Reluctant dieter

mtb000mtb

TLDR; Sorry for the verbose introduction. I'm here to learn how to improve my strength and stamina at the same time as I reduce my weight. I'm interested in following or being followed by like-minded individuals. Everything about this is new to me, but I'm a quick study and are prepared to put in the hard yards.

I've always had a mental aversion to dieting. I guess I saw it as:
a) something other people do
b) temporary and unsustainable
c) unnecessary if you maintain a healthy lifestyle (like we can even agree on what that means).

The reality of middle age overtook my preconceived ideas. I started experiencing slow but steady growth in my girth with a little bit of weight gain. I was able to rationalise this by convincing myself that it was normal for people to round out a little bit in middle age and that my shape would return when I ramped up my exercise.

It turned out exercising more triggered weight gain. I was putting back on muscle mass that I had gradually been lost over the years. This was an ah-hah moment that led me to realise just how much fat I had put on. The penny dropped, I was adding fat at around the same rate I was losing muscle so although my weight had barely increased there had been a dramatic shift in my body composition.

What I was doing wasn't working, extrapolating forward it was clear that I was on track to becoming much fatter than I wanted to be. Increased exercise was making me feel better and stronger but not shifting fat in any noticeable way. I was still convinced dieting wasn't for me but didn't really have a plan B.

My first turning point was when my wife embarked on the CSIRO wellbeing as an antidote to her own journey towards middle age. I initially went along only to support her (diets are not my thing remember). Plus I was still telling myself (despite the evidence to the contrary) that my weight would stabilise once I found the right exercise regime. As soon as I started looking into the diet it made sense and we both experienced fat loss while on it. We no longer formally follow the wellbeing diet but the things we learnt while on it allowed us to tweak what I eat enough to stabilise our weight. I wasn't concerned about further weight loss and was happy to let things stand at that.

The next turning point for me was discovering mountain biking. It started as just a fun activity I took up with my son, but my competitive streak kicked in. I was never going to be able to beat youngsters with legs like tree trunks, but I wanted to beat myself. I became hooked on setting new PB's for trails I had previously ridden as well as extending how far I could go in a session. Now my weight was an obvious impediment. Every extra kilo increased the work I needed to do in the climbs. As I increased the volume of my training my waist size started to drop while my weight stayed constant. I took this as more muscle, less fat, so things are going in the right direction. But I'm still pushing a lot of unnecessary fat uphill.

To help with longer endurance rides and I started experimenting with dietary changes to help me become fat adapted so that I didn't bonk as early. These changes triggered the most rapid weight loss I had ever encountered in my life. Based on what I have since learned I put this down to depletion of glycogen and associated water rather than fat reduction. All of this convinced me I have a lot to learn about healthy eating and how it relates to changes in body composition and athletic performance.

I'm currently in research mode, reading a lot, measuring and tracking baselines, trying experiments to find out what works for me. I see this as a long-term journey rather than a quick fix. I plan to be stronger and faster at 60 than I was at 50. I'm convinced that what I eat is part of the answer.

If I had to choose between shedding fat or improving strength and endurance I would keep the fat, but I'm hoping I can do both at the same time.

I'm happy to follow or be followed, but am most interested in hearing from and supporting people who are travelling a similar path. Say hello if some part of my story rings bells for you.

ladipoet

Hello and welcome. Sounds like you're on the right path!