Diet help

There are probably several good reasons why you haven't received any responses to your nebulous query as of yet.

Anyway, my best and only tip for you at this time is for you to try utilizing the 'search' function in this subsection as well the "Health Nutrition and Supplements" subsect. Speaking for myself only, I'm much more willing to share experiences/information/assistance to someone who has demonstrated the willingness to do some prep work before hitting me up for some information.

Dieting has been 'done to death' on this forum and most other cycling forums on the net. There's absolutely nothing new under the sun - aka, no "silver bullet" so to speak. The formula for losing weight and keeping it off is pretty simple - don't go and try to make it any more complicated than it really is - just need to make sure you're committed...my $0.02CAN worth.

Well l am cutting weight at the moment for the upcoming season and do it every year to some degree and not to sound like a rude [censored] but no one should have any fuelling preblems doing 6-8hrs p/wk reguarless of intensity as it is just not alot of volume, unless they are just not eating anything at all.
Firstly l never cut calories before during or after training period.
Secondly lf l eat then l move pure and simple, walk the dog/take the kids to the park go window shopping, hiking, visit freinds what ever it takes not to sit around and "eat".
The bulk of my daily calories comes after training and for the next ~4hrs depending on how much l burned and weather or not tom is another hard day.
Most brekfast cerials are junk and just simple sugars and as you put not very filling for very long.
l'd stick to rolled/stealcut oats or if it is not food for an imediate training ride then scrambled eggs on rye/wholrgrain/wholemeal toast.
If l am to train first thing in the am than believe it or not l cook some pasta (100g) for breakfast and a table spoon of olive oil with a little salt, this about the only thing that doesn't give me indigestion if i eat right before training, then if the ride is longer than 90min l will take about 200-300cals per hour with me in the form of bananas and some times sportsdrinks, but l recommend real food.
Afterwards l have my post meal already to go so that l don't start raiding the fridge eating ervery bit of food that isn't nailed down, glass of skim milk some rice or pasta 50/50 white/brown with steamed vegies carrots, beans, broc,capsicum, snowpeas, pumpkin what ever you fancy a total of 400-600cals and a huge meal at that,
l hold off on a lot of the vegies and eat them about 30min after the first feeding as l know l will still be super hungry to give you an example 2.2 pounds of carrot and pumpkin is only ~300cals so if you are still hungry after eating a bowl of rice/mixed vegies and then another bucket of vegies and some grilled fish or chiken to add to that at the 45m-60m mark after getting off the bike then you are indeed going to have some problems loosing weight but lf your still hungry then by all means hook in to more vegies as most health organisations recomend 5 veg and 2 fruit p/day for the avg mildly active person.
l don't keep bread/cheese/penuttbutter/biscuits/icream/cakes/ lollies/chips or any other easy acessable food in my house for the reason you describe (ravenous binges). lf l am just eating out of bordem then l will chew on a a couple of raw carrots and this will let the urge pass.
For my next meal 2-4hrs after training l will through a lead on my bobcat and walk her down to the bakery and grab some "wholemeal/wholegrain" breadrolls and maybe a couple slices of turkey/ham if there is nothing like tinned tuna/salmon in the pantry, this will make a mountain of a salad roll and again 400-600cal.
Evening meal will consist of grilled fish/ckicken or "lean steak" with more vegies and some low fat natural yogurt to dollop on the roasted vegies, load up on the vegies they will fill you up and contribute very litte towards overall net calories.
Can feel like a stuffed bull all day and only consume 2000-2500cals a day while on heavy training days it will be more like 2800-3500cals with extra food eaten on the bike or imediatly after training (a recovery smoothie hits the spot for high GI food source)

DancenMacabre said:

Got on a (weight) scale a few days ago and ugggh! Guess I gained a few, no, no, lets be real, a lot of weight in the past year or so 🙁

Now I know that the basic point of what makes dieting work is kinda simple: Eat less calories than needed and/or use up/burn more calories than needed = weight
loss

No big secret there. I dont believe in those magic wands or silver bullets that if you eat this or that special ingredient that the pounds melt away. Now I have never done a diet while doing serious exercise. Um, I suppose I am calling my bike riding now 'serious' or at least for me it is.

So how do I manage eating for weight loss with this training?

First off, I really really cant get myself to start exercise at all while I am hungry. If nothing else then I have to feel like I am not starving before and during a bicycle ride.

Next, after getting back from these training routines on the bicycle, I feel ravenous! So how do you manage after exercise eating and getting the nutrition you need to stay fit/fast/strong on the bike - with the need to lose weight? I mean how do you eat after a long bike training ride so that you recover and feed those muscles, but not put on weight either?

Another thing is I think I need more protein than I get now since I eat a lot of carbs (cereal, bread) and those (carbs) feel like they aren't very filling (for very long). Maybe a little protein shake and a little less of the carbs to balance out the ratio? Not thinking of something crazy like atkins, but a bit more protein to satiate my hunger better.

I am doing about 6 hours on my bicycle for training as of last week. Usually 3 bicycle rides of 2 hours each with like 1-1/2 hours of each being sweet training spot intensity (total = 4-1/2 hours per week). I do sweet training spot intensity but not lower intensity except for warming up/cool down. My weekly total is 90-95 miles. I am OK to increase time on these training rides a bit, maybe up to 8 hours and 4 days/week. That would be better I think? The software for power says I am using about 1000kj's per bicycle training ride and the book says this is about equal to 1000 calories, or pretty close.

So please give me your tips on this topic. I want to lose weight + gain in the power metric for bike riding. Maybe a lot to ask - maybe a silver bullet 🙂 - but I am new so I hope it is possible.

Cut out the carbs at your own risk. Eat a fairly balanced diet but just eat a little less. Just by watching what you eat and cutting out those little snacks and 12 beers and 1/2 bottle of vodka each day you'll make progress. It'll take a little while to get used to eating less but if after a week or two you find yourself constantly hungry all the time then eat a little more. It ain't rocket science.

Don't try and do a heavy training load while trying to lose weight, you'll fail miserably. Take a pick on what's the most important (losing weight or gaining power) and work from there.

I took a physics class some years ago but admit to not remembering much about nebulas or nebulous gases, much less posts. So I'll leave some comments be...

bubsy said:

Well l am cutting weight at the moment for the upcoming season and do it every year to some degree and not to sound like a rude [censored] but no one should have any fuelling preblems doing 6-8hrs p/wk reguarless of intensity as it is just not alot of volume, unless they are just not eating anything at all.
Firstly l never cut calories before during or after training period.
Secondly lf l eat then l move pure and simple, walk the dog/take the kids to the park go window shopping, hiking, visit freinds what ever it takes not to sit around and "eat".
The bulk of my daily calories comes after training and for the next ~4hrs depending on how much l burned and weather or not tom is another hard day.
Most brekfast cerials are junk and just simple sugars and as you put not very filling for very long.
l'd stick to rolled/stealcut oats or if it is not food for an imediate training ride then scrambled eggs on rye/wholrgrain/wholemeal toast.
If l am to train first thing in the am than believe it or not l cook some pasta (100g) for breakfast and a table spoon of olive oil with a little salt, this about the only thing that doesn't give me indigestion if i eat right before training, then if the ride is longer than 90min l will take about 200-300cals per hour with me in the form of bananas and some times sportsdrinks, but l recommend real food.
Afterwards l have my post meal already to go so that l don't start raiding the fridge eating ervery bit of food that isn't nailed down, glass of skim milk some rice or pasta 50/50 white/brown with steamed vegies carrots, beans, broc,capsicum, snowpeas, pumpkin what ever you fancy a total of 400-600cals and a huge meal at that,
l hold off on a lot of the vegies and eat them about 30min after the first feeding as l know l will still be super hungry to give you an example 2.2 pounds of carrot and pumpkin is only ~300cals so if you are still hungry after eating a bowl of rice/mixed vegies and then another bucket of vegies and some grilled fish or chiken to add to that at the 45m-60m mark after getting off the bike then you are indeed going to have some problems loosing weight but lf your still hungry then by all means hook in to more vegies as most health organisations recomend 5 veg and 2 fruit p/day for the avg mildly active person.
l don't keep bread/cheese/penuttbutter/biscuits/icream/cakes/ lollies/chips or any other easy acessable food in my house for the reason you describe (ravenous binges). lf l am just eating out of bordem then l will chew on a a couple of raw carrots and this will let the urge pass.
For my next meal 2-4hrs after training l will through a lead on my bobcat and walk her down to the bakery and grab some "wholemeal/wholegrain" breadrolls and maybe a couple slices of turkey/ham if there is nothing like tinned tuna/salmon in the pantry, this will make a mountain of a salad roll and again 400-600cal.
Evening meal will consist of grilled fish/ckicken or "lean steak" with more vegies and some low fat natural yogurt to dollop on the roasted vegies, load up on the vegies they will fill you up and contribute very litte towards overall net calories.
Can feel like a stuffed bull all day and only consume 2000-2500cals a day while on heavy training days it will be more like 2800-3500cals with extra food eaten on the bike or imediatly after training (a recovery smoothie hits the spot for high GI food source)

That's a lot of details you packed in that post. It helps though in that you pretty much explained things in super specific form. Thanks for that.

You say you eat most of your calories in the hours after training and that makes perfect sense. I guess being pretty darn ravenous after a longish bicycle ride is about totally normal.

Guess I agree with what you say about cereals. Gosh I love them but they feel like a drop in the bucket when it comes to filling me up.

Eating lots of 'bulk', I am paraphrasing your comment, in the form of veggies and lighter foods sounds like a great way to feel full without packing in the calories. I know some foods, like cereal above, are way too dense and don't fill you up. I can very very very easily overeat on granola but darn near impossible to do with something like carrots or vegetables or even lean meat.

I like your ideas, thanks for sharing them.

swampy1970 said:

Cut out the carbs at your own risk. Eat a fairly balanced diet but just eat a little less. Just by watching what you eat and cutting out those little snacks and 12 beers and 1/2 bottle of vodka each day you'll make progress. It'll take a little while to get used to eating less but if after a week or two you find yourself constantly hungry all the time then eat a little more. It ain't rocket science.

Don't try and do a heavy training load while trying to lose weight, you'll fail miserably. Take a pick on what's the most important (losing weight or gaining power) and work from there.

LOL - wish it was from shots of whiskey and a 6 pack of beer 🙂 🙂

I did this diet software program for a week, it sort of breaks down your food intake and tells you how it is distributed. Way too high on carbs, I was around 70% on average with protein about just 10%. Think I'll cut the carbs to maybe 50% and up protein to 30%.

Read The Paleo Diet and The Paleo Diet for Athletes.
Cut out grains, bread, etc... They are dead calories.
Try 60% protein, 25% healthy fats & 15% carbs from fruit and veggies.
You will have no shortage of energy for training. Takes 3 weeks for your body to adapt.

A few points on losing weight, from someone who can, if i don't watch it, easily east 2 peoples serves and still be looking for more.

1. The more you eat, the more you have to eat. You stomach stretches when you gorge, and shrinks when you starve. Take 3 days off the bike and starve yourself. Have nothing but coffee, diet coke, and like a few apples or pieces of multigrain toast, and a few vitamins. You need to take on the hunger and smash it. If you hold out, your body will give up on ever being fed and cope with the paltry serves you give it. A bowl of pasta will seem satisfying after this sort of starvation.

2. Eat small meals more often and you can keep your appetite in check after 1.

3.Stimulants are a valid replacement for any meal other than post ride Carb replenishment. Unless you are riding in the morning, no more than a piece of toast and coffee. Don't put milk in the coffee, or tea of whatever, unless it is skim. Only children should drink milk. Long black only, no sugar.

4. After riding you can have as much sugary [censored] as you like, but only for the first hour or so. Keep it dense and the portions small, like a bag of lollies, so you don;t stretch the stomach. On rides leas than 1 hour don't drink any sugary sports drinks.

5. Sleep is a good substitute for food. The more you skimp on sleep, the more you want to eat, especially energy dense and fatty stuff. The ones who skip sleep are always having big b-fasts like bacon and egg roles and other [censored]. Get at least 8 hours plus an hour for every hour you spend riding flat out.

6. If you undereat and start to bonk training, stop, have some coffe and food, and start again. Your body can only burn fat so quick. Take it easy while you are stripping weight fast, or have lots of breaks to recover. You can keep up the volume but you need to spread it out a bit and get lots of rest.

11ring said:

A few points on losing weight, from someone who can, if i don't watch it, easily east 2 peoples serves and still be looking for more.

1. The more you eat, the more you have to eat. You stomach stretches when you gorge, and shrinks when you starve. Take 3 days off the bike and starve yourself. Have nothing but coffee, diet coke, and like a few apples or pieces of multigrain toast, and a few vitamins. You need to take on the hunger and smash it. If you hold out, your body will give up on ever being fed and cope with the paltry serves you give it. A bowl of pasta will seem satisfying after this sort of starvation.

2. Eat small meals more often and you can keep your appetite in check after 1.

3.Stimulants are a valid replacement for any meal other than post ride Carb replenishment. Unless you are riding in the morning, no more than a piece of toast and coffee. Don't put milk in the coffee, or tea of whatever, unless it is skim. Only children should drink milk. Long black only, no sugar.

4. After riding you can have as much sugary [censored] as you like, but only for the first hour or so. Keep it dense and the portions small, like a bag of lollies, so you don;t stretch the stomach. On rides leas than 1 hour don't drink any sugary sports drinks.

5. Sleep is a good substitute for food. The more you skimp on sleep, the more you want to eat, especially energy dense and fatty stuff. The ones who skip sleep are always having big b-fasts like bacon and egg roles and other [censored]. Get at least 8 hours plus an hour for every hour you spend riding flat out.

6. If you undereat and start to bonk training, stop, have some coffe and food, and start again. Your body can only burn fat so quick. Take it easy while you are stripping weight fast, or have lots of breaks to recover. You can keep up the volume but you need to spread it out a bit and get lots of rest.

WOW! That's radical! :eek:

Don't eat, eat [censored], drink lots of coffee and get good sleep? 😕

Wlfdg said:

WOW! That's radical! :eek:

Don't eat, eat [censored], drink lots of coffee and get good sleep? 😕

I should have added- you still need to eat enough real food. For all periods other than after riding, you should stack up on as low GI carbs as possible, plus a bit of protein.

I cannot stress how important the low GI bit is, almonds help reduce the GI of other carbs, so if you can find a way to combine almonds and sweet potato, have that for dinner instead of plain white potatoes you will be 5% faster. Almond meal is good for this- you can put it in all sorts of stuff- as a stuffing, coating, a ingredient in baking, in pasta sauces etc.

High GI after rides, Low GI all other times.

Oily fish is good too, helps keep you lively. This is a good source to get protein up to ~ 20 % of energy intake.

5% FASTER!!

Wow sign me up 😄