HiYoSilver

Digitial G, you're a trouble maker.

Ok, I ignored new year's resolutions. But doctor was not a happy camper. I've hit a plateau for about 6 months. The 30-40 miles/week are not enough. I would like to lose about 20 lbs this year. But don't want to lose muscles and don't want to use fad diet. I am only interested on long term approachs to maintaining a healthy weight. No carb less, blood type, and other fad diets. I know I could have put this in the nutrition subforum, but I suspect age is the most important characteristic here.

Suggestions????

-- any excellent nutrition software that you use?

-- any hints on what you have done to kill the hunger pangs?

-- do any of you actually eat 3 fruit servings and 5 veggie servings each day?

-- what would you do?

Digital Gee

Gosh, since taking up cycling seven months ago, I've...

...lost seventy pounds

...regained my dark locks (no more gray)

...stopped going to fast food places, and never looked back

...been offered a contract to host my own "how to" television series on the Outdoor Network

...upgraded from a $350 bike to a $3,500 bike (and actually that was free, because I'm endorsing it)

...had my pick of beautiful women who keep throwing themselves at me.

And to think -- I did this on 250 miles a month!

Now, HiYo, I could tell you exactly how I did this, but that would spoil your journey of self-discovery. I'll leave the advice giving to the others on the forum.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I have some shoveling to do. It's getting a bit too deep in here, even by my standards.

Blackberry

You may not like this but my brother lost 40 pounds in several months doing something very similar to this, which is the way I try to eat myself. He rarely gets on a scale and never goes hungry.

*No--or very, very little--junk food, processed food, cookies, cake, etc.
*Limit your alcohol to two drinks twice a week (like Friday and Saturday night)
*Pile on the fresh fruits, veggies whole grains (i.e. oatmeal with bananas for breakfast)
*Choose only the leanest cuts of meat, and even then, be moderate. Eat some fish.
*Go very easy on the cheese and butter.
*Hit the weight room. Your added muscle mass will do wonders for metabolizing the calories you take in.

It may seem Spartan, but there are actually plenty of great dishes you can make with whole foods.

DnvrFox

Fruits:

STRAWBERRY ice cream
APPLE crisp
LEMON meringue pie

Vegetables:

CHOCOLATE ice cream
TAPIOCA pudding
CARROT cake
TOMATO catsup (although technically a fruit, everyone counts it as a veggie)
CORN bread muffins

HiYoSilver

Not quiet DF. Supposed to have all colors of vegetables: yellow, orange, purple, green, red and brown.

You missed:
German Choc Cake
Red Ropes
Green Apple Sours
Grape slurpees
Tangerine smoothies
and Lemon Drops.

DnvrFox

You obviously have had more practice than I!

mollusk

You are on a plateau. That means you have reached equilibrium. i.e. calories in = calories expended. You need to either increase calories expended or decrease calories in. Doing both is good, too. Don't overdo it, though. If you make large changes you will start to metabolize muscle as well as fat. That can happen if you severely restrict caloric intake and increase activity a lot. You will lose a lot of weight fast, but a good chunk of it will be muscle. That isn't good.

BigGuy

Hey Masked Man:
I've managed to lose 32 lbs in the last 6 months - doctor's orders after developing a heart problem. He said 30-40 lbs, and I said 70.

I don't look at this as a fad diet (I ran it by the hospital nutritionist, and had only one minor change), I'm using the "South Beach Diet" set up by a cardiologist. It helped me get away from junk food; breaking that dependancy is tough, but I think necessary for getting back to normal. It emphasizes low glycemic (read slow metabolizing foods) to keep insulin levels moderate in the blood; and gets you away from saturated fats and transfats. You're not supposed to go hungary, just eat the right snacks. I've plateaued lately, but I'm down 2+ lbs in the last month. It lines up quite closely to what Blackberry suggested above.

tg1896

I'm 53 and weigh the same as the day I graduated from high school - 170. LOTS of whole grains (oatmeal, groats, brown rice, etc.). AT LEAST four fruits and four-six vegetables per day. Red meat once per month, fish at least twice per week, lots of pasta and beans. A little bit of dark chocolate, a cookie or two, a bowl of frozen yogurt every day, NO salt and NO alcohol.

If you eat junk food like cheetos and chips you may as well put a gun to your head. Check the contents and see if it contains any form of partially hydrogenated oil - then go online and Google it. It will scare you to death.

DnvrFox

I would 2nd the South Beach Diet. We found that it required more cooking than we do, but I did lose 20 pounds and have pretty much kept it off. As soon as the wife gets well again, we are going to have another go at it.

My MD recommends it.

The only flaw is their theory that you lose your appetite for carbs if you follow their two week intro.

Didn't work for us. I still love carbs!

HiYoSilver

I understand many like the south beach diet. I don't trust it as the people I've seen who have lost weight on it look too unhealthy. However, saying that I did lose a couple pounds by dropping the bread in lunch sandwiches.

Yeah, little transfat in diet, nor nutrasweet, splenda, chips, cookies, etc.

Speaking of effect of intake changes and exercise programs, have you seen you HDL climb at all from cycling?

old99

!!!WARNING!!! This post may contain language that may not be suiteable for red blooded carnivores!!

I'll open a real can of worms here--probably get myself thrown off the forums--and get myself branded as a freak for life. Check out the McDougal diet. Vegan. No meat, no dairy, lots of veggies and fruits, and I'm following the more extreme version that even eliminates wheat flour (including pasta).

As a 53-year-old male, born and raised in the USA--I come from the red meat and potatos for every dinner background--like many others. But after a major cardiac event this past spring (like many others); and taking the doctors warning ("You're gonna' die.") under advisement; I tried a couple of different diets before finally taking the plunge. It's been 5 weeks now, I'm down 20 pounds. But I have seriously never felt better--much better than I've felt in years. I have energy like I haven't had since I was a teenager. I'm not hungry -- I've found a number of recipies that are quite satisfying. Because I feel so well, I haven't been tempted to break the diet.

I realize that this is extreme and not without risks (adequate protein, for example) but McDougal addresses this. I'm personally seeing a number of other benefits (blood pressure, blood sugar), but rather than preach, I highly recommend looking into the diet.

John in Oregon

jppe

I'm riding approx 125-150 miles a week and my weight is stabilized for now. Here's a typical day food-wise for me:

Breakfast: Banana and 16 oz of water
Mid morning: Cashews and 16 oz of water
Lunch: 6" subway sandwich-either turkey or tuna (no mayonaise)-Lemonade to drink
Mid Afternoon: A taste of Chocolate
Supper: Meat (chicken, salmon, steak) salad & another vegetable + 2 double chocolate Oreos!!! Note:keep servings to one of each
Evening: Popcorn with Lemonade to drink

Okay, so it's not totally healthy but I've lost 50 lbs, the cholestrol has plummeted, blood pressure dropped considerably and I feel wonderful. Unfortunately, I have lost a good bit of upper body muscle mass which has not helped my golf game.... But I'm close to just about cutting that out altogether anyway.

I'll probably be substituting blueberries, plums, pecans and some other stuff to increase the antioxidants intake.

The best way I can get around the hunger deal is to eat smaller quantities but also eat more often, if that makes sense....After a while your body seems to adjust.

Jarery

Do what is still recomended by almost every dietician and nutrition expert. Follow a mediterannean style diet and when you do eat carbs, choose a low gl version of them.
In other words, eat good fat, cut out trans fat, lower sat fat. Eat whole grains instead of refined. Choose lean meats. Eat the best carbs, the best fat, the best protein.

Its sustainable, can be done for the rest of your life, doesnt cause problems socially in that you can always find somethign to eat at a party/restraunt.

https://www.mediterrasian.com/index.htm heres something along the right track, just substitute low gl foods in place of the white rice/pasta etc.

Oh and I eat 5 fruits and 3 veg a day, i use fruit as my snack foods.

HiYoSilver

Hey you're got bright red lips, looks great. You might do well with a haircut or wig.

dta95b7r

Eat clean, Eat less and more often try for 5-6 times a day, hunger pangs eat an apple or something along those lines. A great late night snack to kill em is a bowl of oatmeal. www.fitday.com is a good site to track your calories(just gotta be exact when entering foods and drinks for it to work) getting fruits and veggies in is easy just gotta eat em! Good luck with losing the weight[QUOTE] What my dead friends give me is the power to say hey its six thirty in the morning who am I Riding for? i'm riding for all the people that can't and why? cause the mother**** I can

HiYoSilver

Hey, check out https://www.mypyramid.gov/

They have really upgraded the site and calculate not just food but calories expended for type of cycling completed and the length of cycling.

HiYoSilver

Now this is really interesting. If I jump from 10mph to 14mph x5 days I should drop 1 lb/week.
Or, if increase riding time to 150 minutes, same result, drop 1 lb/week.

nickw

Do yourself a favor and check out a book called "nourishing traditions", really opens your eyes to a new way of looking at food.
Or check out www.westonaprice.org, the book is based on thoughts outlined on website.

stapfam

All this fuss about being overweight- I'm Not..... I'm lucky but just a few notes on my diet-- NO junk food. NOT a great deal of Sugary foods. Not a great deal of alcohol (Unless it is a top grade bottle and someon has taken the cork out of it). NOT a large eater at one sitting but Breakfast- Lunch- Dinner- And supper. Prefer plenty of meat to vegetables, but force myself to eat the green stuff.

Carbo- hydrates I take as I need- More exercise = more carb intake. Then on the ride I try to get a work out. Short rides are taken faster- and long rides are just taken fast.

Being 5'6" and 145lbs has a lot to do with it, but I am lucky, I do not put on weight, no matter What I Don't eat.

HiYoSilver

It's a good start but site has few 2005 2006 articles. It boils down to go to health food stores and eat more nature foods.

It does not help in meal planning for a week or month.

merlinextraligh

Burn more calories than you consume.

Travelinguyrt

Sweat

Throw out the refridgerator, the dammed things harbor all kinds of hidden torments

WALK to the store CARRY home what you eat, or at least park in the farthest spot from the front door of the market

Eat an apple slathered with REAL P-Nut butter before you go shopping, takes the edge of any hunger thoughts

Write me a check for 175$ for this sound advice

Gene James

Spend more time on the bike and less time on the forums.

supcom

Kemosabe,

Tanto say, "To lose weight, ride 30-40 miles per day, not per week."

Seriously, 30-40 miles per week is like 5 miles per day. You need to turn up the fat burner.

Fit day is the best nutrition tracking software out there. But beware. It takes a lot of work to get any realistic estimate of restaurant food if the restaurant does not supply data. Most fast food restaurants do supply data. Other restaurants do not.

If you use a nutrition tracking program, you need to log every single thing you put down your throat every single day. If you do this and do it honestly, you will cut back on your food intake. Trust me. Keeping an accurate record will shame yourself into eating less and better.

It also helps if you use your bike for all your grocery shopping. And ride to the supermarket on the other side of town. And don't take a BOB trailer for the groceries.