mcafiero

Over the past 10 weeks, I've lost about 27 lbs from 207 to a current weight of 180. So as the title of this thread implies, technically I have not TOTALLY lost the weight, but I'm close. 175 is my goal.


Traditionally I've raced at about 200 lbs body weight and probably 16-18% body fat. My guess is that I'm currently at about 10-11%.

I've done this with a combination of very strict ketogenic lifestyle, reduced caloric intake, and Intermittent Fasting (IF).

After i reach my "reset" weight, I want to start building strength and power into my legs as the racing season approaches here in Colorado.

I have an idea of how I would like to do this, but would love to get some other thoughts as well. What's the best way to get gains with minimal fat gain?

Carb cycling? Something else? Looking for both your nutritional and exercise thoughts. The goal is to maximize power-to-weight, while staying lean (180 lbs-ish)

Thanks

carleton

Damn, dude. You are my weight loss hero (seriously)

Welcome back!

I'd look into carb cycling where you eat carbs right before you need them and maybe a little after. Maybe @Quinn8it has some input?

mcafiero

Thanks, Carleton. Yeah I was thinking on my heavy legs days at the gym, up the carbs right before and immediately after the workouts. This is definitely the lightest I've been (in about 20 years!)

queerpunk

dag yo, you look like a billboard. time to update your okcupid profile amirite?!

mcafiero

haha... thanks(?)

Velocirapture

There is a school of thought that weight training without upping calorie intake at the same time, forces the body to get stronger without getting bigger. Could work, but might slow down recovery if you do no compensation imo.

I'd be more inclined to have a protein-rich recovery drink after a gym session, but not necessarily anything before hand. Unless you are really hungry going into the gym, its not a big aerobic session by any means, so your muscles are not going to be sucking up huge amounts of carbs for fuel. There will be plenty available in your glycogen stores for an hour or three in the gym (just not on fasting days), and you'll teach your body to reach more for the fat stores for energy like that.

The protein (and carb) recovery is important, though, for muscle recovery as well as immune support. (especially considering the very valid comments in another thread at the moment of gyms being germ-paradise, and heavy training being an immune suppressant).

(sooo... how's the cross-fit?? ;-) )

bouldergeek

Wow, nice work, mcafiero!

I am about the same, 210lbs right now and needing to get to 185 or so. But I love rich IPAs and pizza so much!

Since I just got bitten by the track bug up at Boulder Valley Velodrome, I want to get a jump on the season. I think I will start by re-reading "Body for Life" and getting my body ready to "Stage 0" doing light weights and working on range of motion for a few weeks.

Where do you ride track on the Front Range? Do you drive down to the Springs?

dunderhi

I haven't even heard of ketogenics or carb cycling, so I'm not sure if I can address your questions, but I lost 90lbs in the 8 months prior my first season back racing at 255lbs. I know it was less than ideal, but I was out there racing every weekend. From this experience, I would suggest that maybe getting to ideal isn't really required for your first season back. It took me about two months after I stopped dieting to a decent strength level while at that weight. So, I would suggest that once you get down to your target weight, hopefully a good 6-8 weeks before serious competition, maintain your caloric balance and build your training regiment by focusing on spending time on the bike. My old school advice is ride up into the mountains for some serious training: build leg/lung/heart capacity while climbing and build leg speed while descending.

KBentley57

I was in a similar situation a few years ago; my advice would be to try and hold your weight steady for at least 3-6 months. After you normalize to this weight, try to go down another 20 lbs or so, and hold it for the same time period. It helps with the yo-yo effect of rapid weight loss.

mcafiero

haha, that would put me at 155. Not gonna happen. 175 is as LIGHT as I want to go! I'm looking for advice to gain muscle without too much fat. Definitely not wanting to get ANY lighter than 175

mcafiero

@dunderhi you can never go wrong with that kind of advice. But I like my gym days, too. @bouldergeek love me some pizza and IPA, too. Have had to go without through this period, although I did cheat on Christmas and will have a little (or a lot) of fun on Sunday for the superbowl. I have another cheat day planned for my family reunion in March. I ride both COS and BV. Hopefully more on BV, I like that track a lot better. And my babysitter (my mom) lives 15 minutes away! @Velocirapture - great points made. I've been very very low on carbs, but on my heavy squat days, as soon as I hit my target weight, I plan on incorporating a banana before and after those workouts, along with protein shakes. Also taking BCAA's, mostly for the Leucine and Creatine. Crossfit is a great - I hit that up a couple times a week just to keep my core strong and to surprise my legs with some different movements. Once it warms up more for riding, I'll be a ghost. I know I should ride my trainer, but what can I say, I F'ing hate it.

KBentley57

I didn't mean specifically 20 lbs, my bad. I just threw out a number..haha. My main point was steady loss ---> stabilize --> steady loss --> stablize --> ... ; instead of big loss --> small gain --> big loss --> small gain ...

bouldergeek

Speaking of core, and because i don't want to start a new thread for this, I am going to throw it in here:

I just hopped on the track after many months of relative neglect. I rode four times in a week. On my last time, I switched bikes from the Specialized Langster 58 at the track to the Fuji Track Pro 58 that I just bought. I thought that I set them up with the same seat height. But, I found that after a bit of sprinting and out of the saddle attacks, my lower back was seizing up.

Now, my left Sacroiliac ligament and joint have been inflamed and hurting. I am doing alternating heat and cold, ibuprofen and tylenol, rest and light stretching. Did I do this from incorrect bike fit or not being fit?

When people injure their backs track riding, how much time to take off?

mcafiero

Gotcha. But still doesn't apply to my question. No longer wanting to lose weight, really. Just want to see some gains in leg strength without gaining too much fat. my "reset" weight is 175 (i'm 4 lbs away) and my target weight is going to be 180. And I want to focus on power-to-weight at that weight. What you're talking about is a whole different topic, and one that I'm not even thinking about.

mcafiero

I don't know enough to tell you, but I'd say it could probably be either. I've had bike fit issues that have affected my lower back that were resolved with some adjusting. But also if you were getting into some big sprint efforts after a while since doing anything like that, you might have strained your muscles. But like I said, there's no way for me to tell.

bouldergeek

Yeah, that's what I suspected. Little of both. I'm certainly engaging things differently with velodrome riding than I do on my snowboard (and only do that for a few hours a week). Most of the time, i am engaging coffee and pastry at my desk. :-(

This week I am just doing light yoga. I hope to get back on the track next week. Just doing any hard effort from the drops is a major challenge for me. I am a hood-rat roadie who never leaves the tops and hoods.

carleton

I'd venture to guess that it's a mix of two things:

1) An aggressive handlebar position that's too aggressive for early season work. In the early season a lot of veteran riders will have their bars higher than they would in mid-season form.

2) Your muscles simply weren't ready for sprint work. All it takes is for one under-developed muscle to become strained/irritated to ruin your day. You should build up to violent standing starts and you should warm up just as you would warm up your squat at the gym before lifting your target weight for the day.

I'm not saying this is you, but I've seen fit beginners learn to do a proper standing start and give it 100% and successfully wrench their backs. You have to ease into sprint work.

bouldergeek

Might as well say it's me. It sounds pretty accurate. Kid in a candy store on the new velodrome. Plus, I _really_ didn't want to be the new guy testing the adhesion limits of the banks by going too slowly with others on the track.

I do think that riding the race drops is alien to my body and might put my low back into a vulnerable state.

Feels like I have a knife stuck in my left kidney. gaah.

carleton

Rest and ibuprofen 3x/day (with food or milk) helps me when this happens. I'm usually back to normal in a week or less. I'm not a doctor, so I can't offer this medical advice to you

KBentley57

Gotcha, I had assumed you were still trying to lose weight.

mcafiero

Yep! And I have already seen two crashes from people riding too slow on that track. Good that you're mindful of that! Even though they are low speed crashes, they take other people out.

bouldergeek

Oooh, interesting! I haven't seen falls there, yet. But, it is easy to imagine.

Sorry for hijacking your thread. I do appreciate the helpful perspectives. I hope to emulate your impressive transformation achievement.

Pantani98

Very impressive! Great job! Losing weight and building strength is only going to make you faster. Awww yeah!

taras0000

But you play one on TV right?

dunderhi

Maybe he stayed at a Holiday Inn.