Losing that final stone.

[bikingdad90]

I have been commuting daily by bike to work. It is 5miles each way. Over the last 6 months I have lost 12lb's and got myself down to 11st 2lb. I would ideally like to get down to about 10st which is in the middle of my bmi range.

Currently my weight loss has plateued and it has stopped. I am looking at ways to kick start it again and was thinking of throwing in some HIIT, a fasted ride (with a shake ready to go at work as don't have time once I get to work) on my commute. Any ideas?

My wife has also committed to slimming world so I am eating slimming world meals at tea time. The rest of the time I am counting calories (app on phone) and aiming to eat the equivalent of my BMR using my exercise as the deficit of 500cals a day.

Are recommendations to mix it up on the bike and get the final stone lost.

 

[jonny jeez]

I find its the first one that the problem!

Good luck

 

[steve50]

I would certainly consider HIIT but a fasted ride, it all depends on the distance you are traveling. If just a short ride then yes fine but if a reasonable distance you could "bonk", you need to fuel the body to get the energy output required to cycle any distance so cycling on an empty stomach is not a great choice.
As for BMI index, imo that is something someone made up one day when they were bored and personally I don't believe it means a damn thing.
The only way to lose weight and stay fit is to eat a sensible diet and exercise. Change your routine, give your body a bit of shock treatment, go to work on a different route taking in a couple of hills and bit more distance.
When i used to weight train my body would occasionally plateau, it got used to routine, the method used by many body builders to start the growth process was to change routine, swap training days / sessions about and shock the body into growing again, a favourite trick was to hit the weight room and do some VERY heavy deadlifts hitting every muscle in the body. http://www.builtlean.com/2012/05/22/weight-loss-plateau/

 

[bikingdad90]

I have no choice. We went down to one car so I cycle to work and my wife uses the car. On wet days it can be hard but I grin and bear it.

 

[Racing roadkill]

I have been commuting daily by bike to work. It is 5miles each way. Over the last 6 months I have lost 12lb's and got myself down to 11st 2lb. I would ideally like to get down to about 10st which is in the middle of my bmi range.

Currently my weight loss has plateued and it has stopped. I am looking at ways to kick start it again and was thinking of throwing in some HIIT, a fasted ride (with a shake ready to go at work as don't have time once I get to work) on my commute. Any ideas?

My wife has also committed to slimming world so I am eating slimming world meals at tea time. The rest of the time I am counting calories (app on phone) and aiming to eat the equivalent of my BMR using my exercise as the deficit of 500cals a day.

Are recommendations to mix it up on the bike and get the final stone lost.

Plateau ing, is very normal, when losing weight. It's a function of your body beginning to use energy stores, more efficiently, as you become fitter. If you really want to push back into weight loss, keep your exercise regime pretty much the same, but try to increase the mileage a bit. The driver, will be to trim your diet a bit. There are loads of ways to achieve this, I personally went down the extreme diet route, cutting my daily calorie intake right back to 600, for the month or so, that it took, to trim off the last bit of weight I lost. It got it over with relatively quickly, which worked for me. A few years back, I went from this

To this

In about 6 months.

That's a 16 stone Rugby Union player, down to a 10 stone cyclist. It wasn't always fun, but it did work.

 

[HarryTheDog]

11 years ago I was just under morbidly obese and spent over a year getting down to a reasonable wieght. I cycled 10 miles each way at the time on a MTB. I hit plateaus along the way but I found what worked for me was hours of walking. By hours I mean say 3-4 hours the dog loved it. The theory being my intense cycling made my body go to my muscles and bloodstream for energy, the walking made it sip at my fat stores. Years later I had a Vo2 max test where from breath analysis they could tell where I was drawing my energy from. It proved for me to use fat I had to use quite a low heart rate and effort. ( below 100 I think, though you have to take into consideration I have a low RHR of 42).
If HIT training does not work for you walking might, note 5 miles of cycling does not use as many calories as you may think. for me thats barely 150 , and I wiegh more than you do.( 11st 4)
I do not like extreme diets as I have tried many over the years and they just make me tired all the time, also I believe they can slow your metabalism even more as your body learns to survive on nothing. My usual diet ( yes still have to diet at least twice a year despite 23 miles each way commute and other cycling, ) especially as I am in my 50's is to go for the high protien low carb option. I find scrambled eggs in the morning is a good tummy filler.

 

[booze and cake]

Plateau ing, is very normal, when losing weight. It's a function of your body beginning to use energy stores, more efficiently, as you become fitter. If you really want to push back into weight loss, keep your exercise regime pretty much the same, but try to increase the mileage a bit. The driver, will be to trim your diet a bit. There are loads of ways to achieve this, I personally went down the extreme diet route, cutting my daily calorie intake right back to 600, for the month or so, that it took, to trim off the last bit of weight I lost. It got it over with relatively quickly, which worked for me. A few years back, I went from this

View attachment 131836

To this

View attachment 131837

In about 6 months.

That's a 16 stone Rugby Union player, down to a 10 stone cyclist. It wasn't always fun, but it did work.

Wow amazing weight loss, congrats. I would'nt have guessed its the same person! I think you went too far though, that bow tie has obviously cut off the oxygen supply to such an extent wardrobe calamities are occurring at will

 

[vickster]

Wow amazing weight loss, congrats. I would'nt have guessed its the same person! I think you went too far though, that bow tie has obviously cut off the oxygen supply to such an extent wardrobe calamities are occurring at will

And it made his hair go grey!

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

My weight's gone up this year, & I can't lose it
I regard my 'fighting weight' as 10 Stone (+/- a couple of pounds)
Now, I'm just over 11 Stone, & miffed!

I don't think I over-eat too

I have a very active job, in the NHS, busy all shift, & the only time I get to sit down is at meal-break
I run there, or ride (not far, in ultimate terms, circa 4 miles, when I run there 'XC', a bit more by road), & then home again

I ride on my days off, or run
I'll generally run 30-40 miles per week
Run twice a week, when shifts permit, with my running club
Race, at the ParkRuns when I can (fell-races, when I can)

Still wanting to lose that stone

 

[Racing roadkill]

My weight's gone up this year, & I can't lose it
I regard my 'fighting weight' as 10 Stone (+/- a couple of pounds)
Now, I'm just over 11 Stone, & miffed!

I don't think I over-eat too

I have a very active job, in the NHS, busy all shift, & the only time I get to sit down is at meal-break
I run there, or ride (not far, in ultimate terms, circa 4 miles, when I run there 'XC', a bit more by road), & then home again

I ride on my days off, or run
I'll generally run 30-40 miles per week
Run twice a week, when shifts permit, with my running club
Race, at the ParkRuns when I can (fell-races, when I can)

Still wanting to lose that stone

There's more to it than excersise and diet alone. Hormone production also plays a large part. If you work shifts / have odd / unusual sleep patterns, this can play hell with your system, making it harder to maintain weight loss ( seemingly ) regardless of regime. Your metabolic rate will be relatively erratic.

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

True, but shifts can be discounted to a certain extent, I don't do nights (only as an exception, to cover other staff)

Yes, even on 'late-turns', I'll be up until after midnight (not home until generally 22:45), but back up before 07:00

 

[jefmcg]

Your body might have decided that you are fine where you are. It's likely that last stone will improve your appearance but not your performance or your health. Do you have any idea what your body fat %age is? What's your waist measurement or waist/hip ratio? Is 10 stone a realistic goal, or just an arbitrary round number? What does the mirror say?

 

[steve50]

My weight is currently creeping up but the spare tyre is slowly disappearing, I decided a few months ago that I wanted to get fit again, after abandoning the gymnasium some eighteen years ago I had gained quite a few pounds and a podgy spare tyre. So I have purchased a set of weights and a combination of cardio vascular exercise, cycling and weight / strength training is ridding me of the extra flab and the muscle is getting very toned again. I now know what people mean when they say muscle has memory.

 

[bikingdad90]

Your body might have decided that you are fine where you are. It's likely that last stone will improve your appearance but not your performance or your health. Do you have any idea what your body fat %age is? What's your waist measurement or waist/hip ratio? Is 10 stone a realistic goal, or just an arbitrary round number? What does the mirror say?

I am currently at the top end of healthy according to the bmi scale. 10 stone is the middle of the range and what I weighed about 5 years ago.

My body fat when I have used the machines in gym is about 17% which is about average without getting a proper test done.

Waist is 33inch and hips about 35inch, my beer belly although smaller is still there.

The mirror says I look thinner but I lack definition in the midriff. My upper body is toned but not muscly and my legs are toned.

I suppose what I really want to do is lose a little more weight to feel comfortable with my BMI and lose some fat to appear more toned in the midriff

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

Your body might have decided that you are fine where you are. It's likely that last stone will improve your appearance but not your performance or your health

Doubt it improves my appearance (not a lot could. really!!)

Been out with my running club earlier, I was last away as usual
I worked through the little groups, even uphill, & was with the leaders, to the turn-around point
Was first back too, after again, working through
It's harder work than it was a year ago though!

Do you have any idea what your body fat %age is?
What's your waist measurement or waist/hip ratio?

Not the exact percentage, just the BMI chart
It's still well within healthy limits
I'm about 5' 9"
Body mass index (BMI) = 23

The NHS calculator states;

Healthy weight range for this height:
8st 13lb - 12st 2lb
Sex: male
Age: 50
Height: 5ft 9in
Weight: 11st 2lb

If I enter my 'fighting weight', it gives me a BMI of 20.9

Is 10 stone a realistic goal, or just an arbitrary round number?

Well, I held that weight for several years, with no issues, & no real changes in diet/exercise

What does the mirror say?

I can see the bits where the weight (fat) has settled