looking for help.. highly active amateur triathlete and cyclist..

Hello Iayoung8505,

>> I am a 220 lb 6 ft 1 in tall male. I think my ideal weight is around 200..

Being 6' 1', 220 lb, that puts you at BMI 29, overweight.
At 200 lb, you'll still be at BMI 26, still overweight.
To get below BMI 25, you'll need to be below 190 lbs.

Note: Yes, BMI is a SCREENING test, not a diagnosis test. But it's a quick and easy way to look at weight health. Body Fat percentage is a better indicator IMO. There's multiple ways of estimating body fat %, but the easiest is to go to the doctor (assuming they do accurate skin fold tests).

Here's a triathelete article about recommended body fat %:

Optimal Body Fat Ranges, By Age
Men
20-29 3-10%
30-39 5-12%
40-49 6-15%
50+ 8-17%

http://triathlon.competitor.com/2014/12/nutrition/the-dos-and-donts-of-getting-leaner_81493

>> I want to be a faster cyclist to be able to win a bike race some day.

I started dieting and cycling in April of this year. Know that it's typical that for every 10 pounds you lose, you gain 1 mph. Let that give you some incentive on losing fat. Weight doesn't affect riding on the flats. Weight has a significant role in sprint and climbing performance. Every extra pound you have you have to get moving and also carry up the hills.

>> I feel that it is insane to trust myfitnesspal when i log a 3000 calorie exercise day because it is telling me to eat 5000 calories on days like this!

For losing weight, I think people shouldn't pay attention to what MyFitnessPal states when it adjusts for exercise. I stuck with a 1700 calorie a day limit. I'd eat an energy bar on 1 hour+ rides though. Don't want to bonk. That would suck. Most likely your athletic performance will be initially affected, but once you reach your goal weight, you'll then have better performance from just being lighter.

I'm not telling you how you should diet, but this is what worked for me:

1) 1700 calories a day. First the first couple months, measure everything. After that, measuring still helps but you'll get a better feel on how many calories are in what.
2) Exercise - cycling: 20-30 minutes most days, 1.5-2 hour ride about every other week. Pushups - I started one of the many "100 pushups" work outs. I did the push ups for both arm strength and also to assist with core, which helps with cycling as well.

My results:

After 202 days, I've lost 69 pounds, am 3 pounds away from my goal weight. I'm able to keep up with "A" group at a local cycling club. My initial average cycling speed was 8.5 mpg. Yeah, I hacked and coughed and spit most of my first rides. Now, 8 miles is my typical ride @ 17.5 mph (yeah, still working on pushing faster).

Rough estimate for you:

Using this website, it estimated (if you were 35 years old) that if you did no exercise, your body needs 2,455 calories per day. Subtract 500 calories per day to lose 1 pound a week (there are 3,500 calories in a pound).

http://www.dietitian.com/calcbody.php

With regular exercise and regular long rides, your weight drop about 3 pounds a week for a few weeks, then get to a steady rate. Add/subtract calories to get near 1% weight loss per week. Men shouldn't go below 1,500 calories a day btw. Keep accurate records of your weight (I only do weekly) and food intake. Don't pay attention to individual weigh ins but do pay attention to the average rates over the last 2-3 weeks. Weight variables (water retention, food in stomach/bowels) change daily. Focus on fat loss, not weight loss.

Let me know what you go with and how it goes!

A couple of things stand out to me here:

First, MFP is notorious for over-estimating calorie burns for exercise. What are you doing on those 3000 cal burn days? Many people only eat back half to three quarters of their exercise cals, so maybe give that a go if you feel the full amount is too much.

Second, lose the emphasis on "healthy low fat food". Food is about context, there is no healthy/unhealthy in that respect, and low fat is completely unnecessary for weight loss (that's purely calories in vs calories out). In fact, restricting yourself to "healthy low fat food" may well be contributing to you falling off the wagon. For many people, fat is satiating, meaning you will feel full and more satisfied for longer (this is by no means universal though). Try looking at higher calorie, nutrient-dense foods like nuts and oils, cheese, full fat dairy, peanut butter etc. And if you're eating 3000+ cals a day on high exercise days you have plenty of room for some treats while still meeting your nutritional requirements. Everything in moderation

If you make your food diary public we may be able to give you some more suggestions. If you play around with your macro split (carbs/fats/protein) you may be able to hit on an eating plan that helps with the crazy hunger (example: when I lost my weight last year my only exercise was walking and yoga, since then I've started running, and very recently cycling. I'm currently trying to lose a couple of winter pounds (southern hemisphere) and I've found I need to eat way more carbs than I did last year losing weight due to my increased activity. If I don't I have no energy and want to eat my own arm off).

How are you calculating your exercise burns at being 3000 calories?

SingingSingleTracker wrote: »

Pick up a copy of Matt Fitzgerald's Racing Weight.

Do this

I suspect your racing weight will be sub 180lb. Even that's bit on the big side to win bike races.