Best Diet?

TMR

Sorry for the uninformative thread title, wasn't sure what to call it.

Any way, I'm climbing the Tourmalet in 4 weeks and would like to make a concerted effort for that period to lose as much additional body fat as I can. My weight at the moment is 95KG (down from 107KG). Ideally I'd like to be under 90KG by the time of the ride.

My current daily intake looks something like this:

Breakfast - Bowl of cereal
Mid-Morning - CNP Protein Flapjack
Train
Lunch - Pret wrap (usually pork) and fruit
Afternoon - CNP Protein Flapjack
Dinner - Protein source with vegetables. Sometimes pasta but am trying to avoid carbs in the evening

Training wise I do 30 mins on the bike in the gym Mon-Thu. Also hill repeats when I get home in the evening (but it's very much erratic) and at the weekend I manage a ride of a few hours.

What do I need to do diet wise to get the weight off? I don't feel like I am eating tonnes as it is and always train with good intensity to make up for the lack of quantity.

Help!

rick_chasey

Dump the flapjack .

Is you weight going down, or have you plateaued at 95?

1@ATIME

Weigh the cereal I was having a bowl of muesli every day thinking i was doing great not realising I had a 1,000 calories in the bowl, 100g is usually more than enough. But really you should be looking at your overall calorific intake and output per day, try this to get an idea http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/

amaferanga

Training effectively while losing over 1kg a week will be very difficult.

phreak

It won't ever be 100% accurate but try keeping a food diary. Record your calories in and then subtract your BMR and what you burn off through exercise. That will give you a rough idea of how you stand.

I think to lose 1lb of weight you need to burn around 3,500 calories more than you consume, so you can work out from that how much you need to lose 5kg.

kim10

Hi – you might want to change you daily intake of food. The Protein Flapjack you are eating are approx. 280 calories each and the Pret wrap is not ideal either, probably between 500-600 calories. You can find a lot of different food options that won’t add as many calories as what you are eating at the moment.
Not sure if you can but I would also try and extend the time spent on the bike in the gym to more than 30 minutes. Your body will burn off carbohydrates first before burning fat and this usually takes more than 30 minutes for this to happen. Ideally it would be better to do this on the road for better training.

Good luck anyway – hope you enjoy the Tourmalet

TMR

Rick Chasey wrote:

Is you weight going down, or have you plateaued at 95?

Plateaued. For weeks

TMR

Rick Chasey wrote:

Dump the flapjack .

And replace it with what? Nothing?

styxd

Here you go, have a look at this. Should sort you:

http://fourhourbody.com/

TMR

styxd wrote:

Here you go, have a look at this. Should sort you:

http://fourhourbody.com/

LMAO

styxd

Its either that, or liposuction.

rick_chasey

The Mad Rapper wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Dump the flapjack .

And replace it with what? Nothing?

For sure.

Ultimately it's calories in versus calories out.

Having said that, you'll lose a good 2kg just by cycling in the pyrenees.

If I were you, I'd forget about the weight, and focus on getting some good hard training in.

Like I said, the Tourmalet is roughly a 90 minute full on effort, so practice that. That'll add more value than trying to drop a kilo - you might do that anway by training.

Just make sure you do a big sh!t beforehand.

1@ATIME

Why not swap one of your flapjacks for a protein shake, just an idea

TMR

Rick Chasey wrote:

For sure.

Ultimately it's calories in versus calories out.

Having said that, you'll lose a good 2kg just by cycling in the pyrenees.

If I were you, I'd forget about the weight, and focus on getting some good hard training in.

Like I said, the Tourmalet is roughly a 90 minute full on effort, so practice that. That'll add more value than trying to drop a kilo - you might do that anway by training.

Just make sure you do a big sh!t beforehand.

OK - will give that a crack. Thanks

rick_chasey

The Mad Rapper wrote:

RickChasey wrote:

Just make sure you do a big sh!t beforehand.

OK - will give that a crack.

Don't think that pun went unnoticed.

TMR

1@ATIME wrote:

Why not swap one of your flapjacks for a protein shake, just an idea

Yes, is possible. I don't want to lose my lower body muscle mass if at all possible, hence the protein flapjacks. I don't need the carbs though (about 40g carbs per bar), so a shake might be the answer. Perhaps make it part of my lunch.

ozzy1000_0

Rick Chasey wrote:

The Mad Rapper wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Dump the flapjack .

And replace it with what? Nothing?

For sure.

Ultimately it's calories in versus calories out.

Having said that, you'll lose a good 2kg just by cycling in the pyrenees.

If I were you, I'd forget about the weight, and focus on getting some good hard training in.

Like I said, the Tourmalet is roughly a 90 minute full on effort, so practice that. That'll add more value than trying to drop a kilo - you might do that anway by training.

Just make sure you do a big sh!t beforehand.

as above. I've dropped from 87kg to 71-72kg ( varies). I've started being careful with my diet but not silly. Last year I tried dieting, it worked, but it slowed me down and means you struggle to train, its depressing watching you average speeds drop and feeling weaker and crapper... I would swap the flapjacks for a piece of fruit, maybe a bannana for carbs in the mid morning if you plan to train at lunch time. then my lunch of choice is a whole bag of leaves, maybe rocket + watercress, with a pear or somthing chopped, loads of seeds maybe some chicken and dressing... I find I huge pile of good stuff at lunch (with some fat in seeds/nuts/dressing) keeps me feeling full for most of the afternoon....

but saying this, the most weight loss comes with proper hard training, I don't really have time for consistent good training but If I really push myself for 2-3 weeks, almost overreaching until I feel really-really tired, and my wife and employer are commenting on how tired I am, then wieght falls off I a lean up, then I'll have a very easy week to recover where I do almost nothing and I'll bounce back feeling much stronger... maybe try doing this.. if you have 4 weeks, make the next two or three a crash training suffer-fest and then have a week or so to recover.. do you do any high intensity intervals??

t.m.h.n.e.t

You are not eating anywhere near enough.....

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

liversedge

The Mad Rapper wrote:

Breakfast - Bowl of cereal
Mid-Morning - CNP Protein Flapjack
Train
Lunch - Pret wrap (usually pork) and fruit
Afternoon - CNP Protein Flapjack
Dinner - Protein source with vegetables. Sometimes pasta but am trying to avoid carbs in the evening

You don't list drinks. I hope its just water and non-sugary drinks? Mid-morning a handful of almonds might be a good replacement. The cereal and milk is probably not the best (sugar) - thought about porridge? Make sure you eat within 20 mins of training, if you can. And make it a good mix of protein, green veg and good fats.

I was most successful when I made my breakfast big, lunch medium and dinner small portions; e.g. big bowl of porridge with berries, fresh chicken and veg soup and hunk of bread, ham omelette and salad dinner. I have an injury at present and am doing the Atkins -- it works but has a devastating impact on cycle performance and is best avoided -- we need lots of carbs!

Finally, try and cut down caffeine, it buggers about with blood sugar and will give you cravings. If you want some help on cravings eat more protein and try popping some L-glutamine.

TMR

ozzy1000_0 wrote:

[do you do any high intensity intervals??

Yes. The highest level on the bike in the gym is 21, so at least once a week I'll do 30 mins of the strength training program, which is 15 secs at Lvl 21, then 45 secs at Lvl 9 or something - rinse and repeat for 30 mins.

Other days I'll sit and do 30 mins at Lvl 15 just to give my legs a workout. I also try to have one session a week where I just spin between Lvls 9-11 depending on what mood I'm in.

Weekend rides are either with the fast group at my club and can be up to 75 miles, at 18-20 MPH average, or I'll go out myself and do the Henley Loop, which is 33 miles or so with a number of short and sharp (20-22%), and long and steady (7-10%) climbs.

TMR

liversedge wrote:

You don't list drinks.

I only drink water or green tea. Rarely touch alcohol (2-3 times per year).

dennisn

Losing weight is almost always about how much food you're putting into yourself. You can ride mega miles with little weight loss if your diet stinks. If you're stuck at a certain weight I would advise starting to measure what you eat, cut out beer and booze completely, eat more foods that have a LOW glycemic index, drink no more than 2 cups(measured) of skim milk a day, no jellies, jams, junk food, and go easy on the bread. Also fruit jucies and veggie jucies contain lots of sugar and calories and are usually high on the glycemic index chart. Sorry, but dieting is tough stuff.

Rule74Please

The Mad Rapper wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Dump the flapjack .

And replace it with what? Nothing?

"Eating is cheating"

dw300

You simply need to eat as little as you can while still being able to exercise at the intensity that you want to. Just listen to your body. Go for a 40/40/20 ratio of protein/carbs/fat.

Soni

Kim10 wrote:

Pret wrap is not ideal either, probably between 500-600 calories.

I went into Boots yesterday and picked up a wrap, its was a Shapers BBQ chicken (as i'm also trying to lose weight) and it was only 280 cals, and it was nice, and filling.

Probably cheaper than the Pret as well!