NUTNDUN

It has been three weeks now that I have been commuting to work and riding after work and playing tennis. I weighed myself before I started and I was at 233. The first week I dropped down to 31.5 which wasn't much but it was encouragement. Then the following week I weighed myself again and I was at 233 again. I just weighed myself this morning and I am at 235 now. I can see a difference in my quads, actually it is a pretty big difference and my wife said the love handles felt smaller this morning LOL. Is there a magical point where you stop gaining weight due to muscle gain and fat loss? My goal is to be down to 200 by the new year and eventually try to make it to 170 which is 5 lbs heaver then when I graduated.

I have tried to eat a little better also. I used to use a ton of sugar and drink coffee all day. Now I drink at least 32 oz of water a day and only have about 3 cups of coffee in the morning.

youcoming

It will come be patient. Your bodies system will catch up, try and it simple carbs only ion days you ride. The rest of time stick with complex, I.E. veggies. Keep protien and starchy food to a palm sized portion and try other exercises like pilates and yoga, they will help you reep the rewards of all your hard work.

neilfein

Your weight may never go down by much, particularly if you're tall. And that's okay. Exercise builds muscle, and keep in mind that height-weight charts are BS.

"Only" three cups of coffee?

barturtle

It's really hard to say. I lost the first 40 pounds pretty quickly, about 6 months, but have been stuck at 240 for a few weeks now, but part of that is I've gotten a bit lax in my diet, as well as have been eating to maintain energy levels for longer rides 60-100 miles. I have a goal weight of 185, but had hoped for 200 by years end, looking unlikely right now...but I'd be quite happy with 220.

IIRC most doctors recommend weight losses of 1-2 lbs a week.

NUTNDUN

LOL, considering I used to drive truck I probably used to put away 2 pots of coffee a day with like 2-3 teaspoons of sugar in each cup.

I wish I could say I was extremely tall but I am 5'-11" on a good day and usually 5'-10"

JoelS

I found that I didn't lose weight just from exercise. I had to make major changes to the way I ate, and cut back significantly before the weight came off.

Count calories for a week to get a handle on what you're currently consuming, then cut back to where you'll lose weight. 2000 calories a day should do it.

Kamala

+1 on diet changes also. You may want to think about if you are subconsciously (or consciously) allowing yourself bigger portions as a "reward" for working out.

Also, IMHO FWIW (as a guy about your height who weighed 396 and dropped 125 lbs so far), you need to drink way more water. You're only now getting into the range for your body's basic hydration needs at 32 ounces. There's only three ways for fat to get out of your body: pee it out, breathe it out (you actually breathe a fair amount of water vapor out, especially at night, and it does transport some waste out), or sweat it out. If you're not drinking enough water, it's like setting the trash out at the curb and wondering why no one's picking it up when you haven't signed up for garbage service.

Glenn1234

+1 on the dieting as well as drinking more water.

As far as exercise goes, the purpose for it is to build up more muscle and increase fitness more than it is to lose weight. If you are not fit, you will indeed put on muscle mass. If you look at the amount of calories burned, it's much more effective to diet than to exercise if your sole goal is weight loss. But exercise does indeed has its place.

Look at it in light of this: It's much better to be heavy because of muscle mass than fat.

Pezzle

It's a simple matter of managing your internal checkbook. You want more calories spent than earned.

NUTNDUN

I really appreciate all of the feedback. I will drink more water and I am going to try to make it my only beverage and maybe cut back the coffee to two cups instead of three.

I will start counting my calories to get an idea of where I stand. I counted up what I probably had so far today and I am probably close to 700-800 for the day so far and it is only 10:30 LOL.

I mainly want to be in shape and loosing the weight would be cool too. I am surprised I haven't keeled over from putting my body through shock yet LOL. I used to never drink water and I smoked since I was 13 and I am 34 now and I was up to 2 pack a day there for the longest time. I smoked my last smoke 5 weeks ago.

Neil_B

The old rule of thumb is 3500 calories equal one pound. So if you cut 500 calories a day, you should lose one pound a week.

How many calories have you cut?

slider162

+1 on diet and water.

I was never a water drinker. I would easily put down a 12 pack of diet coke a day though. That was until I got my Camelbak water bottle with a bite valve. I highly recommend one of these bottles. Now, the more I drink, the thirstier I get. It is really easy to put down 32oz of water at a sitting now. I am down 15 lbs this month. I plateaued this week though and didn't lose anything. I attribute that to the pizza and beer I had on Sunday.

X-LinkedRider

Diet coupled with the cycling along with other, like upper body exercise will be a good way to round off your fitness and make the goal of weight loss easier. But I think you even though you should always work harder to be better, you should not lose sight of just how much healthier heart and respiratory wise you are now. The superficial things will come slower.

GAtkins

I use this to track my diet

https://www.fitday.com/

and this to figure my Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

https://www.muscleandstrength.com/too...alculator.html

Subtract 500 calories from this to lose weight. 1 to 2 pounds per week is optimal.

Move more, eat less.

Glenn

John Bailey

I tend to gain weight when I first start a diet or a fitness program. I started riding 2 months ago and gained 9 lbs. the first two weeks. Then I started to lose and haven't stopped. Hang in there and the weight will come off and you'll feel tons better.

John

NUTNDUN

The muscle strength website is showing that I need 3,372 calories a day. So if I stay at 2,000 like I did today I should start loosing weight? I also got in 24 mile today between commuting and riding after dinner. I also drank about 96 oz of water today.

NUTNDUN

I do feel so much better and so much healthier. I don't get winded at all. If I would have attempted to ride a bike when I was smoking I would have keeled over before I made it a block. I couldn't even walk up a flight of steps without getting winded.

downtube42

Everyone's situation is different, but like others have said the basic rule is calories out > calories in = weight loss.

I made relatively minor adjustments in my diet that have been sustainable, cutting out the obvious bad stuff. I made relatively minor adjustments to my exercise regimen, adding a 30 minute workout daily. I figure as long as I'm continuously losing weight, the rate doesn't matter. 30 pounds over the last 6 months is just fine with me.

GAtkins

I am 6'4", 253 lbs and my BMR is 3,557.

Since May 10. 2009 I have averaged 1,446 calories per day in the ratio of 24% protein, 37% carbs, and 36% fat, which is no doubt high on the fat side and low on the protein side.

Since that date, I have walked 131 miles and I have biked 603 miles, the bulk of which I have done since July 24th. I have also lifted weights 3 to 4 days per week

No doubt my calories are very low, but I feel fine and my main goal was weight loss, given that I started at 294 pounds. I have lost an average of 2.09 pounds per week, which is probably the outer limit of the recommended weight loss rate. I also take a multi-vitamin daily.

I would say 1,500 to 2,000 calories per day, with a faiirly clean diet, plus your exercise would get you well on your way. Also, be sure to weigh at the same time each day. I do it in the morning when I wake up and right after I go to the bathroom.

Of course the standard disclaimers apply in that you should consult your doctor, etc., and YMMV, etc.

Keep it up. I have no doubt you will see progress.

Glenn

gapwedge

I am going to do this beginning in January 2010 as I am already setting goals for next year and that is to keep a food journal. I have heard that you will be amazed what you consume in a day. I am also beginning to extract fresh fruit and vegetable with a juicer. I am still going to try to cut back in the couple of months left this year, but to be honest this is entering into my danger months of eating.

bamacrazy 

Bump your water intake to at least 68oz/day; more if you are sweating a lot. Your body requires water to process stored fat.

CFXMarauder

When I started commuting on June 1/09 I was 219lbs by the end of August I was 197..I dropped soda cold turkey and the typical fried chicken and a candy bar lunch was replaced with Turkey sandwiches, salads and a candy bar lunch..I ride hard on my 11 mile commute..For September my weight has hit a plateau(192) so Im thinking I need to throw something different into the commute..I drink over 3 liters of SWEEEEEETTT tea a day and eat the house bare at all hours of the day/night..Gotta get that under control.. Maybe the fact you stopped smoking is contributing to you holding onto weight..Congrats on the quiting BTW ! When It does come off though you will love it !! The thought of what I've done in these last five month drives me...Keep pushing !!!!!

Knitwit

Wow, thanks everyone! I know you didn't write this stuff for me, but I had the same question as George (NUTNDUN). I got some great ideas here. Some of them I had suspected, but just needed that little extra kick in the right direction!

Excuse me, I need to go get a tall glass of water. (the camelback bottle is on my wish list now!) And I need to do a food journal.

This is such a great forum, thanks everyone! I'm really grateful to be here!

Leslie

NUTNDUN

I joined that fitday.com and I think it is going to be a great tool for keeping track of progress. I am going to pick up the road bike in my sig tonight and I am at 2,250 calories for the day so far and I plan on a 10 mile ride on the new bike tonight. It said I burnt 5,300 calories yesterday between my metabolic rate and biking 25 miles and I only had 2,000 intake.

scrapmetal

Gotta remember muscles are heavier than fat, you will fluctuate for a while before you settle on the new weight.

Now, there is this special diet I heard of. The main point is you divide days in odd and even. On even days you will have sex in the morning and keks in the evening. On odd days you will have keks in the morning and sex in the evening. You keep it up for 4 weeks and if there is no weight change, you gotta skip that keks.

Note for Americans: Keks is something like a cracker or a saltine.