kjmillig

I'm addicted to carbonated drinks, especially colas.
I lack motivation to exercise.
I like to snack, usually on unhealthy foods.
I eat unhealthy meals.
I love bikes but don't ride mine often enough.
I hate the burning in my lungs when my heart rate rises.
I'm inflexible, so exercise hurts.
I look for, or invent, reasons why I can't ride today.

xbenedict

That's why we're all overweight. Welcome to life!

I used to go through over a case of Coke Zero a week...and that was just at home. Amazing, much like when I quit smoking years back, once I got over the hump, I didn't look back. I did go to excessive coffee to cover the caffeine, but you'd be surprised how must losing the carbonation will make you feel better. When I do, very very rarely, drink a soda of some sort, I can't finish it, and it make me feel gassy for at least 24 hours.

Neil_B

Hmm. The correct answer for me is that I consumed more calories than I burned, and kept doing so day after day.

But to be a little more specific I really fell off the wagon last fall and winter, when the condition of my knees deteriorated to the point I had trouble walking, or even keeping them bent in the car for more than a quarter hour. Add stress eating to not being able to move and my weight ballooned. Then after surgery I was on an extended treatment of Coumadin, a drug that produced nausea as a side effect. To combat the nausea I turned to soda, and pretzels and other starches to absorb stomach acid. The food helped me deal with the depression of a slower than expected recovery. I'm now returning to normal activity levels and eating, and I'm beginning to drop pounds.

Bluish Green

Some possibilities, based on what has helped me so much:

Can you set a goal that guarantees you time & days on the bike? For me, it was becoming a bicycle commuter. Making that commitment was the first domino that started the chain for me. Once I did it, and liked it, I committed, and I slowly got better at it, dropped weight, and learned many of the in's and out's of everyday commuting. We sold one of our cars on Oct 1, and my wife gets the remaining car, so I am in it for serious now. I spend the money I'm saving on gas, insurance, license plate stickers, etc., on bicycle clothing to get me thru the changes mother nature throws at me. I'm still learning, but making it. I'm thankful for living 6 miles from work on 30 mph city streets, and I know that not everybody is that lucky. If commuting is not your thing, perhaps it could be tracking miles in a log, or riding the same loop every day, or training for a special event ride like a cancer benefit or such. I have read a lot of C and A folks who find those motivations effective.

As far as eating, everybody is different, but what has really helped me is keeping healthier stuff prepared and/or on hand so the option is easy to reach for. I found a recipe for no-refined-sugar granola that is not necessarily low calorie, but it is satisfying and packed with almonds and oats that my doc recommended to fight cholesterol. I keep a big ziploc baggie of the stuff around every day and haul it in my panniers to work too. May not work for everybody, but it sure beats what I was eating before. I also get a big bag of Jazz apples every time at the grocery store. Great sweet, healthy snack.

Soda addiction I share with you. I switched to Diet Coke/Pepsi 25 years ago and don't miss the sugar at all (can't even drink a regular any more). If you can switch to diet, you can cut a lot of empty calories but still get the carbonation, etc. Not a perfect solution, and my #1 vice I still have, but at least not the empty sugar calories. This vice will be the hardest for me to kick.

Shake it up, make a couple of commitments for the new year. I hope you find something that works for you. Replace a couple of bad things with good things. I am down 55 pounds, avoided cholesterol meds my doc was going to put me on, and my BP is normal again. And I'm loving the cycling doing it. Even on the cold/rainy/nasty days.

Myosmith

Take it from a guy who was 300+ pounds and headed for a very early grave, you can whine about food addictions and lack of motivation all day OR you can get your arse off the couch, put down the twinkies and Coke, and start pedaling. If being healthy isn't more important to you than being self-indulgent, looking and feeling like hell, and dying early, there isn't anything we can do for you here. I know this sounds harsh but you don't need a pat on the head, you need a kick in the backside. I played the games for 20+ years and it took several weight related injuries and a heart condition before I decided enough is enough.

Stop drinking colas and switch to healthier beverages, including lots of water
Here's your motivation, you look and feel like crap and are going to suffer health problems and an early death. You obviously don't want to live like this or you wouldn't be posting on a cycling forum.
Go ahead and snack, just pick smaller portions of healthier foods. Cycling is perfect for snacking because you want to fuel up every hour or 20 miles when on the bike anyway, just learn to do it right.
Eat healthier meals. Lots of info available here and elsewhere, but you probably already know most of what you need to do. High quality, nutrient dense, portion control.
Ride your bike more often, make time and set goals, keep a log.
Ride your bike more often and your lungs won't burn and your heart rate won't rise as much. You will actually start enjoying physical challenges.
Start basic stretching each morning and before going riding. Yoga or Pilates are great ways to increase flexibility. Find a class or video aimed at overweight beginners, you don't have to do the double-pretzel climbs the mountain pose your first day.
Start looking for reasons to ride. Put a rack on your bike and use it to go to the store to shop for healthy foods/snacks, commute to work or school, don't turn it into a production just get your butt on the saddle and start pedaling.



If you don't like your life the way it is, change it. Come back and post tomorrow and tell us all about your ride. I don't care if it was once around the block, ride then post.

chefisaac

I know exactly what my issues are. I am addicted to sugary foods. I wont even say all carbs because I can stay away/moderate my pasta and bread intake very well but something sugary, it's a tough batter.

I have lowered my salt intake a lot and do not use sugar substitutes much at all. But if there is something sugary in the house, its a rough go. Example: I am traveling to my inlaws this week and we just got here mid day yesterday. My mother in law made some no bake cookies.... they are almost gone!

I do find and understand that for me, it is always going to be about tracking my food (I use WW) and going to the WW meetings. Lets face it, some of us are addicted to food and I am in the same boat.

goldfinch

You have to decide if you can lead a sufficiently disciplined life to lose the weight and keep it off. It isn't an easy road. But being fat isn't easy either.

If you make the decision than you need to make a plan that works for you. Feel free to experiment. Try suggestions people make here. Drop what doesn't work for you. Try some of your own ideas.

For me, this is what I did to lose weight.

Went on a winter trip and kept very busy with activities
Ate wonderful delightful food but not much of it. Like lobster. Like salmon burgers. Like blueberries every day.
Wrote down the calories and kept to a calorie budget
Dropped watching tv, as tv was an eating trigger for me. Inotherwords, when I was fat I ate in front of the tv a lot.
Ate at a different side of the table than I used to and only ate there. That was my eating place.
Kept busy in the evening doing bead work.
After the winter passed, I continued to keep busy with activities and began cycling in earnest.

This made it relatively easy for me. It was rewarding to watch the pounds drop off. The hard part was next, keeping the weight off. It isn't quite so rewarding to maintain weight. After a while you get used to your new self and may lose a bit of the discipline. In the past few months I have gained 10 pounds. This isn't surprising. We all think we will keep it off, we have a new lifestyle, we can do it! But most people don't. So you have to be aware of the tendency to gain weight and figure out a way to deal with it. I spent a year losing weight. I felt the desire to eat much of the time but it was ok, I was losing weight and feeling great.

However, I continue to be hungry most of the time if I eat the amount I need to eat to keep the weight off. This isn't stress eating. This isn't anything other than the simple drive to eat. This is true of many of us, due in part to hormonal changes when we lose weight. There also is the ease of slipping into old habits because the new ones are not yet firmly enough in place. I also note that I tend to gain a bit of weight when I am with my spouse (we travel separately for about half the year). This is not to blame my spouse, it is because there is a living routine that was familiar and consistent with the fat years. So, I have to figure out the rules for me that will work to keep the weight at bay. Mostly, good food, regular weigh-ins, recording calories, no sweets in the house but fruit and restricting when and where I eat . And keeping sufficiently busy so I do not think about food all the time. The triple B recipe helps me: biking, birding, and beading. And no buffets.

rideorglide

Well, congrats on taking the first steps to recognizing what your issues are. You have plenty of company here.

Next read the advice of Myosmith, Bluishgreen, ChefIsaac and many others, and put it into action.

Pain is something many deal with here...wherever in the body or soul it comes from. Again you have company, but taking those steps to portion control, substituting healthier nutritious foods and drinks for less healthy foods and drinks is a first step; portion control is another key step;(One day of food indulgence here and there is OK, but keep it in check and get back on the healthy foods immediately after.)

And if you are able to get on a bike and ride, count your blessings and do it, cos some here, go through months of agonizing rehab from injuries where they'd live to do nothing more than be able to ride, but the disk hernaiations or knee replacements, and surgeries make it an impossibility until they are recovered enough, in the mean time, they dream and drool with envy just for 5 minutes on a bike. So unless you are under doctor's orders not to ride, understand how lucky you are to be alive and able to huff and puff, even just a mile.

Personally I'll never belittle anyone's average speed, or distance — it doesn't matter. All that matters is doing it. I've come back from pneumonia twice and 2 sets of herniated discs, years of rehab, e.i.asthma, 9/11-relatd lung issues, and some strange heart rhythm episodes that had to be checked out in the ER that scared the living **** out of me, and those first rides back after injury or illness are slow, scary, sometimes lonely and hard, but a triumph awaits you at the end. 1 mile, 2, miles, 5 miles, it's all riding

To this day, my neck discs prevent me from regular cycling, so I try to make up the difference in hill walking, treadmill, paddleboarding, whatever my body will permit on a given day.

Right now I have the remains of the flu/bronchitis/sinusitis, and the neck is causing muscle spasms again, and all I can think about is when is the next time I can enjoy a ride without screwing myself over again. In the mean time, the dog better be prepared because we're gonna make up the difference in some long walks ... here, doggy, doggy!

Mark Stone

This sounds harsh, but this is true. People like us need to make the hard decisions and walk away from the things that are killing us, and start doing the things that will save our lives. Good post Myosmith, and everyone else.

Neil_B

I like the Myosmith post too, save the "start pedaling" part. There's too much assumption cycling is a 'magic pill' for weight loss on this forum.

HuffinandPuffin

Just my opinion

Until your "Sick and tired of being sick and tired" you won't make the changes that you need to make. Remember our body is going to hold us accountable for our actions, good or bad.

Go back and read again the post Myosmith wrote I think it's excellent. He certainly gave you enough info that if you didn't know what to do you do now.

Another part of the solution for your "success" will be in coming to an understanding of "why" you do the things you do. A question you have to ask yourself, and answer honestly, is "Why?" Keep asking yourself "Why does food rule my life?" "Why am I so lazy?"

We live in a time that it seems like we want instant gratification. Try to remember that we didn't get to where we are in one day and we won't get to where we want to be in one day either. This is a journey not a destination.

Hope all these comments are a help to you.

Phil

Mark Stone

Well, it is a cycling forum . . . but point taken.

Ursa Minor

For me the best motivation comes from checking my blood sugar regularly. If its above 140 then you are getting nerve damage.
My right hand is partially numb from nerve damage. You can buy a blood sugar monitor at any drug store. They are pretty cheap
and can save you from major health problems later.

Charlie

Myosmith

Magic pill, no, but it can be a big step in the right direction. I also mentioned getting off the couch and putting down the Twinkies and Coke. The remainder of my post included better nutrition, portion control, well planned snacking, stretching and changing the way you do things so that exercise becomes part of your routine. Being this is a cycling forum and the OP mentioned cycling, I did focus on that form of exercise but there is no reason it should be the only form of exercise for anyone.

chefisaac

If you are sitting around all day doing nothing and eating and not doing any exercise, yes, it can be the magic pill. If you are stressed at work or having issues with the family, cycling can be the magic pill. Does bike riding lead to weight loss? Yes but not by itself. Its one tool in the tool box.

chefisaac

+1

I will take cycling over gym work any day! The weight loss from cycling and balanced eating has helped me a lot. Cycling by itself has made me a much better person.

nkfrench 

Foods - explore other options. There are healthy things that also taste good or even better. Figure them out. Buy them instead of unhealthy foods.
Motivation to exercise - find exercise you enjoy. Maybe it's cycling. Maybe swimming. Maybe walking. Maybe you like heavy chores around the house. Put them on your calendar. Join a bike club and show up on their regular scheduled rides. Go to a spin class. Join a Masters swim team. Take lessons. Plan a weekly ride with friends/family. It's easier if you can build a routine and stick with it if it's fun and has a reserved time slot.
Attitude - you have to personally buy into the idea of a healthy lifestyle. Nobody else, not even on a bike forum, can do that for you. Hang around people who have a similar mindset. Avoid people who have unhealthy attitudes or lifestyles.

goldfinch

This is an important point. If you hang around with thin and active people it can make a big difference. And hanging around with people whose lives revolve around food is a negative. My very best friend has never been overweight. One positive aspect to hanging out with her is that she does not have a big appetite and doesn't snack between meals. Well, if she isn't going to snack I sure am not! She is the perfect companion for going out to eat because she always saves about 1/3 of her food. Well, if she can save some for later I can too!

If you look for reasons not to ride, then decide to ride for only 10 minutes. Most of the time you will get going and want to do more. But you don't have to. You only have to do the ten.

MadCityCyclist

Some of your reasons could be inter-related. For example, your diet probably has a lot of sugar and HFCS in it, especially if you eat unhealthy meals (which most likely also means you don't cook your own food). Your lack of motivation could be linked to your diet in more ways than you know.

About two years ago, my doctor put me on a no sugar, no HFCS, no flour diet. There was about a 3-4 week period where my body had to adjust to not having such ultra-cheap & easy forms of carbohydrates around, but when the adjustment period was over my energy level was through the roof. I never would have believed it, but cutting out all of the sugar and flour actually improved my energy, and consequently, my motivation.

My snacking also dropped way off, and I realized that I didn't really want a snack, but my body was craving sugar, which I interpreted as wanting a snack. The more sugar you eat, the more your body seems to want. And HFCS is as much a sugar as sugar is, as far as your cravings are concerned. Before, I always tried to quit soft drinks (which are very high in HFCS) and never could, probably because there was so much sugar & flour in my regular food consumption. You can't try to quit sugar in the so9lid form and still consume in the liquid form and expect there to be a change. After starting the diet, I quit cold-turkey and never had any desire to drink another soft drink.

You can't follow this type of diet, which is basically a paleolithic diet, unless you cook for yourself.

Neil_B

You are misunderstanding what a magic pill is. A magic pill cures something by itself. There have been lots of posters here over the years who thought they could outride an unhealthy lifestyle. Myosmith understood what I meant.

Mark Stone

Semantics!! You're both agreeing but defining the phrase "Magic Pill" differently! I hate to do this, but YOU'RE BOTH GROUNDED!! GO TO YOUR ROOMS!

Mark Stone

+1 Peer pressure is amazing - choosing who we hang out with can change our lives.

chefisaac

A magic pill I suppose can be defined differently.

For example, if you hate your job, commuting can be a magic pill.

But yes, cycling alone will not beam you to a healthy fitness. That why we all are hanging around this forum!

chefisaac

So.... does that mean I can leave my in-laws and go back to NJ?

sweet!

Neil_B

My office is loaded with fat people; at one time I had 400 pound folks on either side of my cubicle. I gave up trying to discuss my outdoor activities at work, since no one does anything other than sit around and get fat on weekends.