Billy k

First off let me qualify my self. 5"9' 220 LB. got a big bellie. I started road bike riding first part of July . I have done several over 25 mile rides with out killing my self. But where I live in NorCal it can be quite hilly.On group rides that Performance puts on I die on some of those hills. Gasping for breath I had to dis mount 2 times going over one mountain. Ok so my ego is damaged the group has to wait for me. They are very supportive and encouage me and say it is ok to get off and walk.Does it get better? I have trouble loosing the bellie I tried Weight Watchers and a little sucsess but just stopped loosing. What kind of time have you folks had to do to loose the weight I suspect I am impatient . This group seems very expirenced and supportive also I am encouaged with alot of the storys you guys have to share. Thanks in advance for any feed back I may get/

dagray

look into changing your stem to one that puts you more upright (you can always bend elbows and change hand positions to become more aero), make sure your rear cassette is set up for hills if that is what you do mainly. Drink lots of water. I too have a larger belly, but it is shrinking.

Get a heart rate monitor. I would bet your heart rate gets high when on the climbs.... listen to your body sometimes you have to just rest for a couple. It will get easier and faster the more you do it.

Willbird

494 days, 125 lbs :-). 5'8"....started at like 304, 180-185 right now. The first 100-120 went pretty quick, the final 20 is a butch :-).

But do some intervals, and do a HARD day, then an easy day, then a moderate day. Buy a Heart Rate Monitor.

Your age will have some impact on whether you can do two hard days a week or only one.

I finally decided to try Low Carb High Fat correct protein and I think it will vanquish these last 20 lbs :-). 2000 calories on a non ride day, 20-25 carbs, 70-100 protein. 400 calories an hour for riding in added intake.

bassjones

MyFitnessPal. Log EVERYTHING you eat. Your real caloric needs are likely lower than their base though so shoot for 2000 or so and don't subtract what they tell you is burned exercising. Cut beer and pop (including diet) from your diet and cut sugar and grains.

Billy k

Thanks guys I forgot to say I am 66 with a total knee replacement 20 months ago. I been clean and sober 31 years Aug 28th. so no beer. no soda .Lattes I can't give up but I am down to 1 or 2 a day. I just got a heart rate monitor last week a Garmin. I am asking the V.A. for a stress test to check the heart .I have high blood pressure under control with meds

Mark Stone

Hi Billy,

The other responses in this thread are very good, however I want to add something. At 66 years of age, you have a lot of life experience to fall back on, and certainly you have been through enough health and weight-wise to be able to know what works for you. You should also understand the need for patience and commitment and that life changes such as the one you're after take time. Your question "Does it get better?" Yeah. Be patient with yourself, trust what you've learned in the past, and keep on truckin'.

Willbird

11-12-1991 for the ODAT myself :-). Dr. told me to keep my eyes open to maybe needing to stop my BP meds, and I did so. So if you do not have a home BP monitor you might want to grab one, my BP will run something like 117/75 sometimes now :-). IMHO you will probably get off all your meds if you stick with this, maybe. I'm 50 myself.

I do not agree with Bass totally on eating back cals, if you do a bigger ride such as 50-100 miles you may need some. Also some learned folks feel the "exercise raises your resting energy expenditure" bit is in fact totally wrong, it may LOWER it, but I am pretty sure riding is what lowers my BP. MY resting pulse now runs 45-50....DR was really impressed with that :-).

Bill

Cosmic Hawk

I Don't know how you guys can stay awake on a 35 carb a day diet. You are riding a bike for long distances! You need to eat carbs or you are just going to crash your metabolism, and set your self up to return to where you started. Get a balanced diet with higher carbs and low fat. It is much more manageable than avoiding every carb you see, and once you have it dailed in, you will maintain easy, because you aren't depriving yourself of something your body needs. If you think carbs will make you fat, just look at the 1 billion chinese people who eat bowl after bowl of rice a day. They won't make you fat. Don't take my word for it though. Look up an elite cyclist or runner who publishes their macro nutrients on a blog or something and see what they eat. Scale the calories back to your level of activity and BOOM.

ciderguy

Weight loss takes time. Eat less calories on the days you don't ride. Eat a higher percent of better calories every day, such as nuts, fruits, beans and vegetables. Give you body time to develop muscle, including your heart and lungs. I personally have lots of trouble making the number on the scale go down. I've lost 5lbs in the last 6 months, but 2 inches around my waist. I know I've lost fat, but I seemed to have gained weight from muscle and bone density. Get a scale that measures body fat and stop worrying about weight. I'm taller and heavier than you. Get more rest! Don't be discouraged.

It probably took you a long time to gain the weight. You can't expect it to disappear overnight. Remember:
"Training is like fighting with a Gorilla. You don't stop when you're tired. You stop when the Gorilla is tired." - Greg Henderson


Also, I agree with Cosmic Hawk about the diet. My diet is probably 50 to 75% carbs. However, they are almost all unprocessed carbs from fruits, vegetables, and beans. The only exception is a little oatmeal at breakfast. Carbs are fuel!

bassjones

Those are elite athletes. The low grain (not low carb) plan works well for those of us trying to lose weight.

Cosmic Hawk

Like I said. Just scale back your caloric intake to match your BMR + activity. You will still lose weight and have much more energy. You will still be eating incredibly healthy food

andrewbp

For what it's worth, I switch to mostly paleo for the past year or two and dropped 80lbs from 395 to 315 without a bit of cardio, consider it like a weird science experiment on myself. As some fitness person said on YouTube, abs start in the kitchen , and another youtuber named durian rider said that fat you eat is the fat you keep , but I take his stuff with a grain of salt since he's a vegan guy that I think only eats bananas lol. But the paleo diet, I pretty much cut out all the whites. Breads, pastas, rice, most cow dairy. Ate mostly meats and veggies and healthy fats like coconut based stuff and mixed nuts minus peanuts since they are legumes.

Realize that the weight wasn't put on over night and it's not going to come off overnight. It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle now to lose weight. Don't jump into the deep end of the pool. Start by switching to mostly water with maybe the once a month coke or juice to reward yourself. And yeah it's going to suck for a while, but it's hardwork and determination that separates you from the next guy on the couch. Trust me I'd rather be eating a chicken friend steak with gravy on top instead of busting my ass at 17mph on the bike on the trainer for a half hour , but I'm now down to 306.9 as of this morning.

I've came too far to turn back now. I'd post a link to my Instagram to show you the meals I make but don't know if linking is allowed as a new person , but I can do Brussels sprouts with bacon and basalmic glaze , Dijon mustard encrusted salmon fillet with cauliflower rice fried rice, seared scallops with grilled asparagus topped with a over easy egg, or seared on sale filet mignon with a root veggie for dinner. It's just making healthy substitutions and having the willpower to stick it out to your end goal that make the difference.

Willbird

I think you can post an image ??

Bill

andrewbp

Well it would be easier to post a link as I have multiple paleo meals I've done

ShortLegCyclist

Billy, you mention you are riding the Performance group rides, but they are typically just once a week, on Saturday mornings.

Are you riding other than that? Because if you are riding 25 miles just once a week, that's not going to do it.

It takes a 3000 calorie deficit to lose a single pound. So use MyFitnessPal or Lose It! or Spark People, all of which have free versions, don't give a dime to Weight Watchers and see if the numbers in a given week add up to a 3000 calorie deficit over that week, counting all exercise calories.

If not, you should not be surprised if you are not losing weight.

I was on a 1700 calorie a day diet while I was losing 120 pounds, because I wanted to do the maximum loss recommended, 2 pounds a week. You can choose less aggressive plans, which allow you more calories as well.

Lattes are very high calorie, and almond and soy milk are no use as they are just as high as milk.

No disrespect intended to the poster who wrote about Paleo, but the key is to find an eating plan (NOT a "diet") that you can adopt and sustain the rest of your life, otherwise, when you reach goal weight and go back to your old eating habits, you will regain every ounce and more.

Paleo IMO is just too restrictive to sustain the rest of your life.

I and thousands of others are living proof that you don't need to be that restrictive. I didn't avoid ANY foods, just took the quantity WAY down to keep the calories under goal every day.

For 18 months I never once went over calorie limit and as a result I lost 120 pounds and have kept it off. Today I rode the Perimeter Ride of Seattle, 80 miles and 4500 feet of climbing, with no problem. 18 months ago I wouldn't have made it the first 15 miles.

Willbird

I think what you eat and when you eat it can and does have a huge impact on how hungry you feel at a given caloric intake :-). Some people do make very successful changed to eating patterns and composition, it is not a "diet" if it has no fixed ending point :-). Some of the success of some of the more strict regimens may be in eliminating hidden calories and carbs, the simpler and more "primal" foods are easier to weigh and measure and know exactly what you are eating.

Bill

AverageJoe2.0

I'm not a low carber, but I find the opposite of what you are saying. I feel drowsy, or at least on an energy roller coaster, when I go too high in carbs, especially sugars and refined starches. I feel much more alert and my energy levels more consistent throughout the day when most of my calories come from protein and good fats with most of my carbs from leafy greens, and non-starchy vegetables, with some fruits (mostly berries) and nuts. If I have a high carb breakfast of something like a bagel with jelly, I'll eat quite a bit more during the day than if I start with more protein like Greek yogurt with berries and just a bit of granola, or an omlette with lots of veggies and some feta cheese.

By cutting back on (not eliminating) pasta, bread, white rice, corn/corn meal, and white potatoes and focusing on poultry, fish, lean pork or beef, game meats, nuts and lots of vegetables I'm now 80 pounds lighter than I was 5 years ago.

Cosmic Hawk

CONTAINS TANGENT THOUGHTS - SORRY


Yeah we are on opposite ends of the spectrum, for sure. I eat a little meat here and there, but I haven't read any peer reviewed medical journals that ever said human digestive tracts were designed for meat. I don't want to get too off topic on that really. People will feel how they feel about it. I do know that I have maintained anywhere from 8-14% body fat for the last 10 years at 205-225 pounds for the last 10 years purely on most of the stuff you said you avoid( well not purely, I just eat tons of fruits, veggies, and bread/rice/whatever). It's a funny world like that. For me though - my weight doesn't matter as much as what the doctor says. Everyone I know that eats high meat content winds up with pretty high cholesterol. It makes sense, since our bodies make cholesterol naturally, and then we are supplementing that with other animals cholesterol.

In that same vein, when I think of the Paleo Diet, I think of the modern progenitors like Dr. Atkins (extreme version of 'Paleo' I reckon), who had heart attacks, heart failure, and hypertension when he died.

Also food for thought, The USDA prohibits eggs from being labeled "healthy, safe, or even that they are important part of your diet" because they consider it false and misleading to consumers. That is enough to keep me away from products like that. Losing 1000 pounds isn't worth it if it ultimately compromises your health.

Willbird

Honestly I could not disagree more :-).I did feel a LITTLE strange the first week, the second week was better. And on the Bike I concentrated on heart rate rides at 125 or so for the first 2-3 weeks, but now on the bike I feel "normal" again...this is my 4th week in running at 25g of carbohydrate a day, I feel WAY less tired, my mood and energy level is FAR more consistent, no more of that afternoon lazy feeling that was all too common before.

The Chinese folks do in fact eat rice, but not 10,000 calories worth...and for many of them if they are "hungry" too bad, there is no more to eat anyway. Many folks have sustained 50g-100g of carbs and 70g-100g of protein a day for YEARS with nothing but GOOD results, they have not "crashed their metabolism"...and some have maintained middle single digit body fat content that whole time.

Many obese and overweight people suffer from Insulin resistance and or type II diabetes....a high carb, esp "fast" carb diet does not "help" that condition one bit, every surge in blood sugar does damage, when I was 280 lbs and ate 100g of Old fashioned oats my Blood sugar would be 250 for two hours straight after eating it.

There is not one single essential nutrient or mineral contained strictly in Carbohydrates.

But for the first year really just controlled intake using a logging program, and riding a bike an hour nearly every day will do wonders, did for me anyway, then many people me included hit a wall on losing the last 10-20 lbs....coupled with feeling RAVENOUS all the time, esp if you ride at a higher power level (for yourself, in your own upper range of individual ability). This IMHO is exactly when a lot of people backslide, and put the weight all back on, and add some more for good measure. 1 in 1000 people successfully lose a large amount of weight and keep it off, and a high carb low fat diet for ME anyway seemed to be destined to put me in the 999, low carb high fat moderate protein seems destined to help me become the 1 of 1000.

The Jury is IN on Dietary Cholesterol and it's impact on blood cholesterol, and it says that dietary cholesterol has little or no impact.

Bill

69chevy

Start working your aerobic fitness as well as your leg muscles.

Find a balance where you can spin high rpm with moderate leg strain and climbing will get easier.

The spinning will help your aerobic fitness and get you up the hill without eating your legs.

Once you crest, go back to a slower cadence and use leg muscle while you catch your breath.

Until you are fit enough to hammer through the whole ride, try to balance your strengths and weaknesses.

69chevy

Humans weren't "designed". We have adapted and evolved. Since "we" began eating meat 2.5 million years ago (according to fossil studies) I think it's safe to say meat has it's place in our diet. I eat meat on a daily basis and my cholesterol has always measured 120 or below (LDL).

I am also curious as to how you were able to get down to 8% body fat. Michael Phelps was reportedly 8% at his Olympic fitness (around 200lbs) and was often called the "fittest" man alive.

mrfreezesdefy3

All I can tell you is my experience, my fitness pal , ride ride n more riding , hit the hills and hit the hills
Drop all your sugar , ,strive for 300 miles a month .
Ride hills ride hills and ride hills and for god sakes
Spin spin spin and spin all you can on those hills
Enjoy the rides and time will take care of the rest , I started out at 350
Riding 10 miles each time ,at 13 mph avg ,,now I'm 270 and rides vary from time available at 18.0 mph avg around 30 to 50 miles ,
Again enjoy your time on the bike and ride with other like you or a tad better ,and you'll get better , good luck

Midtown

Would like to see the link.

Drew Eckhardt 

Absolutely - I improved my power to weight ratio 80%, as in I can use a 50 ring and the same cog I used to need with a 30.

Until then help yourself with lower gears. You won't be any faster (that's determined by your power to weight ratio which takes time to improve) although you can make yourself more comfortable and avoid stops. Pacing yourself correctly is essential - ignore what everyone else is doing, because an extra 5% effort is all that separates what you can manage for 20 minutes not 60 and 10 minutes not 20.

I'm 5'9.5", and by Fall 2013 I'd grown past 205 pounds again at which point the sweaty crease between my man-boobs and belly was uncomfortable. I wore 36" pants suggesting I was actually 40" around my belt line with a bigger middle. I needed large jerseys and XXL shorts.

By April or May 2015 I was sticking around 137 because ab vascuarity was too much; although I lost training time after crashing and am down to 136 with only 4-pack abs. 26" waist with a tape measure. XS or XXS jerseys where club fit is right out, small shorts.

Starting 2015 I weighed 148, and in April 2014 I was 185.

I got there starting riding again (you need to ride 5 days a week to be in OK shape, and 6 days totaling 10-12 hours is where things really come together)


and by adopting three simple and sustainable diet rules:

1. Don't eat when not hungry
2. Only eat enough to be sated 30 minutes after the last bite, going back for seconds or thirds and snacking as necessary. I was susprised to find I was as satisfied with 1/3 less food/
3. Always eat when hungry to avoid becoming too ravenous to stop or pause when prudent.

where the one notable food change was snacks with fewer carbs but more fat and protein with longer lasting satiety (mixed nuts; avocado with olive oil, salt, pepper, and sriracha sauce; left over meat).

Through February, 2015 I rode easy miles which are mostly fat powered and don't make me hungry. After that I switched to a mostly polarized plan to get my power up, where that means 20% of your workouts include very hard intervals powered mostly by carbs leading to "runger" and 80% are entirely below your aerobic threshold.

The hard days make you faster over shorter distances; easy days over longer.

When I was naive, added hard days, and turned my easy days into tempo rides my weight loss plateaued leaving an extra 40 pounds of fat and I wasn't fast over longer distances



Training and fewer carbs shift the energy balance towards fats so you don't deplete your glycogen stores as quickly and need to eat to replenish them - I don't need to eat on rides under 4 hours.

This year I almost stopped drinking beer which isn't compatible with hard rides the next day or waking rested at sunrise. I was having one on most Saturdays since I don't ride Sundays, although that's dropped to one every month or two.

Drew Eckhardt 

Diet (no extra eating) and exercise (lots below your aerobic threshold) will do it. Impact on sport performance and aesthetics are separate issues.

Bradley Wiggins reportedly won his Tour de France at 4.5% (6'3", 158 pounds although he won Olympic track races at 172) and 6% is a common starting point for the grand tours.

Power can be a little higher with a little extra, and fat floats swimmers so more fat is better in the water.

Power to weight ratio is better with less so less is good cycling.

This ignores measurement accuracy. Smart scales can be consistent when you check at the same hydration level, although they're far from accurate - mine reads 3-4% total when 8-10% is realistic. You want DEXA, air displacement plethysmography, or under-water weighing.