Nutrition / Training advice please?

[Litespeed Blade]

Apologies if my post is in the wrong section I returned to road cycling last year after a few years off. I am really struggling to lose any weight at all even though I am training regularly and eating well (I think). I cycle between 100 - 150 miles a week, most of these miles are intensive with a lot of climbing too. I commute to work most days and ride out with a few others at weekends. I consider myself a strong rider, I climb well and I manage longer rides well. I used to drink quite a lot but I have managed to cut this habit out and I've had maybe a couple of glasses of wine in 2 months. I drink at least 2 litres of water a day and I have a reasonably healthy diet (I fear this may not be as true as I think though!) I use post ride protein supplements (usually SIS REGO) and a protein shake twice a day, morning & evening(Nutrisport 90+)

I weigh 212lbs / 96.2kg and I am 6ft 1" with a bodyfat of 23.3%

I am beginning to lose motivation due to the efforts I am putting in and feeling i am achieving nothing!
My waist size has not moved and I have gained a bit of weight. I'm up most mornings at 4am and I ride 18mile to work in 50mins - After my 8/9 hour shift mostly on my feet I ride the hard way home which is 20mile.

On a typical day my diet consists of:

REGO shake
3egg whites 1 piece of toast
1 pack of Belvita Biscuits
25g almonds
Jacket potato & 1 tin of tuna
protein shake
25g raisins
1 banana
Stir fry Veg with fresh Prawns
low fat yoghurt

I don't know what I'm doing really so I am hoping to gain the knowledge I need from others on this site and from what I can read myself. With the physical effort I believe I'm putting in I would like to see some positive results. At the moment I'm seeing none! I'm assuming my diet is rubbish.

Any help is gratefully appreciated & apologies for my naievity!!

 

[ColinJ]

At a rough guess, you are getting 100g of protein from the egg whites, almonds, tuna and prawns. Do you really feel that you need more than that? I assume that you do because you are taking in extra protein in those shakes. Most people of your size wouldn't need that much protein.

What build are you? What is your waist size? I'm the same height as you, a medium build and currently about 10 pounds lighter than you and still quite flabby, so unless you are very powerful you do sound fairly overweight.

If you are not losing weight then you are still eating too much. To lose a pound a week, you need to cut about 500 calories a day, or a bit more in your case because you are currently gaining some weight. To do that by exercise alone, you'd probably have to ride an extra 100 miles or more a week. Easier to cut the calorie intake!

My suggestions: give up the protein shakes and substitute a bowl of porridge for the biscuits!

 

[montage]

Have a goal that you can build towards other than losing weight? - that way, losing weight will be an added side effect. With 150 miles a week under your belt, I am sure you are fit enough to pick up racing. There is still much of the racing season to go, with a few specific weeks of training you'd be well away. (TTs or road racing).

 

[Litespeed Blade]

Thanks,
I was told that I'm not eating enough to support my BMR and was given a rough guide of the amount of food to consume (fats, proteins & carbs) Like I say I don't really know what I'm doing!
I used to Time Trial. 10s mostly with a few 25s and didnt really pay much attention to what i was eating...or drinking!!! All of my 10miles were short 23s. I consider myself quite strong. For example I completed, amongst a lot of other rides, the Bradley Wiggins sportive last year. This was not an easy ride by most peoples standards and I climbed every hill. The only time I got off the bike was for the loo!! This year I am off to a cycling training camp in Spain and have a few long sportives that I am registered in. My question is:
What kind of calorific intake can i manage on that supports my everyday functions with regular exercise. I constantly hear "If you don't eat enough, you will never lose weight" I am happy to forget about losing weight providing I see atleast some progress. Whether that means my bodyfat will reduce to an "acceptable" level or my waist size will decrease a couple of inches this would do!!

 

[Litespeed Blade]

I am tall and quite heavily built with a waist size of 36"

 

[Kies]

I'm no expert but it's obvious (to me anyway) that you are taking in too many calories on a daily basis.
I would suggest dropping the protein shakes and biscuits out and replacing them with fruit.
You are cycling more than most,so reducing your calories will see a positive result. Good Luck

 

[MattHB]

Count calories for a while with something like mynetdiary.com (a great app to go with it), it'll give you a feel after a while of calorie values, that instant awareness is important for self discipline. Monitor output cost with strava for any riding (it's pretty accurate compared to a lot of calorie calc if you use an HRM).

I found that a suggested calorie deficit that was supposed to loose me 1lb a week was not working, so I increased my riding (as i found it hard to stop eating) until I achieved it.

That was 18 months and 3.5 stone ago

Good luck

 

[Litespeed Blade]

I've been using myfitnesspal but when i key my exercise in and diet it reckons I'm under eating by atleast 1000 calories!! It also claims my training equates to over 2000 calories a day (75mins twice a day at 18+ mph) Thanks for your advice though chaps - I'm taking it all in...

 

[MattHB]

I've been using myfitnesspal but when i key my exercise in and diet it reckons I'm under eating by atleast 1000 calories!! It also claims my training equates to over 2000 calories a day (75mins twice a day at 18+ mph) Thanks for your advice though chaps - I'm taking it all in...

In my experience most calorie calcs over estimate something cronic. Stick the ride into strava for a more accurate view.. It might tally in which case all is well, but I found it much better to use a harsher estimate.

Don't forget to rest though. Without a good day of rest a week your body won't be able to adapt. And if your doing that much daily, you should look at a 2 or 3 day down period monthly.

 

[vickster]

Have you seen a doctor? How old are you? I wouldn't have said you are that heavy - obviously pinch of salt needed, but you are in the overwight range for BMI

Where did the bodyfat measurement come from? Done by a pro with calipers? Or an estimate from the scales?

Aren't protein shakes high in calories as others have said? I'd replace them with apples, oranges etc - taste much nicer too I'd say!

I always estimate 30-40 cals a mile burnt, more if very hilly - you say you are doing 40 miles a day (not sure how you get to your 100-150 a week, are you not doing this every day?) - so 150 miles would be about 5000 cals (so not 2000 every day?)

I can't see how you are eating under 1000 cals, a baked potato alone is 300, 150 in the tuna, there are what a couple of hundred in each of the shakes, 225 in the almonds and raisins, 150 in biscuits, 100 in a banana, 150 in the prawns, 100 in the yoghurt etc? Looks more like 2000 a day which still isn't that much for a big bloke

 

[Litespeed Blade]

The bodyfat "measurement" came from a machine which I don't trust exactly. myfitnesspal estimated I was not eating enough stating I needed up to another 1000 calories per day!! I have used the results the machine gave me as a starting point to track my progress.

Nutritional value info on my protein
Nutrisport 90+

Per 100g / 53g Serving:
Energy: 1608KJ / 852.2KJ / 376Kcal / 199.2Kcal
Protein: 86g / 45.58g
Carbohydrate: 6.8g / 3.6g
(Of which is sugars): 4.8g / 2.5g
Fat: 2.8g / 1.48g
Saturates: 2.8g / 1.48g
Fibre: 1.9g / 1.0g
Sodium: 0.09g / 0.047g

As I have said I will not pretend I know what I am doing, I have a lot to learn and I feel asking advice from others will assist with gaining some progress. My mileage per week consists of 60miles on a Saturday or Sunday plus 3 times over the week I'm doing 36 - 46 miles so at least 150miles a week. A basic week without a weekend ride is about 100miles. I'll be honest I'm losing a bit of motivation at the moment - It's doing my head in!!

 

[vickster]

What is your goal? To lose weight specifically or get fitter and stronger?

 

[Litespeed Blade]

At the beginning of this year my intention was to stop drinking alcohol (not completely out of my life but to kick the habit of drinking every weekend) to improve the way I eat whilst maintaining the amount of exercise I do.
My goals then were to see how my fitness could be improved and what difference the above would make to my weight. Bit of a daft comparison but my friend and I both weighed ourselves on the machine in our medical at work (checks blood pressure, body fat,weight, Bmi, etc etc)
He is of similar build and height but barely does any exercise, eats whatever he wants and has a lower % of bodyfat. I understand these machines may not be accurate. My point is we both found it amusing that I am slogging my guts out exercising everyday and watching what I eat whereas he does the opposite and appears "fitter" on the scales.
So, initially I really want to lose some weight. Even a gram!!! Just something to show me each week/month that my efforts are not a waste of time.
From a training perspective I regard myself fairly fit. I'm no racer any more but my last 100 mile sportive was finished in just over 5 hours (and that was with a couple of stops!!) Like I say, I won't be riding the tour any day soon but I'm certainly not slow....

 

[steve52]

im also dispondant at my lack of weight loss, i have been thinking of the cage diet! make a cage type cell have bed toilet drinking tap and books inside, the bars to be adjustable in terms of number therfore distance between them. chose the size you want set bars to suite locke the deiter inside and forget em, when im slim i simply slip between the bars !

 

[Litespeed Blade]

Yep, that will work....haha