Overweight Beginner looking for Advice

cooldad

Diet advice - eat balanced, avoid deep fried Mars bars

fmoab

Getting back to your original question about your weight and bike strength, I'd be astonished if you had any problems.

I started out at 28 stone on a slender Specialized Sequoia road bike and I have had no problems with the bike at all.

Admittedly, the rim of the 32 spoke rear wheel was as strong as spaghetti after two years (by which time I was "down" to 18 stone), but I can't exactly complain.

Enjoy your new bike and don't let your weight put you off a road bike when the warmer weather appears

Andyt1054

PLenty of very good advice above, nothing much more to add really other than well done for the hard work so far, and best of luck for the next few months - perhaps 2012 for a local/low key trail race, once youve built up your confidence???

BABASAN

for diet advice the best thing to do is 1:- use more calories then you eat
2:- cut your daily intake by around 300 calories
3:- eat 5-6 small meals a day to keep your metabolism
fired up
4:- eat clean no fried foods etc and snacks
5:- drink lots of water
6:-green tea helps your metabolism so drink loads
7:- Do not eat after 6 pm

if you find that you plateau consider cutting carbs by a little however i think that if you keep up on the mtb you may find that there will be no need to cut anything

goodluck

S-M

Mark909 wrote:

To be honest you're not going to loose much weight just doing mountain biking, try trail running as well

Really ?

Nonsense.

I was 21 stone last Xmas.

I was 18 stone dead this morning on the scales, and i have lost around 6-7 weeks riding now due to some hefty crashes.

brindlescoops

Hi all, first post!

I am in a similar boat to the OP, but 34 and started out at 20 stone and 6'2". Be really interested to see if the OP has continued and how they got on. It was really interesting seeing how many of the posters had significant weight losses, its really motivating and inspiring. A couple of weeks into my new bike ownership and I am doing 5-6 miles 2 or 3 times per week of pure off road - bridle paths, woods etc and thats increasing all the time and really enjoying it. also lost a stone in that time, but also gone back to doing weights as well, which I used to do a lot and a healthier diet so this will help too.

My biggest worry has been a chain snapping under load, (i still have the scars this from this happening when i was a youth) I have just ordered an SRam Pc591 as i have been told its bomb proof - we will see, im trying to maintian it as much as poss to keep it healthy.

Any other super weight loss stories would be good to hear and learnings as well as the OPs successes.

BigLee1

good first post welcome!

Don`t worry about your chain snapping unless you`ve got a really cheapo bike

brindlescoops

BigLee1 wrote:

good first post welcome!

Don`t worry about your chain snapping unless you`ve got a really cheapo bike

I bought a 2011 GT Avalanche 2.0 which I think is a reasonable entry level bike and having great fun with it so far!

Cheers!

dhobiwallah

But generally im aiming for about 1700 calories a day

Which would be ideal if you were a 9 stone girl :P

That is far too little for you initially!
The formula for your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is below - this is basically the calories you use just by breathing etc! If you so much as walk to the kitchen (or go on a 10 mile ride) you expend those calories on top.

You didn't say (or I didn't read) your age/height - but assuming the 22 stone OP is 180cm and 30ish the BMR is nearly 2800cals

English BMR Formula
Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )
Men: BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) - ( 6.8 x age in year )

Metric BMR Formula
Women: BMR = 655 + ( 9.6 x weight in kilos ) + ( 1.8 x height in cm ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )
Men: BMR = 66 + ( 13.7 x weight in kilos ) + ( 5 x height in cm ) - ( 6.8 x age in years )

Even as a complete couch potato who drives to/from the end of the street you need to consume 3300cals or so to maintain your current weight. If you do anything else then you burn/are eating more...

Harris Benedict Formula
To determine your total daily calorie needs, multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows:

If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2
If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
If you are moderatetely active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55
If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725
If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9

Initially don't worry too much about actual calorie counting etc - just work out why you are eating so many excess calories in the first place. Is it type of food (everything fried)/ quantity (is your plate twice the size of your thinner mates)/ frequency (what is the longest or shortest you go without a snack of some kind) / booze (a few pints every night really adds up)

Pint of lager - 200-250 cals; so 4 pints = 1000 cals or so
Take away curry plus trimmings can easily be 1000cals and counting
Just by doing a little exercise and avoiding the obvious rubbish food the weight will come off initially without too much thinking. A little later the loss may slow and you will have to examine a bit closer.

Oh and portion size is still an issue - a pint of fresh OJ has as many cals as a pint of lager - it just contains more good stuff

cooldad

Or to simplify, ride more eat fewer pies.

Rushmore

If you have a smart phone,

check out My Fitness App

It's an awesome calory counting diary, it;s free.. and makes calorie counting easy.. ( just scan the barcode of packaging or type it in )

I've lost about 9lbs in about 3 weeks... ( but that was doing rides that burn over 900 cals a day + an 8k run every other day )

surreymtb

Hi all :-)

Firstly it's great we all love getting out there for whatever reason I think! I got a MTB for a verity of reasons, one because I loved it in the past but also to lose weight and to fight depression (in the spirit of being open and honest and offering support to those who don't feel able to admit it in public). So here's my 2 cents

I bought a Cube Acid 6 months ago and have so far lost over 2 stone. It's been fantastic fun, apart for the big crash and really theraputic, for me better than drugs and therapists. Im lucky to live close to the north downs and it's just bloody fantastic!

I was lucky to have a personal trainer a few years ago and learnt a lot about diets/calories. Basically don't! You need a certain amount of calories as dhobiwallah pointed out. It's all about a balanced intake combined with exercise. If you going to ride a hundred miles just eating a banana all day is not going to cut it! I kept a food diary when training in the past and its amazing when you analyse it over a week. When I plan to go out on the bike I always start the day with Porridge as it was drummed into me this is one of the best foods as it realises energy in stages. But it is all about balance. My trainer like a lot of people was big on cross training so mtbing and running is great BUT if you are overweight running can ruin your knees/ankles. Infact when I started my trainer would not let me run as he said it would do too much damage. I went out running last week and although I go out on my bike and do 28 miles with an avg speed of anywhere between 6.5mph and 9 it almost killed me..lol

As Circuitman said getting bike gear for us big blokes can be a bit of a nightmare. When I read a jersey sizing and xxxl is 46inch I shudder..lol plus a lot of cycle gear manufacturers just presume everyone is a stick! I tried to not go mad and spend loads of cash on kit just in case I found that the depression stopped me going out (yes I know that sounds stupid but trust me, it can be a terribly debilitating illness.) You have to do a bit of searching for kit to fit but I picked up a Berghaus RG1 jacket which isn't bad for a boil in the bag jacket :-p I picked up a couple of base layers from sport direct. It's a miss mash that works for me, Im not going to win any fashion awards or be accepted in the ultra cool cycling cliques but Im not worried about that! and of course having lost the weight I'm already buying smaller sizes..get in!

yikes, too many words..but anyone thinking getting a bike, just do it..and for us big guys, yes you CAN do it. The Cube Acid has been great though after 700 miles I'm replacing the chain and the cassette! I don't think my weight and non technique helps!

cheers