Trainer Advice

Eager Rider said:

How hard should you train on a trainer to get fit (ex. How Long, Hard, and Heart Weight for losing weight)?

I hate to say this to you, but it sounds like you didn't take any time to research this forum and are instead asking someone else to do it for you. That's not a good sign. Everything takes an effort, including gaining knowledge, and that's the easy part.

I know from your previous post that you're struggling with weight and you're still young. What I believe will make the biggest difference is a radical change in attitude. Don't expect someone else to motivate you or lead you through this process by the hand. Becoming fit is a life-changing experience. There is no quick fix, only a complete remodeling of your life.

I wasn't going to do this, but here it is anyway:

*Get checked out by a doctor to make sure that you're ready for a more strenuous exercise.
*Ride as hard as you can for as long as you can (Sweet Spot training). You should be sweating and breathing kinda hard. Learn to like it!
*Eat breakfast and smaller portions throughout the day, but go to bed HUNGRY (no, it won't kill you). You need to run a caloric deficit to lose weight and without ocassional hunger it just ain't happening. Learn to like it!
*Don't eat for at least 2 hrs before riding.
*Eat something after riding, but if you're riding for only 1 hr at anything other than a time-trial pace, you probably don't need a full dinner.
*If you're looking to lose 50-100+ lbs, from now on you should never feel full after eating. That's your new reality and you must accept it, until you've accomplished your goal. Learn to like it! Take satisfaction in all those feelings that you dreaded before. They are taking you to your goal!

The idea is not to burn calories only while you ride, but to teach your body to burn them efficiently throughout the day (including sleep). I'm not a professional nutritionist, but this is how I drop a few pounds over the winter. Perhaps my answer will provoke some fruitful debate.

Look how much effort I put into this post. 🙂

Edit:
*Never, ever order popcorn or other food in a movie theater! If you want to snack, you should be itching to burn it off ASAP. Guilt can go a loooong way. Just think of the starving Sudanese children. :p