Fall/winter weight management thread

[ny biker]

Just thought I'd start a conversation for anyone who's working on weight loss or maintenance. As most of us head into the colder months and we face holidays featuring candy, cake, big dinners, parties, etc., it can be tough for most people to stay on track and meet their goals. I can't offer a spreadsheet to help people track their weight each week like we've had in the past, because I know I'll never have time to keep it up to date. But please chime in if you'd like advice or support, need to vent, want to share a success story, etc.


I won't bore you with the details, but in the past year I've been fighting weight creep -- a few pounds here, a few pounds there, lose a few, gain them back, etc. Right now I'm about 5-6 pounds more than I was, though at times it's been closer to 10 pounds too much. I know that's not a huge gain, but the extra weight is concentrated in one area, making too many of my clothes too tight to wear. And I did not enjoy shopping for a new dress for a wedding that I'll be attending this weekend.

I try to follow Nancy Clark's advice about fueling well during breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack, then cutting back on calories at dinner. But I guess I've cut too much at dinner, because I end up eating candy afterwards. I've tried not buying any candy, but then I end up eating too much of some other sweet, like dried fruit or granola bars. (I seem to have developed adult-onset sweet tooth, since I never had much of a taste for candy or dessert until the last couple of years.) I've also made an effort to eat more protein-rich foods in the past year or so, to help with recovery after bike rides. I've worked on substituting protein for carbs rather than adding calories, which I would think would be better for weight management. I don't think it's helped, though.

Anyway, enough of my ramblings. Anyone else have a story to tell?

[Crankin]

I've been thinking about this, too. Late last winter/early spring, I went back to the Mediterranean type diet, almost vegetarian, and gave up any return to Paleo. It does not work for me. That, and the onset of cycling season and commuting got me right back to the weight I want to be at. Like you, it's not a lot, but when I get to 109-110 it's the danger zone for me, at 5 foot, almost 1 inch. I do a lot of exercising during the winter, but when I cross country ski, it makes me ravenous, just like long rides. I do eat a lot afterwards, as if I don't, I just feel awful. I do try and eat just the normal stuff in my house.
So, since I got back from Portugal, almost immediately, my weight has crept up. I was fine when i immediately got back, despite all of the eating, because of the riding AND walking at least 5 miles most days. We've had some rainy/windy days where I couldn't ride and there was nothing at the gym, either. And, my job has me sitting, even despite getting up between each client. It's disturbing for me, because I don't want to deal with this every winter. I don't do a lot of holiday parties and stuff, and I don't restrict myself at Thanksgiving. I think it's the subtle changes in the nature of my activity and I do find myself wanting more food of the comfort variety.
My gym has no classes I like on Saturday morning, and often when we just do a ski day on Sunday, I end up going for a short hike or snow shoe, or riding the trainer (intervals) on Saturday. I just found out the instructor of my boot camp does an Insanity class at the Boys and Girls Club in another town; it's 10.00 drop in fee. I may try it. I wouldn't go every week, as it's not really close to my house, about 10 miles. It is frustrating, and I am very aware of it, since the scale has not made me happy this week.

[shootingstar]

Each woman finds the best or better journey that works for them. I say "woman" because most definitely as part of the aging process, menopause/perimenopause can affect our metabolism each decade forward.

I've accepted (abit resignedly) that this is what one must deal with every year ..for the rest of our lives. I do gain up to approx.5- 6 lbs. by the end of the winter --and each winter it has varied..for the lst 14 years of cycling, I stopped cycling in the winter Nov.-early Apr. and simply walked/took transit daily when I lived in Toronto. This covers lst few years of returning to cycling as an adult.

Now it seems increasingly harder past few years ... when I'm actually exercising abit more in the winter where I live in Calgary (Alberta) because...I DO cycle several times per wk. even if only 50% less distance because of the pavement conditions and very cold winter temperatures. This is a drastic change from when I lived in Toronto. Where I live, is the coldest winter region I've ever lived in my life so far in Canada with winters that are longer. We still got snow in this early May. A lot of the long-time locals were complaining too.

When I lived in Vancouver it was the same winter weight gain, but only slightly moderated because I was cycling several times / wk. and longer distances but in warmer winters with more rain. One thing I learned was that I must eat supper no later than 7:00 pm or even earlier because I gain weight. It happened when I lived and commuted to construction job site for 3 years during part of my Vancouver years. I didn't eat anything for lunch beyond a fruit, and couldn't eat dinner until 8:00 pm. after a 1.5 hr. long walk-transit-bike (parked in a locker at a station) commute. And I gained weight! It was a bizarre weight experience.

So for the past few years I eat around 6:00 pm or earlier because my job ends at 4:00 pm and I live a few km. from work.

My diet changes over the years: ....I'm eating more sweets than I did 20 years ago. So that's habit I have to watch. I haven't been eating white rice much (except 5-6 times annually) for the past 7 years because its high GI causes a sugar crash (which I don't feel when I have a cookie...maybe I'm not paying attention). I've cut down my white bread consumption overall in the last 25 years..down to maybe equivalent of 1-2 items per wk.

This year, my annual cycling mileage is probably a lot less by several hundred km. because I haven't done a cycling loaded tour than ran more than 3 days long ..and just less longer trips locally but still cycling daily because I don't have a car. I am not certain why my weight kept @ right level. Not clear. I often cycle daily....because I must...to work, to shop and do errands. Cycling just for fitness tends to happen by adding on extra km. after work or on weekends by extending a bike ride while I'm heading towards a shopping mall at the edge of the city from downtown where I live. Often I am cycling with pannier weight. This alone is probably the happiest "deception" for myself, in terms of combining chores + exercise/cycling out of utilitarian necessity. It keeps my body gently stoked for cycling during the winter.

So I keep wearing certain pairs of dress pants, jeans and shorts..um...sorry..for past decade or so, to remind myself subtly instead of just relying on weigh scale. Honest, it keeps me on weight management path in the right direction ..if I still want to wear my black jeans (which I do 50% of time on the job), walking shorts, etc.

I have never counted calories in my life and could not live via weight watchers points (which I hear about from someone at work). For me, it would add another "counting" obsession which would suck the joy of eating just good, tastefully prepared food. I stress that's just me. If it works for you, great! I just gravitate towards food that is generally (though not always perfectly) healthy. I probably prepare home dishes to eat...that are based on about 25 different recipes which I vary a lot in terms of certain ingredients/techniques on a whim/creative urge. I don't even call half of what I prepare "recipes", because much of it was taught by my mother. Over 50% of what I prepare..is what I was fed...as a child/teen which was Asian healthy. Thank you mother!!! I'm just too lazy to try 50 more different recipes because half of this stuff works for me already. But hey, always open to a new healthy dish to memorize and add to my repertoire.

Right now, it's snowing big fluffy flakes. First snowfall of..mid-autumn here.

[Pax]

Shootingstar - like you, the joy of eating good food plays into it for me as well. Where my downfall is weight wise is all the other, not great food... the day to day "what am I eating for lunch/I am so sick of sandwiches/ none of this sounds good" stuff. I found an organic raw meal replacement shake I'm going to try this winter. I'm so sick of trying to plan for/decide on/and consume most breakfasts and lunches that I'm going to give this other stuff a try... at least if it's not great tasting stuff I didn't have to expend any energy prepping it.

[shootingstar]

And every year, it has been cycling longer and more frequently after each winter to burn off the extra lbs. On a small person like myself, every lb. added on every year, becomes noticeable very fast.

But I know I won't be able tocycle off as a weight maintenance activity, for the rest of my life..ie. cycling into my um...80's. Yea, well...who knows. I'm not going to bank my future on that one.

So I haven't figured out yet other exercise stuff that I love. I've been very inconsistent on the yoga, stretching exercises.. In terms of snowsports, I only go out snowshoeing several times per winter in the mountains..so I don't really see that as keeping me fit in a way to manage my weight. In fact, it's cycling in the winter, that helps in snowshoeing fitness and endurance in the mountains. I'm not keen to snowshoe here locally...it's flat land and blowing snow across prairie land!

Hence, my earlier ramble about my eating habits and changes I've made gradually over the years --both good and bad. Pax, I try to approach cooking creatively. I don't take it uber seriously..and hence, I allow myself to be creative with certain dishes. We end up with some weird food dish combinations for some meals. For me, part of cooking....truly to me is abit of cultural retention....I've lost so much of Chinese speaking fluency, born in North America, yet I have parents where mother can only speak Chinese. So what is my cultural connection/retention when they die? It is how I look racially and.... food and how I prepare it. So part of it is ME wanting to practice something that is intuitive to me because I grew up with it...but I do stuff my mother wouldn't do...sauteeing fennel with tomatoes flavoured with a bit of soy sauce, etc. It's a lovely gentle sour-sweet take.

[Pax]

I grew up with Midwestern and Southern cooking, neither of which I learned other than cook a lot of meat and starch and use a ton of fat - bacon grease/butter/lard etc.

My honey is primarily vegetarian and is quite happy eating whole raw foods; needless to say, there is very little cooking going on in our house.

[Crankin]

I love to cook, and I am very disciplined when it comes to eating. However, I am not a total control freak about it, either. I go out a lot, but I try to plan for it, with exercise and lighter meals the next day. I can't imagine not enjoying food, eating, cooking, going to restaurants. I plan 4-5 meals a week, mostly vegetarian, fish, or chicken. I hate eating the same things over and over and I dislike having a lot of left overs. If I make extra, it will be OK for lunch, or frozen, but not for dinner again in the same week. The only pastries I eat are for really special occasions, or when I am in Europe. I only eat dessert once a week, if at all, but I do have 2 squares of dark chocolate daily and I have a glass of wine probably 5X a week. It doesn't seem to make any difference if I stop both of those things.
I go to boot camp 2X a week at the gym all year round. It's a complement to riding, as well as x country skiing and snow shoeing. Shooting Star, I do go snow shoeing locally, right out of my door. It's not flat, but not the same as being in the true mountains. But, it's better than nothing. I used to go to spin class quite a bit more in the winter. Now I only go occasionally and use my trainer at home. I do 30-45 minutes of intervals, which is all I can stand. I just have to up the intensity this year. It's really frustrating.

[shootingstar]

I grew up with Midwestern and Southern cooking, neither of which I learned other than cook a lot of meat and starch and use a ton of fat - bacon grease/butter/lard etc.

My honey is primarily vegetarian and is quite happy eating whole raw foods; needless to say, there is very little cooking going on in our house.

Kudos to you, Pax because you've had to turn away from the past to something more healthy for self.
Guess what? I seldom make salads. It's a carryover...from past where I grew up, seldom eating homemade salads at home. It's dearie, he's the one that can throw together salads in all sorts of combinations (rarely without a recipe) and it tastes good. Includes his homemade yogurt dressings. Most of the time it tastes great. Some weird combinations. I try it anyway.

Salad making doesn't come naturally to me. I actually cook lightly a lot of veggie dishes. So yes, I can invent a light stir fry out of whatever veggies and it does taste decent. Some of the veggies just aren't conducive to raw eating: boy choy, gai lan, all the different Chinese mustard greens, bitter melon (which is healthy in small doses), etc. Even lotus root or butternut squash, needs cooking. Pax, maybe your partner knows something.

[Catrin]

I am trying to walk during my luck as weather permits. It does help, especially since my job ties me to 2 computers. I think as the weather changes I will return to climbing stairs. It is a good way to loosen up, and it really helps my kettlebell lifting to break the day up and allow my hips to move.

My weight is currently fluctuating, but I just signed up for a rowing challenge at my gym that will help with that.

[Catrin]

Apparently my adding two 1 hour rows (10K meters) is what I needed. I've dropped close to 7 pounds in one week. I can't do 1 hour KB snatch or LongCycle sessions nonstop often, though we DO that occasionally. My lifting sessions are usually 30 minutes (with breaks) and my body seems to need some slightly longer endurance sessions than that. 126 today

[azfiddle]

Good job Catrin.

I have now been back on track for a week and *may* have actually lost a pound- 121.9 today but I need to see the scale stay below 122 for a couple of days before I believe it.

[Catrin]

I've learned that stress or lack of sleep has just as much effect on my weight as what I eat. Right now am experiencing wild 5 lb swings from day to day which is a clear sign of increased inflammation from eating things I know my body is sensitive to. This causes good old water retention.

Autoimmune conditions makes me more susceptible. I KNOW I will fall to some temptations over the holidays but I need to be more intentional about it. The sad thing is the amounts I've eaten of those foods have been very small.

[ny biker]

I am actually wondering if pre-menopause hormone swings cause random water weight gain. I've had various episodes of water retention that have lasted several weeks, with no changes in diet, sleep, etc. I have an appointment with the doctor this week and planned to ask him if it's possible.

[azfiddle]

I think I actually lost a pound!

Now to stay motivated....

[Crankin]

I've had a lot of sleep and no more stress than usual. But, I have been sick. Hoping that is it. I kind of lost my appetite when I saw the scale this morning!