Quote Originally Posted by new2ride View Post
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?

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
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?