Hi Wannabe,

I am trying to lose some weight. My goal is 60 pounds. I had pneumonia in July, and lost 12#, and then had some blood work done, which slowed me one glucose point away from diabetes!!! So I drastically changed my diet and reduced my calories and increased my exercise. I am using Palm software called Diet Diary from Calorie King to track everything. It makes it so easy! Basically, what I am doing is trying to stick to a 1500 cal/day diet, and riding 4-5 days a week, with a minimum of an hour a day, with an ever-increasing long ride on Saturday. I'm up to 80 miles now for my long ride. 50% carbs, 30% protein, 20% fat. Yes, I am hungry all the time. But so far I have lost 22 pounds! My blood work is back to normal. I am losing 2-4 pounds a week.

On the day of my long ride, I eat sushi (four pieces) for breakfast. (Nice combination of carbs, fat and protein!) Then, after the first hour of riding, I eat one gel of 80 calories. I continue to eat one gel every hour till the halfway mark, when I drink half a serving of Endurox R4, a recovery drink (240 calories for the whole serving). Then I continue to eat the one gel per hour, and sip the Endurox. Lots of water the whole time. I also carry a couple half servings of Soy Crisps, 50 calories per half serving, if I get hungry for something crunchy during the ride. When I am done, I eat the other half of the sushi roll for lunch. I try to eat a normal dinner, but usually exceed my 1500 calories by 200 or so for that day, and don't feel bad about it. It's working great for me- I don't bonk while riding, I have plenty of energy.

In the past, while running or riding, while not trying to lose weight, I had been consuming about 240 calories/hour.

Nanci