I would put it like this: those guys in the 20s can indeed eat a lot of carbs without gaining weight, but by doing so, they are probably (depending on their genetics) setting the groundwork for weight problems when they get older.

When I am in weight loss mode, I don't have much energy and zip. I ride slow and try to stay in a fairly easy pace which supposedly helps burn fat. With a low carb intake any kind of exercise is sluggish for me. But I am willing to be slow and sluggish if the weight is coming off. Once the weight is gone then carbs can be added back to maintain the desired weight.

You are not the first to talk about this. One of my good friends has a power meter on his bike, something I would love to get my doctor to prescribe for me so I didn't have to pay for it but that's not going to happen, and he went on the Paleo diet before last race season to get into better climbing weight. He said that during the weight loss period he simply felt down on power. His Power meter comparisons on his Garmin site seemed to prove his point. I am discovering the same thing. I have dropped 17 pounds since June 21 and the coach has adjusted my carbs on the days I ride and pushed them up compared to my off days when I walk. She has also but me in zone training and doesn't want be out of zone 2.5 if at all possible. For me that is 151-157. As long as I am in fat burning mode I can ride a long way. I just can't ramp it up into anaerobic for any period of time.

I am looking forward to reaching goal and starting the rebuilding part of this lifestyle change. I have received some encouragement about this realizing one of my coaches was a long distance cycling tourist in Europe and just might understand my needs as a cyclist. Meeting a group of them at the Furnace Creek 508 in 2011 has shown me that as a whole they can teach me a lot about a lifestyle change.

An update and the first lifestyle challenge. As of today I am down 20 pounds in 38 days. I am still in a low power mode in that by the end of the ride my tank is empty. The first challenge comes in two days as we travel to join in a family reunion in another state. At least we will be taking the RV and can bring all of our own food but there are two potlucks during the first weekend. Can we resist the temptation? I hope so and I will be taking a bike just to work off any food we do eat.

Very impressive, keep at it.

With regard to the low-carb, low-energy point, there is a discussion on the paleo diet going on at present in the training and nutrition forum which has morphed into a debate on the merits of low-carb for cyclists. The scientific reviews that have been posted there tend to bear out your experience, and mine - namely that low-carb is great for weight loss, and fine for pure endurance work, but that one's performance tends to decline at higher intensities. When I experimented with low-carb I couldn't compete, because I couldn't cope with interval training or race-pace efforts. Of course, that is only important if making those high-intensity efforts is important to you; and there is probably a "sweet spot" at which one can maintain the lower weight while building back into one's diet the carbs necessary to fuel them.

The literature also reinforces your point about one size not fitting all. There seem to be marked differences between individuals with respect to how well they do on low-carb diets. Some thrive, but some emphatically do not, and need much higher levels of carbs to maintain their performance.

I am at the point where I have to back track to improve. I reached a power peak, got my spin up, picked up a Cf bike, hand built wheels, and in my case equipment wise I have gone as far as I can afford. Still hills are my downfall. Over the years I have tried diets, exercise routines, gym memberships and it has always been short term. I even attempted the extreme other end of what I am doing now, vegetarian, and that was a endurance disaster for me. Sure I got the carbs but on long rides I would bonk like a battery going dead in a power drill. The reason I have a health coach is to get me to goal under medical guidance and then customize my nutrition to the activity level I want to achieve. Face it if I can lose another 30 pounds that is like not having to tow a 50 pound dog in a basket up the hill around me. If I have to live with LSD rides till then I guess it will be worth it in the long run. The test will be next week during a family reunion. As I said I need a change not a diet.:D

Perception verses measured reality. The plan is still working and my eating habits have changed. Still I called nutrition support to talk about if I have been losing weight too fast and the feeling that I am down on power. They took all of my numbers and said I just need to switch when I get most of my protein and soon the feeling of being to drop the hammer will return. Until then I have been looking at my Garmin and Strava stats and I am getting PRs where I least expect it including some climbs and long speed runs. Not by the hands full but at times when I didn't think I was preforming at my normal levels. But because I have dropped 25 pounds since June 21 they said I can add a piece of fruit to my pre-ride breakfast. Blueberries here I come.

It seems that your sensible approach is working very well so far. I'm continuing to follow your thread and your progress here, it is helping me to stay motivated for my weight loss program. I agree 100% about your using the nutritionist for this program, I have given a lot of credit for my 66 lbs loss, so far, to my primary care physician and to the American Kidney Association's web site and a recipe book I found they put out. I was at 212 last night, on 22 July 2012 I was at 278 when I got the kidney disease/failure diagnosis. When I took my first flight physical for the USMC I was at 209, in 1975, it will be a nice feeling to drop below that level.

I'll be interested to hear any lab numbers on your blood and/or urine tests for your critical functions and things like cholesterol levels, both HDL and LDL. The improvements I have seen in my numbers, across the board, has amazed me the most. No added drug prescriptions that just give me side effects have been used, I have actually gone from 12 different pills each morning to only 3 now. The BP prescription may be the next to go if the PCP says that is safe for me.

How are your HR and BP looking so far? I imagine you are seeing a drop in the BP, you most likely had a low resting HR already since you have been cycling before you began the dietary control. Hope things continue to go well for you, the dietary measures and my riding have made a tremendous difference for me.

Bill

What are you using for Electrolyte replacement during and post ride?

FYI - I am doing a low carb diet and have lost 50 pounds since February. I must admit that I have gone sideways the last month and need to get back on track but, I have kept the weight off (I ride 150 miles a week and exercise at the YMCA).

At my age I have no desire to be a racer so, longer rides at a slower pace are just fine with me.

I don't remember both HDL and LDL off of the top of my head but I do remember my LDL was 90 with a total of 160 so my HDL should be at 70? My total resting HR is about 60 but my average HR during blood pressure tests between mornings and evenings, (on different days) is 67. Blood pressure seems to be 127/73 or 133/82. As of yesterday I was down 25 pounds. The only restrictions the nutrition support and coach have put on me is zone training. They don't want me in zone 4 or 5 because they don't want me out of the aerobic zone. If I spend any time in an anaerobic zone I simply don't have the carb stores to keep the body from looking for energy in the muscle mass. Or that is what I took from the suggestions they made.

I use a half measure of Heed during the ride. I use Nuun electrolyte or Endurolyte for the first drink after the ride.

I'm making a big pot of spaghetti sauce, Its loaded..

Coffie in the AM with a granola bar, or grain cereal.
A table spoon of nuts and or some carrots mid morning,

Mid day brings a salad or a turkey sandwitch or a Nutrisystem lunch Item,
http://www.nutrisystem.com/jsps_hmr/...questid=182234

The afternoon slump, the time when we need a boost, an apple does it me, or some other fruit.

My last meal of the day, happens no less than three hours before bed time,
nothing over 500 calories, good food, NEVER any processed crap,

No fluid intake from this point on,,, I want to sleep deep, not get up and pee during the night.
( It takes most of us 3 to 4 or more hours to reach R.E.M. sleep and this is where we get real body healing rest )
Interrupt that twice a night or more for bathroom trips.......
Not getting GOOD sleep makes your body, the machine, run out of tune, out of sync,, makes ya fat yes !

Most people forget to add the calories of what they drink !!
A proper serving of meat should be no larger than a deck of cards and no more than ONE THIRD of your meal.
A proper serving of veggies should be about HALF the size of a base ball,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

GET SMALLER PLATES !

Eat right six days a week,
Bulk up if your gonna ride long and hard,

Go Nuts one day a week and eat anything you like,,,BUT,,,, Stick to the proper serving size

DON'T EAT LIKE A PIG !!!


If It walks like a duck,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Calories In, Calories out, It ain't rocket science..

The numbers sound pretty good for your cholesterol, I am at 65 for LDL and 125 for HDL, pretty close to yours. I have a genetic propensity to cholesterol problems that have proved fatal to my father, uncle, grandfather and several others. I was in pretty bad territory when I was so sick and having the surgeries, now with the dietary restrictions for the kidney disease and riding regularly I am doing very well. Your BP seems good to me too, but I didn't even stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, so what can that mean:rolleyes:. Hope you keep up the good results, I am switching to a HR monitor a 50+ member sent me, so I can watch out for the same zone restrictions as you. Best of luck, keep us updated, too.

I took my HR monitor to my doctor and we established that my HR is indeed 181-183 Based on my flat out sprint and Climbing rate. So once she approved of that as being my Max HR I use this method to establish zones and once again informed the nutritionist. Therefore I got the stay out of zone 4 and 5 as long as I am on the low carb segment of the program so I can stay in fat burning without attack my muscle mass for energy. http://www.best-running-tips.com/hea...-karvonen.html Your rate may be different so your zones may be different than mine.

As another update today I was able to hang with the a riders till I got pushed into zone 4 and had to back off of a long fast pace line. So the weight is coming off and the legs seem to be coming back. I stepped on the scales this morning and I am 2 pounds from dropping off the Clydesdale scale and into the regular weight range. Yes after my car window accident I had let my weight creep back to 235 and it didn't seem as if I was going to get down again. today at 201 I believe I am going to make it to goal and that I will learn to live differently with the foods I should eat and the life I want to have. Hills are getting easier but I still don't love them. Blood Pressure is normal, Cholesterol is in the good zone, and I feel better. And if I reach goal how will I reward myself? A new saddle and I may sign up to race again in march, as a Master not a Clydesdale.

Congratulations.

Deja Vu all over again. CONGRATULATIONS!!!!:thumb::thumb:

I think my first reply was right on. Wish I could be so good with lottery numbers. :lol:

I'm surprised that nowhere in this thread was any mention of weight training. Cycling alone, especially at our age generally won't do much but make you skinny, doing little for your sustained BMI. And if you live in an inclimate area as I do, the weight will just come right back if you stop the cardio, i.e., winter.

Early on I mentioned I joined a gym. Didn't help much with a lifestyle change. It took a long time to learn to lift light weights a lot of time rather than heavy weights a few times before moving to another machine. Then my doctor and nutrition coach turned me onto this information. http://www.webmd.com/osteoporosis/li...weight-bearing I have been doing 3 and 6 now. Gave up 4. Willing to try 2. I bought a light set of weights so I don't use the gym much anymore.

+1 . You want to lose weight : just remember you eat to live , not live to eat .

Get yourself a condition of acid reflux and you'll make it 5 hours before bedtime.

I eat pretty light for breakfast anymore and eat my main meal at work in the evening....good quality wholesome stuff. I'm not doing anything much different than i did before except riding no more than 100 miles per week and my britches are getting to big for me. All of those pants that I couldn't button at the top anymore are fitting me now.

I don't really count calories or forgo a little pack of chocolate donuts at work break. I'm still doing a little serving of pancakes on a non riding weekend day now and then. I've never really picked up weight much until I stopped riding and then only about 10 pounds in the belly and butt.

This winter if I don't do anything all bets are off. I'm thinking jumping jacks or something if I'm starting to gain it back. Jeezus am I going to have to get a scale? I've never been down this road before, lol.

Oh, I must have missed that. Was wondering what the difference is between walking and hiking? Does where you walk dictate whether you're hiking or not?
Hey if this is working for you GREAT! I personally would be concerned that the majority of your fitness work is with your lower body, but this is obviously a personal choice and I'm not here to judge, especially if you're successful.

I believe they consider walking an activity done on flat ground. Maybe 2 to five miles a day. Hiking is mostly done on more "rustic" venues like mountain or valley trails. Normally of longer distances and more difficult terrain. :D

It took a while before I got the picture of the difference between fitness of the upper body and building of the upper body. When my chosen activity was wrestling I did a lot heavy weights and upper body building. The same heavy weights today would be counter productive to the cycling goals I have set for my lifestyle. But cycling is more than an activity for me now. It is part of my lifestyle change. Building the upper body now is a detriment but that doesn't mean I should ignore simple load bearing movements for my bone density. So yes I want to stay fit but more from repetitive light weight than pumping iron, if I hear my coach correctly.

Unlike you it seems I have fought weight most of my life and have tried several diet plans. That may because football and wrestling required more upper body muscle and that muscle always need maintaining once developed. The Army simply ran it off me. As you suggest they rarely work in the long run and many are really designed for somewhat sedentary people. Toss in a lot of high intensity exercise and their nutritional value comes into question. So I am on the weight loss portion of my change now and once I reach goal we will work of proper nutrition and exercise for the life I want to live in the future. But thank you for your concern.

Food for thought: If weight control were indeed as simple as calories in calories out, all you'd have to do is stop eating until you reached your goal weight.

It is not that simple.

Seems true. Before I started listening to my doctor and health coach I tried to limit my intake to my calorie burn. What tosses a wrench into the formula, as it was explained to me, is individual metabolism. Hence the earlier statement about 20 something athletes with high carbohydrate preloading before cycling, running or swimming. Yes they may be setting themselves up for problems later in life but when their body is burning energy like a blast furnace they can get away with it. Then one day, if they are like me, the furnace seems to slow down and the intake must decrease because the outgoing simply isn't happening like it used to. This is why we have added zone training to me. It seems true that even during Anaerobic efforts you do burn fat. But you also allow your body to look for quick energy and that is found in the muscle itself. So in zone 3 in my case aerobic I can burn fat and keep my muscle structure while losing weight. A health coach does more than help you lose weight they help you do it properly based on the tests made on your body. Therefore what works for me might be 180 out from what the suggest for someone else. For me 2000 calories in and 2000 calories out didn't work. But for someone else it might be fine, for me it meant plateau.