Hi, Newbie needs advice

[chris_bates1974]

Hi there, new to the forums, and still fairly new to road cycling. Took it up in March this year and did Paris-London last month in four days for charity. Have got totally addicted, and tend to ride about 20 miles four times per week at the moment which is as much as I can fit in around a busy family life.

The problem is that I am heavy - when I started getting serious I weighed around 17.5 stone, and I have dramatically changed my diet to consume far less calories, have reduce caffeine intake by around 80% and have obviously gone form practically no exercise to a lot. Yet, I weighed myself on Saturday and came out at 17 stones and 9lb!!!!

I'm not happy, My shirt size has gone down, my trouser size has gone down, I have lost at least one of my chins (!) but the mas is still there! It's not easy lugging 100+ kilos up hills....

Can anyone please give me some advice as to how I can drop the weight? I'm looking to lose around 3 and half stone ideally. I've already made a dramatic lifestyle change, so not frightened of putting in the effort.

That said, I'm not interested in fads or vegetarianism!!!

Thanks very much!

 

[poynedexter]

to be honest, you need to give us more info. exactly what are you eating? your weight loss will be largely down to diet. if you have been gaining weight by overeating, a drastic change in your mind may just move you to maintaining weight/ slight loss. 20 miles, 4 times a week is a great start and i'm guessing thats about 90mins riding for you each time. well done though on your start!

btw, my advice is to make small but significant changes and give it time. eg if you have a few drinks at the weekend, try and cut down. dont cut out anything unless its pure crap.

 

[poynedexter]

btw, dont fall into the trap of undereating. your body wont like it, you'll lack energy, you'll lose muscle mass which will reduce your base metabolic rate and cause your fat loss to slow and your cycling will suffer. a slight calorie defecit is what you want, not regular hunger.

 

[User16625]

btw, dont fall into the trap of undereating. your body wont like it, you'll lack energy, you'll lose muscle mass which will reduce your base metabolic rate and cause your fat loss to slow and your cycling will suffer. a slight calorie defecit is what you want, not regular hunger.

Although Im fine with my weight, and it is stable, I find myself eating practically all the time. My job involves lots of walking and its a 15 mile trip each way when I cycle. I dont cycle everyday due to the weather, but I still find that Im always hungry. It makes sense to me that the more energy you use up, the more fuel you need to consume to maintain that energy output. But cant help but think Im overdoing it sometimes. My diet varies significantly. I eat plenty of fruit and meat and some vegetables, but I also eat lots of choccies and Im fond of a few pints at weekends.
I dont think I can change my diet. Its pretty hard to not eat when your hungry, or eat nothing but vegetables and other tree food.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

It takes a while to get the body from overweight AND unfit to overweight AND fit. There is a difference and it is muscle. You won't necessarily see it, but more feel it with cycling being easier (in theory at least) and hill slowly getting easier etc... muscle weights more than fat... so you see yourself getting thinner but the scales don't agree. I'm in the same position and until you get to the point where you are fit enough to cycle and not feel exhausted and need to eat the moment you walk through the door you (and I) are not going to see the scales agreeing with us.

The trick is just to see this period out without getting too demoralised and too tired. It is not an easy waiting game to play, but sadly you need to play it. It takes a while and upping the exercises if you can without increasing the calories any further will help (so just lengthening the rides slightly...) As the miles increase, the fitness increases and the balance heads back to the scales dropping. Mine is just starting but it is leaving me exhausted. Good luck.

 

[chris_bates1974]

Thanks everyone. The frustrating thing is that although I am already much fitter, I still have to lug over 100kg up the hills!!! And now I've picked up an injury (Achilles) which is going to keep me off the bike for 10-14 days!!! I'm sure it'll work out in the end. I just can't wait to have a go at some serious hills when I weight a lot less!