Too much, too soon

[zoom-zoom]

I can only succeed by doing what is pleasurable to me. Maybe your mother can find something that brings her pleasure and also helps towards good health.

I think that's part of her problem...the things that bring her pleasure all involve sitting still for hours and eating...scrapbooking, reading, watching Packer games at the bar with friends. She refuses to try anything outside of her comfort zone and her history of injuries and lack of coordination (she broke her tailbone XC skiing 20 feet from our house and broke her arm tripping over a parking stone) keeps her from trying anything new.

I'm with you on low carb. I lost a ton of weight eating that way. I have 20 still to lose, but low-carb and intense aerobic exercise are hard to balance. I hate carefully counting carbs (or calories, for that matter), but it's easy to dip too low and then bonk during workouts if I don't make sure that I'm in a safe range.

Even though your DH is a vegetarian that shouldn't stop you from eating meat and lower carbs if that is what helps you to be healthier.

[goldfinch]

I understand. When I first retired things that brought me pleasure were doing bead work while watching HGTV and reading novels.

I got into birding through my sister. She got me outside identifying birds when I went to visit her in SoCal. It was addicting and appealed to the scientist that still remains in me that likes studying and categorizing.

So, I guess I should thank my dear sister for inspiring me to move around and do things.

Good news: My bike and I have an appointment tomorrow in Burlington, Iowa for a bike fitting.

[goldfinch]

I went for my bike fit session today. The cost was $85 and he spent two and a half hours with me and my bike, a Cannondale Quick 4.

I had my seat way too high. By about an inch. I think I was making up for the handle bars which were as low as I thought they could go. He lowered the handlebars further by turning the stem upside down. He moved the seat back substantially. Now I know why I always would try to scoot backwards. I needed to move back! He cut off a half an inch on each end of my handlebars and moved the grips inward. I always felt splayed out on the bars. That was the biggest comfort difference for me. Huge.

I rode about 2.5 miles at the shop trying out seats and the changes.

I got a new seat. This is the risky part of the day as I bought a Terry Butterfly carbon. He gave me a good price, much better than the online prices. It feels a lot better than the stock seat but I can't really tell until I put a bunch of miles on it. It matches up OK with my sit bone differential, which was larger than I expected given that I am a very small boned person. For the first time I am riding with a level seat and not squirming around.

It does feel a bit odd to have dropped my seat down. I guess I got used to being stretched out too much.

Things that I learned:

--I told the place where I bought the bike that I felt the handlebars were too wide. It was my only complaint about the bike and it was a complaint I had about every flat bar bike. They did not suggest cutting them down. That is disappointing.
--The rough fit done at the place where I bought the bike was a seat height adjustment only and removal of a spacer on the handlebars. I have no idea if they originally set the seat at the right height because I messed around with it a lot trying to get comfortable. I should have sprung for a real fitting when I bought the bike as the seat has always been too far forward. But I was passing through town and in a rush. But I've only had the bike a month so I guess it is not so bad to have waited.
--The stock seat on the extra small women's specific Quick 4 is a men's seat and is very long. Gee thanks Cannondale. The seat was unlikely to fit anyone that would fit this very small bike.
--I bought the correct size bike by getting this very small frame. Props to Cannondale for making such a small frame available. My arms are short. The smallest comparable Trek, which I also looked at, would likely have been too big. Several bike stores tried to sell me the smallest Trek. One even tried to sell me one size up from the smallest Trek.
--The stock handlebars are too wide and not proportionately reduced on the very small frame size. Even if I would have bought the most expensive Cannondale Quick the bars would be too wide.

Interesting learning experience! I hope it pays off. I'll know more when I ride over the next few days.

[Velocivixen]

Oooh, I'm so happy that you got fit. I'll be interested to hear how you like your new ride after you've had a chance to try it out some more.

I had my bike for about a month before I got a professional fitting and I noticed a difference right away (seat higher, and back, shorter stem).

Good job and thanks for sharing.

[goldfinch]

I rode for 10 miles this morning and the bike/goldfinch relationship is on track. The seat remains level and acceptable (my rear is still a touch sore from before). My neck and shoulders feel relaxed with the narrower bars. My hands feel acceptable after fussing to get the ergon grips at the right angle. I am now used to the lower seat. No knee or leg problems of any kind. No numb foot.

Most importantly, I made it up a hill today that I have been unable to conquer.

[Bike Chick]

How wonderful! I'm so glad to hear it. I hope the relationship continues to improve!

BTW, I have friends that I go on bike trips with from Burlington and Keokuk, Iowa. Nice part of the country!

[goldfinch]

How wonderful! I'm so glad to hear it. I hope the relationship continues to improve!

BTW, I have friends that I go on bike trips with from Burlington and Keokuk, Iowa. Nice part of the country!

Yes, it is beautiful. I don't really know my way around yet and I am leaving for my home base of Minnesota in a couple of weeks. I think that I will miss Iowa.

[Grits]

Sounds like you are on the right track: a fitting and being mindful of resting when needed. Also, please be sure that you fuel adequately- especially on your riding days. I know I am most exhausted on the days when I did not take in enough calories during my ride.

Sometimes when we have lost weight and are still trying to drop some more pounds, we skimp on what we need to give our bodies enough energy to do what we are asking of it. Nancy Clark's The Cyclist's Food Guide can give you some useful information.

Great job with your weight loss and cycling achievements!

[KatzPajamas]

Goldfinch, Forgot to mention that our new cyclist friends on the Team Estrogen Forum were EXTREMELY HELPFUL! Through the whole process they were happy to share good advice, encouragement, and generally welcome me to the world of cycling! There were several close calls, where I was ready to hang it all up, but the TE Fam came to be my SAG team via internet forum threads! Trek helmet-64.00 dollars, Cannondale Synapse-1,299.00 dollars, Team Estrogen TLC- PRICELESS!

[goldfinch]

For sure that Team Estrogen forum has been extremely helpful! And encouraging!

[new2ride]

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

[Crankin]

Lyrica has a lot of weight gain side effects. Since you have a variety of medical conditions, it might be wise to visit either a sports medicine doctor or an exercise physiologist (i.e. not just a personal trainer with no educational background) to see what is going on. Also, maybe a registered dietician who works with active people.
You might need to tweak your diet in ways that would be different, because of the medications or your actual medical conditions. One thought that comes to mind is that you don't mention any strength training or core work. Weight loss doesn't come from just cardio alone.
Find a qualified medical professional you can trust; good luck!

[Velocivixen]

@New2ride, do plan on never eating carbs (bread, pasta) for the rest of your life? Whatever changes you made regarding what you eat should be something you can live with long term. Too many folks eliminate things from their diet, perhaps lose weight, then return to their former eating habits and regain the weight. Perhaps learning to eat carbs in moderation vs cutting them out completely. Personally, I can't imagine never eating a slice of bread or having some spaghetti.

[goldfinch]

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

The amount of calories your monitor says you burn isn't out of line, though the heart rate monitors are notoriously inaccurate. The only way to (somewhat) accurately measure is with a power meter and people generally end up surprised at how few they burn when exercising. You exercise to get strong and healthy. Not to lose weight. In fact, studies have shown that exercise can be counterproductive in weight loss and people are hungrier from exercising and overestimate the amount of calories they should eat.

The only way I have successfully lost weight is by religiously counting my calories. I weigh food. I use the Livestrong online tools for keeping track. As far as type of diet I say use what you can stick with. Be an experiment of one. I lean towards lower carb because I have some indication of insulin resistance. However, I am not Aitkins low. I want my fruit. I do have a slice of bread on rare occasions. But no pasta, potatoes, and I try to keep the carbs below a 100 a day. But I also drink whole milk and eat bacon a couple of days a week. I kept my calories low enough to lose a pound a week. Now that I am near goal I raised my calories slightly and am losing maybe .5 pounds a week. The idea is to move me to a maintenance diet I can live with forever.

It takes time.

I can't wait until I can go at your speed. I still have to push it to go over an average of 11 mph. But I was very unfit to start with.

[redrhodie]

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?