Weight loss catch 22

JimmyK
JimmyK Posts: 712
edited August 2009 in Training, fitness and health
I know in order to improve my cycling further still , weight loss circa 1 stone will be a significant step in that direction. Im averaging 19 mph on half centuries and through this training, Ive lost a fair bit of weight . The trousers I used to wear are falling off me but now Ive reached a bit of a plateau. Ive watched the weight shown on my scales steadily fall , but at the same time I have watched the muscle mass on my legs increase significantly also......my wife hates my muscley legs :wink: . With this, its gotten harder and harder to lose further weight , despite 3 x 50 miles training rides each week. I think averaging 150 miles per week is good training for anybody,

My waist has gotten thinner and legs have gotten bigger ( increased muscle mass = extra weight ), so how do I shift extra weight overall ? Im a 39 yr old bloke.

Jimmy

Comments

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    Call 0845 634 1414 and ask for Brad.
  • brownbosh
    brownbosh Posts: 602
    You cant keep doing the same thing and look for different results. I was 20 srone now 15. I have experienced much the same as you but vary the type , intensity and duration of rides i do. This time of year im up to between 220 and 320 miles per week but some days are just 30 mile full on efforts or races and others are longer and slower. Throw in a bit of cross, single speed,track, TT's etc. I have also found that two session days have worked. Wednesday is a day off so i will do 50 miles tempo on a snigle speed a.m and then warm up and race at mountbatten in the evening. You don't really mention your hydration or eating habits or what times of day you train. Riding early prior to food MAY work for you shifting weight. (it also may not). I ride on water unless im racing and if i have a stop ill have a double espresso whilst others are troughing cake. My weight is still slowly dropping.
  • Focus on your fitness, not your weight.

    Train to become more powerful, eat to get lean.
  • richa
    richa Posts: 1,632
    Jimmy,
    What do you weigh? How tall? What fat%?
    Rich
  • Bhima
    Bhima Posts: 2,145
    Recently, my leg muscles have increased in size but overall weight is exactly the same. I'm getting up hills easier though, despite that. So, muscle mass is good mass. It means your power is probably increasing.
  • bobtbuilder
    bobtbuilder Posts: 1,537
    It's hard to add much to the other responses without knowing your food intake.

    Can you provide some info on your diet?
  • Homer J
    Homer J Posts: 920
    Ditch the scales. Focus on what Alex has said.
    Start racing?
  • JimmyK
    JimmyK Posts: 712
    RichA wrote:
    Jimmy,
    What do you weigh? How tall? What fat%?


    I am 5 feet 9 inches tall and stockily built, I have always had a broad back and shoulders and I wear a size 44 in a jacket. My trouser size is 34 inches around waist. No idea about body fat index , Im not carrying any excess visible weight and my overall weight is 13 stones 3 lbs. I do have relapsing & remitting multiple sclerosis and was diagnosed with same in 2004, I can average 19+ mph over a half century and I am grateful that I am able to ( crosses fingers ) My blood pressure is 120/70 which for a 39 yr old is pretty good , because ( so I am told ) I ride jan ulrich style i.e a big gears pusher , I find that I can do this without burning feeling in my legs and my heartrate is very easily controlled.

    It appears that I can generate a lot of power on the bike with not a lot of effort and muscle mass is evident on my legs.......it would be nice to see if I can increase my power to weight ratio by shedding a few more pounds though. What would you advise ?
  • The only way to lose weight (fat) is to expend more calories then you are consuming. Either more fitness, less calories or a combination of both.
  • vorsprung
    vorsprung Posts: 1,953
    i find it relatively easy to get my weight down to 80kg by stopping alcohol, not having chocolate and crisps, skipping dessert, saying no to cake etc whilst at the same time doing a reasonable mileage on the bike

    However, once I get to 80kg I seem to run out of will power, I think the rate of weight loss falls off too

    Maybe next time I will take a more "scientific" approach and actually weigh everything I eat and add it up with a calorie table. That is tedious though.
  • Grazy81
    Grazy81 Posts: 196
    Fist of all i would say stop checking your weight as your weight can fluctuate wildly with hydration levels. Go out and get a set of biometric scales these will measure your body fat, muscle mass, water content etc you should be able to pick up a set for about £40 then check your body fat percentage and focus on this as muscle mass weighs more than fat so as your fat levels drop and your legs develop your actual weight loss will slow and possibly even increase with more lean muscle.

    As far as nutrition goes follow the basics of cleaning up your diet and also try to consume your carbs in the morning and early afternoon or just before training and then limit them to only recovery carbs in the evening after training. This is because carbs consumed in the evening when you are at rest are not going to be used so will turn to fat.

    Hope this helps.
  • Edwin
    Edwin Posts: 785
    Good advice, but I don't think those biometric scales are particularly accurate. I've got a pair, and my BF varies from 12% to over 20. Surely it's not possible to gain 8% in a few days?
  • sheffsimon
    sheffsimon Posts: 1,282
    vorsprung wrote:
    i find it relatively easy to get my weight down to 80kg by stopping alcohol, not having chocolate and crisps, skipping dessert, saying no to cake etc whilst at the same time doing a reasonable mileage on the bike

    However, once I get to 80kg I seem to run out of will power, I think the rate of weight loss falls off too

    Maybe next time I will take a more "scientific" approach and actually weigh everything I eat and add it up with a calorie table. That is tedious though.

    +1, lifes too short for weighing food.

    I've all but stopped on alcohol (apart from the odd tradition British Binge session :wink: ) and now down to just over 13st at 6'1", and as said above, rate does start to fall off, but give up crisps - no sir.

    When I first started racing 20yrs ago (as a teenager), I was below 12 st and loved hilly races cos I could do some damage. Now Ive come back to it, still reasonable climber but Ive decided that I'm never going to get to that weight again and flatter races are for me.
  • JimmyK
    JimmyK Posts: 712
    there was a guy on last nights tour de france, he was 6 feet 3 inches tall , and you know what his weight is..........................75kg :shock:

    that is bordering on the ridiculous , imagine challenging him to a hill climb, image of whimpering mutt scarpering away with its tail between its legs comes readily to mind. :lol:
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    That was George Hincapie...

    He's not even one of the strongest climbers. (He's bl00dy awesome though!)
  • teagar
    teagar Posts: 2,100
    JimmyK wrote:
    there was a guy on last nights tour de france, he was 6 feet 3 inches tall , and you know what his weight is..........................75kg :shock:

    that is bordering on the ridiculous , imagine challenging him to a hill climb, image of whimpering mutt scarpering away with its tail between its legs comes readily to mind. :lol:

    I'm perfectly healthy and I'm 171cm and 55kg.

    Some people are just built very light. :P

    I tend to put on a shade, around a kilo or so when I really go for the training, though that might just be because I barely use the scales so I can't remember what time of day I weighed in last.
    Note: the above post is an opinion and not fact. It might be a lie.
  • Bronzie
    Bronzie Posts: 4,927
    JimmyK wrote:
    there was a guy on last nights tour de france, he was 6 feet 3 inches tall , and you know what his weight is..........................75kg :shock:

    that is bordering on the ridiculous , imagine challenging him to a hill climb, image of whimpering mutt scarpering away with its tail between its legs comes readily to mind. :lol:
    Why is that ridiculous?

    I'm 6'2" and 75kg - certainly not fat, but not pro-cyclist lean either. You only have to look at Armstrong's face to see how lean the pros are. Plenty of people on here could beat me up hills - it's power to weight that's important.
  • Well I'm 6'2" and 90kgs...

    I reckon though that if I lost over 2 stone I'd be getting some funny looks from people at work & questions about my health. :?
  • mgcycleguy
    mgcycleguy Posts: 292
    The only way to lose weight (fat) is to expend more calories then you are consuming. Either more fitness, less calories or a combination of both.

    +1 ... losing weight is just maths ... basically you need about 2500kcals a day, if you exercise a bit you'll need a few more, if you don't a few less... if you therefore only consume 1500Kcals a day, you'll have a deficit of around 1,000kcals per day... a pound of fat contains about 3,500Kcals of energy... so it will take you about a week to lose 2 pounds of fat....

    ... the problem is the human body is so damn good at conserving energy, and fat is soooo damn tasty (but hell thats 3millon years of natural selection in a hostile environment for you). So its all about sticking to the diet.... not cheating, keeping the 1500calories balanced (fruit, veg, some carbs, some protein, little fat), and you will keep losing.
  • love2ride
    love2ride Posts: 224
    just spoke with and saw bradley wiggins. :D
    He is unbelievably tall but his legs are so skinny. He looked like a stick man. :shock: where does the power come from :?
  • derekwatts
    derekwatts Posts: 107
    I'm 6'2" and used to be 90kgs. I wasn't overweight then and certainly didn't look fat. I'm now 78kgs, and people have started to say "ok enough - any more and you'll look ill..." though I feel fitter than at any time in my life, and I now weigh the same as I did at 18, some 20 years ago. But as someone else said, with varying hydration levels my weight can vary from 76.5-80kgs. I still eat a normal diet and like the odd desert and sugar in my tea. At the end of the day I'm doing it for fun and to get fit, I'm not a pro, so trying to get down to 5% body fat and weighing my food is definitely not for me.

    I did lose 2kgs in 2 weeks when I had to stay off the bike and do some DIY! But guess what? When I got back on the bike I was slower, up hills as well... It's power to weight ratio, not just weight. I wonder if that's why Bradley Wiggins didn't clean up in the final time trial in the Tour? Maybe he has lost a bit of power on his track levels?
  • fatbee
    fatbee Posts: 581
    "basically you need about 2500kcals "

    Bollox!

    How do you know how many calories I need? You have no idea whether I'm a 90 year old woman who's four foot ten and bed-ridden, or a seven foot, eighteen stone, nineteen year old hod-carrier who does double-ironman races for a hobby.

    Basically.

    Both "basically" "need" "about" the same kcals per day do they?

    You might as well say that that everyone on this board "basically" takes size 9 shoes.

    Still I'm sure with expert advice like yours, the end of the obesity crisis is but days away.
  • Edwin
    Edwin Posts: 785
    Bit harsh. You're not wrong, but 2500 is widely given as the average requirement for an adult male, so being slightly sexist and assuming the poster is both adult and a male, it's probably not far off. Obviously if you do more exercise you need more calories, but anyone with a bit of a clue can look it up and work out roughly what they should be consuming.
    Personally I've worked out before that I'll do about 3500 per day if I'm training a lot, but I don't normally count calories. If I want to cut down I just eat smaller meals in the evening. There's a limit though, if I tried to get as thin as Wiggins I'd be ill. I've no idea how he managed that!