Bolo Grubb

I hear lots of various claims about losing week fast. At some point too fast has to be unsafe.

Is there a range?

anyone who is trying to lose weight, often has a goal such as 10 pounds by this date.

I just want to make sure I can set reasonable goals and lose some weight has fast as it is safe to do so

twahl

Most docs will say 1.5 lbs. a week. I think you can safely lose more, especially if you have more than maybe 20 to lose. Of course you have to maintain good nutrition to be safe about it, and it's always a good idea to talk to your doc first.

walnuts

I lost 100 pounds in about 7 months...then lost and regained another 10 or so in the following 5 winter months.
Right now I'm down about 110 pounds from my starting weight and have decided not to concentrate on losing fast. I'll be happy just continuing to lose....my goal is about 1.25 pounds per week, to put me under 200 pounds by years end.

Most people want to lose weight very quickly...but if you lose it at a rate of 1.5 to 2 pounds per week...although in the big picture it seems slow......upon looking back after a year and 100 pounds gone, it really isn't that slow.

I now try to think of things with different types goals....and in the meantime, while trying to lose my 1.25 pounds per week, I try to adjust my diet to cut out the things I don't really need. For example, this year, I have decided not to eat candy......I still eat PowerBars and things like that, which some say I may as well eat candy, but I know that I can polish off a 1lb bag of Skittles no problem, so I just avoid all candy as a goal. Or liquid calories....I used to drink a lot of soda....probably over 1500 calories a day just in soda. I have decided that I would try to drink only diet sodas and water now with meals. I still drink Skim milk with breakfast and Gatorade on long rides, but for casual drinking, it has to be 0 calories for me.......eventually, I'll get off of the diet soda also.

The plan that works for me is to just ride the bike. I quit worrying about how many pounds I lose each week and know that by eating healthier and riding as much as I can, the weight will come off. The big thing is to eat a balanced diet to ensure that you are getting all of the vitamins and nutrition that your body needs.

YMMV but that's what works for me.

walnuts

muccapazza

Something interesting I read in Bicyclinga while back was called Bonk (easy, you Brits, it's something different here)training. How it works is you get up eaarly, drink a couple cups of coffee, then within 30 minutes and before eating breakfast, go for a real slow ride, at least 30minutes but not more than 90. Then eat normal breakfast right away when you finish. Supposed to simulate the physiologicaal state of "bonking", ie., which I don't remember exactly the benefits were. The great thing about this is you can do it everyday because the effort is so low. I did it for a couple of weeks 2 years ago and lost 6 pounds. Just another idea.

Bolo Grubb

I wonder why it is important to ride slow?

muccapazza

You're replicating the bodies state when it's energy reserves are depleted (the bonk). So when you ride slowly in the morning after not eating since dinner the night before, your fat cells are supplying the energy. That's the theory anyway, which I just remembered from the article.

kf5nd

The idea about riding really slowly is that you are in a heart zone where you burn mostly fat, and you spare muscle and liver glycogen.

I think the problem most people get into is if they rip into their glycogen, they feel lots of hunger, and then they overeat.

Bolo Grubb

interesting I will give this a try over the next couple of weeks and see what happens.

another question though. How important of a role does the coffee play? I don't drink coffee, don't like it. If it is just to help the person wake up or something then I will pass. If it is for the caffeine then maybe I can sub a diet soda for the coffee

muccapazza

That wasn't explained in the article, unfortunately. But it wasn't a problem for me because I can't drink enough of the stuff. I could only guess if was really an important part of the regimen or not, but it was only brought up in the introduction of the article and not mentioned again.

GreyGoat

I think the idea is to go slow enough to let the body adapt without going into fear of starvation mode where the metabolism adjusts to conserve all it can and store it away..

sm266

I'm planning this using sugar free RedBull when the sun starts rising earlier. I used this method to shed about 5 pounds last summer. It works, and it's a great way to get in some free miles.

hoodlum

I lost 115 lbs in a day once. Although I later found out it wasn't such a good idea after she started following me around and showing up where I work.

AthleteKitch

G'day

Care needs to be taken if your planning to bonk train, as due to the deplete glycogen stores in muscles and liver, dizziness and catabolism of muscle (as an alternate energy source to glycogen) can occur. Long slow distance is recommended for fat "burning" (lipolysis) as lipolysis is a slow metabolic process (produces ATP up to twice as slow as glycolysis (break down of glycogen to ATP).

Caffeine is a stimulant and has been linked to increasing efficiency of lipolysis. I have also found it lowers rating of perceived exertion, i.e. exercise feels easier. Try caffeine tablets (150mg) 45-60minutes pre-exercise. Note however that those consuming vast volumes of coffee will not perceive same effect as those who seldomly drink coffee.

slvoid

Couple cups of coffee... sounds like a recipe for a heart attack.

Machka 

Coffee doesn't cause heart attacks!! If it did, I'd have been dead ages ago!!

my58vw

For a while I was losing 2 pounds a week, now it is about 1 pound per week while racing but it fluctuates. I have cut out candy and most sweets and it has helped. Now with about 20 pounds to loose it is taking forever!

slvoid

I don't drink much coffee anymore. But my resting heart rate is 38 or so. My sitting heart rate is between 50-55. If I drink coffee, my heart's going at it at over 90 BPM just sitting there.

SSP

"Riding slow" is less effective at burning calories than riding fast, per unit of time. You burn a LOT more calories per hour riding fast than you do riding slow. Slow riding will burn a higher percentage of fat calories, because your body favors fat at low intensity levels. But, for weight loss it's the total calories burned that's important, not the fact that you're burning fat calories. Most of us are time-limited, so unless you have 4 hours per day to ride, go hard.

As for "bonk training", it's been shown to be ineffective. Trying to "train" without adequate levels of glycogen will just result in a bonk, or a bad training session. Better to get a small amount of fuel on board (200-300 calories) so you don't run out of gas.

SSP

Did you become overweight in just a few months? If not, why would you expect to lose weight quickly?

2 lbs per week is the absolute upper limit, unless you are being medically supervised. This requires a calorie deficit of 1000 calories per day, which can be very difficult to achieve. For most people, it's nearly impossible to achieve through diet alone, because you run the risk of nutrient deficiencies (especially vitamins and minerals).

Weight loss of 1 lb per week (-500 calores per day), or even 1/2 lb per week (-250 calories per day) are much more reasonable targets. You won't be running a risk of nutrient deficiencies (assuming you make wise food choices), and you won't be hungry all the time. Maintained over a longer time frame, this is the best, and safest, way to lose a lot of weight.

Don't think that exercise alone will bring about weight loss. Dietary control is much more important. Identify your "problem foods" (e.g., cookies, beer, whatever) and cut *way* back or eliminate them altogether. Learn what a "portion" is (hint: a portion of protein is about the size of your palm), and learn to eat just that much and no more. Give up sodas, chips, and most things covered in cheese or gravy. Drink plenty of water, and eat more vegetables.

It's all about achieving a modest daily calorie deficit, and maintaining that modest deficit over an extended time frame. Do this for a year or two, and you'll be a new you.

muccapazza

Who has shown bonk training to be ineffective? As I said, I lost six pounds in two weeks following the method, and I wasn't that overweight to begin with. Anyway, I'm not going to get into a pissing contest over this, ideas were asked for, I put in my two cents. Here's a link to an excerpt of the article, Bolo Grubb, decide for yourself.
https://www.wtcycling.com/BonkTraining.html

sm266

Yep! There are some on this forum who rally against base miles and say only to go hard all the time. Whatever, I suppose. Anyway, it worked for me. However, as with anything, discretion is advised. Meaning, if someone were to ride 50 miles on no food, well, they'd be an idiot. However, for ME an empty slow 20 miles before work to watch the sun come up over the river is a pleasant experience. Then, later in the day, I get the hard work in.

algarde

Hoodlum you made me laugh at 7:30a.m. That was good!

Big Lug

i trained hard as i could i weighed in at 450 on feb 1st and never looked back still training hard gym,riding,weight training and walking and in 64 days i lost 75lbs. 1.18lbs. per day which equals 8.26lbs a week which is alot but i feel great take my vitamins and will never look back and i am still going. I find that when i train slw it makes me wanna quit cuz i feel as if i am accomplishing nothing!

J.W.

531Aussie

Thank crikey!

Not sure about "bonk training", although I understand the logic behind not wanting to "hammer" when depleted of glycogen (although I think muscle and liver stores would still be adequate in the morning; it takes longer than a night's sleep to deplete stores), but I'm suprised this "fat burning zone" myth is still around ("myth" in that it's not a better way to lose fat). At best it's a "bigger piece of a smaller pie" scenario, and at worst it's a complete waste of time --time that could've obviously been spent burning more energy, getting stronger legs, and achieving a greater training effect.

these are hardly referenced journal articles, but it's all I could be bothered finding at short notice

https://static.highbeam.com/r/running...sbriefarticle/
https://www.sdbuzz.com/sports/fitness/fitness04.html

SSP

Thanks for the links.

I've done some more reasearch on "bonk training" and, with respect to weight loss, I find opinions on both sides of the issue. Nobody says it's a good way to train for performance, but some say it's effective in weight loss. Others say that bonk training risks breaking down muscle mass...so, who knows?