JReilly

Out of curiosity, id like to know how long it takes people to lose say... 10 lbs of primarily fat. What riding schedule do you use? i havent had much luck recently. Thanks in advance.

bac

You can lose fat at about 1 to 2 pounds/week safely. When I say "safely", I mean without losing much muscle in the process. In order to do this, simply burn 500-1,000 calories/day more than you consume. Keep your protein intake, and cut down on simple carbs while maintaining this caloric deficit.

Good luck!

... Brad

crtreedude 

bac is right on. If you really stay at it, you can drop 10 lbs in 5 weeks. The biggest issue is the temptation to add food - your appetite fights against you if you tend to just eat when you are hungry. Well, cycle a lot and you will get hungrier...

As boring (and scary) as it may seem, start with a journal of what you currently are eating. Then you will have a benchmark on reducing 500 to 1000 calories per week.

fig

Anyone else getting the Hershey's Kiss advertisement in the clydedale forums? It's a conspiracy! I know, I know, we aren't all overweight. Some in here are just big boned.

JReilly

Lol.. nice comment fig. Thanks guy. Just about how much riding is 500-1000 cals a day? i ride a 16+lb mountain bike with knobbys, and my normal route is about9 miles, 50% uphill.

jaxgtr

I find when I keep my pace in the 60-70% heart rate I lose more weight versus when I put on more speed and ride harder especially during the winter months. If I ride my normal pace now, my HR typically ranges between 125 to 140 which is 70 to 80% and when I hit the bridges it jumps up into the 90's. While I am not losing a lot of weight, it consistantly going down, but I am getting stronger and my aerobic fitness is light years beyond where I was on June 1st last year.

Mr. Beanz

Doing 42 mile flat rides on Saturday and Sunday. 2 10 mile climbs during the week, I won't lose a pound.

I must change my diet. I usually eat a chicken breast for lunch with a cup of rice. In order to lose weight, I'll keep the breast, cancel the rice and add a salad with rice vinegar, a cucumber or an apple or two. Eating this for lunch then a sensible dinner (I work nights) I'll lose 12 pounds in 4 or 5 weeks. With me, it's all what I eat and no ice cream (stupid Ben & Jerry!).

I exercise all I want but weight doesn't drop unless I cut fat out of my diet!

Velo Dog

Key for me is keeping ACCURATE, HONEST records of what I eat and how much I exercise. I can easily ride off 8,000-10,000 calories a week in summer, so even with my usual diet I lose slowly. If I cut my intake to somewhere around 1800 calories, I can do four pounds a week. That's twice what's normally recommended, and I don't say it's a good idea, but if I ride 10-12 hours a week, I can eat a satisfying and nutritious diet, stay healthy and still lose at that rate. The problem comes when I slack off on riding but continue to eat... You need to find a balance point where you can stay forever, not worry too much about what you're doing today or this week.
Incidentally, at least in my experience, I'm rarely actually hungry when I binge or go off my diet. I may be bored, or want a couple of pints of ice cream, or think a ham sandwich would slide right down, but I can't remember the last time I was really hungry. If you're the same way, it makes it pretty hard to justify eating something you shouldn't. You have to admit, "OK, I'm not hungry, I just WANT this. Krispy Kreme is stronger than I am"

v1k1ng1001

1. protein shakes with fruit are your friend, especially if you have a sweet tooth

2. substitute low fiber foods for high fiber foods

3. substitute simple carbs for complex carbs

4. don't be afraid of animal proteins (especially if you're working out), just make sure they're lean, reasonable proportions

5. Make sure you're getting adequate nutrition to cut down on cravings, take supplements if necessary

6. Eat small, frequent meals

7. Lifting helps more than you might think because adding/toning muscles not associated with riding will increase your metabolism

8. If you're desperate, you can try riding on an empty stomach in the morning or when you get home for work, you're more likely to burn fat that way

9. Find some way to measure improvement in terms of fitness, set goals for yourself

10. No soft drinks, no beer and try to decrease your caffeine intake as it significantly hinders your athletic performance while making you hungry and, eventually, tired

Air

Hey JReilly - welcome!! Check out my sig, there are a few threads on nutrition including this one that really lays everything out.

FatguyRacer

I just mentioned something about this in another thread. For me personally i lose about 10 pounds for every 500 miles ridden, given a constant 2200-2400 daily caloric intake (based on my personal BMR). This works out to about 2-3 lbs a week. I'm trying to lean out in a hurry. So my riding is pretty much fat burning pace. No intervals or hill repeats yet and i've not started any weight training either. Once the major bulk comes off, then i'll start the heavy duty training. I've learned from past experiece that i cant lose large amounts of wieght and race train at the same time.

Tom Stormcrowe

AVG loss rate = 7-10 pounds a month safely, as mentioned before and this loss rate is sustainable long term because it involves a change in lifestyle rather than a "diet".

Diet = Punishment and deprivation from a perceptual view. Instead you need to look at it as making saner lifestyle choices, because ultimately, the choice is yours!

europa

Does this mean I have to give up on my Chateau Carboard Red Wine? (cheap cask red, can't afford the good stuff).

Yeah. Diet. Doesn't matter how much I exercise, my weight is stubborn. Currently trying to be sensible with the sized portions I serve up - with just me and the lad, it's easy to cook too much and I grew up under a regine that said 'don't leave anything on the plate'. Well, I'm serving up less and am training myself to stop eating when my tummy says 'that'll do' rather than clean the plate.

And yes, the wine is a problem and probably doing more damage than anything else. And yes, it is self medicating.

Dammit, too many things to fix in one hit. I'll just keep chipping away. I eat healthy meals so I'll concentrate on the size of them for the moment, and the wine (more riding will help there - another form of self medicating only healthier). Once those two are sorted, THEN I'll get silly with diets and calorie counting and all that stuff ... in the hope I'll dip below 100kg before I have to

Richard

Tom Stormcrowe

Actualy, a limited amount of Red Wine is good for you. Key word......limited! 1-2 glasses a day are actually good for the heart.

rideorglide

I can't go into detail right now -- all the little changes add up, and there are many one can make, without real deprivation.

But so far I've lost 17 - 18 lbs in 5 months. It's a little under a pound a week. It's what I'd call slow but steady weight loss and I'm pretty happy with it, and the body is looking a whole lot better.

Still a clyde, but not by much. Plan is to lose another 17 lbs by Thanksgiving Eve, (not Thanksgiving Day!).

I made my own home made guacamole tonight, and well, uh-oh! might have been a setback calorie wise, but darn was it good and healthy!

As other folk here have said, it's a lifestyle change more than anything -- there area ways to do it less radically and still achieve results, and still have your guacamole and eat it.