5.5 is great ... but I'd aim for at least 15 or 20 if you can

magohn

The 5.5 miles is just a weekday 'base mile' ride. I ride the 5.5 miles 3x a week and then at weekend a larger ride. For example, I rode 24 miles of MTB trails this weekend with 1850 ft of climbing. I usually average approx. (weather permitting) 40-60 miles per week with increasing mileage the closer to a sponsored ride I get.

This time of year I wont ride 15-20 miles after work. That would be 90 minutes of nighttime, rush-hour riding.

Myosmith

Pick a variety of lean animal proteins and cut or divide them into 3-4 oz portions when you get home, before freezing or storing. Eat more fish and lean poultry than beef and pork but it's all good in moderation.
Pick a few vegetable proteins like beans, peas, and legumes to complement and help fill in the gap left by the smaller portions of animal protein.
Learn to like non-starchy vegetables like peppers, onions, cabbage, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, snow peas, mushrooms, zuchinni, summer squash, egg plant, tomatoes, and many many others.
Limit starchy vegetables and go for the ones with better nutritional density like sweet potatoes, yams (no they are not the same thing), and carrots. Eat your veggies with the skin whenever possible to get all the vitamins.
Pick whole grains like barley, quinoa, coarse oats, and brown or wild rice (not really rice at all).
Fruit is good but in moderation, many also carry a pretty hefty simple carb load. An exception is berries, fresh or frozen without added sugar.
Low fat milk, low fat or fat free Greek yogurt, and limited amounts of real cheese. Eggs are good.

You don't have to eliminate bread, but pick real 100% whole grain breads. Many of the "whole wheat" breads on the market have less than 50% whole wheat flour, the brown color comes more from the small amount of molasses added in with the sugar. Real whole wheat bread isn't all that dark. You can even get whole wheat cake and pastry flour, whole grain pancake mix, etc. Again, the key here is moderation not elimination. The bread machine is good. It will allow you to enjoy bread in which you control the ingredients.

Avoid pre-packaged, ready to eat, processed convenience foods, chips, process cheeselike sorta dairy products, soda, fried and glazed dough products, etc.

Just as important and picking a healthful variety of foods is learning portion control and limiting the frequency of less than ideal choices.

magohn

This is great Myosmith. Gives me plenty to experiment with. There are some new ideas in there for me (berries, 100% wheat etc).

Thanks so much.

ill.clyde

when I'm time pressed my base ride is roughly 10 miles ... and if I can squeeze it in, 15. Just something to consider, another "weapon" in your weight loss arsenal

kc0bbq

If you want lean red meat, you can normally find elk and bison, but it is a bit more expensive. If you're really lucky you can find sources for stuff like red deer or ostrich.

The most important part of the post, IMO. Limiting, not eliminating. You need to live with what's inside your head as much as what's below it.

goldfinch

I find that bread and over the top sweets are major temptations for me. So I only have bread if I am going out somewhere, so none is in the house. Currently, I have ice cream once a week at the RV park. If the scale gives me the OK.

My current food routine when spouse isn't around:

Breakfast I have fruit and nuts. Or fruit and cheese. I'll have chocolate milk for a mid-day snack.

Lunch is variable. Lately I've been lazy and have been having prepackaged Amy's frozen dinners. Often I will have something like a salmon patty or crabcake. Or a salmon pinwheel. I might have Finn Crisp crackers with that. Or black beans. I make black beans in bulk and freeze them. I like to mix them with corn and salsa.

Mid afternoon if it is hot I will have a banana and frozen strawberries blended in the blender with some fake sugar.

I have a big, big salad for supper. Spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, tomato, green pepper. I put a bit of Parmesan cheese on it and dried cranberries. That and the dressing are the only calories of significance. My big salad can have less than 300 calories. It has the advantage of taking a good while to eat so I have a harder time out-eating my appetite. I'll have a glass of wine with my salad. If I have the calories I might put 100-150 calories of chicken, shrimp, lobster or crab meat on the salad. I keep all those meats cooked and frozen.

magohn

Thanks all. Lots of great info here. I really tried to be careful today and post-dinner (turkey chili, one corn muffin) I am at approx 1500 cals for the day. Im about to head out to the store and pick up some suplies.

For my next trip to the store: Any specific snack ideas? For example, Laughing Cow Cheeses Wedges (light) are only 35 cals combined with a couple of pretzel chips, they make for a good sub-100 cal snack.

Thanks again.


Today's cals:

Black wallnut 

carrotDo you like salad? Eat a bigger breakfast with limited carbs. If they come from cereal grains choose whole grain so you have high fiber, like steel cut oats or old fashioned or slow cooking oats. Sweeten with fruit. If you must have bread with lunch cut your consumption in half and coat it in fat such as olive oil so it digests slower. Drink lots of water plus drink water with each meal. for snacks between meals celery and peanut butter, nuts, cheese or carrot sticks. Instead of bologna eat tuna. A few days a week eat soup for lunch.

Night time snack if you must eat air popped popcorn.

I know you do not subscribe to my training plan but you might give it a serious thought. Ride more, ride more often, if you are not riding do some cross training. Go for a walk and include some hills in the walk. I'm sure you won't have to go far to find a hill to walk up. An hour a day minimum. The other side of this is to listen to your body and take a rest day at least once a week.

What you are trying to do may be the hardest thing you have ever done. Only you know that. You can do it, we will encourage you along.

magohn

Thanks BWalnut. However, with trainer time, Im riding 50+ miles a week as it is. Not sure I can or want to ride anymore than that at this time of year. Im also walking 1 mile a day on the treadmill.

Am I out of sync? I thought 50 miles a week was pretty good amount for January. Ive come to the conclusion that I cant ride myself thin. I believe my issues are diet based. Hence the thread.

Great advice on the food items though. Thanks

howeeee

Lotsa good suggestions, but for sure you are going about how you eat backwards. Better to eat a big breakfast and you wont be that hungry the rest of the day. 2 eggs some fruit and a slice or 2 of low carb bread should do it. If not in the mood for eggs , Oatmeal with fruit and splenda is filling.

I dont believe in counting calories or portion control but you gotta reduce your carbs. The way I do it is by not eating a lot of "white" foods. instead of white rice, white potatoes and white bread, I subsitute brown rice , yams and high protein low carb bread. I eat Aunt Millies bread that has about 40 calories and 7 to 9 net carbs a slice. I avoid all pastries and stuff like that. I never go hungry. I eat Kellogg protien Special K cereal has about 9 grams of carbs a serving verses 45 carbs a serving in most cereals.

Dont obsess about calorie counting just reduce carbs, eat leaner meats I eat eggs and fish but no other animal meats. I eat lotsa fruits and veges,,I never ever go hungry lol I am known for eating all day and night lol

I ride all year long riding about 16 to 20 miles a day 4 to 5 days a week a heavy 5 speed Schwinn Cruiser 5 or a Mountain bike when it is snowy and slippery.

I am on my heavy side right now, I am 5.9 165 pounds..sometime in the summer I am as low as 155.
and one more time, I never go hungry lol.

howeeee

Lotsa good suggestions, but for sure you are going about how you eat backwards. Better to eat a big breakfast and you wont be that hungry the rest of the day. 2 eggs some fruit and a slice or 2 of low carb bread should do it. If not in the mood for eggs , Oatmeal with fruit and splenda is filling.

I dont believe in counting calories or portion control but you gotta reduce your carbs. The way I do it is by not eating a lot of "white" foods. instead of white rice, white potatoes and white bread, I subsitute brown rice , yams and high protein low carb bread. I eat Aunt Millies bread that has about 40 calories and 7 to 9 net carbs a slice. I avoid all pastries and stuff like that. I never go hungry. I eat Kellogg protien Special K cereal has about 9 grams of carbs a serving verses 45 carbs a serving in most cereals.

Dont obsess about calorie counting just reduce carbs, eat leaner meats I eat eggs and fish but no other animal meats. I eat lotsa fruits and veges,,I never ever go hungry lol I am known for eating all day and night lol

I ride all year long riding about 16 to 20 miles a day 4 to 5 days a week a heavy 5 speed Schwinn Cruiser 5 or a Mountain bike when it is snowy and slippery.

I am on my heavy side right now, I am 5.9 165 pounds..sometime in the summer I am as low as 155.
and one more time, I never go hungry lol. I am about to turn 60

vesteroid

I am not going to get into the what to eat debate, as I personally think there are way too many arm chair quarterbacks who read a book, written by an arm chair quarterback, and now they think they know everything. I see so much conflicting evidence from so called experts, its not funny. I assure you I could find a "study" to argue every point made in this thread.

That being said, I have to go on record and give my thanks to iron chef and tractor legs. I have been scoffing at WW for a year now reading their post. Just this weekend I decided to sit down and do WW online.

I have never logged my foods, I have sort of kept a mental note each day. When I actually sat down and put in what I ate on WW, I was kinda shocked. I am not modifying what I eat. I choose to eat a mostly vegetarian diet, with some meat, fish, and eggs, and as little as possible processed, with no dairy. I do confess to eating whole wheat tortillas as my only real processed food, and if I could find better ones of those, I would buy them....hell I am thinking of trying to learn to make my own with real wheat flower.

My point is when I started logging what I ate, and saw the point values, and saw how simply little things I like added up, and other really filling things I like didnt, boy have I made some adjustments.

Now I dont know if this will be better as its only been a few days, but my eyes are open now.

I can also tell you I was guessing at quantities before. I would look at a bowl of rice and guess 1 cup....this week, i started actually measuring things and I WAS ALWAYS low on my guess.

I am also a big wine drinker...man when I saw how many points I added in a weekend from my wine, I am going to cut that back too.

I am not advocating WW, but I can say it makes it easy to log food, and since it has the points and your total, it makes it easy...and I think it was maybe 60 bucks for three months...I figured 20 a month to see if I could actually lose the last 20 lbs I want to lose was worth it.

Again, i bet even if I fail, I lose some weight, and learn more trying new things.

bdinger

I'll admit, I haven't read all the replies, but after years of trial and error I think I can reply with confidence. What I see:
-Most of your calories are tied up in carbs & sugars.
-Your calories are a bit high
-You need more in the morning

I put those in order because I don't necessarily buy into the whole "you have to have all your calories before xPM" stuff. That said, your carbs and sugars are taking a LOT of calories that could be better used other places. In addition, some simple switches could really benefit you. For example I like greek yogurt (Fage) better than even the Yoplait Light because while it's slightly higher calorie, it has much more protein and less sugars and preservatives. It's good stuff.

I wake up at 5:30 and generally go to bed around 10:30 or 11. Right away in the morning I have a hardboiled egg and a banana. Around 9am I have a bowl of Kashi GoLean cereal with Almond Milk. Sometime around 11 or 11:30 I have a Cliff Bar. Lunch is generally a Healthy Choice steamer or a salad with protein on it. Then dinner is a couple cups of veggies cooked with 12-16oz of chicken breast. Day ends with two apples and a greek yogurt.

I don't know if that will help you, but I find my overall well being to be much higher when I'm eating more proteins and whole veggies than if I'm eating carbs. Cut the carbs, sugars, and calories while bumping up the miles, you'll see the weight drop. If you have issues with portion control I suggest adding in a ton of veggies - which is what I do. It's amazing how a gigantic plate of cooked veggies and chicken can add up to just 300-400 calories of goodness.

LiamSkymom

I read this and thought that everyone has pretty much covered and then I remember sodium. Lots of people don't have to worry about too much and you don't won't to underdo it especially bike riding, but, for me, the amount of sodium intake is very related to whether I lose any pounds or not. If I go up over 2000mgs in a day, you can rest assured that there will be no loss on the scale. I know many others that can eat the exact things I do and lose weight while I don't. But again be careful because it can be a fine line. Start by keeping track of it as well, not limiting but just tracking to see how much. Again, it is just an idea for looking into. I think most everyone else were on track.

Also, if anyone has any ideas on why I'm better at giving the advise than following it.

goldfinch

My husband makes chapatis, which is an Indian (as in India) flat bread very similar to tortillas. They are very easy to make. Heck, I've even made them. You can use whole wheat flour. Rye flour is especially good. Here is a recipe: https://indianfood.about.com/od/bread...Make-Chapatis/

goldfinch

Hey, we are all in that club!

gunner65

This has nothing to do with your eating but a word of caution regarding the My fitness pal app. I use it but I do not use it to record excercise. It seems to be a little to rewarding for physical activity. I once rode a stationary bike for 30 minutes and it calculated that I burned 1200 calories that is complete bull. So I just use it to track food intake.