Controlling bodyweight 2

[martinjs]

Seems a bit of stubbornness is about, so I started a new one for you all to share.

I've been riding know this time for just on 4 years and lost about 25kilos +/- a couple. To control my weight I've kept a rule I heard from somewhere. "Keep it simple Stupid!" It's as simple as that, keep my riding up, try and stick to the food triangle, allow your self to relax from time to time and use a mirror.
No weight ins and no special diets and up to date its' working.

Martin

[PS - fixed the spelling error in your thread title - hope you don't mind. Feel fre to edit this comment out.]

[Christine Tham]

I haven't really lost any weight due to cycling - I'm pretty much the same weight as when I started cycling, but I feel a lot skinnier, and I can fit into clothes I wore at uni (yes, I have a serious case of second childhood syndrome, I will be trying to fit into my baby clothes next)

However, at one stage I was 20 kg overweight, and my doctor told me in no uncertain terms that I needed to lose the weight or face health issues (I had high blood pressure, my heart was prone to palpitations for no reason, and after heavy meals I would feel heartburn)

I stared at myself in the mirror, decided I did not like what I saw.

So I started cutting down and counting calories. Eventually I figured out how much I can eat without exceeding my daily expenditure, and I stopped counting calories.

Gradually, over a period of six months, I lost the 20 kg.

To me, it was all about will power - I didn't apply any science to it (apart from the initial calorie counting). I just ate very little (I remember now - wheatgerm and yogurt for breakfast, 1 apple for lunch, no snacking, and dinner was usually a bowl of instant noodles with some fishballs and veges. Not exactly the healthiest diet, but worked for me.)

That was 20 years ago.

I gradually put pack 5-10 kilos 5 years ago due to bad eating habits (I was living out of a suitcase in expensive hotels, and dining on fancy restaurants 5 days a week). Since I quit my job, I have lost those extra weight and hopefully they won't come back.

Best thing is I'm currently eating like a horse and not putting on weight. I typically have 2 breakfasts (one before cycling, and one after cycling), have a huge lunch or dinner, and generally have a ravenous appetite but somehow it all gets burned away in my next ride.

[MichaelB]

I haven't really lost any weight due to cycling - I'm pretty much the same weight as when I started cycling, but I feel a lot skinnier, ......

Same here. Still technically overweight (BMI is 28), but quite healthy (cholesterol, BP, HR etc) and am able to do much more, and much happier for it.

[sogood]

I gradually put pack 5-10 kilos 5 years ago due to bad eating habits (I was living out of a suitcase in expensive hotels, and dining on fancy restaurants 5 days a week). Since I quit my job, I have lost those extra weight and hopefully they won't come back.

That is so common. I too became concerned about my weight and health after needing to go up in waist size for my pants, this too was similarly after a solid decade and more of excess long haul travel, fine dining interspersed with fast food, non-stop work/lecture/conference/meetings, constant time zone disturbances and loss of exercise schedule. Since cutting down on the travels, and my return to cycling and vigilance on food portions, I'm back to my old waist size with some minor fluctuations. A simple routine of regular long endurance rides and preservation of some hunger sensation at the post-ride feed (good gulp of milk for protein and fluid) has worked well for me. KISS it and just do it!

I don't need to hit low fat % like an elite athlete nor highest performance goals. I just aim for healthy weight, solid aerobics capacity and calculated avoidance of injuries for good long term health benefits. Good long term health is what allows us to enjoy our lives and be productive at work and home.

[m@]

Seems a bit of stubbornness is about, so I started a new one for you all to share.

I've been riding know this time for just on 4 years and lost about 25kilos +/- a couple. To control my weight I've kept a rule I heard from somewhere. "Keep it simple Stupid!" It's as simple as that, keep my riding up, try and stick to the food triangle, allow your self to relax from time to time and use a mirror.
No weight ins and no special diets and up to date its' working.

Martin

I like the way you think!

Tried calorieking for a while; I guess it would work better for someone who ate a lot of packaged or pre-prepared food but since we practically always eat home-cooked meals there was just too much work measuring and weighing and in the end it was all just guestimation anyway.

What it did help me with was making me aware of how much I was eating throughout the day without realising it and the impact of one or two high-energy snacks (used to drink a full-fat flavoured milk every morning - now I drink tea instead). I've also found keeping a food diary helpful for this but am basically ok provided I avoid that first 'lapse' as I know it'll just leave me wanting more (chocolate is the worst for this!).

[Apple]

Seems a bit of stubbornness is about, so I started a new one for you all to share.

I've been riding know this time for just on 4 years and lost about 25kilos +/- a couple. To control my weight I've kept a rule I heard from somewhere. "Keep it simple Stupid!" It's as simple as that, keep my riding up, try and stick to the food triangle, allow your self to relax from time to time and use a mirror.
No weight ins and no special diets and up to date its' working.

Martin

]

That is copy right Martinjs, I have said it keep it simple and on numerous times I posted a picture of the food group’s one must eat to shed those unwanted kilos.

Using a mirror is very important; I often tell my overweight friends at coffee and cake morning teas that the best way to lose weight is to look in the mirror while eating naked. I guarantee that you will lose a lot of weight,
Please feel free to correct all my grammar and spelling, I am trying to improve and am using this site as english lessons

[Apple]

[Tried calorieking for a while; I guess it would work better for someone who ate a lot of packaged or pre-prepared food but since we practically always eat home-cooked meals there was just too much work measuring and weighing and in the end it was all just guestimation anyway.

.

Soooooooooo true, even with weight watchers on line, I spent half the time trying to work out the points on home cooked food.
I bet it is a ploy so that you waste time looking up raw ingredients and relinquish by buying packaged meals.
That diet industry has it covered.
If I looked up apple, first choice was apple pie, apple crumble, apple custard and about the 10 choice was and apple

[martinjs]

Here's a good read.

The Diet That Works, Great Lessons from Caveman

Ok I know I posted this in another tread, but it's a good common sense read and felt it might be a benefit here as well.

Martin

[sogood]

Here's a good read.

The Diet That Works, Great Lessons from Caveman

OMGosh, people really have referenced the caveman in this context... Is there anything that hasn't been thought about yet?

[Apple]

Why are carbohydrates so addictive?
had coffee, one boiled egg and a banana for breakfast great start for the day.
One more hour till lunch, hang on, not long to go. keep busy till then. What am I going to eat,
oh I remember I had to much food on the weekend and I didn’t ride yesterday so on the menu today we have Diet shake for lunch
interesting about shakes

[toolonglegs]

I haven't done any proper exercise since May...so I need to count Kcals...boy is it a PITA!.

[Comedian]

Great stuff martinjs.

[Apple]

Did you know that one almond is 7 calories, so count how many you eat because they all add up.
I had a tuna steak this morning 211 calories
5 almonds 30cal
Coffee 200 cal
Total for the morning is 441
That leaves me with 759 calories in tota to eat for lunch and dinner.
Be strong apple you can do this.

[Zynster]

Here's a good read.

The Diet That Works, Great Lessons from Caveman

Ok I know I posted this in another tread, but it's a good common sense read and felt it might be a benefit here as well.

Martin

I've just started on the Paleo diet. It started from a book I read called "Why we get fat and what to do about it" by Gary Taubes. This started a bit of a revolution in my head on nutritional thinking. The basic premise is carbs are bad, fat (good fat) is good. I also did a lot of back up research and found that there is quite a large Paleo diet movement. And pretty much everyone who sticks out the initial adaption phase is raving about it.

The advantages are; no need to count calories. No restrictions on amounts. Eat as much as you like.
The disadvantages are; wave goodbye to the majority of modern foods, 2-3 week adaption phase is tough. It's not as bad as giving up cigarettes, but it's up there.

I'm 2 weeks in. Still lethargic and waking up with foggy head. I've dropped 2.5kg, though that is mainly water that was bound in glycogen stores in the liver. If I started eating carbs that would pop straight back on. The real weight loss doesn't start till after the adaption phase when the body's fat burning enzymes kick in.

I also looked into the paleo diet and cycling and found a book, "The Paleo Diet for Athletes: A Nutritional Formula for Peak Athletic Performance". They recommend specific use of carbs to aid performance and recovery while returning to the paleo diet in between.

Understandably there is a good deal of scepticism around about this diet, but the more I've looked into it, the better it looks.

[BruceGray]

They recommend specific use of carbs to aid performance and recovery while returning to the paleo diet in between.

Zyn, I was sceptical when I first read of it, but soon realized its guidelines generally lead to a healthier diet than consumed by 90% of westerners.

I remain fuzzy on how a very active person (10+ hours of cycling a week) could get enough carbs....which fits with the book you mention.

Whether it is the best diet for a lifetime remains to be seen. I personally respect the research and writing of American cardiologist and scientist Dean Ornish who favors a more vegetarian based diet. He is the only one who has published quality studies proving the diet mediated reversal of cardiovascular disease.

[mikedufty]

I've just read "why we get fat and what to do about it too" Really interesting well researched book. Pretty much discredits Ornish's conclusions. I'm kind of doing it backwards. I just lost 20kg restricting carbohydrates, then started reading to try to find out why it works and whether it is really healthy. I'm pretty much convinced it is healthy. Now my weight has stabilised I'm going to experiment a bit more with what I can get away with (had a freshly bakes slice of multigrain bread this morning before riding to work), but it's nice to know it is easy to get the weight back off if I mess up, and without going hungry or counting calories.

[Zynster]

In Dean Ornish's study, "Patients were encouraged to avoid simple sugars and to emphasize the intake of complex carbohydrates and other whole foods." This would certainly give them a much better result than the usual western diet.

Check out this video where a researcher from Stanford did a study on 4 different diets in 2007.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eREuZEdMAVo

[sogood]

Check out this video where a researcher from Stanford did a study on 4 different diets in 2007.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eREuZEdMAVo

Love the audience!

[Apple]

Check out this video where a researcher from Stanford did a study on 4 different diets in 2007.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eREuZEdMAVo

Love the audience!

Did you watch the whole thing sogood, I couldn't do it

[sogood]

Love the audience!

Did you watch the whole thing sogood, I couldn't do it

Oh my...

[BruceGray]

Different strokes for different folks
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/dean_ ... _diet.html

[Comedian]

Well my current problem is I'm hungry ALL the time. Weight is stable to declining slowly. However this hunger thing is getting a bit old. I'm not eating any less than before - probably more but the hunger thing is there pretty quickly after meals. I'll have to look for some low-cal things I can snack on.

[Chuck]

Well my current problem is I'm hungry ALL the time. Weight is stable to declining slowly. However this hunger thing is getting a bit old. I'm not eating any less than before - probably more but the hunger thing is there pretty quickly after meals. I'll have to look for some low-cal things I can snack on.

It's probably all the riding you're now doing. I went through the same thing as my km's really increased. I still feel hungry alot, it just doesn't feel as pronounced now.

[casual_cyclist]

Here's a good read.

The Diet That Works, Great Lessons from Caveman

Ok I know I posted this in another tread, but it's a good common sense read and felt it might be a benefit here as well.

Martin

I've just started on the Paleo diet. It started from a book I read called "Why we get fat and what to do about it" by Gary Taubes. [...] The basic premise is carbs are bad, fat (good fat) is good.

Personally, I disagree that "carbs are bad" per se and make a distinction between refined carbs (sugar, white flour, white rice etc) and complex carbs (rye bread, oats, fruit, veggies, brown rice etc). I have pretty much cut out all refined carbs, I am losing weight and I am not suffering the side effects I used to have when eating refined carbs (constant hunger, sugar highs, sugar cravings etc). If you look at traditional diets from around the world they are based on meat and carbs (think rice/fish, corn/meat) but those are not associated with obesity. It is not until a western diet high in refined carbs is introduced into those cultures that obesity becomes a problem.

The advantages are; no need to count calories. No restrictions on amounts. Eat as much as you like.

I wonder if these foods are self limiting. i.e. it is easy to overindulge in cake in terms of calories but eat the equivalent calories in kangaroo steak and you'll be feeling pretty sick. Has anyone actually calculated the amount of calories consumed vs estimated energy expenditure to find out if there is not a caloric deficit but they are still losing weight? If so, I would like to know where the excess energy actually goes. Energy can't just disappear, it must go somewhere.

The disadvantages are; wave goodbye to the majority of modern foods... 2-3 week adaption phase is tough.

The majority of modern refined foods are energy rich but poor in nutrition.

...2-3 week adaption phase is tough. It's not as bad as giving up cigarettes, but it's up there.

I convinced myself that cutting refined carbs would be a nightmare and that I would get severe sugar cravings. The funny thing is that as soon as I cut sugar I stopped craving it. My cravings stopped the day I cut and my hunger levels stabilised the next day. I did not expect it to be so easy to give up refined carbs and did not think my new way of eating would be easier to stick to than what I was doing before. Not having sugar cravings is fantastic!

Understandably there is a good deal of scepticism around about this diet, but the more I've looked into it, the better it looks.

A study with a sample population of 2 demonstrates that it works! There is something to look out for though... Food investigators on SBS ran a trial with 2 volunteers.

The results: After one month on the Hunters and Gatherers’ diet (with just a few lapses) Christine and Matt Tognetti have each lost more than five kilograms and are boasting of extra energy. Their skin is clear and their eyes are bright.

Dr Ben Balzer monitored Christine and Matt during the trial. He observed both had lost weight around the middle – which is important given that a thick waistline increases the chance of heart disease – and both had also recorded falls in cholesterol levels. Less than ideal was Matt’s loss of muscle tone – with tests showing he lost as much muscle as fat. But overall, Dr Balzer reckons the results are impressive.

from http://www.sbs.com.au/shows/foodinvesti ... ithic-Diet

Some good results but I would be concerned about the loss of lean muscle. A loss of more than 2.5kg of muscle in 4 weeks is quite alarming! I don't really understand it.

Don't take this the wrong way because I am not trying to discourage you from this diet plan, just raising the possibility of the loss of muscle, which I don't understand. I would not tell you to return to eating refined carbs because I really don't see the contribution they make to health. I wonder if the muscle "loss" was merely a depletion of glycogen from his muscles which would make them weigh less without them physically reducing of if it was actual muscle catabolism (breakdown of muscle tissue) for something missing in his diet?