[Tattooo]

Its January 22, I've lost 11 pounds since the beginning of the year. not bad, but I know I can do more.

How are you guys staying motivated right now, and until the real race season starts?

It might just be that it's Monday, and my gym is inundated with jar head wives and idiots who would rather have a social club of baboons on cell phones then actually work out.

It might also just be that its wet, cold and crappy here at VB. I know its a sign of fortitude to get out when its nasty, but at the same time I am not in any mood to get sick as a dog so I am sidelined to the couch for a week.

Any advice on how to stay on my goal? I was riding 100 a week on the road, hitting the gym twice a day for the last 22. Today I can barely get it together to get out of my PJ's long enough to make a protein shake.

 

[ALEXIS_DH]

holy crap.. 11 pounds is A LOT for 22 days!!, way too fast i´d say.
how much you weight now???

 

[Tattooo]

240 on the way to 200 by April 11.
A lot I know, but for some reason I am able to cut weight pretty easily, but somehow it always comes back.

I need to be down to 230 by Feb 10, its just a goal, so I am training hard.

Tonight for some reason I have just hit this really interpersonal, ugly ass wall like a freight train hitting a bus full of school kids. Now I am just in a foul mood.

Side question; how do you keep personal sh!t from getting between you and your goal? Is there some magic way to tune it all out, make the crap some sort of fuel to keep the hate engine running?

 

[Wumpus]

Any advice on how to stay on my goal? I was riding 100 a week on the road, hitting the gym twice a day for the last 22. Today I can barely get it together to get out of my PJ's long enough to make a protein shake.

Sounds like your body is telling you to take a break.

Have you really been exercising for 22 days straight?

 

[MtnbikeMike]

Sounds like you need to rest. Nothing worse than training, etc, when you REALLY don't want to.

 

[rubyrod44]

Be careful not to OVER TRAIN. Its easier than you think. In fact, I'd take a few days off or cut back a little...maybe 50 miles a week (for two weeks) on the bike. Two days a week is fine for the upper body. Just be careful not to work legs on Tuesday and go kill yourself on the road bike on Wednesday. Your body needs time to heal.

Perhaps get a set of dumbbells and work out at home for a while.

I stay on my goals (for riding) because I know that it's great for the old ticker...I also like the fact that I'm in better shape than the average person.

Cant really give you suggestions on the weight loss aspects...I have trouble gaining weight.

Cheers

 

[Tattooo]

In one capacity or another, yes, if you count sex.

If you don't, then 11 days straight, one day off, ten more on like a champ. Usually double days, 15 to 20 on the road bike, then three miles at the gym running plus a good hard lift, until the batteries would snap.

And all of that on around 1400 calories a day, cutting the carbs down to about 40g.

I know it sounds like too much, but its not more pain then I can deal with. I know to stop when it makes me drool.

 

[rubyrod44]

Side question; how do you keep personal sh!t from getting between you and your goal? Is there some magic way to tune it all out, make the crap some sort of fuel to keep the hate engine running?

Depends on what kinda of personal stuff. Some things you just cant avoid. Need more info on that one.

 

[rubyrod44]

Ok, thats not good. 40g carbs a day is not enough. 1400 calories is too little as well. YOU ARE OVERTRAINING. How much protein are you consuming a day...fat....in grams?

 

[ALEXIS_DH]

240 on the way to 200 by April 11.
A lot I know, but for some reason I am able to cut weight pretty easily, but somehow it always comes back.

I need to be down to 230 by Feb 10, its just a goal, so I am training hard.

Tonight for some reason I have just hit this really interpersonal, ugly ass wall like a freight train hitting a bus full of school kids. Now I am just in a foul mood.

Side question; how do you keep personal sh!t from getting between you and your goal? Is there some magic way to tune it all out, make the crap some sort of fuel to keep the hate engine running?

thats a lot of weight to loose. 50 pounds in 3 months and 11 days is way too fast i´d say. i´ve been told my a couple doctors 2 pounds a week is the healthy limit (am under 160 pounds btw).

be equally concerned about your body fat % as about your weight. keep an eye on your water retention too. loosing weigh too fast makes it easier to gain weight back. your metabolism will dip from dieting too much for too long, and if you go back to prior eating habits with said metabolism, you will pack on pounds of fat like there is no tomorrow, besides the fact those diets are flat out unhealthy.

muscle is waaaaaaay easier to loose than to win back.
if your weight rollercoast, you can be loosing fat and muscle only to regain more fat and less muscle than you had initially.

 

[jonKranked]

i've taken up riding pools on my bmx bike. there's a local indoor masonite one that is 6 feet in the shallow end, 8 in the deep (with i think a foot of vert, looks that way at least) and i'm almost airing outta the deep end.

snowboarding too.

just have fun, don't worry about numbers.

 

[ALEXIS_DH]

In one capacity or another, yes, if you count sex.

If you don't, then 11 days straight, one day off, ten more on like a champ. Usually double days, 15 to 20 on the road bike, then three miles at the gym running plus a good hard lift, until the batteries would snap.

And all of that on around 1400 calories a day, cutting the carbs down to about 40g.

I know it sounds like too much, but its not more pain then I can deal with. I know to stop when it makes me drool.

thats no good.
does your breath smell funny??? your carb inload is tiny!.. if your breath smell funny you might need to see a doctor soon. he might want to check your urine.

22 days working out in a row is way too much. unless you are taking abou 10 minutes of cardio, you are making more damage than good exercising so often.

 

[OGRipper]

You are not giving your body time to rest and recover, which is at least as important as the training you do.

In any event, personally I think it's necessary to skip a few days now and then, change up my program, and indulge in favorite foods and drinks to re-charge and keep myself sane. For me it's all about balance. I know I'll never be pro, cycling is something I do for enjoyment and personal fulfillment. It's necessary to make compromises between being the best athlete I can be on the one hand, and keeping it fun on the other hand. I'm probably carrying an extra 5-10 pounds because of it, but that's the choice I make every time I belly up (!) to the bar.

I don't know anything about your history but instead of such a difficult goal that can probably only be met by extreme measures, why not gradually make lifestyle changes to get into habits that you can sustain long-term?

 

[Yeti]

how i stay motivated: my daily routine at the last month of my semester:
wake up, lots of coffee, go to class, learn, go to eat, reapeat as long as the lady behind the serving counter will give me food, then go and learn or to class, go back home, watch porn, study, eat a snickers bar, go out riding some street or climbing 40min to the top of the hill with my dh bike and riding down at chilly temperatures, go back home, eat a huuuuge plate of whatever is in my fridge, then study, then go out and do some sprints with the hardtail under the bridge to release some learning stress, shower, chocolate milk and sleep 8h.
on weekends i try to get drunk, score a chick, get some time to ride, do the laundry and have some pizza watching vids or whatever is going on with my mates. 196cm, 97kg and around 17% body fat...and the most important thing: i m happy.

 

[Tattooo]

No, there is no sigh of ketosis, I am checking the strips every day. I've gone big before, know the limits.

Maybe I should just start drinking again...

 

[bluebug32]

The only way to keep weight off is to lose it by settling into a lifestyle you enjoy/can live with once the weight's gone. Cutting carbs is definitely not the way to do it. Your body will start noshing on muscle if it doesn't have enough carbs. This might explain part of the weight loss. Pick up a good book or a trainer/nutritionist and do it the right way in the first place. And, for god sakes, man, eat some carbs! Just be sure they're complex, whole grains. Chances are that once you take a rest day or two a week and start eating more carbs (more glucose), you'll have less of an energy dip and you'll be more up for exercise.

 

[Brian HCM#1]

I've already lost about 7lbs, by finally riding and the biggest thing was cutting out soda. I love Coke & Pepsi, and can't stand the diet stuff, so I just stopped drinking them entirely.

 

[Tattooo]

I cut soda, beer, booze and fast food all together.
Oddly, I feel a lot better, have more energy (sans today) and have put an extra $200 in my race budget by not buying such things.

 

[TBFKAHG]

Ok, thats not good. 40g carbs a day is not enough. 1400 calories is too little as well. YOU ARE OVERTRAINING. How much protein are you consuming a day...fat....in grams?

I'll have to agree with that. Especially if you are riding that much and hitting the gym twice a day. With that much exercise you need to consume more, not less otherwise your body just goes into starvation mode which pretty much counteracts any benefits you'd get from all the exercise.

Which of course leads me to my next question.. why are you hitting the gym twice a day? Sounds like you need to learn to work out smarter, not harder.

As for my motivation.. I don't give a damn about race season. Sure, i'll hit a few DH races and my conditioning will definitely help but I work out for my health and fitness. I ride my bike for fun. The moment I see it as training I'm likely to never ride again. But everyone has to find their own motivation.

 

[Tattooo]

I am sort of this mind set...

Somewhere along the way I got fat. Not just lightly over weight, but like 60 pounds heavier than I ought to be at my max. It impacts my riding, my love life, how things fit and how I am perceived.

By nature I am lazy. I would rather sit at home with my wife and dogs, watch a movie, make some insane dinner based around "what's in the kitchen and what can I make with it" and consume a bottle of wine, then go to the gym and put in the hurt to make the pain feel good.

Now mind you, I am still eating, its just much more within reason. I do 65g of protein at breakfast, a powerbar around 10, lunch meat for lunch, a salad around 3, and then Fiberwise with some sort of meat sauce for dinner. Its just smaller portions then before, no more high fat sauces, and booze and sugar are a thing of the past.

As for why I am in the gym twice a day, that's largely because of my time constraints and where I work out. I work out in a Marine Base gym, so by the time I am done with two sets of anything, its filled to capacity with people getting paid to work out, and are as such not as dedicated or into working as I would like. I get sick of sitting waiting for them to get off the cell phone or to stop shooting the proverbial 'sh!t," so I flip out in my skull, and leave. I get back later in the day, get the second half of my work out done, run a few miles, and head back home.

 

[JRogers]

As others have said, you should watch how much weight you are dropping and how much/what you are eating. If you don't, it may catch up with you eventually. Not eating and working out a ton is a great way to lose weight in the short term, but not the best idea for long term health. (although I did lose weight and keep it off from backpacking about 15 miles/day this summer on not too much more that what you're eating now...)

In any case, training in the off season can be rough. My plan this year was to just pick a comfortable weight and try to stay at it while still lifting weights. That way, I balance lifting with aerobic stuff. I train for fun, to feel good and be healthier- not just to be fast when the season rolls around. So far, it's pretty much working. I got pretty fat at the end of last spring- about 10+ lbs more than I am now. I didn't look that great. I lost all of it and then some over the summer from mountain biking and hiking for about 2 months straight. Keeping at least most of that weight off is a huge motivation for me. So far, I've gained about 8 lbs total, but I'm also (for example) benching maybe 45 lbs more at max, so I can live with it. Thinking of how much I suffered over the summer motivates me to try and not lose too much ground. I know I can't keep it all, but I try to not go back too much.

I still drink and occassionally go a bit overboard. I'm trying to keep that in check, but I loves my booze.

 

[Tattooo]

I got the racing bug back big time last season, missed being fast. I was able to fake it based on gravity working with mass, but once I had to deal with technical stuff, the weight was killing me.

The wife has given me this season to really live my Peter Pan stuff out, to go full force with a good amount of finance backing to make it happen. If I can get to where I want, this is what I am going to do as opposed to playing lawyer boy.

Once upon a time I was a hell of a racer, both in the dirt and on the snow. I was thin, fast, and able to roll with the punches because I was in shape. I want that back, its this constant voice in my head telling me to get up, push harder, to get back to death kill super roller shape.

Might just be that 30 is looming, and I am avoiding it like the plague from Starr Jones' ass...

 

[Quo Fan]

In training, rest is as important as working. You need to give your body time to recover from the stress of working out. Like others have said, 1-2 pounds a week is the rate you should be losing. That is the rate at which the weight went on. Consume a few more calories, slow down the weight loss, and you will see results faster, and they will be more long lasting. BigT, my girlfriend, is an exercise physiologist (think physical trainer to a higher level), and she and I work out together. We spin almost every morning, and today was a light work, technique day. She is helping with my motivation and training, and I'm going to be better and faster than I've ever been in my life, and I turn 47 this year.

 

[Tattooo]

I am taking that advice today.
No road ride.
Just a 3 mile jog and some time doing squats.

Now I notice though that I am hooked on working out. Its my own 12th step, missing the first 11, after not drinking for almost a month

 

[OGRipper]

I am hooked on working out.

And yet you are questioning motivation. More evidence of over-training.

If you need to do something on days you should be resting, consider stretching, calisthenics, yoga or something else less intense than hitting the weights or doing a hard cardio burn. Not quite the same as real rest but it will feed your jones without leaving you overtrained as much as a more stenuous workout, and each has its own separate benefits. (I'm 37 and never really paid any attention to flexibility until a few years ago when I started to realize I don't bounce as well as I used to.) Also, sounds like you are already doing this but try to target specific areas and give each area enough time to recover, even if you work on other areas the next (or same) day.

 

[jimmydean]

I have gained 8 pounds since the new year.

I find that eating the GIANT cookies out of the vending machine at least twice a day coupled with an average of 4 sodas has helped a lot.

Motivation isn't a factor when soda is free at work.

 

[Tattooo]

Right, remind me to never work where you do.

I've even switched to sugar free Red Bull, something I swore I would never do.

 

[jimmydean]

Studies have shown that a lot of peoples bodies react the same to "diet" soda as it does to real soda. Men's Health Magazine has had a number of articles about people having issues losing weight when they switch to diet only to find out their body is treating the fake sugar as real sugar.

 

[Jeremy R]

Studies have shown that a lot of peoples bodies react the same to "diet" soda as it does to real soda. Men's Health Magazine has had a number of articles about people having issues losing weight when they switch to diet only to find out their body is treating the fake sugar as real sugar.

Mine sure as hell didn't.
Cutting sugar out of my drinks was the easiest way I have ever lost weight.

 

[Tattooo]

Same here, I am dropping more weight since cutting real sugar.
And I've noticed since taking McCrackles (and its associated friends) out of my diet that I feel a hell of a lot better. More energy, better sleep, jerking off is more fun, the whole shooting match.

I do wonder what will happen once the race season comes back though. Discipline is not my middle name on race weekends.

 

[jimmydean]

...jerking off is more fun, the whole shooting match.

I could have gone all day without hearing that.

 

[mud'n'sweat]

240 on the way to 200 by April 11.

It can be done. I came down from 250 to 210 in the same amount of time last year from January to April.

My advice was going to be a bottle of Maker's and a $2 hooker... but that is some seriously bad advice. oster_oops:

 

[Tattooo]

My advice was going to be a bottle of Maker's and a $2 hooker... but that is some seriously bad advice. oster_oops:

I wouldn't completely discount this advice. I know people it worked for, but I think that my wife, who is both my doctor ad leitum and who is a better shot than me, might take umbridge to the plan.