Weight loss help

OK, I need to lose 10 lbs. I really think that will help with my running - make me a little faster, but my problem is I am always hungry, I exercise a lot and some days 2 times a day, I also lift weights 3-4 times a week. I find it hard not to eat when I am hungry, I try to pick healty items, granola bars, fruit, nothing with a lot of fat.

I lost about 40 lbs last year and have been stuck for a VERY long time now at the same weight, when I do lose 5 lbs. I feel like I am starving ALL the time so I eat and gain it back. I do eat some sugar but I really limit that, and I drink water but not a lot, I drank a lot when I was losing weight and I never noticed it helped me any.

Any suggestions? I hate feeling hungry but I need to lose. :D

Maybe you're already at the weight your body is comfortable with?

Have you considered consulting a sports nutritionist? I don't know what is available in your area, but I know that the services exist. For example, one of the nutritionists in the Boston area who offers counseling is Nancy Clark. She also is one of the presenters at a nutrition and exercise workshop offered at different locations across the country.

I believe my body thinks I am at it's desirable weight but I know I have a good 10 lbs I can lose, I still have jigglies in my belly, hips and thighs. I have been at 145 before and know it wasn't skinny for me, I am at 152-155 now, I carry a good bit of muscle for a female :rolleyes: my legs are rather muscular and I have worked at making my upperbody stronger to help my swimming, so I know anything under 145 would be ridiculous.

I would love to consult a sports nutritionist but the funds won't allow it, I need a massage and chiropractor adjustment too but.... :o

most women grossly underestimate how much protein they need. are you eating any fish, egg whites, milk, legumes, protein shakes?? gotta have protein to make nice muscles and firm skin and to repair damage.

Hi from Benicia- I have lost about 30lbs in the last year from cycling (former runner). I am also a vegetarian.
When I get up- 1 Tbs Honey,1 Tbs apple cider vinegar + my powdered supplements- msm, glucosamine, calcium. Out for ride (1 hour) and/or work out at gym (40-min to hour 3 times a weekdepending on the weather). I ride about 5-6 days a week doing about 100-150mi /week. When I work out and ride I take with me one water bottle of 1/2 guava-mango drink (Trader Joes) and 1/2 water. This gives me enough energy to do my ride as well as work out on the days I go to the gym. I found that plain water wasn't enough!

Breakfast- English Breakfast tea (about 1qt) with milk, one boiled egg, one piece of whole wheat toast with some butter. This will last me about 5-6hrs.
(note only sugar was in the juice and honey consumed and used up while riding/working out). Note- hydration doesn't have to be all water!

Snack- decaf coffee (about 12oz with low fat milk) and scone or some kind of carbohydrate- just enough to satisfy my energy needs. - note- not much sugar here.

Lunch- Cottage cheese (low fat)-about 1/2cup, celery, 1/2 large apple, 2 cookies, herb tea.

Dinner- Pasta, often with cheese sauce I make, large salad with olive oil,vinegar, gargonzola chees, avocado (about 1/8th of an avocado) lettuce, tomatoes. Vegetable- steamed.

That's it! Nothing after dinner. Glass of warm water before I go to bed.

When I do long rides with my bike club, I take one-two bottles of my juice/water drink and have a snack at Starbucks (low fat coffee cake) and a misto (Cafe au lait) with 1/2 decaf.

After I get home from these rides, I often have chips, cheese, lots of water and recovery drink I make with milk.

That's it.

Drinking a lot before I ride with the club (I do the breakfast regime described above) seems to help with hydration. Also if you read about endurance, people are talking about using milk as a way to get protein- it is satisfying as well as has some basic stuff in it. If you can't tolerate milk, try soy milk. Also if I am in a hurry I will skip my egg and instead have Whey protein powder mixed with milk with my toast and tea. That works as well.

Hope this helps!

P.S.Don't eat much when you get back from a long ride. Just a recovery drink will make all the difference in the world. and a few snacks. Drink, Drink

P.S.S.- When you ride spin the whole time! I don't know your style (of course) but spinning is a great way to use up calories plus it makes cycling much easier especially going up hills. If you don't have a granny gear (shimano XT) I strongly recommend you get one. Then you will just spin your way to the top of those nasty hills!!

Nancy :)

TriGurl - something must be working for Nancy. I can attest to her endurance and strength having ridden with her yesterday, and she had done a century the day before. Geesh! Nancy, I hope your ears were burning because we talked about you as we drove home. Mighty impressive for someone of your, how do I say this, "maturity." :) So, do share your secrets! I am so glad you came. We had a very nice group.

Sarah

sadiekate, losing weight is a really hard thing to do because you want results fast but you get to the point where you plateau at times. i would recommend that you eat more. and by that, i mean that you eat more consistently. this will help you to not be hungry and allow your body to burn more calories. when you do not eat consistently, your body will takes the food it has (because it does not know when it will be fed again), then stores it as fat. eating consistent snacks of yogurt, granola (all the healthy stuff) will allow your body to have something to burn, keep you energized and help you lose some more weight. just make sure to watch your portions and still eat your breakfast, lunch and dinners. and drink a lot of water -- sometimes your body gets tricked into thinking its hungry, but sometimes you are just dehydrated. best of luck in your weight loss endeavor! i hopet his helps!

Thanks, Jdimson. It was Trigurl asking the question. I was just confirming that something must be working for Nancy having met her and seen her ride. :)

haha oops...sorry about that sadiekate...trigurl, hopefully that will help you :p

I need to lose some weight too! I can't afford an ultra light-weight bike, so I figured I should lose the weight off my body!

I have a subscription to SELF magazine and at their website, self.com, there is a "diet club," free for subscription holders, cheap for everyone else...I hate that stupid "diet" word, anyway...you can track your caloric intake, along with how many carbs, fats and protein you are eating...they are also offering their SELF Challenge right now, which is free and has a food diary option...

I mention this because I started tracking what I was eating and I was really surprised! Although I eat a very healthy, nutrient-dense diet...I was eating about 300-400 calories more than I needed each day (based on my height, weight, activity level)!! I made some little changes like, substituting my usual granola with yogurt breakfast to a crunchy low-calorie cereal and yogurt breakfast, and filling up on salad greens and veggies instead of tons of pasta...and I've been very conscious of portion sizes...
I've also been watching my carb, protein, fat ratio, which is about 40, 30, 30 for now...and as the weather warms up and I ride more, I'll be eating more carbs (60 %) and less fat and protein (about 20% each)...

I understand the hunger thing, I get really hungry, too...and I've been trying to eat small snacks as often as possible so I don't pig out at meal time!

I, too, have been looking for some serious inspriation lately. As the spring thaw is a few weeks away, I'm looking at trying to drop 10 pounds before I hit the trails. I hope that another 10 will come off during the racing season.

What's frustrating is that I found it is really hard to judge. During my first full mtn bike racing season last summer, I only lost about 3-5 pounds but I dropped 2 sizes in clothing. I started to discover muscle! But over the winter, the jiggles have returned in full force. I have the most trouble with my middle.

All of the ideas posted have been helpful. Here are my goals. Any other input on how to accomplish this is welcome...

1) Ride in the morning - jump start the metabolism, right?
(I have not yet been able to do this)

2) Do not eat at night after dinner

3) Not snacking at my desk job

4) Cut down on the diet coke with lime -But really, it's like having a cocktail at work.

And... I just got a new heart rate monitor that calculates calories burned. Do you think it's obsessive to even think about wearing my hrm all day to see what my actual calorie burn is?

Heart rate monitor!! Thanks, RitaG!! That's important to mention...it's so important to workout in your training zone (60% to 75% of max) to burn the most fat...

If you don't have a HRM, you can buy a super simple one for about 30 dollars at pricepoint.com or bikenashbar.com or any of those big discount bike sites...

And RitaG...I love DC with lime...it's in the vending machine here at my work...it's so good!! I do have to watch it, all those atifical sweetners are a bit toxic...

thanks ya'll. I exercise quite a bit and lift weights.

here is a sample of my menu:

B: banana, bagel/english muffin/or toast with PB&J
diet Mtn. Dew - sometimes I fix a shake with whey protein & fruit

s: pretzels/granola bar/crackers (not all at one time)

l: usually PB&J sandwich with soup & can of low carb fruit (no sugar)

s: granola bar/fruit/ pretzels/yogurt/or cottage cheese

d: Usually by now I am starving and I eat after I exercise in the evenings
Meat, veggies,

s: popcorn/ pretzels/ low fat low sugar sweet treat/or crackers

I eat the p/b cuz I love it but it is also a quick meal for me, I use sugar free preserves, raspberry of course, and whole wheat breads and crackers.

It took me a year to lose 40 lbs. and it has been almost another year stuck at this same weight, I can't eat less b/c I feel hungry a lot now :confused:

Obviously, I'm not a dietician, but it seems like you need to eat more protein. There is some truth to the "low carb" fad, in that protein does satisfy hunger. You just need to make sure that it's low fat protein. Things like chips and pretzels are basically empty calories, so I would try replacing those with dense whole wheat bread, half a whole wheat bagel, oatmeal, or other non-sugary carb that is low on the glycemic index. You exercise a lot...maybe you should eat a little more and try changing some of the things you eat. A good sports nutritionist would really help. I know it costs, but it could really help.

Robyn

Or -- you could check out Weight Watchers. Even if it's only ten lbs., you can learn all kinds of good stuff about nutrition, healthy snax, etc. It's really helped me bunches. I especially like how you are allowed to increase what you eat after exercising, based on how long and the amount of exertion.

I go to meetings where I work, they are too convenient not to! They also have WW online, or WW at home, check out their website.

Rita girl- yes! RIDE, exercise, do weights, do anything exercise wise (if you can) BEFORE you have breakfast! I (believe it or not) get up at 4:30AM 4 days a week to get all this activity done. If its inclement weather, I go to the gym and do a full workout. Otherwise, I ride and upper body workout. I am at the gym 3x a week- MWF. and riding Sun-Friday with Saturday off. I just started doing the gym stuff in November and that has helped with muscle strength translated to endurance on the bike.

Now here's the other part- if I can lose weight, so can you! I'll be an "official senior citizen" come September. So there, you young ones. No whining!

Nancy :eek:

hi folks

just the chatty one checking in again...on my favourite topic! weight loss....heh

okay, well, I didn't lose no 40 lbs in a year. wow. that's a lot and that's fabulous. it was more like a year and a half to lose 25 or 30 lbs....and I have kept it off. In fact, this year, I didn't even really get the winter 5 lbs. yay!

foodwise:
always eat breakfast

snack at your desk more

drink more water

eat more vegetables

eat lots of protein

make sure your carbs come from whole grains as much as possible


sure, so how do you make that work? one thing at a time, making habits as you go along.

I started with snack carrots at work

I keep boiled eggs handy for quick protein

I only buy cookies, chips, pretzles, etc when we go on a road trip

we eat a lot of boneless skinless chicken breast

I make a wicked banana bread with very little fat, very little sugar and loads of cool things like raisins and cranberries and blueberries, etc.

when I make soup, I start with a can, but you can bet I'll add 2 cups of veggies and a touch of whole wheat pasta and some type of meat (tofu meatballs work well)

veggies are expensive up here in the great white north. when bell peppers go on sale, I buy tons, chop em and freeze em. perfect for soup and stir fries

everything is spicey. especially thai spices. very satisfying

I keep bread in the freezer. just one extra step to snacking on it, slows down my consumption.

dried fruit and nuts make good snacks. so does my banana bread. and fresh fruit! and sliced peppers or any other veggie you like.

diet pop? yeesh, why bother? herbal tea. no sugar added. keep trying them and you'll find ones that you like: Stash has a very nice rooibis and their lemon ginger is quite good. Tazo zen is quite uplifting. Stash also has a nice green and white tea combination. that and water. try not to drink anything else if you're not exercising at the moment. (before, during and after a heavy exercise session is totally different: gatorade, monster, red bull, cytomax, endurox, whatever works for you)

try a new vegetable every month. every once in awhile you'll find a cool one you didn't think you liked. integrate it into your eating. I tried eggplant. turns out if you chop it small it just takes on whatever flavour you've got in the rest of the food. I keep chopped eggplant in the freezer to add to soups, sauces and stir-fries. just another vegetable.

and for exercise....change it up once in awhile. try a new sport for a month. change the way you do your weights. work on intervals instead of long endurance spins. go ahead....go out of your "target range". my personal experience has been: the greatest advances in losing that extra layer of fat which allows all the muscle to be defined happened from the most intense aerobic intervals. primarily from mountain biking and doing lots of anaerobic hill climbs. seriously, the lower heart rate might have some merits, but intervals and high intensity stuff works faster!!

get enough sleep

get enough rest

when you reach a milestone, don't celebrate with food (I used to do that) try something different: new clothes, new aromatherapy scents, a pretty candle, a new book...anything but food!

somebody said this already: sometimes we think we're hungry when we're thirsty. If you're about to devour whatever you can get your hands on, first pour yourself a good tall glass of juice or watered down gatorade (something more than water usually helps the hunger go away, but water can work, too). by the time you've drunk it and let it settle, you'll either find that you can eat less, you might not need to eat at all, and you've had time to rethink what you were going to eat to something more healthy.

oh, and pay attention when you eat. savour it. enjoy it. eat slowly and meaningfully. except, of course, after an intense ride! haha

that ought to be enough ideas for one post, don't ya think?

go, girls, go! you can do it!!!

Namaste,
~T~
who currently has strep throat and an oveactive brain

I have found since I have cut soda at the end of last year, refined sugars, dairy products, white flour/bread and began an adventure with living foods (raw foods) I have more energy and have lost 12 pounds. Now I am adding in the cycling and expect to widdle down, maybe not so much the weight as the size of my body should slim down.
You don't have to eat as much of raw as you do cooked to feel full, the body does not have to work as hard in finding the enzymes, less stress more energy.
If you eat nuts or seeds, remember to soak them like you would beans, without heat (not blanching), before eating them. They have enzyme inhibitors that have to be tricked into being released so your body can digest them easier. I have seen so much success from my forum buddies without trying to lose, it happens anyway.
Doctors recommend this treatment to cancer patients, why wait till you get it?! My plan, to eat raw, fill my lungs with fresh country air, and cycle long. Yep, this is the life!

Wow, thats a lot of information :)

I found a calorie counter on line which keeps tabs on calories and calories burned during your exercise which may help some. Also, in this months Runners mag. they have a runners diet, it tells you to take your current weight x 13 and that is how many calories you need to consume to maintain your current weight, mine is only 1989 so to lose I am going to 1800 and see what happens.

So far today - through lunch - I will have consumed 1110 calories and after my evening workout (and including my morning workout) I will have burned over 1400 calories, COOOOL. oops, I didn't include my weight workout, I will have to go put that in too.

I lost the 40 lbs doing Atkins and I truly believe I would not have been able to lose it any other way! once I started training for Tri's I switched to a lower fat higher carb diet and had no problems with gaining. July will be 2 years and I have not gained any back.

Funny, I don't see much about the five times a day style of eating. I eat very small portions, all day long instead of big meals. This works for me.

~Irulan

I do too! I know when it is 10:00 am and 3:00 pm b/c I get hungry! that is when I try to eat fruit, yogurt, pretzels, etc. something to hold me over until lunch and dinner.

I find that those things don't last long tho, I ate pretezels at 10 it is now almost 11 and I am still hungry!

[QUOTE=...I ate pretezels at 10 it is now almost 11 and I am still hungry![/QUOTE]

Might be worth trying something with a bit more nutrition than pretzels...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DeniseGoldberg

Might be worth trying something with a bit more nutrition than pretzels...

---

yup, what she said. What abour a peice of fruit and some nut/cheese? Protien is what gives you staying power.

Irulan

Hi Denise,
I read your post where you recommended the nutition book by Nancy Clark. I just ordered her new 2005 publication The Cyclist's Food Guide

I just wanted to thank you for passing the info along. For anyone else that might be interested, this book is geared to any type of rider, recreational, touring and those who do long rides that last for hours, days or weeks.

http://www.nancyclarkrd.com/books/cyclistsfoodguide.asp

Looking forward to receiving it.

JoAnn

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jo-n-NY

...I just ordered her new 2005 publication The Cyclist's Food Guide

---

JoAnn-
That book looks really interesting - I think I need to add it to my library. So - thanks back to you too!
--- Denise

I ended up eating a small banana also. Geesh, I know what I should have majored in:D

I just got to thinking if I eat 1800 calories a day and burn 1200+ that isn't right is it? If I need to eat 1989 to maintain, 1800 to lose but I burn 1200, I need to be eating more right? I swear I ain't (really) blonde :p

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by trigurl

I find that those things don't last long tho, I ate pretezels at 10 it is now almost 11 and I am still hungry!

---

One of my favorite mid-meals is an apple with a bit of peanut butter. Almond butter is good too.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Irulan

yup, what she said. What abour a peice of fruit and some nut/cheese? Protien is what gives you staying power.

---

Fiber also! That's why whole grains are better for you and last longer. They have the protein and the fiber left in because the grain isn't processed to smithereens. I find that hot cereal made from cracked or cut grains is not only more tasty but has a whole lot more staying power than rolled or process cereals. Same reason why whole fruit is better than fruit juice. Essentially, the less processed the food the higher the nutritive value.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7080440/

Check it out. I thought it was pretty interesting to read this today after all the talk here on the board. ;)

thanks, slinkedog. that's a pretty good link. interesting the comparison between men and women. most of the sports research has been on men and we bear the brunt of that, I'm afraid!

I liked that she mentioned to drink water. I'm surprised she didn't mention recovery drinks. generally, if I have a recovery drink, I have no interest in eating dinner (I usually exercise right around dinner time. I always have a snack late afternoon about 2 - 3 hours before my workout. it usually has potatoes and cheese in it). I think that's fine - the recovery drink has a lot of nutrients in it.

I do think it totally depends on how hard the workout was, how well you hydrated during the workout and how well-fueled you were going in to the workout...all of that will determine how hungry you are after and how much you need to control the urge to binge.... ;)

what the article failed to mention is how a body with more muscles burns more calories just being than one with less muscle....so....even if you have trouble resisting the urge to eat a lot after a good hard workout, if you are building muscle, you're still eventually going to burn more calories. and even if you aren't losing weight according to a scale, ask any woman how she feels after she's been working out doing something she loves for awhile and she'll comment on how her butt is higher, she has more energy, she has more sex drive, she likes herself better, her clothes fit better, she stands up taller, etc....

it's still worth it!!

workout eat hard have fun

Namaste,
~T~

good article! I am usually not hungry right after a workout, but give me an hour and I am starving! I actually mix a little gatorade with my water to help when I am working out hard.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by trigurl

I ended up eating a small banana also. Geesh, I know what I should have majored in:D

I just got to thinking if I eat 1800 calories a day and burn 1200+ that isn't right is it? If I need to eat 1989 to maintain, 1800 to lose but I burn 1200, I need to be eating more right? I swear I ain't (really) blonde :p

---

Yep, you need to be eating more. You are training an incredible amount. Like I said before, more protein and some fruits and veggies. I also get hungry very frequently. I eat a snack of walnuts (a handful) and dried cranberries at about 9:45 AM (I eat breakfast really early) and a piece of low fat string cheese at about 11. Lunch is at 12:30. When I get home, between 3 and 4:30, I am dying for carbs, so I just go ahead and eat a piece of whole wheat bread. Then I'm fine until dinner. I love to cook and going out to eat is a big part of my life, so I have to exercise almost everyday to keep my weight down. Being short doesn't give you a lot of leeway... it once took me a year to lose 25 lbs and that was when I was young (25). But, establishing the good eating habits stays. I am 51 and I weigh the same as I did in high school.

Thanks Robyn! I can be a little slow sometimes :o

I figured last night that on my days I have 2 workouts I need to eat at least 2000 calories, on easier days I can eat a little less. I am about 7 weeks a way from a duathlon and my training is 2 weeks hard one week easy, this is my first time doing this and I am beat! I will be glad when monday comes, that is the start of my easy week.

I will be adding more protein to my eating, last night I bought some cereal by General Mills that has more calcium protein and fiber and it is whole wheat, it is pretty good I will substitute my pretzels with that.

My othe problem is I don't get to eat dinner until after 8:00 b/c of my training, I am thinking I might want to eat the bulk of my calories before then and eat a lighter dinner.

I know what you mean, when I was in my 20's losing weight was nothing now I am 30++ ;) and have a heck of a time with it. Also, after losing 40 lbs. I now have wrinkles :( and if I lose 10 more they may be worse, that scares me some. My mom lost 50 lbs. when she found out she had diabetes and looked much older than 50!

Since my first post on this thread I have been counting calories :p
I figured I could eat 2000 and lose some weight, so I have been trying to eat about 600 each meal and divide the rest up on my snacks. My scales haven't moved but I am exactly where I was to begin with, 153, usually I go right back up to 155 whenever I drop below 155. So far I am thinking this is a good thing, maybe by the first of the week I will be down a pound, that will be about 7 days and one pound a week is good. If I don't lose I will drop about 200 calories a day and see if that works. I hate counting calories but.... if it works it will be worth it.

I actually feel like I am eating more food now - I think I wasn't eating enough during the day and at night I was making up for it by eating until I was stuffed.

Thanks everyone for your help, hopefully I am on the right track now. :D

Nancy Clark has also written a lot of good articles for the Adventure Cyclist, which is the magazine put out by the Adventure Cycling Association.

Many of her articles can be viewed via the library archive on their website:

go to http://www.adventurecycling.org/library/index.cfm
and type ' nancy clark ' into the search box - no need to select a category - and then click on the pointy-finger icon.

- jobob

:mad: Heck!!!! I got a new scale Fri. night Sat morning I weighed 153 on it which is almost the same from my old scale - I'll take it - Sun morning I weighed 151.5 YEAH, it is working, this morning I weighed 154.5 :confused: :mad: :confused: I counted my calories too, I can see why some people can't lose weight, a set back like that gets very frustrating, I know I shouldn't weigh every day but it is an old habit and I have and can't seem to stop :o

This is my easy week for training so I am cutting my calories a little more so hopefully I will find the right balance soon.

Try doing it only once or twice a week. Water retention could be a major factor in the fluctuations you see, and remember to take into account your monthly cycle. I'm always heavier right before and during my period... a good 2 or 3 pounds.

I know its a bad habit but I am used to the ups and downs now and don't fret much, but that was a whopping jump. I am curious to see what I am at tomorrow!

Oh yeah, when I didn't weigh regularly I got up to 195lbs. :eek: its my reality check I suppose