Do I need to change my eating?

[ny biker]

and I don't buy into, the "well, this happens when you get older" theory.

About this -- I am finding that it is harder to lose weight as I get older, but not impossible. And I'm finding that I have to eat less at dinner to control my weight. Any weekday exercise that I get is after work, so I need to eat a good breakfast and lunch (splitting lunch in half, with the second half as a late afternoon snack) to prepare for that. But I've had to cut way back at dinner. The exception is if I have a long bike ride planned for the next day. In that case, I need to make sure I eat enough for dinner the night before to prevent being hungry during the ride.

[Grits]

Have you had blood work that included checking thyroid lately? When I was undiagnosed hypothyroid, my weight increased and it was much harder to get back to my normal weight.

[Crankin]

I had some blood work done for my endo, who treats my osteoporosis and also has been watching nodules on my thyroid for like, 7 years. I used to have scans done every 6 months/bloodwork, but nothing ever changed, so she said it wasn't necessary. I am actually not seeing her for a year, now since my osteoporosis has improved so much with medication, I don't need to take the meds for year. I don't think the blood work had any thyroid tests, though. If I don't see a change in 2-3 months, I will definitely go see her. She's a runner and gets it.

[Crankin]

Update
I've lost 2 pounds in 2 weeks, which is good for me. Gone back to the Mediterranean type diet, semi vegetarian. Cut my portion sizes and trying to ramp up the intensity during all of my work outs, no matter what I am doing. I am finding that if I limit wheat to once a day, I'm OK, or twice a day, if it's some other kind of grain, like spelt or quinoa. I'm also feeling fuller and not craving snacks as much.

[ny biker]

Sounds good.

My parents visited me earlier this week. I gained >2 lbs in 2.5 days and only some of it was water. Oh well. Bike ride tomorrow. And though it will get cold again next week, it won't be cold enough to keep me indoors on the couch.

[ny biker]

Update
I've lost 2 pounds in 2 weeks, which is good for me. Gone back to the Mediterranean type diet, semi vegetarian. Cut my portion sizes and trying to ramp up the intensity during all of my work outs, no matter what I am doing. I am finding that if I limit wheat to once a day, I'm OK, or twice a day, if it's some other kind of grain, like spelt or quinoa. I'm also feeling fuller and not craving snacks as much.

I was thinking about this more. It's interesting that the mostly-paleo diet seems to have been a problem for you, while others lose weight with it.

I would hate to cut back so much on wheat. I do eat less pasta than I used to, but I love my morning waffles and I usually like to have a sandwich for lunch. Since I started working at the new location, I'm finding that Whole Foods is the best place within walking distance to get lunch. Their sandwiches are good and are the right size to get me through to dinner without wanting a snack. It's the snacks that cause the most problems for me. I have been eating more Greek yogurt lately, as part of an effort to get more protein. I suppose that means I've been substituting dairy snacks for grain-based snacks, like granola bars.

Do you eat rice with your semi-Mediterranean diet?

[Catrin]

For me I've found that switching up my exercise seems to have more of an effect on my weight. I am on the Primal rather than full Paleo (I do consume some dairy), but I made that switch almost 2 years ago for reasons other than weight. While I've lost and maintained 10-12 pounds, I made the switch for health reasons. For me it's been a real blessing and I feel so good that I'm not tempted by anything outside of really high quality ice cream.

Occasionally my weight does go up a couple of pounds, but most of my exercise is very intense - as yours is Crankin. I recently switched things up by dividing my coaching package between my usual intense strength and conditioning coach and a kettlebell coach. Both have quite different styles. Almost immediately after making the switch I dropped the stubborn 3 pounds I gained a few months back and I am back to 125. I had suspected that was from too much of the same good thing - and that seems to have proved it. I've noted this in the past, when I do the same type thing - even highly intense exercise that is constantly changing - I seem to hit a plateau that might be from "too much of a good thing" without proper rest. Or perhaps just too much of the same intensity level? Not that my KB lifting training isn't intense but it is a very different activity.

[Crankin]

Irulan, I added wheat and other grains back in to my diet, because as NY said, Paleo-ish type eating seems to make me gain. I have lost 5-10 lbs other times by doing about 2 weeks of no grains and then slowly adding in only true whole wheat or spelt grains. For me, based on my physical 2 years ago, which is when I last experimented with Paleo, it increased my total cholesterol a lot, and I find I just can't maintain that kind of eating. I've only had to lose a lot (20-25lbs) once in my life, when I was 25 years old and I did it by eating 90% vegetarian, with some fish. It's sort of what I am doing now, except I am limiting the types of grains I eat more. I don't feel badly with grains, in fact I am feeling pretty good right now!
Catrin, your exercise is more intense than mine. I do the boot camp 2X a week, which is crazy hard for me, but I could ride a lot more and/or harder. This year, I've made the decision to ride a little harder and lots more. I found a training plan I like, for those wanting to lose a small amount of weight, but truthfully, once I get out there, it all goes out the window. I've come to the conclusion that the hills around here are my intervals. There's one, maybe 2 flatter routes I can do, and I will *try* to do some intervals here, but I find the ups and downs of 5-12% grades is about all I can take. One of my other goals is to ride more with my groups, which definitely pushes me.