Any Successful Dieting Secrets You Care to Share??

[Zonda]

We all pick up a few extra pounds over the winter because we aren’t riding as much. I have talked with a few people lately about different diets and strategies they are using to help get them back in shape for cycling season. I bought a spin bike, but haven’t used it as much as I planned. My motivation level right now is about zero!!:eek: I’m ready for warmer weather and greenery to get me motivated again.

Our regular Wednesday Oh Melo Velo ride starts in three weeks. Does anyone have any successful dieting secrets or things you’ve been doing to get back in shape that you care to share to help get us on track and motivated for cycling season? I'm sure I'm not the only one feeling out of shape right now.

I do plan to offer one or two beginner rides from Cary/Lochmere before OMV starts.;)

[NealH]

Well, I like swimming and, believe this is probably the best thing one can do in the winter (other than cycling on the weekends). I think all the YMCA branches have pools, as well as the several city pools. Membership is cheap. Obviously there are many other sports and/or fitness activities and, each person will have a preference. The important thing is to get into the swing of doing something outside of the home venue. I think something like 90% of the people that buy treadmills, trainers & the such for home use will quit using them.

Obviously diet is also important. I have found that limiting intake on the evening meal is a good strategy. Regular meals for breakfast and lunch but, only a large salad for the evening meal. And, the large salad can be really large, after all it's just garden vegetables which is mostly water and a few nutrients. Then, go to bed early. Get up early and, go swimming. The YMCA and city pools open at 5:30AM :).

[RickF]

And, the large salad can be really large, after all it's just garden vegetables which is mostly water and a few nutrients. Then, go to bed early. Get up early and, go swimming. The YMCA and city pools open at 5:30AM :).
It is true that the salad can be as large as you want but watch the dressing. Salad dressing can be packed with fat, and at 9 calories per gram and 15 grams per tablespoonful, some salads can be very high calorie. Stick to fat free dressings, and read the labels.

I used to swim competitively, but I could never keep my weight off while swimming like I do since I have started cycling. There are a few reasons for that. The first is that, because the water is such a big heat sink, the body temperature does not go up while you swim like it does when you do land-based aerobic exercise. It is the elevated body temperature that supresses appitite. When I swam, I was always starving. When I cycle or walk on the treadmill, I am not hungrey afterward. As long as you do not increase what you eat after you swim, I agree that swimming is one of the best exercises; however, it was difficult for me to watch my diet and swim.

The other problem with swimming is that in an attempt to maintain core temperature, the subcutaneous fat is retained. The good news is that subcutaneous fat is not the health hazzard that intraabdominal fat is. When I was swimming competitively, I think my overall fitness level was better than it is now, and my waist was about 2 inches smaller than it is now, but I weighed nearly 30 pounds more than I do now. Some of that extra weight was upper body muscle, but much of it was subcutaneous fat.

I could not swim in the morning without either eating all day long or falling asleep at work. I had to swim after a light dinner, then go straight to bed when I got back home.

I have a treadmill and my bicycle trainer in front of the big screen TV. I use the commercial breaks to time interval training - work hard during the commercials, then recover during the program. I also do core exercise with a balance ball to strengthen the back and abdominal muscles. Cycling demands a lot from the abdominal muscles, but does little to help them. I do the balance ball routine for 30 minutes per day at least five days per week year round.

As far as diet, I follow the Weight Watchers point system. I eat whatever I want to, but I am careful about how much. I need to stay at about 22 points per day. For me, portion control is the key. Large quantities of steamed vegetables with small amounts of rice, pasta, or potatoes and small amounts of meat (one chicken breast or 4 oz of lean pork, beef, or lamb). I can not manage any diet that says "no" to any food (no carbohydrates, no saturated fats, no red meat, no alcohol - no way I could do that for more than a few weeks). As long as I am careful about the amount I eat (a 4 oz ribeye instead of an 8 oz ribeye) and frequency with which I indulge in really high calorie items (fried chicken or pizza no more than once per month, beer or wine only on the weekends), I eat whatever I want.

As of today, I am five pounds heavier than I was at the end of the summer, but two pounds lighter than I was at this point last year. I figure a five pound swing (< 3% of my body weight) between summer and winter is not bad, especially if I stay below where I was at the same point the previous year and considering I am 50 pounds below where I was two years ago.

[Zonda]

Thanks guys!

[TracyW]

I am following the dietary guidelines from the USDA Mypyramid (http://www.mypyramid.gov). I set my upper caloric intake to 2000 calories and watch my portions. I generally stay aroud 1500 calories but never exceed 2000. That in combination with extra cardio each week I have lost 18 lbs since Thanksgiving.

Eating regulary and learing how much to eat at each sitting is really a huge key to weightloss. Many people try to starve themselves and only get so far, after that the body stores everything it can.

[Zonda]

Thanks Tracy for sharing!

[Pugslyyy]

I've been following "The Paleo Diet For Athletes" by Loren Cordain and Joe Friel.

http://www2.trainingbible.com/aboutJoeFriel.aspx

http://www.enotalone.com/article/5365.html

Anyway, I've dropped 25 pounds since January 1st and am 20 pounds lighter than when I was riding in 2007.

[BetsyW]

I'm using www.myfooddiary.com to track my calories each day. It does cost $9/month but you can cancel at any time. I will probably use it for a few months just to get a handle on how much I am eating. It has some neat features like a searchable database with thousands of food items including brand name stuff and restaurants. It also allows you to enter foods manually and even enter entire recipes and divide into serving sizes. You can enter exercise too and it will then tell you how many additional calories you can have for the day. I have it set to tell me how many calories I can have based on losing 1 lb per week. It continuously tells me how many calories I have left to maintain, lose 1 lb per week, or lose my max (which is 1.6 lbs per week). At the end of the day it reviews how I did with regard to percent saturated fat, sodium, cholesterol intake, etc.... At the end of the day it also tells you "If every day were like today you would lose xx lbs per week." Then it calculates when you would reach your goal weight based on that intake. It has forums as well, but I haven't really used them too much. Anyway, thought I'd share one of my biggest loser secrets to level the playing field.:p

[TracyW]

www.fitday.com (http://www.fitday.com) is another helpful website. It's free so it fits into my budget well