Back again...

Noizetek

I posted on this forum a while ago and was planning on getting back into the sport reasonably seriously, a few things happened (the main thing being made redundant) which kinda put the stoppers on the whole thing.

Now I am more determined than ever, I have got over my first hurdle (which was horrible) and quit smoking, now I plan on getting hold of one of the new 2009 Gary Fisher Hoo Kee E Koo's in a few months time, in the meantime I am going to work on losing some weight and getting back into shape (I have asthma, so have always been a bit tentative of exercise...the smoking definitely did not help though) so that I am ready o hammer it when I get my new wheels.

A couple of questions...I have read so many diet ideas, gets a bit confusing what to do/what’s the right foods, how often to eat etc to see some results....what’s peoples advice/experience on here?

Secondly, does anyone here also have asthma and ride? It has always been an obstacle to stopping me doing a lot of things I have been interested in (extreme sports in general) also what exercise routines are good for people with asthma and also good for getting ready to ride again...

And last but not least...2009 Hoo Kee E Koo...good choice??

big_southern_jesse

Hey Noizetek,

Good to hear you're getting into biking. I can't help with the bike advice, I'm afraid I'm not much of a tech boy, but I've also suffered from asthma.

Do you have anything in particular that sets you off, any allergies? Or is it just exertion that makes you wheeze?

I was badly allergic to dairy products as a kid, and a pint of milk would leave me barely able to walk for two days, just wheezing so badly and so short of breath. I had a year or two completely off dairy, and then slowly eased back on and had got over the allergy. After that it was just hard exertion that set my asthma off. The fitter I stay, the better my asthama is, and the less it effects me.

I found swimming a good exercise to get fit. The moisture in the air helped to ease my lungs, and it's a steady aerobic sport. Equally I found a steam room at the gym a good help if I was wheezing badly.

I'd suggest making sure you don't exercise too hard to start with, and especially not in cold air. I'm not sure what your current fitness is like, but I'd suggest working up gently. You've got a while until you get the bike, so take the chance to gradually build up the fitness. Walking, Swimming, jogging, but make sure it's something you enjoy.

These days I only really get my asthma when I have a cold, so it doesn't often bother me anymore. I hope you can work through yours too. Keep us up to date, and maybe try the Buying Advice forum for more bike recommendations.

paulfitz

My mums got asthma and there is a natural cure that the russians have come up with (a long time ago may I add) but its not publicised here because in her docs words "the government and NHS would lose too much money".

Basically it involves holding your breath only the opposite way round, if you get my drift. Take deep breaths inhaling and then exhaling, and then trying to go as long as you can without inhaling again, start off at like 10, 20 or 30 seconds - whatever you feel comfortable with, and just keep repeating that for 10 mins or so each night while your watching telly.

Basically this makes the alveoli in your lungs work harder to oxygenate the blood.

You will soon see a difference in how long you can hold without breathing in, and general fitness etc...

Its 5 years or so since my mums dr told her this, and she's gone from using a nebuliser, a plastic rugby ball shaped thing and blue & brown inhalers on a daily basis, now she doesnt use any of that.

Just give it a try see how you go on...

paulfitz

As for diet...

Try to cut out the crap junk foods (once in a while never done anyone any harm tho ) eat brown bread, brown pasta etc...

Swapping foods works well... good example is having home made wedges instead of chips.

Eat plenty of fruit, veg and most importantly drink loads of water. The water bloats you so you dont feel that hungry, and speeds up your metabolism after eating.

Ive also heard stuff like trying not to eat carbs (potato, pasta, rice, bread) at teatime as the carbs take much longer to break down, and are just stored as fat instead of energy if you eat them too late and then go to bed. I havent actually ever done this tho!

Good luck mate, just getting into biking myself... roll on Feb 2nd for my cycle+ scheme window!

dave_hill

As far as the diet thing is concerned, the key is to a) eat a balanced diet, and b) eat less.

Might sound obvious, but to many people, it isn't.

The trouble with the way we live today is that it's high-speed and high demand, which very often doesn't let us consider what's really important to keeping healthy - i.e. eating sensibly and keeping active.

It's all too easy to sling a frozen lasagne in the microwave - trouble is they're absolutely laden with salts, sugars and other nasties. Cutting out unneccesary salt and sugar is half the battle.

Try to eat more fresh food rather than processed muck and cut out saturated fats as much as possible - that is to say fried foods, particularly anything deep-fried. If you must fry, try using olive oil as it doesn't encourage cholesterol build up as badly as other vegetable oils.

Plenty of roughage is important - fruit and vegetables, beans, nuts and so on. Keeps everything moving, if you get my drift and helps you to get rid of harmful waste products and toxins.

Brown and wholemeal bread is far better for you than white bread as it has more nutritional value (did you know that 90% of gluten intolerance is caused by lack of exposure to wheat products - i.e. eating nothing but mass-produced white bread?).

Some people say cut out red meat altogether - I don't subscribe to this as you need a certain amount of red meat intake to keep your iron levels up.

Fatty fish is good for you - tuna, mackerel and so on, and any fish for that matter.

Do you drink? Beer is the absolute worst for piling on the pounds. Even if you're only a moderate drinker, if you can cut down or stop altogether, you'll be amazed at how quickly you'll lose a bit of weight (I havne't had a drink since the day before New Year's Eve and I've lost 4lbs already - and that's without any other changes to my diet!!).

Having said that, a glass of red wine now and again isn't going to do any harm.

Finally DRINK LOADS OF WATER!!! Especially if you have a sedentary job, drink the stuff! If you find yourself feeling hungry during the day, a pint of water will go a long way to helping (not all at once mind!!).

stumpyjon

If you want lose weight you will need cut down the calorie intake (and saturated fat intake). Unfortunately there's no alternative but to physically count the calories up. Trying to reduce portion sizes / cut out 'crap' foods doesn't really work that well, you'll be surprised what calories some 'healthy' foods have in them. Portion sizes are also pretty subjective.

I use the weight watchers diet system, really very simple based on calories (not fads, marketing hype or basically not eating like a lot of the commercial diets), I've got a PC based one so I don't need to go the meetings (thankfully). The diet doesn't restrict any foods, it just makes you think about what you eat. You tend to end up eating more healthily as a matter of course as lean meats, fruit and veg are all relatively low in fats and processed foods aren't.

Nice bike choice by the way, I'm sure one of the bike mags gave it a good review last month 8) .

paulfitz

stumpyjon wrote:

I use the weight watchers diet system,

Waste of money...











Slimming World is a quid cheaper fella

darren636

the more excercise you do, the better your lungs will get trust me- i know i went from being unable to jog for 5 minutes to running 16 miles. i have not used an inhaler for years now. as for food... do not eat before you go to bed and have a breakfast. they are my top tips.

fandangus

cant comment on the diet or asthma apart from 12 years ago I suffered for a while with excersise induced asthma and used an inhaler for a while, I was running on the roads 6 times a week and mtb too.. commuting on the bike I ended up wearing a carbon mask as traffic was so heavy. decided to stay away from traffic and used the local canal towpaths and hey presto asthma cleared up!

Hoo koo e koo now thats another story........ mine turned up in the lbs this morning, looks fantastic in the box still in bits... saddly got to go over to England Friday morning for ten days so dont get a ride yet, like a small child that has found his christmas presents two weeks early.
If its as good as it looks and as the reviews say cant go wrong.