Bit of Advice on my fitness regime.

cluffy

Hi All

right i now have the bike and now its time to get fit and loose some weight!!

currently i weigh 15st10 and want to drop down to bout 13-13.5st, what i feel comfortable with really.

ive come up with a very basic training regime which im hoping will help me lost the weight quite easily (he says!!)

riding wise i will be doing 3 rides in the week, its the same basic ride that covers a variety of flat, uphill and down hill sections on roads, canal paths and bridal ways. its 6.4miles long and takes me bout 35-40mins. then on the weekend i will do a slightly longer ride which is about 13miles. after the 3 rides in the week il go for a 30min walk with the dog, i read on here a long walk after a good ride helps with the weight loss?

food wise im usually eating pretty well but as with a lot of people i snack on crap like crisps and chocolate so ive dumped all that and now have decent breakfast, midmorning snack via a piece of fruit, some form of salad for lunch and a good evening meal.

im also a big tea drinker, probable having 7+ cups a day at work, so ive now changed that to a tea in the morning and having water instead of tea throughout the day.

anyways, just wanted to list it out for myself and for you guys to have a look and give me any pointers / advice on any change i should do.

RockyHopperShow

I have found that, going on what the good folk on here have advised, I was eating far too little for my fitness regime. I work out 3 times a week with various rides throughout the week - commuting, fitness or just a leisurely pootle about for fun (I am trying to do a bit of exercise per day with one day of rest per week) I have seriously cut down on crappy junk foods and sweets. My beer intake is now negligable really but I still have a social life so imbibe on occasion. I found that even though I thought I was eating well enough the weight wasn't coming off after an initial good drop ( 1st 1lb) in the first six or so weeks. That's when I found I had eaten incorrectly for what my body needed. I have taken the advice on board and am aiming for 2500+ calories of good nutrition which, in all honesty, I was getting nowhere near.....I was probably down to 1200-1500 on some days. I didn't necessarily feel that I was doing anything wrong but it would explain why I have hit a weight-loss "plateau". I have been away this weekend for a family celebration and therefore have let things go a bit, but after going to the gym today it would seem that I am at the same weight as I was before I left so that's okay. I can just push on now with an updated workout from the gym, and my new better diet (that's not "diet" in the Rosemary Conley sense -heaven forbid)
Just eat well, play well and live well.

Nik_B

cut out the white processed carbs (white pasta, doughy white bread etc) unless you're exercising, and especially in the evening when you are probably inactive.

Cut out the booze especially beer.

SilverSenator

Hit the Food Standards Agency's eatwell website for good information on balanced diets. Mountain Bike Fitness Training by John Metcalfe is a good book if you're wanting to get a little more serious about your training.

cluffy

thanks for the info guys.

i reckon i have been taking in bout 1000-1500 cals a day since last week so i know now after having a good read that its not all about eating less but eating little and often and no crap.

cheers

SilverSenator

cluffy wrote:

. . . i reckon i have been taking in bout 1000-1500 cals a day . . .

Also check out your daily calorific requirements by working out your Base Metabolic Rate with your current activity level.

Ditch Witch

Jesus, 1000 cals a day at 15 stone?

SilverSenator

Ditch Witch wrote:

Jesus, 1000 cals a day at 15 stone?

You sure you worked that one out correctly?

Ditch Witch

Who me? I'm just echoing what cluffy said.

He's 15st10 and eating 1000-1500 cals a day.

SilverSenator

Ditch Witch wrote:

Who me? I'm just echoing what cluffy said.

He's 15st10 and eating 1000-1500 cals a day.

Sorry. Thought you'd been working out your own BMR! :oops:

Ditch Witch

Oh hell no My BMR is WAAAAAAY above that. WAY above

boneyjoe

Looks good to me, but I agree that cals figure just isn't right! I've found you really have to look at it as a lifestyle change, and not just a diet, to make it work properly in the longer term. Cutting down on booze and fatty foods makes a massive difference in particular. Variety is also key - both for food and excercise - as you can get a bit bored otherwise.

Once you've got some decent base fitnes, try some interval training, as this increases the body's metabolism and helps to lose weight.

Perhaps set yourself a goal, to do an MTB marathon or classic, multi-day route towards the end of the summer, which will give some purpose and focus to your regime.

Hope that helps, and best of luck!

SilverSenator

Ditch Witch wrote:

Oh hell no My BMR is WAAAAAAY above that. WAY above

You hide it well!

cluffy

1000-1500 calories was worked out on the following

weetabix for breakfast - calories ?
midmorning banana as snack - not many calories
lunch is a muller light yoghurt and
a bought prawn or tuna salad - 350 calories (off the packaging)
midafternoon banana as snack
then diner which changes everyday but yesturday was 2 chicken breasts, salad and potatoes.


thats all i ate yesturday so thats where i got my 1000-1500 calories from

from looking round on here, i have decided to through some protein shakes into the mix as snacks.

boneyjoe - already been looking at some big rides like the kona mashup in december or similar to set as a target, thanks for the advice.

supersonic

If exercising you still need carbs - with thte right intensity you will burn fat too. Take food on the ride, ie fig rolls and bananas and water or isotonic drink. Jelly babies are good for instant sugar hits.

Hitting the wall on the ride because you have no carbs available is bloody awful!

SilverSenator

cluffy
I'd forget protein shakes at the moment and seriously look at upping your calorie intake through natural foods first. It's what your boy's designed to run on.

SpinningJenny

supersonic wrote:

Hitting the wall on the ride because you have no carbs available is bloody awful!

I concur, unfortunately from experience!

i *think* you need to eat more than what you indicated for tuesday... and having two bananas in one day is probably not the best idea, unless you are out on your bike.

now i'll probably get shot down in flames on the banana comment, but they do release their energy very quickly, i understand!

little and often is definitely the way to go, though!

Ditch Witch

Cluffy, try keeping a food diary on something like the daily plate (livestrong.com) for a week and see what you're actually eating.

Measure everything properly.

For example, how much milk do you put on your weetabix?

How do you cook your chicken? Grilled, fried? Skn on or off?
I find the calories in salad to be so negligible that I don't bother to count them, but potatoes are another matter. And how do you cook them? Boiled? Do you add butter?




Also, lay off "low fat" dairy. The fat is usually replace with sugar or, even worse, artificial sweeteners. These are being shown to trick your body into eating MORE, not to mention a load of other potential issues.


Either eat the real thing or don't eat it at all.

SpinningJenny

Ditch Witch wrote:

Also, lay off "low fat" dairy. The fat is usually replace with sugar or, even worse, artificial sweeteners. These are being shown to trick your body into eating MORE, not to mention a load of other potential issues.


Either eat the real thing or don't eat it at all.

well said, ma'am.

sampras38

cluffy wrote:

thanks for the info guys.

i reckon i have been taking in bout 1000-1500 cals a day since last week so i know now after having a good read that its not all about eating less but eating little and often and no crap.

cheers

You really should be eating around 2000-2500 a day, and even more if you are exercising. Otherwise your body will go into shut-down mode and it'll end up storing the calories you're eating as fat.