Big Winter Weight Loss Thread

Sliver Fox

Folks,
I am officially too heavy!!! I'm 36 years old, 6 foot tall exactly & weight 92kg (14.5 stone) which is a half stone less than I was a while ago.... but still approx 2.5 stone ( or 15 kg) heavier than I was when I was playing footie...or as I call it, my fighting weight.

I'm hoping that myself & other folk can post progress , training & weight updates, what works, what doesn't on here to help each other out for the start of next years season.

I've been cycling for a good few years now & my goal is the Etape Du Tour.....done a fair few sportives in the UK so its time for the big boy as it looks like D'Huez this year!

But I need someone to stop me having too much pasta for dinner or sneaking a wee biscuit from time to time or to help motivate me to get onto the turbo that night and I reckon this kinda thread will do just that.

I've drawn up my yearly training plan using Joe Friel's book so today was my 1st day...10 miles @ E2 in a headwind almost all the way...not fun...but it'll be worth it at the top of the Alps next summer.

Lets hear how yer doing and what yer training for ( event or weight/fitness goal)?

joeyhalloran

Good plan, I aim to lose 4 kgs for next season. Given up chocolate until 2011 (helps me avoid the vending machines) but now need to work on "portional control" and cut out the "boredom eating"!!

Slimbods

I'm in, need to lose a bit of chub for next years races.

twotyred

Same height and fighting weight as you sliver but I'm a bit closer to it. Planning to drop 7 lbs for next year which will hopefully include the Etape also

Sliver Fox

7 pounds....nice one twotyred.... I can only dream of that at the mo.....but I'm on the case.
Gonna try & do mileage up till feb & then a sportive a month in amongst the training....

If I can...join a cycling club to work on my technique as well

Anonymous

I'm hoping for 8 kg loss this winter...

Omar Little

Could do with losing a bit myself, about 13 stone at the moment. Hope to get that down to 12 before the end of the year then see where i go from there

milese

Am just under 12 stone at the moment, at 5' 8". Plan on being no more than 11 stone 3lbs by the end of Jan. 11 dead would be ideal.

For me the way to lose weight whilst being able to maintain a good level of activity is in limiting the quality of food I eat. Dont worry about calories, worry about fat, particulary saturated fat.

If you can cut out virtually all saturated fat (except being anal about red meat) then you wont go far wrong. It means hardly any cake, biscuits, burgers, chocolate, processed food etc.

But you can eat as much fruit, veg, pasta, lean meat etc as you want, so you have energy and never go hungry.

Good luck all.

joeyhalloran

I think I am going to try and cut out all processed foods but also try and cut down on the carbs I eat, especially in my rest period at the end of this season. Hopefully this will also allow my body to get better at burning fat.

However, saying something and doing it are very different. I do have good intentions though!

Pokerface

A month ago I was racing at 82KG. Since then injury has forced me off my bike and I have ballooned to 91KG.

As soon as I get back on the bike I will start towards my race weight of next year - which will be 75KG. So a whopping 16KG to drop over the next 6 months.

Should be pretty easy.

2 months since I last posted....

Weighed in a 84.5kg today - down from 91kg. 6.5kg down, about 10 to go still.

R34PER

i think my winter target is going to be somewhere between 90-95kg, currently at 121kg and down from 125 about a 10 days ago. Its all about what goes in though and avoiding junk food. a little will power goes a long way. The last 18 months i keep yo-yoing between 102 and 125... i get into a nice routine then all of a sudden i have a bad week of laziness and junk food, masses of it. then end up putting on about 6kg in a week :oops: and it all slips from there. i hit 125 and think bugger, need to get back on it. i think once i break 100 i'll be set. Got my first triathlon in a couple of weeks and i'm planning to do some more next year so if i can get into the 90's by december i can look at my goals again..... onwards :arrow:

liversedge

Count me in too. 6'1 43yr old. I was 91kg at end of August, 86kg today, want to be 77kg for Summer and 80kg for the New Year.

phil s

I'm 71-72kg now. Want to be 69 by end of year and 67 by spring if I can sort out my discipline :oops:

chill123

i too am aiming for the etape next year and aim to lose about 4-5kg to help me on the way.

i'm trying to look at food differently. instead of focussing on tase and greed i try and think of al meals/snacks as fuel. every time i stray near that vending machine i say to myself "is there anything in there that will help me ride better?".

keeping plenty of fruit and nuts etc on my desk helps me not have an excuse to eat junk from the machine.

also taking simple steps such as weighing pasta prior rto cooking helps not accidentally cook huge portions.

Sliver Fox

I cut out bread, pasta, pizza, crisps, chocolate basically anything containing dairy about 4-5 years ago and my weight went down to 11 stone....although folk thought I looked ill!

I can't deal with shades of grey or depend on will power....I need to be black & white....its a stark regime but I may have to go back onto it.......think its pretty close to the Paleo diet?

I need to combine exercise with diet......either one alone has minimal benefit.

Already got a picture of ALpe D'Huez on my desktop for motivation!

BenWatson89

I want to lose about 7-8kgs like NapD for racing next year. Im currently 81kgs and 6ft with about 19% bodyfat.

I too need to be more disciplined and stop eating rubbish such as pizza (which I adore) and drinking. SO far it is going well as I have managed to stick to a lb a week ( I know I use metric and imperial but its easier for me to measure 1 lb than ~ 500g) and have lost 4 lbs! All i need to do now is keep it up!

Good luck everyone!

Pross

I'm another - 6'1 and finally got myself under the 14 stone mark at my last weigh in (13 stone 13lb / 88.5kg). I've set myself a goal of getting to 13 stone in 3 months time. Hoping to start racing properly again next season, my old racing weight was 10 stone 10lb - not hoping to get anywhere near that but 12 stone is my ultimate aim. A combination of the Black Book training manual and continuing in my battle to avoid the biscuits and other nice food are my intentions but I have a very weak will!

shockedsoshocked

Currently around the 80kg mark, need to be down to 72kg for next year. Managed to slim right down over winter last year but pretty much packed in cycling and went on the beer and pizzas about may time after splitting with the GF!

Perhaps there should be a thread set up like the old Ex-XXL thread, everyone using one thread to post their numbers only?

Homer J

I'd like to drop 5-8kg and stick to a good training plan.

Rooner

Silverfox, I was exactly the same as you, 6 foot, 14.5 stones but probably 35 (now 39). Decided I needed to shift some weight, and although i ran and cycled quite a lot beforehand, that didn't really help.

So, my wife had a little calorie book (so you can work out weights/calories etc.), and I set myself a limit of 2000 cals a day, as well as cycling to work and running. Surprise surprise, simple maths (less in / more out), the weight came off. Probably lost around 2.5 stones in under a year, kept it off since. None of that taboo food nonsense, just limit the amount of calories you eat - you can have beer and curry, but that's going to be pretty much it for the day!

So, 4 years on, and I'm around 74 - 75kg. Makes a big difference with the training, not having that extra lard to lug around! You just need to find what works for you and stick at it, never mind the occassional set back, its got to be a long term plan

BillyMansell

R34PER wrote:

i think my winter target is going to be somewhere between 90-95kg, currently at 121kg and down from 125 about a 10 days ago. Its all about what goes in though and avoiding junk food. a little will power goes a long way. The last 18 months i keep yo-yoing between 102 and 125... i get into a nice routine then all of a sudden i have a bad week of laziness and junk food, masses of it. then end up putting on about 6kg in a week :oops: and it all slips from there. i hit 125 and think bugger, need to get back on it. i think once i break 100 i'll be set. Got my first triathlon in a couple of weeks and i'm planning to do some more next year so if i can get into the 90's by december i can look at my goals again..... onwards :arrow:

Those numbers ring a bell.

I was recovering from illness and injury, wanted to get back into cycling and started this year at over 125kg and by 19th June had got down to 95kg. This is a rough idea of my planned routine for 2010 to achieve this;

Q1: low calorie intake with lots of low intensity exercise (walking, no cycling)
Q2: low calorie intake with lots of low and some moderate intensity exercise (llots of walking and some cycling)
Q3: moderate to high calorie intake with moderate and high intensity exercise (cycling only)
And in Q4 I will revert back to low calorie intake with lost of walking and the occasional moderate cycling (20-40 mile pootles)

The plan throughout Q3 and Q4 had always been to continue to lose (target of 80kg) whilst intensifying the cycling, but it soon became apparent that I couldn't satisfy both the need for energy for improved performance and recovery and the desire to lose weight I gave up the idea of losing weight until a time when I knew I could revert to a routine of low calorie intake and lots of low and some moderate exercise, namely throughout Q4 of 2010 and Q1 of 2011.

So for now I'm enjoying cycling and eating heartily and healthily and shall look forward to achieving my target weight some time in March 2011.

Zachariah

My figures are almost identical to Pross, except in metric. I'm 187cm tall (a smidgin over 6'1") and until a couple of months ago was weighing in around 94kg. I didn't even think I was that heavy!

A combination of higher-intensity cycling (no time for long distance runs) and totally eliminating sugary treats has seen the weight fall off. I'm now 87kg and aiming for around 84-83 for racing. I don't think I'll ever get lighter than that because I don't want to lose the biceps!

It's a simple method - exercise more, eat less.

BlackdownBuzzard

182 cm and 74kg. Want to get down to 69kg in time for a winter racing series on a hilly circuit (after BC points reset).

Losing weight is extremely trivial. The issue is avoiding losing any power whilst doing it.

JesseD

I'm in, I weigh approx 16 stone, am 6ft tall and 37.

I want to get to about 13 stone, so thats a massive 3 stone to lose. I was at 15 and a half stone until I got knocked off my bike last week and seem to have managed to pack on half a stone pretty quickly (eating crap and no exercise).

I was riding about 150 miles a week and racing crits every 2 weeks, with some good placings. I am pretty powerful and have a sprinters type physique, but want to road race next year so need to be lighter for the hills (after all you have to be there at the end to be able to contest the sprint). I will never be a climber but want to be in with a fighting chance, so the excess fat has to go. I lost half a stone pretty quickly by cutting out bread and eating more fresh veg and meat/fish, also not eating much chocolate and cutting out fizzy drinks. Alcohol is now only on a weekend and a beer or 2 or a glass or 2 of wine, none in the week no matter how stressfull works gets!

I cant ride at the moment due to no bike and injuries from being knocked off but once I get a new bike and am healed will do 1 long ride on the weekend with the club, and one shorter ride on my own, then possibly run one or 2 days a week during the week and also spend some time on the rollers, also I think I need to do some core work to strengthen my middle for getting a stronger base to get the power down.

Good luck all.

skinarelli

Hopefully my own story will encourage others to stick to the plan.

After 17 yrs off the bike, my 6'3" frame had ballooned to 17 stone with a 38" waistline at the age of 35.

On the 22/9/09 I decided to get back on the bike and lose some weight!!

As a weekend alcoholic and smoker I had my work cut out from the start but was determined to do something about my shameful lifestyle.

I knocked the drinking and smoking on the head, dusted down the old bike and bought myself a Tacx Magnetic trainer and a cadence computer. Throughout the winter, I concentrated solely on high cadence fitness work. The idea behind this was to ease myself back into the sport without the mental anguish I suffered on the two other occasions I'd given up after only a few weeks.

I set the trainer up on the second resistance setting and used a straight 12 up block with the following workout:

10 min warm up
10 min 53x15 100rpm
10 min 53x14 100rpm
10 min 53x13 100rpm
10 min 53x12 100rpm
10 min warm down

I did this religiously every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night with a 2 hour workout on the road on either a Saturday or Sunday weather permitting. If the weather wasn't up to it, another turbo session sufficed.

With a sensible diet and very little alcohol intake my weight dropped from 17stone to 14.5 stone by the turn of the new year. I felt like a new man and looked like one!!

With the evenings becoming lighter in the spring, I packed the trainer away and increased the road riding to 2 hrs "Level 2" intensity Tuesday and Thursday and one 2-3 hour "Level 2" ride at the weekend. My weight had dropped to 13 stone by the beginning of July this year making it 4 stone lost so far.

My weight loss had gone so well that I decided to treat myself to a new bike and throw myself completely back in at the deep end. I took the monumental decision to have another go at racing again. I entered 3 late season races, a city centre crit where I lasted half the distance, a hilly road race (stupidly) lasting only 10 mile and a flat road race which I finished in 16th place with a big smile on my face.

Next season I plan to win my first race since 1991 and am looking to smash my PB for 10 miles of 21.42 which I set as a 16 yr old.

Roll on the winter training!!!

Sliver Fox

Well 1st week in folks.....

Weight has come down from 92kg to 90.6 kg....I know a lot of that may well be fluid but I'll take what I can get!!
I also use an iphone app called True weight that tries to average out weight loss & gain over a longer period...its got me at 91.4kg so that's still on target as well as I'm aiming for a pound a week!
Been doing the AA weight program from Friel Mon/Wed/Fri along with a 20 min jog of (1 min jog; 1 min fast walk )x10 before hand to warm me up! Light weights & high reps but I have a question....is the sets/session figure per exercise or per total session? :?
Also doing a 90 min E2 cycle on Saturday & a 60 min E2 cycle on both Tues & Thurs...sundays off!
For those who follow Friel, I'm in the prep phase till about mid October before starting Base 1.
I'm tracking my food on Livestrong.com....I'm not a Lance fan ( still respect all his accomplishments!) but its a very very good website....I used Fitday for years but its nowhere near as comprehensive as Livestrong....!
2000 cals a day........not avoiding any food but religiously tracking it all.....seems to be working!
Long may it continue!
How's everyone else doing?

Pokerface

Sliver Fox wrote:

How's everyone else doing?

I gained another 11 pounds :oops:

ju5t1n

First of all I’d like to point out that weight isn’t the be all and end all... I’m 38 and a shade over 92kgs and this summer I managed 5 sportives at gold standard, a sub 9 hour Marmotte and picked up 12 BC points in 3rd cat road races.

That said, I’d rather be sub 80kgs next season, and started my winter weight loss attempt on Monday. I’m using a similar approach to one described above in that I’m cutting out all processed foods... bread, pasta, pizza, crisps etc. Plus I’m planning to be on the rollers or down the gym for an hour a day.

4 days in now ...and I’m f**king starving.

37monkey

i intend to keep my extra few kilo's until january, i'll use them as training weights through the winter. if my dodgy theory works then i should be faster in the new year? will it work?

Toks

phil s wrote:

I'm 71-72kg now. Want to be 69 by end of year and 67 by spring if I can sort out my discipline :oops:

Oh stop seeking attention, this is a thread for real big boys and girls

liversedge

85.9kg -1.1kg this week.

Just stuffed myself with chocolate biscuits ... oops