youcoming

base2 

I'm not a real fan of sugar=evil. The math on that just doesn't pencil out. What is often lost is the real danger is the ease it offers to getting huge calories. That is a matter or responsibility. A gallon of cola for breakfast affords about 1500 calories. That's fine if you can live the rest of your day on a microwave burrito or a slice of pizza. The problem is most people can't and a shot of sugar like that is hard on your insuline regulation mechanisms. The trap is it's unfulfilling, so the natural response is to eat in addition to that soda, or whatever.

The big secret to every single fad diet, keto, caveman, kale broccoli smoothies, or whatever, is the displacement of calorie dense foods. None of them are magic. It's just a response to the effect of a powerful corn lobby & gov subsidies making garbage food cheap.

You're doctor is right. But, I can't call sugar the problem. It's sugars role in your previous eating habits that was the problem.

Sugar does indeed have a place in endurance athletes training & performance. The human body only has about 1500 calories of glycogen stores available for use. Without a ready source of replacement energy an endurance athlete will run out of glycogen in about 60-90 minutes, from then on performance is limited by the conversion of fat stores. A slow process.

I'm not claiming sugar is good. I'm only claiming it has a role to play for an endurance athlete doing an endurance activity. For any ride less than 90 minutes, or other activity burning less than 1500 calories, electrolyte drinks, nutrition bars, energy gels, etc, are wasted expense & more-or-less unused by the body. Don't waste your money. If you find yourself falling flat though, learn what that feels like & when that is, & about 20-30 minutes prior have 2-300 calories & you'll buy another hour of valuable exercise time.

youcoming

youcoming

indyfabz

That is what drives me nuts about the "Carbs will kill you! Don't ever eat them!" crowd. I usually take one two-week and one one-week, fully-loaded tour each year. They often involve moderate to long, hilly days. 2017's trip in Montana and Idaho was 13 days of riding with one rest day. 700 miles, with over 41,500' of climbing, including in the Rockies and Bitteroots. If I don't get my carbs/sugar while on the road and at the end of the day I am miserable. I try to cook as many dinners as possible, which almost always include pasta. If I have to eat out some nights because a lack of a grocery supply I try to get a carb-based dinner.

On the other hand, if I am going out for a moderately difficult, 40 mile road ride I may take a Gu in case of an unexpected loss of energy mid-ride, but when I do it usually goes unused.

Milton Keynes

I think you're being a little hyperbolic there. I don't think I've ever seen anyone say that carbs will kill you. It's just a good idea to cut down on them if you're trying to lose weight.

indyfabz

Have read my fair share of posts on BF saying eliminate all carbs forever if you want to lose weight and keep it off, otherwise you will fail.

Heh. From an old thread. Even this carb eater thinks they will ultimately kill him:

"I basically eat what you eat, plus a large amount of bread, pasta and carbs. And while I think it will be the carbs that kill me, they're also what make me perform well and feel good.

Milton Keynes

Well obviously if you're eating donuts and cake all day, yes carbs will kill you. But as with anything moderation is the key. Carbs are still important for energy.

youcoming

I still eat carbs just not sugar. I still eat fruit and also eat my share of potato but stay away from white rice and pasta for the most part. I will add more pasta when outdoor season begins as I will be burning more fuel. We all over estimate how many calories we are burning compared to what we eat, I would guess most on this forum are here because of that. I'm not doing no sugar just to loose weight I'm doing it to feel better and to be healthy and I stress it's the added sugar I'm avoiding in my normal day to day life. I am to the point I will now treat myself from time to time but not on an everyday basis. Just because I burned 1000 calories on a given day will not entitle me to eat whatever. I prefer wholegrain bread over any other except crunchy Italian breads, I don't like white rice anymore. I still love pasta but I don't need it for fuel this time of the year, I'm just not doing enough. Food is now my fuel not my entertainment, I won't live for ever but I want to live to the fullest doing what I love and that's riding my bike.

base2 

It sounds like you changed your relationship and established new terms. I think that is awesome.

youcoming

Clyde1820

Congratulations on the journey. Slow and steady wins the race, so to speak.

Another behavior to add to the arsenal: portion control. And when it comes to the occasional "bad" (or "not so good for you") food item ... severe portion control, as in just a bite or two. You get the taste, get to enjoy, but you refrain from going overboard on the calories, on the insulin response, the subsequent energy "crash."

Nutrient-dense items are best. Better still, nutrient dense foods in their natural forms. You can prepare items in larger quantities ahead of time (ie, diced veggies for salads, but placed in an air-tight container in the refrigerator), to minimize the frequency of prepping. Before the stuff goes wonky in the refrigerator, move to the freezer and continue to add those items to meals as you go. Such as, fresh veggies for salads for the first several days; then, freeze the remaining veggies you don't finish, adding those veggies to soups and bakes and other dishes you prepare over the following week(s).

Definitely look at the consistency and quality of your workouts, as well. Frequency and consistency can be a very good thing, for long-term weight management. A decent bit of cardio most every day of the week, with some of that harder-hitting "interval" type exercise. It can burn up a lot of calories. Combine with portion control and knocking off one-third or so of your "normal" servings, then weight loss can come much more easily. In time, you'll find the rhythm of intake that coincides with the level of calorie expenditure you're consistently achieving.

Keep up the good work.

youcoming

Thanks for the kind words, I sue my fitness pal and its been a great tool. Biggest issue is I'm always hungry it never goes away, Ive been told drink water and I drink gallons of it but still always hungry

Clyde1820

Another thing to keep in mind is that fats+proteins provide longer-lasting energy and help keep hunger pangs at bay.

Uncertain what your snacking is like, if you snack (between meals) at all, but you might consider keeping a couple of ZipLoc baggies around with a homemade combination. Something like a protein/fat rich "granola" -- almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, a few raisins, a few dried cranberries, carob nibs, coconut, perhaps some lime zest. Even a small amount (say, one mouthful) can provide a couple hours of reduction in hunger, but won't "break the bank" on calorie intake.

More veggies, more fiber. These can help fill you up but won't have a ton of calories.

You can make a salad central to your meals, for example, with as great a number of vegetables and greens as possible, then add a modest amount of meat, nuts/seeds, cheese. Elimination of sauces for salads can help as well, instead replacing that with a splash of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, spices, a squeezed lime (and zest). Very filling, but can be a third or half of the calories of a similar-sized meat/cheese heavy "salad" that has dressing draped all over it.

If you like spices, try developing a couple of decent spice mixtures you love. Say, one for meats and one for salads. Look for a good Indian/Pakistani or Middle East style grocery. A little can go a very long way to flavoring a dish, all without the calorie-laden dressings and squirt-bottle stuff that folks typically use. A decent steak, for example, with a great dry rub of spices that's cooked well doesn't need any sauces or spreads put on it. Look into using garlic, ginger, horseradish root. Again, a little can go a long way.

Lots of ways to nix several hundred calories per day from daily food intake, with a bit of determination.

Rollfast

But Dunkin' is the official fuel of @ahsposo...

Look, you can cut back all you want to, but if you aren't happy then what happens if you plateau and that's it? You're in this for you and you alone. For everyone else, it's bonus. I'm not suggesting you go nuts but make that small reward for yourself now and then when you reach some goal and then push forward.

ahsposo 

You obviously have me confused with @dynodonn. My fat infused carb source of choice is a local bakery, Baker's Pride. Sin in a greasy white paper bag...

dynodonn 

Hey, I've been good, it's been at least a month since my last doughnut binge.

youcoming

indyfabz

If I only had a dollar for every time I said something like that.

youcoming

I'm pretty good at it and my wife is really good at keeping me in line....lol

Rollfast

i guess that's why donuts are the top trending topic in Tell A Lie About The Previous Poster...

Rollfast

The bar tab would only be half paid. Oh, wait, this isn't Foo.

youcoming

base2 

Don't worry, I'm still stuck stubbornly at 195. It might take me until August to hit those last 10 pounds. Damn liquid calories do me in, & it's not soda pop. It's Lattés, beer, & cookies from those evil, evil Girl Scouts

You'll be fine. You know the right choices.

youcoming

Was away for awhile on vacation. Came back a little bigger but starting to go back down. At 226 but no surprise I reverted back to eating whatever and drinking beer. It happens, not a setback just life.