Weight loss help

[SadieKate]

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

[Jdimson]

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!

[SadieKate]

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.

[Jdimson]

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

[Twice Daily]

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!

[RitaG]

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?

[Twice Daily]

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...

[trigurl]

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

[Crankin]

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