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Losing weight "for me".

Old 05-14-19, 12:12 PM
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Bikeforumuser0019
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Losing weight "for me".

Dear All,

Hello.


I've always enjoyed being physical, and I've never loved the idea of dieting or having specific weight goals. My weight has gone way up and way down several times over my lifetime, for mainly depression-related reasons. Because of this, generally speaking, as long as my weight is stable and not rocketing up or sliding down, I count that a win and don't worry about it too much.


Or, at least that was true until now. I think I want to change my perspective, and have a weight-loss goal, and achieve it. I could probably stand to lose between 40 and 65 lbs in order to be at a more healthful weight. That seems like a huge undertaking when I've always tried to not put much stock in my weight being a specific number.


I think my biggest obstacle to weight loss is lack of emotional/familial support. I've had a couple of good experiences with personal training over the past 4 years, but it's expensive to "hire" emotional support like that. I would've loved to continue with a trainer, but both times I quit when my cash ran low.


I'm single and live alone, and don't have much family to speak of. I think that has an influence on my motivation to lose weight. I do talk to a counselor about my emotional health, and I do have his support with respect to my desire for healthy diet and exercise. But it's not like I could say, "I'm doing this for my kids" or something. I think I have to lose weight "for me".


What made you first care about losing weight? I mean, really care enough to do it for yourself and not some external reason? Or, was an external reason enough for you? If so, that's fine, I just don't think I can count on having an external reason to motivate me to do this.


Curious....

Thanks.

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Old 05-14-19, 01:02 PM
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Originally Posted by College3.0
Dear All,

Hello.


I've always enjoyed being physical, and I've never loved the idea of dieting or having specific weight goals. My weight has gone way up and way down several times over my lifetime, for mainly depression-related reasons. Because of this, generally speaking, as long as my weight is stable and not rocketing up or sliding down, I count that a win and don't worry about it too much.


Or, at least that was true until now. I think I want to change my perspective, and have a weight-loss goal, and achieve it. I could probably stand to lose between 40 and 65 lbs in order to be at a more healthful weight. That seems like a huge undertaking when I've always tried to not put much stock in my weight being a specific number.


I think my biggest obstacle to weight loss is lack of emotional/familial support. I've had a couple of good experiences with personal training over the past 4 years, but it's expensive to "hire" emotional support like that. I would've loved to continue with a trainer, but both times I quit when my cash ran low.


I'm single and live alone, and don't have much family to speak of. I think that has an influence on my motivation to lose weight. I do talk to a counselor about my depression, and I do have his support with respect to my desire for healthy diet and exercise. But it's not like I could say, "I'm doing this for my kids" or something. I think I have to lose weight "for me".


What made you first care about losing weight? I mean, really care enough to do it for yourself and not some external reason? Or, was an external reason enough for you? If so, that's fine, I just don't think I can count on having an external reason to motivate me to do this.


Curious....

Thanks.

Just over a year ago, at 51, I just finally got sick of my knees always hurting, low energy and some minor medical issues like dealing with acid reflux almost every night. I've dealt with depression for about 30 years now. I knew all those thing would likely get better if I could lose some weight. I started dieting and walking in mid March and lost about 20 pounds by mid May. I felt so much better that it motivated me to lose 40 more pounds last year, for a total of 60. I gained 20 pounds of that back over the winter. I hope to lose that 20 pounds and another 40 or so this year. If I can manage to do that I will have lost 100 pounds, and would be about 20-30 pounds lighter than I was in high school. My first year of riding will wrap up this week. I will have ridden about 5,700 miles in that time, which is a huge accomplishment for me. Something I would never had anticipated I could have managed.

Now, if my knees hurt it's because I've ridden a bit too much or too hard. The same applies for low energy...if my energy is low, it's because I've ridden more than a couple of hundred miles in a given week, or more than about 60 miles in a single ride. The acid reflux went away after losing 20 pounds and has not come back. I sleep better. I'm not grumpy. I find that exercising (almost exclusively riding) helps me deal with depression better than any of the many different prescription drugs I ever took.

Your mileage may vary, especially as I'm guessing you're much younger than me and not as over weight as I was, so you probably aren't experiencing the kinds of issues I was experiencing, other than depression. But as you get older, you might. I think the best piece of advice I could give my younger me, would have been to take up riding a long time ago.

-Matt

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Old 05-14-19, 02:23 PM
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re: "What made you first care about losing weight?" I saw a photo of myself on the beach with my young kids. amazing how far I let myself slide
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Old 05-14-19, 03:56 PM
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for me 3 things
1) dealing with the reality of how i am hurting my self medically vs the I am tough as nail and it won't happen to me thinking
2)Getting to a place where I can make me a priority
3) wanting to stay active and have fun....realizing how my weight is limiting me from activitries
4) wanting to play with grandkids 10 or 15 years from now

I am pretty much a solo exerciser, but I try to build that part into my day, especially by bike commuting. starting the day with a ride helps me motivate on eating well. Other people i know get support by going to group classes.....

A lot of people have had success with the group support of weight watchers

good journey
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Old 05-15-19, 10:53 AM
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I am single no local family, I do have a dog . When I retired in Feb 2016 I was at 270 lbs over the next 8 months i dropped 60 lbs. I attribute it to mostly riding my bikes and less to cutting back the eating and drinking. 2017 and 2018 where complete disasters for me, I went back up to 240. Since the end of Feb this year i am back down to 220 lbs. This time it is more diet than riding. I do ride 4-5 times per week but the intensity is not as hard as it was in 2016.

I cut my meals in half and started keeping a rough track of calories. I rarely eat out and very few processed foods. A lot of fruit and veg, grilled meats. Half a sandwich, one slice of bread, for lunch instead of 2 slices. One thing that made me very happy recently was I found a couple of non-alcoholic IPAs that are not bad. I remember trying NA beer a while back and it tasted pretty bad.

I read some of the "Biggest Loser" cook books and they recommend you limit your calories per day to 7x your weight, and yes as you get lighter the amount goes down as they claim it is harder to lose weight the lighter you are.

If you don't cook your own meals and eat out a lot it will probably a lot harder than what I have experienced. I do have days where I get hungry.

If for no other reason lose the weight so your thighs don't hit your stomach when riding in the drops

Good Luck.
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Old 05-15-19, 09:52 PM
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Losing 55 pounds

My motivation was getting diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I finally have it under control after 8 months of changes.

I went from chasing the biggest tenderloin and coldest beer on the Harley to drinking water and logging 20 miles a day 5 to 6 days a week.

Now I'm looking for a MTB and a Road bike to go with my hybrid and the tandem.
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Old 05-16-19, 11:00 AM
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Originally Posted by College3.0
I think my biggest obstacle to weight loss is lack of emotional/familial support. I've had a couple of good experiences with personal training over the past 4 years, but ...
Anytime I've come to a new area, I seek out a decent gym where I can find a good workout buddy. At most any gym, you ought to be able to find at least a couple of folks whose schedules and sensibilities roughly match yours, where they'd be interested in working out with you a couple times a week.

Can be inspiring. With folks who "click" into friendship, it can help develop that support network, for accountability. It helps retain the consistency of the routine, even when you're not all that "up" for it.

I'd find a decent gym. Select a reasonable strength/cardio combination that'll work for your training approach. Be consistent in doing something, yet with sufficient recovery times in key muscle areas. And find a couple of workout buddies ... for strength workouts at the gym, for cycling or running, etc.

Good luck on the journey. ~50lbs generally shouldn't be all that difficult to get rid of, with sufficient change to the routine and nutrition (assuming no hard to get over physical impediments).
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Old 05-20-19, 08:46 AM
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I was on my feet all day, often carrying heavy loads. My feet hurt. I went to see a doctor. He told me I was fat. Literally used the term "fat." He was right.
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Old 05-20-19, 10:15 PM
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In earlier life, while I was at University, I had the motivation (and the time) to turn my fatness into strength. I'm a big guy at 6'5" and I was always relatively strong, but I made the choice to improve that strength and become proper strong. Over the course of a few years I turned a fat 140kg into a massive and strong 145-150kg. I was in the gym 6 days a week, playing a ton of half court basketball and dabbling in a few other sports as well. My work was physical and it all worked well together. As I left Uni and slotted into work life and evolved into more of an office type role in my field, I stacked on the weight. I revolved my weight goals around various events, mostly cycling. I found weight goals just for the hell of it hard to maintain as life's little hurdles would get in the way and before I knew it I was back to 10+kg heavier. A process I've repeated over and over again.

I'm only 41yo, so time is on my side. The most relateable discussion to your question is one I had recently with a former work colleague who is on the verge of 50. His goal is not to be a weight, his goal was just "to be able", and now that is my goal. I don't want a 6 pack, I just want to be able. I want to be able to run with my daughter when she asks, and not feel like I'm going to die afterwards. I want to be able to go on holidays and if I see a nice and perhaps difficult trail to climb, I can do it, rather than just sit at the bottom wondering. So now I'm on a steady weight loss journey, nothing dramatic, and maintaining a decent level of fitness. For sh!+s and giggles a few weeks ago, I went in a Spartan race because a friend asked if I wanted to be a part of their team. Now my caveat is that I've been doing a solid 6 months in the gym and that gave me some good grounding to tackle a lot of the obstacles, but I did it because I could, and there were only a few obstacles that I wasn't able to do.

I'm also moving towards the goal of just being able to move my weight around, kind of like a big guy's basic calisthenics. It's taken me a long time, but now I can do 3 sets of 5 unassisted chin ups, body weight dips and heaps of pushups. All that while I'm still currently at ~130kg body weight. I'm still far too fat, but I like the strength I have developed, and I'm enjoying the journey
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Old 05-22-19, 03:04 PM
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Originally Posted by wsteve464
If for no other reason lose the weight so your thighs don't hit your stomach when riding in the drops

Good Luck.
I had to laugh at this. Thanks.
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Old 05-22-19, 03:34 PM
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I come at this from a different perspective, perhaps. I discovered that I enjoyed riding so much that it is easy for me to get on a bike and ride for 20 or 30 miles. And surprisingly, after I ride that far, it tends to depress my desire to snack and overeat. So perhaps just gaining a joy of being in the saddle can be the encouragement that you need.
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Old 05-22-19, 04:58 PM
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6 years ago, on a whim, I started doing year-round commuting on a hybrid bike at 230 lbs, because I liked the adventure of riding before and after work, and in all types of weather, and not because I wanted to lose weight. A year later, when I was a little fitter and 15 lbs lighter, I decided to get a proper road bike and ride with a fast B-group for the first time, and I liked that even more than commuting. But I got dropped A LOT, and I was overworking way too much, and always slowing the group down. The desire to no longer be the one slowing the group (or potentially being asked to ride with the slower group) became my motivation. A 5,000 mile year, and then an 8,500 mile year followed, along with dropping 52 lbs total., down to 168 lbs at the lowest. No longer was I the guy getting dropped, instead I was holding the wheel of the group leader for most of the ride, and once in a while beating him to the top of a sprinting climb. Then came all the centuries, back-to-back-150 milers, double-centuries, a 5 hr 15 min century, a 326 mile 24 hour solo ride, and countless all-out sprinting attempts going for Strava KOM's.
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Old 05-23-19, 04:00 AM
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The fact is that I've always been a big boy, I was 245# as a freshman in HS, and 265 when I started playing football as a junior, and 290 around the time that I got into mountain biking in college (and wrecked my back badly enough that I was out of football). I'm also 6'4" with a very large frame even for that height and a lot of that weight is muscle...

Well, around 28 I got married, and by 35 I was sitting in my office realizing that EVERYONE that I worked with was overweight and they all were going to the doctor weekly with all sorts of problems. I'd ballooned up into the mid 300's (well over 325, which was where my scale went up to), and was starting to get all sorts of aches and pains and other things that I couldn't explain. I realized that I not only didn't want to die young but just as much didn't want to live and be unhealthy having to deal with medications and Dr's visits...

A friend/co-worker of mine lost 65lbs by stopping drinking sodas (we're IT guys, most of us had a dorm fridge under a desk somewhere full of sodas, we started our mornings with a soda and often had half a dozen by the end of the day), and I thought "hey, I can do that..." and ended up cutting sodas, slowly limiting sugar and simple carbs... and over the span of about 2-3 years, maybe a little more, I'd lost over 100lbs. At the lightest I was just under 240, I was actually lighter than I was as a freshman in HS, and nothing fit (honestly I have crazy proportions, nothing fits anyway, even in the mid 300# range I was only wearing size 38-40 pants, but my suit jacket size has always been in the mid/high 50's).

That was 12 years ago. Back then I told myself that I wouldn't let myself get back over 245#, but I kept getting more and more serious about the gym. I ended up getting very into powerlifting and decided "I'm going to monitor my body fat percentage and as long as it doesn't go up I can gain weight..." and I've stayed at the same bodyfat percentage (the more muscle you carry the easier that is, I recently learned that I regularly work out with 40lbs more than the state record for my age/weight class and I've found that as long as I limit sugars I almost have to force feed to maintain my bodyweight and grow muscle).

Currently, I hover around 270#, I know, some of you are thinking that's really big, but at that weight, I can wear size 33 pants and I hover around 18% body fat (not super lean, but considered "lean athletic" for my age). I have some powerlifting goals and a timeline set, and once I reach either I intend to cut back down to under 260, hopefully, at least for now, I'll maintain my lean body mass. Why 260? Well because no matter what your body fat percentage is your health outcomes are statistically better under 260 (though interestingly there is some evidence that as you get older too low a bodyfat percentage lowers life expectancy, somewhere in the 20-22% range is optimum).

College3.0, you mention not having the support of family... I'll tell you that for me that family was actually the hardest part of this. Having family that doesn't get what you're doing or why you're doing it was probably the hardest thing, almost like someone actively working to make you fail every step of the way. OTOH, during this process, I've 'acquired' ;-) 7y/o twins, which although not my original reason for doing it, end up being pretty good motivation for staying in shape.
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Old 05-26-19, 10:56 PM
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All that food stuck to my rib cage and left me a fat old man. Recently went in and found out my medicine controlled high blood pressure was not under much control any more. Back on Myfitnesspal and down 20lbs but blood pressure is still too high so more weight has to go. This is the second time for a Myfitnesspal weight reduction but I have a much clearer idea of where I'm going and why. I'm going to take my BMI down to the healthy range of 18 to 24. At my age thinner people live longer than heavier people. One of the commenters noted that old people need some fat to get old. I read an article about this and it was wise to be skinny through to your 80's whereby a little extra fat was then necessary to achieve the high 80's and above in age. I want to see my grandchildren reach adulthood and possibly see a great grandchild or two. I ride bicycle almost every day of my life. I combine this with lots of walking. I'm trying to push my daily cycling average to between 15 and 20 miles a day. I average about 10 to 15 miles a day now. Good luck to all of you undergoing weight reduction and keep riding those lovely bicycles.
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Old 05-27-19, 10:18 AM
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Truth is, you're the only reason to lose weight. Having been overweight to some degree for all of my 51 years, I've done a lot of research - and one of the things that comes up time and time again is that external motivation isn't sustainable. It's internal motivation, internal drive, that finally works for those who lose weight and keep it off. Losing it for you is the way to do it. I'm having some weight loss success right now for the first time in a long time - and it's because I'm doing it for me, I want to live longer for me, and I want less pain for me. All of those things also benefit my wife and kids by keeping me around longer (assuming they want me to ), but the fact is I'm the only one that can make me do it, so it has to be about me. For you, it has to be about you - it's the path to sustainable health.
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Old 05-27-19, 11:07 AM
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Originally Posted by College3.0
Dear All,

Hello.


I've always enjoyed being physical, and I've never loved the idea of dieting or having specific weight goals. My weight has gone way up and way down several times over my lifetime, for mainly depression-related reasons. Because of this, generally speaking, as long as my weight is stable and not rocketing up or sliding down, I count that a win and don't worry about it too much.


Or, at least that was true until now. I think I want to change my perspective, and have a weight-loss goal, and achieve it. I could probably stand to lose between 40 and 65 lbs in order to be at a more healthful weight. That seems like a huge undertaking when I've always tried to not put much stock in my weight being a specific number.


I think my biggest obstacle to weight loss is lack of emotional/familial support. I've had a couple of good experiences with personal training over the past 4 years, but it's expensive to "hire" emotional support like that. I would've loved to continue with a trainer, but both times I quit when my cash ran low.


I'm single and live alone, and don't have much family to speak of. I think that has an influence on my motivation to lose weight. I do talk to a counselor about my emotional health, and I do have his support with respect to my desire for healthy diet and exercise. But it's not like I could say, "I'm doing this for my kids" or something. I think I have to lose weight "for me".


What made you first care about losing weight? I mean, really care enough to do it for yourself and not some external reason? Or, was an external reason enough for you? If so, that's fine, I just don't think I can count on having an external reason to motivate me to do this.


Curious....

Thanks.
For as long as I can remember, weight has been an issue. Don't get me wrong. It isn't as if I mope around depressed about it, but it is always something I think about at least a few times a week, if not daily. So if you are someone who shares this concern, you are not alone.

1. The motivation to lose weight is something internal, but external things might play a part. Maybe you had to buy a new suit and found you went up a size. Or maybe you had to get weighed and found you gained a lot of weight, or went past big milestone (200, 250, 275, or 300 lbs) Or maybe you had a health scare or diagnosis, like diabetes or high blood pressure and resolved to do something about it. Or finally, maybe you saw a recent picture of yourself and couldn't believe that obese guy was you.

2. Not having a lot of family support is no excuse. If you live alone, it should be easier to make big changes to your diet since you have no reason to keep diet wrecking foods like chips, candy, soda, snack cakes, ice cream, french fries, or processed lunch meats. (if you are married or have kids, it isn't really fair to expect them to adhere to your dietary goals, which makes it hard to stick to a diet when everybody else in the house is eating whatever they want.)

3. Though I always care about losing weight or maintaining weight lose, I have failed as often as I have succeeded. I am 53, and the first time I really cared about weight loss was when I turned 15. In about 10 weeks, I lost almost 40 lbs with a regimen that included riding my bike, training martial arts 5 days/week, and cutting out all sweets, refined sugar, french fries, and soda, and replacing it with fresh fruit, and salad. Kept most of the weight off for a few years, but eventually put it all back on plus a few lbs when I went off to college.

Fast forward a few years to my senior year of college, and I dropped 50 lbs in 4 months by taking up jogging, and, you guessed it, cutting out all sweets, refined sugar, french fries, soda and beer. Kept if off for about a year, after which the weight came back when I went to grad school, and long hours of hitting the books, not exercising, and poor eating habits took its toll.

Anyway, this pattern has repeated itself over the decades. I have lost over 40 lbs 5 times over the years, and obviously, gained it back as many times. I have kept the weight off for as long as 5 years, and as short as 8 months. Unlike an alcoholic or drug addict, who can focus on abstaining completely, we have to eat every single day and high calorie foods are everywhere. That said, I do ride regularly, and I am back doing martial arts 3 times/week to stay in shape through the winter months, though I am still probably the biggest adult at the school.

So in a nutshell, losing and maintaining weight is a lifetime commitment.

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Old 05-27-19, 11:51 AM
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The motivation needs to come from within. Either you want to be lighter or you don't. And if you have to pay someone to help you lose weight you may as well donate the money to a good cause because that's not a sustainable approach.

Number one thing leading to sustained weight loss is eating less calories, and hopefully, better quality calories. If you exercise, and biking is a great method, you will greatly accelerate the weight loss, but without controlled eating it's a losing battle. I know this from experience as someone that has a history of losing and gaining back over the years. You need to push back from the table and change your habits. That's the hardest part, not losing the weight on the front end.
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Old 05-27-19, 05:28 PM
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Originally Posted by Nessism
... if you have to pay someone to help you lose weight you may as well donate the money to a good cause because that's not a sustainable approach.


Did you read the first post? Your response is pretty glib.


There are lots of situations and circumstances in which paying for the help of a professional is wise and well worth the money, making corrective changes to one's health being one of them. Clearly you don't agree, and that's fine if it works for you. I'm merely pointing this out for anyone else reading the thread who might be dissuaded to seek help when they really need it because of your comment.


And I'll repeat what I said that I had two exceptionally good experiences with personal training. Money was an obstacle for me to do professional training continuously, but even doing it for 8 or 4 months, I learned a lot and was helped a lot. And I had fun with it, too. It was tremendous fun to be doing it with another person, and that person being an expert whom I could trust would help ensure I didn't injure myself while correcting weak areas or learning new skills. I would commend it to anyone, even if it's financially challenging for a while, and I will go back when I am able.


Social support has everything to do with the reason why I'm asking the question in the first place. I would not advocate or agree with your implication that paying an expert to get social support in addition to their expertise is throwing money away, especially if it is the only option for some people who lack familial support. Making life changes that are very hard in the context of healthy, supportive relationship is a scientifically proven and important predictor of success. To whomever is reading this in the future, especially if you've ever struggled with depression in the past...... just Google "social support and fitness" or "social support and weight loss" and you'll see the validity of seeking it out.
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Old 05-27-19, 10:59 PM
  #19  
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I apologize College3.0. I missed the part where you suffer from depression. I just feel that paying a trainer for emotional support is not a sustainable approach (unless your name is Jennifer Lopez) Are you a member of any cycling clubs? That's a great way to make friends and find workout partners. I assume STL means Saint Louis? If so, there is sure to be lots of country roads through the farmer fields. Back when I was living in the Cleveland area I had lots of riding friends and there were clubs all over the place. Ride hard and eat less, and the lbs. will peel off quickly.

Good luck
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Old 05-30-19, 08:48 AM
  #20  
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At one point I went from 278# to 218# but after several years went back up to 270#. I had gotten fat once again and I got angry about it.
My wife and we opted to change our lifestyle which is the key. That is why diets don't usually work. Anyway, I am a researcher by trade and nature, so I started looking into how the body works. That ended us on the path of eating foods low on the glycemic index (a modified paleo diet). I ended up losing 3+ pounds a week just by eating right and exercising. Once I got off the insulin roller coaster, I wasn't hungry. I am now hovering around 200# and need to drop another 15 which I can do if I put my mind to it. But I started this 4 years ago and am still going strong.

BAck then, my doctor told me all of the things that "We" were gong to do like start on a statin. We actually had a shouting match. I told him I was doing it my way and I did. When I saw him 3 months later, he was aghast that I had been able to lose 50# by doing it my way. I dropped down to 175# but was told to gain some back by my doctor and I found that I was actually malnourished to some degree.

It does take some support to stay motivated. There is no denying that. but once you find something that fits into your lifestyle and you adjust your lifestyle to maintain it, then you are on the right track. That part doesn't take a coach, it just takes an awareness of what you are eating and holding yourself accountable to it. A case in point. On the same diet as me, my wife has struggled to lose weight. I hear regularly "Women don't lose weight as fast as men." My response is always "Calorie wise, how much have you eaten today?" Regardless of how many times that I've shown her how to measure her portions and how to enter them into our spreadsheet of foods, she never knows. That is the lack of awareness on her part. When I am in lose weight mode, I am keenly aware of how many calories that I am consuming. It becomes second nature.

Now I am into evangelist mode. Sorry but I love to help people make changes in their lifestyle that benefits them.

Everyone mentions calories in versus calories out which is absolutely true; however, not all calories are created equal.
An example, white bread is very easily converted from starch to sugar by the enzymes in the body. This leads to a fast spike in blood sugar and a resulting increase in insulin production. Now, take the coarse 24 grain bread that I eat, the coarseness of the grain causes it to convert from starch to sugar more slowly meaning that the blood sugar spike is more gradual as is the insulin production. This is the key aspect of the glycemic index. Look it up as it helps you eat in ways that your body is designed to work. Another example is quick oatmeal as compared to steel cut oats. Quick oatmeal is steamed, rolled flat and chopped into small pieces. It metabolizes quickly. Steel cut oats are whole grains chopped into chunks. It takes longer for enzymes to penetrate steel cut oats which means a slower rise in blood sugar and insulin creation.

Getting out to exercise regularly sucks. I hate it but I force myself to do it. I ran last night in 90 degree heat and suffered miserably for it but I had to do it. I force myself to commute 40 miles each day even though a round trip commute to work is only 9 miles. We have to do what we have to do sometimes. Suck it up and keep plodding. I have suffered from sever depression for years but have found ways to cope and I keep plodding along.

Some have mentioned cycling clubs. Stop by local bike shops and ask about local groups. Many groups are a bit standoffish but there are still people who are more than willing to help new or slow riders.

Sorry for a lot of rambling.
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Old 06-01-19, 09:56 PM
  #21  
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Losing lbs and lowering blood pressure

Couple more pounds bit the dust. This is a slow arduous slog but already I'm riding faster and further than just a month ago. I go back to the doctor to get my blood pressure checked in a week. I've owned many home blood pressure machines but they always eventually break, so I use the blood pressure machine at Walmart. The store in my town has a very nice modern computerized machine that appears to be very accurate. I know their calibration is generally better than the home equipment. One of these store blood pressure readers saved me years ago because I was in the habit of using it and my blood pressure suddenly shot up to extremely high levels and I caught it with one of these pharmacy store machines. The best part is the tests have always been free. I'm using the Myfitnesspal diary to keep track of my eating and caloric needs. As long as you don't lie to it you will lose weight. This is the second time around for weight reduction for me and I'm going to try much harder to keep it off this time. Good luck to everyone losing weight or keeping it off.
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Old 06-05-19, 09:20 AM
  #22  
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I've written most of this elsewhere. But the first time? I can't really pin that down. in 2010 after a knee replacement I got serious about getting in shape again. I was 300 pounds. After the knee replacement I used the bikes to work at the knee first, but got riding more. That led to a crash in 2011, breaking my back and neck. Proved I wasn't indestructible, much less worthy of full gonzo riding anymore. I will say, I do NOT recommend that as a weight loss method, it is not fun, nor is it sustainable... Took me 3 years to even get on a bike. And due to some nerve painmeds, I gained a significant amount of weight.

Three years ago, or so, I was having some issues and I knew weight was a factor. But I wasn't serious about going forward. Then that summer, my right knee had a meniscus tear. And I had a heel spur on the back of my right ankle. I managed to walk my daughter down the aisle a few months later, but was in serious pain for it. And in Dec of 2017 I had surgery to remove that heel spur, which had cut 75% of the way through my achilles tendon. During that recovery. I decided I needed to lose weight. Over the next 6 months, I did lose 30 ponds. And at 330 pounds, I decided to seek surgical help. I started the rocess towards bariatric surgery. But family events stepped in the way big time, my Dad had cancer. And it took him quick. Took me a long time to get myself in a good place to deal with surgery. By this point I was 378. A bit over a year ago. I had quit trying to ride my bike on the trainer even, as the heelspur made soft pedaling painful, and as my weight increased, I felt like I was going to topple over on the bike on the trainer. I did not feel safe...

My right knee is failing. I had sprained my left ankle shortly after the right heel surgery. And it was not getting better. Weight was the problem. A sleep study proved I had sleep apnea and needed a CPAP machine. I had fluid building in my legs. My A1C numbers were climbing, my blood pressure was high, even on meds. And a cardiologist scared the crap out of me... I got back on the bariatric program...

Last October I had Gastric Sleeve surgery. I had lost 22 pounds in the previous 6 months. I was in a cardiac rehab program. I felt pretty low...

OK. I'm down 115 from this time a year ago. My right knee is still failing, but is manageable right now. I had physical therapy for my left ankle, and it has responded well. I'm off BP meds. My A1C numbers are lower than ever. My cardiologist doesn't need to see me till NEXT year. I'm off the cardiac rehab program. My exercise heart rate is where my RESTING rate was a year ago. I can BREATHE better. My pressure for my CPAP has been reduced, and my next sleep study may show I no longer NEED the CPAP. My resting heart rate is in the 50s, low 60s, but has been 48 and 49 more than a few times. I am back on my bikes. I'm riding with my grandkids.

I'm pleased so far. But, I want to get to 240. Just 23 pounds more to get there. I never thought I'd be 263 again. But here I am. I was wearing 4x shirts. 54 pants. Now, I'm in 2x shirts, but 1x/xl fit. (I've even had on a LARGE that wasn't terribly tight!!!) I just bought a couple pair of size 42 shorts. I wore 40s when I retired from the Navy 18 years ago. Last time I weighed 240... At 240, I will re-evaluate my weight goals. But for now, riding my bikes, hitting the gym, staying active are my main goals. Keeping my new relationship with food is not a goal, but a lifestyle.

I'm 56. And I wish I had done all this differently. But you know what? I am doing it differently now. But I'll always be a clyde as I am 6'1"...
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Old 06-06-19, 10:45 AM
  #23  
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“Hi David, this is Dr. Wanner. Just as I suspected you have diabetes.” This call from my doctor in 2008 is what did it for me.

I went into beast mode, made lifestyle changes with a low carb, and somewhat clean, diet and started exercising regular, well cycling. My goal was to cycle at least 3 times a week, but I actually hit 4 times a week often during the months of Apr – Oct. I’ve had plenty ups and downs on this journey, at my heaviest I was 260 and my lowest was 213, now I’m hovering around 220. However with a blog--www.SavingMyFoot.com, a YouTube Channel--@savingmyfoot, n+1 bikes, and 11 years later, I’m still at it! Since I’m 6’0 I will always be a Clyde, personally think I’ll be too light if I’m more than 10lbs or so under 200, so my ultimate goal is get under 205.

As others have said, it takes internal motivation to make lifestyle changes. Just like a drug/alcoholic addict, they can check into all the rehab centers in the world but if they don’t want and believe it for themselves, it usually doesn’t work/last.

Good luck College3.0, you can do this (a cliché, but it’s true)! Find your own internal motivation and just do it! Dangit, another cliché.

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Old 06-09-19, 08:56 AM
  #24  
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My wife had been harping on that our health is the only thing that we had going for us as we get older. I had told my self that when I retired that I would start taking better care of myself. I normally rode around 2000 miles a year. I retired last year and rode 7000 miles. I am a diabetic, was taking very large dosages of insulin, since I increased my riding goals my insulin dosages have been reduced by over 50%. My last physical has been better, but I told the doctor that I would try to reduce the amount of red meat that I have been eating. I probably won't ride 7000 miles this year but should be over 6000 miles.

Recently, I have been taking my aging mother to the doctor and have found out that she has heart problems, vascular problems among other things. My brother has had two heart attacks and the second one resulted in a quadruple bypass. I don't want these problems for myself.

As for weight loss I didn't think that I was really losing any weight but I found out at my last physical that I am now 20 lbs lighter. I blame some of that on the flu earlier this year.

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Old 06-30-19, 07:07 PM
  #25  
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Originally Posted by indyfabz
I was on my feet all day, often carrying heavy loads. My feet hurt. I went to see a doctor. He told me I was fat. Literally used the term "fat." He was right.
I was off sick the last 2 weeks with sore feet! Well when I say sore, I mean excruciatingly painful. Had an x-ray which was clear. Doctor felt it was stress fracture. I am on my feet all day and do 13 hour shifts. It's a killer. I'm back to work on Thursday. Not looking forward to it.
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