Treats during training

I have read that the best way to not get bobbed down and disheartened during training and losing weight that you should allow yourself a little treat every now and then and was wondeing what people allow themselves?

I'm partial to an Espresso Frappucino meself maybe with a shared muffin with the girl!

Gats

I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it.

Why be a cog in the machine when you can be a spanner in the works?

Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional

Comments

  • Aint Skeered
    Aint Skeered Posts: 369
    "A shared Muffin with the girl"[:D][:D]Who's the other bloke Gats?
  • andyBcp
    andyBcp Posts: 1,726
    Haagen Daaz: Summer fruit and cream/Banoffee pie/Strwberry cheesecake.

    To qualify for one of the above, I have to burn >1500kcal in a session.

    http://www.teamvelosportif.co.uk
  • ClaireV
    ClaireV Posts: 967
    A real treat is Green and Black's chocolate orange ice cream. If any of you out there haven't tried this particular spoonful of heaven, you have absolutely no idea what you're missing!
  • dunno if it counts really cos its lunch but I <i>was</i> allowing myself a peanut butter and jam sandwich but I fear as I am not losing weight I'm gonna have to knock it on the head and relegate it to the very rare treats section.[:(]

    back to cereal twice a day and a tuna salad for dinner. Bread truly is he route of all weight loss evil.

    andyb - yeah I'm the same I have to earn my treats which is why I go out early doors and do 30-40 miles of hilly rides! Everydays a potential treat day!

    Gats

    I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it.

    Why be a cog in the machine when you can be a spanner in the works?

    Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional
  • ClaireV
    ClaireV Posts: 967
    A peanut butter and jam sandwich doesn't count as a treat. There's another thread going on somewhere in which PBJ sandwiches are extolled as apparently being the new 'perfect food'. Bread isn't the route of all weight loss evil either - it's an absolute staple food!

    Gats, I don't want to poke my nose in where it's not wanted, but I'm seeing some very big warning signs again here. Please don't go down that road again - remember how unhappy it made you the first time?

    Take care.
  • rob35
    rob35 Posts: 62
    cereal twice a day and tuna salad is not the fuel of athletes, you really need to look long term and balance a healthy diet. Don't make yourself ill trying to get fit.

    Rob
  • PhilBixby
    PhilBixby Posts: 697
    Well spotted Claire, this is all very deja vu. Gats, can't you please just throw the bathroom scales a very long way into a very deep ravine, and just eat a varied, enjoyable assortment of food? If you're cycling regularly (and you are) then eating should be even more fun than it is for yer average sedentary person, plus you have the smug pleasure of staying fit. Pleeeeeaaaaaase let's not go there again - just take a reminder look at those archived threads!!

    Phil B
    Clifton CC York
  • ClaireV
    ClaireV Posts: 967
    Gats, I think you've lost sight of what a normal diet actually is. Why don't you go and find yourself a sports nutritionist you trust and get them to provide you with a meal plan for a few weeks? That way, even if you're not happy with what they tell you to eat, you will at least have the knowledge that you are eating exactly what you should be eating, both for your health and to optimise your cycling. There are loads of issues you're clearly still having with food, and while it sounds like you're well on the way to getting it sorted, there's no shame in getting some help with it while you readjust. I know you'll get there in the end.
  • PeteinSQ
    PeteinSQ Posts: 2,292
    I always thought at least half the point of cycling was so that you could eat more or less whatever you wanted?
    <a><img></a>
  • Fab Foodie
    Fab Foodie Posts: 5,155
    GATS man [}:)][:(][V]

    When will you learn?
    ClaireV and PhilBixby are spot-on.
    Give it-up before you get yourself into trouble again. If you don't see the signs we do. Get some help eh?

    <font size="1">Oh, my treat for being so sylph-like and fit[;)](ClaireV):
    Chicken Jalfrazi, Pilau rice, Brinjal bhaji, Cucumber Rhaita...
    I feel Al-Zaib calling now.....after a quick spin around Oxford tonight while the footies on to make room for it of course</font id="size1">[8D]

    The pessimists of this world are rarely disappointed....
    Fab's TCR1

    The pessimists of this world are rarely disappointed....
    Fab's TCR1
  • ClaireV
    ClaireV Posts: 967
    Hmmm, maybe there should be an Oxfordshire C+ curry sometime soon...
  • hmmm you may be right. I have in my head what I want to get out of cycling and the weight I need to loose to get there so I think its under control.

    Being where I am I'm kind of limited to what I can eat cheaply hence the current situation of 15-40mile ride every morning cornflakes and banana for brekky, snack fruit about 10.30, peanut butter and jam sandwich with an apple and glass of milk for lunch, snack fruit about 4, and a tuna salad for dinner. Which to me seems like enough. The calorie intake is quite high becasue of the wholewheat bread (2 slices and a crust a day is alot) and the peanut butter and fruit. BUt I do have a sweet tooth and the treats are the good things!

    Its all good once I get to where I wanna be i'll work on maintaining. But won't sacrifice the treats I give myself noit after last time!

    Thanks for your concern though[8)]

    Gats

    I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it.

    Why be a cog in the machine when you can be a spanner in the works?

    Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional
  • ClaireV
    ClaireV Posts: 967
    OK Gats, let's look at this objectively. An average man needs about 2400 calories a day to stay healthy. If you're riding for say an hour and a half a day, this will add about 1000 calories to this, so to maintain your current weight you need something like 3500 calories a day. A quick hunt on the internet to find the energy in what you've just described as a day's food gives something like:

    Cornflakes and milk 215
    Banana 95
    Fruit snacks x2 100
    PBJ sandwich 3-400
    Apple 50
    Glass of milk 96
    Tuna salad ~400

    for a total of around 1300 Calories. This is *way* less than you need. If you actually do need to lose weight, you should aim for a Calorie deficit of only around 500-1000 Calories a day. Your deficit is probably more than double this. You can afford plenty more treats!
  • simmers
    simmers Posts: 92
    This doesn't take in to account any carbohydrate intake whilst riding, which might up his calorie intake to the required level?

    I have a similar calorie intake and am by no means skinny: muesli breakfast, sandwhich+fruit lunch, bar+fruit mid-pm, normal one-course dinner (eg pasta), plus energy drink whilst riding/solid food on long rides then recovery drink afterwards.
  • ut_o_cykla
    ut_o_cykla Posts: 58
    <i>Originally posted by TheGreatGatsby</i>
    The calorie intake is quite high becasue of the wholewheat bread (2 slices and a crust a day is alot) and the peanut butter and fruit.

    ******
    Like Claire says it ain't much for an active male. Wholemeal bread is good nutrient wise but not much more calories per 100g than cottonwool bread.

    Please forgive me for my plain words but...
    I seem to remember that you had a big problem with food when I lurked on this forum last year. reading between the lines it sounds like your going down that road again. perhaps you should get someone to check your weight/height/BMI/ per cent body fat. If the values are ok then you don't need to lose weight, if they're a bit high then make a long term plan for gradual weight loss that allows for what other people might call 'normal' eating and plenty of the exercise you enjoy.

    Look after yourself - you owe it to the people that care about you<font size="3"></font id="size3"><hr noshade size="1">

    pousse moi s'il vous plait
    pousse moi s\'il vous plait
  • I don't take any carb intake when I ride just one bottle of water. I do take a banana along with me if I'm planning to go more than 50 miles in one go though.

    I've worked out my calorie intake and for an average day pretty much all things considered it comes to about 1700-2000 cals a day maybe a bit more but not much. And my days are pretty long starting at about 4.30am and ending around 10 or 11pm. I ride 6 days a week twice on tuesdays, mountain bike or walk in the afternoon and am pretty much on my feet all day sorting the chalet and cooking.

    But anyway this is slight OT no? I was just wondering what people on a training diet allow themselves as treats and how frequently! My girl says I have a warped sense of whats normal in food like she'll eat a cereal bar and notthink anything of it where as I would class that as a treat.

    Gats

    I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it.

    Why be a cog in the machine when you can be a spanner in the works?

    Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional
  • pb21
    pb21 Posts: 2,170
    Are you serious?

    I don't want to upset you if you are, but I have my doubts.
    Mañana
  • Fab Foodie
    Fab Foodie Posts: 5,155
    Quote - "My girl says I have a warped sense of what's normal in food"

    Your girl sounds like a smart lady, why is she hanging around with a fruitcake like you [;)]

    Gats, let's be serious here, what does this mean to you?
    "I have in my head what I want to get out of cycling and the weight I need to loose to get there so I think its under control"

    What is it you need so badly from cycling?
    Why is weight...ipso facto food such a big issue?
    No it's not under control because you still have an unhealthy obsession with your physical self, performane and it's connection with food.

    Gats, I really think you need to talk with somebody who can figure out what's deep inside you that is creating this situation. It's not just me Gats, other smart people here can spot the problem as I'm sure you can if you are honest.
    Please admit it and do something about it, and that something has nothing to do with weight, performance, calories or treats.
    Please?

    Try and find some other way to be at peace with yourself and the world around you.

    The pessimists of this world are rarely disappointed....
    Fab's TCR1

    The pessimists of this world are rarely disappointed....
    Fab's TCR1
  • Don't want to intrude, but what's the history of gatso thats making everyone so nervous???


    <font size="1">Time! Time! It's always too long and there's never enough!</font id="size1">
  • grimpeurcp
    grimpeurcp Posts: 3,043
    He had an eating disorder and obviously still does.
  • well thats obvious. Gats are you overweight or underweight - what weight are you?





    <font size="1">Time! Time! It's always too long and there's never enough!</font id="size1">
  • I don't know exactly - havent weighed myself for about 8 months. Possibly about 12stone and a bit. I'm 6ft if that makes any difference. I know people will say you're good for your height but when I look in the mirror I see fat where I don't want it and am overly conscious of what I'm eating.

    Its my own fault really but I just want to feel comfortable. I'm loving riding over here but am afraid that what I eat in a day isnt gonna help me. So whats the deal with carbs? Are they good or bad? can youeat them after 7? On one hand carbs make you fat but as a cyclist you need to eat them to burn them. What if you dont eat them?

    I think I may think about things too much

    Gats

    I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it.

    Why be a cog in the machine when you can be a spanner in the works?

    Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional
  • ClaireV
    ClaireV Posts: 967
    Gats, carbs do not make you fat! Carbs are your friend - they are exactly what you should be eating to fuel your cycling. If you saw what I eat in a typical day, you'd think I'm a complete troffer, but anyone who knows me will tell you I'm not exactly the size of a house.

    Read this article to give you some idea - it's based on science and not old wives' tales:

    http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/0127.htm
  • Thats an interesting article and makes sense. I guess its just a retraining idea about how I see food and what is and isnt good for me. I know from weight training after the last illness that I was eating more than a small community and was just getting lean and only doing my commute to and from work as cardio. I was taking colustrum aswell though...

    Its hard when theres so many conflicting views about diets etc and ways to loose fat and everyone saying leaner is better for cycling - I find it daunting to have to eat more to loose weight I just dont get it, also coupled with the fact that I'm not sure how much riding is necessary to keep of the pounds from all the extra I'm eating!

    Anyway I digress - thanks for the article I'll be reading it frequently!

    Gats

    'You must eat to train and race hard - not to get skinny'
  • ClaireV
    ClaireV Posts: 967
    I like the new signature Gats. Nice one!
  • Toks
    Toks Posts: 1,143
    Hey Gats I'm gonna be really honest with you. I was first drawn to your posts in the year that you went from a 4th cat to a 2nd cat racer. It was very impressive and you were very motivated. Then you developed this rather unhealthy obsession with diet and food and I switched off. In fact to be honest since then your posts just annoyed me and I thought you were some kind of wus. Yeah I know call me an insensitive neanderthal type sorry!.

    But I remember those posts very well and it does appear as Claire has mentioned that the same thing may happen again. Please go and get some professional help mate. I don't think simply finding a nutritionist is all you need in my humble opinion. Take care Toks

    The Merckx Diaries On my penultimate lap I took turns with the only cyclist I know that's been lapped in a race by a young Lance Armstrong.
  • chriswcp
    chriswcp Posts: 1,365
    <blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Toks</i>

    Hey Gats I'm gonna be really honest with you. I was first drawn to your posts in the year that you went from a 4th cat to a 2nd cat racer. It was very impressive and you were very motivated. Then you developed this rather unhealthy obsession with diet and food and I switched off. In fact to be honest since then your posts just annoyed me and I thought you were some kind of wus. Yeah I know call me an insensitive neanderthal type sorry!.

    But I remember those posts very well and it does appear as Claire has mentioned that the same thing may happen again. Please go and get some professional help mate. I don't think simply finding a nutritionist is all you need in my humble opinion. Take care Toks

    The Merckx Diaries On my penultimate lap I took turns with the only cyclist I know that's been lapped in a race by a young Lance Armstrong.
    <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

    I though it was just me and my insensitive self. I noticed that nearly ever post that Gats write's there's a mention of food. You even managed to slip it in, on a thread about Warminster[:0] Although your thread about thumbs, which I was sure would say something about how difficult it was getting tins open, didn't mention food.[:)]