Too much, too soon

In May I rode my bike about 107 miles. This was more riding in one month than I had previously done riding in all the past 25 years. I am very unfit, 56 and overweight. I was obese but a month or so ago dropped down to "merely" overweight. :) I am only 4'11" and have gone from 158 pounds to 130 since December, 2010.

A few days ago I did my longest ride ever, 16.2 miles. The next day it rained and I didn't ride. The day after I did 16.4 miles. The last mile was hell, I could not get comfortable on my seat and my right foot was going numb. Otherwise, my wind and my legs felt just fine. I never seem to feel any effects in my legs when riding as my CV system still is not strong enough for me to work my legs really hard. My pace is still very slow (8.5 to 9.5 mph) but my route is fairly hilly and about 1/3 hilly crushed gravel MUP, 1/3 nice paved roads, and 1/3 ratty city streets. I know my fitness has improved as I can now make it up hills that I used to walk. Maybe I am going up at 3.5mph and "spinning" in my granny gear at a cadence of 30, but I am making it up. Given my slow pace it means that I was in the saddle a long time to do 16 miles.

That evening I felt overtired and jagged and had a hard time getting to sleep. The next day, yesterday, I was exhausted. I managed only to go for a short walk. I wanted to nap but again too jagged. I am not used to exercise, I have a hard time judging too much versus too little.

This morning I am a bit better. I went for a four mile ride, nice and slow, but felt uncomfortable on the bike the whole time. Partly it is my rear end. Partly it is a loss of confidence. I was feeling good and strong and now I feel beat up.

I guess I am posting this to remind myself and other aging unfit people who are getting into riding that it takes time. Don't overdo it. I am backing off a bit on ride length and my monthly goals. I also have to see if my seat adjustment is goofed up.

A bit demoralizing. But I am not only overweight I am coming from no fitness at all and I am 56 years old. I have to be patient. I am not a patient person.

:(

Goldfinch, first of all congratulations on your weight loss and exercising. I know what you mean about not being fit and feeling the after effects of intense exercise. But look how far you've come! I'd love to be 28lbs lighter :D

Ok, so it got a little tough with recovery but you made it through. Maybe you over did it? Maybe you ought to pace yourself a little differently? Note, not less, just differently. For example, less hills but a little challenge on the flats. Or more hills and easy on the flats. Or back to basics, just ride comfortably and when you feel good and a little charge, push for a little challenge. This is your ride, enjoy it :)

On a side note, if your bottom is hurting you might want to let that recover well first. Everything else can feel great but if the bottom hurts, yikes nothing else matters :D

Keep up the good work!

dt

Gold, the first time I rode 15 miles, I spent the next 2 days laying around, exhausted. It used to take forever for me to recover. Now, I do 15 miles as my normal rides, and am fine the next day. You will get to there! You sound very self aware in terms of your abilities and goals, so hang in there! Congrats on the weight loss!:D

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Originally Posted by jlnc

Gold, the first time I rode 15 miles, I spent the next 2 days laying around, exhausted. It used to take forever for me to recover. Now, I do 15 miles as my normal rides, and am fine the next day. You will get to there! You sound very self aware in terms of your abilities and goals, so hang in there! Congrats on the weight loss!:D

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It is nice to hear other people who have had similar experiences. Thanks!

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Originally Posted by Muirenn

The words 'couldn't get comfortable on my seat' and 'my right foot was going numb' jumped out at me here.

Have you had a professinal bike fitting?

Do you need a different saddle (bike seat)?

Both could make a huge difference to your perceived fitness and comfort.

Honestly, sounds like you're doing great with careful mileage. Just try and figure out what is causing the specific issues. Good work!

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I think that I need to be fitted to my bike better. When I was riding between 5 and 10 miles it really wasn't much of an issue. Now it is a problem. I am in southern Iowa right now (I travel all the time). I'll see if I can hunt up a bike shop within a 100 miles.

What can I expect from a fitting?

From a fitting you can expect the LBS person to measure the angle of your knee-bend as it goes around the full circle of pedaling, among many other things. The guys at my shop measure my shoulder width (I need smaller width bars, apparently!), the distance from my set to the head tube, the reach, my knee angle and many other aspects all to get that perfect feel. And then they say that after a while and your strength increases, you need to go back and be refit as you become more limber and strong. It's totally worth it!

Also, I second the statements of others that the first time you go real far, you hurt the next day. The first time I went 40 miles it took me two days to recover. Now 40 miles doesn't phase me. You'll get there. You just have to work at it and know that every day you are getting a little stronger.

Anything over 20 left me feeling like I'd been run over last year. I did a 36-mile ride followed by 15 the following day, one day off, and then 20 the next. I could barely walk for the rest of the week. I don't push myself too much cardiovascularly on rides where I'm not quite comfortable with the length, but my leg muscles weren't quite up to the task.

Don't feel demoralized, you have no reason to. When I read your post you have have a lot of accomplishments in it. A good sized weight loss, taking the first step to get healthier by starting a program that gets you exercise and get good fresh air and more importantly than taking the first step, you are continuing on even with some normal set back. Yes it can be discouraging when the body does not cooperate with our spirit which is eager to get back out and "do it again," but you will get to the place you want to be because it's easy to see you have abundant determination!

Be kind to your body and it will take you places with your bike you only dreamed of.

Keep up the good work.

when I started riding it killed me ride a mile a day 2x a week. I was totally out of shape and way way overweight, not quite morbidly obese but close enough as made no difference.

When I finished the cross country ride a year ago, I spent five extra days in St. Augustine recovering, which consisted of me sleeping in very late, getting up, staggering out to find some breakfast, sitting and staring blankly with a cup of coffee, giving up, going back to the motel, sleeping until mid /late afternoon, then staggering out for a lunch/dinner- spending another hour or so with a cup of coffee staring blankly and then going back to the motel and going back to bed.

Mostly on the days I ride my schedule is to eat breakfast, ride, come home, prep my bike for the next ride, have lunch and then nap for 2-3 hours. Of sourse I do this on gym days as well so...

I guess the point I am making is that at a certain age, (I'm 63)you learn to pace yourself a bit and finally learn how to be gentle with yourself.

marni

I agree that a fitting is in order. You will be amazed by how much further you can go with the same level of effort on a bike that FITS (ask me how I know...).

Can I just say how proud I am of you? My mom is 66 and has given up. She is fragile. We joke about what a klutz she is (a year ago she broke her neck tripping on a step while going into the house), but it's really sad. She is physically so weak. She has asthma, yes...but so do I. I refuse to let it make me an overweight invalid (Ok, I am overweight, but I'm kinda kickass, too).

I hate that she won't even try to make herself stronger and healthier. Her excuses always start with "at my age..." There are people her age who have started running and ended up running marathons into their 70s and 80s. She is throwing away so much. And she fails to realize that so many of her ailments are because she is inactive. Her asthma would be better if her lungs were given regular workouts.

I love seeing women 10 years either direction of my mom who are not using age and/or weight as an excuse. I wish my mom had internet access so I could send her links to threads like this. She needs to see for herself that her only limit is herself.

First off, congratulations on getting out there and doing something. I had been sedentary and overweight for years, and one thing I am reminded of is that I didn't get that way overnight, so I can't expect to lose weight and get fit overnight (I've lost over 100 lbs through eating less/better and moving more). So Rome wasn't built in a day.
My yoga instructor often reminded us to respect our bodies and recognize and accept that they are not the same each and every day. Our energy levels are different, or balance is different, etc. So recognize it, embrace it, be thankful for what your body is able to do today and don't compare to yesterday or tomorrow. Love yourself in the state you are in at this moment.
Hang in there and keep up the inspiring work.

Hang in there, goldfinch, you are doing great. I'm 3 years younger than you, 10 pounds overweight, and have been riding about 6 years. The first ride I went on, DH got me 3 miles from home and I was freaking out because I didn't think I could make it back. We got home and crashed our exhausted bodies on the couch. Three years later, I started running and swimming and did my first triathlon.

I did my first time trial and road races two weeks ago in the Senior Olympics and it was a blast. I got beat in one time trial by a 74 year old! She was very strong, very fast and the same age as my mother (who is sedentary and failing terribly). There were a lot of us over 50's out there who are just getting started so don't let that stop you. It sure beats letting roots grow out your rear because you are sitting around so much!

I would agree that you need a bike fitting and maybe a new saddle. It might be the way the bike is set up and not you or you may even be riding the wrong size bike! Keep plugging along and stay with it.

Thanks all! I found a bike shop in Burlington Iowa that does fittings (according to the Internet). I'll call them this morning and see if I can get it and get some help. I am pretty sure that my bike is the right size. I did get help buying the right size bike from bike shops in Minneapolis and I have an extra small, 26 inch wheel, Quick 4. But I did not pay for the fancy bike fit process when I bought the bike.

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Originally Posted by zoom-zoom

Can I just say how proud I am of you? My mom is 66 and has given up. She is fragile. We joke about what a klutz she is (a year ago she broke her neck tripping on a step while going into the house), but it's really sad. She is physically so weak. She has asthma, yes...but so do I. I refuse to let it make me an overweight invalid (Ok, I am overweight, but I'm kinda kickass, too).

I hate that she won't even try to make herself stronger and healthier. Her excuses always start with "at my age..." There are people her age who have started running and ended up running marathons into their 70s and 80s. She is throwing away so much. And she fails to realize that so many of her ailments are because she is inactive. Her asthma would be better if her lungs were given regular workouts.

I love seeing women 10 years either direction of my mom who are not using age and/or weight as an excuse. I wish my mom had internet access so I could send her links to threads like this. She needs to see for herself that her only limit is herself.

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I started my weight loss without thinking about it at all. Somehow I knew that if I started with a plan of attack I would never execute the plan. Instead, when I headed to Texas this past winter I started experimenting with food. My husband was not going to be with me for two months and he is a vegetarian. I though it would be fun to try to eat low carb by eating a bunch of meat and see what that did to my appetite. Well, it worked amazingly well. After a while I began counting calories as I knew that I would not remain low carb once spouse and I were hooked up again. I didn't weigh myself for three months and at that point I was shocked to see how much weight I had lost.

In my retirement I am a birder and photographer. This winter I spent the mornings for hours lugging around equipment and being on my feet. I was getting exercise and not really even knowing it.

I had tricked myself into losing weight and therefor motivated myself to lose more. I had found that activity is pleasurable without forcing myself into activity.

If I had thought about self motivation by "pulling myself up by my bootstraps" or "just doing it" or whatever kind of slogan is used to try to force yourself to do something I would fail. I can only succeed by doing what is pleasurable to me. Maybe your mother can find something that brings her pleasure and also helps towards good health.

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Originally Posted by goldfinch

I can only succeed by doing what is pleasurable to me. Maybe your mother can find something that brings her pleasure and also helps towards good health.

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I think that's part of her problem...the things that bring her pleasure all involve sitting still for hours and eating...scrapbooking, reading, watching Packer games at the bar with friends. She refuses to try anything outside of her comfort zone and her history of injuries and lack of coordination (she broke her tailbone XC skiing 20 feet from our house and broke her arm tripping over a parking stone) keeps her from trying anything new.

I'm with you on low carb. I lost a ton of weight eating that way. I have 20 still to lose, but low-carb and intense aerobic exercise are hard to balance. I hate carefully counting carbs (or calories, for that matter), but it's easy to dip too low and then bonk during workouts if I don't make sure that I'm in a safe range.

Even though your DH is a vegetarian that shouldn't stop you from eating meat and lower carbs if that is what helps you to be healthier.

I understand. When I first retired things that brought me pleasure were doing bead work while watching HGTV and reading novels. :)

I got into birding through my sister. She got me outside identifying birds when I went to visit her in SoCal. It was addicting and appealed to the scientist that still remains in me that likes studying and categorizing.

So, I guess I should thank my dear sister for inspiring me to move around and do things.

Good news: My bike and I have an appointment tomorrow in Burlington, Iowa for a bike fitting.

I went for my bike fit session today. The cost was $85 and he spent two and a half hours with me and my bike, a Cannondale Quick 4.

I had my seat way too high. By about an inch. I think I was making up for the handle bars which were as low as I thought they could go. He lowered the handlebars further by turning the stem upside down. He moved the seat back substantially. Now I know why I always would try to scoot backwards. I needed to move back! He cut off a half an inch on each end of my handlebars and moved the grips inward. I always felt splayed out on the bars. That was the biggest comfort difference for me. Huge.

I rode about 2.5 miles at the shop trying out seats and the changes.

I got a new seat. This is the risky part of the day as I bought a Terry Butterfly carbon. He gave me a good price, much better than the online prices. It feels a lot better than the stock seat but I can't really tell until I put a bunch of miles on it. It matches up OK with my sit bone differential, which was larger than I expected given that I am a very small boned person. For the first time I am riding with a level seat and not squirming around.

It does feel a bit odd to have dropped my seat down. I guess I got used to being stretched out too much.

Things that I learned:

--I told the place where I bought the bike that I felt the handlebars were too wide. It was my only complaint about the bike and it was a complaint I had about every flat bar bike. They did not suggest cutting them down. That is disappointing.
--The rough fit done at the place where I bought the bike was a seat height adjustment only and removal of a spacer on the handlebars. I have no idea if they originally set the seat at the right height because I messed around with it a lot trying to get comfortable. I should have sprung for a real fitting when I bought the bike as the seat has always been too far forward. But I was passing through town and in a rush. But I've only had the bike a month so I guess it is not so bad to have waited.
--The stock seat on the extra small women's specific Quick 4 is a men's seat and is very long. Gee thanks Cannondale. The seat was unlikely to fit anyone that would fit this very small bike.
--I bought the correct size bike by getting this very small frame. Props to Cannondale for making such a small frame available. My arms are short. The smallest comparable Trek, which I also looked at, would likely have been too big. Several bike stores tried to sell me the smallest Trek. One even tried to sell me one size up from the smallest Trek.
--The stock handlebars are too wide and not proportionately reduced on the very small frame size. Even if I would have bought the most expensive Cannondale Quick the bars would be too wide.

Interesting learning experience! I hope it pays off. I'll know more when I ride over the next few days.

Oooh, I'm so happy that you got fit. I'll be interested to hear how you like your new ride after you've had a chance to try it out some more.

I had my bike for about a month before I got a professional fitting and I noticed a difference right away (seat higher, and back, shorter stem).

Good job and thanks for sharing.

I rode for 10 miles this morning and the bike/goldfinch relationship is on track. The seat remains level and acceptable (my rear is still a touch sore from before). My neck and shoulders feel relaxed with the narrower bars. My hands feel acceptable after fussing to get the ergon grips at the right angle. I am now used to the lower seat. No knee or leg problems of any kind. No numb foot.

Most importantly, I made it up a hill today that I have been unable to conquer. :)

How wonderful! I'm so glad to hear it. I hope the relationship continues to improve!

BTW, I have friends that I go on bike trips with from Burlington and Keokuk, Iowa. Nice part of the country!

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Originally Posted by Bike Chick

How wonderful! I'm so glad to hear it. I hope the relationship continues to improve!

BTW, I have friends that I go on bike trips with from Burlington and Keokuk, Iowa. Nice part of the country!

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Yes, it is beautiful. I don't really know my way around yet and I am leaving for my home base of Minnesota in a couple of weeks. I think that I will miss Iowa.

I came across this thread for the first time just now, and reading through the posts was like reading a suspense novel ... "How will the fitting turn out? Will she and her bike be friends again?" I could hardly wait to get to the end of the thread and find out.

And it didn't disappoint -- I love happy endings. :) I'm glad the fit worked out well for you.

And I'm really impressed with what your doing.

Thanks!

I just have to be careful not to overdo it.

That's right! :cool:

I'm so glad you went for a serious fitting, Goldfinch! What a difference, eh? I just did the same last night.The fellow spent 2.5 hours with me, taking all kinds of measurements and watching me pedal. We ended up moving my cleats back, shimming one, lowering the seat a little, changing the original handlebars for narrower ones, and shortening the stem a bit. I can't wait to take the bike for a short whirl later today to check out the changes. :-D

And congrats on the weight loss!! As you get stronger on your bike over the summer, you're going to feel so great!

Reading this thread has been interesting. I realize how incredibly fortunate I was when I bought my bike. I had visited several shops, test rode 5 different bikes and knew what I wanted. When I found the shop that had it, I went in and said that I was interested in a Cannnondale Synapse. The lady in the shop began measuring me right away to get the proper size for me to test ride. I spent about 2 hours in that shop that evening while she had me on a trainer, measured this and that, adjusted this and that, and sent me around the block several times while she observed how I looked on the bike. I ordered the bike and when it came in, I again spent about 1 hour while she repeated alot of the adjustments, measuring and observing. The bike has been awesome from the first ride to the present. I was charged the same price for the bike that one can buy it for online...apparently all the fitting was standard operating procedure for "my" bike shop since I wasn't charged a penny extra! Too bad they don't all do business this way. I think I will send her some flowers and a thank you note ;)...
By The Way~I am also 56 years old and overweight for the first time in my life. It is taking me awhile to build up my cardio endurance. There have been times when I wanted to just sit down on the side of the road and be done! My legs feel like they can go forever, but my "engine" is out of gas. The first few rides over 15 miles, kicked my hiney!!!!!! I try to do them on Saturday so I can recoup on Sunday before going to work on Monday. My hubby is so glad to have someone to ride with that he is quite content to limit his distance and mph to my abilities. I am usually to exhausted to make meals or anything else productive. So I nap, shower up, and pick out a favorite dining place, and off we go! We are empty nesters now so it is like being young again! :cool:

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Originally Posted by KatzPajamas

I was charged the same price for the bike that one can buy it for online...apparently all the fitting was standard operating procedure for "my" bike shop since I wasn't charged a penny extra! Too bad they don't all do business this way. I think I will send her some flowers and a thank you note ;)

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My LBS is this way as well, a full lifetime fitting is included in the purchase of a bike. If you bought the bike somewhere else then it is $250. (Lifetime fitting = no fitting charge for the life of the bike, and there is a discount for any fitting-related parts that might have to be purchased. This means that any time fitting adjustments are needed for any reason, such as a new saddle, pedals, cleat adjustment, whatever - there is no "fitting" charge) While the lifetime fitting is quite unusual, I do think a good percentage of stores do throw in some level of fitting in a bike purchase.

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Originally Posted by KatzPajamas

By The Way~I am also 56 years old and overweight for the first time in my life. It is taking me awhile to build up my cardio endurance. There have been times when I wanted to just sit down on the side of the road and be done! My legs feel like they can go forever, but my "engine" is out of gas. The first few rides over 15 miles, kicked my hiney!!!!!! I try to do them on Saturday so I can recoup on Sunday before going to work on Monday. My hubby is so glad to have someone to ride with that he is quite content to limit his distance and mph to my abilities. I am usually to exhausted to make meals or anything else productive. So I nap, shower up, and pick out a favorite dining place, and off we go! We are empty nesters now so it is like being young again! :cool:

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You rock! I just learned how to ride a bike 1.5 years ago for my 50th birthday. I had been very overweight for over a decade and was very out of shape. Since then my weight has dropped from 180 down to 136, and I feel 20 years younger :) It does take time to develop both muscular and cardiovascular endurance, just make certain you are taking enough rest days and stretching after your rides. I don't do anything halfway and last year developed a whole roster of over-use injuries because I didn't take enough rest days, didn't stretch, and thought I could do strength training without warming up enough. I can be the queen of over-doing it and my body laid down the law last fall :o

It sounds like you are resting enough, check out the threads on nutrition. Are you eating before your rides? Cycling does take more energy than we realize, especially at the beginning when our bodies haven't yet adapted.

Sounds like you are on the right track: a fitting and being mindful of resting when needed. Also, please be sure that you fuel adequately- especially on your riding days. I know I am most exhausted on the days when I did not take in enough calories during my ride.

Sometimes when we have lost weight and are still trying to drop some more pounds, we skimp on what we need to give our bodies enough energy to do what we are asking of it. Nancy Clark's The Cyclist's Food Guide can give you some useful information.

Great job with your weight loss and cycling achievements!

Goldfinch, Forgot to mention that our new cyclist friends on the Team Estrogen Forum were EXTREMELY HELPFUL! Through the whole process they were happy to share good advice, encouragement, and generally welcome me to the world of cycling! There were several close calls, where I was ready to hang it all up, but the TE Fam came to be my SAG team via internet forum threads! Trek helmet-64.00 dollars, Cannondale Synapse-1,299.00 dollars, Team Estrogen TLC- PRICELESS! :cool:

For sure that Team Estrogen forum has been extremely helpful! And encouraging!

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Originally Posted by Catrin

Are you eating before your rides? Cycling does take more energy than we realize, especially at the beginning when our bodies haven't yet adapted.

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Thanks for this advice. I always thought that my shouldn't exercise with food in my stomach. So I have been eating a chocolate chip Cliff bar or Payday bar with a glass of grape G2 before the ride. This seems to help alot. On Saturday, I rode 14.9 miles in 1.25 hours. Max speed was 15.8 and avg speed was 11.8. Plus feeling pretty good the whole way! :cool:

Just wanted to add in that losing a ton of weight and upping your fitness can alo change how you sit/ride and make certain things uncomfy. After losing weight, I needed to adjust my riding position to feel better. I only lost 12 lbs (which is a lot for someone my size, I suppose), but I gained a ton of muscle and am getting a better core. In reality, I was using myself properly. They were tiny adjustments, but it made me change the way I was sitting.

At this point, I know I need a better saddle than I have, but I need to get paid first haha. That won't be until September.

I have a question. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, I don't know. Anyway, I've been riding now for about 4 years. I am overweight and I just don't get it. I don't eat a lot of carbs, I eat tons of vegetables & fruits, only white meat & fish and on a very rare occasion, I'll have a small steak. As for carbs, I have totally cut out pastas, breads, etc. I'm also watching the intake of cheese, etc. I have to because I have high cholesterol and was recently diagnosed with high blood pressure (I'm on meds for both).

I have 2 bikes, a Trek hybrid and a road bike, Specialized Dolce Comp. For the most part, I ride the Trek. I usually ride anywhere between 15 to 25 miles a night, depending on the trail I take. My speed has definitely improved from around 8 -9 MPH when I first started, to 15 to 19 MPH currently. It usually takes me about 1 1/2 hrs to complete at 22 to 25 mile ride. My rides always include hills so that I can get a cardio work out.

The thing that I don't understand is why I am not losing any weight. I am not leading a sedentiary life style - I am very active. One thing, I do have asthma & allergies, I also have a heart condition, along with a bad back and arthritis. I am on medication for the heart condition, as well as 2 different types of medications for the arthritis, which includes a weekly injection of Enbrel.

I've never been overweight in my life. I'm 5' 4" tall and used to weigh between 135 - 140 lbs. Now I weigh 186 lbs. I put on a ton a weight after taking Lyrica for shingles in December, 2010. What on earth can I do to drop this extra weight? :confused:

I wear a heart monitor when I'm riding, which also counts the calories I'm burning. I don't understand why I'm only burning about 400 calories for each ride.

Please, any suggestions would be great! Thanks ;)

Lyrica has a lot of weight gain side effects. Since you have a variety of medical conditions, it might be wise to visit either a sports medicine doctor or an exercise physiologist (i.e. not just a personal trainer with no educational background) to see what is going on. Also, maybe a registered dietician who works with active people.
You might need to tweak your diet in ways that would be different, because of the medications or your actual medical conditions. One thought that comes to mind is that you don't mention any strength training or core work. Weight loss doesn't come from just cardio alone.
Find a qualified medical professional you can trust; good luck!

@New2ride, do plan on never eating carbs (bread, pasta) for the rest of your life? Whatever changes you made regarding what you eat should be something you can live with long term. Too many folks eliminate things from their diet, perhaps lose weight, then return to their former eating habits and regain the weight. Perhaps learning to eat carbs in moderation vs cutting them out completely. Personally, I can't imagine never eating a slice of bread or having some spaghetti.

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Originally Posted by new2ride

I have a question. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, I don't know. Anyway, I've been riding now for about 4 years. I am overweight and I just don't get it. I don't eat a lot of carbs, I eat tons of vegetables & fruits, only white meat & fish and on a very rare occasion, I'll have a small steak. As for carbs, I have totally cut out pastas, breads, etc. I'm also watching the intake of cheese, etc. I have to because I have high cholesterol and was recently diagnosed with high blood pressure (I'm on meds for both).

I have 2 bikes, a Trek hybrid and a road bike, Specialized Dolce Comp. For the most part, I ride the Trek. I usually ride anywhere between 15 to 25 miles a night, depending on the trail I take. My speed has definitely improved from around 8 -9 MPH when I first started, to 15 to 19 MPH currently. It usually takes me about 1 1/2 hrs to complete at 22 to 25 mile ride. My rides always include hills so that I can get a cardio work out.

The thing that I don't understand is why I am not losing any weight. I am not leading a sedentiary life style - I am very active. One thing, I do have asthma & allergies, I also have a heart condition, along with a bad back and arthritis. I am on medication for the heart condition, as well as 2 different types of medications for the arthritis, which includes a weekly injection of Enbrel.

I've never been overweight in my life. I'm 5' 4" tall and used to weigh between 135 - 140 lbs. Now I weigh 186 lbs. I put on a ton a weight after taking Lyrica for shingles in December, 2010. What on earth can I do to drop this extra weight? :confused:

I wear a heart monitor when I'm riding, which also counts the calories I'm burning. I don't understand why I'm only burning about 400 calories for each ride.

Please, any suggestions would be great! Thanks ;)

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The amount of calories your monitor says you burn isn't out of line, though the heart rate monitors are notoriously inaccurate. The only way to (somewhat) accurately measure is with a power meter and people generally end up surprised at how few they burn when exercising. You exercise to get strong and healthy. Not to lose weight. In fact, studies have shown that exercise can be counterproductive in weight loss and people are hungrier from exercising and overestimate the amount of calories they should eat.

The only way I have successfully lost weight is by religiously counting my calories. I weigh food. I use the Livestrong online tools for keeping track. As far as type of diet I say use what you can stick with. Be an experiment of one. I lean towards lower carb because I have some indication of insulin resistance. However, I am not Aitkins low. I want my fruit. I do have a slice of bread on rare occasions. But no pasta, potatoes, and I try to keep the carbs below a 100 a day. But I also drink whole milk and eat bacon a couple of days a week. :) I kept my calories low enough to lose a pound a week. Now that I am near goal I raised my calories slightly and am losing maybe .5 pounds a week. The idea is to move me to a maintenance diet I can live with forever.

It takes time.

I can't wait until I can go at your speed. I still have to push it to go over an average of 11 mph. But I was very unfit to start with.

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Originally Posted by new2ride

I have a question. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, I don't know. Anyway, I've been riding now for about 4 years. I am overweight and I just don't get it. I don't eat a lot of carbs, I eat tons of vegetables & fruits, only white meat & fish and on a very rare occasion, I'll have a small steak. As for carbs, I have totally cut out pastas, breads, etc. I'm also watching the intake of cheese, etc. I have to because I have high cholesterol and was recently diagnosed with high blood pressure (I'm on meds for both).

I have 2 bikes, a Trek hybrid and a road bike, Specialized Dolce Comp. For the most part, I ride the Trek. I usually ride anywhere between 15 to 25 miles a night, depending on the trail I take. My speed has definitely improved from around 8 -9 MPH when I first started, to 15 to 19 MPH currently. It usually takes me about 1 1/2 hrs to complete at 22 to 25 mile ride. My rides always include hills so that I can get a cardio work out.

The thing that I don't understand is why I am not losing any weight. I am not leading a sedentiary life style - I am very active. One thing, I do have asthma & allergies, I also have a heart condition, along with a bad back and arthritis. I am on medication for the heart condition, as well as 2 different types of medications for the arthritis, which includes a weekly injection of Enbrel.

I've never been overweight in my life. I'm 5' 4" tall and used to weigh between 135 - 140 lbs. Now I weigh 186 lbs. I put on a ton a weight after taking Lyrica for shingles in December, 2010. What on earth can I do to drop this extra weight? :confused:

I wear a heart monitor when I'm riding, which also counts the calories I'm burning. I don't understand why I'm only burning about 400 calories for each ride.

Please, any suggestions would be great! Thanks ;)

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Do you eat breakfast? Are you consuming most of your calories later in the evening? I'm wondering if you're not eating enough early, then you're going into your ride already in a calorie deficit, then you eat most of your calories after the ride because you're starving, then go right to sleep.

I also wonder why you've cut carbs? You say your weight gain was after taking Lyrica, but were carbs a problem before that? I'm just wondering why whole grains wouldn't be beneficial to you?

Goldfinch -- didn't mean to kidnap your thread -- thanks all for the replies.

First, I have cut carbs because I was diagnosed earlier this year with diabetes. Rather than eat regular pastas, potatoes, white bread, etc., I have switched to whole grain bread (when I eat bread). I eat breakfast, which usually consists of grapefruit and a hard boiled egg. I alternate between the grapefruit/egg, to an omelet with veggies & cottage cheese. I eat salads for lunch, which include some shrimp or chicken. I usually have the same thing for dinner. My snacks include nuts (almonds, pistachios, walnuts), I also eat fruit for snacks. On the way home from a ride, I munch down on a peach or apple. I also drink lots of water. For a treat, I eat a small 3 oz container of sugar free pudding, but not everday. If I have a turkey burger, I eat it wrapped in romaine lettuce. I don't think the types of food I am eating are bad. I love vegetables and fruit and that's mostly what I consume. Any cereals I have are whole grains with blueberries or strawberries.

As I mentioned, I ride every night after work. I never eat a heavy meal before or afterwards. My dinner is a salad, with tomatoes, oranges, almonds, shrimp/chicken/fish, strawberries, sometimes a few grapes, mushrooms and rasberry vinegarette dressing. I never pour the dressing on my salad, I always dip.

This summer I am busy between working full time, keeping up my property, mowing, planting, mulching, etc., my part time work involves antiques. I travel on the weekends to do antiques shows. I must say I get quite the work out hauling my containers, tables, chairs to the location for set-up, not to mention the work involved packing and unpacking the antiques. My husband joins me at the shows & watches the booth so I can walk.

I walk alot while at work and after my 3 day bike run later this month, I will start walking the stairs every day at work. The cafeteria is located on the seventh floor of our building, which is more like climbing 11 floors because our building has extremely high ceilings.

I probably will contact a dietician or have my PCP check the thyroid. I am baffled why this weight will not come off. :confused: I cannot stand being this heavy. Thanks for reading this book and again sorry for hoarding in on your thread.

It sounds like you're doing everything you're supposed to. I have no other ideas. I'm so sorry. This must be very frustrating.

Newtoride, good luck. You eat much like I do. Do you know how many calories you need to sustain a weight loss? Do you count the calories?