I need to lose some weight. My New Year's Resolution was 5lbs per month. Sounds doable right?
Question is, can I keep at it? In 2003 I did a starvation diet and lost 30 lbs. I didn't make any lifestyle
changes so when I got stuck I just couldn't lose any more weight.

I brought my bike in from the garage, put on my new time pedals and shoes and pedaled for a half an hour.
I know it's not long, but it's been a long, long time since I have ridden regularly. My plan is to ride a half an hour
per day for a week and then each week add 5 minutes. If I can have this be a habit by the time it gets warm I should
be able to get back into good riding shape.

Any suggestions, ideas, etc?

Okay.
Assuming that your not anorexic and that you have had a recent "complete"
physical & passed without issue. I say U 'da man with a reasonable plan.
Keep us up to date on your progress. I could lose a few myself -

Create a do able diet for you that is low in carbs. Read all the labels you can!
You will be surprised at how many carbs are in things you thought were good for your diet. A perfect goal is 1-2 pounds per week, and keep up the excercise!
And pick one day of the week to weigh yourself. Don't weigh everyday!
And keep a log of your progress, it will keep you motivated!
Good luck!
( I lost 30 lbs this way in 3 months and have kept it off for 2 years)

Lisa

Bicycling is a great energy burner. However I don't think it will help shed the pounds. Unless you like ride to work 15 mi one way.
Actually wieght training can get you losing more fat. Because your body will continue to burn calories hours after a train to failure weight room work out. I favor minimum 15 reps and work towards 20. Work your muscle till it quits medium/ lite weight high reps.

30 minutes is just long enough to burn the carbs you have readily available in your muscles. Fat burning won't start till 40-45 minutes of exercise.

Of course I am usually ready to eat the ass off a charging rhino when I am done. So this bring us to the most important part. burn more calories than you eat.

1 pound of fat is 3000 calories.

rip out your interior...carbon fiber hoods, cut out your trunk bed/pan thingy, lightweight wheels....

QUOTE (Colicious @ Jan 4 2005, 05:27 PM)

rip out your interior...carbon fiber hoods, cut out your trunk bed/pan thingy, lightweight wheels....

lightweight battery,

I am suprised Paul didn't mention that he has had his arms and legs replaced with C/F fully articulating units that saved him 6.2 pounds.

When I quit playing football in school because of a broken knee, I gained 100 lbs in months. I lost it all in about 90 days, eating only mashed potatos, and once or twice a week, a Whopper.. with double veggies... oh, and Jack Daniels.



M

eliminating ALL alcohol intake is a very good idea. empty cals and your liver can concentrate on it's true function. portion control. even 30 to 45 minutes of excersise on a regular basis will help speed up you metabolism. do you still have your bowflex? crosstrain with that and the pedaling. i'm 50 lbs lighter than i was 3 years ago. forget the bathroom scale. when you start adding lean muscle tissue you might gain some weight at first. when the waist of your pants loosens up you'll know your on the right track. log off and hit the bowflex.

kevin

Sean, sounds like we are in the same boat. Actually, you have a better plan than I do. I've got some new Carnac shoes that I haven't even mounted cleats on yet and I've had them for two months. I love riding, especially when I'm in shape but I haven't been able to motivate myself for any regular enough riding in the last few years. I go in spurts where I ride a lot, just start to get into shape, and then slack off again. BTW, I have that same 25 pounds to lose.

Cycling IMO is a fine way to lose weight if it's done vigorously enough. But, combining the cycling with weight training really improves things.

i see it's 41/29 with rain in indianapolis. that would be hard for me to stick to a cycling regimen.

kevin

Get a set of high quality hole saws and clean them REAL good.

Lay down on your work bench and drill holes all over your body.

You'll save 35 pounds easy.

I'm just curious if you guys are talking mountain biking or road biking.

That's my Klein road bike hanging on the wall. Has not seen daylight in about 5 years.

I used to ride about 100 miles a week, race, etc. Now I sit here and type.

Been thinking about getting back on it .

Exercise and a proper diet is the healthy way to do it. Dont starve yourself. Increase your leafy green veggies intake, like ROMAINE lettuce (not iceberg) and broccoli. Consume lean proteins like baked chicken with light seasoning, not smothered in butter or some other sauce. Put yourself on a routine that you can follow. Dont look for results right away, but be patient and stick with it. Swimming is also a great way to exercise.

just so you all don't think i'm a masochist, I'm riding in my guest room, which is incredibly boring....30 minutes seems to take hours. One of the things I really enjoy about cycling is seeing things that you normally wouldn't....well I know my guest room really well, so boredom sets in incredibly fast.

As for alcohol, I drink socially, so that's not a concern, 4-6 beers a month is all.
I have a soloflex, but I'm gonna sell it, it's just a pain in the but switching it all around.


oh and in case anyone cares I'm riding a '99 Bianchi Veloce with Campi Athena componentry.

I ride both on and off road. I've got an old Litespeed Classic that I updated a few years ago with new Campy Record. I also have an older Canondale mountain bike.

I used to have a full suspension mtn bike but when I lived in LA it was on my boat and didn't fare to well in the salt air. I gave it away once I moved back here.

I need to get my cruiser done so I can cruise around and get excercise.

QUOTE (seanery @ Jan 4 2005, 08:24 PM)

I'm riding in my guest room, which is incredibly boring....30 minutes seems to take hours. I'm riding a '99 Bianchi Veloce with Campi Athena componentry.

Sean-
Try headsets with loud rockin'tunes - focus on the music... helps keep the boredom at bay. Plus, you get to listen to some music that you may not otherwise.

Once a week you might try a "spin" class at your local spa. You can pickup a lot of excercise routines and a good instructor provides you with a lot of "ride" visualizations you can use at home. Spinning classes can be addictive.

I ended up selling my trainer and buying a used Schwinn "Spinner" machine for home.

I ride both my road and mtn bikes - doesn't matter to me.

Good Luck.

Here's my Bianca - all ready for a ride.

The week before Thanksgiving I tip the scales at 233, I join weight watchers and as of last night I am at 214 with another 30 to go. I like it, easy follow, no pre-packaged foods, I don't go hungry, just a simple life style change.

Here is to thiner 2005 (that's water in the mugs)

Garold

Lots of great advice for you already, Sean...

Just make sure that whatever routine you decide on, stick to it. I'm lucky enough to have access to a company fitness center, and 1hr/day, 3x/wk, I went from 250 down to 190 with significant shifts in body composition. OUtside of the gym, I just cut out (most of) the useless calories. A few of my co-workers took up cycling and had great results. One even finished the RAIN ride this past summer ( +160 miles, Ride Across INdiana)...but they say that riding the trainer indoors is the most boring thing ever. The bowflex might be tedious, but it does offer some variety over spinning indoors.

Good luck with your plan. With your weight reduction plan, maybe we can time some laps out at Putnam this spring and see who is quicker

Stay away from the gimic diets...low carbs my ass...just eat LESS. By eating smaller portions, only one serving of meat a day, lots more fruit and veggies, and trying to lower my sugar intake to as little as possible (absolutly no sodas!) I lost about 5 lbs in a month. The punds don't come off fast, but they will stay off ... then I did the best thing for losing weight I have ever done...

I got off my ass and joined a martial arts class - lost about 25lbs in ~4 months - and now I am in as good a shape or better than I was in high school. I take the classes 2hrs a day 3days a week, and just hit my one year mark...

I am not saying you need to start kicking and punching, but find something that you enjoy doing and that you can do with others cause (at least for me) I need someone else there pushing me for me to stay motivated and keep at it.

good luck,

Tony

QUOTE (itsa914 @ Jan 4 2005, 07:19 PM)

The week before Thanksgiving I tip the scales at 233, I join weight watchers and as of last night I am at 214 with another 30 to go. I like it, easy follow, no pre-packaged foods, I don't go hungry, just a simple life style change. Here is to thiner 2005  :beer2:  (that's water in the mugs) Garold

My wife has lost 37# in 3 months, on the new weight watchers "core diet"(good food, less starch and fats, lots of veggies) and I just went on board last week, gotta get my gurlish figure back so I can eat my way back up....../good luck to us all!

Go Sean! Add some weight training. The combination will be more effective than riding alone. As stated previously, portion control and get rid of the sugar.

I hit 200 for a solid two weeks for the first time in my life. 5 years ago (when I started this stupid stress bag job), lifting and riding I weighed 173 and was in the best shape of my life (besides post boot camp). That took 9 months or more of work. Now my Smith machine in the basement just collects dust. I've been thinking about it for months; That bathroom scale and this post is really hitting close to home.

Road bikes are nice but you got to be an animal to become fit on one. Like Lance Armstrong.
Mountain bike will whip your butt. I ride a bike to work 3-4 days a week with a large hill in the middle no sweat. Rode with my brother in Grant Park and whitnal park in Milwaukee . I thought I was going to die. If I wasn't climbing a hill I was accelerating out of a corner, jumping a log, dodging trees, getting up from falling.

I have a Cannondale 2.8 Road and a beat up old Mountain bike that I commute on with street tires.
Oh yea watch speed channel while riding Do push-ups for a whole commercial sit-ups for the next and lunges or squats the next. even jumping jacks for a commercial then lay there and suck wind for the show.

QUOTE (rhodyguy @ Jan 4 2005, 05:43 PM)

eliminating ALL alcohol intake is a very good idea. empty cals and your liver can concentrate on it's true function. portion control.

Are you nuts..... eliminate alcohol

If I had to do that everyone within a 50 mile radius would be dead from my wrath

Seriously, I am planning on losing 30 pounds this year (5'11" 221 Lbs.) I joined the local Y, very nice facilities. Treadmills, stair climbers, cardio machines, free weights, raquetball, pool, etc. I think you get more motivated if you actually have to GO somewhere to exercise. At least then you feel as if you have to do something worthwile or it was a wasted trip. My goal is simply to get in better shape, the weight will come off on it's own. It's a long term thing.

Move the bike downstairs......push the couch away from in front of the big screen TV and tape the remote to the handle bars. Ride while Jerry is on or put channel 598 on and pretend your ride after them.

Cut out the soft drinks.

Eat less, exercise more = weight loss

Here's one for you, don't forget to eat. I had a baad habit for the past 10 years of skipping breakfast, lunch and then get home and eat anything not nailed to the floor, then at late dinners and straight off to bed. Your body will get used to eating that 1 meal a day and slow your metabolism down, when you suddenly eat more (like on the weekends) it all stays. Also eating right before you sleep will add the pounds too. I finally got on a regular eating plan of 3 squares a day, I collectively eat more, and eat my last meal a few hours before bed - dropped about 15 lbs by just eating, feel better and have some better focus as well.

Yeah, just eat right and ride alot.

Though mountain biking is better for you, much better, it burns lots more calories. My friends and I ride about 20 miles a day offroad in the summer . Its great fun. You don't need to do any crazy offroading (or downhilling), just a run through the woods (we ride on the powerlines a few towns over, where all the dirtbikers ride and are dead by the time we finish) All you have to do is keep the pace up (15mph) and have some time to dedicate to riding.

Oh, you should pick up a cheap mountain bike to ride on the road, they are alot heavier so you burn more calories riding them.

Wieght training also reduces weight. All the guys lift and ride, and none everyone has been losing weigt for the past 2 years. I'm kinda biased towards riding , bikes and cars pretty much take up all my time outside of school.

Anyways, good luck and stick with it. (btw, I've heard that booze slows down your metabolism 50% for a week after consuption)

Kinda depends on how your body is made up...

All I had to do was two things...
1) Absolutely quit eating anything with fat in it. (cept on ocassion)
2) Quit eating in the late evenings and at night.

And lost twenty pounds in 60 days. That is all I did... And I have kept it off for 6 years....

Cause thats all MY body needed... What works for others will not nesasarily work for you... Or me...

It's all about what works for YOUR body....

Just experiment.. And have fun while your doing it...!!!!!

Twystd1