fiatjeepdriver

I currently weight 255# I dropped a fair bit of weight last year but put it back on this year. Part of the weight gain came from an injury that stopped me riding like normal for a couple of months the other part comes from owning a soup restaurant and an ice cream shop... I regularly ride 4k+ miles a year and race in TTs, crits, road races, mtb xc, and cx I just have a discipline problem when it comes to cream based soups and ice cream. I know I need to get back into the gym as well as watch what I eat it's just hard to keep at it with all the temptation everyday. What have you guys/gals found to help keep on track?

PhotoJoe 

Moderation and portion size. I'd have to sell the ice cream shop, though. I'd eat all the profits!

fiatjeepdriver

That is the problem. It's far too easy to have a little taste here and there, or snack on a reese's pb cup, or ect. I was doing great last year down to 230# but this year my knee acted up again and I went from 100+ mile rides to a pain 20. I'm back and doing well at races but if I were lighter I'd sure be doing a lot better.

PhotoJoe 

Sell the ice cream shop and open a broccoli and cauliflower shop! That should solve the problem!!!

donalson

yup my weight gain really started when I was working at a restaurant... it adds up quickly :-/... and I've never recovered lol...

genejockey 

That's a difficult one. I can say with absolute certainty that there's no way I could lose weight in that environment. My willpower is strictly an 'all or none' proposition, not an incremental one. That is, I can either have NO snacks, or I'll snack to excess. I can't just snack a little and stop.

Cychologist

Like they say, "Never trust a skinny cook."

indyfabz

A couple of things come to mind:

1. Remembering how crappy I felt when I was 265 lbs.

2. Remembering my old friend Pete. He was pretty thin, had a diet like yours and rode a lot. (FInteresting you mention cream based soup. One day a small group of us followed Pete on an 80+ mile ride to Baltimore for dinner. We stopped for Maryland Crab Soup along the way. Pete got the New England style. The rest of us got the Manhattan style.) One fine February morning Pete suffered a massive heart attack a mile into a club ride. An EMT was driving by and began administering CPR within one minute, but he was too far gone.

indyfabz

Just don't deep fry the stuff like many places do.

Myosmith

You've got a tough situation but I'll echo PhotoJoe, moderation and portion size. Try this for behavior modification: allow yourself some endulgences, but measure the portions and write everything down. Try to avoid the "taste of this and finger lick of that" and make your scoop of ice cream a planned snack. It's amazing how many calories you can consume without thinking about it. One author talked about nutrition clients who were asked to keep a food diary. Some were very vigilant, measuring and recording every meal, but that was the rub. When he went to some of the client's homes to observe them preparing the meals, he found that some of them (usually the ones who were having problems with weight control event when "on" the plan) were consuming 100 calories or more, per meal, with tastes, finger or spoon licks, or finishing off the last bit from the container, that didn't make it into the food diary. Their perfectly prepared 500 calorie meal was actually a 600 or 650 calorie meal. Just eliminating the forgotten calories and having a written record will help alter your habits without depriving you of your enjoyment of food.

Chitown_Mike

Self control is huge, for me.

I heard a statement on a documentary about health, obesity, pharma companies and drugs, and how we eat that REALLY shined a light on my constant excuse-making in regards to how I eat at times.

Paraphrased: For most people who complain that they can't control their eating habits it boils down to their philosophy on eating. To say "I can't have it but I want to" is an extremely weak statement when compared to "I can't have it, but I don't want to".

They then went into why most people fail on a diet, but basically because they are trying to completely restrict a food group or food in general. Then when the diet is "done" they go back to eating normally and gain it all back. One of the nutritionists they interviewed stated that the term diet isn't about how we restrict ourselves like most people view a "diet" but about what we actively eat to maintain a proper homeostasis in our bodies and energize us. Very interesting documentary, very thought provoking, but I liked the can't/want quote, that really struck a chord with me.

NattyBumpo

fiatjeepdriver, do you run these businesses single-o or do you have employees? If you have employees, enlist them in the fight. Instruct them in how much you are allowed to indulge in, and they are to stop you having any more. Print up the instructions, along with your guarantee there will be no retribution (so long as they don't break your fingers), and maybe a (tax-free) cash bonus if they are successful, have it notarized and give them a copy.

And if you gain more weight, fire the lot of 'em.


Remember the code of the drug pusher: "Don't get high on your own supply"

skilsaw

Plus brussel sprouts.

BikinPotter

When I think about my sugar addiction & how hard it would be to own an ice cream store, I remember that there are plenty of recovering alcoholics who work in restaurants & bars. They manage to stay sober. I think it's because they have a personal higher purpose, which is more important to them than drinking. My higher purpose is to live as long and as healthily as I can. As a modern, first world person I have access to so much food, so much BAD food, and lots of holidays which center around food. But really, unless my hosts are really obnoxious, they won't notice what I do or don't eat or drink at their dinner party. And if they absolutely push food I don't want on me (you HAVE to have a piece of this cake!), I ask them to make me a doggie bag. Then I throw the bag away when I get home, before I walk into the house.

I try not to talk about what I eat or don't eat. Nothing will bore the pants off of somebody like a blow-by-blow description of your diet. It's like that joke…How can you tell if someone is Vegan? Answer: Don't worry. They'll tell YOU.

Each day I tell myself, "The purpose of eating is to supply my body with energy. I need it to keep me healthy & alive. I do not need it for pleasure or solace or entertainment." See, I eat when I'm stressed. I eat when I'm bored. I eat when I'm sad. I eat when I'm happy. Since I don't want to overeat or eat empty-calorie food I watch my portions and I keep my cupboards bare of anything I do not wish to eat.

Going to the grocery store can be a slippery place, so I try to shop on my way home after a strenuous bike ride. I'm not usually hungry for 15 minutes or so after I ride, so that cooling off time and a bunch of water will keep me feeling full enough to get in the store for my protein & vegetables but keep me out of the cookies & chips aisle. Even when I shop I tell myself, "I need food for energy, not for pleasure…" My life is so interesting & full there are so many things I can do instead of eating crap.

BikinPotter

I like that.

billh

I get hungry just watching a burger add on TV . . . if I had that stuff under my nose all day long, I'd be sunk. It's a tough road. Food logs help. Athletic competition helps. There is no easy answer . . . just make small changes over time, and hopefully they all add up to permanent lifestyle change . . . in the long run.

fiatjeepdriver

I'll agree that competition helps, though that is probably part of why I am the size I am. In college I was on a rowing team and got burnt out so I quit at the end of a season. The problem was while I could quit the sport I couldn't quit the 7k+ calorie a day diet I was on to stay at a healthy 205... I will try the food logging and try to go back to tuna salads for lunch.

SammyJ 

I read this with great interest. For a sugar addict (finger pointing at me) the first taste is all it takes. Rooting for you!

Fastflyingasian

that will solve the problem, OP will be so poor that he wont be able to afford food to eat

fiatjeepdriver

I guess this will be considered my before pictures. From the race series my lbs puts on:





Now for the hard part I am going to try and change my eating habits. Breakfast is where I usually go wrong, never enough time and when I have the time I tend to make elaborate meals. Any suggestions? I've been thinking egg beaters with some peppers and onions for taste?

Lunch I am going to try and get back int he habit of eating tuna salads with light dressing or the simple vegetable soup we make instead of clam chowder et al.

Supper I am thinking large green salad with either some lean chicken, steak, or fish in PROPER serving sizes not the amount I want.

I'll also add in fruit for snacks between meals. Any other suggestions? I just downloaded that myfitnesspal app and plan on tracking what I eat.

fiatjeepdriver

Bit of an update due to an injury I had to stop riding for almost two months. On the bright side I took 1st overall for my local cyclocross series and second place in the series in Eugene (tied for first in points but the guy I tied with beat me on the last race). I'm finally able to get out and ride again and have started my base mile rides as well as some heart rate training a few days a week. I slacked off during the holidays but am getting back on it now. I'm down about 5 pounds since I started this thread and should really start dropping weight now that I am able to exercise how I want.

Erwin8r

Cool pics--very inspirational. Regarding the "diet," well, I think you've identified your big issues--cream soups and ice cream. I'd say if you eliminate those, don't substitute them with like foods, and monitor your intake, you can probably have some very satisfying meals without blowing your calorie budget for the day. If you love the foods you listed (and the plan you listed works), go for it!

I've "discovered" that I too am an all or nothing guy with respect to snacks--and I don't really miss them when they're not around, so there's no sense for me to even tempt fate by buying bags of chips, donuts, etc. With small children around, its not as easy as it should be, but we're working on it as a family (wanting "daddy to be healthier"). Now if I could get over my love of Pho and Menudo soups, I'd be leaps and bounds ahead of where I am now..

Null66

Dude!
You rock!

IAMAMRA

Try weight watchers, it really works because it lets you "see your portions" and still have those snacks! Take a look at my blog if you want to see how weight watchers has worked for me.

Null66

I do a few eggs... like 4, a bit of ketchup and Sriracha sauce.
Fast, filling, high protien and low carb.