Oh, to be a loser...

[Starfish]

I too am in month 4 of working in the gym with a trainer. I wanted weight loss and cross training for better overall strength, balance and athleticism. And, I am hoping to train for a really hard ride that is next August.

In about 4 months, I have lost 18.5 pounds, and it seems to have come off of everywhere pretty equally. I have 23 pounds more to lose. I am ADAMANT that I want them off by the end of January, because I plan to start harder training for the bike by then.

It is my experience, just for myself, that once I start hard outdoor bike training and mileage building, that it is VERY difficult for me to lose weight (and therefore work off the belly fat, or other fat).

So, for right now, instead of biking much or building volume, I am doing a 4-day split of resistance training, and only 30-45 minutes of cardio those days, plus one other day of cardio. I will start to build cardio volume on that day, and hopefully be up to 3 hours by end of January so I can start harder bike training.

I guess my long-winded point is, for me, for weight loss, frequency of workouts combined with weight training works better than really building volume and doing a lot of long rides. Once I start long hard rides, balancing the rest and fueling, let alone dieting, is challenge enough.

[e.e.cummings]

If I do 3 spinning classes a week, each followed by half hour of circuit training, would that be sufficient for boosting weight loss? More, less?

[ny biker]

If I do 3 spinning classes a week, each followed by half hour of circuit training, would that be sufficient for boosting weight loss? More, less?

How much do you eat?

[Biciclista]

I hope you guys will take a good look at what you are saying. Are you healthy? does your life make you happy? Quit looking in the mirror and trying to appear like some imaginary beautiful woman.

You know the day i was stuck in Italy with a back pack and a suitcase and no idea how to get in touch with my friend (i lost her phone number) and I had to walk for 11 kilometers, the shape of my belly did not enter my mind, not once. what i thought about (among other things) was how wonderful it was that I was in good enough shape to lug my stuff up and down hills 11 kilometers without any trouble.

[Veronica]

I hope you guys will take a good look at what you are saying. Are you healthy? does your life make you happy? Quit looking in the mirror and trying to appear like some imaginary beautiful woman.

Yes and yes. I don't care about the mirror. I care about doing better in tri. The mirror just shows where I'm storing my extra fat that I want to get rid to be faster. Higher power to weight ratio would be nice.

Veronica

[Veronica]

If I do 3 spinning classes a week, each followed by half hour of circuit training, would that be sufficient for boosting weight loss? More, less?

Who can really say? I work out 60 - 120 minutes six days a week - a combination of riding, running, weights and plyometrics and the occassional swim. I eat about 1500 calories a day. My weight has stabilized at 146.

Veronica

[Biciclista]

PS your weight is a number, like the day you were born. it's all relative. REALLY.

[Veronica]

PS your weight is a number, like the day you were born. it's all relative. REALLY.

That's easy for you to say. As I recall you weigh like 120 pounds or something. That's a number that society thinks it's okay for a woman to weigh. Not everyone can shrug off what society thinks is good so easily.

Veronica

[Biciclista]

I weigh closer to 130 and i am 57. For a while i was gaining weight and not muscle. I started to look pretty bad in my opinion so i started doing the same kinds of stuff you guys are doing, but I did not start obsessing about it. I can do pushups. I'm be da%%ed if i'm going to start fussing about my weight; and so many of you are SO fit and SO healthy but you're still fussing about that number instead of marveling about how beautiful you are and how nice your muscles have become.
I guess if you want to be a bathingsuit model, these things are important. But for a lot of you, i've seen pictures of you and you really look great! Have fun, be healthy, etc...

[ny biker]

PS your weight is a number, like the day you were born. it's all relative. REALLY.

That's not actually true. The day I was born will never change. My weight has changed plenty over the years and I'm sure it will change again.

I'm a bit confused by this thread. I have no idea how much e.e. cummings weighs now, how much weight she is trying to lose, what she looks like, what her health is like, etc. She did not say she is weighing herself every day; it sounds like it's more like weekly which makes sense for someone in a four-month program. She's just trying to find a balance between food and activity and she would like to continue to lose some weight. I don't think it's uncommon to have trouble figuring out how to eat enough to fuel intense exercise while not overeating.

It's nice to say your weight doesn't matter as long as you're healthy, but being overweight can cause you to no longer be healthy. And there's nothing wrong with wanting to look better in addition to being healthy.

Unfortunately I really don't know what the answers are. Maybe 1600 calories isn't enough to keep you fueled, maybe you're really eating more than you think you are, maybe you're plateauing, etc. I think there's a certain amount of trial and error involved in figuring all this out. There could also be other factors -- for me a certain medication I take every day has affected my appetite and changes in dosage have caused weight gain/loss over the years.

As I've mentioned elsewhere I've found Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook to be very helpful. Other than that, I just try to eat reasonably healthy foods, only eat when I'm truly hungry, and do activities that I truly enjoy.

[e.e.cummings]

Nybiker, you are right, my biggest issue, is not to bellyache over losing the fat, it is to find the BALANCE between what I eat versus how much I can work out and still have energy. These are issues that I brought up to my trainer this week and I will talk to my nutritionist next week when we have our appointment. (By the way, I have the Nancy Clarke book, it is excellent!)

I have had a couple of weeks of little, if not backward, progress and it is a mystery because I have been doing a lot and very careful about my diet (unless you count that whole cheesecake the other day, JOKE!!!) Perhaps I am over-training, perhaps I am creating a 'famine' climate within my body because I am just not that hungry, I just want to understand so I can be effective in what I am doing. This is a learning curve. I have a son who is precious to me, I have so little time with him during the day after school, and I want to know that the training time that I take is going to be as effective as possible so I can go have fun with him. (I manage to get him in my outdoor workouts on weekends!)

For the record, the goal that the gym has set for me is to lose 20 pounds, that would get me to a healthy weight for my frame. It is really easy to start comparing each others goals and minimizing them if they are less, but all of our goals are important to each of us. My mom is in great shape, but if she gains five or ten pounds her pants don't fit her right anymore, but is that not important because someone out there has 100 to lose? It is not a competition. This can be a pretty sensitive topic. My sister-in-law has a lot of weight to lose - you can be darn sure that I don't do a lot of talking about my working out, my cycling, my weight goals to her, because honestly I think it would depress her. The same with my brother who is really overweight. He wants to lose but lacks the motivation, he's been talking about losing weight for years. I don't talk weight loss with him, unless he brings it up. Years went by when I was not ready or motivated and there was nothing more depressing than listening about other people's workouts when I was cutting off a second piece of cake.

As stated above, it is great to have this forum to discuss these things because as cyclists I think we all want to strive to be healthy and fit, we are out there doing something healthy, and it is terrific how much encouragement I see for each other in these threads.

[Starfish]

I have had a couple of weeks of little, if not backward, progress and it is a mystery because I have been doing a lot and very careful about my diet (unless you count that whole cheesecake the other day, JOKE!!!) Perhaps I am over-training, perhaps I am creating a 'famine' climate within my body because I am just not that hungry, I just want to understand so I can be effective in what I am doing.

Just FWIW, about 2-3 weeks ago, I finally had a week where I was TIRED, CRANKY, and CRAVING. I didn't do it on purpose, but I ended up just eating for about 3 days: chips, ice cream, beer, etc. Well, that week, I did not gain a single pound, and it was the following week that I started to lose again. My body needed some more food and rest, I think.

And, Veronica: This was a great night for me to read about your sprints, etc. Tomorrow morning with my trainer, it is just me, him, an empty room, and some stuff: medicine ball, various sticks, etc. It is non-stop-motion day, and I will be soaking wet in minutes. I am still lumbering. How wonderful to hope that someday I could have a sprint.

[Biciclista]

I'm a bit confused by this thread. I have no idea how much e.e. cummings weighs now, how much weight she is trying to lose, what she looks like, what her health is like, etc. She did not say she is weighing herself every day; it sounds like it's more like weekly which makes sense for someone in a four-month program. She's just trying to find a balance between food and activity and she would like to continue to lose some weight. I don't think it's uncommon to have trouble figuring out how to eat enough to fuel intense exercise while not overeating.

It's nice to say your weight doesn't matter as long as you're healthy, but being overweight can cause you to no longer be healthy. And there's nothing wrong with wanting to look better in addition to being healthy.

Unfortunately I really don't know what the answers are. Maybe 1600 calories isn't enough to keep you fueled, maybe you're really eating more than you think you are, maybe you're plateauing, etc. I think there's a certain amount of trial and error involved in figuring all this out. There could also be other factors -- for me a certain medication I take every day has affected my appetite and changes in dosage have caused weight gain/loss over the years.

As I've mentioned elsewhere I've found Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook to be very helpful. Other than that, I just try to eat reasonably healthy foods, only eat when I'm truly hungry, and do activities that I truly enjoy.

so you are all right, GLC, no i never had a serious weight problem but ask anyone who has ever been around me, I watch what i eat EVERY SINGLE MEAL and i never overeat and i still started gaining weight a few years ago, so have become even more fastidious. I am surrounded by family members with weight problems and my DH spent 5 years trying to get below 150 pounds and never ever could.

you're right, the OP didn't really state her specifics, until just now, so each of us just went off on our own rants about whatever it is we each think, sorry about that. I just get sad when people are not happy with what they have -- twenty years down the road you're going to slap yourself in the forehead and say "And I wasn't happy about THAT?" I've already done it a hundred times myself.

EE Cummings has now stated that she's on a diet and working with a trainer. I didn't know that before.

Channluv, you are very brave and keep doing what you are doing, I read all your posts and think you are a hero.

and Veronica, you've got more balls than most the guys on BikeJournal. I read all your adventures too - keep it up.

I wish you all the best and sorry if i PO'd the lot of you.

NYBiker, what i meant was, when i was 25 I weighed 110 pounds. I had skinny skinny legs. I had no energy. flash forward
I am now 57 and am creeping up to 130 pounds. I have INCREDIBLE LEGS, I can walk miles, ride many more miles, do pushups, etc, etc. Should i be freaking out because i am carrying all that extra weight? no, it's just a number. It does not reflect my BMI or the muscles in my legs. i gained most of that weight when i started cycling. that's GOOD weight. And my husband, back to him; when he weighed 144 pounds (when we got married) his legs were wimpy; his knees had hardly any muscle around them. So now when he whines about getting to that weight, i know it really IS impossible for him to do without losing those gorgeous muscles. if you don't eat enough, your body's going to start using those muscles as fuel and you're NOT going to get stronger.
Enough. shut up mimi.

[tctrek]

Mimi -- we know you didn't mean harm. It's just weight around your middle is the worst. It's not just an evenly distributed weight -- it's the dreaded belly fat! I have nice arms, thin face, fabulous legs, small hips, no butt and BELLY FAT!!

Arggghh... must stop reading this post. I love me just the way I am

[Veronica]

and Veronica, you've got more balls than most the guys on BikeJournal. I read all your adventures too - keep it up.

Thanks Mimi! I had no idea you read about all my silly shenanigans.

And I'm not POed. Life is too short to get upset about stuff on an Internet forum.

Today was boxing day with my trainer. I LOVE boxing day. In between boxing was sprinting up and down the basketball court. Somewhere along the line I actually developed a sprint, instead of a lumber. It felt good - tiring but good.

I did these things today too. No that's not me.

Except I kept my legs straight. When I started working out I could barely do these with bent legs. Don't tell my trainer 3 sets of 20 with straight legs wasn't so bad. She'll make it harder somehow.

Last week I was jumping rope with a regular jump rope. 207 jumps in a minute. This week I had to use the weighted jump rope. She didn't have her stopwatch so I had to jump a hundred times. The rope only weighs a pound - but that makes such a huge difference.

It never gets easier.

Veronica