I saw a show on cable about the world eating champion - that Japanese guy. He's only 175 lbs. He was at a restaraunt for a "training meal". He downed 28 lbs of food in less than an hour.

by daily diet I mean, what do you usually eat in the morning, at lunch and for dinner, what do you grab for a snack??
I believe you burn the most fat if you ride long distances at a slower pace.

Ah, the eternal debate... Yes, you burn a higher % of calories from fat, but you burn more total calories, from both fat and glycogen, if you ride shorter distances at higher intensities, and boost your base metabloic rate more. This is what my Dr. and most exercise physiologists I've asked/read say.

I don't have a link to the study that explored this offhand but I don't think this is accurate. Basically it's true that you burn a higher percentage of calories from fat at lower intensities, but you also burn fewer calories. You burn a smaller percentage of fat calories during more intense exercise, but also more calories, so it turns out to be roughly equal amount of fat calories burned. However, burning all your glycogen also empties your glycogen stores so consuming carbs after the ride will go to refilling glycogen stores instead of to fat.

This morning I had a small bowl of cereal and half a Clif bar before riding. I only rode 2 hrs because of the heat. I had about 6 oz. chocolate milk and the other half of the Clif bar for recovery. Later I had 1/2 banana and another 6 oz. milk. For dinner I had a high-qulaity burrito and some chips/salsa (not many). I'm planning on having a salad later to stave off the pangs.

Hey! Give this a shot, it is basically a 100% for sure thing as it boosts your metabolism. Before breakfast (this is the key) go for a 30 minute brisk walk or 30 minute light - moderate jog atleast 4 times a week. You pick the days you go. You should definately mix things up a bit. As great as the bike is, try some other exercises off the bike. You could even work in some weight training. Doesn't have to be anything extreme but a couple reps of curls, squats, etc. and that'll also help you boost your metabolism real nice. And of course, watching your diet. Here's a lil bit of what I do...

Stretch

30 min light - moderate jog in the morning (11am or whenever I get up in the afternoon) and then I strech again and have some breakfast. So Good Vanilla or Fat Free with some Vector Cereal and maybe an Apple or Banana.

Rest or Take a 30-45 minute nap.

Stretch

Go for a nice ride, nothign too hard just something to get the legs moving nice. So maybe 1hr or more of riding.

Stretch

Later in the night I'll do 60 sit ups, 60 push ups, 30 supermans and if it's a weight training night 3 reps of 20 for curls with 20lb weight and 30 dips in between reps.

Stretch

I know this isn't very detailed to read right now but my head hurts and I'm feelin' like crap. I hate being sick. Anyways, it was just a little sample of what other things you can try working into your daily routines.

Oh yeah, definately eat more smaller things throughout the day instead of say, 3fat meals. Breakfast, small snack, Lunch, small snack, Dinner, small snack. And try to not go to bed on a full stomach. Drink a good amount of water throughout the day also. And mainly, try to cut down on how much sugar you are taking into your body.

You just described the South Beach Diet...... And yes it works! 30 lbs in 3.5 months, never looked back.

Add me to that list, unless you're a Pro/Cat1 racer. If you're trying to outsmart your brain by exercising more to overcome your hunger let me tell you that you are likely fighting a losing battle. You see, for most people, when they burn more calories their brain simply "encourages" them to eat more to make up the difference. You'll feel just about as hungry if you burn 5000 and eat 4500 as if you burn 3000 and eat 2500.

You need to track everything using a calculator like fitday.com (it's free) and shoot for 500-1000 calorie daily deficit. And you'll probably go to bed slightly hungry every night.

--Steve

Spiral's miracle diet...

step 1. Don't ever buy or eat chips.
step 2. Don't buy chips in bulk thinking you are getting a 4 weeks supply.
step 3. Eat good sized portions of good food, because if you starve yourself at mealtime, you will eat through your 3 month supply of chips and ice cream.

This diet will cause you to lose fat, muscle, brains, toenails, hair.... alright, a bit of an exageration, but you will literally be starving and you WILL lose muscle.

I should have said - I'm doing 45 mins of upper body gym work 3x a week.

How about riding rollers for 30 min before breakfast?

3500 calories = 1lb... you have to work off 3500 calories to lose 1lb of weight... BUT... you also need to have enough working through you to be able to function at the same time..

this means finding a delicate balance so you are slowly losing body fat, but not suffering for it with fatigue and starvation... when you exercise a lot, and don't eat the right foods to compliment it, your body THINKS it's starving and STORES BODY FAT... Nutrition is extremely important for those trying to lose weight while cycling...

so yes... stop eating junk food... all of it... now... Actually, if you substitute junk food with fruit, within 30 days your taste buds will forget about what the crap food tastes like and you'll start craving fruit... it works well... the tough part is just stopping the bad habits..

good luck! check out the nutrition forum too, there's some good info in there...

That should definately work too. Cruise 10, push it hard 10, cruise 10. And even though you are working up an appetite. Don't over eat at breakfast!

Eat the same ride more.

You try to do 1200 calories a day and do 1200 miles a month you will get head aches out the wazoo. Its not healthy yeh your gona drop pounds like a mad man/woman but your gona burn muscle you wont gaint muscle etc.

that's a darn good idea... solves some issues for me... have to be at work too early to get a ride in weekday mornings... takes too long to get geared up, etc... but can easily put on shorts and running shoes and do a 30-min run.... and agree on the cross-training philosophy...

I don't think it's even theoretically possible to ride that many miles on that many calories. I'm in weight loss mode myself, and have lost 15 pounds over that past 2 months. I'm 6 feet, and currently weight 169. Prior to the beginning of my weight loss, I was eating about 4000 calories a day. Now I'm probably eating about 2500, after cutting out fat and junk food, and I'm losing 2 pounds a week. I'm riding about 800 miles/month. I know everyone's metabolism is different, but it takes a minimum theoretical amount of energy to propel yourself that far on a bicycle and still be able to breathe 24 hours/day.

If I were to start eating 1200 calories per day, by the second day you can be pretty sure there would be some huge effects. As it is, I can feel myself physically weakening if I go too many hours without food at my current intake level. This never used to happen, but if I go too many hours without food, I can feel a very noticeable decrease in my overall energy and strength.

So I disagree.

The key to what Pro said regarding doing 30 minutes before eating breakfast is that you will almost immediately start burning fat. If you eat first, you burn the calories available that you just fed yourself, and it takes about 20-30 minutes to get to the fat burning part. Exercise before, and you get into fat burning in more like 5-10 minutes, making it a much more effective use of time.

+1

Cutout the alcohol and fried foods too.

technically.... 1200 is even too few for an active 100 pount woman! sedentary.... yes..... cyclist... or other exercise? nope... need more!

eating "clean" is important! not only to weight loss... but health!

explain "high quality burrito"???? and lose the chips! salsa's good though! and make sure it's fat free dressing (the regular ones pack a fat/calorie punch!)

That's because it takes roughly three times that level of calories burned to get ride of one pound of fat. The secret to weight loss is exactly what you said - lose weight slowly in the long run with careful watching food intake and propoer exercise over the long haul. Too much exercise too quickly results in injury, constant fatigue, mental burnout, and just lsoing interests.

but be careful which fruit... if what i read/hear is true, melons and berries are good, but oranges, grapes, peaches, and, of all things, APPLES can be 'bad' in that they have a lot of natural sugars which kick up your blood sugar, go to fat, etc.?

think my source is a harvard doctor who wrote a highly-regarded nutrition book that kind of comes in somewhere between atkins and south beach... forget the author's name, but sure made sense and rang true when i read it....

Eating fruit with lots of natural sugar is still way better for you than eating junk food.
At least it has some vitamins and minerals.
That's the problem I see with a lot of nutritional studies......imho, they're always finding fault with most foods we eat and then they reverse their decisions a few years down the road.
Just eat sensibly.
BTW, potatoes are good for you, they're loaded with potassium, vitamin c and iron and have complex carbs.....excellent for recovery food.