What is best for weightloss?

[515mm]

Right. I'll try and make this short. Take a look at this site - a calorie NEED calculator

http://nutrition.abo...n_guide_men.htm

Look at where you can cut FAT from your food - especially saturated (meat/dairy) fat. You'll find red meats are very calorie dense, however lovely!

Lean protein rich meals are filling however and the nice full feeling (satiation) lasts longer than carbohydrate or fat rich meals. Protein builds muscle - you'll get stronger and muscle burns calories helping to keep you lean.

Every day you ride for more than an hour you can eat 500 more calories than a day you do not. Just follow the guide and lose a sensible pound a week - it sounds slow but the way you feel as you get leaner is actually far better than 1 pound a week sounds.

This does require a bit of planning and a willingness to cook creatively. It worked for me though - 4st of fat off and a stone and a half of muscle on.

Best of luck to you!

 

[jimboalee]

Right. I'll try and make this short. Take a look at this site - a calorie NEED calculator

http://nutrition.abo...n_guide_men.htm

Look at where you can cut FAT from your food - especially saturated (meat/dairy) fat. You'll find red meats are very calorie dense, however lovely!

Lean protein rich meals are filling however and the nice full feeling (satiation) lasts longer than carbohydrate or fat rich meals. Protein builds muscle - you'll get stronger and muscle burns calories helping to keep you lean.

Every day you ride for more than an hour you can eat 500 more calories than a day you do not. Just follow the guide and lose a sensible pound a week - it sounds slow but the way you feel as you get leaner is actually far better than 1 pound a week sounds.

This does require a bit of planning and a willingness to cook creatively. It worked for me though - 4st of fat off and a stone and a half of muscle on.

Best of luck to you!

I've just tried that website.

If I ate that much, I'd be the size of a house.

(They don't want anyone falling over dead.)

I eat about half of what they recommend.

 

[marzjennings]

Right. I'll try and make this short. Take a look at this site - a calorie NEED calculator

http://nutrition.abo...n_guide_men.htm

Look at where you can cut FAT from your food - especially saturated (meat/dairy) fat. You'll find red meats are very calorie dense, however lovely!

Lean protein rich meals are filling however and the nice full feeling (satiation) lasts longer than carbohydrate or fat rich meals. Protein builds muscle - you'll get stronger and muscle burns calories helping to keep you lean.

Every day you ride for more than an hour you can eat 500 more calories than a day you do not. Just follow the guide and lose a sensible pound a week - it sounds slow but the way you feel as you get leaner is actually far better than 1 pound a week sounds.

This does require a bit of planning and a willingness to cook creatively. It worked for me though - 4st of fat off and a stone and a half of muscle on.

Best of luck to you!

According to that site I need to be eating about 3400 calories a day to loose a pound a week.

I've often wondered whether I eat enough everyday and whether by eating too little I've actually slowed my metabolism and hence any weight loss.

 

[jimboalee]

ride the bike how you feel suits you but its generally accepted that straining up hills in a big gear may damage your knees.The last thing you need now is to be laid up with an injury.

I found riding little and often with longer rides when I could fit them in worked well for me.The problem with all day rides is that you have to take on extra calories to keep going after a few hours then if you overdoe the extra food your ride will be a waste of time from a fat loss point of view.

Have a good look at what you are eating and try to make small changes to your diet gradually.

good Luck

Climbing the cliff steps from the beach carrying the coolbox and windbreak with your three year old son on your shoulders is not harmful to the knees.

Riding a bicycle up an 18% gradient at 30 rpm is.

 

[gb155]

It is easier to do it by reducing the intake,

While you are not wrong, I think its important to make the point that EVERYONE is different.

For me, Its been easier the other way round, but at the same time I am now doing both and as you say, doubling the results, but its important to test the waters and do what works best for you and your body.

 

[Rob3rt]

While you are not wrong, I think its important to make the point that EVERYONE is different.

For me, Its been easier the other way round, but at the same time I am now doing both and as you say, doubling the results, but its important to test the waters and do what works best for you and your body.

I think people play the everyone is different card way too often, the basic physiology is the same for everyone, there is just some variance in rates etc. The basic principles apply to everyone.

I agree with ColinJ completelly, all it takes is to not eat a mars bar to drop ~400-500 calories, thats 5 miles worth of running (roughly - ofc people burn different emounts per mile, but this is a rough estimate for the sake of example). So thats running 35 miles a week, or replacing a mars bar with an apple each day. Which one is easier? I know which one I think is easiest, 35 miles in a week is not a trivial amount of running for the average person (thats closing in on a non-competative/aiming to finish runners marathon training milage).

 

[yello]

I know what you're saying Robert. I was reading something recently about how relatively few calories exercise burns up (when compared to relative inactivity and a jam donut!). Add in the munchies factor that exercise can give you and you can see that exercise can lead to weight gain!

Nobody's saying don't exercise (it's not all about weight loss anyway) but do be aware. It's easier and more effective to be generally active (walking to the shops, taking the stairs, etc) than slogging away on a treadmill if weight loss is your only aim. Then all it takes it the will power to avoid the mars bars! Easy really, says he!

 

[gb155]

I think people play the everyone is different card way too often, the basic physiology is the same for everyone, there is just some variance in rates etc. The basic principles apply to everyone.

I agree with ColinJ completelly, all it takes is to not eat a mars bar to drop ~400-500 calories, thats 5 miles worth of running (roughly - ofc people burn different emounts per mile, but this is a rough estimate for the sake of example). So thats running 35 miles a week, or replacing a mars bar with an apple each day. Which one is easier? I know which one I think is easiest, 35 miles in a week is not a trivial amount of running for the average person (thats closing in on a non-competative/aiming to finish runners marathon training milage).

There are 2 types of people that I have met in relation this.

I know someone who claims to workout for 3/5 hours daily, eat no more than 500 cal's however at 5 foot and 19 stone they have a BMI of around 50 and its going up month on month and has done since I have known them.

However there is then people like myself who find it easier to lose weigh by cycling extra miles if I treat myself then I would by refusing to eat "treats" every now and again, to this end the Everyone Is Different Card is something that does affect all of us, but, some use it just as an excuse !!

 

[Rob3rt]

There are 2 types of people that I have met in relation this.

I know someone who claims to workout for 3/5 hours daily, eat no more than 500 cal's however at 5 foot and 19 stone they have a BMI of around 50 and its going up month on month and has done since I have known them.

However there is then people like myself who find it easier to lose weigh by cycling extra miles if I treat myself then I would by refusing to eat "treats" every now and again, to this end the Everyone Is Different Card is something that does affect all of us, but, some use it just as an excuse !!

Not to go all Jimbo on you but lets do some simple maths here, the average person must burn at least 300 calories (probly a hundred or so more) in 1 hour of training (assuming cardio work), so 3-5 hours of this is between 900 and 1500 calories. This same person eats 500 calories a day? Thats a bowl of porridge with some dried fruit and a drink of milk. So a deficit of 400-1000 calories a day, not including the base burn from normal bodily function which is likely to be over 1000 burnt a day. So this person burns about 1400-2000 calories a day, and eats only 500, a deficit of 900-1500 a day. Yet gains weight? Im skeptical (and I'd also be skeletal if I only ate 500 calories a day!!! ). Are you sure this person doesnt eat 5000 calories a day?

Of course if you treat yourself to a mars bar, then do cycle for about 60 mins to burn it of, and enjoy it, that might be easier for you psychologically, but my perspective, looking at this in terms of time spent to calorie deficit created, it takes around 2 hours cycling at a fair lick to compensate for that mars bar and still come away with a deficit of ~500 calories, so thats 14 hours a week on the bike if you eat a mars bar a day. Thats a substantial amount of time. Cutting back on the mars bars by eating an apple instead is surely easier in terms of fitting it into your day?



BTW im not saying you are wrong that its easier for you to ride more than eat less, your acheivement is inspirational, and its amazing what you have acheived and you know what works for you. I think we are both looking at it from a different perspective.

 

[MrVandal]

I found this useful:
http://www.bicycling.com/training-nutrition/nutrition-weight-loss/fry-fat-intervals

 

[Fiona N]

Not to go all Jimbo on you but lets do some simple maths here, the average person must burn at least 300 calories (probly a hundred or so more) in 1 hour of training (assuming cardio work), so 3-5 hours of this is between 900 and 1500 calories. This same person eats 500 calories a day? Thats a bowl of porridge with some dried fruit and a drink of milk. So a deficit of 400-1000 calories a day, not including the base burn from normal bodily function which is likely to be over 1000 burnt a day. So this person burns about 1400-2000 calories a day, and eats only 500, a deficit of 900-1500 a day. Yet gains weight? Im skeptical (and I'd also be skeletal if I only ate 500 calories a day!!! ). Are you sure this person doesnt eat 5000 calories a day?

Of course if you treat yourself to a mars bar, then do cycle for about 60 mins to burn it of, and enjoy it, that might be easier for you psychologically, but my perspective, looking at this in terms of time spent to calorie deficit created, it takes around 2 hours cycling at a fair lick to compensate for that mars bar and still come away with a deficit of ~500 calories, so thats 14 hours a week on the bike if you eat a mars bar a day. Thats a substantial amount of time. Cutting back on the mars bars by eating an apple instead is surely easier in terms of fitting it into your day?



BTW im not saying you are wrong that its easier for you to ride more than eat less, your acheivement is inspirational, and its amazing what you have acheived and you know what works for you. I think we are both looking at it from a different perspective.

I think gb400 was emphasising the 'claims' to work out and eat ca. 500 kcals

But I do agree with him on the treats element of cycling for weight loss. I sadly don't need to commute to work, which is why I've put on weight over the last 12 years (exacerbated by periods of injury) as, if the weather's not good, I don't get out on the bike. So a treat - usually buying the paper on the way home and sometimes a small chocolate treat, usually Maltesers (FWIW a Mars bar of 57g - not super-sized - is 308 kcals) - is one way of encouraging myself out of the house on a day when the weather's less than great. Given that once I'm out, I'm unlikely to do less than 40km (1.5 to 2 hours, depending on the terrain - and everywhere's hilly round here) even if the weather changes, I'll have a net deficit of 500 to 1000 kcals. Since my BMR is only about 1600 kcals, reducing this by a similar amount most days (since I don't cycle every day either) is well-nigh impossible. So I see most benefit by riding regularly and having a few treats.

 

[ColinJ]

I know someone who claims to workout for 3/5 hours daily, eat no more than 500 cal's however at 5 foot and 19 stone they have a BMI of around 50 and its going up month on month and has done since I have known them.

There was a TV programme on a couple of years ago which featured a female celebrity (I can't remember her name, but I think she was American, living in the UK; wore black-framed glasses). She swore blind that it was impossible for her to lose weight, she ate a very healthy diet, it must be her metabolism and so on and so forth. She'd calculated that she had a large daily calorie deficit but her weight stubbornly refused to drop.

She was put on a machine that actually measured her metabolic rate and it was shown to be normal. She still refused to accept that she was overeating so they got her to fill out a food diary. Sure enough, it showed that she had that large calorie deficit, so why wasn't she losing weight?

She was extremely defensive and stated that there some people who just can't do it, but the the TV bods did another food diary on her behalf...

Sure enough, she was eating a healthy diet. Unfortunately, she was actually eating a healthy diet but with enough food for two people. She had a fruit salad for breakfast every morning. How many calories? Zero, apparently, because it never made its way onto the pages of her diary. Fruit didn't count! It was a humungous bowl containing (say) an apple, a banana, a peach, a pear, a punnet of strawberries, a load of grapes... Hundreds and hundreds of calories which she had completely overlooked. Throughout the day she was ignoring calories taken in because she was convinced that they were insignificant. When the sums were done, she was way over what she needed to maintain her weight.

She was pretty shocked by what they told her, so she finally started keeping an accurate food diary. She also began a regular exercise regime. Using stairs instead of lifts, getting her taxi to drop her off a few streets from her destination and walking the rest of the way, that kind of thing.

Result? The weight started dropping off her... It's not rocket science.

It's definitely true that some people can eat almost what they like and not gain weight - they had one of them on the same programme. They got him to eat about 50% more than normal and his metabolism just speeded up to burn it off. The other people being tested varied from small weight gains right the way through to huge weight gains.

If you take in fewer calories than you need, then you lose weight. There is no argument about it unless you think that these people have some sort of nuclear reactor inside them to generate their energy - if it isn't coming from their food or stored body fat, then where is it coming from! 

 

[jimboalee]

You may find there are some people who unwitingly walk round all day and burn off 1000 calories without noticing it.

In a previous job, I walked about 3 hours worth, 1200 calories per day. This was outside wearing a shortsleeve shirt and thin trousers even in the wintertime. The weight fell off me.

A good part of our calorific needs is simply to maintain body temperature. Any leakage through the skin is replaced automatically. Its like losing fat without exercising.

So turn the heating down, take off the wooly jumper and shivver it off

 

[Rob3rt]

I think gb400 was emphasising the 'claims' to work out and eat ca. 500 kcals

But I do agree with him on the treats element of cycling for weight loss. I sadly don't need to commute to work, which is why I've put on weight over the last 12 years (exacerbated by periods of injury) as, if the weather's not good, I don't get out on the bike. So a treat - usually buying the paper on the way home and sometimes a small chocolate treat, usually Maltesers (FWIW a Mars bar of 57g - not super-sized - is 308 kcals) - is one way of encouraging myself out of the house on a day when the weather's less than great. Given that once I'm out, I'm unlikely to do less than 40km (1.5 to 2 hours, depending on the terrain - and everywhere's hilly round here) even if the weather changes, I'll have a net deficit of 500 to 1000 kcals. Since my BMR is only about 1600 kcals, reducing this by a similar amount most days (since I don't cycle every day either) is well-nigh impossible. So I see most benefit by riding regularly and having a few treats.

I think I misunderstood that post by gb155, sorry, hah

 

[ColinJ]

So turn the heating down, take off the wooly jumper and shivver it off 

My mum has Parkinson's disease and really struggles to maintain her weight. Her consultant told her that it is because the tremors are like shivering. All those little involuntary movements really add up over the course of the day.

I don't like overheated properties. Some people have their thermostats set to 25+ degrees - aaaargh!

Most people who visit me in the winter complain about how cold my house is, but I don't have a problem with it. I like it at about 15-18 degrees. If it is really cold, I'd be wearing a long-sleeved base layer, a long-sleeved jersey and a jumper or lightweight fleece. The whingers seem to expect to be able to sit around in shorts and t-shirts in winter!