carfreeforme

currently..I am fat! I am 6'0 220 lbs.
my goal by 2015..is 180 lbs. though I ride my ebike way to much on throttle
I once was down to 160..I looked way to skinny, especially my face..so 180 with more muscle mass..I be fine.
I actually use to ride the indoor cycle everyday..now its a catch all..except my butt on it .
I ride my bicycle in nice weather..I am fine..but some reason this summer I can't get off the ebike..I barely pedal..because I do not want to be sweaty.

Machka 

Well ... if you want to attain your goal, one way to do it would be to pedal all the time. And you're supposed to be sweaty when you exercise!!

carfreeforme

LOL..you right..I been pedaling much more this last week..great weather here, so the sweat was not to bad.
I will obtain my goal though..

Dahon.Steve

Wer're almost a the same weight. I'm 5.7 and weight about 178. The problem with this weight is that we are over the required BMI and subject to heart disease and cancer. I'm very concered becuase as you get older, the weight just keeps getting higher!

I was 185lbs and started on Weight Watchers. I was unsuccessful because eating out becomes too difficult in counting points. Also, it amazed me how little food the body actually needs per day to survive. I just could not enjoy the food anymore. If you enjoy eating rich, it will be impossible to lose weight.

I also tried NutriSystem. What a bust! I spent about $600.00 dollars on two months supply of TV dinners and dry chips. I was sick of the food after two weeks and could not eat anymore. I admire people who can lose weight on that diet eating processed chemical food week after week.

My latest attempt was the "FitBit" tracker. Believe it or not I dropped to 173 before the headaches from starving my body was too much. I'm back to 178 again but still trying to find a diet that works and is easy to use. Having the tracker on my wrist is just a reminder to not eat as much. I stopped tracking the food I consume because it's the same problem as Weight Watchers.

wipekitty

I'm not fat: quite the opposite!

Still, cycling seems to help me stay in a healthy weight range. When I take time away from cycling (or running, or sports in general), I turn into a scrawny little stick, probably because I drink way too much caffeine for energy and don't eat enough healthy foods with useful calories. When I ride on a regular basis, I usually gain 10-15 pounds, which puts my BMI back into the normal range.

Greybeard712

Fat? When I stepped on the scale it said, "One at a time, please".
I've lost 65 lbs since Jan 2013—18 of that twice. 30 lbs last summer, gained 18 back over the holidays, 34 lb loss since then for a net of 45 lbs.
I'm 5'9" and was 269 lbs—just the right weight for someone 6 foot 14. It goes on a lot easier than it comes off. These daily rides help me to maintain even if additional weight loss is slow. It's a lot more difficult to lose weight at 68 than it was at 28.


Potato chips are evil!

Roody

I've had similar experiences. Lots of exercise won't result in much weight loss unless you're also cutting back on calories. But it does help to keep you motivated, and certainly allows you to maintain weight loss while still enjoying some of the pleasures of food. And I also agree that it gets harder to lose weight as you get older, but still possible.

zonatandem

At age 81 am 5'7" tall and weigh 134 lbs.
Still cycle 100+ miles a week.
Spouse/tandem partner is 79, 4'10" and weighs 103 lbs.
People tell us how skinny/fit/energetic we are . . . those comments usually from obese folks who are stuffing their mouths constantly and 'can't exercise' because (fill in the ailment/excuse).
Yes, it takes work to stay fit!

Mark Stone

I love this post. I'm a baby compared to you (I'm just 61) but this is becoming more and more my own experience. Peers and family members are accumulating health and mobility problems like it's going out of style. I just ride my bike - and they always wonder why there's such a difference.

Greybeard712

Several years ago I had an obese female friend that lost a massive amount of weight, not by diet. After knee surgery from the extreme weight her doctor gave her a new method of eating. Apparently it's the same system the Olympic athletes use.

9-7-3. 9 grams of carbs to 7 grams of protein to 3 grams of fat makes up one unit. You eat so many units per meal, eg. 2 for breakfast, 2 units for lunch, 3 units for dinner, and snacks are the same balance, like 40-30-40 bars.

Your body knows where it's supposed to be and on this balance if you're underweight-you'll gain. Overweight-you'll lose weight.
In a restaurant 7 grams of protein will cover the palm of your hand. 9 grams of carbs should be three times that much. 3 grams of fat you'll get naturally from the other sources.

Apparently the 3 grams of fat balances the digestive process between carbs and protein making it slow down and you're not hungry as often.
Yeah, I know, easier said than done, but it works. I'm a bachelor and don't cook so it's difficult. Fortunately Compleat meals from Hormel (not frozen) and frozen dinners are a fair balance - except for the potato chips. And NO ICE CREAM!

I'll procrastinate tomorrow.

kookaburra1701

Deciding to reply to myself as an update - I've lost 30 lbs since that post. Everyone says "Oh, it must be because you gave up your car!" But really, it isn't. I just started tracking my calories and stopped overeating every. Single. Day. I have about 30 lbs more to go, but I've started a weightlifting program so I'm maintaining right now, as I don't want to hinder my progress on my lifts.

Mark Stone

WOW!!! Congratulations on a job well done! You look healthy and happy and you're gonna live to be a million. Great job, Trac is impressed!

kookaburra1701

Thanks! I'm still fat and tubby in my head, and I think it will feel "really real" to me when I do the Tri at the Grove this summer, and can compare my times from last year.

Dahon.Steve

Thanks for the advice.

el_diabl0

I am down to 177 lbs (I'm 6' 1") after a high of 208 back in the winter, and I feel terrific! Going in to have my cholesterol checked this week and I'm confident it's going to be a big improvement.

gear64

I've been in pretty good shape most of my life, but have peeked at 215 for two brief periods. For reference I'm 5'10 and was 180 at college soccer weight. I have a somewhat bottom heavy stout build. I thought it was interesting when I looked back at my last decent. Yearly it went something like 10, 7, 5, 2.5,1,.5. I'm sitting at 189 now and have seemed to have hit the wall. I wouldn't mind knocking out another 5, but my wife thinks I'm already too skinny; although she's happy to see the legs come back. I've never really dieted, it's just been a function of activity level. I eat everything in moderation, but try to be conscious about overeating at any given meal. My kryptonite is ice cream.

Greybeard712

I'm riding 18-20 mi/day and can't seem to lose any more weight. I'm hovering around 219 (but I'm only 5'9"). I've lost 68 lbs total, 18 of that twice (holiday snacking), but can't seem to get any closer to 200.
A conversation with a fellow bicyclist revealed that riding everyday like I am, the body becomes accustomed to X amount of activity and doesn't burn as much as at the beginning. Any thoughts?


Gravity is a conspiracy perpetrated by the makers of time, space, and traffic lights.

rumrunn6

saw some vacation pics of myself in a bathing suit and I was horrified. made an appointment with a nutritionist. I think I reached a motivational threshold. no way is this acceptable. I'm used to being proud of my body, not ashamed

dagray

I am 44 now. In High School I graduated in 1988 at 175 pounds 6'4" in June; I used to ride everywhere sometimes puting on 60 or so miles in a day. When I got out of A school (technical school) I was at 223. When I got out of the service I ended up working in a lumber mil in 1992-1993 and ended up laid off for a few months and ballooned to 240. In Oct 1993 I got a job in another mil and lost the weight. I ended up changing to federal employment as an armed security officer in 1997 and started puting on weight, and after changing jobs, getting married, and being sedentary especially when my wife was pregnant I ended up at 396 (maybe even heavier at times).

I was diagnosed with diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol in August 2012 and did the wrong things and drove my diabetes numbers through the roof by December 2012. I got into diabetes education and have since dropped my glucose down from 576 (December 2012) to around 130 on average (March 2013) and kept my levels down. My blood pressure has gone down and my cholesterol is better. I was taking so much insulin that walking daily wasn't helping me lose weight so I have been cutting my insulin, watching what I eat, etc...

I purchased a bike a few months ago (Raleigh Talus 29er that was last years model) and a trailer to pull the four year old in, had my old road bike (from high school) tuned up and fixed, fixed my wife's bike, and fixed my oldest son's bike. Riding, diet, getting enough sleep, cutting out pop for the most part (a diet soda as a treat once in a while) and drinking water by the gallon and black coffee have taken me from 396 to 372 clothed (weighed in the afternoon).

I have since put the old road bike on the trainer to ride inside when it is hot or windy as I live in the Oregon desert, and purchased another road bike (last years Raleigh Revenio 2.0 in 60cm frame).

I plan to ride to tonights city council meeting (about two miles round trip) no matter how hot it is.

Unfortunately due to how far towns are apart out here and the fact that my daily commute to work is about 90 miles I don't live car free.

I will continue to lose the weight as I am on a mission to get down to 300 and then down to 250 or less (where I felt the best).

Thank you all for the inspiration, and motivation to continue on a path to a healthier lifestyle.

Ray Dockrey

I have lost 105 pounds since Jan. 2013. 30 pounds of it I lost twice lol. I started at 335 and this morning I was at 229. I am 5' 9" so I am still fat but I am carrying a lot, lot less.

Johnny Mullet

Started riding again in March of this year, I was 261 LBS and now down to 234 LBS and feel great. I ride almost daily, but less than 60 miles per week.

GT29

Interesting thread. I applaud and cheer all of you that are working to find more fitness and carry less weight. I'm right there with you.

I'm currently fat, coming in at 254lbs. But I am LOT less fat than I was 4 months ago, 54lbs less fat in fact. When I started I was 308. Eating better, biking, walking, weights, and swimming are the tools I'm using.

4 months ago, as I got the old Hard Rock back on the road, I was riding 2 or 3 miles, and dying as I did it.. Today I'm riding 15 to 20 miles at a time about 3 days a week (the other days I do the other exercises).

Yesterday I bought a new bike to assist in my ever expanding ride radius, joined this forum for inspiration, and picked up some shorts, new gloves, and a tail bag.

Tomorrow I am riding a 40 mile out and back with a friend..

fietsbob

I used to be Younger too ..

Roody

As you lose weight, you have to eat less and less. This is simply because it takes less energy (calories) to move a lighter weight of any thing. If you lose 20% of your body weight, you need 20% fewer calories just to stay even. It's like you took off a 68 pound backpack--it now takes less effort to do everything.

So the bad news is, you have to eat less to get past the plateau. And you will have to eat less for the rest of your life to keep the weight off. The only good news is, if you exercise a lot, you can eat a little more than you could if you didn't exercise at all.

(This is the dirty secret of weight loss that nobody wants to tell you.)

Greybeard712

Thanx for the info Roddy. Yeah, I know all that. I tried saying NO to the potato chips, but they just won't listen.
But... the scale suddenly likes me. I'm down below 220 for the first time in 20 years. There are small rolls of skin where there used to be rolls of fat at the bottom of my belly. I live alone and get really bored in the evenings—so I snack. But I'm snacking on healthier, less fattening things. Total weight loss since Jan '13: 68lbs (18 of that twice).


Jan-215.91 Apr-206.61 Jul-645.09 Just ride, baby!
Feb- 87.25 May 439.87 Aug-15.54
Mar-145.40 Jun-484.31 2014: 2239.98