Weight Loss - why arent I losing more ?

[zak3737]

True.......I guess I could just switch to Black Coffee

I dont keep a tally ultimately, but Cereals/Milk for Breakfast (400 ?) Teas/Coffee at present (200/250cals?)
I had Tuna/Tomatoesand Pickled Cabbage for Lunch today, - cant be more than 300 ?
Apple - ?
And we are to have a Thai Prawn Curry (Slimming World Recipe ) tonight, so thats wont be much, altho some Naann bread might be consumed too !
I dont think I'm up to 2k there, so even allowing for days not quite as strict, I dont think I'm ever much worse than the recommended 2500 for a normal chap, (large framed at that)

Occasional Chocolate or sweets, I admit, are'nt ideal, but I dont scoff Crisps/Biscuits etc etc, we dont have them at home. And I drink very little, perhaps 3/4pints per week after a game of golf.(not after 1 game !!)

March total Calorie burn on Wahoo App workouts are just short of 10k for the month, including a week where I couldnt train due to cold.

I'll just carry on and perhaps start the 5:2 again, and that does reduce the overall intake per week. Once into that, I find it works for me, and reports seemingly show that Training on Fasting Days is particularly good for Fat burn.

 

[keithmac]

I'm quite active at work and cycle there and back.

Unfortunately the body is very efficient at using food as energy so for me it was diet only and keep the exercise up.

3500 calorie deficit per week was what I aimed for and it's quite hard to consistently hit.

500 kcal is easily eaten (or drank!).

Plus you'll plateau a few times as well, possibly the body adjusting to the new calorie intake?.

 

[TonySJ]

I'm 55 yrs and been road cycling for 18 months, before that very little bike riding other than a bit of M/biking at a leisurely pace. I'm only 12 stone 4 lbs so lighter than the OP.
I think that you need to increase your cadence especially on the turbo to around 85-90 and keep it there. Complete the 1 hours TT ride and see what figures that produces. I tend to ride a low cadence around 75 generally and around 145BPM H/R even on a steady ride. Went out yesterday covered 38 miles. 1st 10 miles below 140BPM HR then the next 28 miles with more effort was average 152BPM HR.
Last December a mate set me up for a months free trial with Trainer Road and I found having figures on screen to focus on helped me up my effort.
I think you need to ride outside so you are varying your effort, hills etc, that way all your stats should show an improvement for a ride out.
Diet needs to adhered to as its all to easy to keep nibbling odd smacks.
If I don't burn 1500 plus on a ride I've been freewheeling for most of the way lol. Usually 2000 2500 cals a ride is my normal burn.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Your average heart rate is around that of if you went for a walk instead. Use the turbo for the health benefits of higher intensity exercise. Change your diet if you want to lose weight.

 

[zak3737]

Evident that some of you, or most perhaps, are quite happy/comfortable with really pushing your HR, and I guess if you are seasoned riders, and mega fit, then thats ok & good.
But I'm a little more cautious in reality, and at 56, I'm not going to start 'really' thrashing myself, I just dont think its wise. I'm building up well, considering how I felt back in November, and I certainly feel a lot lot stronger.
I'm away for a week next week, but as soon as I'm back, and the weather has hopefuly turned, I'll start getting out on rides and see if all the TT work migrates to benefits on the road.

 

[Alan O]

Evident that some of you, or most perhaps, are quite happy/comfortable with really pushing your HR, and I guess if you are seasoned riders, and mega fit, then thats ok & good.
But I'm a little more cautious in reality, and at 56, I'm not going to start 'really' thrashing myself, I just dont think its wise. I'm building up well, considering how I felt back in November, and I certainly feel a lot lot stronger.
I'm away for a week next week, but as soon as I'm back, and the weather has hopefuly turned, I'll start getting out on rides and see if all the TT work migrates to benefits on the road.

Yep, I'd say definitely build your HR up gradually - you need to be comfortable in yourself with each step in your progress. But you might be surprised how quickly your fitness improves step-by-step. I'm not megafit by any count - but at 59 and still overweight, after a couple of years back to cycling I'm already spending significant periods of each ride with my HR in my peak zone (last ride ave 140bpm, maximum 174bpm).

And do keep coming back and telling us how you're doing - I've found chatting about it here very motivating, both for my weight loss and fitness (and generally enjoying cycling).

 

[zak3737]

Cheers Alan, I will.
Out of interest, I've just looked back at stats on my Wahoo Element from mid 2016, when we were doing some good rides and mileage, ie 65miles in rolling East Yorkshire, (and it is), and my average HR then was same as yours, ie 141Bpm Avg, with Max at 168/170.
That said, I never 'push' uphills, I'm inherrently lazy when going uphill, and merely spin my way up. Seeing my HR get up to 170ish even then is enough to tell me that I dont want to push it harder. (just me, I've heard of too many people keeling over)

We did very little riding in 2017, hence why I decided to get the TT in November to get fit again, and so far so good. Additionally, another great thing is that my lower back (SI joint actually....) which has griped me for a while now, .........feels much better too from all the pedalling, - I guess just mobilising hips and glutes and core in general has the benefit of adding strength and flexibility in the whole lower body/back. Happy Days.

Did a session today quick 45mins, and really find it hard getting Cadence higher !! Found today a little harder, but still 176W @ 20.9mph, 127BPM Avg, but Cadence Avg only 61. How the hell you get up to 80/90 I havent a clue !!

 

[PaulSB]

I'm no expert by any means, but what worked for me was a quality breakfast, porridge and fruits .. then a protein shake with fruits and kale/spinach .. ride, banana, light lunch .. walk, tea before 5:30 at night, balanced meal .. then nothing at all after that ..
Weekend one of the days have a treat so not to feel like dieting, rather than healthy eating ..
Plenty water, I cut out even fresh orange that I love, usual suspects for tea like chicken, turkey, fish ..
Portion size too, eat slow, glass of water before you eat try to fill stomach ..

The above is very similar to the regime I loosely follow. Weight loss and control is all about diet and understanding the foods one eats and how the body uses them. I have a friend who runs 8 - 10 miles a day and rides 80 miles on a Sunday. There was a time when he rode 2-300 miles a week, before he took up running. He never loses any weight. Why? Appalling diet.

Vickster:
Tuesday's session......
1hr
@ 22.7mph Avg
184W
Cadence 62
= 736 Cals.

- so seems Wahoo's App Cal calcs are about right ?

Milk: Tea - very little, Coffee's about 100ml of Frothed Semi Skimmed each time, so 300mls, plus say 100ml over 3 Teas, = 400ml Total.
50Cals per 100ml it says, so thats only circa 200cals/Day.

I think you miss the point about tea and coffee. It appears you use these to hydrate your body. You should use water. The other point which strikes me, and I hope you don't feel I'm being critical, is you are so focused on stats from an app and machine that you have no focus on your body, nutrition and diet.

Earlier in the thread you said you have burnt 60,000 calories over five months since November. I calculate this as 151 days which means you are burning 400 calories a day from your exercise regime. TBH this is very little. Based on your guesstimate on tea and coffee you could achieve 50% of this by cutting out milk. That you have to guesstimate the milk is an indicator that you are not focusing adequately on diet, you should know the actual amount of milk you use.

One way or another I probably know 100+ cyclists, there are 185 in my club, many who use Zwift or trainers. I have never heard one of them suggest this helps weight loss or control. Sat in cafes with those I know well conversation often includes weight, the consensus being it's 80% diet and 20% exercise and while all the cycling is excellent it doesn't contribute significantly to weight loss on its' own. Of all the riders I know the ones with a weight problem have poor diets and usually sedentary occupations.

If I had put in the same effort as yourself and only lost 5lbs I'd be disappointed and asking questions. I'd be wondering if what I do is effective and if the stats the machines are showing me really are helpful? I suggest when you get on the road you will find you are fit but that is never going to have a relationship to weight loss. Understanding your diet is the key.

 

[PaulSB]

I rarely look at stats other than my weight, miles and average speed. To give you a comparison. I’m 63, 5’9” 163lbs - 11st 9lbs.

Sunday - social ride
Distance 85 miles
Avg 15.3
Ascent 4760
Cals burnt 2011
Avg HR 115
Max HR 173

Tuesday - training ride
Distance 26.5
Avg 18.3
Ascent 560
Cals burnt 913
Avg HR 137
Max HR 168

On the Tuesday ride I got dropped after 10 miles - I did the route in 1:27, the group did it 1:14

 

[zak3737]

The above is very similar to the regime I loosely follow. Weight loss and control is all about diet and understanding the foods one eats and how the body uses them. I have a friend who runs 8 - 10 miles a day and rides 80 miles on a Sunday. There was a time when he rode 2-300 miles a week, before he took up running. He never loses any weight. Why? Appalling diet.



I think you miss the point about tea and coffee. It appears you use these to hydrate your body. You should use water. The other point which strikes me, and I hope you don't feel I'm being critical, is you are so focused on stats from an app and machine that you have no focus on your body, nutrition and diet.

Earlier in the thread you said you have burnt 60,000 calories over five months since November. I calculate this as 151 days which means you are burning 400 calories a day from your exercise regime. TBH this is very little. Based on your guesstimate on tea and coffee you could achieve 50% of this by cutting out milk. That you have to guesstimate the milk is an indicator that you are not focusing adequately on diet, you should know the actual amount of milk you use.

One way or another I probably know 100+ cyclists, there are 185 in my club, many who use Zwift or trainers. I have never heard one of them suggest this helps weight loss or control. Sat in cafes with those I know well conversation often includes weight, the consensus being it's 80% diet and 20% exercise and while all the cycling is excellent it doesn't contribute significantly to weight loss on its' own. Of all the riders I know the ones with a weight problem have poor diets and usually sedentary occupations.

If I had put in the same effort as yourself and only lost 5lbs I'd be disappointed and asking questions. I'd be wondering if what I do is effective and if the stats the machines are showing me really are helpful? I suggest when you get on the road you will find you are fit but that is never going to have a relationship to weight loss. Understanding your diet is the key.

Thx Paul, I appreciate your thoughts. I'm certain I could be more focused on diet/nutrition etc etc, but I've found over the years that when I try to 'diet' by careful eating or cutting out things, its only doomed to fail as temptation appears.
Thats perhaps why the 5:2 worked for me for the time I did it, as I simply found that denial for 2 days per week was a much easier route to take than abstaining from lots of things for 24/7.

The other thing I found interesting and positive about the 5:2 Fasting, was that it supposedly also prompted the body into 'repair/renew' mode far more than constantly fuelling and eating normally. Interesting, so I'm back on it.

The Milk is an easy fix, I'll cut that out and there's 200cals dropped/day.

All of this is subjective to be honest, I arent 'fat' by any stretch of the imagination, just large build. I just maybe missguidely thought that my Nett Calie intake over time, assuming Diet remained constant, would account for more fat burn and weight loss, than its proved.
But as I said before, (and I know some dont agree)......I'm certain that I have gained some pounds in muscle mass instead, my legs were clearly losing bulk due to non workout, and i'm feeling massive benefits now even when playing Golf, my legs used to be tight & tired after 18holes, not now.

5:2 Fasting from now on, keep TT & building up, and get out and ride more soon, and I'm sure that by the end of summer, the 6pack will be uncovered ! Hopefully !

 

[TonySJ]

Cheers Alan, I will.
Out of interest, I've just looked back at stats on my Wahoo Element from mid 2016, when we were doing some good rides and mileage, ie 65miles in rolling East Yorkshire, (and it is), and my average HR then was same as yours, ie 141Bpm Avg, with Max at 168/170.
That said, I never 'push' uphills, I'm inherrently lazy when going uphill, and merely spin my way up. Seeing my HR get up to 170ish even then is enough to tell me that I dont want to push it harder. (just me, I've heard of too many people keeling over)

We did very little riding in 2017, hence why I decided to get the TT in November to get fit again, and so far so good. Additionally, another great thing is that my lower back (SI joint actually....) which has griped me for a while now, .........feels much better too from all the pedalling, - I guess just mobilising hips and glutes and core in general has the benefit of adding strength and flexibility in the whole lower body/back. Happy Days.

********Did a session today quick 45mins, and really find it hard getting Cadence higher !! Found today a little harder, but still 176W @ 20.9mph, 127BPM Avg, but Cadence Avg only 61. How the hell you get up to 80/90 I havent a clue !!

********


********Did a session today quick 45mins, and really find it hard getting Cadence higher !! Found today a little harder, but still 176W @ 20.9mph, 127BPM Avg, but Cadence Avg only 61. How the hell you get up to 80/90 I havent a clue !![/QUOTE]********

Try this do your normal warm up but then for a timed period 10 or 15 or 20 minutes go in a easy gear to spin up with light effort, you don't want to be pulling your guts out or powering the effort just something that will raise your HR and cadence but keep it at 85 ish. See how that feels and if you can only sustain the cadence for 12 minutes fine, just try different things as I feel your set in your ways of how you currently ride and need to change things a little so you can see the benefits and changes

 

[BSOh]

Diey diet diet. Since end of January I've not eaten any junk food. At all. No crisps, chocolates, added sugar. I cut down from 10 teas a day (I know bad right) to two with no sugar. My diet is fruits, vegetables and lean proteins, with a small amount of carbs such as brown rice, couscous.i only eat brown bread. I get healthy fats from fish like salmon. And eat a handful of nuts occasionally. This combined with the gym 4 times a week and I've lost 20lb. Its cutting out the little treats that we tend not to factor in. You have to start thinking that milk in your tea is a treat. Cereal for breakfast drowned in milk is a treat. Its not easy though. Good luck

 

[Alan O]

Cheers Alan, I will.
Out of interest, I've just looked back at stats on my Wahoo Element from mid 2016, when we were doing some good rides and mileage, ie 65miles in rolling East Yorkshire, (and it is), and my average HR then was same as yours, ie 141Bpm Avg, with Max at 168/170.
That said, I never 'push' uphills, I'm inherrently lazy when going uphill, and merely spin my way up. Seeing my HR get up to 170ish even then is enough to tell me that I dont want to push it harder. (just me, I've heard of too many people keeling over)

We did very little riding in 2017, hence why I decided to get the TT in November to get fit again, and so far so good. Additionally, another great thing is that my lower back (SI joint actually....) which has griped me for a while now, .........feels much better too from all the pedalling, - I guess just mobilising hips and glutes and core in general has the benefit of adding strength and flexibility in the whole lower body/back. Happy Days.

Did a session today quick 45mins, and really find it hard getting Cadence higher !! Found today a little harder, but still 176W @ 20.9mph, 127BPM Avg, but Cadence Avg only 61. How the hell you get up to 80/90 I havent a clue !!

It sounds like your fitness was very good in 2016, and I think it's wise to be cautious when your HR gets around 170. For me, I tend not to notice, as it's usually when I'm having fun with a bit of off-road uphill (my HR rarely gets high on road, as my usual routes take in very few hills), and I don't know my max HR until after I get home and look at the stats. It's possibly not the best approach, especially for someone who has had a heart attack

As for cadence, a lot of people have written a lot of words about it. And for maximizing power output and efficiency, especially in competitive cycling, it's certainly important. But for most of us just trying to do the best we can in a recreational setting, I don't think it's worth spending too much time worrying about.

All cyclists seem to have a natural cadence, and it varies a lot. I've never really bothered trying to measure mine with any accuracy, but it's around the 90 mark. I am occasionally tempted to get a cadence meter just for fun, but for idle curiosity it would be a waste of money.

When I'm on group rides (social pootling, not "club" rides) I sometimes notice other people's cadence, usually when I'm behind someone pushing a much higher gear more slowly as that sight makes me feel uncomfortable. But they finish the same rides as me, appear at least no less fit than me, and get up the same hills as me (and one rider is known for pushing up hills in gears so high I just couldn't ride them).

Cadence really is another "each to their own" thing, as far as I'm concerned.

 

[ColinJ]

I once rode about 750 hilly miles in Spain in 2 weeks but came home about 5 pounds heavier because of over-lavish meals in the hotel buffet, and post-ride beers! The next time I went I did the same distance, ate and drank less, and came back weighing about the same as when I went.

I have lost weight through cycling but it is much easier to lose it by being more careful about food and drink intake.

 

[zak3737]

"and I think it's wise to be cautious when your HR gets around 170"

I know a lot may say that you shouldnt worry at all about MSHR etc, unless you've maxed out to find your own, but thats something I arent gonna do anytime soon at my age. BUT, I have an ongoing issue with HR and Alcohol, in that after a few drinks, it raises significantly, and becomes irregular, not pleasant, and particularly to go to bed with. Consequently I drink very little in reality these days, couple of beers here and there, glass or 2 of wine, but never after 7/8pm.

I did find that back in November, my 1hr TT sessions were leaving my HR highish (80's) for quite a while afterwards, (my resting is 55/56) and sometimes irregular too, (as I did find on long rides in 2016), so to be cautious, I went to Docs and was referred to a Cardiologist, and subsequently was fully checked out.
All was ok, Plumbing all reasonable, no worse than he would expect of anyone my age, better than most he said. Phew.

That, and my late Father's extensive Cardio issues, (3 Bypasses) - have perhaps made me a little more 'aware' than most of being careful pushing things, whilst also wanting to stay/keep fit etc.