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#1
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3000 miles in 10 months... so Why am I still fat?
The story thus far....
12 years ago - single, 6'3", 180lbs., hair, and competing in citizens class triathlons. Fast forward to last July... Married, two kids, mortgage, no hair, sedentary, 279lbs. Sick of that fat man in the mirror, I bought some XXL cycling clothes, dusted off and tuned up my old Trek, and started riding again. Now 10 months and close to 3000 miles later... I still weigh 274! I mean... come on! 3000 miles for 5 pounds?! My fitness level has increased tremendously. I use to struggle on 10 mile rides. Now I do at least 3-4 weekday rides of 15-30 miles each and one weekend ride for 50-70 miles - all solo. My computer puts my average speed for these rides between 16-18mph depending upon the particular ups&downs of the ride. My HRM says my average rate is usually right about 75% of max (although that can vary, usually on the high side, when the ride has climbing). I feel lean and mean while I ride, but when I get home I wonder who that fat guy in the mirror is! I don't diet per se, but I do eat sensibly. The days that I've tracked my caloric intake it's usually right between 2500 - 3000. One friend who is a "wellness" expert suggests I'm not eating *ENOUGH*. Although she readily admits she doesn't specialize in athletes ("slovenly couch potato" is how she describes her typical client), she says that with my activity level my BMR is 5300... as she explained it that's the number of calories needed to just maintain my weight! Therefore she thinks my body thinks it's being starved and refuses to let go of the fat. She thinks by eating MORE the body will move away from this starvation reflex and start shedding pounds. She also suggested riding easy first thing in the morning BEFORE breakfast so the body has to switch to fat because the glycogen stores will be low (sound like a recipe for the BONK to me). Well, I tried to eat 4000 calories today and about died! I felt horrible, stuffed, tired, etc. I tried riding with just water (no sport drink), and found myself craving sugar after the ride. Any experts lurking out there that would like to comment? Are there any coaching services online that could help customize my training to help me lose weight? I can't afford to hire a coach. Any thoughts would be appreciated. |
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#2
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3000 miles in 10 months... so Why am I still fat?
On Tue, 18 May 2004 22:16:03 -0600, "Doug Cook"
wrote: Any thoughts would be appreciated. No answers, but a congratulations! You sound like you are in good shape, getting better. A nice comeback. Do you still look the same? Muscle is denser than fat, so people often don't lose weight as they shift from fat to muscle, but the body takes on a different look. There was a recent thread in here on 'The Big Fat Con Story' -Mike Kruger- May 11- you can probably find it in google if it is off your server. The first paragraph- "The Guardian has an excerpt from a new book by Paul Campos, "The Obesity Myth". The excerpt is titled "The big fat con story." http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/st...200549,00.html " You might look over that article. I'll take being healthy over being slim if I can't have both. |
#3
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3000 miles in 10 months... so Why am I still fat?
"Dan Daniel" wrote in message ... On Tue, 18 May 2004 22:16:03 -0600, "Doug Cook" wrote: Any thoughts would be appreciated. No answers, but a congratulations! You sound like you are in good shape, getting better. A nice comeback. Do you still look the same? Muscle is denser than fat, so people often don't lose weight as they shift from fat to muscle, but the body takes on a different look. No, I haven't changed shape. I should have mentioned that I carry almost all the weight around my waist. Personally, I think I'm rather oddly shaped. Chest and butt look normal... just a big fat gut in front. I've thought about the muscle-for-fat theory, but my waistline hasn't changed, and my clothes don't fit any differently. That's why I'm pretty sure my body just doesn't touch it's fat stores. I've read the thread about the fat fraud, but I am fat. I've got this big inner tube around my middle that interferes with getting into a nice aero position, puts unnecessary stress on my butt in the saddle (the biggest reason I don't ride longer), and I'm scared to even think about what I could do on the climbs if it were gone. |
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3000 miles in 10 months... so Why am I still fat?
On Tue, 18 May 2004 22:16:03 -0600, "Doug Cook"
wrote: My HRM says my average rate is usually right about 75% of max (although that can vary, usually on the high side, when the ride has climbing). I feel lean and mean while I ride, but when I get home I wonder who that fat guy in the mirror is! What worked/works for me is that I quit eating sugar, bread, and pasta/potatoes. I switched to fish, chicken, lean beef, green leafy veggies, cut back on dairy. Read Eades' book on Low carb 'Protein Power'. You also don't say when you eat, or what you eat. Consider eating smaller meals, but more often, don't eat after 7pm, drink plenty of water. Can you suppliment the riding with some jogging, perhaps 3 miles a day, 3 days a week? What about some bodyweight exercises pushups, squats, pullups? Weight training? Sounds like a lot, but the biking is very efficient and you may not be taxing the system sufficiently to burn up the calories. I doubt if you're in any kind of starvation mode eating 2500-3000 calories!! Congrats on the fitness you've achieved so far. -B |
#5
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3000 miles in 10 months... so Why am I still fat?
In article ,
Doug Cook wrote: I don't diet per se, but I do eat sensibly. The days that I've tracked my caloric intake it's usually right between 2500 - 3000. One friend who is a "wellness" expert suggests I'm not eating *ENOUGH*. Although she readily admits she doesn't specialize in athletes ("slovenly couch potato" is how she describes her typical client), she says that with my activity level my BMR is 5300... as she explained it that's the number of calories needed to just maintain my weight! Therefore she thinks my body thinks it's being starved and refuses to let go of the fat. She thinks by eating MORE the body will move away from this starvation reflex and start shedding pounds. She also suggested riding easy first thing in the morning BEFORE breakfast so the body has to switch to fat because the glycogen stores will be low (sound like a recipe for the BONK to me). Well, I tried to eat 4000 calories today and about died! I felt horrible, stuffed, tired, etc. I tried riding with just water (no sport drink), and found myself craving sugar after the ride. Any experts lurking out there that would like to comment? Are there any coaching services online that could help customize my training to help me lose weight? I can't afford to hire a coach. If you have health insurance you can probably get covered for a visit to a dietician, that is the direction I would go. The RD will most likely have you write down what you eat for a few days and then make suggestions. If you're feeling good most of the time then you're probably eating enough. --Paul |
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3000 miles in 10 months... so Why am I still fat?
On Tue, 18 May 2004 22:16:03 -0600, "Doug Cook"
wrote: My fitness level has increased tremendously. I use to struggle on 10 mile rides. Now I do at least 3-4 weekday rides of 15-30 miles each and one weekend ride for 50-70 miles - all solo. Re-reading your message, I can offer one overall suggestion. Track your mileage, food intake, type of food, waistline measurement and weight on a spreadsheet. Weigh yourself every 2nd or 3rd day. You may be surprised just how much you're eating, how much you're eating at one meal, how much sugar and starch you're eating, and may be overestimating the mileage. If you're ranging from 95 to 190 miles during the week that sounds inconsistent. It may be that you're unknowingly sabotaging your efforts, by binging during the low mileage weeks. Perhaps you can smooth it out more, and get 150 miles per week but ride everyday. AM rides are good, but if you can do some easy jogging in the AM that might be better, then ride in the evening, and don't eat after 7-8pm. I went from 270ish to about 200 in 8 months just by cutting out the sugar and starch and at the time, b/c of an injury did virtually no exercising. At this point I had gained back some of that, but have lost an additional 30lbs in the last three months just by again cutting out the carbs and sugar, but in addition I'm biking 20 miles/day 100-110 miles a week. The reason for the careful tracking is to discover what trends are working for you, and to help you uncover some things you may be doing unconsciously, either underestimating or overestimating your efforts or food intake. -B |
#7
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3000 miles in 10 months... so Why am I still fat?
Doug Cook wrote: I've read the thread about the fat fraud, but I am fat. I've got this big inner tube around my middle that interferes with getting into a nice aero position, puts unnecessary stress on my butt in the saddle (the biggest reason I don't ride longer), and I'm scared to even think about what I could do on the climbs if it were gone. I'm in a similar position. I don't cycle nearly as much as you because I'm afraid of the road, but I do an hour a night on an exercycle. Fitness levels have definitely improved, but my appearance is unchanged. My body was ruined in the first place by a quarter century of dieting. When I started at 14, I was thin as a rail. I dieted because all girls diet, it's what they're supposed to do, and because I didn't much relish the idea of becoming woman-shaped. Between then and the age of forty, when I stopped, I must have lost and regained a third or more of my total body mass at least fifteen times. Every time I starved for months, and every time I came back much fatter than before. In addition, I went through major depressions, bouts with suicidal thoughts and lost my opportunity of an academic life because I didn't have the physical or mental strength to complete my doctorate. I will never, ever diet again. But the awareness that one can still be fit without necessarily being thin is only just beginning to emerge. I'm concentrating on that now. I've read that cycling does nothing to bellies or to the upper body; it just muscles up the legs. Certainly that's true in my case. I still have my big fat thighs - now they are even bigger fat thighs with muscles on top. Perhaps sit-ups would do the belly trick? EFR Ile de France |
#8
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3000 miles in 10 months... so Why am I still fat?
Count calories. For every cumulative 3500 you take in in excess of
your needs, you gain a pound of fat. Conversely, for every 3500 shy of your needs, you lose a pound of fat. Just write down the calories of everything you eat and add them up. Reduce them until you lose weight at the rate you want, two pounds a week is fine. Generally if you exercise, you eat more, so it's not a weight loser alone. -- Ron Hardin On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk. |
#9
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3000 miles in 10 months... so Why am I still fat?
In article ,
Elisa Francesca Roselli wrote: Perhaps sit-ups would do the belly trick? They won't. They willimprove the muscles, but will not reduce the amount of fat (modulo their calories burnt while doing them, which are negligible). ian |
#10
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3000 miles in 10 months... so Why am I still fat?
Hey Doug,
I'm not a health professional but as an ex-amateur bodybuilder I have done a great deal of research on this subject. I might be able to help you answer your question as to why you're still fat. First, your life-style. You are older, married, have children, bills, and all the stress that goes with it. Excessive stress alone can be enough to wreck a body. Body type - there are three basic body types. From your description you fall into what's called the meso-morphic body type. This just means you have a large frame with heavy muscle mass. This body type can easily pack on muscle but unfortunately you also store fat easily, too. Then, there is your choice of exercise. Bicycling is an excellent form of cardiovascular exercise but does little to increase overall lean muscle mass. This is mostly because bicycling is a non-weight bearing type of activity. The only way to increase lean muscle mass is with some type of weight bearing activity. A simple form of this is walking. I'm not knocking cycling, I commute to work every day. Here are a few things that might help you lose some pounds: Life-style - With family, bills, work, you're gonna have stress. Find simple positive ways to deal with it that work for you. Body type - With your body type you should accept the fact that, unless you are willing to be very disciplined with your diet and work-outs, you are going to carry some extra weight. Not a big deal. With your current activity level it sounds like you're in pretty good shape. If you add some callisthenics a few days a week (push-ups, sit-ups, stretches, etc.) to help build up lean muscle you'll probably notice a difference, too. Diet - Again, with your body type, a big obsticle is going to be your slow metabolic rate. Try to avoid simple carbohydrates (refined sugars, white breads, etc.) DO NOT do the low-carb/high protein fad diets. They are very unhealthy and any weight loss is temporary. Forget the three big meals a day thing and eat smaller meals more often and most importantly, learn to recognize when you are satisfied, not full! Other than that just try to eat a balanced diet and drink lots of water. Unless you are at your doctors office, stay away from scales. As your lean muscle mass increases you might actually gain a few pounds before your body starts burning up fat reserves. Nothing discourages people more than scales. Charting your progress can help you stay on track, too. Educate yourself about nutrition and learn to read food labels. Sounds silly but most people really don't understand them such as serving size, types of fats, fats versus calories, sugars versus carbs. It's all about individual fine tuning. What works for the guy next to you may not work for you and vise versa. With knowledge and practice it's a piece of cake. I hope I've been of some help. Keep the faith and take care - CHRIS Doug Cook wrote in message ... The story thus far.... 12 years ago - single, 6'3", 180lbs., hair, and competing in citizens class triathlons. Fast forward to last July... Married, two kids, mortgage, no hair, sedentary, 279lbs. Sick of that fat man in the mirror, I bought some XXL cycling clothes, dusted off and tuned up my old Trek, and started riding again. Now 10 months and close to 3000 miles later... I still weigh 274! I mean... come on! 3000 miles for 5 pounds?! My fitness level has increased tremendously. I use to struggle on 10 mile rides. Now I do at least 3-4 weekday rides of 15-30 miles each and one weekend ride for 50-70 miles - all solo. My computer puts my average speed for these rides between 16-18mph depending upon the particular ups&downs of the ride. My HRM says my average rate is usually right about 75% of max (although that can vary, usually on the high side, when the ride has climbing). I feel lean and mean while I ride, but when I get home I wonder who that fat guy in the mirror is! I don't diet per se, but I do eat sensibly. The days that I've tracked my caloric intake it's usually right between 2500 - 3000. One friend who is a "wellness" expert suggests I'm not eating *ENOUGH*. Although she readily admits she doesn't specialize in athletes ("slovenly couch potato" is how she describes her typical client), she says that with my activity level my BMR is 5300... as she explained it that's the number of calories needed to just maintain my weight! Therefore she thinks my body thinks it's being starved and refuses to let go of the fat. She thinks by eating MORE the body will move away from this starvation reflex and start shedding pounds. She also suggested riding easy first thing in the morning BEFORE breakfast so the body has to switch to fat because the glycogen stores will be low (sound like a recipe for the BONK to me). Well, I tried to eat 4000 calories today and about died! I felt horrible, stuffed, tired, etc. I tried riding with just water (no sport drink), and found myself craving sugar after the ride. Any experts lurking out there that would like to comment? Are there any coaching services online that could help customize my training to help me lose weight? I can't afford to hire a coach. Any thoughts would be appreciated. |
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