Advice for losing weight (or not gaining) while cycling

I've been careful to get 300-400 calories of carbs and protein into me immediately after getting off the bike the last few days. For example, after my 100 mile ride I drank a big Nesquik and ate a baggie of salt and vinegar chips. I was so full of accelerade and other stuff that it took me an hour or two to get to a dinner-eating level of hunger on Monday.

I think about what I ate yesterday and I was pretty hungry all day but in retrospect it's not that bad. Greek yogurt with granola, honey, and pb for breakfast, 3" sub, 1 cup penne alfredo, 1 cup steamed broccoli and salad for lunch, a choco milk mid afternoon and gnocchi with smoked salmon and asparagus for dinner. I'm just not used to waking up with this voracious appetite!

I find controlling appetite after endurance riding difficult. I know I have to count but I'm sick of counting calories and proportions. On most days now I eat junk which I know is not correct.
Today I rode 60 miles with a mountain bike and headwind. It took me 4.5 hours on the bike and my HR monitor says I burnt only 1200 cal!
I ate some sugar on the way and a load of pasta at home. I'm going out so, some protein and beer are on the way :D

I just read the kindle sample of "Ride Your Way Lean: The Ultimate Plan for Burning Fat and Getting Fit on a Bike" and enjoyed it so I have ordered the actual book. I read that the tables in it are hard to read on kindle, so I'll check that out this weekend.

Thank you everyone who has taken time out to give myself and the other newbies advice. :D

PS. Catrin, thank you for sharing your story. 50 lbs is awesome! I loved reading it and your advice. I do think eventually, I may get a monitor. Right now, It's all so new that I just need to understand the science behind it and learn my own body a bit.

I have that book-- ride your way lean. Good advice there in general :)

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Originally Posted by lovelygamer

I just read the kindle sample of "Ride Your Way Lean: The Ultimate Plan for Burning Fat and Getting Fit on a Bike" and enjoyed it so I have ordered the actual book. I read that the tables in it are hard to read on kindle, so I'll check that out this weekend.

Thank you everyone who has taken time out to give myself and the other newbies advice. :D

PS. Catrin, thank you for sharing your story. 50 lbs is awesome! I loved reading it and your advice. I do think eventually, I may get a monitor. Right now, It's all so new that I just need to understand the science behind it and learn my own body a bit.

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That is a good book!. For me I went the the heart rate monitor route because it is one.way of staying honest with myself. It is hard for me to speak in general terms so I am glad that my experiences can help a little.

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Originally Posted by Anelia

I find controlling appetite after endurance riding difficult. I know I have to count but I'm sick of counting calories and proportions. On most days now I eat junk which I know is not correct.
Today I rode 60 miles with a mountain bike and headwind. It took me 4.5 hours on the bike and my HR monitor says I burnt only 1200 cal!
I ate some sugar on the way and a load of pasta at home. I'm going out so, some protein and beer are on the way :D

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It's so interesting to see how the the numbers vary, whether it's an individuals physique and level of fitness, or maybe the device itself? I did 63 miles the other day on a bike trail, avg speed 14.5 MPH, and I got almost 3000 calories out of that??!!!

It would be interesting to see how one person's stuff would pan out using 5 for 6 different methods of tracking.

Well certainly Anelia is going to be awesomely efficient, being the superduper mountain bike racer that she is! For now, I'm glad I burn 3000 calories in a 60 mile ride! Means I can enjoy my ice cream comfortably :D

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Originally Posted by leah

ny biker, I'm the one in Bethesda :)

As a total aside, not to hijack - I just spent the weekend in Bethany and rode Rt 1 to Ocean City, it's a 32 mile round trip. Going there was fine, but on the way back I had a fierce, and I mean fierce, headwind the whole way. I thought I would never make it back.

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Continuing the hijack - I live in Bethany, and am very familiar with the wind situation on Rt. 1. Since that is the only way to get to different towns, we always have to deal with wind. It may have been Lance Armstrong who coined the phrase "Hills make you strong, but wind makes you mean!"

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Originally Posted by lovelygamer

Negative on the DC. I live on the Eastern Shore (near Ocean City) where it's totally flat and sea level.

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I live in Bethany - if you want to get together for a ride in the evening or weekend some time, give a holler.

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Originally Posted by Muirenn

At Munch: I maintain 150ish at 1800 calories per day. If you are switching between 1500 and many more, that may explain why you are maintaining. You can post links, but a lot of formulas tend to overestimate the number of calories you need. Perhaps stay at 1500 until you get to the weight you want, and also work on slowly increasing muscle mass to raise your metabolism? That way, what you need to maintain will increase. (Very slowly, but it is possible). At your age, you should be able to do that. Works for us older folks too, just not as easy! ;)

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I think I will do that. I have been lax in making sure I stay at 1500, but I'm determined to lose a couple lbs before the wedding and after that the remaining 10lbs.

Thanks!

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Originally Posted by Irulan

It's so interesting to see how the the numbers vary, whether it's an individuals physique and level of fitness, or maybe the device itself? I did 63 miles the other day on a bike trail, avg speed 14.5 MPH, and I got almost 3000 calories out of that??!!!

It would be interesting to see how one person's stuff would pan out using 5 for 6 different methods of tracking.

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I vote for device error in Anelia's case... It seems highly unlikely that she only burned 1200 cal's on a ride that long. My Garmin waaaaay cuts the calorie count when I use the HR monitor. I'm not sure why. It does better with no extra data or power meter data.

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Originally Posted by withm

I live in Bethany - if you want to get together for a ride in the evening or weekend some time, give a holler.

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Will do! :)

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Originally Posted by Muirenn

Whole eggs are a great dairy food. Only 75 calories each. They are a complete protein. And are supposed to lower LDL cholesterol. I eat maybe a dozen per week, most weeks, and my total cholesterol is 119.

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I like eggs too, but the USDA has made some big changes, they aren't dairy.

What's to freak out about? They've been moved to the protein category which makes perfect sense to me.

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Originally Posted by Irulan

What's to freak out about? They've been moved to the protein category which makes perfect sense to me.

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Indeed - wasn't it "meat, eggs & dairy" before anyway? I would say if it doesn't originate from a mammary it isn't dairy and chickens don't have tits....