Ok...what Gives With The Weight?

I lost about 40# on the Atkins' diet last Summer. I had to add carbs back into my diet to stay on the bike for extended periods of time. I am brand, spanking new at this cycling thing...so this might seem like a stupid question...

I have to watch what I eat now! I am gaining weight in all the wrong places. I try to ride my bike on the trainer about 4 times a week at 60-85% mhr for 45-60 minutes. I am trying to build up base miles and endurance so I can ride competitively in the Spring. Why am I gaining weight now?

I guess I need to change the types of carbs I am eating. I will admit that I eat way too many sweets again! I need to cut that out. What else?

Kim in TN

...or, Atkins is Eville !!!!

I had a friend who lost about 30 lbs on Atkins several years ago. Once she reached her goal weight, she started eating normally again - and rapidly gained back about 40 pounds. I know of several others who also gained back a large portion of what they lost when they stopped following the Atkins plan. I honestly don't know anyone who lost weight on Atkins who didn't gain most of the weight back, if not more.

Here are a couple of quotes from an article you can find at http://www.healthday.com/view.cfm?id=517110 which really rang true to me:

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"What happens when you reduce carbohydrate intake is that your appetite is greatly suppressed. So as long as your carbohydrate intake is extremely low, you're not as hungry, and you end up eating fewer calories and losing weight," Evans says.

"The big problem with Atkins is once you decide that you've lost enough weight and want to eat bagels and bread and pasta again, suddenly you're hungry again and start eating a lot more food. The rate of recidivism of Atkins is extraordinarily high," he adds.

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If you want to go back on a structured diet, I highly recommend Weight Watchers. It advocates a much more normal, balanced, healthy, sustainable way of eating. I lost over 25 lbs on Weight Watchers a year and a half ago; I've been off the program over a year now and I've kept the weight off ... er, I 'fess up, I had gained back about 5 lbs, but all the biking I've done over the last couple of months took care of those :D

I don't mean to be lecturing ... I feel really bad for all those who worked so hard and lost so much weight on Atkins just to see it come back again. And it really galls me to see all these "Atkins-approved" foods popping up in restaurants and grocery stores. :mad:

But, back to your original question ... eat more fruits and veggies, go easy on the fat intake, and cut back on the sweets (I know, that's hard :D) And try to eat whole grain breads and other carbs which are high in fiber, they're more filling.

Best of luck! - Jo.

Also, make sure you're drinking enough water. Sometimes dehydration masquerades as hunger.

I've also never known anybody who could keep up an Atkin's lifestyle. Where is the fiber & B vitamins? Fat doesn't just clog up arteries - it is a factor in breast & colon cancer.

Atkins people must be making a small fortune with the Atkin's approved everything. Ever had an Atkin's approved Subway wrap? It's small & greasy. Ugh.

If you're building muscle, you will gain weight. Muscle weighs more than fat. While you build your endurance (and consequently muscle), you still need to diet lightly to keep the fat off.

Calories in, Calories out!

It is that simple really. I have found after too many years at the weight loss thing (age 48), that it all boils down to,
Calories in (what we eat) Calories out (what we burn up).
Try and write down everything you eat in a day including the stuff you drink,sodas, coffee(stuff put in it), sports drinks ect. and pay attention to serving sizes and the amount you eat. Weigh and measure everything. You would be surprised at how much a serving is compaired to what we eat.
I know it is a balance between carbs(complex if at all possable) protein and fats. And the water thing is big too we don't drink enough of it.
Hope this helps.
Just think spring will be here soon and we will be able to ride outside again and less likely to eat the stuff we shouldn't like too much dark chocolate. But then can one have too much dark chocolate?!? :D
Dea

grannydea wrote:

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Try and write down everything you eat in a day including the stuff you drink,sodas, coffee(stuff put in it), sports drinks ect. and pay attention to serving sizes and the amount you eat. Weigh and measure everything. You would be surprised at how much a serving is compaired to what we eat.

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That was the most effective part of Weight Watchers for me - I had to keep a journal of everything I ate each day. I belonged to WW Online (I didn't attend meetings). WW Online has a very nice online journal which helps calculate the point value of foods. Online journalling wasn't difficult and doing it for a few months really helped to ingrain good eating habits for me.

Dogmama is absolutely right- drink lots of water! At least 8 glasses a day. More if you're exercising, of course.

Also, Subway is great (with the exception of the atkins approved wrap, that sounds simply gross :p ). A six-inch turkey sub on a whole wheat roll, with extra lettuce and tomatoes and a bit of onion, and mustard ONLY (no mayo, no oil, no cheeze) is only about 5-6 points and is a filling and satisfying meal. [What are points, you may ask? At my weight I would shoot for about 22 points per day - points being a function of total calories, grams of fat, and grams of dietary fiber per serving, all which you can find from the food label or the nutrional info provided by many restaurants. All other things being equal, higher fiber works out to lower points, higher fat works out to higher points. WW has a nifty little slide-rule contraption I used to estimate points, but after a while I could pretty much figure them out im my head - and I still do, force of habit, LOL] Sometimes I'd combine the Subway sub with a bowl of Progresso soup, many of the chicken/turkey w. veg noodle varieties only have about 1-2 points per serving - a bit high on the salt but I don't tend to use salt much anyway. The only trick with Subway is you really have to keep on them to make it your way - the folks behind the counter are conditioned to smear on the mayo and oil and cheeze so I find I have to stop them as they reach out for the o-ffending ingredient. Hubby and I still often have Subways for dinner (w/o mayo, oil, cheese) when we don't feel like cooking.

And when I have a craving for a sweet and chewy snack, I really like Special K bars. They're about 90 cals, not much fat - they work out to about 2 points each.

Many veggies have 0 points (exept for the starchy vegs like corn and potatoes, but even those are minimal, if you lay off the butter, LOL). Fruits generally have 1-2 pts per serving. Salsas are great condiments and marinaades, and many of them are practically 0 points per serving.

WW really got my husband and I to eat more fresh vegetables, something we still do to this day. It really changed our eating habbits for the better. BTW, hubby lost about 50 lbs from a combination of "modified" WW (he didn't belong to WW and he didn't journal his food intake, but he basically ate what I did) and lots of biking. I can't begin to tell you how proud I am of him :D

- Jo.

Well I have to chime in since Atkins has worked for me. The key here, in my opinion, is that it really is a lifestyle and that doesn't mean I lose the weight and then go back to my old eating habits. My old eating habits is how I gained the weight in the first place so what makes me think that won't happen again. It's the same with Weight Watchers, Long Beach, and all those million others out there. If you don't stick with it and go back to how you ate before, you will be how you were before. I do know that the AMA and American Heart Association endorse the Atkins plan... but I also know that doesn't mean a whole lot to many people.

For me, Atkins was such a simple solution because it really just meant cutting out the sugars and caffeine (easier said than done for this Big Gulp a day drinker of Coke!) while eating more of the better types of carbs like veggies and eating as much meat as I did before anyway. Remember it's not a low or no carb diet, it's a "controlled" carb plan in which you control the types of carbs that you consume and make sure that the ratio of carbs to protein is the best for your individual metabolism.

I didn't have a ton of weight to lose but the reason I went on Atkins originally was the side effect of better concentration after eating. In other words, no after lunch coma feeling because of the decreased amount of sugar in my diet. And that has been the difference for me. It is SOOOO nice to eat and then be ready to go without all that yawning and desire to nap feeling. That's a huge thing for me since I've spent the past 7 months studying for a two-day exam and completing my dissertation. I have needed as clear a brain as I could get. One effect that I didn't expect was the change in the effects of my workouts. Because I was decreasing my fat percentage (still a healthy 18-20%) my muscles "seemed" to be building up easier and nicer. Anyway...

This is all just *my* perspective and I am totally not a scientist or anything like that. I also have never advocated anyone going on Atkins if they thought it was dangerous or unhealthy. But I have advocated reading about any diet plan if there is an interest rather than taking people's, including my, word for it. I just wanted to respond to some of the comments made since it has worked so well for me for over a year now. :)

~TTG

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Originally posted by grannydea
Calories in, Calories out! It is that simple really.

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I totally agree. In 1992 I lost over 50 pounds. (At just under 5-feet tall, 50 pounds is a LOT!!) I know people will hate hearing this, but it was really easy to lose the weight. I consumed fewer calories and I burned more! But it has been a commitment to keep it off for 12 years.

Eating a certain way and not exercising made me obese. Eating the way I do now and my active lifestyle has kept the weight off.

When I hear of people trying to lose weight with drugs or some kind of miracle or unhealthy, unbalanced program, I just cringe. Even if their weight loss is successful, they almost all put the weight back on (and more!!) when the go "off" the program. You can't go on a program and expect long-term results if you return to poor choices when the program ends.

The key is eating a well-balanced diet and keeping active... and doing it for the rest of your life. It's all common sense. As Dea said, "Calories in, Calories out!"

"For me, Atkins was such a simple solution because it really just meant cutting out the sugars and caffeine "

You call that simple, girlfriend? :eek: Coffee was and still is one thing I simply cannot do without [insert all the bad things about coffee discussed here and elsewhere, yeah yeah....].

Congratulations on your success with Atkins, and thanks for providing us with a balanced perspective.

May we all keep that weight off, one way or another!

- Jo.

I have to agree with Jo, Weight Watcher's is probably one of the best ways to lose weight, and learn how to eat sensibly. All the low carb, no carb, sugar buster, etc - well, I just don't think anything that tells you a food is "bad", is a good diet. As far as I'm concerned, there is no bad food, you just need to learn moderation.

Now I have a funny story - My friend is a big follower of the glycemic index diet - only eats low glycemic foods etc. We go out to lunch, he gets a veggie taco (whole wheat tortilla). He pushes the carrots aside - "They have too much sugar". After lunch what does he do -- devours dessert, a peach cobbler, with raspberry sauce and real whipped cream! As he is shoveling the whipped cream into his face he's saying "What is this, it's sure good!":D I almost fell of my chair, I was laughing so hard.

Caffeine!!

Here is something for all you coffee drinkers out there to read. You will like what they say.
"Coffee: The new health Food?"

http://my.webmd.com/content/Article/80/96454.htm

Have a cup and enjoy.
Dea

ah, Dea, bless you, m'dear !

warning... thread drift ahead...
I've been reading with awe and fascination people's accounts of Paris-Brest-Paris (aka PBP), that incredible superhuman effort that otherwise normal(?) people undertake every 4 years, the most recent one which was held this past summer. It's a ride that begins on the outskirts of Paris, goes to the coastal town of Brest, and back again. That's 1200 kilometers/ 750 miles, and riders must complete it in under 90 hours! :eek:
Along with numb hands, stiff necks, horrible saddle sores and other assorted maladies associated with spending entirely way too much time on a bicycle, participants must contend with sleep depravation. One common part of the training leading up to this event involves going without caffeine for about 3 months prior, so that coffee/espresso stops during the ride are that much more effective.
Having to go without my French Roast for 3 months is what has convinced me that ultra-distance randonneuring is simply not for moi (yeah, right :rolleyes: )


- Jo.

There are some ladies on this list who have lost some serious weight! trekchic 40 pounds, Adventure Girl 50 pounds - way to go! :cool:

Which gets me wondering,
for those among us who have managed to shed some pounds ...

Did you deliberatly take up biking as a part of your weight loss program?

or, Did you take up biking after you lost weight, taking advantage of your new-found energy (not to mention looking better in spandex :D), and/or as a way to keep those lost pounds off?

or, none of the above?

For me, it was #1, somewhat.
I started biking some when I was on WW. If I recall correctly, a half-hour of biking gave me a one-point exercise credit, i.e. I could eat an extra points' worth of food for every half-hour that I biked - however, I think I allowed only 2 points credit max.

My more recent uh, obsession(?) with biking really doesn't have as much to do with maintaining my weight loss as it does with flat-out enjoying the ride. Though I can't complain with the fact that I can get away with 'cheating' foodwise a bit more nowadays - gotta keep up the energy, ya know ;)

- Jo.

Jo,
I started riding after making a promise to myself that I would never again go over 200 lbs. Had a mountian bike in the pump house that was just collecting dust and spider webs, so took it out cleaned it up and started riding. I fell in love with riding and have been peddling ever since. (3 years this Feb 15) And although I have not lost more than 20 lbs, I have not gone over the 200 mark in the past 3 years and can maintain the weight I am now fairly easy with riding. Would like to get another 10 off and keep it off, and I am working on that at present time. I now have 2 bikes, one old mountian bike and one newer road bike. I mostly ride on the road as MTBing is not what I am confortable doing. Althought I have been know to ride part way up the mountian and do some day plan on making the 17 mile treck up to the lake. But just not confortable MTBing, and admire those of you who are MTB ladys.
Riding is part of me now and I will always ride as long as this body will let me.
Dea

I have lost about 40 pounds and I've always biked. When I was younger I did road riding and then started mountain biking when I moved to Colorado for college. So I didn't take up biking to lose weight. I gained my weight after I hurt my back mtn biking on a rigid frame. After that, I couldn't even road ride short distances let alone mtn bike. I was barely able to walk for a few months. Like missliz, I got depressed and just kept eating as I had when I had been active all the time. Not a good thing! While my back was still healing, I went out and laid down a big chunk of change on a full-suspension bike so that the moment I felt better, I would be able to ride. After many months, my back did get better so I got to ride again but the first season I didn't really lose any weight and really didn't realize how much I needed to lose. Then, as happens so often, I saw *the* picture! The picture that made me realize how much bigger I was. So I changed my eating habits to the Atkins program, added more regular running and lifting to my routine, and continued to bike. So, to answer your question, I didn't add biking to lose weight but just changed my diet and now when I bike I realize how much easier it is getting up those mountains without the extra weight. :D

I lost 70+ lbs 16 years ago. Mine was "pregnancy" weight that just kind of "hung out" after the baby. It took my about 2 years to loose the weight and I did it the boring old fashioned way: sensible eating and more activity.

Along the way I fell in love with running and actually went the OTHER way developed anorexia and was way underweight. The thing with running is that the lighter you are, the faster you go. As long as you don't get injured.

I actually took up cycling to become more balanced and to GAIN weight and build muscle. Cycling develops (on my body at least) large strong butt and thigh muscles. It also seems to make me wicked hungry and my eating improves.

If I need to shed some fat (like after the holidays, ugh) I add a few longer runs into my week and that seems to do the trick for me.

perhaps a better choice than atkins, for a cylists.. is south beach. i'm new to cycling.. but hubby is a long time cylist.. and in january we started south beach. it has been easy to prepare him for long rides or heavy training because with south beach you CAN eat GOOD carbs...

we eat whole wheat pasta, whole wheat tortillas, whole wheat bagels and english muffins.. you get the picture.

granted he eats more cuz he needs more calories than i do...

you don't buy special low carb foods (as a matter of fact... most of them are not good for you with added sugar and trans fats) you eat real whole foods! so once you loose your weight.. you just maintain your healty eating habits.

i don't like and have never done other diets before (i.e. WW, zone, etc) but south beach teaches you how to eat real foods properly..

i love it!

also.. muscle weighs more than fat... so no doubt the muscles being built up in your legs are weighing more.

i don't seem to get any lower on the scale.. but because i have been working out with weights.. my clothes are still getting smaller.. and i'm sure riding will just add to that..

I agree that South Beach is another good option for weight loss. I have to say that though there are low carb foods available, the focus of Atkins is also on healthy eating habits using "real" food. Aside from the Atkins bars, I eat regular foods from the grocery store. I think there's a misnomer that Atkins is low or no carbs when in actuality, it's a controlled carb diet. In other words, eat the good carbs (veggies, fruit) rather than the useless carbs (refined sugars and such). Sounds a lot like South Beach although I know there are also differences between the two. What I love is that there are healthy plans out there for a variety of people so we don't all have to try to fit into one program. Diversity in nutrition! :D

I started riding so that I could firm up my big backside AND so that I could get out of the house alone. I lost weight initially, then gained some back, probably cuz I started lifting weights. What I did gain was muscle. I started measuring my arms, thighs, etc. While my weight seemed high, everything was smaller!

Muscle weighs more than fat and it looks 100% BETTER on you.

I keep track of my food and exersize.

I noticed I eat way too much saturated fat, so when I started watching the intake of sat. fat I started loosing weight. I"m loosing about 2 lbs a week, which is safe. I'm not starving either.


My advice is to join WW, I think it works best, cuz you do get to eat the foods you like, just in moderation.

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Originally Posted by trekchic

I lost about 40# on the Atkins' diet last Summer. I had to add carbs back into my diet to stay on the bike for extended periods of time. I am brand, spanking new at this cycling thing...so this might seem like a stupid question...

I have to watch what I eat now! I am gaining weight in all the wrong places. I try to ride my bike on the trainer about 4 times a week at 60-85% mhr for 45-60 minutes. I am trying to build up base miles and endurance so I can ride competitively in the Spring. Why am I gaining weight now?

I guess I need to change the types of carbs I am eating. I will admit that I eat way too many sweets again! I need to cut that out. What else?

Kim in TN

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Well... I did not read all the responses... but what it comes down to is CALORIES IN and CALORIES OUT.

If you are eating more calories than you are burning... then you will gain weight. Plain and simple.

And even though cycling is great, it does not mean that you can now what you want.

I suggest that you count your calories (sucks, I know, I have done it for about 2 years now... with a few breaks here and there).

For me, my body burns 1850 calories a day (with no exercise, I had it tested at the gym). So, if I do some cardio, then I get to eat around 2200-2400 calories a day. YEA! And that goes really quick, even eating healthy.

Best of luck!

Trek, congratulations! I too lost 40 lbs doing Atkins and exercising. I can eat most carbs now but you MUST stay away from the sweets! when I do eat them I make sure to eat them on a day I have a good hard workout :D

I can eat pretty much anything (besides sweets) I want - you have to remember portion control, it is hard after doing Atkins and eating what you want I know :)

It has been almost 2 years now and I have kept the weight off, and just recently I started counting calories and lost about 4-5 lbs, I want to lose about 5 more but I am waiting to see if my increase in training helps first.

My problem, as your may be, is finding a balance, you need carbs but if you eat too many good or bad, you can gain, I try to eat most of my carbs in the morning and eat a little at each meal/snack afterwards, I still find myself not eating bread when it is available - I just don't want bread anymore! I also eat whole wheat only and brown rice, think of it as being on maintenance.

I also eat more carbs on hard workout days, it seems to help and if I skip a workout or have a day off I don't eat a lot of carbs. It has worked for me, I hope you have the same luck :)

PM me if you wanna talk more

I lost over 40 lbs 2 1/2 yrs ago when a nutritionist recognized that I suffer from Syndrome X. It is a metabolic instability that doesn't allow me to process sugars/starches right. My meals consist of a protein, a veggie (non-starch) and a fruit every meal. I started back into riding in Aug of last year when my office moved right next to one of the main bike paths that run through my city. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed riding a bike!! Since I've increased my miles I've had to add in some more complex carbs but I have to be very careful. Now my meals consist of a protein, a veggie, a fruit and 1 whole wheat tortilla or 1 cup of pasta. Anything more and I get thrown out of whack. I"ve also discovered Luna Bars, which I can eat before I ride but I have to be sure it isn't my only source of food over the next few hours or it'll give me a whooping headache. I've also just recently been introduced to Larabars which have NO sweeteners in them at all and don't give me the headache. I'm trying to finish up my 5 boxes of Luna Bars now and then I'm switching to Larabars full time. I haven't put the weight back on, and I haven't missed it or anything else I had to give up. I feel better than I have in years and can see myself looking and feeling just as good ages from now!

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Originally Posted by jobob

Which gets me wondering,
for those among us who have managed to shed some pounds ...

Did you deliberatly take up biking as a part of your weight loss program?

or, Did you take up biking after you lost weight, taking advantage of your new-found energy (not to mention looking better in spandex :D), and/or as a way to keep those lost pounds off?

or, none of the above?

- Jo.

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Um... I have been trying to reclaim my body since the birth of my babies unsuccessfully for some time - sporadic attempts at aerobics and tai chi... but I would be enthused for a couple of months and then slack off... then back into it... of course unsuccessfully...

But the family has the cycling craze so part of my motivation is to be part of that - and part is to be able to fit the clothes in my wardrobe I still love but haven't worn for a few years...

My family have become my motivation and I have passed my first 1000kms since reclaiming cycling November, and I although I have noticed my body changing shape, I have finally noticed it on the scales tooo - half a stone, gone... and I feel great... and that becomes motivation in itself...

Interesting about the sweets - the older I get, the less I can eat sweets. And I'm in better shape (muscle wise & aerobic wise) considering my advanced age (compared to you puppies - 50 isn't old if you're a rock!).

But I digress,

I used to think it was calories in/calories out and I believe that is still a big part of the weight equation. But, the type of calories seem to be an issue for me.

Anybody out there crave carbs after work? I mean, the apple is staring at you but you head for the crackers instead? And once I start, I cannot stop. It is another addiction...whhhaaaa!!!! How do you get over it?

I give myself a fixed amount of what I want. If I'm still hungry or craving after I eat that, I set a timer and go do something else for 30 minutes. Still hungry when the timer goes off... I eat some more. My big weakness - ice cream!

V.-

Dogmama - totally with you on the after work hunger pangs. In the whole day, I'm generally hungriest around 4/5pm. I always reach for the crappy, junky food too. I know it would be better to have that banana or make some toast or something, but...

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Originally Posted by Dogmama

I used to think it was calories in/calories out and I believe that is still a big part of the weight equation. But, the type of calories seem to be an issue for me.

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Doesn't Dr. Andrew Weil talk about this? If the body is presented with something it can use easily for fuel, like glucose, it will convert that to it's usable components with less energy expediture than it would, say, a bowl of oats. And any fuel left over is converted to fat if it's not used. So if you ate an equivalent caloric amount of sugar or broccoli, the broccoli is going to cost your body more calorie expenditure to make it useful than the sugar does. Have I got this right? That's why those gels and goos make us feel good so fast - beans and broccoli take too long to get the fuel where it needs to go in our muscles to prevent a bonk.

Here's what my cardiologist told me and he is a very respected man in the Framingham Heart Study. Dr. Atkins died in his early 60's, which is young for a man, and his autopsy showed every artery in his body was clogged. My Cardiologist is in his 80's and still rides his bike. Something to think about.

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Originally Posted by trekchic

I lost about 40# on the Atkins' diet last Summer. I had to add carbs back into my diet to stay on the bike for extended periods of time. I am brand, spanking new at this cycling thing...so this might seem like a stupid question...

I have to watch what I eat now! I am gaining weight in all the wrong places. I try to ride my bike on the trainer about 4 times a week at 60-85% mhr for 45-60 minutes. I am trying to build up base miles and endurance so I can ride competitively in the Spring. Why am I gaining weight now?

I guess I need to change the types of carbs I am eating. I will admit that I eat way too many sweets again! I need to cut that out. What else?

Kim in TN

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What I have read is that when you are craving sweets, is that your body is actually craving good fats. Especially the Essential Fatty Acids. Omega 3 is a priority. Flax seed, walnut, salmon. You can also get some of your good fats from avocado. Add in some 100% cranberry juice (no sugar added juice) with your water. Add some warming spices, cinnamon, cayenne pepper (like on scrambled egg), cumin. Try to cut down the sugar. I know it is hard, I suffer from sweet-toothitis as well, but sugar is not our friend no matter how good it says it tastes.
Keep up your riding, you will get it evened out.

I am certainly no expert, but I did loose 40 lbs. on Weight Watchers in 1999. I have remained a lifetime member since then. What keeps me on track is weighing in faithfully each month. I know as long as I don't go over my goal weight by more than 2 pounds I don't ever have to pay the monthly meeting fee. Having to account to someone besides myself each month is helpful to me.
I begain biking since I lost the weight. It gives me one other way to keep burning calories and keep the heart in shape. I also became a certified scuba diver in 2000 at the ripe old age of 53. This is one grandma that is trying very hard not to rust.
Sandy