January/February weight management challenge

[Veronica]

Wow, thanks for your honest reply. I hadn't realized I had become one of "those" people. I certainly never wanted to become preachy.

And I don't think everyone should be aiming for some absurdly low body fat. Everything I've read says the twenties are healthy.

Veronica

[Giulianna23]

I more pound down 198 to 197 today...didn't get a chance to check with the scale last Friday due to the fact that I was off . Hoping to get rid of at least one more pound by this coming Friday.

[Triskeliongirl]

I am going to chime in here. Its been mentioned that some of you feel you have low body weight, yet have too much fat. In the body recomposition world, this is referred to as 'skinny fat.' This happened to me many years ago when I allowed myself to lose too much weight on weight watchers, on a diet that was too low in protein. When I look back at those records, what I realized is that at a certain moment my percent body fat stayed the same, but I started to catabolize my lean body mass (i.e. muscle). Then, without any change to my diet and exercise program, I started to gain fat. That is because muscle is metabolically active, so as it is lost caloric needs go down. In time I gained more weight, of course putting on muscle as well to carry the fat. But this time, I targeted losing only the fat, by eating a diet high in protein (~1g protein/lb of LBM). So today, I keep my weight in the 140s, with a LBM of 110. That keeps my percent body fat in the low 20s, which seems to be comfortable for me to maintain. However, it terms of clothes size, I can still wear the clothes I bought when I was a 'skinny fat' 115 lb. So, ladies that are losing, consider diets that preserve lean body mass, and set your goal not on an arbitrary number on the scale (or too low a number), but on having a high strength to mass ratio, which is really what we should care about as cyclists.

[SadieKate]

Wow, thanks for your honest reply. I hadn't realized I had become one of "those" people. I certainly never wanted to become preachy.

I wouldn't have gotten up at the crack of stupid to deliver 'one of "those" people' to the Davis Double, or had ready a recovery milk shake in the middle of the night for when you finished.

I do love your enthusiam and drive, V, I do.

[Catrin]

....So, ladies that are losing, consider diets that preserve lean body mass, and set your goal not on an arbitrary number on the scale (or too low a number), but on having a high strength to mass ratio, which is really what we should care about as cyclists.

This is a very good point! I've a high protein diet (medically ordered to preserve stable blood sugar), but I think I need to tweak my carbs more on a seasonal basis... As of this morning my weight is less than 2 pounds more than it was last January, but I KNOW my body fat is higher because of the pants I can't fit in any longer I will check into your suggestion.

[Veronica]

I wouldn't have gotten up at the crack of stupid to deliver 'one of "those" people' to the Davis Double, or had ready a recovery milk shake in the middle of the night for when you finished.

I do love your enthusiam and drive, V, I do.

Thank you! and I truly appreciate you telling me what a real friend would.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program... more explosive push ups today! Ouch! But I got in all ten each time this week.

Oh wait... this is the weight management thread. I've been able to maintain through the winter. I'm pleased with that as I had reduced my cardio and I like my Christmas treats - especially champagne!

Veronica

[Gypsy]

I want to join, if it's not too late!

I read here more than post, but I think I need to start posting more.

My weight back on January 6th was around 163.8 lb (?). I had just gotten back from a trip and lots of eating out.

I'm still eating out like it's the holidays and I need to get back down.

My goal for March 2nd is to be under 160 lbs.

I know it sounds like a little goal, but I lose weight glacially (I have insulin resistance). I would love to be at 155 or less, but I don't think that will happen.

My only concerns right now, which is why I wanted to start posting, is that I am still riding, despite the cold, and I'm finding that I don't know what I should be eating to fuel my rides. We did a 50 mile ride on Sunday and my blood sugar was too low, despite eating carbs BEFORE and AFTER the ride. Any advice would be great.

[Gypsy]

Oh and one last thing. I don't know how to lose weight and still train!

[Catrin]

.... We did a 50 mile ride on Sunday and my blood sugar was too low, despite eating carbs BEFORE and AFTER the ride. Any advice would be great.

I also have insulin resistance, and I've found it is quite important for me to eat DURING the ride. Before/after is good, but during is equally important. After guidance from my specialist and dietician, I actually don't "count" what I consume before/during the ride.

When I first started riding I had to eat during every ride, regardless of length, but that's changed. I still, however, need to eat during any ride > 25-30 miles. <20 miles I just drink water, greater than that I have Heed in either bottle or hydration pack. For on-the-bike food I've learned that my body likes Cliff bars, for road riding I break them up and put them in my Fuel Belt that is mounted on my top tube. For a 50+ mile ride I need to have something like a PB and Banana sandwich stored somewhere and will also have Shot Blocs just in case - if it is hot I will also have a bottle of Accelerade. For mountain biking I judge this more by the amount of time I think I will be on the bike rather than distance as I am quite slow.

Of course our bodies are different, and some couldn't tolerate my Cliff bars as they are rather dense - but I've found that other bars or real food other than what I've mentioned either upsets my stomach or doesn't give me enough.

Considering your insulin resistance, would it be possible for you to visit a sports nutritionist who understands both cycling and insulin problems?

[gnat23]

Oh and one last thing. I don't know how to lose weight and still train!

Holysnot, I'm still trying to figure that out, too.

So far, I'm trying to attack it by dieting at the same time as cutting *back* on my cycling, doing more weightlifting. Bigger rides for me means WAY bigger appetite and gaining weight. Haven't found that sweet spot yet.

-- gnat!

[salsabike]

Holysnot, love it.

I went to a sports dietitian last year to ask about this (she and her partner serve as sports dietitians for all the UW teams). I was training for Olympic length triathlons, most workouts around an hour except for the long weekend bike ride. I had a resting metabolic rate that had been done the year before that showed I burn around 1700 calories in a day (sans workouts, which typically burn 400 calories or so an hour depending on a bunch of stuff). Given all that: she said, eat about a 500 calorie breakfast, ditto lunch, ditto dinner, with a couple hundred left over for snacks. That was quite workable. For the longer bike ride, I'd add a 100-200 per every 2+ hours. I don't seem to need a lot on the bike,

It worked pretty well. That is, it fueled the workouts and allowed me to lose about a pound a week.

[Catrin]

....I had a resting metabolic rate that had been done the year before that showed I burn around 1700 calories in a day....

I am starting to think that I need to do this (again). I did this back before I lost all of my weight and learned that my metabolism was faster than expected - given my weight. That was a couple of years ago, 60 pounds and a hysterectomy ago...

The new gym I am moving to provides one "bod pod" analysis a year + a discount on a metabolism test. I think I need to go there. My weight is just stuck, diet solid, lots of exercise, yet my level of body fat is more than it should be. Diet probably needs tweaking, but probably good to check my metabolism. I've always been resistant to eat as much as they tell me to, so perhaps it is time to finally start paying more attention to that.

[Anelia]

An interesting article worth reading.

[goldfinch]

I am going to chime in here. Its been mentioned that some of you feel you have low body weight, yet have too much fat. In the body recomposition world, this is referred to as 'skinny fat.' This happened to me many years ago when I allowed myself to lose too much weight on weight watchers, on a diet that was too low in protein. When I look back at those records, what I realized is that at a certain moment my percent body fat stayed the same, but I started to catabolize my lean body mass (i.e. muscle). Then, without any change to my diet and exercise program, I started to gain fat. That is because muscle is metabolically active, so as it is lost caloric needs go down. In time I gained more weight, of course putting on muscle as well to carry the fat. But this time, I targeted losing only the fat, by eating a diet high in protein (~1g protein/lb of LBM). So today, I keep my weight in the 140s, with a LBM of 110. That keeps my percent body fat in the low 20s, which seems to be comfortable for me to maintain. However, it terms of clothes size, I can still wear the clothes I bought when I was a 'skinny fat' 115 lb. So, ladies that are losing, consider diets that preserve lean body mass, and set your goal not on an arbitrary number on the scale (or too low a number), but on having a high strength to mass ratio, which is really what we should care about as cyclists.

I was concerned about "skinny fat" when losing a lot of weight. I ate high protein and lost weight at the rate of a pound a week. I started out with a very high fat percentage, IIRC, something like 46%. So, the few little fat rolls on the plus size model are nothing to me. It still is high but not anywhere nearly as high. But is sure is not in the low 20s. But I have to keep in mind that I lost a third of my weight and I was extremely out of shape. So I am proud of where I am, even though I remain "too fat" with a body fat percentage of 30%. I went from never exercising to riding 1500 miles on my bike the first year and starting to strength train too. Maybe I will over time and with consistent exercise improve my muscle/fat ratio. But if I don't I am still a lot healthier than I was and will not feel like I failed.

[Gypsy]

I also have insulin resistance, and I've found it is quite important for me to eat DURING the ride. Before/after is good, but during is equally important. After guidance from my specialist and dietician, I actually don't "count" what I consume before/during the ride.

Sorry, I should have been clear that I ate during the ride -- I had a granola bar and a snack pack fig newton too.

When I first started riding I had to eat during every ride, regardless of length, but that's changed. I still, however, need to eat during any ride > 25-30 miles. <20 miles I just drink water, greater than that I have Heed in either bottle or hydration pack. For on-the-bike food I've learned that my body likes Cliff bars, for road riding I break them up and put them in my Fuel Belt that is mounted on my top tube. For a 50+ mile ride I need to have something like a PB and Banana sandwich stored somewhere and will also have Shot Blocs just in case - if it is hot I will also have a bottle of Accelerade. For mountain biking I judge this more by the amount of time I think I will be on the bike rather than distance as I am quite slow.

I need to take a sandwich thing with me next time, then -- on this ride, I took both the granola bar and the fig newton pack because I knew 50 miles was a lot and I would need it. But my friends thought I was crazy to have that much food. Obviously I need more. I like that idea a lot.

Of course our bodies are different, and some couldn't tolerate my Cliff bars as they are rather dense - but I've found that other bars or real food other than what I've mentioned either upsets my stomach or doesn't give me enough.

Considering your insulin resistance, would it be possible for you to visit a sports nutritionist who understands both cycling and insulin problems?

I had NO idea there were sport nutritionists. I'll need to look one up in my city and probably ask for an appointment. I will try your ideas on this weekend's ride -- we'll be doing 55 miles (we average around 15 mph, so it'll take us just under 4 hours to do).

Holysnot, I'm still trying to figure that out, too.

So far, I'm trying to attack it by dieting at the same time as cutting *back* on my cycling, doing more weightlifting. Bigger rides for me means WAY bigger appetite and gaining weight. Haven't found that sweet spot yet.

-- gnat!

Glad I'm not the only one!

I've been attending spinning classes for a few years now, so I know that I can lose weight and exercise intensely, but I just haven't found the right balance with these hours long rides.

I think part of it is psychological too... thinking I can eat whatever because I was on a ride for 2 hours. My body just doesn't work that way.