a little on the heavy side!

Tashman

Hi,

I've taken up riding as a means of recovery after having ACL replacement surgery in February and also as i have slowly crept up in weight over the last year. I'm 6'2" and currently 110kg (17st 4lbs) I had got this down to 95kg (15st) a couple of years ago through diet and the Wii fit but i gfound the exercise tedious and stopped.
I am lucky enough to live in the Sussex countryside so should i just get out and ride hell for leather, or can people recommend more specific training.
I have reined in my eating, cutting snacks out unless it's a piece of fruit or a handful of nuts/seeds.

markhewitt1978

Losing weight is 95% about your diet. Training is for fitness. As long as you don't try and conflate the two too much you won't go far wrong. It's entirely possible to lose weight without doing any exercise at all.

Riding fasted in the mornings can help but otherwise it depends on how much time you have available to you etc.

DeVlaeminck

Tashman wrote:

Hi,

I've taken up riding as a means of recovery after having ACL replacement surgery in February and also as i have slowly crept up in weight over the last year. I'm 6'2" and currently 110kg (17st 4lbs) I had got this down to 95kg (15st) a couple of years ago through diet and the Wii fit but i gfound the exercise tedious and stopped.
I am lucky enough to live in the Sussex countryside so should i just get out and ride hell for leather, or can people recommend more specific training.
I have reined in my eating, cutting snacks out unless it's a piece of fruit or a handful of nuts/seeds.

Ask yourself why you stopped using the WiiFit again and there is your answer. Do the riding you enjoy enough to keep doing it consistently. There are different views on the best type of exercise to lose weight and yes diet probably is the major contributor but any consistent exercise is going to help. With cycling the main thing is don't fall for the rubbish that you need to eat specifically to fuel rides up to a couple of hours and don't eat like a horse when you get in and over compensTe for what you have burned off - try and just have a coffee and maybe a small snack and then you next normal meal at the normal time.

imposter2.0

As above - weight loss starts in the kitchen, not on the bike.

OnTheRopes

More specific training? Yes
Eat sensibly, less carbs for a while.
Ride steady distance rides, by steady I mean at a pace where you could (just) hold a conversation.
Start on flatish rides and keep your effort in this 'gossip' threshold.
To begin, ride for an hour 4 times a week for the first 4 weeks
Then make one of the rides an ahour and a half and maybe 5 rides a week.
After another month ride one day for two hours, 3 days for 1 hour and one day for an hour and a half.

A month later, (3 months from zero) start doing a few harder intervals or some hills.

Eat sensibly and you will lose weight. It takes me 5 to six months from zero fitness to lose about 10 kilos and reach race weight. So don't be in too big a hurry it takes time and can be frustrating in the early weeks.

Dave_P1

Eat more fruit and veg, carbs are your friend, but fat isn't so try to cut as much of it out as possible and then ride your bike as much as you can and the weight will start to fall off.

smudgerii

Dave_P1 wrote:

Eat more fruit and veg, carbs are your friend, but fat isn't so try to cut as much of it out as possible and then ride your bike as much as you can and the weight will start to fall off.

Fat isn't the enemy, Sugar is!

Processed carbs should be avoided, simple carbs and a high protein ratio with moderate fats, will preserve muscle and alter your shape/size/weight.

ianbar

diet is the key. you will get probably very different advise and what suits you, time ail tell. however i personally feel changes you can stick too are key. e.g., don't cook with oil, use fry light. swap out white for brown..rice, bread, pasta. I'm down to skimmed milk now. cut out the crisps and sweets eat 3 good meals a day with as much fruit & especially veg and you won't go far wrong. i am 6'3" just over a year ago i was at least 20lbs heavier. now at 14st I'm pretty happy where i am at. don't worry about hitting your vmi thats just misleading.

lesfirth

Imposter wrote:

As above - weight loss starts in the kitchen, not on the bike.

IMHO it starts in the supermarket. It is much easier not to buy it than it is not to eat it if you have it.

Tashman

Thanks guys, sounds like my first thing is to make friends with "Will Power". I've managed to cut back to almost no sweet snacks now which have always been my downfall. From experience in the past i agree on the sugar bad approach so I'm aiming to cut out unnecassary additional bits here. I'm never going to be a competetive athlete, i just want to be a bit less round and build the strength back properly in my right knee

DavidJB

Log everything you eat in myfitnesspal...stops you snacking.

I'm am amazed with the amount of training I do that I get fat. If I eat shit I pile the weight on despite getting through 10,000ish kcals a week in training...(winter)

I'm also amazed how much I have to eat when I eat healthy only foods and log everything to make sure I'm not under eating.

As others have said, diet is the key, no amount of exercise will help you if you have a poor diet.

Tashman

oxoman wrote:

Agree with most of the above, you don't mention what aftercare your supposed to do after the ACL replacement. Take it steady don't push hard gears and ensure you rest up. As already mentioned beware the sins after riding, just have a small snack and coffee. Good luck.

Aftercare has been physio based. I've never been a runner so cycling is great, cardio and resistance (to a degree) without the impact. Potentially looking at changing my cassette to a larger gear to help with the climbs so i don't put too much load on it

keef66

I also returned to road cycling aged 50 following minor knee surgery, - nothing drastic like ACL, just trimming torn meniscal cartilage and a bit of smoothing of the articular stuff- but I specced a triple chainset on the bike to give me a wide range of gears with no big jumps so I could always be spinning rather than grinding.

8 years later I found my weight had gradually crept up and I was becoming distinctly rotund despite quite a lot of cycling and dog walking. It's clearly possible to scupper any amount of exercise by eating too much.
I've repeatedly tried eating reduced calories every day but it's soooo boring I can't resist food when it's around, so it never worked.

Then I tried the 5:2 diet. Found I do have the willpower to eat / drink only 600 cals on 2 days a week, knowing I can eat what I like the other 5. Consistently lost about a pound a week; 18 pounds in just over 4 months.

I'm also persuaded there are other benefits to intermittent fasting; my blood lipid profile has improved enormously.

I'm down to what I think is a sensible weight now, but I'll probably stick to this way of eating more or less all the time.

5:2 seems to be a bit marmite; some people really like it and find it easy, while others don't and struggle. Give it a go, what have you got to lose?

(Several stones, hopefully)

Dave_P1

Smudgerii wrote:

Dave_P1 wrote:

Eat more fruit and veg, carbs are your friend, but fat isn't so try to cut as much of it out as possible and then ride your bike as much as you can and the weight will start to fall off.

Fat isn't the enemy, Sugar is!

Processed carbs should be avoided, simple carbs and a high protein ratio with moderate fats, will preserve muscle and alter your shape/size/weight.

PMSL, so wrong

smudgerii

Dave_P1 wrote:

Smudgerii wrote:

Dave_P1 wrote:

Eat more fruit and veg, carbs are your friend, but fat isn't so try to cut as much of it out as possible and then ride your bike as much as you can and the weight will start to fall off.

Fat isn't the enemy, Sugar is!

Processed carbs should be avoided, simple carbs and a high protein ratio with moderate fats, will preserve muscle and alter your shape/size/weight.

PMSL, so wrong

Enlighten us then.

keef66

Dave_P1 wrote:

Smudgerii wrote:

Dave_P1 wrote:

Eat more fruit and veg, carbs are your friend, but fat isn't so try to cut as much of it out as possible and then ride your bike as much as you can and the weight will start to fall off.

Fat isn't the enemy, Sugar is!

Processed carbs should be avoided, simple carbs and a high protein ratio with moderate fats, will preserve muscle and alter your shape/size/weight.

PMSL, so wrong

Remind me again why the government is introducing a sugar tax?

jimnm

You may think this odd, have you considered joining Slimming World. You can put together great meals and not feel hungry. The wife does this and is losing 2 to 2.5 lb per week. You get access to the website when you join.
My Mrs only exercises her eyelids and bottom jaw lol but the weight is coming off.
It's worth taking a look at, if you like to eat,

fenix

[quote="keef66"}
Remind me again why the government is introducing a sugar tax?[/quote]

Probably to raise money ?

keef66

Fenix wrote:

[quote="keef66"}
Remind me again why the government is introducing a sugar tax?

Probably to raise money ?[/quote]

They could raise even more though if they taxed fat as well...

But their stated intention is to reduce sugar consumption, because it's currently on the naughty step re the obesity crisis.

Trouble is they've only slapped it on fizzy drinks, and I think in a relatively wealthy country like ours it will make bugger all difference to consumption. And the obesity crisis isn't caused by a single food ingredient, it's a lot more complicated than that.

They need to be spending serious money on education, both for children and their parents. Overweight kids soon become overweight adults who go on to become bariatric patients. The NHS is spending precious resources on treating a whole raft of entirely preventable, self-inflicted conditions / disorders / diseases

fenix

It's going to take a lot more than a few pennies on a can of coke to stop people getting fat.
People are lazy. It's so easy to over eat. Maybe when the petrol runs out people will have to walk or bike a bit more....

stevie63

I don't do a High Fat Low carb diet so I have no personal experience of this (in fact I'm eating a choc bar as I type this), however this post by Sami Inkinen on his experience with LCHF diets shows that he went from bonking after 2.2 hours on a high carb diet at 300 watts average to being able to go 5.3 hours at 300 watts on LCHF. With low sugar he is able to put out performances that most could only dream of.

http://www.samiinkinen.com/post/86875777832/becoming-a-bonk-proof-triathlete-fat-chance

Dave_P1

Smudgerii wrote:

Dave_P1 wrote:

Smudgerii wrote:

Dave_P1 wrote:

Eat more fruit and veg, carbs are your friend, but fat isn't so try to cut as much of it out as possible and then ride your bike as much as you can and the weight will start to fall off.

Fat isn't the enemy, Sugar is!

Processed carbs should be avoided, simple carbs and a high protein ratio with moderate fats, will preserve muscle and alter your shape/size/weight.

PMSL, so wrong

Enlighten us then.

So you want to lose weight, why would you have a high fat intake. It's the fat people want to lose, most people have too much of it. So why eat more of it. You can eat a perfectly healthy diet on low fat foods, lean meat, fruit and veg.

Dave_P1

keef66 wrote:

Dave_P1 wrote:

Smudgerii wrote:

Dave_P1 wrote:

Eat more fruit and veg, carbs are your friend, but fat isn't so try to cut as much of it out as possible and then ride your bike as much as you can and the weight will start to fall off.

Fat isn't the enemy, Sugar is!

Processed carbs should be avoided, simple carbs and a high protein ratio with moderate fats, will preserve muscle and alter your shape/size/weight.

PMSL, so wrong

Remind me again why the government is introducing a sugar tax?

So the sugar in fruit is bad is it? I'm not talking about downing cans of monster energy drink and RedBull

smudgerii

Dave_P1 wrote:

Smudgerii wrote:

Dave_P1 wrote:

Smudgerii wrote:

Dave_P1 wrote:

Eat more fruit and veg, carbs are your friend, but fat isn't so try to cut as much of it out as possible and then ride your bike as much as you can and the weight will start to fall off.

Fat isn't the enemy, Sugar is!

Processed carbs should be avoided, simple carbs and a high protein ratio with moderate fats, will preserve muscle and alter your shape/size/weight.

PMSL, so wrong

Enlighten us then.

So you want to lose weight, why would you have a high fat intake. It's the fat people want to lose, most people have too much of it. So why eat more of it. You can eat a perfectly healthy diet on low fat foods, lean meat, fruit and veg.

Thats the sum total of your knowledge? PMSL at your obvious ignorance. I suggest you study nutrition a little further before trying to ridicule others.

For clarity I said "sugar" is the enemy, and that is a proven fact. I than went on to say "avoid processed carbs" and advised simple carbs be eaten along with a high ratio of protein and moderate fats. That would be healthy fats, not mainlining chippy fat.... Exactly the diet you are now advocating... Jeez some people are too ready to post before understanding the post they are replying to.

smudgerii

Dave_P1 wrote:

keef66 wrote:

Dave_P1 wrote:

Smudgerii wrote:

Dave_P1 wrote:

Eat more fruit and veg, carbs are your friend, but fat isn't so try to cut as much of it out as possible and then ride your bike as much as you can and the weight will start to fall off.

Fat isn't the enemy, Sugar is!

Processed carbs should be avoided, simple carbs and a high protein ratio with moderate fats, will preserve muscle and alter your shape/size/weight.

PMSL, so wrong

Remind me again why the government is introducing a sugar tax?

So the sugar in fruit is bad is it? I'm not talking about downing cans of monster energy drink and RedBull

But he is on about redbull/monster drinks! And so was I... Hence the term simple carbs, do some reading!

sloppyschleckonds

Fantastic thread, people 10-20kg's overweight giving out nutrition advise.

Keep a food diary, swap out one bad item for something healthier every week

smudgerii

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

Fantastic thread, people 10-20kg's overweight giving out nutrition advise.

Keep a food diary, swap out one bad item for something healthier every week

Who is overweight?

kajjal

To loose weight eat mainly fresh fruit, veg, meat and fish. Avoid processed and junk food. It is hard work to over eat fresh food whereas junk food is high in calories and addictive. This does not mean eating salad and cardboard leading to starvation and binge eating.

Also you will feel much better with more energy and endurance.

Dave_P1

Smudgerii wrote:

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

Fantastic thread, people 10-20kg's overweight giving out nutrition advise.

Keep a food diary, swap out one bad item for something healthier every week

Who is overweight?

Hold up, I think we're about to agree on something :shock:

I wouldn't mind knowing the answer to that too

Tashman

Smudgerii wrote:

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

Fantastic thread, people 10-20kg's overweight giving out nutrition advise.

Keep a food diary, swap out one bad item for something healthier every week

Who is overweight?

I am, but i must confess being the one to pose this question i also have a degree in Nutrition and food science. just being overweight doesn't mean there is a lack of knowledge.
My primary interest in posing the question was relating to any specific training. I appreciate all the advice that people have given and it just goes to show what a minefield food is. When i was studying (20 years ago), fat was the bad man although there was a lot of interesting research into different fats and there behaviours and effects that we understand much better now. Much of which has been reproduced in this forum to a degree.

tangled_metal

Smaller plates. Daft idea but for some it's a simple truth they put too much on their plates so just smaller plates can help.

The OP seems to want an exercise plan that'll help the diet side. I'm guessing a degree in nutrition means he knows what to eat, or knows where to find the latest information on diet possibly better than those arguing here. Does anyone have a good tip on exercise?

No idea if this is true but I once got told exercising your legs will affect the fat around your middle more than sit ups and core work. The latter will tone of course. Interested if that's true. I'm guessing a lower pace so you're within the so called fat burning training zone could help.

When I tried to.take up running to.help my base fitness I used to hum or sing every so often. Figured if i could hold a tune, it'd be a miracle, but at least it would keep me from blowing up and the having to walk. Kept me in the right zone. So if you ever saw a guy all in black running along a canal towpath singing clash tunes on a February evening without a light. That was me during my last serious attempt at upping my fitness levels.