Can a Fat Lady Ride

[bamakathy]

Well you asked, 5'5", 249 lbs, size 20-22W. Biggest complaint? Jelly belly and thighs. Also have hourglass figure, big boobs and big bottom. Any suggestions as to sports bras for plus sized women? Would like to wear a size 12, but would be satisfied with even a 16, as long as I felt good. I'm happily married, he's overweight. He's never said a word about my weight, just loves me anyway, so he's not a factor. But I feel terrible. I want so much to just have more energy and stamina to do my regular stuff. I never weigh at home, only when I'm at the doctor's. I'm happy with me, don't need to be perfect at this stage in life, just healthier.
All of your suggestions are so helpful. I'm so glad I found this message board.
My husband said if this is something I stick with for awhile, he'll buy me a new bike.
Here's a question for you. When I was a kid, there were girls bikes and boys bikes and the boys had the bar at the top. Now all I see in adult bike are the boys style. Are they like unisex now? I have the old cruiser girls bike.

[Eagle-Eye]

Any suggestions as to sports bras for plus sized women?

Not sure if this qualifies for plus size, but I am a 36DD now. I have found the Moving Comfort Maia, and the Hind Nexus both to be really good. You can get the Hind Nexus here on TE. I have found the Moving Comfort all over the place, but I know REI carries them up to a 40DD. (For some reason my local REI doesn't carry my size, but I can always order it online)

There is also the Enell sports bra (available on TE). I have never tried this one, but it looks really good. It's a bit expensive. But, you need to go with what is comfortable. You can always wash it between rides/workouts.

Here's a question for you. When I was a kid, there were girls bikes and boys bikes and the boys had the bar at the top. Now all I see in adult bike are the boys style. Are they like unisex now? I have the old cruiser girls bike.

There are still Men's and Women's bikes out there, but they have definitely changed in appearance. You can still find new Cruiser bikes, and a few hybrids (sort of like a mountain bike, but with skinnier tires to decrease weight and rolling resistance) that still have the classic girl's bike look. However, once you start going for lighter materials, these designs aren't as structurally strong. This is why you see "women's" bikes that have the top bar.

Now, you may ask, why are there men's and women's bikes but they pretty much look the same? This is because men generally have longer torsos and arms than women of the same height. Women's bikes are made so the frame is a bit more compact so we don't end up getting too stretched out on the bike. Some women prefer the men's geometry, other women prefer the women's geometry. Also, women's bikes tend to come in smaller sizes.

Hope this helps (at least doesn't totally confuse you). When you get a new bike - cuz I'm convinced you will stick with this - you can have the fun of trying all sorts of bikes to find that perfect one.

For the record...
I am 5'7", 178 pounds, and wear a size 14 - sometimes 12! (depending on fit, manufacturer, etc)

[colby]

I'm convinced I have large (heavy) muscles by nature. I was definitely ripped after boot camp, but still heavy for 5'4". I've always called my legs speedskater legs, even at my lightest...those large upper thighs and thick calves. Can't tell now because they're covered in fat! However, I'll never be tiny. I'll probably never be a size 8 again, but I'd be happy with a 12, which I can buy off the rack. People still don't believe that I weigh 198, because I'm compact, not roll-y. (But I'm not fooling myself...I'm still fat and need to get it off before menopause.)

Hooray, I'm not the only one with this height and body style! I feel so much better. I have been to the doctor's office and they check my weight, then they say "NO WAY"... uh yes way, the scale doesn't lie! Trust me, I check it regularly

I refer to myself as the teapot style -- short and stout. I do not have womanly calves. I do not have womanly thighs. I could crush you with them, but that wouldn't be very womanly, now, would it? I know I'm not superfit now, but I'll never ever be that perfect style, and I'll never ever be a size 6 (or likely even a size 8). It's just not in the cards for me (and that's hard to admit, some days, when everything we consume in the media tells us we're wrong).

Speedskater legs is so accurate. Mine might be covered in aforementioned fat also, but they aren't going to be twigs, ever My goal is not "be skinny" (not practical), it's "be FIT and HEALTHY" -- I want to look good, but I want to look good for ME, not for some stupid size chart or imaginary hand stamping sizes on my forehead.

On the sports bras -- I am a 36D myself, and I do like the Hind Nexus (which I bought from TE!), but I find it doesn't quite feel 100% right (supportive, but not extreme support?) and I still mostly have the uni-boob, though it's better Also, the zipper base eats into my frame sometimes, especially when running (which is tolerable, but a little irritating). I haven't tried the Enells, but I've heard really good things about them from everyone I've talked to who has had one.

[DirtDiva]

Manufacturers should settle on a standard size, I think.

HA!!! I don't know what I weigh, but I'd guess it's around 57/58kg (for the metric-challenged, that's somewhere in the 125-130lb range). I have clothes in every size from XS to XL, size 8 (4ish US) to size 16 (12ish US). I have bras in three different sizes. I've given up looking at the size label as a measure of whether clothes will fit.

[CR400]

Ok, I'm closer to 5'5 then 5'4 so I usually go with the 5'5. As far as weight right now I'm 178lbs. I was down to 170 but then started riding outside a lot again and gained weight, go figure. As far as clothes I can wear anywhere between a 12 to 18 depending on how tight I want the clothes. 18 barely stay on 12 fit a little snug, and if I really squeeze a 10 for about 3min. OK I tried to be funny there.

I tend to carry alot of weight in my breasts 40D or 38DD, the 40 feels better though. I swear I carry 10lbs with them, so if I was an A I would weigh 168. My goal healthy weight is 145-150. Even in high school I couldn't wear small clothes. In fact I am in a smaller size now then I was in high school and weigh 20 pounds more. I still have that horible belly fat. grrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!

As far as the having the guy legs going on I have the same problem. I have the calves that female body builders work hard to get. and my thighs are starting to join them. If I took off all the extra fat I'd still be big.

[allabouteva]

HA!!! I don't know what I weigh, but I'd guess it's around 57/58kg (for the metric-challenged, that's somewhere in the 125-130lb range). I have clothes in every size from XS to XL, size 8 (4ish US) to size 16 (12ish US). I have bras in three different sizes. I've given up looking at the size label as a measure of whether clothes will fit.

I can so relate!

But the reason why for me is that I'm the classic yo-yo dieter. At the end of '04 I was about 67-70kg or about 150lbs. And now I'm about the same as Tlkiwi about 57kg and about 5'3". And it's been like this for about 10 years. This time though, I regularly exercise and really watch what I eat, and have been this weight for about a year.

I think there's too much media attention on being skinny. I think Hollywood really messes with our heads with these actors who are way too skinny. It's not just the Paris Hiltons, but also mature women like on desperate housewives like Terri Hatcher, well she's terribly thin.

On the other hand, the lifestyle of people who live in 'developed' countries include eating way too much processed food and living too leisurely. We drive way too much.

I do think you can be big and healthy at the same time. And you're born with a certain shape and size. and if you eat well and moderately, exercise, are healthy, have a good community and have a supportative family, then I think life's good and you can't ask for more than that (except maybe for a Specialized Ruby Pro)!

(stepping off my soapbox) well that's my 2c worth!

e

[uforgot]

Wow, once again I need to say how supportive everyone on this forum is. I belong to the bicycling.com forum, and went over there for a few minutes today. (It's been ages since I lurked over there, ever since I found you guys!) I didn't realize how much testosterone is flowing over there. Everyone seems to be in perfect shape and aren't tolerant of anyone who isn't! I remember posting a couple of questions and was totally bashed. Now I've found my niche with TE, and can ask any question I want and I get a myriad of answers! OMG, I can't even imagine this topic over there. Thanks!

Now for the hard part. 5'4" 165 lbs. I managed to put on 20# in the last year, not sure how, but I refuse to buy larger clothes, so I'm in impossibly tight 12s. My 10s are just glaring at me when I open the closet. I'm in good shape, I dance, teach dance and ride my bike, but that's the story of my life. I'm in better shape than my friends, but I'm also heavier. I have this one teeny tiny friend I work with, she couldn't even get through 10 minutes of a FIRM workout. Where is the justice? Oh, and she drinks regular soda and eats candy. sigh. I don't ever remember drinking a regular soda...

Well, I'm just glad to have found this forum, as bike riding is somewhat foreign in my small town. It's great to kick around stuff with others going through the same thing!

[uforgot]

Here's a question for you. When I was a kid, there were girls bikes and boys bikes and the boys had the bar at the top. Now all I see in adult bike are the boys style. Are they like unisex now? I have the old cruiser girls bike.

bamakathy, I'm not expert by any means, but you can still get girls and boys bikes. Most manufacturers have gone to women's specific design as oppose to the same geometry with the "step through" frame. My hybrid is a Trek WSD, and I love the fit, but its not for everyone and it has the bar. When I wanted an entry level mountain bike, I liked the Gary Fisher Advance, because it had a stepthrough frame. The guy, (who I think is great, by the way), at the lbs told me that step-through frames weren't considered cool any more, but every bike I tried had too big of a standover height for my size. 5'4". You know, I read about a guy who ran over a rattlesnake, and I decided that I wanted a bike I could exit QUICK! I love my step-through frame, even though it's bright orange, and I'll probably upgrade the fork someday, but I don't really care about the cool factor. The bike fits me like a glove, and I love it. I guess what I'm saying is, enjoy yourself. If you are like the rest of us, you will be hooked in not time. If you are out exercising and enjoying yourself, how could you be doing something wrong? And if you are riding a bike from way back when, why it's cool because its "retro". Good luck turning 50, I'm 51 and plan to be in the best shape of my life by the end of summer. We can encourage each other, can't we?

[KnottedYet]

I've seen some very sexy-looking mixte frames. They look a lot more stable than the "standard" girl frame, the physics and geometry just look better. Like mixtes were designed to be stepthrough rather than what looks like a modified boys bike with a droopy top tube.

[RoadRaven]

Hey there bamacathy!
Way to go, BC, you rock (at the risk of repeating others!!!)

This is the way to do it, slowly, surely and with excellent motivation. Great to hear your goal is fitness, not image... because fitness you can measure and image is always subjective.

Do keep a journal/log of your rides, I love looking back and seeing how my rides have got longer, or how I can do a familiar course in less time... very very heartening...

And yes... get yourself lycra bike shorts... more comfort as you rides become longer, and to reduce chafing on your thighs/bike seat.

I have been cycling for 18 months now, trying to regain fitness and also change the shape having five children made me into. I have only dropped a few kgs, but I have dropped two dress sizes... As you get fitter, you will lose fat but you will also build muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat, so please don't become disillusioned if the scales tell you nothing has changed. It is great that you have no scales in your house - keep it that way. I only weigh myself once every 1-2 months at the most - I have no scales in the house either.

Some great advice and quotes from the women here... good on you for making a great decision, and def tell hubby it is time for a nice hybrid bike with gears and a good frame.

I, along with the other women here, look forward to hearing about your rides. And... just in case you didn't hear it from me or anyone else

!!!!YOU ROCK!!!!

[Tuckervill]

When I was looking for my new bike, I was well-educated by Trek's website about women's specific design. Here's a link.

http://www2.trekbikes.com/us/en/WSD/WSD_Difference.php

Also, for journaling your rides, there's bikejournal.com.

And for those of you drinking diet drinks...after more than 20 years, I gave them up about 2 years ago. I substituted hot tea with sugar (20 calories) in the morning, and unsweetened ice tea with meals (or water). I'm not a coffee drinker.

I had begun to wonder about all those chemicals and so I just stopped. Then when I tried them again, I noticed I got way hungrier than I had been the day before or whatever. This happened over and over, in about the once every 2 weeks that I would get a diet coke with my fast food. I began to suspect the diet drinks bringing on the hunger (I've only gotten fatter since I started drinking them, after all). And then I saw it in black and white in the local newspaper's ask the doctor column....that there is evidence that diet drinks increase appetite. (I tried to find the column to no avail.)

So, I'm staying off of them, except when I'm PMSing (like today). It's anecdotal at best, but it's MY anecdote, so that's good eough for me.

Karen

[allabouteva]

My level of diet soda drinking has completely dropped off since we got one of those spring water coolers at home. It's made a huge difference to our drinking patterns, and in fact we pretty much drink water now. Its so convenient! I find that the number of soft drinks I buy at the supermarket has also dropped off. I heard that the phosporic acid? in Coke is what's very bad for you. (Don't really know what it does or what it is)

[Polly]

Bamakathy - of course she can, and she can feel proud of herself too.
I ride with a friend of mine, and the pair of us are useless at the hills - we just don't seem to have the mental attitude to keep going! (I think its called being lazy! ) But as we push 25lbs of bike up those hills, we still feel proud - we might not be super fit and brave, but we are out there in the country side taking exercise- and the ride down is lovely!
It's a pity we're not on the same continent or you'd be welcome to join us as we pootle around the bridle ways
Good luck - and let us know how you get on - we think its a great idea!

[Melody]

bamakathy, you can absolutely ride. Don't worry about how much or how little you can ride at the beginning since quite a bit of that is your body beginning to get used to the riding. What matters is you're getting out there to ride!

I am no lithe skinny thing. I have a big frame (look at the pictures that jobob posted from the Alameda Creek Trail thread. I'm the tall one in the back), I'm 5' 10.5" and 225 pounds. Not small at all

What I've found that has realy helped is I commute via the bicycle now daily. Instead of exercising at the end of my day, which then keeps me from sleeping due to endorphins running amok, I get my exercise in the morning and evening. Plus it keeps me from having the excuse "I'm too tired to ride"

bamakathy, I know you can ride and you should be proud to be riding. Don't let your family get you down.

Mel

[nancielle]

Others on this forum (not all by any means) are heavy too, and do whatever they %*$*#!! want to on a bike.

Don't hold back, MomOnBike, tell us how you really feel.

I loved the feeling of the wind in my face.

Bamakathy, ride because you love the feeling of the wind in your face, ride because you like the feeling of accomplishment in getting healthier, ride because you want to.

My family thought me riding a bike was hilarious.

That's unfortunate and sad. They should be supporting your efforts. Maybe your improving health will inspire them to get their butts on a bike with you.