Building up the miles

[LemonJuice]

How tall are you LJ, sorry if you've already said earlier [haven't read all 10 pages!]

If you've lost 2/3 pounds a week and now weigh 12st 12 you must've only been 13st 6 or so a month ago when you started?

I say 'only' because I was 14st 10 in February and have been determined to lose 1 or 2 pounds a week since and now weigh 13st 5, with ideally, another stone to go. I don't have a 'diet', I just eat less of what I normally eat and make sure I exercise regularly... cycling has got much easier not carrying 9 bags of sugar everywhere!

I’m 6’3, I was somewhere between 13 1/2 and 14 stone. I want to get back down to 11 1/2 stone which is the weight I was for about thirty years.

 

[LemonJuice]

Are you monitoring the actual nutrition in what you eat, for example quality protein, plus vitamins, minerals, all that stuff needed to stay healthy Are you having your five a day (doesn't sound like it), raisins in the muesli don't count, dates don't count (they're mostly sugar, and vile tasting to boot ), you need a mix of fruit and veg, especially green and leafy)?
If you aren't having enough protein for example, your body will use muscle for fuel which probably isn't what you are seeking (you'll lose weight though)

I eat oranges, plums, green apples and red grapes. Maybe one or two of them a day.

I’ve read that dates are very good for nutrition and for weight loss.

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

Great minds D_J !

There are big hills where you live, which ever direction you take, and all up !

Nope. Wrong this time @Archie_tect.
Flat as a pancake round here. Canal bridges are the only climbs within an hour's ride.

 

[Archie_tect]

Nope. Wrong this time @Archie_tect.
Flat as a pancake round here. Canal bridges are the only climbs within an hour's ride.

Cheat!
Jedburgh is a good place to be... happy childhood or aspirational?

 

[vickster]

I eat oranges, plums, green apples and red grapes. Maybe one or two of them a day.

I’ve read that dates are very good for nutrition and for weight loss.

They're certainly full of fibre , but also sugar (hence calories). Grapes are also v high in sugar relative to everything else

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

Ever watch Edge of Darkness?
Bob Peck, Joe Don Baker, Zoe Wannamaker and the lovely Joanne Whalley?
All about nuclear reprocessing and financial greed?
A few years old now, but still gripping.
Darius_Jedburgh was the yankee trouble shooter/maker sent to sort things out.

Look it up. It's a good watch during lockdown. Shows how corrupt governments can be when they want to control the population.

 

[wafter]

Good morning everyone,

I have just weighed myself and I am 12 stone and 12 pounds. According to my maths, I am losing between 2-3 pounds every week.

I remember someone told me that one always loses a bit of weight rather quickly and then it becomes harder. Is that true? Weight/fat loss is just weight/fat loss, right? I want to lose another 1 1/2 stone so I’m aiming to have achieved that in about two and a half months.

I’ve not had any alcohol in over a month now and I drink a lot more water and the sizes of my meals are much smaller now.

I have a bowl of muesli with fat free yogurt or a bowl of porridge in the morning, a couple of hours later I eat 5-6 dates and for tea I have a salad with some chicken or fish.

With regards to exercise, I am going for a short ride in the morning (between 30-45 minutes), a daily walk that is about four or five miles and on the evening I go for a bike ride for about an hour.

An I going to continue to lose weight at the same pace I am at the moment?

My belly is not flat, but it is not bloated anymore and I can definitely see the difference between what it was like a month ago and now.

2-3lb per week is good going

I think weight loss can be expected to plateau at times; either due to falling off the wagon (as I've done recently, flatlining my pretty consistant half-kilo per week during lockdown). Alternatively I think it can just randomly stall even when not a lot's obviously changed.

 

[Sharky]

Nope. Wrong this time @Archie_tect.
Flat as a pancake round here. Canal bridges are the only climbs within an hour's ride.

I'm sure you can get to Billinge or Frodsham within an hours ride.
But I agree the Lancashire plains are quite flat, except at the end of a long day's ride. I used to dread the last couple of miles along Burrows Lane to Lane Ends memorial. Hardly a climb, but I used to suffer!

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

I'm sure you can get to Billinge or Frodsham within an hours ride.
But I agree the Lancashire plains are quite flat, except at the end of a long day's ride. I used to dread the last couple of miles along Burrows Lane to Lane Ends memorial. Hardly a climb, but I used to suffer!

Not sure how to get to Frodsham from here. Been up Ashurst this morning. That and Billinge are about 1hr 15mins from here.
Went up Winter Hill on Saturday. That took approx 2hrs 15 mins. Then return over Anglezarke. A full day.

 

[Sharky]

Not sure how to get to Frodsham from here. Been up Ashurst this morning. That and Billinge are about 1hr 15mins from here.
Went up Winter Hill on Saturday. That took approx 2hrs 15 mins. Then return over Anglezarke. A full day.

The roads may have changed, but before all the motorways, used to ride over the Runcorn Bridge and just keep going to Frodsham, then turn left, climbing towards the Helter Schedule, then carry on and thru Delamere forest then back home. About 30 miles round trip. A long time since I've done it.

 

[MrGrumpy]

I’m 6’3, I was somewhere between 13 1/2 and 14 stone. I want to get back down to 11 1/2 stone which is the weight I was for about thirty years.

Stop right there, forget dieting, you need to tone up and cycle more or exercise more doing something else. Your weight is fine. I`m 6ft and 15 1/2 stone. I would like to get to 14, no chance unless I cut out all the things I like so stuff that ! I just plan to cycle more and keep things stable. So should you !

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

The old Runcorn bridge is no more. Been replaced by the toll charging Mersey Gateway bridge.
The old bridge is supposed to be being refurbished and restricted to local traffic and bikes. But I've no idea what the state of play is at the moment.
The traffic north of the river is not something I'd like to experience on a bike.

 

[bikingdad90]

I’m in the plateau stage now. I’d like to get down to 10 stone or thereabouts to be middle of my BMI range. I’m currently 11 stone dead and 4lbs off dropping into the overweight category. Unfortunately for me, my metabolism is starting to slow down as I leave my twenties and enter my thirties and I have young children to disturb sleep patterns so I’ve gone from flat belly to rounded belly but my waist is still 32inches.

I’ve cut out sugar in tea and coffee, booze and try not to eat after 7pm or snack on crisps, biscuits etc throughout the day. Any ideas apart from more exercise or eating drastically less to reduce my weight? About 6 years ago I did weight nearly 13 stone but slimming world and daily commuting by bike/run got the weight down and an extra 2inches on my chest from Weightlifting.

I’m essentially in the same boat as @LemonJuice.

Is it worth omitting skimmed milk from my tea (I like it tepid so it isn’t a splash of milk but a decent amount- usually the full thimble goes in from coffee shops) and I have maybe 7/8 throughout the day; hidden calories?

 

[Sharky]

The old Runcorn bridge is no more. Been replaced by the toll charging Mersey Gateway bridge.
The old bridge is supposed to be being refurbished and restricted to local traffic and bikes. But I've no idea what the state of play is at the moment.
The traffic north of the river is not something I'd like to experience on a bike.

Never knew that. In my mind the Runcorn bridge is still a "new" bridge. I can still remember the old transporter. Just googled and it looks like the jubilee should be open to bikes and peds. It would be a long ride via Warrington just to get to Runcorn.

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

Back on topic....
I used to race bikes when I was young and fit. No idea what I weighed.
Injury etc caused me to retire.
Took me over 10 years for our wonderful NHS to accept that my knee was shot.
Slumming around my weight went up to 16+ stone with a 38" waist, and SWMBO was watching my diet like a hawk. The nice stuff just never came into the house.

Just over 3 years ago I got a new knee.
I decided to get a bike for a bit of exercise so bought a cheap s/h fixie to ride the local cycle paths. I soon decided that I wanted to do more so traded up to a "proper" road bike. Then I found I'd got the bug back. Now I've two nice carbon fibre jobbie - one winter and one summer.

I do 40 miles a day 4 days a week and a 70 miler or so once a week.

My waist is now 33" and my weight is 12 stone. I'm eating like a horse. Cakes, ice cream, booze and all the other "wrong" stuff I enjoy. SWMBO still makes sure our meals are healthy without resorting to veganism and other faddy diets. No Macdonalds or other junk food.

You can loose a lot of weight relatively quickly, if you set your mind to it. Everybody is different so there has to be an element of trial and error.

It really all boils down to how keen you are to get the weight off. Would you like to lose weight, or do you want to loose weight?