RWTD

If you think she's lifting heavy look at the weights she posted in the weightlifting thread.On a day she is only doing an hour or less I am assuming of weights and if she is doing alot of riding on other days I don't think loading up on protein and fat is going to help her store energy for those rides except in the form of fat.Maybe her calories are more in line with her activity than I think as I didn't actually count them it just seems high to me and she has indicated slow progress on fat loss.I do eat more calories than that if I am cycling but not on days I am weight training mostly when in a fat loss mode.
If she has been gaining muscle while losing fat all this time I would think she would have noticed by now but you make a good point on not focusing on scales I don't ever use them .It sounds to me like she is probably gaining some muscle but making slow if any progress on fat loss.Maybe that has changed recently but if it hasn't it sounds like the level of calories not the level of exercise tht is the problem.Note though I am basing this on her weight days diet.It would be interesting to see her endurance days diet as what you mention could well be the problem there if she doesn't up the calories from this level.However in the past she has commented about not losing weight in spite of the endurance because her appetite spikes and she eats an enormous amount of food.

fietser_ivana

Ik think you might have been right.. as a repercussion (?) I was not hungry at all today. I'm not really extreme low-carbing anymore, but incorporate fruits again.

Today I ate

- 300 g of cherries for breakfast
- 2 eggs, mushrooms & ham for lunch
- half a carton of quark and half a mango at 6 pm
- other half at 9 pm

and I still wasn't hungry.. I used to try and keep intake equal on most days, now i try to go by feeling.. prob this was as a result of having been nauseous most of Friday.

Ivana

RWTD

I assume you had a fairly low activity day today.Fruits along with vegis are good choices for simple carbs much better than some you mentioned binging on.I think it is smart to adjust your diet to activity level which if you go by feel you will tend to do.Still when storing energy for high activity (endurance)you might consider adding in some complex carbs such as oatmeal/brown rice.By using fruits/vegis/complex carbs smartly you will be less likely to binge on refined sugars.

Guest

Still concerned about Ivana's calories- not enough to burn the fat.

Again, I emphasize if you're not eating enough calories for all the exercise you are doing, you will not be trimming your body's fat- your body needs fat for energy, and if you deprive yourself of the necessary amount of nutrients you need, you end up starving your body, so your body will hang onto the fat rather than use it for energy. That's why I said it's a catch-22. You don't eat enough calories for the exercise, the body responds by retaining the fat, the person exercises more because they don't see weight loss, the body responds by hanging onto that fat even more, since it needs it for the increased exertion, then the person restricts the diet or exercises even more, which leads the body to hold onto the fat even tighter.... etc. etc. etc.

I agree- more complex carbs are needed, more fiber wouldn't hurt either... more fruits and veggies would be nice to add to her diet also. But I do think she would need to boost her metabolism by adding more calories to her diet...

RWTD

In her other thread she said she was not doing the endurance this month but only weight training three times/wk ,spinning twice and one 75 mile ride.What she appears to be trying to do is adjust her calories to her activity level which I agree with.So I agree before/during her 75 mile ride she would need to take in more calories preferably a few more complex carbs.
But really what I think she needs to do is define more specifically what her objective really is and focus on it (both training and diet)rather than try to achieve multiple objectives at once.In the past she has tried to add strength while lowcarbing to lose weight.And if she was limiting calories while doing the endurance cycling like you say that to would be a mistake because it would create too high a calorie deficit.Now if she is going for hypertrophy/muscle or strength she will need a surplus calorie diet to achieve any results but will likely add some bodyfat in the process.If on the other hand she currently wants to focus on fat loss she needs a slight to moderate deficit and less focus on size /strength.

Inoplanetyanin

I think similarly.
Our organism has natural mechanisms that will limit taking harmfull food through rejecting it by taste or , worse, later on after eating it...
So, it's perfectly fine to eat WHATEVER person wants, in WHICHEVER quantenties.

Person will not want to eat more when it may become harmful.

fietser_ivana

Why is it so easy to decide for other people what they should or should not eat and not for yourself

I've been strictly low-carbing since early October thru Jan when I was mostly lifting weights and doing moderate cardio.
Increased carb intake dramatically for the long rides and now I'm done with them, I am going back to low-carbing again.

In the past I'd habitually forget eating enough DURING rides and as a result become too weak for sustained efforts and THEN raid the fridge a few days later.. now I try to keep eating throughout long rides, and yes, I now consider eating and drinking enough a more daunting task than doing the actual ride (OK, for 600K tiredness and soreness is important too). As a result I'm only feeling very hungry the same day and the next day.. that's a very good improvement I think.. weight loss is also insignificant during those rides, unless I'm getting dehydrated.

I just need to find the amt of carbs I do well on. I no longer adhere to ketodiets, as it is too little for the exercise I do.
But I've been told to try eating a Paleolithic diet, which involves cutting out the grains and eating less dairy foods. Cut out as much high-carb foods as possible, including starchy complex carbs. Some are OK, it seems for instance that sweet potatoes are a favourite food item among health-conscious people.

I do find it difficult to not eat dairy. I'm very fond of it and it is a good protein source. However, I have to avoid lactose.
The quark I eat for instance is OK as long as I drain the fluid.. if I don't I build up mucus in a very short period of time! Apparently the lactose is predominantly in the fluid part. So, milk is definitely out!

Fruit is OK esp. since it contains very valuable micro-nutrients. I am trying to increase my veggie-intake as well, which is at times difficult since I'm such a lazy cook. Veggie drinks apparently work well.

Yes, I did virtually nothing all day long on Sunday except for 1 relaxed 25 K ride. Oh, um I do have a new bf though .. might explain the 1 kg loss? Today I still don't feel hungry.. I had planned a longish ride, but I've not been sleeping well lately and decided to sleep in.

In July I will be cycle-touring for a month and then I expect to increase carb intake again.

PS: for more info on the Paleolithic diet, see e.g. https://www.paleodiet.com/

RWTD

I am familiar with the paleo diet and there is nothing wrong with it unless you have a very high activity level in which case unrefined grains are the best source of replentishing glycogen stores which important for endurance.Keep in mind the maltodextrin you use is refined corn starch. With grains the key is to use them wisely to fill but not overfill yr glycogen stores or they are stored as fat.This requires you to vary your grain intake based on your activity level.I try to avoid refined sugar altogether though occasionally use it on long bike rides and keep protein and fat somewhat more constant though I will increase the protein somewhat more whenweight training and the fat more when endurance riding.And Koffee makes a good point in not going to low in calories when active.On my original comment I thought you had eaten the entire meal 6 and then half againthat amount for meal7.Too low will be problem as you found out with the endurnce rides where you lose energy to a slowing metabolism.One strategy may be to go for strength now with a decent amount of calories to support it since it sounds like you lost strength with the endurance and then focus on weight loss when touring.From your other thread it sounds you are starting to effectively lose weight now and may have lost some muscle as well.

fietser_ivana

I guess that I've indeed lost some muscle, or perhaps it's water ?
Difficult to tell. I'm already glad that I can at least measure fat%.

Dieting is incredibly difficult. Too many calories, and you gain weight (muscle/fat depending on your body type), too few calories and you lose more muscle than fat. The right amount of cals makes you stay right where you are, but a slight deficit is the only way to lose weight. This deficit can be either by diet and/or by exercise and preferably by both.

Trouble is, everyone's maintenance level is different and of course also very much depending on activity level and age. Finding out how much you should eat to lose just a little bit at the time is not easy. It would require you, to monitor your food intake every single day, which I've done for a few months, but proved to be too much of a burden.. so I go by feeling and intuition now.

Ivana

RWTD

You've got the concept down exactly right and over time by trial and error you discover what and how much your body does best on in each situation.As for the glycogen I can tell by how full my muscles feel and look how topped up they are with glycogen/carbs.

fietser_ivana

Well, if it would all be just rational, things would be easy. Whenever I get off the track and eat carbs later in the day or miss breakfast (like last Friday), I get into carb cravings or sugar coma and lose control.. that's why I try to keep my carb intake as low as possible, without losing too much glycogen.
With my new training that's a bit difficult I found out when I was through my glycogen halfway the workout.. my whey-drink with fast-acting carbs saved me from bonking.

Ivana

RWTD

Thats why you should avoid sugar as much as possible .It creates a vicious cycle of cravings and energy swings causing loss of control over diet and weight gain.The worst are products high in refined sugar and refined(hydrogenated)fats.With more bland complex carbs like oatmeal/brown rice you can top stores with less insulin spike .Also always combining the complex carbs with some protein and fat reduces the spikes and cravings.To me eating this way I stay in total control. This is not the case with refined sugar products or refined carb/fat products so I try to totally avoid them except sometimes during intense exrise were insulin response is somewhat blunted and I want to go fast.

killerasp

just an update for you all......

ive been on my "regulated" diet for the past 3 weeks now and things are going smoothly. So far with excercise, ive lost about 6 lbs.