UncleRiotous

I went from couch potato to cyclist about six years back. My first ride involved what I thought of at the time as a big hill (now I think of it as a short incline) and after less than two miles on the bike, all of it on tarmac, it felt like someone had sandpapered the inside of my lungs. Just keep plodding on and do a…

How are you measuring the calories you're burning due to exercise. I use a heart rate monitor and I do a lot of cycling and the MFP estimates are sometimes much higher than my HRM is showing. I'm trying to maintain weight rather than loose at the moment and therefore I'm targeting 2100 calories a day plus whatever I burn…

Spot on. A mate and I have both dropped between 40 and 50 lb and neither of us think we'd have managed it so easily without logging on here.

I think a lot of "treat" foods is programmed into us by advertising. I've had days when I've had stacks of calories left and wandered round my local supermarket looking for a treat only to find that there wasn't anything that I really wanted to burn the calories on. I've lost all the weight I need to now (a few years back…

Great thread, really good to find it. I upped my mileage on the bike last summer as a way to help me loose weight (I lost the 50 lbs I needed to and am now trying to maintain that weight) so it'll be really good to be able to post here. Mostly I'm commuting on the road but I ride mountain bikes most weekends for fun. When…

Go for it. If you haven't got any get some padded shorts they make everything much more comfortable.

This. I'd suggest setting an initial goal for just into ideal (borderline overweight) and then just do it on how you look, what your eyes see. I'm pretty damn thin at the moment but I'm doing mental amounts of cycling, other people I know aren't carrying any extra fat but do more lifting and therefore weigh more than their…

Thanks to everyone who replied to the OP, I've been cycling for five years and really been training hard the last 8 months but haven't done any running. I got back from my second run at lunchtime today and saw this, I'll definitely check out C25K.

For people in the UK I bought a Crivit one from Lidl for £12.99 last summer and have logged probably 1500 miles on a bike with it since then with no problems. They're now stocking (came in yesterday) a version with a built in pedometer for £15. Both of them use chest straps. HRM really helped me to loose weight last year…

Exactly what you've said here sounds perfectly logical and I could see it being right however there is a big difference between a smoothy based largely on Kale and celery and all fruit and veggies not counting towards your total intake. Fibre contains calories but it's really hard for your body to get to and there has long…

I'm somewhat of a coffee geek, I don't drink that much but I'm very serious about taste and know waaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy more about it than I probably should (for anyone interested I can completely recommend the podcast that www.coffeegeek.com put out). There are loads of conflicting studies into the health implications of…

Absolutely agree. The 6-8 cups of water per day study was jumped on in the 1980s by companies wanting to sell bottled water as a way to encourage people to buy what they were selling. If you're trying to loose weight then water is great as it can stop you eating stuff by filling up your stomach but it has no magical…

Just want to give you some encouragement. If you notice your clothes are fitting better then you're making progress and as people have said 5lbs a month is more than a pound a week. My mates and I have lost a load of weight in the last six months all of us massively upping out exercise (cycling is great, that's what keeps…

Always weigh yourself first thing in the morning before breakfast, doesn't have to be every day, as you're normally the lightest you'll ever be just before you eat or drink anything first thing. I've seen my weight change over night by more than you're describing below, it's normal so don't worry too much. One of my…

I've been cycling for six years and I've been working hard in the eight months or so (3100 miles in the last 12 months). Tried running for the first time in about 30 years on Saturday, did 1.7 miles in 16 mins and four days later my legs are still giving me serious pain, I'm going up and down stairs like a 90 year old.…

I'm not trying to build particularly but on days when I cycle (probably 5 out of 7) I'm hitting about 3200-3500. It's really weird after 5 months of trying to net 1200 and then a month of trying to net 1600.

There has been a lot of research that shows that sugar hits your insulin production in such a way as to make you hungry/crave high calorie foods and many people think that that (particularly high fructose corn syrup) is one of the main reasons why people have been getting fatter since the 60s. There is an argument, but…

Six years ago I was 280 lbs and a total couch potato. About the same time that I realised I needed to do something about my weight someone gave me a bike so that I could follow my young son round the park. It took me one ride to find that I loved it and about three months later someone introduced me to mountain biking. I…

I agree mostly with the above, the most important thing is your relationship and going head to head with him isn't going to help out with that. If your husband freaks out all the time then I think you've got issues that you need to deal with outside of this but if it's the first time he's done it my first reaction (I might…

I'd back this. If you've got the munchies but know it's a bad habit that you're trying to break then drink water, if you're genuinely hungry then eat a banana or something and don't worry about it.

I have absolutely loved this book (and the TV series that accompanied it). Everyone that I've spoken to who has tried stuff from it has also loved it. Both the authors are massive motorbike riding foodie guys and were really serious about changing the way they were.…

Why are you running? If you don't enjoy it and it's only for cardio fitness I'd question if you'll keep it up. I'd have a look around, try some other types of cardio and see what you can find that you really enjoy. I got into cycling about 5-6 years ago and love it, I'd rather be on a bike than anywhere else and therefore…

I think one question is how hungry is hungry. If I'm properly "I haven't eaten since lunchtime" hungry then I would eat some more (bear in mind that with your calorie levels if you go over by 100 calories you'll still be loosing weight, just more slowly). I quite often go to bed feeling "peckish", like I'd quite like some…

I know several people who have started doing a 5:2 fast but it's more for the impact they think it has on brain cells (preventing early onset dementia) than for weight loss that most people have done it. There was a very good Horizon documentary on the BBC that looked at it if you can find a copy online.

Superb mate. I remember how good I felt when I dropped that much weight. Well done.

Looks like you've only just joined the site, if you've only just started dieting then I wouldn't be too worried. You might be eating lots of fibre but the chances are you're eating less overall and a lot of what you are eating is probably made of water.

How often do you weigh yourself? I understand why people weigh themselves just once a week but the one downside is that if you get a weight loss fluctuation on a particular day it really looks bad. I've had one day when the scales show me as a 3lb weight gain and then a couple of days later it looks like I've lost 6lb from…

The 8 glasses of water a day thing was something that bottled water companies got into quoting based on research that was about how much water you need in a day to stay hydrated including tea, coffee, beer, food, etc. It's a total myth. Drink to your thirst and you'll be hydrated.

There are things that will make it easier to eat less calories than other things for example I try to stay clear of sugar where possible as it jacks your insulin levels which tends to make you hungry. It's also worth checking what items are really low in calories (courgette and mushroom for example) which means you know…

I don't know about how long your stomach takes to shrink but I'll vote with the people who say drink water (or unsweetend herbal tea) when you're hungry. I was amazed when I started logging calories how many calories were in bread and oil and how few were in things like courgette (zuchini I think in the US) or mushrooms…