Zin

Milestone reached!

Yesterday I was able to comfortably fit into my jeans with a 36" waist! I have also moved (mostly) from XL cycling shorts to a L. I also was able to fit into this cool jersey I got some time back. It fits snug, but not "tight".

Also working on training for my first century ride on June 12th! Now to get rid of this cold and a little help from the weather and all will be great!

How is everyone else doing this month?

Bob

John M

Bob
Congrats on reaching your milestone!!!
I am close to the next size down, another 1/2" inch to my next size. I have lost 19 lbs today, 2' off the belly, 1.5" off the waist and chest. Another 40 to go. If I can keep this BP down I get off the meds on the 17th

WonkerJaw

This past weekend was not walked on the straight and narrow. ...but I had fun. I should get in 60 to 80 miles of riding with what is left of the week. Good to see others with excellent progress.

Zin

Good job John! Keep at it. I hope to be off of the diabetic meds by the end of the summer!

John M

Bob
Thanks, I am crossing my fingers on that one. I made the decision to give this a better try this time and change my eating habits. I am eating more healthy food, fruits and veggies. I feel better now and that is some motivation, along with my 8 yr old daughter.

Wonkerjaw, I did not say I was real good I did go to our friends barbque on Saturday and we did cookout yesterday. I was just better at what I ate yesterday. I figured I was able to eat with moderation on Saturday. The big offender for me is salt and there was a lot in the beans and the marinate on the steak. I enjoyed my smaller servings and skipped the desert and had strawberries instead. My week starts Sunday and I got 30 in, looking to do an easy 25 tonight, 20 w/intervals on thursday and 30 Sasturday.

My weekend rides were good for me, did 30 Sat, my longest ride so far and repeated Sunday. I was stronger Sunday as we were 1mph faster. Yesterday my legs were tired and I just goofed off.

bradw

After losing twenty-one pounds between January and early May, I've hit a plateau.
The last 3 pounds took about 6 weeks, and I've made no progress since then.

I've decided to maintain my weight for a month or two, and then try again.

My BMI is still above 25, so I can't be content with my current weight. But I am feeling better, have lost about 2.5" around the waist, recover faster, and the hills are easier.

John M

Congrats!! Having lost inches means you gained muscle, that another positive.

bradw

Well, I don't know that lost inches = gained muscle, but I measured my waist again this morning and it is another 3/4" smaller than it was 3 weeks ago. That's a good sign.

I think lots of regular, moderate exercise has done the trick. Mostly cycling, and some weights and walking.

But as I said, with my BMI at about 27.8, I still need to lose some weight. About 20 more pounds will get my BMI<25.

Otherland

Well it's been awhile sinse my last post here, I guess I came back because i needed to get motavated and when I read the posts in this thread it usually works!!

my stats from my last post.

Stats as of 2-12-04

Max weight = 264 same
Current weight = 178-180
New target weight ..... still dunno

Stats as of today 6-03-04

Max weight = 264 same
Current weight = 180-183 up just a tad, after a long ride it goes to 178 still :-)
New target weight ..... still dunno

Soooooo basicly i've stayed the same weight for about 5 months, i'm pretty sure my previous post in Jan was the same. On 3-09-04 my bike pc turned 1000 miles as of today my bike pc says 2242. So in aprox 84 days i've rode 1242 miles which is way more miles per day then the first 1000 on the bike pc. I used to ride everyday about 15-17 miles per day, now I ride 3 or 4 times a week but longer rides 30-40 miles. My Girlfriend says that even if I have not lost any more weight that I have reapportioned it. I would like to believe her but I dunno bout tht LOL.

I guess I have not been eating as healthy as I was, I really need to get back on track if I want to drop the last 15-20lbs that I would like to drop.

I feel lots better have more energy and dont have High Blood Pressure now so even If I dont lose another pound I still have nothing to complain about weight wise.

Anyway thanks for all the "NEW" motavation everybody, hopefully my next post i'll be down a few pounds :-)

Jay........

John M

Brad, inches lost is a good thing. I weigh and measure tomorrow AM.

Jay, good luck with the goals.

crestdude

I am pretty new at this online stuff, but after finding this thread, I am challenged and inspired by all the people that have made progress in losing weight.
Seven years ago, I was 150 and lean and fit, but then I met a girl and I started gradually to do less exercise, but I continued to eat the same amounts of food. In two years ago, I gained 40 pounds and by the time I married this girl, I was 190. Over the next 5 years, my weight went as low as 175 and a couple of months ago to an all time high of 205. I bought back my old road bike from my brother in law last fall to commute to work, but it was late in the year and I didn't really get a lot of opporutuntity, but after seeing my weight, I decided I have to do this and get going. In the last 6 weeks or so, I have been riding 3-4 times per week for about 75-115 miles and I was at 199 2 weeks ago when I last weighed myself. I want to get down to about 175-180 and I know that will be a challenge because I have a sweet tooth, but the stories people have shared here have really encouraged me to lost some weight and get my eating habits under control. I didn't think I could ever beat this weight game, but others success stories show me that it is possible to do it by riding my bike, so I will make it a commitment to ride four days to and from work.
Thank you for sharing your encouraging stories.

WonkerJaw

crestdude,
I am new to this thread as well. Posting here is the best thing… It lets you know that losing weight is hard and you are not the only one trying to do it. Right now I'm having trouble staying focused and motivated. You're right, reading a successful story from others really does help.
Welcome to the group.

John M

crestdude: Keep plugging it will come and if we all encourage each other it does help!

Wonker, hang in there dude you will make it!

Justen

Okay, I am trying to lose more weight by cycling. I honestly hate walking so cycling is my primary exercise besides weight training.

On a good day, when my asthma is not bothering me too much, I can cycle 26 kilometers (20miles ?) at about 20-25 KM/hr. However, I was told that you lose weight when you cycle at a much higher rate of speed over a shorter distance vs longer distance and lower speed. Is this correct ?

Justen

HalfHearted

My doc tells me just the opposite. High output for fairly short periods is fine for cardiovascular fitness but does little to take off the weight. All you are doing is burning carbs that way - you'll probably maintain but not lose weight. If you want to get to the fat the answer is moderate exercise for longer periods - a minimum of 30 minutes and an hour is much better. I know that works for me.

Also, my wife shed about 45 pounds one summer just by walking at what I consider a pretty liesurely pace but for two to three hours a day.

Justen

Hi,

Thanks for replying !!! I was very happy to hear about your wife's success with walking and weightloss.
I could manage a couple of hours a day easily. I sort of thought that it should be the other way around to with regards to biking - going for longer distances at a slower pace should help more with weight loss. I honestly did not like going at 100 % for 10 KM. It just didn't make the rides as fun and I didn't notice much difference weight wise.

Of course diet contributes to weightloss but it is good to hear that you can lose that much weight just from walking !

Justen

fietser_ivana

Both ways work... if you have little time, the best way is to do an interval training.. cycle as fast as you can for 1 min and then relax for 1 min, fast 1 min, relax 1 min This can be done on home trainers too.
But in the weekends it's just as good to go for longer periods of cycling at ease.

The point is: you burn as much fat or even more fat per minute at high intensities, than when you do it at a slow pace. But if you have a lot of time, you can burn more total fat calories during those long sessions.
In short: you may burn about as much fat in a short period at a fast pace than at a slow pace for a longer period. While the % of energy that is burnt may be smaller, the total amt of calories burnt is larger and hence the total amt of fat calories burnt as large or larger as well.
Forget about the stories that you should need to have a low heart rate and then burn most fat. YES, but don't forget that we burn most fat when we..... sleep! And how many calories are burnt at sleep? Very little indeed!
Plus.... there's the afterburn.. I'd be very very surprised if nobody ever talked about EPOC.. the internal body temp is raised for a considerable amt of time after furious execise while it's not after calm exercise. This makes a lot of difference.. that's also the reason why eventually WEIGHT LIFTIING is key to long-time fat loss.. as weight lifting maintains muscle mass, which takes more energy to maintain and has the same kind of EPOC /afterburn effects.

Yvana , a weightlifting weenie

Zin

Here I am in that outfit that I couldn't fit into a year ago! I did 67 miles on Wednesday and 20 on Thursday. My feet were a little sore so took a couple days off to let them heal.

Zin

Here is one of me riding. Gosh, I don't look as bad as I thought I would...

John M

Congrats on fitting into the outfit you were trying to slim down and fit

Zin

Thanks John! I still have a ways to go, but sure is a big difference from when I weighed 340#s!

crestdude

Thank you Wonker and John for the encouragement.
Staying motivated has been tough for me as well. There are many days when I wake up and want to stay in bed instead of getting up and riding to work. Some days I win and some days I lose the battle, so I try to keep focused on the goal. It has been helping, but it is still tough; sounds like it is tough for you too Wonker, so thanks for sharing that.

Any ideas from anyone on helping maintain focus/motivation?

Zin

It sounds like you have a depression problem to me. So, you have to fix that first before anything else can move forward.

I suggest seeing your family doctor. Ask him to do a depression screening. He should be able to ask a few simple questions to reveal if you may be suffering from depression. If so, get on medications to fix the chemical imbalance that is causing it. You will feel much better. Once you have it under control with meds, you'll start riding more. The more you ride, the better your physical conditioning will be. But a HUGE benefit, IMHO, is that the more you ride the less you will (probably) need the depression meds.

Lastly, cycling is not for everyone. If you really don't like being on the bike, then don't. Find another activity that you are interested in. There is nothing wrong with that.

Good Luck!

WonkerJaw

Bob, you have made an amazing transformation… congratulations. How long did it take you? Good luck on the century ride!

WonkerJaw

Thanks John, I had a good weekend... I ate right... rode a few miles. I have a 62 mile ride on Saturday to keep me motivated.
Hang in there!