Your personal best way to lose some fat - anecdotes / experiences / examples of what kicked your ***

I don’t have the same digestive system as everyone else so mine may not be valid to many but this is what I do.

  • I double all the portions of none starchy veg on my plate while halving my carbs.
  • I eat my veg first (I do this anyway to get them out of the way) then I eat my protein and then my carbs.
  • I fill up on apples because I have a hard time digesting them so I don’t get many nutrients from them.
  • I make sure that I am well hydrated and if I feel hunger pangs coming on my first port of call is to have a drink.
  • I feed my wife more so I get the thrill of buying rubbish without actually having it she then treats me with a cold shoulder that the low temperature in our house means that I have to respire more to maintain body temperature.
1 Like

I found moderation in all things the best approach. I always found diets restrictive and made me want the bad stuff more. My wife and I have improved the quality of our food and taking more notice of portion control, smaller plates etc. Personally, I am currently taking much closer notice of added sugar. I’ve found some surprising levels of sugar in foods I’d eaten on a regular basis. So I now regulate more closely these.

1 Like

Eating carbs last in your meal has been shown in research studies to help with weight/fat loss, because it mutes the insulin response. It’s so gratifying when science proves that something intuitive or bro-science is actually based in fact! (I always saved my carbs for last because they are my favourite. lol)

1 Like

Racing Weight is pretty effective if you’re close but aren’t needing a whole lifestyle change. The eating to stomach hunger is challenging but pretty effective if you are trying to lose while going through your base phase.

Dropping pounds while not exercising is easy, just count. It’s the doing big work and trying to get lean at the same time that is hard.

5 Likes

So when I first started cycling a year ago I weighed 115kg. Since then I’ve lost 15kg purely by cycling. I feel that I’ve levelled out and my next step is to change my diet. Ive dabbled with calorie counting and like doing it but I just struggled to have the drive to count everything. I’m open to new ideas but I suspect I will have to go back to calorie counting

1 Like

Meal prepping can really help with the calorie counting. I basically have the same breakfast and lunch every day and then vary my dinner with a few different options. Some people crave a lot of meal variety, but I quite like the routine. With this approach, I only have to count the calories once and then as long as the portions are the same, I can just track the meals themselves. I have a macro goals in mind, a fixed breakfast and lunch and then create dinner meals that make up the difference. Meal prepping for the week was a game changer for me. I just pull out the meal and know that it meets my overall nutrition goals.

6 Likes

There is some great info in this thread. Nothing further to add that hasn’t already been said other than the fact that you simply can’t outrun or outride a bad diet. It’s far too easy to think that we can eat like crap, or a lot, simply because we are riding 3-6 days a week of structured efforts. It simply doesn’t work like that.
Fat/weight loss begins in the kitchen not in the gym, and the effects transfer to the bike with better nutrition providing better fuel for your structured training.

4 Likes

Breakfast for me is super important. Every day whether I’m training or not I start with a big bowl of porridge and 0%, good quality Greek yoghurt with strawberries and honey. Might be psychological but I find every day I start like this I feel far fuller and like I eat way better throughout the day. Start as you mean to go on.

Around 11 I might also have a couple of boiled eggs and a banana depending on when I’m working out.

4 Likes

That’s a great idea.

I’ve a simple routine to lose weight slowly , I go High Carb / High Protein on High intensity days , Low Carb / High Protein on rest days , plus one fasted 2hr ride on TR once a week normally BOARSTONE :biking_man:t2: , it’s taken 12 months to lose 7kg but the weight stays off this way.

1 Like

My n=1, that got be down from 135ish kg down to my current 70kg was tracking calories.

I worked out my estimated tdee in a calculator.
Reduced that by 500 for my intake deficit
Put that into myfitnesspal
Tracked calories, including weighing food, properly portioning meals
I aimed to earn 500 calories from exercise. I ate anything earned above 500.
500 from food, 500 from exercise generally did give me the 2lb/ 1kg a week loss
Weekly weigh in, after which I recalculated tdee and adjusted targets.

This worked for me as it lead to a gradual and sustainable change of diet. At the start, it was really just portion control.

I didn’t, and still haven’t, excluded any foods. I still have sweets, cake, carbs, beer etc. I just track and move on. I haven’t been convinced a calorie isn’t just a calorie yet.

I still track my calories. There’s stats in Ireland that only 10% of people who lose more than 10% of weight. If tracking forever is the cost of being one of the 10% that keeps it off, I can live with that.

Now in maintenance, I work to a deficit during the week and then don’t sweat the weekend too much.

10 Likes

@Theo I’m 100% with you on this. I used to have muesli every morning with yoghurt and banana but once I inspected my diet I realized how calorie dense it was. I switched to a bowl of overnight oats which consists of:

  • 1/3 cup old fashioned oats
  • 1/3 cup egg whites (I was worried this would be gross, but you can’t taste it at all and is a great protein boost)
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1/2 tbsp flax seeds
  • 1/2 tbsp chia seeds
  • 100g 0% greek yoghurt (nothing but Fage will do!)
  • 1 banana (I grate this into the bowl and it mixes in nicely)
  • 30g raisins
  • 1/3 cup frozen berries

510 calories, 90g carbs, 5g fat, 26g protein

Delicious, low-fat, high-carb, high-protein and it’s a good amount of food. I have this in the fridge after soaking overnight and enjoy it post-ride with a coffee.

What I used to have before was Bob’s Red Mill Muesli (which I think is the best choice in the US from limited choice). A similar volume would be more like 700 calories and 20g of fat, so it’s a good substitution.

4 Likes

@Macy Wow, amazing results! You must feel fantastic dropping nearly 1/2 your bodyweight. Congratulations, that’s amazing. How long did this take you? You mentioned 1kg/week, so ~18 mths? It must have been hard to stay so disciplined over this time period. I tend to find that when I focus I can drop weight to a certain point, but then the focus wanes and it creeps up 3-5kg and then I focus again. So I end up kind of wavering within a range. I think when I get around goal weight, I tend to “treat” myself more or have late evening snacks (even if they are healthy) that push me up again.

3 Likes

wow, incredible results! Congrats!

1 Like

It was probably more like 4 or 5 years. I messed around with fad diets for a year or two, so I was probably 125ish when I got serious.
There was a few plateaus in there, both through slippage, but also my target wasn’t initially as low as I am now. First target was 100kg, then 95, 90 etc. So I kinda hit them and went into maintenance for a while.

I think discipline is essential in whatever method. But, IMO, it has to be sustainable. So gradual changes and realistic. I never gave up my Friday night beer and crisps/ chips, or my Sunday night pints. They’re important social outlets for me.

My only concern is the weighing and tracking in front of the children. It has sparked discussion on nutrition, and my philosophy is very much everything in moderation. The see me eat anything and everything.

4 Likes

I think this is the only sustainable way. I’ve it’s such a long way you have to take time to eat ice and cheeseburgers. And than you can go straight the next four weeks. And I’ve there is a day when you have to eat a cake, it’s ok.

And the part with your kids: I think you’re a good example. Your kids will learn that nutrition is important, that it has effects on your body and soul and that you can fine tune by eating the right things in the right amount. You don’t do anything crazy stupid. You try to reach a healthy weight and do it in a sustainable way. IMHO you are a Great example.

Rob,

I am the same. I was 108Kg and now I am 97Kg. I struggle to reduce food intake when I am riding a lot, as I need to fuel the exercise.

I have 8 weeks till my event, so I am going to have to feel a little hungry by reducing my carbs slightly.

1 Like

What app are you referring to? Thanks!

Believe he means MyFitnessPal

Thanks. I thought he implied there was an Endurance Diet app