Overweight issues

[plantluvver]

I weigh about 254, and my height is 5'7". And my weight just keeps creeping on. I am 47. I've recently decided that a car is unneceassary to me, and bad fir thee environment. I MUST ride a bike if I wish to sail with my women's sailing club. There is no public transportation to that neighborhood.

I would be happy to get down to a size 16 even, just so I can buy "normal" clothes, and not shop in the plus sizes. Besides I prefer to shop at thrift stores, and I can't find big stuff easily there.

I am glad to hear that biking burns weight off. Actually, just if I stopped gaining I would feel accomplished.

I am sure I will be posting more on this forum.

Mary

[kelownagirl]

You might like to take a look at http://www.sparkpeople.com

It's kind of like the WW site but it's totally free, no stupid diet pills ads, just awesome support for people wanting to lose weight and/or become fit.

I've lost 10 lbs since I started biking 2 months ago. And I'm sure I've gained tons of muscle. The inch losses are more pronounced than the weight loss...

barb

[kimct]

I'll have to go check out 'The Firm' too! I've got the lower body covered with biking, and if I need extra I love lower body weight lifting on the bench and all...I just hate doing upper body! My husband and I were lifting together on a pretty set schedule, but he started having to actually go to work and stay...lol.

I need structure, so a DVD might work for me! I tried a Tae Bo tape...and well, let's just say, my 3yr old daughter laughed at me and said 'you can't do that stuff momma' when she saw me try the steps!

Kim

[Brina]

okay, I am royally pissed off. I know what my body looks and feels like when i am in good shape. I also know what my weight and body fat are when I am in good shape. At a peak of fitness I weighed 138 with a body fat % of 19.

In the past for years I have gotten very out of shape. The reasons are many and they really don't matter. I joined a gym in late August of 2005 and as part of the initiation fee there was a fitness assement that included weight and body fat measurements. My weight was 197 and the guy who did the measurements said my body fat was like 34%. I was fairly certain that he was wrong. Even during the measurement process I did not think he was doing it right and I told him so. He insisted that he was doing everything correctly. Based on his numbers a healthy body fat number would have gotten me to 172 lbs and and excellent body fat number would have had me in the mid 160s.

I have been working out pretty regularly since the day of the assesment, doing workouts that include eliptical machines, lifting weights, spin classes, cycling and running. I am down 20 lbs and look much better, but still have quite a ways to go. This reaffirmed my belief that the guy at the gym was wrong. I still have fat rolls - large ones. So I bought a scale this week that includes body fat measuring. According to this scale I have between 35 and 36% body fat. After 9 months of working out and dieting and losing 20 lbs, my body fat is higher than the idiot at the club told me.

UUUUGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

[plantluvver]

I really hope that it was the incompetent guy, not that you'ree body is atter than you thought. I'm thimking of getting a scale, but after reading the posts here, I am reminded that weight is not a good measure of fitness.

I think I'll go for a tapemeasure instead.

It occured to me today that the use of my bike to go sailing was covering me both in the upper and lower body. Although it is hard to measure the actual exertion of sailing, because it depends on the weather so much.

And both fit in well with the idea of earth-freindly transport, whoch is my main purpose anyway.

I am now wondering, after spending WAY to much time on my butt surfing for cool biking deals, whether getting better equipment actually is counterproductive for weght loss. I know that totally lousy equiopment will be frustrating to use, and will keep me from riding. But maybe getting a nicer bike actually will burn less calories.

I would like some input on this. How much does the quality of bike affect the "feel" of biking, versus increased speed and efficiency?

I know when I had a department store bike, I never rode it, felt guilty for being out of shape, and never rode it. And this was during my twenties! But when a coworker talked me into trying out his wife's bike for a weekend, I rode about 20 miles, not realizing how far I was going (on a paved path with few cross streets). The bike felt alive somehow and responsive, versus just a dead peice of steel.

I was at first a little miffed at the suggestion I join Sparks, didn't want to follow a plan. But decided that I didn't have the right to be miffed until I checked it out. I joined up, and it looks wonderful. You get to choose your own goals, and its done in babysteps. Thanks for the advice.

Mary

[kelownagirl]

I was at first a little miffed at the suggestion I join Sparks, didn't want to follow a plan. But decided that I didn't have the right to be miffed until I checked it out. I joined up, and it looks wonderful. You get to choose your own goals, and its done in babysteps. Thanks for the advice.

Mary

Mary, sorry you were miffed at me even only if was only temporarily. After I posted it, I was worried that it might have been taken the wrong way. I found it is working for me, when nothing else has been, because I like doing stuff online and it's so easy to do (for me anyways), and you can set your own goals for just about anything. I figured if someone else was checking out the online community at TE, they might also like Sparks...

Barb

[donnambr]

I bought a Breezer and it wasn't cheap. My LBS calls it the "Volvo of bicycles". What gives me more of a workout (and I sure need it) is that it is upright, on the heavy side at 35 lbs, and I carry a ton of crap to and from work everyday. I'm usually hauling 55-60 lbs with the weight of my bike and my stuff. So it makes my 3.5 one way trip to work a little more substantial. The high quality makes me confident everything will stay working, especially my brakes.

So, good quality can make for a good workout. I like reliability, and I can afford it.

[kimct]

Plantluvver, I've wondered the same thing about quality as well. Well, not quality, but getting a road bike vs the mt bike that I have now. That mt bike gives me a heck of a workout because i try to keep my speed up and I'm increasing my distance! I've heard so much about the roadbikes being so light and easier to peddle and all that good stuff...we're probably thinking a whole other kind of thing! I'm sure we'll get just as good a workout on another type/brand, whatever! Besides, we're not just sitting on the couch, right? We're burning calories, even if it is a little less!

Brina, if you're feeling better, that's all that really, really matters! The better fitness and weight loss will come. I started all of this with the intentions of seeing those pounds go away. Never, ever would I have thought that I'd be doing all of the exercise, watching what I eat and all and not hop on the scale everyday and obsess over it. I don't see biking as exercise now, I see it as a hobby and it makes me feel strong! The weight will go, or it won't...I'm having fun! Chin up girlie...it's not all about the numbers!

Hope everyone is doing well!

Kim

[Tuckervill]

I think the way body fat percentage is measured has a huge affect on the result. When I was in the Army, if you were overweight they meausred your body fat using the pinch method. If you fell within the reasonable standard for body fat, they gave you a pass on the weight. But later I read that the only true way to measure body fat is to dip you in water and measure displacement (I think that's how it works).

I don't think a scale is going to be very accurate. It's just going to use a table based on known factors to determine your "probable" body fat percentage.

Can the body fat percentage really tell you anything useful anyway? You already know you have weight to lose. You already know your level of fitness. What good is that number to you? I wouldn't stress out over a stupid number. If you were using it for motivation, find something more accurate and pleasing, like the way your clothes fit or something. Don't reduce yourself to a number.

Good going on the weight loss! Hope to be joining you soon.

Karen

[Tuckervill]

But maybe getting a nicer bike actually will burn less calories.

But wouldn't you go farther and ride more if you had better equipment?

There's no real way to tell how many actual calories you burned anyway. All the calorie calculators are based on ideal or standard conditions that whomever did the tests determined to be appropriate. Your "mileage" may vary, yanno?

Karen

[Kimmyt]

But wouldn't you go farther and ride more if you had better equipment?

I have to agree here. I have a lug of a bike, I use it sometimes for commuting. It is a big, heavy beast of generic department store make, that doesn't shift very well and is generally unpleasant to ride. I hate commuting in on it, because of the weight and the issues with shifting. If I had a commuter that was a tad lighter with better components, I would commute in much more often. In fact, I rode my road bike in to work the other day and it was a dream. I can't wait until my work schedule permits me to commute again!

I think it all comes down to what gets it done for you. Does riding your big heavy bike get you all excited? Or does it make you dread the upcoming ride? If it's the latter, then you probably won't ride as much. If you have a nice, smooth ride, then maybe you're more likely to do longer distances, which has benefits of it's own.

K.

[Brina]

I think the way body fat percentage is measured has a huge affect on the result. When I was in the Army, if you were overweight they meausred your body fat using the pinch method. If you fell within the reasonable standard for body fat, they gave you a pass on the weight. But later I read that the only true way to measure body fat is to dip you in water and measure displacement (I think that's how it works).

I don't think a scale is going to be very accurate. It's just going to use a table based on known factors to determine your "probable" body fat percentage.

Can the body fat percentage really tell you anything useful anyway? You already know you have weight to lose. You already know your level of fitness. What good is that number to you? I wouldn't stress out over a stupid number. If you were using it for motivation, find something more accurate and pleasing, like the way your clothes fit or something. Don't reduce yourself to a number.

Good going on the weight loss! Hope to be joining you soon.

Karen

actually, the scales measure body fat by using an electrical impediment method. a small current - which you do not feel - goes through your body and it moves differently through fat than muscle than through water. based on the measurement of the electrical pulse as it exits your body the scale can measure your percentage of body fat and your percentage of water. body fat is actually a much more important number than weight. If you lose weight just by dieting, with no exercise, you can actually be losing muscle which is worse for you than not losing the weight at all. If you lose fat and gain muscle but your weight stays the same you are healthier. obsessing about the number is bad, as obsessing about anything is bad, but knowing the number and using it to improve your fitness and your health is good.

[mimitabby]

actually, the scales measure body fat by using an electrical impediment method. a small current - which you do not feel - goes through your body and it moves differently through fat than muscle than through water. based on the measurement of the electrical pulse as it exits your body the scale can measure your percentage of body fat and your percentage of water. body fat is actually a much more important number than weight. If you lose weight just by dieting, with no exercise, you can actually be losing muscle which is worse for you than not losing the weight at all. If you lose fat and gain muscle but your weight stays the same you are healthier. obsessing about the number is bad, as obsessing about anything is bad, but knowing the number and using it to improve your fitness and your health is good.

my husband bought one of those scales. He's a biker with a flabby upper body.
he came out being something like 8% body fat. we both knew that was NOT true.
but if you look at his legs, they could be 8% body fat. but the rest of him was at least 30% body fat so those scales can't really be very accurate.

[faroe78]

I just joined this forum. It's my 46th birthday today and I weigh over 200, I'm diabetic, and tired of it. I have started researching bikes online, going to visit some bike shops next week, and I am getting a bike this summer, maybe even this month, if I can swing it. I'd like some suggestions as to what I should look for in a bicycle. I have not ridden since I was 15 or 16.
My goals are to burn a little less gas by using the bike to go to the grocery store, maybe use it to exercise my German Shepherd, and definitely to exercise ME. I'll be using paved roads.
I've been reading some of this thread and I must say, you ladies are inspiring!

[Geonz]

Welcome, welcome!! Hop on board and hang around, these ladies are amazing... and before long somebody else could say that about you :-)

Mainly get the bike that feels good **to you** - that's the one you'll get out and ride.

Bikes have gotten a LOT easier to ride since you were 16 :-) I recommend a bike shop as opposed to Wally World and what have you... you want to build a relationship with the bicycle and the activity, and a good bike shop will be able to guide you (and maybe give you the funny helmet cover they find in the back of the warehouse).