mkadam68

Okay...my weight loss plans are somewhat out the window at this point. I have been racking up the miles but good, but over the past 2-3 months, my bodyweight has stayed the same. 268-270.

I need to lose more weight! (Somewhat obsessively I say). I'd like to get down to around 210-220lbs.

I am watching what I eat. Probably in the neighborhood of 2,500cals per day. But, I'm riding too. When I was first losing weight, I rode longer distances, once/twice a week (70-80 milers) with some good climbing thrown in. When I first plateau'd, someone said switch it up and do intervals. I took up racing again, and now do training races/sprint intervals on Mon or Tue, with actual race on Saturday. (Can you get more interval-istic than races?)

At my weight, after averaging 5 different Basal Metabolic Rate formulas, I should be using about 2,600 cals per day just breathing. I work as a physical education teacher, so I'm on my feet half the day, instructing kids, walking around, occasionally demonstrating a physical skill. Plus, by my software's estimation, I've burned 15,000+ cals this week, and I still have Sunday to go!

(Total results for those keeping score: Intake- 17,500cals; Expenditure- 33,366cals) This results in a loss of 15,000+ cals for the week and 4-1/2 pounds.

But, I've stayed steady at 268-270!

Of course, maybe I'm just not watching my food intake as closely as I think. But even if I up the intake to 4,000cals per day, I still should be losing a little more than 1 pound of weight per week! (My goal is around 2lbs per week.)
Now I know Tom said that your body gets more efficient at using energy, and so doesn't lose weight as fast, but this is ridiculous!

Any suggestions?

Tom Stormcrowe

What is your lean muscle/fat ratio? If your body fat is low and you are that heavy, is it really unhealthy? You might just be a tank by genetics, a lot of Germanic and Scandinavian descent people are that way, for example.

The issue may well be with your eating pattern as well. Frequent very small meals (5-7 at extremely restricted caloric intake, about 200 kcals each snack and multivitamins, with enhancement of your protein intake to support muscles) are a good technique, but can also be VERY counterproductive if you don't maintain absolute rigid control on the amount and type of intake. Best advice I can offer is to keep a food journal. If it passes your lips, write it down! Analyze what kind of food you are actually eating vs what you think you are eating for a better estimate of caloric intake and fat/carb/protein balance in your diet.

(51)

Damnit! I'm from German and Swiss decent

My weight has plateaued over the last year as well, so I know your frustration.

mkadam68

I have a Tanita bio-electrical impedence scale I use. Of course, I know that any one reading can be highly inaccurate, but over time, they give me a pattern. Right now, I usually weigh in around 22-24% bodyfat. My goal of 210-220lbs would put me around 5-10% bodyfat. (I'm an ex-football player, high school & college and do have quite a bit of lean tissue.)

Keeping a food journal is fine, but being accurate with caloric values is hard. I'll have to get a food scale for hte kitchen or something.

I do try to eat little snacks throughout the day, too.

Breakfast: 1-granola bar (100cals).
Mid-morning snack: Cheese & crackers (220cals)
Lunch: something homemade...this is where it get's hard.
Liquid: Lemonade or Gatorade thorughout the morning. 1 quart to 1/2 gallon.
All told, I try to keep my intake before dinner to less than 1,000cals. Then dinner can be whatever, within reason.

mkadam68

I'll try and replace the gatorade/lemonade with water & a lemon, but our water tastes terrible!

Also, the cheese & crakers seems high to me at 220cals. Maybe an apple or something instead.

Lunch is usually a pasta. This past week...a veggie chicken stir fry.

late

Hi,
I think I know your problem. Sugar triggers an insulin reaction. Insulin shoves sugar into fat cells.
1) I suggest having a real breakfast. I don't approve of artificial sweeteners, so use a little honey or do without.
2) Buy a bunch of bottled water. If you can have one of those dorm room fridges in your office, keep
water in that. You could also use a cooler, but bringing cooler packs and water every day would be a pain. But you need to cut way back on sugar.
3) Why is lunch hard?
4) Don't eat a big dinner. Figure out the minimun calories dinner needs to be and add about 100 to that number. After extensive computer analysis on a top secret supercomputer the results of my classified research are.....drum roll please.... no seconds

Tom Stormcrowe

Response to Bolded: You are better off nutritionally having a descending caloric scale through the day with the higher caloric intake early and lower later metabolically speaking. You are at your lowest ebb metabolically speaking at night. This can contribute quite a bit to the plateau effect!

mkadam68

Hard to figure out the calories. Unless I weigh everything. And tally it up separately. For instance...the stir fry. Seven different foods all in one. How many calories?

kandnhome

I'm also pretty big -- 235 lbs. I graduated from high school at 265, and stayed there for several years. I too played football in high school, until I fractured 3 vertebrae. So much for that. But the point is: my BMR is right around 2300 or so -- pretty close to you. And I ride a lot too (7-10hours/wk -- mostly offroad). And I'm also at a plateau right now.

Anyway, I see two potential weaknesses in your current plan: as you noted, you aren't keeping real track of your intake -- so you can only guess at how much you're eating. Trust me when I say it's easy for us big guys to suck in 4000 calories like it's nothing. Even more if we get a milk shake or some such and don't think about it.

However, you also say you are burning nearly twice what you are eating. That's not healthy, and it can actually be counterproductive. It can make your body go into starvation mode and store everything you eat/use it super-efficiently. See here for a reference (or google it for more): https://www.weightlossresources.co.uk...starvation.htm

Finally, if you put on muscle easily (like most of us big guys), you could be maintaining weight by getting more muscular / more dense muscles. I'm pretty sure that's what's going on with me right now. I've been weight training and training for a MTB race, and although I've lost 3 inches in the waist, I've stayed at 235. But interestingly, my arms/legs haven't increased in size. I wouldn't trust that body fat scale -- mine doesn't seem to register much in the way of change even when I KNOW I've gotten leaner. But mine's not a Tanita either, so who knows.

Maybe you just need to mix things up a bit to kick-start your body back into weight-loss mode. Experiment.

Anyway, good luck. If you do get to your goal you'll climb like a rocket. I love watching those skinny little 5'6" guys almost fall off their bike as I pass them up a climb.

bdinger

Hell man, I feel your pain. I plateaued for two weeks at 475 a couple years ago, even being on a 800 calorie/day liquid diet and daily workouts. Turns out my body needed a change, and that was it's way of telling me. I stopped the exercise for two weeks, added some veggies, and watched as the pounds fly off - 25 in two weeks!

When this happens, try switching it up. I've found that at times the loss will just stop for no apparent reason, but a change will make it apparent. This week I've lost nothing - well this past two weeks. However, I noticed I wasn't watching what I was eating enough, have been drinking soda instead of water, and haven't been on the bike much at all.

I say try a change. Take a week off exercise and see what happens. Or just take a day or two off. Try changing what you are eating. Triple your water intake. Somewhere in there you will find what is causing it .

jaxgtr

I've been using this to watch what I eat. It's pretty good. I think I am going to buy the program to get some additional features, but over all the free online one is pretty good.

https://www.fitday.com/

mkadam68

I....can't....do....that....arrgghhhh!

Oooh...migraine....oww.....

mkadam68

I looked at this site and tried it out. Looks pretty good. The last one I was on gave waayyy too many foods for what I had eaten...it took too long to enter any information, and so I didn't. This one looks a bit easier. I'll try it for awhile.

mkadam68

I'll try and get better at this as I'm feeling pretty motivated right now.

Good chance I'm off on this as I don't track intake too well.

Possibly more dense. Of course, I wouldn't mind losing some of my muscle weight either. I have alot of it

Yeah...I know. I just use it for watching the pattern. Assumption: if it's off...it's always off.

I climb really well for a big guy now. Just not good enough for racing yet.

late

You want to lose weight? Stop eating simple sugars. Eat a good breakfast and a modest dinner.
That's all you need to do if you keep up the exercising.

foehn

You might just find it easier to go to Weight Watcher and give it a try. No calorie counting, but you do have to count points. Every guy I ever saw in there, if he stayed on the plan lost weight with no problem, especially if he was exercising.

As others have said, you need to have a real breakfast: protein, carbs(whole grain would be best), a little fat, some fruit or veggies.

It also sounds like you may not be taking in enough calories, especially if you are riding regularly. On Weight Watchers, men get more food to eat and if you exercise you get more food on top of that. You want to eat enough so your body doesn't try to hang on to everything it takes in, no matter how little. Mix it up, your body may need a change and do try to eat more in the morning rather than dinner/evening.

What is the definition of crazy? Doing the same thing over and oer again, expecting a different result. Sometimes you need to change things to see changes.

lason

I feel like I'm on the same plateau. I changed up my diet, started riding more and I dropped 10 pounds which was great but the scale hasn't moved an inch for weeks. I haven't ridden my bike for a week and I've let my diet go to crap because I'm so discouraged. I don't get it, last year I lost 40 pounds and I didn't ride nearly as much.

Neil_B

When using Fitday, set the base metabolism for "sedentary" or "bed-bound", or it gives a wildly optimistic reading of your calorie burn. That said, I've used the site and like it.

Neil_B

Hi lason,

How long specifically has it been since you lost weight? If I understand correctly, weight loss can be stalled for up to five weeks in some cases.

Neil_B

You were 475? GASP!

Seriously, congratulations on the loss.

lason

it was about 2 weeks. this past week i strayed quite a bit and didn't ride my bike at all and i gained 3 pounds. i'm really frustrated at this point.

(51)

That Fitday software seems a bit off on the high side as far calories used per day (Even bed-ridden).

I'll try it though

Lost Pup

Consider a split cycling workout. Follow the premise of commuting to work, a morning and afternoon ride.
Keeps your engine running to cover a few more calories and confuse your body a bit.

I would log/monitor/record your heart rate to record your perceived effort vs actual heart rate.

Neil_B

OK, here's some straight talk for you. You can take it or leave it, of course, but it remains good advice no matter what you choose to do.

1. You can stall up to a month without it meaning anything other than that your body hasn't accepted the fact it's gonna lose weight. Your body doesn't want to lose weight, remember; it's regulated itself to maintain the status quo, and will fight to keep you at that weight. Stick it out and show it who's boss. I know it's frustrating. I went the entire month of August last year without losing a pound. Trust me, I was frustrated. I went from 10 pounds a month loss to nothing. I eventually broke free. So will you.

2. Ok, you screwed up and gained some back. Do what you do if you fall off the bike; get back on. If it keeps happening, then determine why, and change it. Just like your bike, your weight loss will only go to where you direct it to.

Private message me, lason, if you'd like to talk some more about this.

bdinger

Heck, that was when I was almost at my 100lb milestone . I started out at 567 a couple months before that

Got a ways to go, but eventually I'll celebrate the 300lb down milestone. Eventually