low carb diet / weight loss / cycling

[rsvdaz]

I need to shift some lard.
I have taken up cycling...ok my fitness has improved...easily do 50miles in a ride..thats 50 devon miles as well
all this is good...but i dont seem to be losing any weight.

I have tried diets before..Cambridge worked but was very extreme..I have also had sucess on a low carb diet and thinking of doing this again..coupled with cycling - but how will my body react to this....will my likely hood to bonk increase? - I am aware that for long rides you should carb load.

Yeah I know the best way to lose weight is for life style change and lose a coulple of pounds a week..but I want a kick start and get down to a reasonable weight to begin the life changing bits...I am hoping cycling now and for the forseeable future is one huge leap towards this

 

[BSRU]

If you are replacing fat with muscle, then you may gain weight as muscle is heavy than fat. I have not lost any weight but I am definitely thinner than before.

 

[rsvdaz]

i cant say the same..at 5'11" and 17stone..im fat!

 

[jimboalee]

Are you falling into the trap of adding up the calories used for cycling off an internet website?? and eating them?

These ARE the calories used, but well above the calories you need to replace.

Go for a fifty miler. Take it easy and take five hours to finish it. At this rate of exercise, your body will be utilising fatty acids as fuel. Of course these are calories, but they are calories you DON'T need to replace.

You may have used ( at a guess ) 3000 calories TOTAL. Fuel up with 1/4 of this, 750. Rest after the ride and your body will convert fat into useful energy JIC you suddenly get back on the bike tomorrow.

The result should be at least half a pound of fat gone.

 

[Rob3rt]

You can drop weight very fast, this will get you to a "good weight" but it wont be functional, you will become weak and lethargic and not feel so good etc and your activity on the bike will suffer. There really is no shortcut, you will have to do it the "hard way" and just stick it out.

 

[phil_hg_uk]

You can drop weight very fast, this will get you to a "good weight" but it wont be functional, you will become weak and lethargic and not feel so good etc and your activity on the bike will suffer. There really is no shortcut, you will have to do it the "hard way" and just stick it out.

Totally agree with that.

I find that a combination of sticking the the correct amount of calories along with cycling as exercise works for me and as long as I watch what I eat I tend to lose about 1lb per week, but you need to do both.

I use this website -> http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk which lets me track what I am eating and what exercise I am doing and tells me if I am going over or under.

The only way you will lose weight is to use more calories than you eat but you need to make sure you get that balance right otherwise you wont have the energy for the exercise as the previouse poster has said.

 

[rsvdaz]

im not actually or attempted to count calories...although I do know after a longish ride im ravenous....so im guessing the calories expended i quickly regain post ride

I guess what I need is a regime to help with my will power...I know I can do a fairly strict diet..even I just left it as eat all things in moderation.....its the moderation bit I have problems with! lol
my thoughts with regard to low carb is that although you can have unlimited amounts your apatite is soon curbed and you feel full fairly quickly and stay that way.....I find carbs although fill you after a while you do feel hungry again.
my thinking was get to a reasonable weight and I know eating how I am now is sustainable with cycling

 

[jimboalee]

im not actually or attempted to count calories...although I do know after a longish ride im ravenous....so im guessing the calories expended i quickly regain post ride

This is where the problem lies.

You are not counting the calories necessary for the ride, and eating them before the ride.
You finish the ride depleated and eat until you feel satiated.

If you are not counting calories, you are probably over eating post ride.

 

[BSRU]

i cant say the same..at 5'11" and 17stone..im fat!

What I am trying to say is as you loose fat mass you will gain muscle mass and hence the drop will not be as fast as you expect. Weight lose should be gradual process not steep fall of a cliff and coupled with a sensible diet trying to avoid empty calories.

1 litre of fat weighs 0.9 Kg
1 litre of muscle weighs 1.06kg

 

[JamesMorgan]

From personal experience I only lose weight when I count calories. If I rely on some inner instinct on what is right or some fad diet then I rarely lose weight for any length of time. Counting calories I consistently lose around 1 lb/week. You can automate the process of counting with spreadsheets or websites so after a while it doesn't become too much of a bind. Also from personal experience, unless I feel hungry most of the day then I am not losing weight. Again, you get used to the feeling after a few weeks. I've not really found cycling that useful in weight loss I have the same feelings of hunger losing 1lb/wk whether I cycle or not - it just increases the amount of calories I can eat in a day. Of course, there are lots of other reasons to cycle (improved fitness, body tone, enjoyment etc).

 

[Spenceey]

Just eat smaller portions and cycle more, I've looked at the low carb diets but if you are going to do any long(ish) rides you are going to need to carb load.

 

[Manonabike]

Interesting points here...

My stats are very similar..... 6' tall and a year ago I was 19 stones now I'm 17, about 107k.
I have 4 weeks left to attend a wedding and I wanted to shift some more lard but what I was doing was not working so for the last 10 days and the next 4 weeks I will reduce carbs to the minimum. 10 days like that is already showing some very good results :-)

My doctor said a while ago, when I asked about this fatigue, lack of energy and wanting to eat lots and lots on my return, he said that is your body running out of energy and not knowing where to get more energy from..... he said, when you feel like that, try to continue for a bit longer each day until your body learns to use your own stored energy.
It was quite a while since I tried this and it did work in my opinion..... I did 15 miles and I was filling so hungry, weak, sweating, and even a little dizzy but I just kept going very slowly for another 7 miles and by the end I was feeling much better than by the end of the first 15 miles. I tried that a few times afterwards but never took it further....
In the last 10 days I have been doing something very similar and for the first couple of days I was feeling very weak by mile 17.... This morning I went out without breakfast, I had some chicken last night about 8 pm, and I did 36 miles. I reckon I could have done another 5 miles or more.
Yesterday I did something very similar, 23 miles in the morning then a bit of fish for breakfast..... I had no lunch cause I had to play tennis.... I did 1.5 hrs of tennis and I was feeling fatigue, I had no time to carry on playing to beat that feeling as I did with cycling.... I had a steak with salads for lunch and chicken for dinner.

I hate counting calories, I did that many years ago but I said I would never do that again. Counting calories takes over your life and instead of enjoying a meal you just spend time calculating what you can eat without breaking the diet.... that sucks and that is why that diet never works in the long term.

After 4 weeks, I will continue riding like I do now but I will be running a bit too, which I have already re-started again after several years and it's something that I enjoy even more than riding a bike.

I'd say probably not worth doing if you are skinny already but since you have some energy stored already, just go for it - in my experience, in the last 10 days I have not noticed any bad effects at all.... sleep well, still feel like getting up in the morning to go riding, etc.... I know that part of it is my motivation to look half descent at my daughters wedding

 

[andygates]

Post-ride hunger commonly demands more calories than were expended. There's a lag between stomach and brain, that's about two fish suppers' deep in some cases. I suspect that good habits could be learned by younger dogs than I...

Counting works. Yeah, it's dull. Tough.

Extreme bonkers low-carb works too, but you will feel ever so flat.

 

[ASC1951]

Yeah I know the best way to lose weight is for life style change and lose a couple of pounds a week

There is a reason why this is the best way.

..but I want a kick start and get down to a reasonable weight to begin the life changing bits...

It won't work.

Once you are out of your teens, it's virtually impossible to lose weight by exercise alone. You have to eat less; and usually, eat better. Concentrate on that.

 

[Soltydog]

I have tried diets before..Cambridge worked but was very extreme..I have also had sucess on a low carb diet and thinking of doing this again..coupled with cycling - but how will my body react to this....will my likely hood to bonk increase? - I am aware that for long rides you should carb load.

I went on a low carb diet a couple of years ago (after advice from the doc) I cut out all high carb stuff as well as sweets/cakes & alcohol. Initially my cycling did suffer, but just take it easy & dont push too hard & you'll be fine. I did a few ton rides without carbing up & managed ok.
My performance (ie times & ave speed) suffered, but just ride easy & enjoy it.
I lost 2 stone in under 6 months but last year put 1 stone back on