help with weight loss!!!

[misjanuary]

Ok, so I need some advice from all you cyclist women! I have 3 year old twins and once I stopped nursing them around 20 months ago, have managed to GAIN weight...frustrating as it is, it's there! I have not been able to drop the weight. I don't eat horribly, in fact we eat pretty well and I am pretty active (although the last 2 weeks, the gym/rides have been missed so I have relied on roller blading, riding the hybrid or jogging while the kids ride their bikes around the block). I started riding around March of this year to start gradual training for the recent Tour de Tucson 109 mile race in Nov...which I completed on the tandem with my husband!!! Woo-hoo, I almost made platinum, too! I was riding on the trainer or with my husband about 4-5 times per week for about 20 miles each time.

Any thoughts on what a good rule/train of though for losing weight as far as diet goes while cycling??? I would like to lose 20 lbs but 30 would put me at my pre-pregnancy weight!
Thanks so much!

[Tuckervill]

The first thing I suggest is logging everything you eat for at least a week. Most people underestimate how much they take in. There are free sites for doing this online, (sparkpeople.com) or you can use a notebook, and look everything up at calorieking.com and write it down. I find it easier to use the calorieking software.

Google portion distortion for information on portions sizes.

I log everything I eat every day, just so I can be sure to rule out over-eating. I don't have to be told that I'm not exercising enough, but I log that, too!

Karen

[Flybye]

My best advice would be to find the WW core plan post and follow the plan. It is really simple. I have dropped a lot of weight following this plan. I also lose MORE weight the LESS I exercise. I know that may sound strange, but I have proven it to myself over and over again. I think there are more reasons than one for this, but primarily, when I exercise, I am more tired in the evening and am not as able to say no to high carb food. My resistance is down. If I could exercise and get in a nap every day, I would most likely do just fine, but life gets in the way of napping! I also think that I justify eating more if I am exercising.

Twins - wow!!! I have two children 18 months apart and I thought that was difficult. I admire your commitment to exercise on so little sleep! Nursing must have been a fun one to juggle too!

Good luck.

If you decide to track down the WW (Weight Watchers) Core plan link and can't find it, let me know and I will help you out.

[misjanuary]

I did WW Core before I became pregnant and was losing but I am having a hard time getting back into the program. My mother in law lost about 50 lbs and has kept it off!

I think that I'll get back on that plan along with logging my eating. I'll still take advice if anyone has any :-)

Thanks!

[cancersurvivor]

Hi all, I am 22 years old with normal health. I love cold drink very much. My father told me to stop drinking so much diet coke and diet Pepsi. It is my favorite beverage and I drink diet cokes or diet Pepsi about once a day. I usually have three or four diet cokes or diet Pepsi once a day. He said it is not good for my bones. I want to know is it true? Is diet coke or diet Pepsi really bad for your bones? Please answer seriously.

[makbike]

Cancersurvivor my doctor shared the same thing with me. She told me the caffine in the soda blocks the absorption of calcium which can contribute to weaker bones. She suggested I limit my consumption to 2 cans/ day or to make sure I was taking a calcium supplement with vit. D. Since I love my diet cokes I increased my calcium intake. My last bone density scan was excellent.

[makbike]

MisJ - I pulled out my WW books from several years ago last year. Since that time I've dropped 20 lbs. I had to play around with the program a bit for in the beginning I was always hungry but once my memory was refreshed on how to use the activity points life was good again. I don't count my point anymore but I typically have a very good idea where I am each day. It is a matter of learning good vs. not so good foods and proportions. I also weigh myself daily to keep myself honest.

[Meaux]

I did very well on Weight Watchers. I lost nearly 20 pounds over the summer following the points systems very rigorously. I have since become a bit more lax (we had to cancel due to money problems, anyone know where I can get a points calculator?), but I try to follow it as best I can. I don't think I've gained all the weight back, that makes me proud.

[crazybikinchic]

It is the phosphorus. Sodas contain a large amount of phosphorus, calcium is what balances out the phosphorus, so in order to get it out of the blood stream, the bones give up the calcium. Yes, sodas are bad for bones, but not just the diet, it is all sodas.

[Zen]

The calcium-carbonation information is incorrect and comes from a study performed by the dairy industry.
The lower blood calcium levels are more a result of urination than leeching from bones. And soda drinkers are less likely to drink milk.

Dr. Andrew Weil has a concise update on that information, you can read it here.

As for the original weight loss question I can't say enough good things about Weight Watchers.