I need to find a small cycling reward to give myself as motivation to get step away from the refrigerator.

Got any ideas?

Reward yourself with an inexpensive accessory or clothing item (taillight, cycling socks, Headsweats cap, etc.) after you lose 5 or 10 pounds or ride a certain distance or length of time.

Wrong approach.

Post a current picture of yourself here. We will all laugh and call you fatso, even if you weigh less than most of us. That should motivate you.

I would just get depressed and eat even more. Maybe that's not a good idea.

How about a weight scale . Weight before and after the ride , that should be enough reward for your hard effort on the bike .

Planemaker,
While I like Dudelsacks idea as it would motivate me enough to ride my cycle to his house (no matter what the distance may be) and punch his lights out.

That being said, my suggestion is to buy a new bike. N+1 is always a great motivator at my house.


John S

This made me check the OP location. He doesn't list it. :worried:

It would be a long ride from S.E. Wisconsin to Loovul, Dudelsack so you shouldn't be too worried .

I'm the wrong one to ask about rewards for motivation though since the joy of the ride is enough reward for me and motivation is never lacking.

Rick / OCRR
.

Yeah, but then when the weight goes up after drinking some water to re-hydrate it could be a negative.

The thing I recently discovered that is helping to motivate me is that in an old study, for every 12 pounds lost, cycling speed increases by 1 mph Based on that, when I get down to my target weight, I will cruise at 30+ mph on my hybrid... if I move to a road bike, I may go try that Tour de France thing.

Good Health, Extended Life, Weight Loss, Serenity ....... The rewards go on and on

An Italian race jersey...they definitely run small.

I was gonna post a pic that was NSFW. Just imagine following a PYT riding a MTB on a MUP... Or since you're in the 50+ forum, remember the pics of Farrah on a bike?

Catch me if you can, big guy.

new bike stuff definitely helps motivate me to ride. recently got a video camera. the videos are amazingly boring but I look forward ro riding with it. go figure

and put the scale in front of the fridge

Put a MIRROR on the fridge!

Planemaker, Is the issue strictly fridge avoidance or do you need motivation to ride more? For the later, you could look for ways to make the miles more fun (club, friends, interesting destinations) rather than getting yourself something as a reward. Come to think of it, if you are out riding you can't get at the fridge anyway! C.

What's in the refrigerator? A man's gotta eat. If it's a question of junk food vs healthy food, what goes in (the refrigerator) must come out.

Personally, I find that during the nice weather, when I cycle more, it's easier to eat more healthfully. My motivation to cycle more is by following a published century training schedule with daily mileage quotas, because I'm a very goal/destination-oriented cyclist. Beyond that, I'm a year-round cycle-commuter, so I have to ride almost everyday anyways.

For me, eating more healthfully is facilitated by also adhering to a set of criteria I call the "Dr. Perfect Diet":

• Low fat
• Low glycemic
• Vegetarian
• In the Zone (by the book of the same name by Barry Sears)
• WIth special attention to omega-3 fats (usually walnuts and salmon - high fat and non-vegetarian)

For one who can eat a large fully loaded pizza at one sitting, I can find enough choices to be satisfied, and eating actually become easier and more energizing. FWIW.

I try to work with the problem: when I feel like eating I do a 40 mile ride with a stop at my favorite sandwich shop.

Charlie

genius!

Get a new frig - one with a lock.
My wife won't let me take my own advice.

Motivation is easy for me. Most of my riding miles are logged on my commute.

(I gotta get to work) + (I hate driving in traffic) = Motivation

Weekends, all those commuting miles pay off ...

My motivation is fitness and speed improvements allow me to keep up on group rides where there are often younger(than me) hard bodied women to ride with.

Rick,
I am not the OP Dudelsack was refering to, but on another note you must think me as fat since you think I may not be able to ride from SE Wisconsin to Loovul to punch his lights out......maybe after I do that I will ride to California and punch your lights out as well.

On second thought, I believe a trip like that would have me so winded I will not have the energy to throw the first punch. Kindly disregard!

Best Regards,
John S

This!

When I find myself avoiding the 50+ mile rides, I decide it's time to do a Sunday morn ride out to one of the favorite cyclist cafe hangouts for a cup of coffee and a cinnamon roll. It's 48 miles if I don't add anything, and the pastry is mighty tasty.

I think I feel one coming on this weekend.

Couple of things have helped me drop 20. First, I put a calorie counter app on my phone. I use LoseIt, but I reckon there are dozens. Second, I read Racing Weight by Matt Fitzgerald. Somebody recommended it on here.

When I got back into cycling, it pissed me off that I couldn't dance up hills or lift out of the saddle to get on top of a gear like I remember doing back in the Reagan years. That was my motivation. At 6'4" nobody was calling me fat at 200, but when I raced I was 155, so I'm shooting for 175 and have 5 to go. The principles in Racing Weight have really helped me, especially improving diet quality. And using LoseIt, I am religious. No fudging, no BS. It helps me, among other things, avoid eating too LITTLE. Maintaining a steady, small daily calorie deficit has kept me losing a pound or two a week without losing muscle or energy.

Just like material goods, with calories you can have anything you want, you just can't have everything you want. Coming up with what works for you, not just to hit a number and get a prize, but to live how you want to live, is the key. I'd suggest buying whatever the hell you want and can afford for cycling if that's how you burn calories, and set some cycling goals. I think it's healthier and more sustainable to lose weight in order to do a century, than to do a century to lose weight.

But that's just my opinion, as Dennis Miller used to say. I could be wrong.