The weight loss 'wall' - keep banging my head :-/

[Catrin]

I am considering tightening things up for a couple weeks to reset - cut out all fruit and dairy. I think our bodies get accustomed to whatever our choice of diet is and we need to mix things up from time to time to get its attention. Though I must admit, a 128 pound plateau is MUCH better than the plateaus I've seen in the past

[GLC1968]

As most of you know, I'm eating in the paleo bent and have been since August of 2011. I did a Whole30 last June while still with a boot on my broken foot (ie, no real exercise) and I lost 9 lbs in those 30 days and felt fan-freaking-tastic. I slept better, my skin improved, I had great energy, etc...even though I was already paleo (no grains, no legumes, no soy and only natural sugars and the occasional high quality dairy).

Whole30 is more than super strict paleo. It is ZERO sugar (I mean, you can't even have anything that has added sugar even though there are no sugar grams listed). It has zero preservatives. No grains, no corn, no soy, no seed oils. No making paleofied versions of things (like pancakes with almond flour), no smoothies for breakfast, no liquid juice, etc. It's about resetting your hormonal response to food and it truly works. Some people get there in 10 days, others in 16, others in 29 and still others need 45 or longer...it depends on your body. The best part about the Whole30 (and It Starts With Food which is the book about it and a great read!) is that it teaches you to figure all this out FOR YOUR OWN BODY. As we all know, everyone is different. The Whole30 teaches to how to remove all the noise and listen...and from that, you can learn volumes. Plus, feeling truly vibrant can be a life-changing experience. I thought I felt damn good before I did it...but it took me to a whole new level of awesome.

I'm on day 39 of my second official Whole30 (I'm going to day 44, having a birthday treat and then doing some travel before I start a Whole75 at the end of the month). I lost 8.5 lbs in the first 30 days. I weighed on day 31 and I'll weigh again on the morning of day 44. My goal is to learn to make this a true lifestyle. Until I did my first Whole30, I considered myself 'paleo with exceptions' because I thought being 100% would be too hard and unrealistic. Whole30 taught me that it's not too hard at all!

Anyway, while the Whole30 isn't about weight loss at all, that is often the result so for anyone looking to shake it up a bit, maybe it's worth a try?

[Catrin]

hmmmmm GLC, that is a mighty strong recommendation! I've been trying to figure out the difference between my existing diet and the Whole30 and this is quite interesting! I will check out the book - and I think that what is going on for me is that noise you mention.

[Crankin]

I have given up soy (tofu), sugar, corn, and grains. I plan to do this until we go away next Thursday and resume when we return on Sunday. It's actually not that hard, except for snacks.I do admit, that even after just the "modified" Paleo for most of the last year, I feel much better, in terms of things like upper respiratory stuff, colds, and my stomach issues are better. I am in the throes of a cold and it just isn't that bad. My DH was deathly ill last week, so if anything, my immune system (which sucks) may have improved.
Good thing I like to cook. I spent the morning searching for a pork shoulder and now I have assigned the task to DH as he is leaving work at 3 and I have to actually go and do some real work...

[tulip]

It is ZERO sugar (I mean, you can't even have anything that has added sugar even though there are no sugar grams listed).

This is key for me, and the hardest part for me. But on my 30 days (not the Whole30--just my own thing; I had never heard of Whole30 until this thread) I lost 9 lbs and felt really great--energy was up, mood was up, sleeping great, concentration was way better...

I did have smoothies for breakfast, however. It's about the only thing I can eat for breakfast. I don't know anything about the Whole30 program, but whatever I did worked for me, and that included smoothies (no sugar of course) and dairy (half-and-half in my coffee and yogurt, mostly).

I do think it's important to have ZERO sugar. I mean ZERO. Doing so resets the pancreas somehow, and once you get over the hump, it's pretty fantastic.

[Catrin]

I now have the Nook version of the book and am looking forward to reading it before I take this on. My diet has been pretty darn clean since July, so it will be interesting to see what my body thinks of things. I will probably start a Whole30 journal on MDA to help me keep track of things - and it is good to get input. For MDA members I am Catrin there as well.

Sleep and stress relief is also key and can certainly affect our weight and weight-loss activities in ways that aren't obvious.

[SadieKate]

I think my calorie count is correct because I'm usually under what the spin bike says. I have a polar which is pretty accurate, it's calibrated for my age and weight. It's a long hard workout no doubt. As far as food goes I can try cutting some carbs. I'm not racing but I would like to do some long, hilly rides this spring/summer if I can get myself back in any kind of shape for it.

Are you using a heart rate monitor? The algo's in watches are notoriously inaccurate unless you're using a HRM. I know multiple people who can attest to this personally. Ain't even close.

[SadieKate]

Generally I burn 1000 calories at spin because I spin for 90 minutes on average. Like I said I do extra long spins bc of time restraints. Any of you have any suggestion to get rid of the last 10 or so lbs?

I asked a friend who has a masters in exercise physiology and was doing research for NASA at the time about the claims of a local spin studio owner. My friend is also a cycling coach. I can't imagine that anyone wouldn't think him a credible source. Here's his answer:

I'm always a bit amazed by claims like this. I'll start by saying that it is POSSIBLE to burn 800 calories per hour while cycling. However, it is unlikely that a person without a high level of cardiovascular fitness can achieve an energy expenditure in that range, Here's how the math breaks down:

In order to burn 800 calories in an hour, a person needs to burn 800/60 or 13.34 Calories per minute. Since humans use ~5 Calories for every 1 liter of oxygen consumed that means that a person would have to AVERAGE at least 2.67 liters of oxygen consumption per minute to burn 800 calories in an hour.

-The equation if one was inclined to do the math is: (((10.8 x Watts) / Body Weight in Kg + 7) x Body Weight)/1000 = Liters per minute. So, a 70 KG person (154 lbs) pedaling at a work rate of 200 watts would be using about 2.65 liters/ min. or roughly 800 Calories. A heavier person would presumably require less energy, and a lighter person would require more.

To put this in context, most riders in the tour de france average slightly more than 200 watts on any given stage. In fact, most of the professional females I have worked with are not able to sustain workloads greater than 200 watts for more than a few minutes.

So, while it is not impossible for a STRONG rider to burn 800 calories for an hour, most would be doing well to reach the 500-600 range for an hour long ride.

Now, if they try to tell you it's because of high intensity interval training or some such thing, the bottom line still applies: 1 Liter of O2 for every 5 Calories.

I hope that my long winded response was helpful rather than confusing!

Re-reading his response really helped me. Now I don't feel like such a weenie for my power output!

[murielalex]

I've been reading this thread with interest and have a question for those who have cut out grains. I've been eating grain and sugar free for almost three months now, have dropped a significant amount of weight (25 pounds), feel great, etc. I've also not been on my bike for more than a few slow miles a week due to an ankle injury. I'm just starting to get back into things (been off since Nov. 10), am starting up with Computrainer days (am still a bit afraid that if I get 10 miles out on the real road and start hurting, I won't be able to make it back home), and am hopefully going to be back to doing at least 40-50 mile rides on weekend days, and maybe longer sooner. I'd been making bike food from The Feed Zone cookbook (rice stuff), and used the occasional gels. What do you gals eat while on the bike or during weeks when you're doing daily endurance riding/training? I've read Paleo for Athletes, and although I understood it, I can't say that it sunk in enough to translate into a practical plan for me. Would love some ideas.

[tulip]

I've been reading this thread with interest and have a question for those who have cut out grains. I've been eating grain and sugar free for almost three months now, have dropped a significant amount of weight (25 pounds), feel great, etc. I've also not been on my bike for more than a few slow miles a week due to an ankle injury. I'm just starting to get back into things (been off since Nov. 10), am starting up with Computrainer days (am still a bit afraid that if I get 10 miles out on the real road and start hurting, I won't be able to make it back home), and am hopefully going to be back to doing at least 40-50 mile rides on weekend days, and maybe longer sooner. I'd been making bike food from The Feed Zone cookbook (rice stuff), and used the occasional gels. What do you gals eat while on the bike or during weeks when you're doing daily endurance riding/training? I've read Paleo for Athletes, and although I understood it, I can't say that it sunk in enough to translate into a practical plan for me. Would love some ideas.

Beef jerky, nuts, and bananas work for me. Not as convenient as PowerBars, though. It's hard when you eliminate sugar. For drinks, I used to rely on G2, but Nuun tablets don't have sugar (I think). I'd be interested in learning some more ideas.

[WindingRoad]

SadieKate - That is interesting information from your friend. When I spin I frequently attain 200 watts for long periods of time. I intentionally push myself hard to get in a workout. I am only guessing, but I think I'm extremely fit for cycling. Other sports not as much. Seems my body is very efficient at cycling because I have ridden a lot. Even when I don't ride as much as I like, I do hard spins like the one I mention or I am commuting while towing things. I had a lung capacity test done in school and I have the lung capacity of an adult male. I realize I'm sitting outside the norms which I guess is why I got nervous to see my calorie count and HR in the first place.

My HR monitor has the chest strap and in the past has been very accurate but since I have been exercising 'hard' at high HRs where people say they aren't as accurate? Well who knows, maybe it is wrong for that. I am happy to discover that I can run again. Apparently the ripped tendon in my foot finally healed, so now I am going to do more of my no so efficient sport: running.

[GLC1968]

I'm not really a good example about how to fuel for long rides as I haven't really done many since I went paleo. The first year, I was still training for tri and doing long runs (2+ hours) and somewhat longer bike rides (3+ hours). I would find that I didn't need to eat anything at all unless it was going to hit a 2 hour workout session. Then I would supplement with gels (my one, non-paleo, regular 'food'). I only drink water.

I got injured before I did my first Whole30 (when I truly cut out ALL sugar) and I've only been slowly getting back into working out regularly again a year later (ugh). The longest workouts I do now are about an hour and I don't need food for those at all. I expect that as my rides get longer, I'll use things like sweet potatoes, bananas and dates when I need the sugar. I'm really not sure what I'm going to do when running as my stomach typically can't handle solid food on a longer run, but we'll see. I may try baby food pouches. I used a couple of those in the past and while expensive, they seemed to work great (easy to carry, easy to consume, easy to digest)

[Catrin]

I've found that beef jerky (nitrate free), dried cherries and macadamia nuts seem to work fine for me on the bike - and a banana when I get home. I've not gone for a REALLY long bike ride since going primal last July, I think the longest ride I've had since then is 40 miles.

This year I will experiment with making my own "larabars". I really like them but it would be more cost-effective to make them myself and then I've total control over the ingredients.

[Owlie]

Beef jerky, nuts, and bananas work for me. Not as convenient as PowerBars, though. It's hard when you eliminate sugar. For drinks, I used to rely on G2, but Nuun tablets don't have sugar (I think). I'd be interested in learning some more ideas.

They don't, but they do have xylitol which bothers some people's guts. (I find it a bigger problem off the bike, actually.)

[Owlie]

I've found that beef jerky (nitrate free), dried cherries and macadamia nuts seem to work fine for me on the bike - and a banana when I get home. I've not gone for a REALLY long bike ride since going primal last July, I think the longest ride I've had since then is 40 miles.

This year I will experiment with making my own "larabars". I really like them but it would be more cost-effective to make them myself and then I've total control over the ingredients.

Threadjack: Now I want cherry, macadamia and white chocolate cookies. Good thing that would require going shopping.