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Am I on the right track for loosing weight and getting back in shape?

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Am I on the right track for loosing weight and getting back in shape?

Old 11-30-05, 08:26 PM
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Hey everyone,

I have been working out again for about 6 weeks now. I have not thrown a leg over the bike yet but have spent a good deal of time in the gym. I am working out with a personal trainer 2x's a week with weights and I am doing anywhere from 45minutes to 1 hour of cardio a day: mix between running on indoor track, using a couple variations of elliptical trainers, treadmills, etc. When I started out I was 247lbs with 27% body fat(using a caliper). So far I have only lost 10lbs but I have gone down two notches on my belt and my clothes are fitting loose so I am guessing that I am doing something right.

My diet is alot better than it was before: typically my days are like this:
Breakfast.....bowl of raisin bran with 2% milk and a bananna
midmorning snack.....apple
lunch.......salad with no fat dressing and a piece of fruit
mid afternoon snack.......granola bar or banana/apple
dinner........something sensible. maybe a grilled chicken breast and a potato with a helping of vegtables or something like that.

A little history about me: before now I have had a fairly sedentary life sitting behind a desk for 8-10 hours a day and eating alot of fast food and very high fat foods. I raced mountain bikes back in the early 90's before it got so popular and that ended up evolving into racing dirt bikes for 5-6years. Well then marriage and kids come along and life gets even more complicated so no more motorcycles for me. Since then I have pretty much not exercised and I am very committed to getting back into shape.

I guess my main question is: am I doing a good mix of weight training/cardio/diet to help maximize my weight loss? I have an extremely large frame 6'0 with very broad shoulders/muscular build so if I am able to get in the sub 210lb range I will probably be near my ideal weight. I ordered some cold riding clothing from performance bike last night and I am going to try to ride 1-2 times a week on either my road bike or my mountain bike. I have a trek 5200 that I bought maybe 2-3 years ago and have only ridden once or twice and a specialized fsr pro comp that is ridden not much more. My short term goal is to lose weight but when spring comes I would like to try to plan to do a century in late spring. Any ideas/suggestions about how I am going about this would be appreciated.


-lee-

Last edited by leeinmemphis; 11-30-05 at 08:43 PM.
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Old 11-30-05, 08:35 PM
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Sounds like you're doing OK for now. You might want to shift more of your calories eaten towards breakfast and lunch to give you energy for your workouts.

As you get more fit, you'll want to increase intensity and volume. It's going to come down to calories/hr burnt off and total hours per week working out. By focusing on fitness first, you'll be able to increase the calories/hr pace you can work out and increase total hours per week. Weight loss will then be an automatic result. You'll want to gradually work up to 3-4 hour aerobic workouts once a week, 15-20 hours a week if you can schedule it in. It's the volume of workout time that's going to be the most effective thing for you. You'll need to eat more to have the energy for those workouts. Just be careful about doing too much and being chronically fatigued, but that's for your trainer to figure out. Have fun!

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Old 11-30-05, 08:40 PM
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Sounds like you're at an age where you might benefit from much more than "45 minutes to 1 hour of cardio a week." You should consider doing that much, or more, every day if you want good fitness. I know that resistance training is very popular right now, and it's certainly beneficial, but a lot of evidence points to even greater benefits from more cardio.

Obviously your diet is evidently working well, if you have already lost 10 pounds. You could probably get away with eating a little more if you were actually riding your bike.

So keep up the good work but look into gradually adding a few hours a week of riding your bike! (What advice did you expect from the BikeForums?) Best of luck and continued success.

Added: Check BMI indexes online. I don't know for sure, but 210 pounds sounds a little too high for your height. BMI is pretty accurate for everybody except extremely muscular men, like professional body builders and football players.
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Last edited by Roody; 11-30-05 at 08:45 PM.
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Old 11-30-05, 08:45 PM
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Originally Posted by Roody
Sounds like you're at an age where you would benefit from much more than "45 minutes to 1 hour of cardio a week." You should consider doing that much, or more, every day if you want good fitness. I know that resistance training is very popular right now, and it's certainly beneficial, but a lot of evidence points to even greater benefits from more cardio.

Obviously your diet is working well, if you have already lost 10 pounds. You could probably get away with eating a little more if you were actually riding your bike.

So keep up the good work but add a few hours a week riding your bike! (What advice did you expect from the BikeForums?) Best of luck and continued success.

Added: Check BMI indexes online. I don't know for sure, but 210 pounds sounds a little too high for your height. BMI is pretty accurate for everybody except extremely muscular men, like professional body builders and football players.

That was actually a mistyped word. I meant I was doing 45 minutes to 1 hour a day 5-7 days a week plus working out with weight two times a week. Sorry the kids had me distracted at that point. I also forgot to add that I am 32 years old.


-lee-
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Old 11-30-05, 08:49 PM
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Originally Posted by leeinmemphis
That was actually a mistyped word. I meant I was doing 45 minutes to 1 hour a day 5-7 days a week plus working out with weight two times a week. Sorry the kids had me distracted at that point. I also forgot to add that I am 32 years old.


-lee
-
That sounds just right lee. What made you decide to get back in shape? I know your kids will be glad when they see you're more active and more fun than their friends' dads.
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Old 11-30-05, 08:59 PM
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Originally Posted by Roody
That sounds just right lee. What made you decide to get back in shape? I know your kids will be glad when they see you're more active and more fun than their friends' dads.
To be honest I was on a archery hunt in Canada last month and had a bear stalk me on the way out. I really thought I was dead meat because I couldn't outrun him or make any more ground between me and him. When I got back to the guides truck I was sweating from head to toe and couldn't breath one bit. At that point I decided it was time.......plus I have had a couple occasions where I couldn't water ski or do other things that I wanted because I was so bad out of shape. Plus I use to really enjoy riding a bike alot and I want to be able to share that with my kids in a couple of years. Last year we adopted two boys from Russia ages 5 and 6 now and it takes alot of energy to keep up with those two fellas.


-lee-
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Old 11-30-05, 10:02 PM
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Not to take anything away from your desire to get in shape, but even the fastest track runners can't outrun or even outsprint a bear. They are extremely fast. And don't try to climb a tree to get away from one, I've seen them shimmy 50ft up a tree in a few seconds.

What's the old joke? You don't have to outrun the bear. You just have to outrun someone else in your party!

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Old 12-01-05, 07:41 AM
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Originally Posted by Az B
Not to take anything away from your desire to get in shape, but even the fastest track runners can't outrun or even outsprint a bear. They are extremely fast. And don't try to climb a tree to get away from one, I've seen them shimmy 50ft up a tree in a few seconds.

What's the old joke? You don't have to outrun the bear. You just have to outrun someone else in your party!

Az
I realize that I couldn't outrun the bear if I ever wanted to but I did realize just how out of shape I was. I actually had my dad on the hunt with me but he was at another spot. We actually joked on the way up there that all I had to do was outrun him and we laughed about it.......for some reason it wasn't nearly as funny while trying to get back to that truck


-lee-
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Old 12-01-05, 08:18 AM
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Originally Posted by leeinmemphis
To be honest I was on a archery hunt in Canada last month and had a bear stalk me on the way out. I really thought I was dead meat because I couldn't outrun him or make any more ground between me and him.
-lee-
lee,

I run road races and if a bear wanted to catch me, he would. It doesn't matter how fast you are, you'll not outrun a motivated bear.

Regarding your diet, imho, stay the course. It's working for you. Let it, until you need to notch up a bit.

EDITTED to add: Sorry... didn't read the entire thread first.
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Old 12-03-05, 07:01 PM
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Originally Posted by leeinmemphis
To be honest I was on a archery hunt in Canada last month and had a bear stalk me on the way out. I really thought I was dead meat because I couldn't outrun him or make any more ground between me and him. When I got back to the guides truck I was sweating from head to toe and couldn't breath one bit. At that point I decided it was time.......plus I have had a couple occasions where I couldn't water ski or do other things that I wanted because I was so bad out of shape. Plus I use to really enjoy riding a bike alot and I want to be able to share that with my kids in a couple of years. Last year we adopted two boys from Russia ages 5 and 6 now and it takes alot of energy to keep up with those two fellas.


-lee
-
Fear is a great motivator! I had a heart attack at age 45 and I was worried I wouldn't be able to "outrun" the next one.

Why are you waiting a couple years on the biking? I bet those boys would enjoy riding right now. And so would you. Really, the progress is so rapid and complete when you first start training that you shouldn't put it off one day. You are never too out of shape to start! In fact, the worse off you are, the faster you get back in shape.
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Old 12-08-05, 03:41 PM
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The diet sounds too low in protein to me. I'd add some cottage cheese or egg whites or a protein shake.
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Old 12-08-05, 05:02 PM
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Originally Posted by pegster
The diet sounds too low in protein to me. I'd add some cottage cheese or egg whites or a protein shake.
If you are eating better than you were before that is great. You may want to think about percentages. One thing may be to add healthy fats. Almonds,sugar free peanut butter, olive oil etc. I find if I have just an apple it does nothing to satisfy me. An apple and some peanut butter or handful of nuts and I feel fuller for longer.
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Old 12-08-05, 05:20 PM
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Originally Posted by pegster
The diet sounds too low in protein to me. I'd add some cottage cheese or egg whites or a protein shake.
He's a cyclist looking to lose weight, not a bodybuilder wanting to add 5lbs/month...

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Old 12-08-05, 09:33 PM
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Originally Posted by DannoXYZ
He's a cyclist looking to lose weight, not a bodybuilder wanting to add 5lbs/month...
I agree. I do think it is good idea to strength train twice a week to maintain current muscle though. As long as he gets enough protein to help with that.
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Old 12-08-05, 10:03 PM
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The hardest part of getting back in shape is getting started. Once you get started you feel so much better about yourself that it keeps you motivated. It becomes a perpetual cycle. Conversely, a few days off in a row can lead to weeks, months and years. Might be exagerating a bit, but not much.

Sounds like you have conquered the hardest part, getting started. Keep it up, it's all good.

I am large framed, never got nearly as large as you, but have gone through periods of months to up to a year of sloth and inactivity, but even now though I work out every day and ride 5,000km a year in short Canadian season and have done this for years now (5-6 days a week) my weight does not change much. Could lose 10 pounds and would definitely climb hills better, would probably lower my BP and cholesterol, but the weight stays about the same. I feel great though and that's what matters.

You are definitely on the right track.
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Old 12-09-05, 03:18 AM
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Increasing protein intake won't make you anything close to a bodybuilder. Looking at the amount of time he is spending a day training, whether it be cardio or strength training, he definitely would benefit from some more protein in his diet. Why do people automatically think anyone who takes in a protein shake is trying to be a bodybuilder? 22g a day extra will not turn you into Arnold. If anything it will repair the muscles he has strained during exercise and help balance his diet to keep him getting leaner. And he needs to eat more. Hes probably at a pretty severe calorie deficit, and losing muscle mass too.
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Old 12-09-05, 04:31 AM
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That single chicken patty a day is about 80-120gm. Double what a sedentary person needs and about right for pregnant women and hardcore athletes. A lot of bodybuilders take in 1000gm+ a day. I wonder if anyone has any studies done on the relative muscle-gain based upon protein intake? It appears even hardcore bodybuilders aren't putting on more than 100gm of muscle a day maximum. Anyway, the protein won't do the OP much good if he's short on carbs and ends up tearing his muscles apart. Personally, I think he needs to double his food intake in order to really do some long workouts.
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Old 12-09-05, 11:20 AM
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1000gm a day? I dont know who youve been talking to, but most modern, educated bodybuilders usually take in gram of protein per pound of body weight.
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Old 12-09-05, 11:36 AM
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ya I use to be a meathead...6'2" 250 ish, I was built like a linebacker and I would try for 1gr of protein per pound of bodyweight a day.

leeinmemphis, ur on the right track for sure man...keep it up and give it time.

I really don't even recall how I lost my weight...I gave up powerlifting and starting mtb riding, swimming, hiking, then I got a road bike and the next thing I know I'm 180lbs

Personally, I'd ditch all weight lifting and opt for all cardio.
Swimming is a great upper body workout.
Biking/running gets the legs.

I stay clear of the weights cuz I put on cosemtic bulk way to easy.
I also avoid lawn work or moving furniture for the same reason
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