bbbean 

What and how much are you eating? Exercise is great, but that's only part of the equation. Imagine I told you I was earning lots of extra money, but at the end of the month I was still broke. You'd start to think maybe I was spending the extra money as fast as I was bringing it in, right?

I'll second the rec for My Fitness Pal or something similar. I lost 165 lbs through a combination of tracking, better habits, better nutrition, and exercise, and I've kept the weight off for 4 years now. Tracking is the first and most important step. You can figure the others out as you go along.

But keep on exercising. Regular exercise is great for weight loss, but it is even better for a host of other aspects of your health. Congrats on starting the process.

andcarrotrope

5' 8" 130 lbs.

Started riding again in late may. Lost 20 lbs of winter weight since. Now I have to cycle less (not likely) or eat more or I'll be a skeleton!!

Altimis

Alright, been eating stupid for a month (AKA relaxing, bulking, holiday, lazyness blah blah)

Got weight gained from 70 to 79.8 kg! dunno its fat or what, just amazed how fast I can gain in a month, heh

Now, my mental and physical are ready to get in shape again, used to goes from 78 downed to 64 in like . . . 3 weeks?

Felt super horrible and unsustainable so I rebound like crazy

I am in for "get it done ASAP"

OBoile

5'8" and 162.

I've been as heavy as 187 but I've never really had an issue with my weight. I was at my heaviest when I was actively trying to gain muscle for powerlifting (alas, 187 is far, far too light at 5'8" to be a decent powerlifter).

TKJava

I have to agree, if you look into this it takes quite a bit to gain weight by adding muscle. I have lost roughly 50lbs. which took just over a year by controlling food intake and exercising. I can tell you that if I increase weight lifting I can see a difference but it does not show up on the scale. A healthy weight loss e.g. one that has a chance of being maintained would be about 1 - 2 lbs. per week through changes in eating habits and exercise. With the weight loss you will see a vast improvement in your cycling especially going up hills and your breathing will improve while riding too. Glad your riding so much stick with it.

Ryder1

You gained 10kg in a month? And used to lose 14kg in 3 weeks?

General Geoff

Yeah you'd have to be burning 5,000 calories per DAY, and not eat a single thing for three weeks, to actually lose 14kg (or 31 lbs) in 21 days. I'm calling shenanigans on that claim.

Ryder1

I lifted hard and heavy for ~1 year in an attempt to "bulk" and put on about 10kg. Then realized it was half fat, my joints ached, and dropped it all and more over the following ~6 months. 18 months total. TKJava, you could gain/drop that in 7 weeks!

rachel120

Yeah, my best in 3 weeks was 11 pounds and people were freaking over how unhealthy of a rate that was.

Altimis

About gain, yeah, I did gained 10kg in just a month, amazing? I dunno why, maybe I am super-saiya endormoph who able to gain mass quick (probably fat, I really eat stupid!)

About losing, when I diet down, I will committing intermittent fasting

When I eat a lot, I usually eat 3 - 4 meals a day (and don't track much calories) and then lean out by IF with calculated calories (not dead precise but try to anyway)

My example is crazy, don't try it, I just can but not mean everyone should

Ah I dunno if I able to burn 5000 per day but I don't think I could, max is probably 3000

I just do IF, usually fast 20 hours and eat just 2 meals when I leaning

Actually from 78 to 64 is for experiment, I did it because I want to see how much I can lose in one shot but its felt so terrible! its unsustainable of course . . . so I rebound like crazy

That why I gain weight like crazy? this time I aim for 70 and stay in that range

Choctaw

I've been bouncing at the 210 lbs 6' wall for a few months now. I've finally broke through and I'm now 204 pounds. I can't tell myself that I am on a diet. I tried that once, and it simply broke my will power. I just need to exercise more, and then its not so difficult to stop reaching for a bag of junk food as I don't want to undo all my hard work.

mmteixeira

I started at 315 lbs in June 2015 - over the last 2+ years I have lost 135 lbs (down to 180) - I did not diet - I changed the way I eat to clean foods - out went processed foods, white flour, white sugar - meals consisted of a protein (chicken, fish, pork), a vegetable and a potato (normally sweet potatoes) - I measured my food and counted calories everyday in MyFitnessPal - limited to 1850 at first - 1850 calories worth of zucchini or broccoli is quite filling actually vs lower quality processed options - I lost approx 2 lbs per week reaching 180 after about 16 months.

I started running in January 2016 (once I had lost 50 lbs) with a couch-to-5k plan - it was not easy with no athletic background of any kind - I have since completed a dozen 5k's and 10K's, a small handful of half marathon and I just completed my first marathon 3 weeks ago... I added biking about 15 months ago as a cross training alternative to running...

I still eat that way to this day - but I have added back in whole wheat breads and pastas. My weight fluctuates within 180-190 depending on how much I run during the week (it actually crept back over 190 during marathon training).

For me, the diet was the main part - counting calories kept me on track, and there are more than enough "clean" food options to keep me more than satisfied. The exercise definitely helps and should be a part of a healthy lifestyle - I look at running as allowing me to eat more calories as I burn them running...

I hope that helps...

northtexasbiker

Everyone is on a diet, some are just better than others. You probably would have more success restricting your intake than assuming you can just burn the excess off. It's a lot easier to not eat 500 calories than it is to burn an additional 500 calories. You want to do both (good diet and exercise) but it's really a good diet that going to impact your weight.

northtexasbiker

[QUOTE=mmteixeira;19963892]I started at 315 lbs in June 2015 - over the last 2+ years I have lost 135 lbs (down to 180) - I did not diet - I changed the way I eat to clean foods - out went processed foods, white flour, white sugar - meals consisted of a protein (chicken, fish, pork), a vegetable and a potato (normally sweet potatoes) - I measured my food and counted calories everyday in MyFitnessPal - limited to 1850 at first - 1850 calories worth of zucchini or broccoli is quite filling actually vs lower quality processed options - I lost approx 2 lbs per week reaching 180 after about 16 months. QUOTE]


You did diet. What you eat is your diet whether it's healthy or not. You just didn't fad diet. You just did a regular old fashioned healthy diet.

FrenchFit 

I have been IFing for about 4 or 5 years, I've lost count. One meal a day, between 5 and 8pm - with one day a week as a cheat day - meaning a big breakfast or brunch. I've lost 40 lbs, gained a bunch of all day baseline energy, and at Medicare age I feel about 50 yo.

Obviously, this has been the way to go for me, but I would be disingenuous to suggest it the right thing for everyone. Until you get past the first 3 or 4 months you are ... experimenting....and lethargy in the afternoon or at the gym can be a problem. i'd allow myself one protein or fatty snack around 1pm if feeling wonky.

It's been as much about performance for me as weight management. My goal was to run distance fairly effortlessly as a fat burner, pure running meditation workouts. The result is I can go trail running for a few hours now with a modest effort, run 5K+ four times a week as a routine. I've run 15 miles with no distance training, just for fun and relaxation. And, I'm a fairly big frame...6ft, 46 inch chest, short legs, ...hardly a runner's body.

One of the unusual things about limiting food frequency, carb intake, is my need for water decreases - I don't dehydrate nearly as rapidly. This is digression I know, but it remarkable how I can go out riding for two or three hours and not touch the water bottle. Now when is see a vintage bike with a single water bottle I'm thinking, yeah...that made sense. I guess there is a scientific rationale invoked here about water bonding & carbs, but I am disinterested....

Candidly, if I was trying to race competitively I doubt this would be workable diet for me. It's an endurance mindset, and not about peak performance. With some tweaks I guess it could be both, but I never want to go back to fueling myself all day ... or fueling on carbs.

Happy camper here.

Troul 

Was not able to find clear information on that subject when I looked in to it a long time ago. Still does not have a much info for it thesedays...

rachel120

Okay, so since we are talking about fasting here, I need advice. I need to have blood drawn for tests tomorrow. They say to not eat anything before the blood tests. I have hypoglycemia. The bike ride is about 4 miles. A few blocks of that is a traffic nightmare that scares me when I'm in a car, as the road designers apparently did not anticipate the volume of traffic in that area, so I have to be really mentally sharp in that area to avoid being squished.

What can I eat the night before that will keep my blood sugar from tanking mid-ride?

Maelochs

carbs.

But ... Honestly better to take a cab. If the ride is going to whack your blood numbers, then the testing will be worthless.

Caveat---I am not diabetic, nor a doctor, nor in any way knowledgeable about anything. As I have said elsewhere I have a keyboard and an internet connect and not much else.

FBinNY 

There's nothing you can eat the night before that will make a difference. The blood sugar cycle is measured in minutes and hours, so what you eat now is in your bloodstream very quickly, depending on how full your stomach is and what you eat with it, then out of the bloodstream equally quickly.

If you are hypoglycemic, you're probably prone to sugar spikes immediately after eating, and feel the effects of the hypoglycemia afterward.

So, ride slower and easier to avoid drawing your limited reserves down, and get there early to allow you to recover and stabilize before the blood is drawn.

OTOH - if you normally feel the effects of hypoglycemia after rides this short, then you might eat a small chocolate bar half an hour before starting out. But be sure to give your doctor a heads up either way, so he can advise otherwise, or at least factor it when looking at the test results.

rachel120

Actually post-eating's not a problem. When I worried about diabetes my husband had me eat the worst meal in the world - tons of white pasta with rolls on the side, very little meat, with a huge super sweet dessert after. It was checked several times over the next few hours, highest it got from all that was 105. Definitely no diabetes. I almost never get my sugar up to triple digits, no matter what I eat.

60s on the other hand...though it's been a few months and 70 pounds since I hit that with any regularity. I have pushed myself too hard though and had a couple of mild drops, which is why I'm concerned.

Pendergast

You're not supposed to exercise before a fasting blood test, so taking a cab was probably the best suggestion. If you're determined to bike, I'd say really take it easy on the effort during the ride.

nycphotography

Although a 4 mile bike ride is what, 130 calories?

FBinNY 

You missed the point.

I mentioned the post eating spike, as part and parcel of the bigger picture that eating has a short term effect, ie. spoke then drop. The point was that nothing you can eat will prevent the effects of hypoglycemia 12+ hours later.

Sullalto

6'4" 230. Down from 300, but up from 190. Need to get back on the wagon.

I was the same way when I had hypoglycemic tendencies. Had to constantly snack as a teen/young adult. On the other hand, some cross country buddies would skip breakfast(why carry the extra weight?) and take caffeine pills right before races. We aren't talking slow people, either. All of us were sub 17 for 5k, and a few flirted with 14:xx on fast courses. Definitely an individual problem. I don't worry about my blood sugar since my metabolism slowed down and I'm not running an unhealthily low body fat anymore.

Nothing wrong with using up your glycogen. Takes a long time and effort until you start breaking down muscle for fuel. No idea about the science, but when I was seriously running the belief was that 18-22 miles was useful for training, but anything longer than that was detrimental.

Human body isn't anywhere close to 100% efficient. Multiply the work you did by a factor of 3.5-4.5 to get calories burned.

wphamilton

Just to explain what he meant, converting kj to kilocalorie you divide the powermeter number by four (roughly) and then you multiply that by four (roughly) to account for metabolic efficiency. So the final number, by accident of the conversion factor comes out nearly the same.