How Many Calories Do You Eat? (Weight Loss) [Archive] - Women's Cycling Discussion Forums

DarcyInOregon

05-13-2007, 12:26 PM

With respect to cycling and losing weight, we can classify our calories to 1) calories consumed on the bike, 2) calories consumed off the bike and 3)calories burned while on the bike.

If you are an active cyclist who is counting calories and trying to lose weight, my question is how many calories do you eat per day and do you count your bike calories as part of the total?

I ask this question to see if there is a better method for what I am doing. I am sincerely interested to learn what others do, particularly because it takes a lot of diligence to eat nutritionally so as to replace the nutrients the body burns while cycling. I want to avoid diseases brought on in my senior years due to not eating enough nutrients because of my cycling.

I have to look at my weekly average, not my daily average, because of the days when exceptional amounts of calories are burned. I have total calories consumed (including bike food), less calories burned on the bike, and that leaves Net Calories Consumed. It is this weekly average that I keep around 1200. I use a HRM to estimate calories burned because it is more accurate than any chart.

I am wondering if the 1200 should be lower. The reason is on my longer rides I may burn 2500 calories or more and it can be difficult to eat enough to get the weekly average to hover around 1200.

I should say I am losing inches, but the scale doesn’t move much. I suspect I’ve burned out the fat around the organs, which is critically important to long-term health, and I believe I’ve burned the fat out that marbles the muscles, and so I am left with surface fat. The doctor says I reversed my hypertension and insulin insensitivity.

Please tell me what you are doing and if you are having any success, and maybe we call all learn from each other and adapt our own procedures for how we calculate our calories.

Darcy

divingbiker

05-13-2007, 01:28 PM

Interesting. I've never thought about calories in terms of net consumption, and until last week I would have had no idea what my net consumption was. But I've been tracking my food and exercise on Sparkpeople for the past week so now I can figure this out.

I've been eating about 1650 calories per day during the work week, and Sparkpeople says I'm burning about 750 calories on my daily bike commute (I don't have any other way to estimate this), so that makes my net calorie consumption about 900 calories per day. Yesterday I ate about 2550 calories and Sparkpeople says I burned 2300 calories on my 40 mile bike ride, so my net was obviously lower.

I've only done this for a week, so I can't really say how it will work for weight loss, because as you know the first week is not really indicative of how things will go. But I've been happy with my progress on the scale this week.

I'll keep tracking this and see how it goes.

Veronica

05-13-2007, 01:56 PM

To lose 30 pounds several years ago I kept my calories around 1800 a day, regardless of how much exercise I was doing.

For exercise I was doing an hour class in the morning -spin, aerobics or weight lifting. Two or three afternoons a week I was swimming a mile.

V.

Bikingmomof3

05-13-2007, 04:40 PM

To lose weight I was eating about 1800 calories. My exercised varied, my calories did not.

Zen

05-13-2007, 06:39 PM

There are two types of abdominal fat, the stuff on the inside of the abdominal muscles (bad, bad, bad) and the stuff outside (still not great but not as harmful as the sub-abdominal fat) . You've probably burned up the bad bad bad fat and thats good good good.
When you lose weight its usually in the reverse order that it's gained. When a person begins to gain weight the first thing they probably notice is their waistline.

Keep in mind you are building muscle as well. A single fat cell is much larger than that of a muscle cell.
Another way of putting this-
You have two boxes of the same size. You can put 125 muscle cells in a box but you can only put 25 fat cells in the same size box. Both boxes weigh the same.
This is why I tell people not to focus so much on the scale.

If you really want to get involved with numbers to determine workout intensity and caloric needs you'll need to determine your basal metabolic rate and start using a HR monitor.

Take a look at this site (http://www.northlan.gov.uk/leisure+and+tourism/sports+activities/cycling/nutrition+for+cycling.html) or do a search with key words "cycling nutrition".

DarcyInOregon

05-13-2007, 08:15 PM

Maybe I overthink everything. :)

Before I started cycling again last year, when I was merely walking 5 miles a day, I kept my calories to around 1500 a day with a ceiling of 1800.

But with the cycling, as my fitness level continues to increase, which is the muscle density referred to in this thread, my ability to cycle for longer distances increases, and thus my cardio time increases and my calories burned increases.

Yes, I want to lose the excess body fat. However, at the same time two other things are important to me, and that is my long-term health and my desire to be able to recover from my rides quickly and get on the bike again the next day. Therefore, every day, I eat to nourish my body, to help my muscles recover and repair, and to restore nutrients I lost during cycling. For example, I don't want to be cycling for a lot of years and the doctor says, well you have osteoporosis because you didn't replace the calcium you burned when you were cycling.

So the whole calorie thing gets confusing. I need to eat enough calories to replenish what I burn and to recover and repair - and still burn body fat - yet exactly how many calories is that? I've read a lot of books on cycling, and Zen gave a link to a good site in her reply, but there still isn't a real forumla I can grasp that I know I can adhere too, a formula that will adapt to my diet as my distances increase. In other words, I used to be a person who ate too much, and I now worry that I may not be eating enough for sustained long-term health, which is a complete reversal for me and quite ironic.

I should add I rarely weigh myself anymore, at the end of each three-month period is all, and when I do, the body weight hasn't gone down a significant amount, just some. I do use the tape measure and I continue to shrink, so I know my body composition continues to change for the better. And last week I had to spend most of a day cleaning my closet and ruthlessly taking out all the clothing that was too big for me, which is something I seem to need to do about twice a year now.

Darcy

michelem

05-13-2007, 08:54 PM

Darcy,

You might want to try this website:

www.nutritiondata.com

When I started cycling I was losing weight like crazy (and certainly didn't need or want to!). I started using this website and realized I was really underestimating my calories in and also didn't realize how much extra I needed to eat to replace what I was burning on the bike. Weight loss has stopped and I am gradually gaining. I was afraid I was going to have to stop cycling until I started gaining weight, but that wasn't the case.

Anyway, first thing I used was the "calories burned" tool. http://www.nutritiondata.com/tools/calories-burned
I can plug in all my info, including how much activity I do in a day, and find out how much I need to consume to support that. I also use the pantry to find out calories/nutrients in the foods I consume. http://www.nutritiondata.com/user/registration/splash?returnto=/pantry I do a lot of my own cooking and I'm able to enter my recipes and find out the nutrient/calorie breakdowns. I really tend to overestimate how many calories are in stuff, thinking I'm eating way more than I am. My husband would say, "Are you sure you are eating enough now that you are exercising so much more?" and I would say, "I'm eating a ton! I don't understand why I'm losing weight!" Well, turns out I may have been eating a ton volume-wise, but not calorie/nutrient dense foods.

Anyway, hope it helps you as well.

farrellcollie

05-13-2007, 09:04 PM

I try to keep a calorie log (I use Fitday.com) in order to keep around 1500-1700 calories per day. I find when I don't keep track for a few days - I start eating around 2000 and for my short middle aged no metabalism body - that causes me to gain weight. I try to keep around this amount regardless of exercise.

Dr. Liz

05-13-2007, 09:17 PM

I hired a good friend of mine who is a Ph.D. and licensed dietician to help me plan diets for my husband and myself; I told her our weekly ride schedule (a 40 minute crit once a week, a 20 minute (or less) TT once every other week, a long (40-70 miles) ride once a week, and recovery rides (20-25 miles, low heart rate) the rest of the week.

Her response? As Americans, we generally get enough protein in our diet, and have been convinced that carbs are 'bad'. She helped us work out a weekly meal plan that meet our separate caloric needs, while also giving us enough energy to do the rides that we do.

The short answer? It varies from person to person. I would HIGHLY suggest finding a licensed nutritionist (if you've got a local university, call them, if not, talk to your family doctor for a recommendation). It is a small investment for a very great payoff.

We've been on the 'new diet' for about a week, and while the pounds aren't flying off, we aren't dying on race days, or on our long rides.

I don't think there is a 'universal' diet - I really think that meeting with someone (even if it is only once) to help figure out caloric needs and diet is well worth it.

Just my $0.02.

kelownagirl

05-13-2007, 09:38 PM

I am not a big girl but I have been working at losing fat and gaining muscle and have lost 22 lbs in the past year. During that time I ate between 1200-1500 calories a day. The closer to 1500 I get, the less likely I am to lose. They stress not to go under 1200 because your body thinks you're starving and hangs on to the fat. No idea if this is true or not.

I ride 100-200 km a week, most rides about 1.5 hours long. I do not eat anything on these rides - I just drink water. On 3 hour rides, I will eat one small snack (100-200 calories max). So - there are no "bike calories" for me. Some days, like today, I burn more than I consume - I try not to use that as an excuse to pig out for dinner that day. :rolleyes:

If you are bigger than me, you can probably eat more calories than I do and still lose weight. I wouldn't be eating less than 1200 if I were you...

DrBadger

05-13-2007, 09:39 PM

Hey Darcy-
My first thought when I saw your initial post that you were eating an average of 1200 calories a day was that it was no where near enough, and that might explain why the scale hasn't moved at all, though you are loosing inches.

I started working out a lot this year, and was being really good about what I ate, and while I was more toned I wasn't loosing any weight... the scale seemed stuck at 148.... at 5'3", while not horrible, I knew that my body should want to be lower. I thought I needed to cut my calories even more... did that after christmas... was eating about 1400/day while working out ~5-6 days a week (spin classes, bodypump, and riding outdoors when the weather permitted), but again, no weight loss....hmmmm... got me thinking, maybe I am eating too little to sustain the activity level and my body is in "starvation mode". I did a test and upped my calories to ~ 1600-1700/day and what do you know, the weight started coming off. I have lost 10 lbs in the past 3 months without even trying, and it is still coming off. In addition to the weight I have dropped 1-2 sizes in my clothes and NONE of my pants fit anymore!

Here is a great website that my roommate showed me, that will actually explain the different calorie needs calculators and will give your maintence level, fat loss level, and extreme fat loss (the rock bottom of calories you should eat a day before the body will go into starvation). It also takes into account your sex, age, height, and activity level. http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm#

You are obviously doing something right with the increase in your fitness and health levels, but I would suggest trying to up your calories for a couple of weeks and see what happens. If you stay the same I vote for some the others suggestions that you talk to your Dr, and maybe try to see a nutritionist.

Good luck!
Ellen

Zen

05-13-2007, 09:47 PM

Is there a sports nutritionist in your area? Maybe a couple of conseling sessions would help find a method that works for you.
check out www.nancyclarkrd
Fellow trainers rave about her.

DarcyInOregon

05-13-2007, 11:28 PM

I think the idea of seeing a nutritionist is a good one.

I do use a nutrition software program to evaluate my calories and nutrition. I actually had a nutrition class as a science requirement in college, way back a long time ago, but the knowledge stuck with me. I am really attentive to my nutrition, which in part is why I opened this discussion, to see what others are doing with their calories everyday. For everyone who provided links, thank you, because those links are very useful, not to just me, but to everyone who is reading this discussion.

When I gave the number of 1200, that is my average net calories consumed, not my total calories consumed. It isn't a specific daily number, but my average when I calculate in my rest days off the bike. For example, today I ate 1780 calories, and I burned 1105 calories on a 30-mile ride, leaving me a net of 675 calories. I ate approximately 20% protein, 20% fat and 60% carbs. The food calories include my bike calories. I will get low blood sugar if I don't consume carbs on my rides, and since I bike solo, it would be very dangerous for me to bonk and be disoriented when I am out by myself.

Dr. Liz, what does one of your average daily food diaries look like as provided by your dietician?

Darcy

FH Cyclist

09-09-2007, 11:01 AM

Darcy, thanks for starting this thread. I've been looking for reasons as to why I haven't been losing weight even though I've starting riding again. I've been riding for the last 2 months and the scale hasn't moved - in fact I've gaind 3 pounds.

I'm rationalizing that it is muscle weight since I have always had a lot of muscle mass.

To those of you who have added items here, thanks. I think I'll go to some of the links mentioned here and see what is going on. I may also go back and get a body fat test.

I'll be checking back here. Thanks.

kelownagirl

09-09-2007, 11:41 AM

DarcyInOregon

09-09-2007, 12:28 PM

I am really puzzled by the math of the whole calories in, calories out thing, especially since this thread was started months ago. I rode my bike a LOT in August - mostly medium to high intensity rides. 930km, 38+ hours of riding. A conservative estimate of calories burned would be around 25,000 during the month. If 3500 calories equals 1 lb, then that is about 7 lbs worth right? During that month I ate "normally." I probably consumed about 1800-2000 calories a day averaged over time. Although I was not trying to lose weight during August, it boggles my mind that my weight stayed exactly the same the entire month. I did not gain or lose an ounce. If I had not done all the riding, I would have gained 7lb in one month! :(

Kelownagirl, I am puzzled and confused too. I don't get it either, because the math doesn't add up for me either. At least you stayed the same. I gained weight! I am pretty sure it is muscle and water gain, but still, oh gosh and darn, because it makes me heavier on the bike.:mad:

I did get my body fitness composition and I know my BMR. It is 2001. I input my calories into the nutrition software. I bike, and this summer I increased my fitness level dramatically with respect to distance, endurance and hill climbing. I am extremely pleased in that respect. I input the calories burned into the calorie software. I am careful to not eat too little, but not too much. I am careful with the sodium intake.

One factor for me is I have IBS, and I had a bad flare-up that lasted for the first half of this year. I think the flare-up killed off the friendly stuff in my intestinal and digestive system, and thus slowed down my digestive system to a crawl. I am now taking steps to restore the good stuff, but it will probably take another 6 months. The IBS flare-up might be the cause why my weight didn't go down this summer.

This is going to be my next try. Towards the end of October, when the weather starts getting too windy and rainy to ride as often, I will join a gym and hire a personal trainer with the goal of burning body fat and building muscle density. I will do the gym all winter, along with outside biking when I can, and see what happens. Maybe a diversity of exercise is what I need.

If none of the above works, I hate to admit this, but I might investigate liposuction. The only reason I haven't done so already is fear of the pain, the cost, any long-term bad health effects, and oh yes, once again, the pain.

Darcy

indigoiis

09-09-2007, 12:53 PM

It is not the number on the scale. You are not only losing fat, but you are building muscle, which weighs more than fat. Particularly doing the amount of training you have been doing, I am not at all surprised that your weight stayed the same.

Measure yourself. Take a good look in the mirror. You might notice that the places where you used to carry fat are now changed.

You really cannot train and lose weight at the same time. Training as hard as you do, your body really takes those calories and uses every last inch of them. If you BURN far more than you CONSUME, then your body might possibly go into a state where it stalls and prevents further weight loss. I learned yesterday that my 65 mile ride burned around 2000 calories. I rarely eat more than 2000 cals a day. Sure, much of that was water weight (which, by all means needs replacing), but some of that was certainly fat stores. And if you are eating only 1800 - 2000 calories a day, then burning 2000, you've got nothing leftover to "merely" survive on.

To lose weight, cut back on your training, reduce calories.

While training, don't worry so much about weight loss. Eat plenty to fuel your body.

limewave

09-09-2007, 02:10 PM

I'm eating about 1600 calories a day--per my doctor. A BIA test revealed that during inactivity my body burns approx 1800 cals a day. My goal is to lose 30 lbs. Here is the diet she has me on:

2 servings of legumes
1 serving of Veg type 2 (carrots, potatos, corn)
5+ servings of Vegetables
2 servings of Fruit
3 servings of protein (no red meat or pork)
1 serving of whole grains (quinoa, brown rice, whole grain bread)
1 serving of Ultra Meal Shake or Bar

I was really worried I wouldn't have enough energy to sustain longer workouts, but the vegetables are really great for providing long burning carbohydrates. I feel so much better and have more energy than I've had in a long time. For long rides and runs longer than an hour, I use Endura sports drink to help keep me going.

I had my second BIA test last week. In 2.5 weeks I lost 8 lbs. Unfortunately it was mostly muscle and not fat. However, I had a MRSA infection which tends to attack muscle tissue. I'm going to step up my WT to promote building muscle and hopefully burn that fat!

For months and months I had been trying to lose weight. I saw several different nutritionists that said I needed to eat 2200 to 2500 calories a day to support my training but that I should still lose weight. They were having me eat about 3-5 servings of grains a day. I kept gaining weight. So I lowered my calories and still gained weight. This has been the first diet that has worked for me.

Zen

09-09-2007, 04:37 PM

1 serving of Veg type 2 (carrots, potatos, corn) what is a type 2 vegetable? Just those three things? they all appear to be high on the glycemic index

1 serving of Ultra Meal Shake or Bar Is this Ultra Meal something from a medical source (hospital wellness center or the like) or is it commercially available?

Starfish

09-09-2007, 04:42 PM

I noticed that freedieting.com link had links to Medifast, a plan where they sell you a packaged plan...like 4 weeks of food, etc.

Has anyone here used this? I am considering it for a very short term. I am a little out of control right now, and also seriously crunched for time, so I thought maybe just eating what I was sent, totally pre-packaged so as not to have to make portion choices, make time to shop/cook, etc, might help sort of snap me back to some healthier habits and help me get back on track.

limewave

09-09-2007, 04:54 PM

what is a type 2 vegetable? Just those three things? they all appear to be high on the glycemic index
Is this Ultra Meal something from a medical source (hospital wellness center or the like) or is it commercially available?

Type 2 Veggies are all the ones that rank higher on the glycemic index, those three were just examples.

You can get UltraMeal online: http://www.thenaturalonline.com
I haven't found it at any of the local health stores yet.

RolliePollie

09-09-2007, 05:04 PM

This is a very interesting thread! Like kelownagirl, I did a lot of riding in August. I assumed I would lose weight, but I didn't. I didn't really count calories, but I know I've been eating a lot. The thing is, I'm just plain hungry...all the time!!! This makes sense to me though, because my body is asking for fuel due of the amount of exercise I'm getting. I'm thinking that I'll try to lose 10 pounds or so this winter when I'm not riding as much, because I do believe that it's virtually impossible to lose weight when you are training. At least that's the case for me. I also like the idea that we're all losing the really bad internal fat (although I certainly wouldn't mind losing some of the external belly fat!).

kelownagirl

09-09-2007, 05:54 PM

Re: gaining muscle, losing weight. In my case, I've no doubt I gained some muscle - my jeans are now tight on my lower thighs because my quads are bigger. (Wish I had measured there as well instead of just the upper thigh.) HOWEVER, my waist and belly measurement is also bigger (by 1 inch) and that is not muscle. :D

Generally I go by how I look and feel and what clothes I can wear over the scale numbers. I guess I was just surprised that I didn't lose anything when I rode darn much.

Darcy - I'm assuming you've talked to a doctor about weight loss - how about meeting with a nutritionist before you resort to lipo?

I have (did have) IBS. I finally learned to manage it and now it looks like I have defeated it for the most part. PM me if you want more info.

Starfish

09-09-2007, 07:02 PM

I have (did have) IBS. I finally learned to manage it and now it looks like I have defeated it for the most part. PM me if you want more info.

Me too, actually. Darcy, feel free to PM me also.

DarcyInOregon

09-09-2007, 07:54 PM

Has anyone here used this? I am considering it for a very short term. I am a little out of control right now, and also seriously crunched for time, so I thought maybe just eating what I was sent, totally pre-packaged so as not to have to make portion choices, make time to shop/cook, etc, might help sort of snap me back to some healthier habits and help me get back on track.

Starfish, don't do it. Those packaged foods are not healthy, not even for the short-term. If they were effective for weight loss, everyone would be standing on the roof tops shouting the news.

Regarding my IBS as mentioned in other posts, I have had IBS for a lot of years. Animal fat in my diet triggers it for me, so I've eaten low fat for more years than I can remember. What happened to me is I was without symptoms for so long, I truly forgot I have the disorder. Last autumn I went to Las Vegas for a long weekend and I indulged in meals at the fancy expensive chef restaurants. The portions are small, but there are more courses. After the trip, I got problems internally, without being graphic about it. And the symptoms lasted. It wasn't until June of this year that the light went off over my head and I thought oh my goodness, this is my IBS. Those tiny little portions at the fancy chef restaurants were high in cream and butter and who knows what type of animal fats, and that did it to me. By then I had been having intestinal and digestive problems ongoing for over six months. Once I realized what it was, I upped my fiber, and I took my animal fat down to almost nothing. The symptoms abated and disappeared, but I believe that because the problem lasted for so long, that the good stuff in the digestive system and intestines were all killed off. So I am taking that pill that starts with an A, eating the Dannon Activia every day, and this week sometime my order of Kylea will arrive in the mail and that will add more pro-biotics and enzymes into my system. I hope to have everything inside me back to normal by the end of the winter.

There is no need to PM. People should talk about IBS openly because a lot of people have it and don't know it. And it is difficult to lose weight with IBS because it changes the digestive system. If we discuss IBS openly on this forum, then others can learn, and maybe the knowledge will help others.

Other than messing up my weight loss, I am not really afffected, not like others who suffer seriously. I control my IBS through diet, or at least I did until the Las Vegas weekend. No more fancy chef restaurants for me.

Darcy

kelownagirl

09-09-2007, 09:35 PM

IBS - yeah, doesn't bother me talking about it, just wasn't sure if it was ok with you. :) Anyway, sounds like you and I are pretty much alike. Animal fat's a bugger. My biggest saving grace was taking a glass of metamucil immediately before I eat dinner (then later 5 capsules and big glass of water). Almost always saved me from the terrible cramping and subsequent, well, you know... Anyway, after several years of doing that, eating more fiber, fruit, veg, etc, and really decreasing my stress levels (divorce) - I think I've almost got it beat. I rarely get any symptoms now and when I do, I always know what has caused it...

indigoiis

09-10-2007, 10:34 AM

FH Cyclist

09-14-2007, 04:14 PM

limewave

09-14-2007, 05:09 PM

How does one get a BMR? I've never had one and would like to get one just to see what I need to maintain my weight. I too am gaining weight - I even gained a pound after giving blood and then doing a couple of rides this week (slow rides - I don't have much energy for about a week after I give blood).

Also, what method are people using for the body fat composition? I've had the skin fold but when I was really serious I went the underwater route. I would prefer not to do that - I'm hoping to find an easier way.......

I had a BIA done at my doctor's office. They stick little things to your feet that shoots an electronic pulse through your body. Then it feeds out all sorts of interesting facts about yourself. Like how much of your weight is fat, muscle, and water. How much of the water is intra- vs. extracellular water. You want water in your cells more than you want it outside your cells. It also tells the doctor stuff about how well your organs are functioning. I'm in a program where my doctor is going to do this once a month for 5 months. I've had two done so far. It's pretty cool. I think it cost about $50 to have each one done but I'm not certain.

michelem

09-14-2007, 08:32 PM

From what I understand, BIA isn't as accurate as the underwater method.

http://www.unc.edu/~zartman/BIA/error.html

Seems like it's harder to prepare too:

No food or liquid 4 hours before test
No exercise for 12 hours prior to test
Urinate completely before test
No alcohol for 48 hours prior to test
Test at the same time of day (first thing in the morning is recommended after drinking one glass of water)

espirit

09-23-2007, 09:12 PM

Hi Everyone

I am a personal trainer and this is the formula I use to work out BMR and then the total amount of calories a person should consume. I find it works really well.

To work out BMR
-Men: BMR= 66 + (13.7 x weight in kg) + (5 x height in cm) – (6.8 x age in years)
-Women: BMR= 655 + (9.6 x weight in kg) + (1.8 x height in cm) – (4.7 x age in years)

Eg. Kelli is 36 years old, is 171.5cm tall and weighs 70kg
BMR = 655 + (9.6 x 70) + (1.8 x 171.5) – (4.7 x 36)
= 655 + 672 + 308.7 - 169.2 = 1805 calories per day

Then to work out how many calories to add to that number based on your activity you multiply your BMR by;
1.2 if you are sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) or
1.375 if you are lightly active (light exercise or sports 1-3 times per week) or
1.55 if you are moderately active (moderate exercise or sports 3-5 days per week) or
1.725 if you are very active (hard exercise or sports 6-7 days per week) or
1.9 if you are extremely active (hard daily exercise, sports & physical job or marathon/ultraendurance events)

So if Kelli in the above example was moderately active we would multiply her BMR of 1805 by 1.55 to get 2798 calories per day. That’s what she needs to consume to maintain her current weight… if she wants to lose weight we would reduce that by a maximum of 20% which equates to 80% of 2798 = 0.8 x 2798 = 2238.

PinkBike

09-29-2007, 06:27 PM

darcy et al,

i just found this thread accidentally looking for something else.
i'm glad i did, because i have concerns that i dont know where to turn to for answers. i've gained over 20 pounds in the last couple years. i was 127 pounds, then i quit smoking, then i quit chewing nicorette a year ago, then i went thru menopause, then i was hypothyroid so now i'm on levoxyl, and voila! now i'm 150 (pounds not years!). it just feels like overnight i got love handles from nowhere.

i've been riding for 10 years. i've been eating lo-fat for about a hundred years now but it suddenly stopped working. i looked into south beach but the first two weeks would have been impossible with the riding i'm doing. so i tried a "modified" south beach based on the glycemioc index, and FIVE WEEKS LATER i had lost nothing. zero. what a letdown! so i joined weight watchers 2 weeks ago.

my concerns are this: our riding season has started, the first major race is the tour de scottsdale oct.14, i've upped my mileage to like 150-220 miles a week. so when we do our 70+ mile rides i need to increase my calorie intake to sustain me, but to what? can i carb load? on WW there's "activity points" that are swapped for "food points" but the numbers are really high, like i am allowed way more food than i think i should to still lose weight. i know from recent experience that i just cant lose the weight. also, all my weight gain seems to be in my waist.

so i'm frustrated that i cant lose the weight and waaaaaaay upset about the way i look now. i had to find a new doctor and i've brought it up to her every time i've seen her and she either doesn't understand or doesn't care. i would love to find a nutritionist or personal trainer but that is so not financially possible.

so has anyone had any successes at all? at my 1 week weigh-in at WW wednesday i had lost 2.2 pounds. i'll give this WW a try. thanks for letting me vent! i'll be back!

Zen

09-29-2007, 06:51 PM

You can either eat as you should to fuel long rides or you can do WW and ride shorter and with more intensity.Pick one.

Weight loss takes time and it's not easy You might be able to eat for fuel but you'd have to do it to the decimal. Weigh and measure everything.
WW probably would be good since the points system has you do this anyway. but your activity level is off their charts. You may have to give yourself a couple of extra points.

Also keep track of how you feel and how your performance is.
How's your thyroid?

VeloVT

09-29-2007, 07:29 PM

This is a timely topic for me too. Last year from Thanksgiving to New Years I gained 5 or 6 pounds which I vowed to lose over the summer. Although I rode a decent amount (less than I wanted due to schedule and life events), I didn't lose a bit this summer. (Last summer I got my bike and the pounds just melted off, I expected a repeat...). Then school started, and suddenly I found myself having a really hard time fitting in exercise (this won't be a lasting phenomenon, it's just because the first few weeks can be like that) -- and looking another Thanksgiving in the face, I don't want to add another five pounds this winter and wake up in 2008 ten pounds heavier. I've realized that, in addition to starting to train regularly again, I need to diet if I'm going to take the weight off (I'd like to lose about 10lbs, then I'd really feel like I was down to fighting weight).

Here's a website I found that has a pretty good piece of software for tracking diet and exercise. I'm doing the free trial right now but I'm seriously considering buying it, it makes calculating net calories very easy & much less tedious than the old-fashioned way:

http://www.calorieking.com/software/ckdietdiarymac.php

Of course, it still doesn't answer the math question in any kind of definitive way...

kelownagirl

09-29-2007, 10:28 PM

Liza - some people love it and some people hate but here's the link to http://www.sparkpeople.com. You can track your calories and much much more. And it's free...

Pinkbike - I've tried everything but the only thing that has consistently worked for me was exercise AND cutting back or getting rid of white starches. If I eat mainly veggies, fruit, a little fat, and lean protein, I feel great and I lose weight. Of course I adore bread and could live on bread and butter, or rice and butter, or potatoes and butter...

I went from 141 to 120 in about a year. I eventually was content to lose 2-3 lbs a month and I didn't "diet" consistently because I didn't think it was realistic to deny myself all the time. I would eat out at least once a week and didn't even try to diet at Christmas break or during the summer.

However, everyone is different and YMMV....

Good luck!

Tuckervill

09-30-2007, 08:08 PM

The weight around the middle is because of menopause. It REALLY sucks!

Karen

mcoleman

10-02-2007, 09:06 AM

Has anyone tried the Chris Carmichael eating plans? I read his Food for Fitness book a few years ago, but I had a hard time applying it (it's my non-mathematical, lazy brain). I went on his website, trainright.com, and bought a meal plan a few weeks ago. It is a 9 week plan for $20, which seemed like an inexpensive way to start eating better. Although I do need to loose 5-7 lbs, eating healthy is more of a priority for me. I have lost 2-3 lbs and I am on week 4. I also was so tired of eating the same things every week, so this has been a nice change.
I would love to hear if anyone else has tried this.

glamgurl36

10-03-2007, 09:04 AM

i have been keeping my calories at 1500..but i think sometimes that its too little...you have to look up your weight/height...so you can figure out your personal intake

PinkBike

10-10-2007, 11:04 AM

Torrilin

10-10-2007, 01:19 PM

five weeks on a modified south beach diet and i lost nothing. then my first week on WW (flex) i lost 2.2 pounds, since then i've gained .4 the third week and .6 this week. i'm at 145. we rode 75 tough miles sunday, and i watched my points intake the whole week. i just think something is wrong. like do i need to jumpstart my metabolism? how? do i need to eliminate something specific from my diet? maybe i'm gaining muscle but i still have the love handles i never had before, and actually i was always kinda muscular, even when i weighed 127. how do i get rid of The Flab? do i need a nutritionist and how do i find one?

A nutritionist is not a bad idea. They generally work with you and a food diary to help you find the problems in your particular way of eating. No one way of eating is good for everyone.

I've been spending a lot of time terrified that I'd tip over into a diabetic weight range because of the family history of type 2 diabetes. Healthy for me is 120-135, and I'd gotten up to 168lbs. Finally, after weeks of both of us paying attention to what I was eating my partner figured out the problem. The extra calories from wine with dinner (an average of a glass a night) and from fruit juice were what was doing it. My brain doesn't treat them as food, so they're as bad for me as soda if I don't watch the portions and how often I have them. Milk, my usual tea with a spoonful of sugar and Gatorade all seem to be fine for me to drink as much as I want.

So I've stopped the wine and fruit juice, and so far it's having a measurable effect. I'm down by about 8 lbs over the last 3 weeks. That's much faster than is healthy, so if the weight loss does not slow down over the next week or two, I'll have to figure something out. I may have dropped below a sensible caloric intake by cutting them out cold turkey.