What to do to lose weight.....

[Cluey]

Does anyone have some figures on the kilojoule / km ratio I should be looking at to lose weight?

I wondered if I should be looking at 6500 - 7000 kj per day intake, with maybe 4 bike commutes (half hour there, half hour home - bout 30km ish) and then a longer ride on the weekend - say 50 or 60 km? Is that enough to budge a few kilos - I want to get rid of 3 to be exact - 60kg to 57kg....At the moment I have felt really hungry but I don't know whether I should eat coz I actually need to fuel, or whether I am getting enough with the 6500 - 7000 and will get used to it as my stomach shrinks.

Its all so hard to work out!!

[Veronica]

It's going to vary from person to person. To lose weight I have to be a little hungry all the time or putting in A LOT of miles.

V.

[caligirl2]

I second that Veronica! If I cut out the junk, I find that helps me too. So I try really hard to stay away from the white breads.

[Bikingmomof3]

You are eating about 1553 calories. I do not know how much you your burn off riding, since everyone is different.

For me, I find if I balance my meals evenly and exercise I am fine. If you feel healthy and strong and there are no other concerns I would say give it a few weeks.

[jobob]

I lost about 15 pounds when I had braces.

How?

I chewed really slowly. So slowly that I would fill up and get bored with eating, so my meal portion sizes were much smaller.

And I almost never snacked between meals. It was too much of a hassle to clean my braces afterwards.

Alas, much of that weight has come back since I had my braces off...

[Adventure Girl]

Alas, much of that weight has come back since I had my braces off...

You look great and you have a beautiful smile!

[Veronica]

And you've gotten wicked strong to boot!

V.

[jobob]

Yeah, it's all muscle, that's it ... And we all know muscle weighs more than fat (duckin' & runnin')

You guys are so sweet, thanks !

[Trekhawk]

And you've gotten wicked strong to boot!

V.

You are right about that! Im thinking I might have trouble keeping up with her on the 200 brevet. Lee assures me that I can ride with him if that happens. LOL where would I be without the Bobs.

Sorry for the thread drift.

[LadyinWhite]

I've dropped about 42lbs and am now maintaining (which is my goal until the weather warms and my riding increases). I did it the old fashioned way. I just stopped eating crap and started exercising more. I cut out all sugared drinks (except for booze), I never had seconds at meal time and I keep healthy snacks around at all times. I eat a lot of salad but never use dressing of any kind, preferring to add foods that add flavor like tomatoes, fresh parm cheese, mushrooms or olives. But if I refuse to "diet." I hate to feel like I'm denying myself anything. If I want dessert, I'll order it but split it with DH or just have a bite of his and that's all I need.

Like everyone else, during the riding season I ate all the time. I couldn't seem to stop eating, but I still lost weight. I think it was due to WHAT I was eating, not how much.

Now Girl is on the trainer and I ride her for 15miles or so 3x a week, plus tennis 1x a week plus watching what I eat a lot more carefully and I've stayed within a lb since Girl came inside in November. I am on a team for the Tour de Cure in June as motivation to keep my butt on my Girl where it belongs!

I have to admit I'm looking forward to the weather warming b/c I'm curious if I've just hit a plateau or if I'll continue to drop once I'm riding regularly again. I'm no skinny minny athlete but I'm fit and strong, curvy in all the right places and soo glad to not be fat anymore

[lacyliz]

I use South Beach to stay a healthy, light weight - and it keeps my mood and energy level high. I've lost 28 lbs over the last year- I weigh 126 (I'm 5'5" ) and 43 years old. Cycling helps quite a bit - but it's really the combination that keeps me at a healthy weight. I have to say - I rarely go hungry, eating about 6x per day - I just avoid any added sugars, eat whole grains (no white foods), eat lots of proteins, veggies, fruit, etc. I eat Lara Bars as road food - they're completely raw food, no added sugar or fats (and it really stays with you and tastes pretty good with flavors like chocolate coconut). I swear by South Beach - it's more of a lifestyle now. January's issue of Bicycling mag actually talks about it in the article "The year I did everything right". Hope this helps. Liz

[midlife]

To lose weight sensibly (i.e. slowly) and keep it off, it's a matter of calories (or kj if thats your language) vs calories burned. Intake has to be in deficit and it's based on a number of factors.

Not sure if I'm able/allowed to post a link here, but the site is www.caloriesperhour.com It's a great site that has calculators to work out your intake based on age, height, weight and activity level. If it's all to hard to work out, post a 'dumb blone' post and someone will figure it out for you!
I've been doing it for about 3 months (with a couple of stop/starts) and lost over 4kgs, but more importantly, due to my gym and cardio work have lost 7cm from my waist, 4cm from hips and 4 from each thigh and 2 from my bust *sigh*

I find at my age I need to calculate it carefully and have to do cardio at least 5 days a week in some form and weights 4 times - they burn fat faster girls, don't make you look like an amazon and and increase bone density. Way to go