Oh, to be a loser...

This is a really interesting thread.

I'm 150lb, and 5' 3". As things go, even though my BMI is high, I'm not FAT. I have a muffin top but i also have proportionately large boobs, butt and thighs. My waist to hip ratio was under 0.8 (until recently, now 0.82) As all things go, I know i'm pretty alright.

Thing is, I live in the land of the small. Here, females weigh an average 100lbs or less at a similar height to mine. And they are just that way. no exercise nothing. When i was in secondary school, i weighed about as much as i do now. I was 12 - 16 yrs, and for those four years i was the largest girl in my class. I got made fun of, was last to get picked for any games, called fatty etc.

I'm not saying that that was ok, but.. thing is i wasn't really fat but was made to believe i was because everyone kept telling me that. Instead of being motivated to lose weight, i avoided the issue even more, i never did any sports, hated running everything, ate in secret. It was like there was some hidden shame. It kinda messed me up. As I grew older, I started on activities that made me fitter, and for some periods helped me lose a decent amount of weight. But somehow I always had a very negative mindset towards being fat. If I were PMSing and emotional and my weight got abit high, I'd wear baggy clothes and stay away from people. There were times I'd look in the mirror and then just cry...

Since I started cycling however, I've started doing some pretty tough things, things many people won't even think of doing. Maybe also it coincides with age, I'm not surrounded by as many tiny willowy teenage girls who all have 20" waists. I've slowly begun to shed that negative self image. And now I want to lose weight because my spare tyre makes me feel uncomfortable in my very expensive cycling gear. I feel like, hey, I might be bigger than the rest, but I can do some pretty incredible things. Riding 320kms in 18 continuous hrs?

I rant about my weight to everyone (its easy here coz everyone else is tiny... hahha..) but honestly i need to keep letting myself hear it, otherwise i get caught up in work and i forget i need to work on the weight. and then another day passes without extra exercise and just one cookie/timtam. in a way its good, coz it means i'm learning to let go of my negative self image, but in a way its bad coz, the weight gain gets out of hand...

but i still need to lose weight. because next to the BF i still look like an unfit slob. he's gonna dump me and go for one of those babes eyeing him in the gym is i continue letting myself get out of shape. :p I just wanna keep him on the tip of his toes..

I guess, it doesn't matter what weight we are, everyone has issues with self image. and here it is good that somehow we are all very supportive of each others' efforts and resolve our differences in a very amicable manner. I do love the people on this forum :D

It takes a lot of strength and self-awareness to be as honest as you have been in your post. You are proud of your accomplishments and that is only going to build. I am sure your BF is proud of you as well - what is really attractive in a woman (or man for that matter) is believing in yourself, and it sounds like you have that - it sounds like you've come a long way - you go, girl!

Yeah, what she said.

Deeiamond, you rose your bike for 18 straight hours? Holy-moly. That's a story I'd like to hear.

Roxy

I just read through this thread for the first time, very fascinating. Thanks to those ladies who shared their stories as well, especially the never-quit attitude displayed by Roxy. I did want to respond to a few points and also share what has worked for me in losing about 20 pounds.

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Originally Posted by e.e.cummings

It is frustrating to find the right balance between eating less to lose weight, but eating enough to fuel my workouts and rides. ..

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I completely understand this frustration, it is such a fine line. You want to lose weight not just for looks but for performance, but cutting back on cals too much can sacrifice performance! I can say I've had a lot of success with nutrition immediately surrounding my workout. Making sure there are enough carbs right before the ride to fuel you, and the post ride nutrition is SO important. It's critical to get something down the hatch within minutes of finishing a ride or workout as it's the timeframe your body is deciding how to respond to your workout - build muscle or no?, etc. Must be the right carb/protein ratio.

And somewhere someone else mentioned their trainer said that you have to do lots of cardio to lose belly fat. THIS IS NOT TRUE. Excessive cardio is sabotage. ( And this is hard for me to say as a cycling junkie). True it is one of the important elements, but not to be overdone killing yourself in the gym. We need some cardio + weight training, but WHAT you eat is most important. The abdominal area reacts ( for most of us) to diet. They say great abs are made in the kitchen. It's all about lean protein, good fats, and the right amount of carbs from clean sources ( unfortunately that doesn't include cheesecake everyday :( ... I have had a lot of success sticking to these rules.

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Originally Posted by NJ Jess

For the next 6 months I was the at 143 pounds and 11% body fat.

It was beautiful for the moment in life, but the work to maintain that regime for a lifetime would be impossible.
....

Make yourself happy, but don't kill yourself doing so.

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This is very true. I reached my 'dream weight' once about 9 months ago but discovered that the happiness of being there didn't outweigh the pain of maintaining it. We have to find that sweet spot where we are happy with our bodies, feel strong and capable, yet aren't starving.

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Originally Posted by Veronica

Who can really say? I work out 60 - 120 minutes six days a week - a combination of riding, running, weights and plyometrics and the occassional swim. I eat about 1500 calories a day. My weight has stabilized at 146.

Veronica

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I worry you are not eating enough. With 1-2 hours of exercise, you are easily burning in the range of 600-1000 calories. 1500 cals is super low, unless you mean that is your 'net' ? We need to feed the machine!

And last I wanted to say to Mimi - for the most part I agree with you and think you bring up some very valid points about not obsessing over weight and finding happiness in ability. I do think that we should stop thinking about weight loss in terms of pounds on the scale and start thinking of it as an endeavour to gain health, strength, and fitness.

Thanks for your concern. I am working with a trainer/nutritionist who really knows her stuff. Plus I do my own research and investigating.

Veronica

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Originally Posted by mirliluck

I worry you are not eating enough. With 1-2 hours of exercise, you are easily burning in the range of 600-1000 calories.

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Says who? If I work super crazy hard (70%+ of max), I can burn about 400 calories in a hour. That's not much. If I just go about my day with no added formal exercise (bearing in mind that I do farm chores twice a day which is more than a lot of people), I burn AT MOST 1700 calories. If I ate 1500 calories a day, I'd be barely creating a deficit unless I did a LOT of working out.

While I agree that there are absolutely many people out there who eat too little to fuel their workouts and end up throwing off their metabolisms...there are just as many of us out there who eat too much. Metabolism is HIGHLY individual. Making assumptions about what every person burns based on calculations in books or online is about as smart as judging bike fit based on stand-over height. It works for some, but certainly not for everyone.

When I was drinking and smoking, I was a size 4. I had pencil legs and no belly.

Now I'm older (wiser) and with all the running and bicycling and healthy living and just eating when my body needs it, I'm a size 8. But I can pass boys, bench press my 110 lb 16 year old daughter, and ride all day long if I want to.

A wise woman told me back in the day,

"You'll look real nice and skinny in that coffin."

Sometimes, when I need a lift, I reach down and feel how muscle-y my legs have gotten, and take a deep breath and know that I have a strong oxygen uptake, and look in the mirror and honestly think, at 41 I look pretty hot, curves and all.

I say, move your body, and eat to fuel. Everything else adds to anxiety and anxiety is fattening. :D

And a lot depends upon where those calories are coming from. I eat very few sugars, mainly complex carbs and protein. I'm often a little hungry, but I'm also in tune with what exactly that means. Am I a little hungry because I'm bored, am I craving some chocolate... or did I have a super hard training session and I need some peanut butter now. :D

At 2,000 calories a day and riding my bike like crazy when I was training for and doing double centuries, I could not lose much body fat. Drop the sugars, add in some weight work and viola... a body I'm pretty happy with. :D I'm a triathlete now and a not very fast runner. I don't really care about getting skinnier. I'd just have to buy more clothes... again! I do care about getting faster. Getting my run faster means, I can think about getting a time trial bike and doing a full Ironman.

I've been training for a long time and I know that what I am doing is the correct thing for me.

Veronica

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Originally Posted by channlluv

Yeah, what she said.

Deeiamond, you rose your bike for 18 straight hours? Holy-moly. That's a story I'd like to hear.

Roxy

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Hahaa... I think i told it before on here somewhere. It was a charity ride and I'd signed up, 24 hrs ride. So I rode. and rode and rode. 10am until... 3am.. i could not ride anymore coz my bits were very sore.. (moisture and padded tights don't mix very well) I turned off the route and went home for a short nap. As i lay my head down, i saw lightning and thunder in the distance anyways. So i was glad to escape the rain coz i had an exam to sit for the day after. Then i woke up at 7 and rode the remaining 3 hrs to the final pitstop.

during the ride, i had lots of encouragement, coz i signed up with a friend and some of our friends came and rode some parts with us. There were many pit stops with drinks and gels and bars available for us. and fruit and meals. At some parts i really crashed hard, but then i started taking a gel every 2 or three hours so i did alright.

It was mentally hard to keep going, coz physically it was tough but not as hard as convincing yrself that u had to go on. And i'm quite impressed that I did it.. :D

But that was almost a year ago.. But for some reason I think i could still do that now. just maybe at a more relaxed pace, coz i havent been riding that much recently.

everyone should try it at least once. U'll be amazed at what you can find in yourself to do something like that.

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Originally Posted by GLC1968

Says who? If I work super crazy hard (70%+ of max), I can burn about 400 calories in a hour. That's not much. If I just go about my day with no added formal exercise (bearing in mind that I do farm chores twice a day which is more than a lot of people), I burn AT MOST 1700 calories. If I ate 1500 calories a day, I'd be barely creating a deficit unless I did a LOT of working out.

While I agree that there are absolutely many people out there who eat too little to fuel their workouts and end up throwing off their metabolisms...there are just as many of us out there who eat too much. Metabolism is HIGHLY individual. Making assumptions about what every person burns based on calculations in books or online is about as smart as judging bike fit based on stand-over height. It works for some, but certainly not for everyone.

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Geez, talk about making assumptions. Of course I didn't arrive at that amount using an online calculator, and of course that wouldn't be smart. I do think it's possible to burn as much as 600 cals in an hour depending on your activity level, I have done so calculating with an HRM not an online calculator. And I didn't assume anything that's why I suggested a range of 600-1000 for 1 to 2 hours of activity.

But let's use your 400 calories in an hour as an example. If you are eating 1500 calories ( not taking into account the thermic effect of food even), then you have a net of 1100 calories. For most people, this is well below even a basal metabolic rate. I've seen it recommended that a female shouldn't net below 1200 calories. I realize that this number changes as we age, but I don't see how it's a good idea to be chronically on a caloric intake below what's required for functioning.

My only point is that eating too little can actually cause more harm than good by damaging muscle mass and potentially throwing off metabolism.

I just read the rest of this thread (since i responded in the beginning). It just shows everyone is different. If I worked out the same amount as Veronica and ate 1500 calories a day, I think I would faint! My BMI is 20 and has been at that point for many years. But, I do agree that many people over estimate how much nutrition they need to fuel their work outs. I suspect I am the opposite. I seem to need more food now than I did 10-20 years ago. I basically weigh the same as I did in HS and I am turning 56 in 3 weeks. But, when I was teaching aerobics 6 days a week and weighed 92 pounds, I was definitely not eating enough. I didn't "starve myself," and I went out to eat a lot, but I ate small breakfasts and lunches and would eat no snack before working out in the late afternoon. No wonder, I often felt faint. Then I would go home and eat a normal, healthy dinner.
My weight seems to stabilize on the days I do an easy workout or take a rest day. I think it's because when I do long and hilly rides, I just need a lot more fuel.

If you read Veronica's ride reports, you can tell she's eating enough. I'd be challenged to keep up with her on ANY ride.

Oh, I don't doubt that! I am weak, basically. But, I know I eat more than 1500 calories a day (probably around 2,000-3,000) and my weight (106) and my body fat (18%) remain relatively stable. I've noticed more lately that my legs just give up and I am cramping up more. I always attribute it to my fibromyalgia, but it's more like I need to do some major weight training. I also think the nutritional aspect is playing into it. I just need to figure out what I need to change.
I am putting myself and my husband through a self-styled boot camp, starting in December. We are doing a cycling tour in May, which is a bit early for that type of riding. So, over the next few weeks, I need to experiment with my calories, and other stuff.

I have also been struggling with how to get stubborn pounds off (about 30). In the process, I have tried several different things. I was eating a really healthy diet with between 1200-1500 calories a day and going to water aerobics 3X a week and hiking once a week. That was not enough. I started cycling about 6 months ago. Now I ride about 20 (hilly) miles 3-4 times a week, and I am 57 years old.

I had a natural doctor check my thyroid. Although the TSH test was normal, the T3 uptake was on the very lowest normal range. I started to take a low dose natural thyroid pill to speed up my metabolism.

Then I went to Tibet and got horrible diarrhea which required many days of cipro (heavy antibiotic). I realized that I had probably killed every bacteria - bad and good in my body - so when I got home I took some probiotics (healthy bacteria like in yogurt). I started to lose a little weight after that with the same amount of exercise and diet as before the trip. I am wondering if there was something stuck in my gut that was preventing weight loss and this involuntary purge cleaned it out.

Then I read a book recommended by a doctor about leptin resistance. The book suggests that inflammation is preventing leptin from regulating your metabolism. I did not want to go on the no carb diet in the book because I don't think you can cycle with no carbs. It makes me feel tired and cranky. I eat mostly whole grain carbs now. But there are certain anti-inflammatory foods that you can add or sub in that are helpful. So I added blueberries, pomegranate juice and green tea to my diet.

I have lost 12 pounds and am fitting into some of my old pants. I think it is mostly the cycling with the help of the other things. I just feel better. I know I have to eat while I'm riding, so I always bring something healthy to eat like nuts and raisins or a granola bar, and lots of water. I can get up hills that I could not get up before, and a 15 mile ride is easy. Hopefully, I will continue to lose weight, but I have already benefited so much that I am grateful for having gotten hooked on cycling. I ride with a woman who is over 200 lbs., and I am really impressed that she is riding and improving.

Featuretile, where I come from there is a saying 'you have been up and down the road' meaning that you have experienced a lot - this definitely applies, with all puns intended for cycling. Your story is very interesting. And Tibet - wow!