advise weight loss

bryan71

It's advise really i need.Over The years i have put weight.I weighed in at over 19 stone.I am 6 feet 4.I got out my mountain bike and looked at my diet.In the last 6 weeks i have managed to loose 24ibs.Thats with a very good diet well i think it is and going on my mountain bike every day for an hour.
But my weight loss has slowed down to about a 1.5ib a week.My diet is porridge and dried fruit for breakfast.Large bowl of fruit with low fat natural yogurt for lunch.And a low fat meal at night.I drink plenty of water.
I have ordered a road bike this week so hope to do longer rides.
Just a bit worried that my weight loss has slowed down.And should i be drinking things like protein shakes as a meal.I have to say my overall fitness has improved.

judokev

Hi Bryan,

Dont beat yourself up it sounds like you have made a great start. the weight comes off quickly at first as you are normally carrying a lot of fluid then slows, but between 1-3lbs a week is the norm i think for your plan to be working.
Coming down to quickly isnt always good slow is better as it tends to stay off.

A good tip is to get your other to measure you
Neck, chest at nipples, Stomach, waste line, thigh, calf, bicep. Keep a record to look back at.
Might sound strange but use a long piece of string and a tape measure you might find your not really loosing much weight but coming down in size people give up because there weight isnt dropping but they are improving.

I went from a lazy 16.5 stone to 14 stone and very active by careful eating not a diet just cut out the ready meals, snacks and excess booze( we all like a drink ) speed walking every night dog loves it, now I am back into Judo and Bike riding and it helps to keep your weight where you want it.

Look forward to buying new clothes when you find tours are to big.

Judokev

ride_whenever

You have to be careful, you want to try and make a lifestyle change rather than just get down to your target weight otherwise you'll perpetually yo-yo. Although you have made some good progress. The article on the front page has some sound advice. I'd be a little worried about the levels of sugar you're having, what with all the fruit, some dried fruits are awful for sugar. Try switching to five smaller meals, I've personally found that that works well for me.

judokev

Hi again just read a good thread on the road beginners
When will it get easier? take a look it may help
Sugar is the enemy its not just fat watch out for healthy cereals and the ready meals some have loads of sugar in them

Judo kev

guinea

1.5lbs a week is fine. There's no point pushing it much further than that.

I lost about 12 stones very quickly in 7 months and I don't recomend it. You are far better to get yourself into a proper diet that you can maintain rather than trying to blast all your weight off in one go.

If you lose the weight quickly you run a far higher risk of putting it back on as you slip back to you old ways since you diet is unsustainable. You are better to change you diet to something healthy and just stick at it for life.

I'm glad I lost the weight I did. However, with the knowledge I have now I wouldn't do it like that again.

st68

slow weight loss is better i lost 4 stone quickly and it made ill and listless so i gained a stone with weight training and i feel so much better for it

andrewc3142

Sounds like you're doing great.

1-2 lbs per week is about right. It'll all come off quicker than you think.

farrell

I AM NOT AN EXPERT - I have trained for races over the last 5 years so based on that I will 'recommend' the following:-

Longer rides is the key.

Keep on doing the diet ( as in eating healthy and not starving yourself ) add a bit of protein, real food - steak - tuna - quinoa, to your intake as it will build muscle (...and strength..) for those longer rides.

Train according to time and slowly increase it over the weeks.

6 hours week one
7 hours week two
8 hours week three
5 hours week four ( rest week - it WILL make you stronger )
7 hours week five
8 hours week six
9 hours week seven
6 hours week eight - rest.......etc

Do this until you find a balance between lifestyle / training or what's comfortable for you.

I find a least a couple of 2.5 / 3 hour rides a week ( build up to it ) are beneficial for keeping in trim. You'll need to be disciplined but you will see the results. When you get to a point where you consider yourself 'fit' only use the scales to measure fluid loss after a workout as you will need to replace fluids lost through sweat. As you build muscle you may weigh more so if you only use scales it could falsely give you the wrong perception of what's happening to your body....... Do it if you have to keep track of weight but body shape and how 'fit / 'strong' you feel is a better indicator - you will know.

I hope this helps.

Chris

EDIT: forgot to mention to do your training at perceived easy/moderate pace to ensure you are in the fat burning zone. If you train at higher intensities you are burning more carbs/protein and won't even touch your fat reserves for fuel in an hours workout.

Better still, buy a heart rate monitor to measure/track exertion and train between 60 - 75% max heart rate.

bryan71

Thank you all for taking time and trouble to answer.bryan

SteveR_100Milers

farrell wrote:

I AM NOT AN EXPERT - I have trained for races over the last 5 years so based on that I will 'recommend' the following:-

Longer rides is the key.

Keep on doing the diet ( as in eating healthy and not starving yourself ) add a bit of protein, real food - steak - tuna - quinoa, to your intake as it will build muscle (...and strength..) for those longer rides.

Train according to time and slowly increase it over the weeks.

6 hours week one
7 hours week two
8 hours week three
5 hours week four ( rest week - it WILL make you stronger )
7 hours week five
8 hours week six
9 hours week seven
6 hours week eight - rest.......etc

Do this until you find a balance between lifestyle / training or what's comfortable for you.

I find a least a couple of 2.5 / 3 hour rides a week ( build up to it ) are beneficial for keeping in trim. You'll need to be disciplined but you will see the results. When you get to a point where you consider yourself 'fit' only use the scales to measure fluid loss after a workout as you will need to replace fluids lost through sweat. As you build muscle you may weigh more so if you only use scales it could falsely give you the wrong perception of what's happening to your body....... Do it if you have to keep track of weight but body shape and how 'fit / 'strong' you feel is a better indicator - you will know.

I hope this helps.

Chris

EDIT: forgot to mention to do your training at perceived easy/moderate pace to ensure you are in the fat burning zone. If you train at higher intensities you are burning more carbs/protein and won't even touch your fat reserves for fuel in an hours workout.

Better still, buy a heart rate monitor to measure/track exertion and train between 60 - 75% max heart rate.

Thats not strictly true. There are enough threads on the subject and enough books and papers on the net to contradict this belief. You simply burn a higher RATIO of carbs to fats at higher intensities, up to your lactate threshold anyway. However, you still burn more fat at 80%MHR than you do at 65%MHR - the issue is whether you ride as much volume at 80% as you can 65%, probably not, therefore most people burn a bigger quantity of fat in a week or a month by riding slower and for longer. For those people who are time constrained, then harder is better if you don't have more than 6-7 hours a week.

fatbee

"ensure you are in the fat burning zone. If you train at higher intensities you are burning more carbs/protein and won't even touch your fat reserves for fuel in an hours workout."

Have to agree with SteveR, the above is just cobblers. Widely believed cobblers admittedly, but cobblers nonetheless I'm afraid.

farrell

alright guys...calm down.

fatbee

I :

fatbee

am calm.

This :

"If you train at higher intensities you are burning more carbs/protein and won't even touch your fat reserves for fuel in an hours workout."

is balls.

farrell

Ouch......

jeeez

Ok maybe you will burn a 'little' fat during a high/intensive one hour workout.

But this will plateau once you have reached a certain level of fitness. One hour is not enough to effectively burn fat - I agree that not everyone has time to do 3 hour rides but that's where the discipline bit comes into it. When I was seriously training for racing I was up at 4.30 / 5am during the winter and I was putting in 4 / 5hour sessions and the changes to my body was phenomenal . If you want to achieve a goal to have to make some sacrifices - if there is no time then you have be better organised.

I used to do all the books / latest fads and tried many techniques...etc - most didn't work for me....... but, I have learnt to find my own way by knowing my numbers and listening to my body - From my experience long rides at lower intensities ( i.e not eye's out blazing ) will produce a low fat body.....This is very difficult to achieve in a one hour session.

Infamous

This old chesnut.

The thing about "Long slow rides" that burns fat ISN'T the "slow" bit, it's the "long" bit.

It doesn't matter what intensity you ride, only the total amount of calories burnt. And obviously, a long ride will burn more than a short fast ride. BUT, if you go out for a one hour ride and ride slow, you will burn less calories (and hence, less fat) than if you ride for 1 hour fast.

One long slow ride a week is all you need.

idaviesmoore

All above true. Fat Burning Zone was developed by people who didn't want to work hard. It's not based on sound fact. You can't beat hard work...however there is a greater risk of injury. Be warned

bonk man

Lifestyle change it has to be, like has been said earlier in this thread. Consume less beer and junk food, eat fresh veg and fruit whenever you can, try to cut down on meat and eggs and especially cheese and milk.

It is as hard as giving up smoking to change eating habits as they are not only ingrained in ourselves but in our families, I managed to give up meat and dairy as I have some family support and a fair few are vegetarian but giving up the beer, biscuits and the like is more of a hurdle as we are a bit greedy

Enlist family members in your endeavours, especially the food buyers. Go to health food restaurants and try some new foods out. Turn off the telly [ same goes for the pc as well ] and do some stuff about the house or go for a bike ride or a walk with the dog
You will feel better the more you drop the weight but if you can combine it a healthy general lifestyle all the better.

Tell you what... lets all make a lifestyle pledge [ realistic ] post it here and try and stick to it untill it becomes normal..

Mine is; no beers in the in the week....... :shock:

bryan71

I have cut all beer and wine out have done for the last 7 weeks.I have been eating a very good diet.I have cut down on the fruit as i was eating to much so my sugar intake was going up.Been eating plenty of white meat.and switched to skimmed milk.As i new bike rider going out only an hour a day.But at least that is more than i was doing 2 months ago.I have joined weightwatchers with my better half Since my start 7 weeks ago i have lost 24ibls.God how much better i feel.It's not hard giving up drink it's easy to get in a routine every night a few drinks becomes a bottle and look how much sugar goes into a bottle of wine.

muggomagic

I'd say you are doing great. If you are still losing 1.5lbs per week.
The initial weight loss is always easy. If you were not losing any weight or yo yoing then you may have to rethink you diet, but continuing to lose is good going.
As it gets harder to lose even a pound you will need to workout more.

idaviesmoore

All this weight loss is very positive. Well done gang. This country needs all the weight losers it can get

fatbee

" try to cut down on meat and eggs and especially cheese"

Sorry, but why for goodness sake ?

bryan71

There is no way on this earth i would take a diet pill.Weight loss can be done by change of diet.ie cutting beer and wine out.eating a balanaced diet.And more exercise.I now have managed to lose 28.2ibs in 9 weeks.That's with eating well and going out on my bike for an hour a day.Because up till 9 weeks ago i hadn't been on a bike for 20 years.So if i can do it wilth out the help of pills then,every body can

farrell

Damn straight bryan71. You are doing a great job.

What kind of crap is hibian trying to push.....mods should keep an eye out for these kind of posts as they are not useful and ARE NOT PROVEN. These products can be quite dangerous to vulnerable people looking for a quick fix. IMO it should be deleted.

As Bryan has said

GOOD DIET + EXERCISE = HEALTHY BODY

NOT PILLS