Any fit & healthy men that used to be large!! Help Please

michaelatkinson

Hi there,

I have seen another post similar to what I am about to post so my apologies.

I'm a 35 year old male, 6ft and approx 15st 6lb. I work as a project manager which basically means I dont do much in the way of moving around in my job unless I'm out on site. I have 3 kids which makes it hard for me to get out cycling all of the time.

What I do manage to do (not so much with Winter approaching) is 3 rides per week 4 if I'm lucky ranging from 12 miles to 16 miles.

I need to lose some major weight and get fit at the same time, my question is will my 3 rides per week do the job considering I'm going from zero exercise to 3-4 times per week at an hour and 15 mins a go?

Realistically what is going to be a good diet based on the fact I dont want to be spending a fortune on special foods. I can cook but want to keep the costs to as low as possible, steering away from carbs is an option but I am surely going to be knackered when it comes to rides as I dont get out till 7.30pm.

Do I cut the biscuits etc?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Hopefully someone with a similar background will step forward! :P

napoleond

I think you already know the answer to this.
Cut the crap. Eat healthy fats, protein and carbs. Eat food as close to its natural state as possible (I.e not processed.)
Don't be scared of fats.

city_boy

NapoleonD wrote:

I think you already know the answer to this.
Cut the crap. Eat healthy fats, protein and carbs. Eat food as close to its natural state as possible (I.e not processed.)
Don't be scared of fats.

^^This, and cut out as much sugar as possible.

michaelatkinson

what about the amount of exercise?

napoleond

michaelatkinson wrote:

what about the amount of exercise?

Weight loss is as much as 80% diet in my experience. You are exercising which is a good start. Get the food right and it'll fall off.
I was nearly 18stone at 28. I got down to under 13 before I broke my back in 2012.

michaelatkinson

NapoleonD wrote:

michaelatkinson wrote:

what about the amount of exercise?

Weight loss is as much as 80% diet in my experience. You are exercising which is a good start. Get the food right and it'll fall off.
I was nearly 18stone at 28. I got down to under 13 before I broke my back in 2012.

ouch... Cheers for the advice.

I just need to work out what is 'real food' now :shock:

peteco

I agree with the 80% diet statement.

Cut out the convenience foods, and reduce reduce portions generally. I found that I needed to feel hungry at certain points in the day to know that the diet was right.

It is all about willpower.

Pete

napoleond

michaelatkinson wrote:

NapoleonD wrote:

michaelatkinson wrote:

what about the amount of exercise?

Weight loss is as much as 80% diet in my experience. You are exercising which is a good start. Get the food right and it'll fall off.
I was nearly 18stone at 28. I got down to under 13 before I broke my back in 2012.

ouch... Cheers for the advice.

I just need to work out what is 'real food' now :shock:

Real food is what you think it is!
Unprocessed Meat, fish, fruit, veg, nuts, seeds. Use brown rice instead of pasta or white rice.
Eat a good breakfast with protein in and taper your carbs as the day goes on.

city_boy

michaelatkinson wrote:

I just need to work out what is 'real food' now :shock:

If it doesn't grow in the ground, walk, fly or swim, don't eat it

manxshred

I am 1.8m and was 105kg (16.5 stone) at my heaviest. I was pretty fit at that time playing squash, going to gym and running.
I was simply eating too much. I didn't change what I ate, I just cut portion sizes. Use something like My Fittness Pal on your choice of phone or tablet and track how much you are eating, and adjust accordingly.

steviecfb

I lost a lot of weight (18kg) on Dukan, but it took me a year. It worked for me.

As someone said, it's about willpower.

napoleond

Think we need some before and after pics...

michaelatkinson

NapD, I'll pass on that mate! Dont want the population of Bike radar to run off! Ride off

napoleond

I meant from us who've lost weight as a bit if motivation for you

michaelede

39 Year Old ,189cm (6'2") peaked at 107kg (approaching 17st) in the recent past. Work full time as a project engineer and run my own online business in my spare time. 4 yo son and two working dogs to train. Reason for the life story? I've probably got even less time than you! Started riding again in June this year.

Current body weight 90+/-1kg

Weight loss has taken about 2 years BUT the first 14 months or so weren't effective. Really kicked it up a gear at the end of January. So I've lost about 12kg in 10 months.

Top tips:
0) Weight loss is about 95% diet, plenty of studies show that increasing exercise increase appetite. Also it way easier to trim calories than bump up exercise volume with limited free time.
1) Don't confuse weight loss with the real goal of losing fat!
2) Weight can easily vary by +/- 1.5kg a day. Read and understand the following:
http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/e4/signalnoise.html
Find yourself a little app that will show you your weight, record it daily and shows the trend. Libra is fantastic on Android. For me this was the single biggest revelation, I've tried just about every diet under the sun at some point and they have all worked for a short while but I abandoned them after seeing my weight start climbing. If only I had known about looking at my weights trend I would not have panicked and given up.
3) Weight loss can only achieved by a calorie deficit. Sure there are confounders if you are close to calories in = calories out or if you cut calories to a stupidly low level but this is a fundamental truth.
4) For me the real "secrets" have been focusing on "real" food, largely avoiding stuff that your great grandmother wouldn't recognise. Minimising carb intake (although less so now I am cycling more) but this tends to happen quite naturally if you avoid processed foods.
5) Look at intermittent fasting. I started by occasionally skipping breakfast and now occasionally fast for 36 hours straight (which oddly is a lot easier than it sounds) numerous studies have shown a range of health benefits, but knocking 4000 calories off your weekly total (which equates to about 1lb of body fat and 4 1/2 hours of vigorous cycling!) isn't to be sniffed at. I tend to do a Monday as I am not overly careful about what I eat at weekends and being stuck at work with no food ensures compliance!
6)Photographing EVERYTHING you eat focuses the mind somewhat, I found myself deleting and not eating some of the crappier choices I was making.
7)Telling other people (either online or in real life) about what you are doing increases the likelihood of you sticking with it. For me finding someone else to compete against really helped with motivation.
8 ) Setting yourself targets with suitable rewards (ones you value) can help with motivation. Promise yourself a fancy carbon bike if you get to 83 kg (13 stone) for example. And also have smaller rewards along the way (something for every stone or half stone?), e.g. smaller jersey or shorts. The important point is that it needs to be something that you want badly enough to help motivate you when you have a wobble but is also close enough to be achievable and so feel real. Personally I don't find this overly motivational as I don't really "want" much or the stuff I want is a bit much for my pocket!

Obviously YMMV. Good luck, just remember not to rush! I haven't really mentioned exercise above as I my goals are probably different to yours! Sorry to go on for so long.

napoleond

Before... Aged 28, heading for a heart attack probably. Horrendous diet and booze although I exercised a lot! I had just got my black sash at Lau Gar Kung Fu. Never really noticed but then it hit me when someone I was fighting against said I moved really fast for a fat bloke. I had already lost about half a stone in this photo.



I steadily lost weight by increasing exercise but diet was still somewhat poor.

Then I spoke with Barry at http://www.optimumnutrition4sport.com got a nutrition plan and it was like a light switch. The weight fell off.

I'm 38 now and feel younger than I did at 28. A lot of people say I look younger too!
Got down to just under 13stone. Broke my back and collar bone and the weight has crept up to 14 but I know by march next year I'll be back down to 13 no probs.

michaelede

Bloody hell impressive before and after chap!

kajjal

To lose weight just stop eating between meals and have a rough idea how many calories you need to eat per day. It is important you have enough fuel for your exercise so don't aim too low. Starving yourself is a very bad idea and try to eat as healthily as is possible.

I travel alot for my job in the UK and abroad and it is very hard work to stay fit and eat healthily all the time but worth trying the best you can. Most weekends I do a couple of longish road rides to compensate for the reduced exercise during the week. Also during the week if I am home I do some night riding on the country lanes near us to keep the fitness up.

Good Luck and don't rush it

napoleond

I disagree with the not eating between meals. A small healthy snack keeps your metabolism going and is easier mentally too.

supermurph09

Failure to prepare, prepare to fail! Look at what you eat now and consider how you can improve. Taking a packed lunch to work for example will have a huge effect, add in things to nibble on to curb the hunger pangs, fruit, nuts or berries etc. It takes me approximately 5 minutes to prepare a healthy sandwich.

By asking the question you are on the right track, you know you need to do something, thats half the battle. Set yourself small goals, losing 2lb per week which with a change in diet and regular exercise will be easy and motivate you further.

Also consider a turbo trainer so that if the weather is too bad or you are short on time you can still get a good workout in.

michaelede

NapoleonD wrote:

I disagree with the not eating between meals. A small healthy snack keeps your metabolism going and is easier mentally too.

Sorry, the keeping your metabolism going bit is simply incorrect. Yes, you will get an effect but the total effect will be no different than if you ate your snacks with your "main" meals. Whilst it obviously works for you, personally I find snacking to actually make sticking to a calorie restricted diet harder for a number of reasons not least of which is that by definition you have to consume less calories at your "main" meals to maintain the same calorific deficit.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9155494

and more recently:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19943985

It is not until you get to around the 60 hour mark after food that metabolism slows down and paradoxically studies have shown that your metabolic rate can be increased by between 3 and 10% 36 to 48 hours after food:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2405717

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10837292

Just passing on stuff I've learnt going from being a fat guy to being "normal" weight. Unfortunately I wasted a lot of time by not actually looking at the research myself which resulted in a lot of dead ends.

I would also say what I have written concerns going from being a fat guy to a normal guy, I guess it would be prudent to add that it might not be a good way / quickest way to go from being a fat guy to a great cyclist. That wasn't my goal but I have certainly enjoyed my cycling more as I have lost weight.

napoleond

Whereas I just followed the personalised nutrition plan from a sports nutritionist who now works with BMC.

brownbosh

Nap D has got it right. was 21.5 stone myself and took three years to get to 14st 10. Fluctuate up to 15st 5lb on and off depending on the season and level of physical and emotional commitment. I looked like I had eaten the biggest fella seen here so far!!!
Diet and small life changes are all that is NEEDED. Miles help. Personally I need to keep creating physical goals to keep it in check whether they be racing or multi day sportive oriented.
I had trouble doing 10 k when I bought a bike in 2006!!! 14,800 km this year along with a full time job.
You just need to create good habits and carry momentum. Before you know it riding and eating well is as normal as breathing and just as necessary.

napoleond

95 quid now. As a one off it's not bad at all.

47p2

I was on holiday with my wife, daughter and granddaughter in February this year. My daughter had been given a bike for her christmas so we decided to hire a couple of bikes on holiday and I would go out with her to get some miles in as she had signed up for a local sportive where she lives. It had been almost 30 years since I had hung up my cycling shoes and it came as a bit of a shock just how unfit I actually was. The biggest shocker for me was when we returned home and I looked at the holiday snaps on the computer and saw what the middle part of me was actually like...The Michelin Man.

I was 72.5Kgs (11 stone 6lbs) the heaviest I had ever been, so I decided that it was time to do something. I changed my eating habits and cut out butter, cheese full fat milk, sweets, sugar, junk food, curries, pizza. My diet now consists of mainly fruit, vegetables, fish, chicken, nuts, seeds, oats etc. all wholesome foods that are not expensive or difficult to find.

My weight control today is more of a lifestyle change now that I have almost achieved my target weight and I am strict with my daily eating habits. It's not easy and there were/are lots of times I felt/feel like having unhealthy fatty foods but I really don't have any desire to be overweight again and this seems to steer me in the right direction.

My weight this morning came in at a massive 60.7Kgs (9 stone 8lbs) a loss of 11.7Kgs (26lbs). I now cycle as often as I can and although my speed is a lot slower than it was 30 years ago I can pace myself better and cycle distances I never knew were achievable.

Before (taken in February 2013)



This was me at 63.5kgs (10 stone) in August



Strict diet is the only way to loose weight, exercise will help speed things up a little, but not a lot. Don't return from your cycle and sit in front of the telly stuffing your face, that only leads to more weight gain.



Good luck

napoleond

Good effort!

frisbee

ManxShred wrote:

I am 1.8m and was 105kg (16.5 stone) at my heaviest. I was pretty fit at that time playing squash, going to gym and running.
I was simply eating too much. I didn't change what I ate, I just cut portion sizes. Use something like My Fittness Pal on your choice of phone or tablet and track how much you are eating, and adjust accordingly.

This. Quantity can be a "big" problem, I weighed my ingredients and I was having 2-3x as much as I thought I was of things like rice and potatoes.

Eating way too much of the good stuff isn't much better than smaller quantities of bad stuff.

stu-bim

peteco wrote:

I agree with the 80% diet statement.

Cut out the convenience foods, and reduce reduce portions generally. I found that I needed to feel hungry at certain points in the day to know that the diet was right.

It is all about willpower.

Pete

Completely disagree about willpower. It's all planning and eating real food whenever possible.

LegendLust

madasahattersley wrote:

NapoleonD wrote:

Whereas I just followed the personalised nutrition plan from a sports nutritionist who now works with BMC.

ON4S? Charges a bit too much dough for someone as broke as me, but I've heard he's really good.

If you're serious about becoming a Pro then I'd recommend you speak to Barry. He's worth the money. Not only will he help you with fat loss, but more importantly your recovery from hard sessions will improve, meaning you can train harder again.

napoleond

LegendLust wrote:

madasahattersley wrote:

NapoleonD wrote:

Whereas I just followed the personalised nutrition plan from a sports nutritionist who now works with BMC.

ON4S? Charges a bit too much dough for someone as broke as me, but I've heard he's really good.

If you're serious about becoming a Pro then I'd recommend you speak to Barry. He's worth the money. Not only will he help you with fat loss, but more importantly your recovery from hard sessions will improve, meaning you can train harder again.

And the right foods to optimise on bike performance...

michaelatkinson

Right then..

Started this morning. I ate as normal yesterday and basically discovered that I like too much rubbish food.

Today it starts!! Anyone recommend a good cheap as possible turbo trainer?