zin,I just want to say i'm very impressed with your weightloss.very motivating

189 lbs this week!!

I too have increased my calories lately and allowed more endulging. However, it is summer and I have been pretty active and think I need the calories. 2000 calories a day in the summer just doesnt cut it for me. I have already done two centuries, still running, mowing my big arse yard, and so on.

Next week I am going on vaca in Florida (Gulf Coast) and there will be no calorie counting. It will be meals at The Waffle House, Hooters, and drinks on the beach!! I may take my bike and get a ride or two in, but heck I have worked hard and one week off will not kill me or put 50 pounds back on me.

Later.

Thanks. :o

Aham that is awesome...My lightest was 192, (193 to 195 now). Also the mileage is impressive, I have not done a century yet. Enjoy the week off in FL...it will give me a chance to catch up.

Later

Been off the bike the last week due to getting off work late at night. I am not well equipped for night riding.

My wieght went up 4 pounds this week. Ugh.

Gonna be back riding next week and should get back on track. Guess I need to start watching what I eat as well to keep myself on track during the non riding times.

Hello everyone,

Since this morning, I have been reading this forum, thanks for sharing your stories and providing motivation. Just like most of you here, I have a weight loss resolution too. I am 31, 5' 8" and weigh 185 lbs. If you looked at my picture, I look like the alphabet P, with a big stomach sticking out (I am not kidding). My resolution is to come down to 150 lbs and flatten the tummy.

I have biked all my life, but it wasn't from an exercise viewpoint, so I havent put that many miles on. But now is the time. I restarted my 13 mile roundtrip to a nature park here. Today I did it after almost a year, it was so exhausting, I was completely drenched of all the energy by the time I was done. I had to take too many stops hinting how out of shape I am. Not that I ever was in shape, but I wasn't this bad at doing this.

I was wondering if there was any energy drink available that can be carried in the water bottle? I would prefer something in powder form that can be mixed with water. Also, how do you keep your bottles cold? Do you store filled bottles in the freezer overnight?

What about energy bars? Do they help a lot? What kind are good/bad? Any ideas on how to reenergize on the go would be great.

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Fitday profile: crypticlineage

crypticlineage,
Welcome! You can find just about any sports drink in powder form. Check out your local supermarket. I do tend freeze my bottles the night before a century ride. Additionally, I drop a couple more frozen bottles off at the mid point of the ride in a cooler.

I prefer the Cliff Bars and Cliff Shots. Take care in how many calories you consume. Short rides do not normally require supplemental caloric intake. While rides in excess of 50 miles may. There is a lot of information regarding this here on BF. Use the SEARCH function for a ton more on the topic.

Again, Welcome!

Zin

Hi,

Like crypticlineage I've read a bunch of these posts and they are solidifying my resolve. Up until 10 years ago ( I am 40 now) I was very active cycling lots and playing lots of hockey and maintained a weight of about 155 (5'9"). Today I was 191 and I have been as high as 199. My wife says I was too skinny at 155 but I'm not so sure. As a goal, I think 165 is reasonable. I still cycle to work everyday (only a 10km round trip) and play some hockey. Even though I'm 10 years older, I'd like to regain some of the speed I had at 155. I think forums like this are very helpful for a lot of people because of the committment to lose the weight and the encouragement from others in the same boat. My wife has also put on a bunch of weight over the last 10 years. She is five feet tall and weighed 105 ten years ago and now she is 145. We've challenged each other to lose one pound a week. We didn't agree on a particular goal as of yet, we'll just try to meet the weekly goal for a couple of months and then go from there. Unfortunately, I missed the goal for the first week and my goal for this week's weigh in (Saturday morning) is 188. I understand that my weight can vary by a few pounds day to day so hopefully I'll be 188 by saturday. Anyway, count me as a new member of the weight loss club and good luck to all you other losers!

Welcome and all the best. You might find fitday useful for keeping track of calories eaten and burnt. Check my sig.

On January 1st, I made a little promise to myself.. to take better care of my body, so shape things up so I can live a long healthy life. I have a couple reasons.. one being that my dad had a heart attack last year at 59 years of age. He survived, but needed a triple bypass. He is also diabetic.. I want to increase my chances of avoiding that for myself, or postponing it, whatever the case may be. And also, I just wanted energy. I had no desire to do much of anything. I wanted to look in the mirror (call me a vain female, I don't care LOL!), and be happy with what I saw, not embarrassed.

And so, I started watching what I ate. I eat a lot of veggies, turkey, chicken etc. I treat myself to whatever meal I crave, plus dessert, once a week so I don't burn myself out. As the weather permitted, I got on my bike. I then joined a local group of cyclists. I had set my goal to lose 45 lbs by August 1st... I have already met that goal, and gone 2 lbs past that.. total loss is now 47. I'm right about where I should be now... I feel awesome, I have more confidence.. I'm just flat happy. Diet and a bike worked wonders. These days I live to ride that bike.. I get grumpy if I don't!

Just wanted to tell my little story. I'm proud of myself. :D

And I'm proud of you! I didn't mention it in my previous post, but both my parents have had bypass surgery and my dad is now diabetic. That is also a motiviation for me in addition to the overall energy thing. How long did it take to lose your weight?

Cheers,

Jim

OKay, I see that it took you under six months. You must be very dedicated and you aren't kidding that you love riding that bike!

Well, week three weigh-in was more successful than week two. We are both on target and the incentive to ride so that we keep being successful is strong. I've checked out that fitday website and opened an account but I'm not sure that I will be diligent like some of you in filling out my activities and food consumption. Anyway, I'll keep you posted on how things work out.

Cheers,

Jim

I started off the year at about 185 (I'm 5'7" so that spells fat), I made some fairly major dietary changes (upped the fruits and veggies intake, cut down on meat, junk food, sodas, etc etc). Just doing this without much of a work out routine (long hikes once a week but not much else) I dropped about twenty pounds, I started running two miles a day, but ended up hurting my ankle, so I switched over to my MTB which was rapidly becoming a white elephant, and started commuting to work on it (about a twenty mile round trip every day). The weight pretty much melted off at that point, and I'm down to around 135 now. I bike around 150 miles a week and love it, its not as destructive to my joints as running, and mountain biking is sort of forcing me to learn how to ride a bike all over again, which is a lot of fun in and of itself. A lot of these stories are very inspiring, and just prove that weight loss is like most things, simply mind over matter.

I think that is a key to being successful. Hitting the stairmaster doesn't appeal to me and I don't think I would ever work as hard as I do when I'm trying to chase down a puck or top a hill. And the funny thing is, depsite how hard it is, it doesn't seem like work. You must have got a lot of positive reinforcement as you lost weight when you kept getting faster and faster on the bike. I guess for many people, although there are not many stories in this thread, the hard part is keeping the weight off. That's another reason that having fun riding or whatever seems to be so important. Thanks for your story.

Cheers,

Jim

Well, I've been using fitday for about 10 days now and I think it is addictive in itself. I find that I'm eating more fruit because I like entering it into the database to see how many calories I'm not eating! (compared to say, chicken wings or beer:)) I'm not certain how accurate it is given the difficulty in judging the amount of fat on a cut of meat for instance, or not knowing the ingredients my wife used for her latest delicious (and supposedly healthty) casserole. All the same, it shows me at a calorie deficit and I have been losing weight:

Week 1 190
Week 2 190:(
Week 3 188
Week 4 187

Cheers,

Jim

At one time in my life I was 250lbs and 5'10.5" I decided to get back into shape, so I joined a local gym, and did the Atkins diet. Got down to 175. Tapered off Atkins as it wasn't sustainable for me. Gave up the gym membership to save money towards an adoption.

After that struggle was over, I was back up to 220lbs and my blood pressure was worrisome (150/100). (Stress eating)

I realized three facts:

1. My Maternal Grandfather died of a heart attack at age 53, when my mother was a teenager. She never really recovered completely from that.
2. My daughter will be 13 when I turn 53. (Six years from now.)
3. I don't want to put my daughter through what my Mom went through.

So back to the gym. Got fitter, still didn't lose much weight, but the blood pressure came down.

Rode the 2004 MS150 "Pedal to the point" at 220lbs, and took 8.5 hours each day.
Kept riding and working out, watched what I ate.
Rode the 2005 MS150 "Pedal to the point" at 195lbs, and took 5.5 hours each day.
"Bonked" during the '05 MS150 (not falling down in a heap, but suddenly my energy completely went away and I "ran on fumes" for about 5 miles). Recognized the difference between "My stomach is empty" sensation and "I need fuel" sensation. Began to eat accordingly (eat when you need fuel, stop when you don't).

Now I'm down to 175-180lbs (it fluctuates, and I could probably lose another 5-10, but I'm not worried). Blood Pressure generally around 105/65, Resting heart rate around 62. We'll see what the '06 MS150 brings.

For me the keys to getting in shape were motivation beyond myself (being there for my family), and learning to listen to my body better.

Kotts

Hello and welcome to the club. It has been quiet here for a while but you can get a lot of good ideas and inspiration from the previous posts in this thread. Glad to have you here.

Cheers,

Jim

Check another milestone off of my list!

My weight has been holding steady between 199-203lbs. My body composition has been continuing to change. Not to worried about the weight for now as the body comp. is a better indicator. Not sure when I should actually call the game with the weight loss. Can I really loose another 20lbs?

If you keep doing rides like that you can! But, like you say, it's composition that matters. I wouldn't mind being my current weight, as long as it was less fat and more quad.

Zin...I too have been holding steady with my weight but I am impressed withthe mileage and elevation you do on your bike. i am at the oint wher I would exchange a few pounds for the ability to do a century or 7000+ feet in elevation.

Zin, nice pic, nice ride, nice job!! You are amazing.

I am down to 184 lbs this week. I have dropped over 50 lbs and feel amazing. With summer I have not been so hardcore on what I eat. In fact, I am surprised that I continue to loss weight. At 6'3'' and 32 years old I can not remember the last time I was under 200. It has been a great run for me and I think its time to enjoy the results. I have lots of riding coming up!! Later.

GRRR!

I just blew away 10 minutes worth of typing in reply.

Nucks - I'm with you there! That is why I'm not so worried about weight at this time. I'm now wearing a 34" waist in my pants. I've even began wearing some shirts in a medium size. (not cycling jerseys)

Greg - Thanks for the kind words. You can do a century! You just have to set your mind to it. You CAN! :D

Aham - Thanks! Wow, you are going to make me blush. I don't think I'm amazing. Just in love with cycling. I'm amazed that you are at 184lbs at your height. I am shooting for 180lbs and I'm only 5'11". I have several friends who are telling me that I shouldn't loose any more weight. I just don't know.


I'll be riding the Triple ByPass next weekend. Wish me luck!

Zin - I have those friends too. Are yours over weight? They think I am way toooo skiny. Anyway, I am not really trying to drop anymore weight. I have changed my eating habits and plan to lead and eat a healthy life the best I can. It's not a diet for me anymore. It is just the way I eat. Chicken, Fish, Lean Meats, Veggies, Fruits, and so on. No more fast food crap. I am just aware of everything that goes in me. Heck, last night I had a few beers and a nice big NY Strip Steak! Cant beat that.