Weight Loss

Simonb256

Im 24, commute 50 miles a day on the bike (25each way, mon-fri).
Occasionally do another 50 on sunday.

I dont have caffine, (only really drinking water)
I dont eat much greasy food. (A treat once in a while)
I keep up the fruit and veg.

However Im stuck at 14st and with a wee bit of a gut.

Is there something I'm missing here that is stopping me from ridding the gut?

Is it possible I push too hard on the commute and it becomes a CV exercise rather than a fat burning one? (It takes about 1hr20 each way, and its hilly).

Advice please??

brownbosh

Commutes are difficult because its probably not long enough to start your body using a larger proportion of stored fat as fuel. Plus a certain ammouint of adaptation will have occurred doing the same route over and over. Have you tried not eating until after you get to work and lettting the 'fire' start up in your belly before eating? Also you could try riding it in different ways. Sometimes a longer route back or steady some days TT pace others and race pace intervals on yet others as it will test your body in differing ways?
Finally have you tried caalculating your basal metaboic rate then actually calorie counting. Even healthy food can be packed with calories!!!!

Simonb256

brownbosh wrote:

Commutes are difficult because its probably not long enough to start your body using a larger proportion of stored fat as fuel. Plus a certain ammouint of adaptation will have occurred doing the same route over and over. Have you tried not eating until after you get to work and lettting the 'fire' start up in your belly before eating? Also you could try riding it in different ways. Sometimes a longer route back or steady some days TT pace others and race pace intervals on yet others as it will test your body in differing ways?
Finally have you tried caalculating your basal metaboic rate then actually calorie counting. Even healthy food can be packed with calories!!!!

I generally dont have breakfast at all to be fair and lunch consists on two apples at the moment. Having one avergae sized meal when i get home.

Usually I cycle pretty hard on the way in and just dordle(sp) on my way back.

I haven't tried calculating my metabolic rate as of yet, though I am focusing on calories counting.

-liam-

Simonb256 wrote:

I generally dont have breakfast at all to be fair and lunch consists on two apples at the moment. Having one avergae sized meal when i get home.

That is probably a major contributing factor...

You need to be eating breakfast as soon as you get up.

You are essentially doing everything censored about face. The end of the day needs to be your smallest meal with your breakie supplying the bulk of your energy needs.

Despite the cycling, your metabolic rate isn't even getting started in the morning and a couple of apples do nothing to keep it going.

Dr_Death

dawdle

richa

Simon,

Think we need some more details as this does not seem to add up.

Cals In:
2 Apples = 200 KCals
Av. Supper = 800 KCals max
Total = 1,000 KCals

Cals Out:
Living = 2,000
Commute = 1,600
Total = 3,600 KCals

Shortfall = 2,600 KCals. This is too much in my opinion.

I don't buy the not long enough to use stored fat or adaptation arguments.

I think you need to eat more and eat better. Medium sized (but healthy) breakfast, lunch & supper. Need to write down EVERYTHING you consume for a couple of weeks to see if you are missing things. Then give it a couple of weeks for your efforts to take effect.

MikeyC

Simonb256 wrote:

Im 24, commute 50 miles a day on the bike (25each way, mon-fri).
Occasionally do another 50 on sunday.

I dont have caffine, (only really drinking water)
I dont eat much greasy food. (A treat once in a while)
I keep up the fruit and veg.

However Im stuck at 14st and with a wee bit of a gut.

Is there something I'm missing here that is stopping me from ridding the gut?

Is it possible I push too hard on the commute and it becomes a CV exercise rather than a fat burning one? (It takes about 1hr20 each way, and its hilly).

Advice please??

Hi SImon B

I agree with all the previous comments. Your nutrition is crucial here. Andy Wadsworth of profitness produced a useful diet plan and training regimes featured in "What Mountain Bike" magazine.. Their site is being rebuilt but if you send me a pm I can send you their stuff. Also your excercise zone is importpant. If you are pushing too hard, you won't be in the zone to burn up body fat - so you need a good heart rate monitor and know how to work out your approximate training heart rate zones.

Finally, age, height and build are all factors. The standard BMI figures quoted are'nt really useful once you start training a lot because muscle is heavier than fat and you'll loose inches but not necessarily a lot of weight.

If you are riding 250 miles / week - I'm sure your pretty fit by now!

Mike

Simonb256

RichA wrote:

Simon,

Think we need some more details as this does not seem to add up.

Cals In:
2 Apples = 200 KCals
Av. Supper = 800 KCals max
Total = 1,000 KCals

Cals Out:
Living = 2,000
Commute = 1,600
Total = 3,600 KCals

Shortfall = 2,600 KCals. This is too much in my opinion.

I don't buy the not long enough to use stored fat or adaptation arguments.

I think you need to eat more and eat better. Medium sized (but healthy) breakfast, lunch & supper. Need to write down EVERYTHING you consume for a couple of weeks to see if you are missing things. Then give it a couple of weeks for your efforts to take effect.

That is about right really, oddly. Though I do tend to snack when i get home due to understandably being really hungry when i get back.

So by this logic, it may well be the case that I am not consuming enough energy? which probably explains a lot of other things to be honest.

idaviesmoore

RichA wrote:

This is too much in my opinion.

I don't buy the not long enough to use stored fat or adaptation arguments.

.

I agree RichA, but if he is shortfalling this many calories/day the weight should be coming off. I think there may be something that OPer is eating and is either
a. Not telling us about
b. Forgotten about

He mentions 'snacking'. This can cover a multitude of sins and many, many calories

MikeyC

Weight loss does'nt necessarily happen just by reducing calorie count. It sounds perverse but the body can go into "starvation mode" and hang on to every calorie with the net effect that your weight loss is reduced. Most of the decent diets suggest you eat the right stuff regularly and frequently. This fools the body out of starvation mode and speeds up metabolisim. Coupled with a good excercise plan, the weight comes off. I follow Andy Wadsworth diet plan (ProFitness) and I eat 5 times a day, using low GI foods, fruit, veg and proteins. Keeping the blood sugar level, reduces cravings and the "tired" feeling. On this plan I loose between 0.5 - 1kg a week. Key thing here is not to loose muscle mass.

Mike

Simonb256

idaviesmoore wrote:

RichA wrote:

This is too much in my opinion.

I don't buy the not long enough to use stored fat or adaptation arguments.

.

I agree RichA, but if he is shortfalling this many calories/day the weight should be coming off. I think there may be something that OPer is eating and is either
a. Not telling us about
b. Forgotten about

He mentions 'snacking'. This can cover a multitude of sins and many, many calories

By snacking I mean one sandwich when i get home.
I have been doing this for years now (but until recently was only riding some 150/200 miles per week).

Thats all there is really. Sometimes I dont even eat lunch either, though I am forced to have a sandwich or two when i get back if that is the case.

My work is purely office based, so I sit at my desk all day and I drink water cycling in (1pint each way).

There genuinely is nothing else.

idaviesmoore

Simonb256 wrote:

idaviesmoore wrote:

RichA wrote:

This is too much in my opinion.

I don't buy the not long enough to use stored fat or adaptation arguments.

.

I agree RichA, but if he is shortfalling this many calories/day the weight should be coming off. I think there may be something that OPer is eating and is either
a. Not telling us about
b. Forgotten about

He mentions 'snacking'. This can cover a multitude of sins and many, many calories

It's certainly a conundrum. Maybe your metabolism has slowed so much due to the way you eat. I've always been very wary of 'Eat More To Lose Weight'. I know, from a controlled biological study standpoint it is relevant. But when you're talking about someone in a practical situation you still have to be careful when advising this course of action. It often results in them eating too much

Simonb256

idaviesmoore wrote:

It's certainly a conundrum. Maybe your metabolism has slowed so much due to the way you eat. I've always been very wary of 'Eat More To Lose Weight'. I know, from a controlled biological study standpoint it is relevant. But when you're talking about someone in a practical situation you still have to be careful when advising this course of action. It often results in them eating too much

This is likely as I have been eating like this since secondary school, where I was 8st. However increasing food without increasing exercise when i moved out of home and started work put on the extra.

Im now trying to find the balance to get rid of the fat more than the weight really. Though a lack of food doesn't really help I suppose.

So the consensus is that I need a breakfast and a smaller dinner/tea when i get home of an evening?

I shall try this over the next wee while and see how I do then...

idaviesmoore

Simonb256 wrote:

This is likely as I have been eating like this since secondary school, where I was 8st. However increasing food without increasing exercise when i moved out of home and started work put on the extra.

Im now trying to find the balance to get rid of the fat more than the weight really. Though a lack of food doesn't really help I suppose.

So the consensus is that I need a breakfast and a smaller dinner/tea when i get home of an evening?

I shall try this over the next wee while and see how I do then...

Out of interest, how tall are you? Sorry if you've mentioned this but I can't see it in any post

Simonb256

idaviesmoore wrote:

Out of interest, how tall are you? Sorry if you've mentioned this but I can't see it in any post

5ft 11inch /180cm.

I know 14st isn't massively overweight for my height, but it's a case of wanting to replace fat with muscle really.

idaviesmoore

Simonb256 wrote:

[

5ft 11inch /180cm.

I know 14st isn't massively overweight for my height, but it's a case of wanting to replace fat with muscle really.

Ok. Try 5/6 small meals a day which may wake your sleeping metabalism from its slumber. Please be mindful of portion sizes and try to increase fruit and green vegetable intake per day.

Keep a log of food/time of day/approximate calorie intake and maybe get you body fat % taken.

Good luck


P.S don't be tempted to test body fat every week. Once every 2 months would be suufficient

pbt150

How about drinking? Wine and beer are packed with sugars, and alcohol itself is easily converted into fuel for your body. If you have more than a couple of drinks when you get home, cutting these out would reduce the 'gut' in no time given the amount of time you spend cycling.

Simonb256

pbt150 wrote:

How about drinking? Wine and beer are packed with sugars, and alcohol itself is easily converted into fuel for your body. If you have more than a couple of drinks when you get home, cutting these out would reduce the 'gut' in no time given the amount of time you spend cycling.

I generally drink once every couple of weeks and that consists of two ales and thats about it, as I'm not really of a drinker anymore. I used to binge once a month a long while ago but thats stopped due to medical issues.

fuzzynavel

idaviesmoore wrote:

Simonb256 wrote:

[

5ft 11inch /180cm.

I know 14st isn't massively overweight for my height, but it's a case of wanting to replace fat with muscle really.

Ok. Try 5/6 small meals a day which may wake your sleeping metabalism from its slumber. Please be mindful of portion sizes and try to increase fruit and green vegetable intake per day.

Keep a log of food/time of day/approximate calorie intake and maybe get you body fat % taken.

Good luck


P.S don't be tempted to test body fat every week. Once every 2 months would be suufficient

I second the idea of 5-6 smaller meals every day. Being 17st and the same height as you I have read many books looking for a quick diet to lose weight. The one that actually started working was one that forced me to stay full all day by eating little and often throughout the day.
As someone said earlier, your body will enter a starvation mode if there is not enough of a calorie input.
I know it seems counter productive but eating more calories will let your body get rid of fat stores as it won't need to hold on to them as energy is freely available all the time.
The diet I was on was geared towards weight training and had me eating breakfast about 7am, a snack (an apple and a couple of spoonfuls of peanut butter) at 10 am, healthy protein based lunch at 13:00. Some nuts/pulses around 15:00, a fruit smoothy with protein powder before going to the gym and then dinner as normal when I got back.
I managed to shift a reasonable amount of weight doing this even with the weights based training.

Infamous

fuzzynavel wrote:

I know it seems counter productive but eating more calories will let your body get rid of fat stores as it won't need to hold on to them as energy is freely available all the time.

You don't eat more calories, you eat the same amount of calories (per day) but you spread it out over 5/6 meals instead of 3.

fuzzynavel

Infamous wrote:

fuzzynavel wrote:

I know it seems counter productive but eating more calories will let your body get rid of fat stores as it won't need to hold on to them as energy is freely available all the time.

You don't eat more calories, you eat the same amount of calories (per day) but you spread it out over 5/6 meals instead of 3.

I know what you mean, but, in my case I ate more calories as I was taking part in a physical regime.
From reading the rest of this thread it does seem like the OP isn't taking on enough calories. Even taking a couple of spoonfuls of peanut butter 3-4 hours before a ride should carb load enough to be useful.
The brand of peanut butter that I use claims to have about 620cals per 100g.

brownbosh

I agree with almost everything above apart from the arguement that you should eat before leaving the house. Ive lost 49 pounds so far incuding usin the train before you eat method - it works if you are hydrated and not in a total energy debt. The rest of the day i eat something every 45 mins to an hour and my weight continues to fall at the healthy rate of approx 1.2 pounds per week.

felgen

I can sympathise with the OP as I seem to have got 'stuck' as well. After an intial 9 kg weight loss from 106 down to 97kg. I have hovered around this weight for a couple of weeks now.

I will watch the thread with interest to see what gems poeple come up with. Anyone a nutritionist... or maybe I could ask a dietician at work or something...

brownbosh

Careful that the person you ask is aware of the training stress demands you are putting your body under and doesnt just dish out general advice!

fuzzynavel

felgen wrote:

I can sympathise with the OP as I seem to have got 'stuck' as well. After an intial 9 kg weight loss from 106 down to 97kg. I have hovered around this weight for a couple of weeks now.

I will watch the thread with interest to see what gems poeple come up with. Anyone a nutritionist... or maybe I could ask a dietician at work or something...

I have been told not to concern myself too much with weight. I have done a similar thing to you...I have gone from 18Kg to about 97 ish kg.. 17st 2 to 15st8 ish.
As you exercise you will gain in muscle mass as well as lose Fatty inches....look for the changes in your body rather than the scales. I take before and after photos occasionally to check progress using the scales (wii fit) as a backup. Also look for changes in performance as an indicator.

judokev

The best thing I ever did was to measure myself.

I was probably just over 100kg at my heaviest point I am now 87-88kg the same size as the op 5"11 but obviously we could be totally different builds

You measure your neck, chest, stomach, waste, thigh. calf and bicep write it down and check it once a month, obviously you will need the wifes help or your going to stuggle.

I cut out all the garbage I was eating thanks to working shifts and started to power walk every night with the dog just go out for an hour when the soaps come on the telly what more reason do you need.

Its probably taken me three years or more to slowly get to this weight but now I train 4 or 5 times a week Monday pilates Tuesday Wed Thursday Judo with Cycling thrown in when I can and some times Ju-Jitsu on a Sunday. this amount of training would have killed me back then but I think because I am doing different types of exercise it keeps the body guessing.

If after the initial weight loss you do stall start doing something a little different one night a week it all helps

Judokev

Eat My Dust

Writting everything down really helps. I've gone from 13st 1lb to 12st 4lb in four weeks. I'm really happy with the progress. All I've really done is watch what I'm eating during the week and doing more exercise. I've added 2 x 6mile runs a week in on top of my 125+ miles cycling. TBH I should have lost more weight but I'm very keen on keeping my 10 + pints of guiness and wine at the weekend!!