PistachioAddict

Got a hell of a shock this morning, I've been concentrating on improving my power all winter doing around 1 hour sessions of hard intervals 2 days in a row, a day off then a 2 hour turbo ride at about ventilatory threshold ending with a 30 minute all-out effort, then repeating that 4 day cycle. I have been eating healthy food also and have gotten used to being hungry pretty much 24/7.

I don't have a power meter but I can churn a big gear on the second to hardest resistance that the turbo trainer (Minoura Rda 85) provides for 30 minutes at a cadence of 95-100 - I remember when I started I could barely make 4 minutes against that kind of resistance so I am very happy with that at least.

Anyway I got on the weight scales .... in October I was 205 lbs at 5ft 8, 15% bodyfat.. (I stopped lifting weights in October) now I am 190 lbs. All I managed to lose was 15 lbs yet 2 or 3 nights a week I wake up in the night that's how hungry I get (and no I don't binge eat, not once) and it's been like this for 3 months.

I feel fitter and leaner I even stupidly thought I might be close to my 160 lbs target. If I have to ride 4 hours a day I will, now I have done the power training I can hit the roads but maaaaaaaaaaaaaaan I thought I'd have lost more than this. this sucks.

any sucessfully lost a lot of weight in a few months? or am I going to have to wait till next season to hit my potential?

Trekke

Just doing some simple math. At 15% body fat at the 205lb weight means you would have about 30ish lbs of body fat to carry. If you lost to your dream weight of 160 lbs you would have had to give up lots of muscle to get there and possible reduce your body fat to an unsafe percentage (depending on your diet). That is muscle you have been working hard to build. At 190 what is your body fat? People worry way too much about the weight factor. Light weight doesn't automatically mean you are healthy and strong. Define your goals. Do you want to push big gears then you need big quads etc.. I would strongly hesitate giving up muscle mass for the sake of a scale reading.

120372

15 pounds in three months shouldn't be disappointing. At that rate you'll lose 60 pounds per year. How long did it take to gain 15 pounds? I'll bet a lot more than 3 months.

What you are doing is working. Just keep doing it.

I successfully did rapid weight loss to meet fighting weights. It's not a permanent plan. What you are doing is a permanent plan. Stick to it.

And congratulations.

Also, you may have gained muscle weight in your legs, etc. Compare your current bodyfat to your previous bodyfat %.

TNoodles

There's a very interesting book called "Fit or Fat?" The basic premise is that you can tell a whole lot more from measuring your resting pulse that from getting on the scale. Different people have different body types, weight, therefore, in and of itself means virtually nothing when it comes to fitness. Also, muscle is denser than fat so you may not experience weight loss as you build strength. You may also find that once you get outside and start riding some hills your body may naturally adapt and lose some additional weight. Sounds to me like you are doing extremely well.

GuitarWizard

Try going for easier rides once in awhile.....keep the HR in the 60% to 75% range of your MHR for 3-4 hours per week (in addition to your intervals), and you'll burn more fat that way.

Mr. Solo

I thought that means that a greater percentage of ur energy is coming from fat, not necessarily that you are burning more fat?

Dewbert

Although an unpopular approach, I'm an advocate of weighing yourself every day. HOWEVER, the goal behing this is working on getting more in tune with your body and the subtle weight fluctuations that occur throughout the day. Once I weighed myself every couple of hours for a 24 hour period. During those 24 hours I fluctuated 10 pounds! You'd be amazed at how much weight you gain and lose throughout the day due to hydration and other input/output (shall we say) that occurs.

I've also learned that when I exercise a lot, my weight steadily increases by a few pounds for the next couple of days, then tends to drop. For me, this is related to both hydration and muscle mass increases.

So, celebrate your weight loss, get to know what your body's doing and look in the mirror. If you're eating right and exercising, you'll do fine.

Hipcycler

What you are doing is working. Just keep doing it.
^
I agree.

Patience.
The only thing I would say is be careful about too much resistence for too long at a high rpm....sure you can do it, but that can be a prescription for an injury or muscle aggravation. Been there/done that.

Mix it up with easy-gear, high-spin rides of 30 to 45 minutes.

I hear you on the being hungry a lot. I lost 30 pounds over one season a couple of years ago, but each year at this time I gain a chunk back before I hit the road again in spring. It's tough for those of us who really enjoy eating and live in a winter climate.

GuitarWizard

Right...and with that, you also become more efficient at using fat as a source of energy. Do this over a period of time, and you will drop fat, as long as you are eating properly. Also, lifting weights helps (not necessarily lifting to "bulk up"), as more muscle mass burns fat quicker.

For example, when I was training for a marathon a couple years ago, I dropped 20 pounds in about 3 months via running and lifting on a regular basis, and keeping a watchful eye on my diet. In contrast, in the last 6 months I've only lost 10 pounds via cycling and watching my diet (although I'll admit I'm not as strict with it as I was when I was running - but fairly close). I have another 20 pounds to lose, but am not really motivated to lift right now.

But it does sound like the OP needs more lower to medium intensity work on the bike.

briscoelab

I agree... 15 lbs in 3 months is outstanding. Sounds like you have also gained a lot of strength too. I know it's frustrating wanting to lose more though..... Just keep it up!

johnny99

To really burn more total fat, you need to increase your hours. Riding at a lower intensity can help you ride more hours per day without burning out.

kahn

I am your height and got down from 215 to 165 over about nine months following WeightWatchers (WW) program. I've maintained it for 2.5 years although lately snacking is crazy. As I described myself back then - I was fit and obese! Seriously, I was doing a Century ride a year as well as normal 40-80 mile rides, as well, as steep hiking and backpacking. Losing the weight has made all those endeavors much easier. My pulse which others mention also has not changed much, nor my blood pressure - just my weight. My resting pulse is naturally a low of about 44. WW lists a weight range of from a low of 131 lbs to a high of 164 lbs.

As others have said, weight can vary considerably during the course of a day or week. How did you measure body fat percentage at the start? My Tanita nows shows about 17.5% and it did show about 32% at the start of my diet. I don't know how accurate but it did show relative values and a hefty loss.

I am not starving by the way at this weight. Things you learn are that if you do not eat enough your body can plateau in weight. So if you are doing really hard training, you might actually need additional fuel. You do not want to lose muscle weight for while it shows on the scale as a loss, it is not a healthy loss. Good weightloss is about 2 pounds per week. And that was my trend over the nine month loss.

Someone mentioned overtraining and pushing and this probably should be a question for another thread. I wonder if pushing too high a gear can eventually lead to knee (other damage) as much as listening to an ipod (latest health warning) with too much volume can lead to hearing damage. I know young healthy athletes feel that the joints can take it but this 60yo has knees that have seen much better days and keeps meeting more and more folks going in for knee/hip replacements.

PistachioAddict

Thanks for the kind words I feel much better about it now, I think in my mind it was like "2 more months of this!!!" and I guess that was the real problem being totally SICK of it -training alone, indoors and the diet etc-

rufvelo

If you're losing 15+ pounds it is good to get some medical advice/confirmation from your doc. I lost some 30lbs over six months - that excess weight was killing me with every physical activity, especially biking. It is always good to be thin and lean, to eat less and put less strain on the systems responsible for digesting all that food. I'm not interested an anymore weight loss, although I could greatly benefit in biking from swapping 10 more pounds of fat with leg muscle. Good luck to you in your fitness goals!

Edited : ...and easy on those pistachios

twahl

Two things:

1. You've lost a lot of fat and gained a lot of muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat, so your net weight loss is lower than you thought it would be. Nothing wrong here.

2. When are you doing your workouts? If you do them before eating in the morning, you will almost immediately start burning fat since there are no carbs readily available. Otherwise, you're going to be 20-30 minutes into your workout before you start burning fat.

It's good progress, really.

pedex

doesnt work that way

Stjtoday

This Gal has page full of recipies and diets that are incredable. I have dropped 12 lbs, I believe mostly in fat and do not feel like I'm starved. I lived on the 2000 calorie for Men menu for 3 weeks and saw a nice gradual loss. It is very important that you fully fuel any rides in addition to the menu she has. I use 200 calories per 1/2 hour as my gauge. The menu is awesome, great tasting stuff with large portions. I have taken her basic set up and now continue on my own modified version. Feel stronger with greater stamina than I had last year, although I was a bit of a junk food junkie.

squeegy200

This is so very true. Consistently orking 5-10% below your anaerobic threshold will actually force your body to adapt to using existing energy stores (Including fat) rather than breaking down muscle tissue. It is a faster and more effective way to get back into a competitive weight.

daytonian

I've read this before too, that workouts in am before food intake are best.

DannoXYZ 

That's correct. You'll burn up to a max of about 200-250 calories/hr at the 60-70% MHR intensity level. Increasing it to 80% will still burn only the same 200-250 calories/hr. However, the lower percentage of fat burnt along with the extra increase in glycogen burn means you won't be able to keep up that pace for 3-4 hours. But if you're fit and in good shape and eat enough on the rides, you can keep up that 80% pace for 3-4 hours.

GuitarWizard

I can keep 83-86% MHR for 3 hours, with only a GU packet and a 24 oz. bottle of Gatorade (or Cytomax) every hour......is that halfway decent?

EURO

I can loose 10 pounds in two weeks if I put my mind to it (from 158 to 148)

My diet when I do that:

No breakfast
Lunch – two Tuna (in brine) Sandwiches (no butter, some olive oil), 6 Jaffa Cakes
Dinner Large plate of pasta tuna and tomato sauce (no oil)

Exercise is riding 20 miles a day with a 45 minute spinning class at lunchtime.

What precisely are you eating each day, and how much exercise are you doing?

terrymorse 

That's about as much fuel as I take in per hour, regardless of the level of effort. If it's an easy pace, I'll skip the gel and just have the drink. Gel + drink is about 45 gm of carbs per hour, which is more than enough for me.

83-86% of MHR is high tempo/low threshold. 3 hours at that pace is tough. I've managed 5 hours at 80%, then my legs said "not so fast".

PistachioAddict

10 lbs that good going, I've decided 15 lbs is a good healthy rate for 3 months from the comments of people on this board and my lady who pointed out mostly all that's left to lose is muscle - I was so caught up with the idea of improving my fitness and watts/kg ratio that I forgot about how I look and feel.

I stopped lifting weights in october for the first time in years, and 2 weeks ago if you'd offered to make me 140 lbs and skinny as hell I'd have taken the opprtunity, my body has forgiven me and I have kept most of the muscle I had and have got pretty cut with all the cycling, still too heavy to be competitive on the bike (unless I try the track), but I can slowly shed the remaining fat - instead of starving myself and losing my physique - but thx for the advice.

GuitarWizard

Yeah, the last half hour was more of an "effort", but I still maintained pace. Keep in mind this was on a Fluid 2 trainer, so there was no coasting....all pedaling for 3 hours.

Many people love to hate trainers, but I've found them to be a very useful training tool to do exactly what I want for a given workout.