Originally Posted by
Crankin
The body fat goal will be affected more (positively!) by the weight training than by diet.
It sounds like you are doing pretty much what I do, but on a much more stringent basis. The kickstarting your metabolism is exactly what I did by changing to a lower carb diet and changing my exercise patterns to rely less on just aerobic stuff. But, at this time of year, I mostly just ride and do a little core work. Just protein doesn't help me on rides, although I do eat those little packets of nuts and cranberries from Trader Joe's, sometimes, in place of a Luna Bar. But, on days I do really long or hard rides, my appetite is up a lot (after the ride) and I just eat. I don't eat junk, so it doesn't really affect my weight. I gain the same 1-2 lbs over the weekend and they are gone by Tuesday.
When I was in my thirties, I weighed about 92 pounds as a result of teaching 7 aerobics classes a week and eating really small breakfasts and lunches, on a diet high in complex carbs. That stopped working as I got closer to 40. By the time I was 45 I was 20 pounds overweight. I started cycling at age 47 and tweaking my diet. I've been at about the same weight for ten years, which is pretty much what I weighed in high school (106-107). Since i am almost 58, I am happy, but it takes constant vigilance to keep it in control.