From Fatty To Beanpole

Sillyoldtwit said:

Well not quite beanpole.🙂 Has anyone lost a lot of weight since taking up cycling, and if so is it just the cycling or has a change in diet played a part?
How do you feel, and I don't mean only on the bike? I thoroughly enjoy wearing 30 inch waist jeans instead of the tight 34 inch ones, which I'm thinking of making a tent out of.🙂

I've now lost 14kg (28lbs/2 stone plus) since last xmas. Feel like a different person, and have developed a spring in my step.

I know the figures above are going to be pulverized - but great, let's have them.😄

i think it's great - you're obviously doing very well. keep up the great work.

For my own part, while i've not had (much of) a change in weight, i now weigh less than when i was 11 y old, and i've grown 25 cm! (i'm 37 y old)

ric

[font=Verdana]November 02 101 kilos, 175 cm tall largish frame.[/font]
[font=Verdana]March 03 95 kilos & got an old mountain bike from the shed, pumped up the tyre & rode 500m [/font]
[font=Verdana]May 29 03 92 kilos, after building up to 8 klm rides I bought a Trek 7300 hybrid [/font]
[font=Verdana]Xmas 03 85 kilos, regularly riding 20 & 30 k rides[/font]
[font=Verdana]June 03 78 kilos, [/font]
Dec 05 after 18k kls I bougth an Avanti Blade flat bar road bike
[font=Verdana]So I had a total loss of 23 kilos & just as important, maintained this reduction for 3 years now. [/font]
[font=Verdana]Wishing to ride well, I quickly learnt the importance of power to weight ratio which was part of my incentive to control my weight. Now I have a lifestyle which is easy to maintain, a diet which is nutritious & much lower in calories than pre Nov 02. Coupling this with a 700 klm/month biking habit. Yeah I guess I feel fine. [/font]

[font=Comic Sans MS]I cant say I’ve lost weight cycling but it definitely maintains my weight if i gain a kilo or two over the holidays i put in an extra cycle or two and I’m back to my 81 kilo's.[/font]

[font=Comic Sans MS]I have definitely changed my eating habits of late, with an inherited cholesterol problem; just exercise won't keep it in check so I’ve had to cut out all those no-no’s i love so much. Well I sneak in the chocks every now and then.[/font]

[font='Times New Roman'][font=Comic Sans MS]I used to run a couple of km ‘s a week to but probably suffered more sore feet and knees than benefiting my body, so its cycling for me.[/font][/font]

30lbs in 4 months when I first started. In fact it's the reason I started riding to begin with, or a large part of it. I dropped from 210 to 180, which is really lean for me due to weight training.

The difference in the way I feel is amazing. It's funny how you decide to start doing something "some" like cycling, and end up falling in love with it ... some becomes every chance you get.

John

ric_stern/RST said:

i think it's great - you're obviously doing very well. keep up the great work.

For my own part, while i've not had (much of) a change in weight, i now weigh less than when i was 11 y old, and i've grown 25 cm! (i'm 37 y old)

ric

LOL So can we assume you were a fat kid?😄

Albert, sounds like you have things under control - well done!🙂

MM. 30pounds in 4 months - I guess that just tops me -just!😉

Seems like so long ago, but in spring of 2004, I was 275 lbs. It was one of those 275 lbs that makes folks say: "but you're not fat. you're muscular."

But my pant size was 38-40. Today, I am 190 - 195 and I think my waist is 32 (my size 34 pants are uber loose). I started road cycling then also. I have been at this weight now for about 5 months and I'm not working to stay there. I mean I don't eat whole cakes or anything ..

i actually gained weight, when i was running/triathlons i would get down to 128lbs :eek: did not feel great, now 136lbs but i get up to about 150 every xmas, its a little gift i give myself, i think this year i will max out at 145 and im about 5ft10

I've lost 16 pounds since January, through training alone. I have not changed my diet at all.

Sillyoldtwit said:

LOL So can we assume you were a fat kid?😄

Albert, sounds like you have things under control - well done!🙂

MM. 30pounds in 4 months - I guess that just tops me -just!😉

I don't know, that's an estimate.. but it was close to that time frame. Felt like it just melted off... of course family and friends decided I was too "skinny"..lol.

Your topic made me reflect back to when I first started riding (July 04). Before then, I hadn't ridden a bike anything close to seriously since high school. I actually bought a decent mountain bike about 12 years ago, but it was stolen within a month ( I have bad luck with that).

Anyway, I started considering getting back into it about a month before and did a little research about what I wanted. Finally went to a local bike shop and made the purchase (04 Allez Comp Double). I'd never ridden clipless before but decided to give it a try. Of course I had to take it for a ride that day....I think I got a total of 6 miles before I felt dead. 😄 I think my speed average on that ride was a whopping 11-12 mph.

That night I remember thinking.. "Why oh why didn't I get a triple??????" It's pretty hilly where I live; the flattest route I take is a loop that has approximately 50ft. of climbing per mile. I remember getting on this forum the first time (wanting to learn everything I could) and being amazed that people talked about riding base miles at 60% MHR. I thought.. HOW???????. At the time, I couldn't climb out of my parking lot at that heart rate..lol.

I rode every day for the first couple of weeks, and got relatively comfortable with 10-15 miles. The "2 week" anniversary of getting the bike fell on a Saturday, and I decided I was going to go on a long ride. I'm thinking.. "I'll just take it slow so I don't get tired". I had a pair of bike shorts already, but I was still wearing a cut up cotton t-shirt. The temperature was around 95 F that day. I didn't take anything at all to eat, but I did carry two bottles of water. At about the 23 mile mark, I started realizing the folly of my decision to ride that far!

I was hungry, getting sun burned, couldn't find a place to buy more water, etc. etc. etc. I finally did find a place to buy water, bought a power bar, and took about a 30 minute break before heading back the other direction.

When I finally got back home, I'd ridden 47 miles at an average of 12.5 mph. That particular route as I later discovered, has right at 5700 ft. of climbing in that 47 miles. I'd been gone a total of 4 hrs. 30 minutes and was almost sick I was so tired..lol. I remember sitting on my couch staring at the tv (not moving) and thinking if that isn't a right of passage, I don't know what is.

Looking back now, it was pretty stupid to take on that ride that early, but it's also a fond memory. As hard as it was then, it felt like a pretty big accomplishment to cover that much ground on two wheels. I doesn't seem like such a big deal now.. but at the time it was.

Too much information I know, but it's fun to look back at the beginning sometimes, especially remembering that I was carrying around an extra 30lbs. then. I remember reading a quote somewhere.. might have been here. One of the more famous racers said it.. maybe Indurain? "Training never gets easier, you just get faster." At the time I thought... "I hope so!!". Thankfully it's proven to be a very true statement.

John

Mansmind said:

I don't know, that's an estimate.. but it was close to that time frame. Felt like it just melted off... of course family and friends decided I was too "skinny"..lol.

Your topic made me reflect back to when I first started riding (July 04). Before then, I hadn't ridden a bike anything close to seriously since high school. I actually bought a decent mountain bike about 12 years ago, but it was stolen within a month ( I have bad luck with that).

Anyway, I started considering getting back into it about a month before and did a little research about what I wanted. Finally went to a local bike shop and made the purchase (04 Allez Comp Double). I'd never ridden clipless before but decided to give it a try. Of course I had to take it for a ride that day....I think I got a total of 6 miles before I felt dead. 😄 I think my speed average on that ride was a whopping 11-12 mph.

That night I remember thinking.. "Why oh why didn't I get a triple??????" It's pretty hilly where I live; the flattest route I take is a loop that has approximately 50ft. of climbing per mile. I remember getting on this forum the first time (wanting to learn everything I could) and being amazed that people talked about riding base miles at 60% MHR. I thought.. HOW???????. At the time, I couldn't climb out of my parking lot at that heart rate..lol.

I rode every day for the first couple of weeks, and got relatively comfortable with 10-15 miles. The "2 week" anniversary of getting the bike fell on a Saturday, and I decided I was going to go on a long ride. I'm thinking.. "I'll just take it slow so I don't get tired". I had a pair of bike shorts already, but I was still wearing a cut up cotton t-shirt. The temperature was around 95 F that day. I didn't take anything at all to eat, but I did carry two bottles of water. At about the 23 mile mark, I started realizing the folly of my decision to ride that far!

I was hungry, getting sun burned, couldn't find a place to buy more water, etc. etc. etc. I finally did find a place to buy water, bought a power bar, and took about a 30 minute break before heading back the other direction.

When I finally got back home, I'd ridden 47 miles at an average of 12.5 mph. That particular route as I later discovered, has right at 5700 ft. of climbing in that 47 miles. I'd been gone a total of 4 hrs. 30 minutes and was almost sick I was so tired..lol. I remember sitting on my couch staring at the tv (not moving) and thinking if that isn't a right of passage, I don't know what is.

Looking back now, it was pretty stupid to take on that ride that early, but it's also a fond memory. As hard as it was then, it felt like a pretty big accomplishment to cover that much ground on two wheels. I doesn't seem like such a big deal now.. but at the time it was.

Too much information I know, but it's fun to look back at the beginning sometimes, especially remembering that I was carrying around an extra 30lbs. then. I remember reading a quote somewhere.. might have been here. One of the more famous racers said it.. maybe Indurain? "Training never gets easier, you just get faster." At the time I thought... "I hope so!!". Thankfully it's proven to be a very true statement.

John

GREAT post!

about 2.5 years ago I was 130+ kg. Made a vow to get my old fitness back and went to the gym and go a personal trainer who was a cyclist (and now a Ironman). today I am around 95kgs, more importantly have gone from a size 122 pants to 97, and a E Grade racer with the ACTVETs. Aim is to get to around 80kgs.

Seriously recommend that you watch your diet and exercise. If you just exercise, you will get fitter, but you may just end up replacing burnt calories with eaten calories. If you just diet, your metabolism will die a death, as you will everytime you pass your favourite food shop.

Food -You need to eat good food to build a good body, either seek a dietition to provide advice or do your own researh. Everyone has a different opinion on what is bad food, for me its empty calories, ie those that don't fill you up, for example soft drinks are just laced with sugar, great for lean cyclists who want to advoid bonking, but not so great for those who want to loose weight. I went down the path of continuous improvement, slowely cutting out bad foods and introducing good foods. Now I'm no longer looking for weight loss, so I can ease up a little on the diet, but I'll never go back to the bad old days.

Exercise - the most important thing is that you actually have done it. Motivation is really important, the first drop of rain and the running shoes stay in the cupboard is not so great, unless you are motivated to jump in the car and go down to gym for a spin class instead. Group riding is another great motivator, exercise comes with a social bonus.

Sillyoldtwit said:

I've now lost 14kg (28lbs/2 stone plus) since last xmas. Feel like a different person, and have developed a spring in my step.😄

Hey Silly - Congratulations! To think that I once offered you advice, less than a year ago when you were a (sort of) pudgy casual rider with a very ordinary power output! I've been reluctant to comment after being totally awed by the improvements you've made, well documented in your thread in the power training forum. I'll put a slightly different spin on this discussion: as one of the skinny few who seem to weigh the same 138lbs now as I did in high school (despite a 40+ year gap), I have a certain envy for the "larger" rider who sheds weight and develops these wonderful power/weight ratios. A number of cycling articles have pointed out that it is easier to shed weight and learn to better utilize lungs, hearts, and muscles which are in some sense in proportion to the starting weight, than it is for us little guys to "grow" our motors. So while I gloated (just a little) when you started, I will now (mentally at least) do my best to hang onto your wheel! All the best!

palewin said:

Hey Silly - Congratulations! To think that I once offered you advice, less than a year ago when you were a (sort of) pudgy casual rider with a very ordinary power output! I've been reluctant to comment after being totally awed by the improvements you've made, well documented in your thread in the power training forum. I'll put a slightly different spin on this discussion: as one of the skinny few who seem to weigh the same 138lbs now as I did in high school (despite a 40+ year gap), I have a certain envy for the "larger" rider who sheds weight and develops these wonderful power/weight ratios. A number of cycling articles have pointed out that it is easier to shed weight and learn to better utilize lungs, hearts, and muscles which are in some sense in proportion to the starting weight, than it is for us little guys to "grow" our motors. So while I gloated (just a little) when you started, I will now (mentally at least) do my best to hang onto your wheel! All the best!

LOL Yeah it was back on the 15th Jan 5 short months ago you offered me your first advice and forewarned me that RapDaddyo would probably chip in with some advice. Little did I know what I was letting myself in for.😄

On a serious note though, I'm still grateful to you, RD and others in this great forum who set me off on a path I never imagined posssible. Keeping on topic, I'm now finding it harder to shed what I consider those last 1 or 2 kilos. I've managed to get my body fat down to 18% from 23% plus, but this is also proving difficult to lower now. But as I think you said, you can increase your power to compensate for the being a little heavy, and hopefully I'm not even close to plateauing out yet. Only time will tell.😉 TYSON

Lost 23kg's 😄 in 9 months.Mainly through cycling.I adjusted the diet slightly also.🙂 But I atribute most of my weight loss to the cycling.

karries said:

Lost 23kg's 😄 in 9 months.Mainly through cycling.I adjusted the diet slightly also.🙂 But I atribute most of my weight loss to the cycling.

That's some weight to lose karries. Makes my loss look pale in comparison. Well done - I bet you feel like a new person.😉

Yes I do feel like a new person.No more problems with colestrol,blood pressure etc. I think your weight loss is just as phenomonal.We should stick to it and try to drop a few more kilo's.😄 Lets go for it🙄

karries said:

Yes I do feel like a new person.No more problems with colestrol,blood pressure etc. I think your weight loss is just as phenomonal.We should stick to it and try to drop a few more kilo's.😄 Lets go for it🙄

Someone will probably say I'm wrong, but I think losing too much weight is not necessarily a good thing. It has to be taken into account when considering your wt/power ratio. I don't really know, but for my height and bone structure, I feel 70kilos possibly 69k is my optimum weight. By going under 69 perhaps my FTP will decrease thereby nullifying any gain I might have made by dropping my weight. A sort of swings and roundabouts scenario.

Over the course of a couple years, with our first child, enduring grad school, and 50% travel for work I put on weight, eventually topping out at 202 lbs. It was the heaviest I've ever been (I'm 5'8"😉.

By changing diet and also adding swim/bike/run, I lost 50 lbs over 7 months.

I remember the first day I changed from the elliptical to the treadmill. I could barely complete .2 miles!!! My first day on the bike I ran into a small hill, and ended up going so slow I tipped over into the shoulder!! 🙄

Sometime thereafter, I went on my first ride with a friend, who happens to be a fireman and Cat1 cyclist. He rode his mountain bike on the hill next to the road, and still rode circles around me.

Cycling is a humbling sport. There's always someone faster on the flats and quicker and lighter up the hills. Still, it's extraordinarily rewarding when you get fast enough to latch on to that group that's always been just a bit too fast to hang with. I had a day like that this morning. 😄