my58vw

Hello,

I can not believe I am asking this but I need to kick off weight loss somehow!

The year prior to 3 months ago I weighted in at 210, down from 250 (Ideal is somewhere between 190 and 215). When I went off the bike for medical reasons my eating unfortunitly did not stop and I gained nearly 35 pounds (I am 245 again and very unhappy). I lost weight last time because I was riding alot and just not eating all that much (and it cost me more than once bonking).

Starting Sunday I will be fully back on the bike and I intend on very gaining the weight back again. I want to be in the 190 - 195 range, but I think 200 would be great. I have been modifying my diet since i am on graveyard and am eating more fruits and veges. I am trying to get to the gym 4 days per week for maybe an hour of walking (and eventually a bit of gogging as requested by my doctors) and some mild weight training. I am hoping to be on the bike minimum 3 days per week including a long ride on Sunday. This leaves eme with a bunch of questions.

I can no longer (ever again) gain muscle mass (I am hormonally a girl now and I could never build muscle mass before) and I do not want to. I would like to loose the flabby stuff on the back of my arms and tones (not increase bulk) on my calfs. I also want to work on core and lower/upper back areas. Effectivly I am trying to build lean smaller arms and legs while increasing strength. What is the best way to do that?

I am always on the run and will eat fast food on occasian. I want to eat stuff though that will allow me to eat something to fill me up but not contribute lots of calories. I am drinking lots of water again. Ideas?

What kind of diet things once agian should I be considering since I do work graveyard and I need a quick set of meals that will not leave my hungry but will help me be healthy? Also how bad is coffee really (minimal suger?)

Thanks as always!

Mandy

kuan

My favorite "big" meal is a huge spinach salad with a lavosh bread pizza. Lavosh bread is so thin that you cannot pile too much of anything on it.

Get some lavosh from the store, cut it into the size you like. Brush with olive oil and bake in oven for a coupla minutes. Remove, add sauce if you like or toppings. Put it back into the oven (on a baking stone if you have one) at 500 degrees for about 5 minutes.

My favorite is, sauce, 3-4oz of cheese, a little crumbled cooked Italian sausage, about 6 slices or pepperoni.

Sugar isn't bad. You can eat sugar but a little at a time. Your body can only use something like 120 calories an hour. If you're sipping coffee with sugar after a ride then you're replenishing your glycogen levels right? Read Danno's posts in this forum. I've learned so much from him.

Bikepacker67

Apples and water, whenever ya want a snack.

Also a large glass of water before every meal.

Pedal Wench

Mandy, read the '20 lbs. by New Years' and "weightloss club' threads - they both have lots of people's ideas and ways of dealing with the same situation.

jazzy_cyclist

My weight has gone up and down most of my life. It *does* all come down to calories in/calories out, but what I've noticed is that the amount of exercise (as opposed to the intensity) can have a big effect. A few years ago when I was unemployed, worked in the yard most of the day (e.g., digging). It wasn't really intensive exercise, but I dropped about 15-20 pounds over a few months. When riding, I'll absolutely lose weight when doing long rides of 3+ hours on the weekends. If I do high-intensity 1 hour workouts, it doesn't seem to have as large an effect weight-wise.

Just my observation.

joejack951

Fiber is key. Eat lots of it and you'll stay fuller on fewer calories. Generally, foods with lots of fiber are also healthy foods that fit into a well balanced diet. If you look at the recommended amount of fiber for the average man then look at the amount of fiber in normal cereals, breads, and snacks, you'll see how hard it can be to get that amount. I think I come close to the recommended amount most days but I also eat a high fiber cereal (Oatmeal square, shreaded wheat, or Kashi GoLean) every morning, a sandwich on whole wheat bread (note: most whole wheat/grain breads don't have much fiber. be sure to read the labels. Roman Meal 100% whole wheat bread has 5 grams of fiber per slice or ~20% of daily needs), and dried fruit as a snack during the day.

clausen

+1
When I was loseing weight 230 to 170 now. I had a apple and large glass of water on every break at work. I also work nights and that in itself puts allot of stress on your body not helping with the weight loss. I find yoga very helpful for toneing muscles and helping with the stress that working night shift puts on the body. I do about 20-30 min daily.

wabbit

just to clear it up once more.. it's LOSE weight, not LOOSE. I'm not a grammar nazi but this is basic spelling we all should know!

Az B

For some of us it's loose weight. Jiggle on down the road...

Az

Roody

I don't fully understand your hormonal situation, but girls can too gain muscle tissue, just not as much as men. I think the reason upper arms and calves tend to jiggle is that these are large muscles that kind of hang off the bones. Probably they are supposed to jiggle some.

But I think jiggling also occurs when people lose (not loose) a lot of weight, or especially when they lose and regain several times over the years. Their skin is loose (not lose ) because the fat is gone and there is excess skin. If you can get the muscles a little bigger they do fill up some of that space where there used to be fat. So triceps exercises and calf raises might help a bit. I am currently having a similar problem with my belly, where I have lost a lot of weight. People have told me that the skin usually tightens up, but it could take a long time.

Do you know Machka who posts on this forum? She is a helpful member who used to be a bodybuilder. Maybe you could get in touch with her for some pointers.

DannoXYZ 

Watch your food-intake, eatfoods with more volume, lower calorie-density. Ride more...

alison_in_oh

Agreed, girls can and should work on their muscles. A strong frame with some body fat is much, much nicer than a flabby weak frame with no padding. The addition of muscle also makes a significant difference in metabolism. Unfortunately it's really hard to decide how that muscle will be distributed. You can't just decide to "build long muscles". Your body makes 'em long and lean or short and curvy and that's just genetics.

Mandy, you need to be making your body strong and putting all healthful things into it in the wake of cancer. Check out Eating Well for Optimal Health (by Weil) and Eat to Live (by Fuhrman). Fruits, veggies, and beans are your powerhouses of nutrition, with antioxidants, phytochemicals, and other health-promoting components. Ease way way back on your animal products, and if I were you I'd ditch beef altogether and go to naturally raised meat and dairy. I don't think you need drugs like caffeine; anyway it kick-starts your metabolism in a negative way, making you hungry quicker.

Some light full-body exercise (I like assisted pull-ups, assisted dips, squats, rows, flys, bench, abwork, and lower back extensions when I'm in a hurry) and regular heart-pumping cardio (maybe start with 30 minutes alternating light and moderate intensity?) would probably be a good start, given that your docs are OK with it.