How am I still 16st?

DonDaddyD
DonDaddyD Posts: 12,689
edited April 2011 in Commuting chat
OK I've always been a bit on the heavy side. As is my brother who is infact incredibly healthy and plays sports several times a week. My father is also a weighty Man and he keeps himself fit.

I was about 15st from about 16yrs old until my mid 20s where I seemingly put on a stone. So my weight has always been cosistent.

Currently I'm just above 101kg to be exact. Despite eating smaller portions throughout the day and cutting, dramatically, the takeaways and alcohol I used to eat with stuff I can barely pronouce i'm still a solid 16st.

I've had blood tests to check cholesterol, this led me to riding a bike. Generally I feel healthier and stronger and some clothes aren't as tight - like today I'm wearing trousers that were too tight for me 3yrs ago - but I am still 16st and I cannot understand or explain it.
Food Chain number = 4

A true scalp is not only overtaking someone but leaving them stopped at a set of lights. As you, who have clearly beaten the lights, pummels nothing but the open air ahead. ~ 'DondaddyD'. Player of the Unspoken Game
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Comments

  • tailwindhome
    tailwindhome Posts: 18,878
    You eat more than you admit and pedal less than you post.


    Same here really......
    “New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!
  • pastryboy
    pastryboy Posts: 1,385
    Cycling really isn't that fantastic for weight loss I'm afraid. If you want to lose weight take up jogging.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,223
    Eat less -> weigh less
  • asprilla
    asprilla Posts: 8,440
    Don't looks at your weight; look at your body shape and your body fat percentage.

    I've only dropped 5kg in the last three years, but I've lost 7" on my waist size and my body fat scales no-longer think I'm a cheeseburger.
    Mud - Genesis Vapour CCX
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    Sun - Cervelo R3
    Winter / Commute - Dolan ADX
  • Clever Pun
    Clever Pun Posts: 6,778
    Cherry-Pie.jpg
    Purveyor of sonic doom

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  • DonDaddyD
    DonDaddyD Posts: 12,689
    You eat more than you admit and pedal less than you post.


    Same here really......

    Element of truth here. I'm going to get a note pad and write down exactly what I eat and when. I need to get my intake undercontrol.

    Thing is the doctors say I should be about 12st given my height. I don't think I would look healthy. 14st sure 13st would be ideal.

    How do you measure body fat?

    Also in MMA I'm in Clever Pun's weight class... just saying. :twisted:
    Food Chain number = 4

    A true scalp is not only overtaking someone but leaving them stopped at a set of lights. As you, who have clearly beaten the lights, pummels nothing but the open air ahead. ~ 'DondaddyD'. Player of the Unspoken Game
  • rjsterry
    rjsterry Posts: 27,483
    DonDaddyD wrote:
    OK I've always been a bit on the heavy side. As is my brother who is infact incredibly healthy and plays sports several times a week. My father is also a weighty Man and he keeps himself fit.

    I was about 15st from about 16yrs old until my mid 20s where I seemingly put on a stone. So my weight has always been cosistent.

    Currently I'm just above 101kg to be exact. Despite eating smaller portions throughout the day and cutting, dramatically, the takeaways and alcohol I used to eat with stuff I can barely pronouce i'm still a solid 16st.

    I've had blood tests to check cholesterol, this led me to riding a bike. Generally I feel healthier and stronger and some clothes aren't as tight - like today I'm wearing trousers that were too tight for me 3yrs ago - but I am still 16st and I cannot understand or explain it.

    There's your answer - or a large part of it anyway. I'm skinny, my brothers are tall and skinny, my dad is tall and skinny, his dad was on the thin side. It's yer jeans innit.
    1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
    Pinnacle Monzonite

    Part of the anti-growth coalition
  • TheStone
    TheStone Posts: 2,291
    All about eating. If you want to lose weight, eat a LOT less.
    exercise.png
  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    Metabolism probably. I weigh next to nothing. I spent most of last year eating probably twice what I ate before and my weight changed by approximately nothing. Even putting on muscle doesn't change my weight which seems like it ought to be impossible!

    There are three things in life that are certain - death, taxes and the fact that my weight is a constant......
    Faster than a tent.......
  • notsoblue
    notsoblue Posts: 5,756
    pastryboy wrote:
    Cycling really isn't that fantastic for weight loss I'm afraid. If you want to lose weight take up jogging.

    This. I started jogging last summer and the pounds flew off. I stopped just before christmas and despite cycling a fair bit, put the weight back on.

    Also pies. I love em.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,223
    DonDaddyD wrote:
    You eat more than you admit and pedal less than you post.


    Same here really......

    Element of truth here. I'm going to get a note pad and write down exactly what I eat and when. I need to get my intake undercontrol.

    Thing is the doctors say I should be about 12st given my height. I don't think I would look healthy. 14st sure 13st would be ideal.

    How do you measure body fat?

    Also in MMA I'm in Clever Pun's weight class... just saying. :twisted:

    I've noticed that one's body doesn't seem to know that you don't need to eat as much if you sit in an office all day. I spend most of the day hungry and my weight stays pretty even.
  • sketchley
    sketchley Posts: 4,238
    Been asking myself "why am I still 18stone" for a while now. Just started calorie counting (in to 2ndweek) with a diet and food tracker on mobile and interweb. With 2.5 hours of fast commuting per day adding 1500/2000 calories plus base of 2000 Cals per day I shoud be able to lose weight on around 2500 cals intake.

    Now I've started doing this I've reliased just how many calories I was consuming before I started tracking them. :oops:
    --
    Chris

    Genesis Equilibrium - FCN 3/4/5
  • asprilla
    asprilla Posts: 8,440
    You've also got to look at the quality of the calories you are consuming.
    Mud - Genesis Vapour CCX
    Race - Fuji Norcom Straight
    Sun - Cervelo R3
    Winter / Commute - Dolan ADX
  • sketchley
    sketchley Posts: 4,238
    Asprilla wrote:
    You've also got to look at the quality of the calories you are consuming.

    I always seem to go quicker when I've eaten an Avacado at lunchtime.
    --
    Chris

    Genesis Equilibrium - FCN 3/4/5
  • kelsen
    kelsen Posts: 2,003
    DonDaddyD wrote:
    Thing is the doctors say I should be about 12st given my height. I don't think I would look healthy. 14st sure 13st would be ideal.

    How do you measure body fat?

    I take it he consulted the famous BMI chart that assumes everyone conforms to one body shape?!

    Having seen you in the flesh once, I would agree you'd be emaciated if you were 12st. Around 14st sounds healthy for your build and height. As everyone says - eat less, exercise more. However not as easy to do in practice, particularly when it comes to food intake. We get used to consuming a certain amount of food every day. When we cut back on that amount, our stomaches don't feel full and the hunger pangs kick in. It takes a few weeks for your body to adjust to consuming less calories each day, but persevere and you'll find yourself needing and wanting less to feel full. Just eat healthily and don't go down the route of a full blown diet. Diets just makes your body work against you and most people fail to stick to these programmes for long.

    There are various methods for measuring body fat, some more accurate than others. Cheapest way is to stand naked in front of a mirror and jump up and down. The bits that wobble when they shouldn't are where you've got excess fat!
  • Aguila
    Aguila Posts: 622
    Rolf F wrote:
    Metabolism probably. I weigh next to nothing. I spent most of last year eating probably twice what I ate before and my weight changed by approximately nothing. Even putting on muscle doesn't change my weight which seems like it ought to be impossible!

    There are three things in life that are certain - death, taxes and the fact that my weight is a constant......

    This is definitely not true. If you look at studies of basal meabolic rate, people with obesity are consistently shown to have higher BMR than those who are normal or slim.

    Weight loss is actually a very simple matter: Less energy in than you expend and you will definitely lose weight, impossible for anything else to happen. This is simple thermodynamics, you cannot create energy out of nothing.

    Consume more energy than you expend and you will gain weight.
  • MonkeyMonster
    MonkeyMonster Posts: 4,628
    muscle = weighs more than fat

    you might be trimmer but weigh more

    we've discussed this before... :D
    Le Cannon [98 Cannondale M400] [FCN: 8]
    The Mad Monkey [2013 Hoy 003] [FCN: 4]
  • asprilla
    asprilla Posts: 8,440
    Sketchley wrote:
    Asprilla wrote:
    You've also got to look at the quality of the calories you are consuming.

    I always seem to go quicker when I've eaten an Avacado at lunchtime.

    Well, having too many simple carbs and sugars will decrease insulin resistance making it harder to shift fat, particularly the love handles and the spare tyre. Complex low GI carbs also fill you for longer.

    Similarly you need fat in your diet, but of the right kind (avocado being a good example).
    Mud - Genesis Vapour CCX
    Race - Fuji Norcom Straight
    Sun - Cervelo R3
    Winter / Commute - Dolan ADX
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,223
    Grazing during the day often psycologically hides how much you're stuffing into your face, given that it doesn't make you full.

    Friends think I eat LOADS, but I only put food to my face at 3 times during the day. Breakfast - lunch -dinner.

    No cookies, no bars, no crisps, fruit (unless it's part of said mean)etc.

    Sure I can have a cookie from time to time and I do, but time to time is not everyday.

    It does mean i can stuff my face with food I really like at meal-times, rather than crap.
  • ndru
    ndru Posts: 382
    You can use FitDay to track your calories. Plus it's not only the amount of calories that count but the source of them - it's easier to overeat on carbs and get your insulin levels high.
    Additionally it's not your weight but your body composition that counts. If you're all muscles then you will weigh more than a person of identical volume but fat.
  • tailwindhome
    tailwindhome Posts: 18,878
    muscle = weighs more than fat

    you might be trimmer but weigh more

    we've used that old excuse before... :D


    FTFY
    “New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!
  • asprilla
    asprilla Posts: 8,440
    Grazing during the day often psycologically hides how much you're stuffing into your face, given that it doesn't make you full.

    Friends think I eat LOADS, but I only put food to my face at 3 times during the day. Breakfast - lunch -dinner.

    No cookies, no bars, no crisps, fruit (unless it's part of said mean)etc.

    Sure I can have a cookie from time to time and I do, but time to time is not everyday.

    It does mean i can stuff my face with food I really like at meal-times, rather than crap.

    On the other hand, I am almost always eating, generally having breakfast before I leave home and them again when I get to work. Lunch 1 is at around 11.30 and lunch 2 is at around 2.30. I'll then have something (like porridge) at around 4-430 to set me up for the trip home.

    Eating a little and often can change your metabolism and reduce the amount of calories your body chooses to store between meals (since there isn't much time between meals).
    Mud - Genesis Vapour CCX
    Race - Fuji Norcom Straight
    Sun - Cervelo R3
    Winter / Commute - Dolan ADX
  • sketchley
    sketchley Posts: 4,238
    I don't think beer helps much.
    --
    Chris

    Genesis Equilibrium - FCN 3/4/5
  • sampras38
    sampras38 Posts: 1,917
    pastryboy wrote:
    Cycling really isn't that fantastic for weight loss I'm afraid. If you want to lose weight take up jogging.

    It is if you're also strict with your diet, but my guess is the OP isn't. Not being horrible, just honest. I've studied sports nutrition my whole life and I see this all the time. If you really want to lose the weight you have to be honest about what you're eating and drinking. Fast food and alcohol contain loads of useless calories..e.g. you're probably looking at something like 160 calories in one large glass of red. 2 or 3 of those plus a bit of junk food here and there and the calories will shoot up.
  • AidanR
    AidanR Posts: 1,142
    OK, here's my take on it... but first a disclaimer. Research on nutrition is fairly poor, because (a) there's a bit too much funding from food companies for my liking, and (b) it's fantastically difficult to control all the variables. So this is my best guess from the research I have done, and no doubt I'll have reached slightly different conclusions in a year or two's time.

    Food

    There are way too many carbs in most people's diets. And, I hate to say this, but probably more so in cyclists diets. We are constantly told that carbs are "fuel" but unless you're running a marathon every day the chances of you running out of glycogen stores are pretty minimal. Carbs can be used as an emergency top-up, but there's no real need to gorge on them before or after riding to "refuel". Make sure the nutrition you get from your carbs is top notch - they are generally a huge source of empty calories. Personally I now eat according to the 'Primal Blueprint' (Google it!) which espouses cutting out all grains, but I appreciate that's probably too extreme for most.

    So if you're eating fewer carbs, what's going to stop you from feeling ravenous? The answer, deliciously, is fat. Fats have been demonised by the food industry, but the right ones are just what your body needs. Animal fats good, fish fats good, coconut oil good, butter (grass-fed) decent, olive oil decent, other vegetable oils bad, hydrogenated (trans-) fats terrible.

    Exercise

    Focus on fat burning stuff, like moderate and long exercise or high intensity sprint sessions, and weights.
    Bike lover and part-time cyclist.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,223
    Asprilla wrote:
    Grazing during the day often psycologically hides how much you're stuffing into your face, given that it doesn't make you full.

    Friends think I eat LOADS, but I only put food to my face at 3 times during the day. Breakfast - lunch -dinner.

    No cookies, no bars, no crisps, fruit (unless it's part of said mean)etc.

    Sure I can have a cookie from time to time and I do, but time to time is not everyday.

    It does mean i can stuff my face with food I really like at meal-times, rather than crap.

    On the other hand, I am almost always eating, generally having breakfast before I leave home and them again when I get to work. Lunch 1 is at around 11.30 and lunch 2 is at around 2.30. I'll then have something (like porridge) at around 4-430 to set me up for the trip home.

    Eating a little and often can change your metabolism and reduce the amount of calories your body chooses to store between meals (since there isn't much time between meals).
    It's a fine line before grazing.

    Sod metabolism - it's ultimately just about calories in versus calories out. Fat people eat a lot, thin people don't. Metabolism is a secondary issue, and a small one at that.
  • motdoc
    motdoc Posts: 97
    Basically it's a balance of in versus out. A few tips to help are
    1) Food diary.
    2) Weighing scales, weigh yourself every week and put in a chart.
    3) You must eat breakfast.
    4) Snacks must be fruit.

    If you're not loosing weight calories in = calories out. In order to change this you can do more exercise or take less in (or best of all both).

    People tend to loose more weight jogging but they also get injured more. You can do a lot more volume cycling without damaging yourself. 1/2 hr jogging > 1/2 hr cycling in terms of calories.

    Good luck!

    You can't really alter your basal metabolic rate (at least not by much) some people as simply lucky like that.
    Arrrrr I be in Devon.
  • Headhuunter
    Headhuunter Posts: 6,494
    pastryboy wrote:
    Cycling really isn't that fantastic for weight loss I'm afraid. If you want to lose weight take up jogging.

    That's not necessarily true. The thing is with cycling, it's very easy to take it easy and still get somewhere. You can freewheel at the slightest downhill and pedal gently on the flats. Obviously if you run, you pretty much have to go at a fairly intense pace or yuo're just walking! Personally I burn loads of calories through cycling but then I pretty much go at hell for leather pace on every ride. I NEVER take it easy.

    I think many people buy bikes to cycle to work at an average speed of 10mph and assume they will be able to eat cakes all day and the weight will still fall of like a bride's nightie. Not saying that this is DDD but many people do fall into this category......
    Do not write below this line. Office use only.
  • Clever Pun
    Clever Pun Posts: 6,778
    DonDaddyD wrote:

    Also in MMA I'm in Clever Pun's weight class... just saying. :twisted:

    I'd be bloody petrified if I were you :lol:
    Purveyor of sonic doom

    Very Hairy Roadie - FCN 4
    Fixed Pista- FCN 5
    Beared Bromptonite - FCN 14
  • Aidy
    Aidy Posts: 2,015
    AidanR wrote:
    So if you're eating fewer carbs, what's going to stop you from feeling ravenous? The answer, deliciously, is fat. Fats have been demonised by the food industry, but the right ones are just what your body needs. Animal fats good, fish fats good, coconut oil good, butter (grass-fed) decent, olive oil decent, other vegetable oils bad, hydrogenated (trans-) fats terrible.

    So basically, eat lots of meat? I'm liking this diet.