Weight loss through cycling

[ausrandoman]

When I am training seriously, I check my weight before and after every ride, then adjust for the weight of water and snacks consumed. I also weigh myself every evening and every morning, immediately after going to the toilet. I also check the weight of each meal I consume. I am not obsessive. This is prudent, indeed essential.

I can therefore state, with the confidence that comes from extensive data collection, that the most effective weight loss occurs during rides around a counter-clockwise route at about 9:00 p.m. or 9:00 a.m. near the time of the full moon. This is because the hormones involved in the psycho-neural activation of the muscle afferents are chiral. The combination of the moon's gravitational force and the Coriolis force combine to selectively metabolise the D-rotatory portion of the glycogen in the muscles.

I have also noticed a distinct decrease in the incidence of vertebral subluxations but I am not yet sure if electromagnetism might be playing a part here - I am very fortunate that there is a wind turbine on a pre-existing magnetic field line near my house and I point my bed towards so I can sleep with my head aligned with the field.

As an aside, I have seen for myself that the "scare campaign" about turbines killing birds is in fact true, but not for the reasons people think. What really happens is that the blades catch water drops when it rains so the area at the foot of the turbine grows more grass, which sets more seeds, which the birds eat. And, as everone knows, seeds are dangerous to the health. My cat found one of these dead birds and ate it. The rotation of the molecules trapped (from turbine to water to grass to seed to bird to cat) wrecked my microwave oven so as far as the benefits of wind turbines are concerned, I think it's a draw.

[twizzle]

You put your cat in the microwave?
You _know_ that's not Paleo, don't you? You have to eat them raw!

[Alien27]

I think when it comes to weight loss for the vast majority of us the singular most important aspect is mental, everything else is just background theory/noise.

I lost 12kg's is 12 or so months and have another 3kg to go. I also put on a lot of leg muscle on in this time, so fat loss would be more than 12Kg's.

For me weighing myself every morning works, it seems to accurately reflect my last 2 days eating and excising. It gives me constant positive feedback and on days where I have been bad the next morning I'm pissed at myself and redouble my efforts that day.

Eating less carbs works for me as well. I pretty much eat the same type of foods that I always have but just half my serve of carbs and double the protein, veggies and fruit. I do this only as I find if i eat more carbs I want to eat more, where filling up on the rest seems to stop me snacking.

I think its 98% mental, you do what you find helps you stick to your diet and keeps you positive. I think discussions on whether more carbs, more protein, weighing yourself daily, time of exercise, or whether any other aspect or weight loss works better medially, is white noise. It's just arguing the 2% and largely irrelevant.

Listen to your body, be honest with yourself, don't snack, cut the junk food and drink, ride regularly and ride hard! That's it really.

[winstonw]

For me weighing myself every morning works, it seems to accurately reflect my last 2 days eating and excising. It gives me constant positive feedback and on days where I have been bad the next morning I'm pissed at myself and redouble my efforts that day.

I think discussions on whether .... weighing yourself daily, is white noise. It's just arguing the 2% and largely irrelevant.

hmmm...yeah...ok....

Listen to your body, be honest with yourself, don't snack, cut the junk food and drink, ride regularly and ride hard! That's it really.

OK, I am on target to ride >1800km for the month of May.
Weight loss after 1200km in 3 weeks, much of it hard? Nil.

[Alien27]

My point was you do what works for you mentally, what you find easiest to stick to. The hardest thing is to stick to your new routine or diet and that is what is most important. Arguing the medical details of what is scientifically the best is largely white noise. Follow the plan that is easiest for you to follow.

Im sure i could have worded my point a lot better but your selective quoting Winston, leaving out the important bit and adding a smart ass remark only serves to highlight your rudeness and unpleasantness.

[matagi]

Winston, maybe you need to rethink your diet and your exercise, particularly if you are in fact trying to lose weight.

[winstonw]

Winston, maybe you need to rethink your diet and your exercise, particularly if you are in fact trying to lose weight.

What do you suggest I think about Matagi?

[mikesbytes]

Winston, maybe you need to rethink your diet and your exercise, particularly if you are in fact trying to lose weight.

I agree with matagi

It's up to you to find the strategy that works for you.

A strategy I've used in the past is to do calorie deficit, which with your K's, you are in an excellent position to do. What you do is you eat substantially less than you require over a short period of time, 3 weeks for example. What happens is you shed fat faster then you shed muscle, changing you fat to muscle ratio.

I prefer this method because it generates what I term "race weight" where you are light in comparison with your power. Loosing the weight slowly may result in you proportionally loosing muscle so while you are lighter, your power to weight ratio remains the same.

[winstonw]

I agree with matagi

It's up to you to find the strategy that works for you.

A strategy I've used in the past is to do calorie deficit, which with your K's, you are in an excellent position to do. What you do is you eat substantially less than you require over a short period of time, 3 weeks for example. What happens is you shed fat faster then you shed muscle, changing you fat to muscle ratio.

I prefer this method because it generates what I term "race weight" where you are light in comparison with your power. Loosing the weight slowly may result in you proportionally loosing muscle so while you are lighter, your power to weight ratio remains the same.

you agree with what exactly?

For the month of May, I am doing the Strava May Massive with a goal of 1800km.
For the month of June, I'll attempt to do no more than 400km total...that's 1400*15 less Calories expended = ~3kg of bodyfat.

I shall put as much effort into my diet in June, as May. In other words, I'll do what is "comfortable".

[toolonglegs]

Is grumpy know it all old man syndrome contagious?

[matagi]

Winston, maybe you need to rethink your diet and your exercise, particularly if you are in fact trying to lose weight.

What do you suggest I think about Matagi?

What your calories-in are composed of for a start and how many calories you are ingesting. From that daily intake you posted a while back, it seems you are ingesting an awful lot of soy - could that be the culprit?

Do you have an undiagnosed medical condition that could be sabotaging your efforts like an underlying thyroid problem perhaps?

And ...... maybe cycling is not the right exercise for you? You are riding a huge amount of kilometres a month with no weight change, so you need to ask why? Something is not right there.

[twizzle]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10596518
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/68/3/599.full.pdf


Sent from my iThingy...

[ValleyForge]

Yeah I'm slowly cutting out sugar and bad foods. It's just so hard!

Without exception, everyone I know who hasn't met weight loss expectations, deceives themselves re Calories consumed.
And those who find it hard to stick to a Calorie deficit typically crave energy dense foods, and evade nutrient dense foods.
It's worth learning the diff between the two.

The science says those who track their Calorie intake via a food diary, have much more success at losing weight, primarily because they quickly learn when they are deluding themselves about energy consumed.

BTW, I once rode 700+km in a week, and 1500k in a month, and lost no weight during either.

FWIW, I work in the field and have heard every excuse under the sun for why "dieting doesn't work for me".
At the end of the day, there's only two excuses for most people - nutritional illiteracy and lack of commitment. The first is the easiest to get on top of (by keeping a food diary). If that sounds like too much trouble, then your will to learn and change needs confronting.

+1. I've heard all the excuses too and I'm in the industry. I'd never say losing a significant amount of weight is easy, but deceiving your self sure is.

[winstonw]

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionso ... loss-diet/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[winstonw]

Is grumpy know it all old man syndrome contagious?

how about some more anecdotal updates about your cycling, low back/hamstring pain that wasn't TLL.

[ausrandoman]

Is grumpy know it all old man syndrome contagious?

No, no, no, you are not quite right. What we see here is a philosophical process that defeats the syllogism, baffles reductio ad absurdum and shrugs off all enthymemes - what we see here is proof by confident assertion, which is a sovereign remedy to all data and logic. It is commonly used by grumpy old men but is not restricted to them. Mind you, some posters here have been grumpy old men ever since they were small boys.

[winstonw]

Is grumpy know it all old man syndrome contagious?

No, no, no, you are not quite right. What we see here is a philosophical process that defeats the syllogism, baffles reductio ad absurdum and shrugs off all enthymemes - what we see here is proof by confident assertion, which is a sovereign remedy to all data and logic. It is commonly used by grumpy old men but is not restricted to them. Mind you, some posters here have been grumpy old men ever since they were small boys.

quick....the world is ending (by overheating). give me all your money.

[toolonglegs]

Is grumpy know it all old man syndrome contagious?

how about some more anecdotal updates about your cycling, low back/hamstring pain that wasn't TLL.

No all good thanks winstonw, 1100kms this month so far...over 500 of those in races, not a single niggle anywhere ...

[durianrider]

I rode 6190km in Jan. I put on 3kg. Hydration, blood volume, muscle and glycogen levels can all be enhanced and weight goes up.

The skinny cyclist diet is caffeine free. Low in added salt (the more salt you eat, the more water retention you hold as your body needs to dilute the excess sodium to keep electrolytes in balance).

Water
fruit
sugar
steamed starches like rice, potato, yam etc

UNLIMITED calories

[winstonw]

I rode 6190km in Jan. I put on 3kg. Hydration, blood volume, muscle and glycogen levels can all be enhanced and weight goes up.

The skinny cyclist diet is caffeine free. Low in added salt (the more salt you eat, the more water retention you hold as your body needs to dilute the excess sodium to keep electrolytes in balance).

Water
fruit
sugar
steamed starches like rice, potato, yam etc

UNLIMITED calories

I'll agree with you on glycogen stores going up with more riding Durian, though can't keep going up forever. There's a genetic ceiling on most things, including fluid volume and muscle....and even gut contents (water, fibre, and microflora).

If I could be bothered, I'd do a comparison of two fat loss strategies: one focused on increasing energy expenditure (say cycling 2000km in a month under the guidance of a cycling coach), the other on calming the mind and emotions (a meditation and light yoga retreat for a month). Both would allow one to eat whatever made them comfortable. It would go a long way to clarify the greater causative factors of deranged Western obesity, I think.

[ausrandoman]

[quote="winstonw
quick....the world is ending (by overheating). give me all your money.[/quote]

You're a physio. I'm a physicist.

[twizzle]

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionso ... loss-diet/

The average weight loss was only ~4Kg after two years on a resticted calorie diet, with only a small percentage of the participants able to lose significant weight. The average participant had an initial weight loss followed by weight gain as the metabolic system compensated for the reduced calories.

So much for "eat less, exercise more".

[ValleyForge]

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionso ... loss-diet/

The average weight loss was only ~4Kg after two years on a resticted calorie diet, with only a small percentage of the participants able to lose significant weight. The average participant had an initial weight loss followed by weight gain as the metabolic system compensated for the reduced calories.

So much for "eat less, exercise more".

Not entirely true about the "metabolic compensation", but the numbers are spot on. About 1 in 20 people who are morbidly obese will lose a significant amount of weight by diet/exercise measured at 12 months. This is based on large randomised international studies.

To become obese we only need to overeat 1% of our daily caloric allowance long term. THAT'S SCARY.

And before you point me to various blogs/opinion pieces/MammaMia pages, please note this is my job!

[mikesbytes]

Winstonw are you saying you lost 3kg in one month?

Weight loss is relatively easy for those who do a lot of exercise. All it takes is good food knowledge and the ability to apply that knowledge to one self.

Acquiring and implementing that knowledge is the challenge and there are people here who are happy to share their experiences

[twizzle]

To become obese we only need to overeat 1% of our daily caloric allowance long term. THAT'S SCARY.

I'm pretty sure that "myth" was disproved by the Nurses Health Study.