jpketz

You're not addicted or weird or alone. There's a great book called Younger Next Year that makes a great case for getting at least 40-60 minutes of vigorous exercise every day for the rest of your life, especially as you get on in years. It might be good to read it so you have some scientific ammunition to fall back on…

Thanks for your insights, Steff. It's really a two-edged sword; carrying the extra weight has made me stronger, and more fit so I'm able to climb hills a little faster and my speed on the flats has increased 2-3 mph just this season alone. So whereas I would never consider competitive cycling, I gotta admit I get a little…

This is all really affirming. Thanks to everyone who chimed in on the weight loss/endurance issue. Nice to know others have experienced the same "stop loss" phenomenon. I guess I'll have to wait until the season is over and I'm riding less miles to drop that last bit of excess "cargo", which is a weird concept but oh well.…

Hi all, Glad this topic has been created. I've been meaning get some feedback from fellow cyclists about hitting weight loss plateaus. I started this season seriously in February and lost 17 lbs. by May. Then the weight loss just stopped. So I'm wondering if there's any one else out there who is trying to lose weight and…

You can turn all that anger around and make it work for you, but not alone. Don't walk, run to find a support group, a therapist, some neutral party to help you deal with the very normal but potentially destructive anger you're obviously feeling.

One craving at a time! My dad taught me that technique and it worked for me to quit a 2 pack/day habit about 20 years ago. It's basically just being mindful of the cravings and realizing while you're having one that "this craving is shorter than the last one" and "the next one will be shorter than this one". Then just ride…

For a good post-exercise, glycogen re-building, muscle recovery, great way to eat up those pesky exercise carbs meal that's very filling and if you close your eyes it tastes like peanut butter cheesecake especially if you add a tsp of lemon curd or grape jelly...try Sludge. 1 serving is a little over a cup total, which is…

Next time sub out Hershey's milk chocolate for a few squares of dark chocolate. Factor it into your daily total, it won't be cheating and you'll be getting some very healthy monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) as an added bonus.

One of my training partners got stung in the mouth the other day and his lip swelled up but fortunately no other ill affects. The thing is he didn't know if he was allergic and I think a lot of us are in that same boat, if we haven't been stung as adults or have never been stung at all. I've had bees (and lots of other…

Haven't heard anyone mention this so I'll toss it out there...do you own a heart rate monitor? No matter what kind of cardio you decide to do it'll make all the difference in the world in determining whether you're actually getting a good workout. For example... walking is good but there's w a l k i n g and then there's…

The headaches do sound like hydration. Of course other causes come to mind like allergies, polluted air, etc. but if you're not drinking app. 1 bottle of water for every hour of cycling, at least, try more water, or a performance drink like Accelerade, which is actually a better hydrating agent than water. Numbness in the…

My wife and I went to Treebones south of Big Sur last year and had a fabulous time, although we camped and didn't stay in the yurts. The Make-Them-Yourself waffles are worth the price of admission and falling asleep to the sound of barking sea lions. Big Sur is definitely one of the great best kept secrets in California.…

You may be able to control these "triggers" not so much by what you eat but when. This is a great article on how blood sugar fluctuations can affect your appetitive and energy level, which are probably the "triggers" you're talking about. http://www.fitsense.co.uk/fit_article.php?id=100 Experiencing that late afternoon…

I'll qualify that a bit...it depends on how bad your knees are to begin with and the nature of the problem, but for folks like me with a lot of wear and tear and little or no cartilage left, cycling strengthens the leg muscles, the core muscles, basically the support structure for your knee joints, not to mention…

Depends completely on the nature of your problem. It could be just strain on your tendons and ligaments that will get better as you walk/run and improve overall muscle fitness, or you could have a more serious degenerative condition. Have you had an orthopedist weigh in on this? Either way the conventional wisdom is, "if…

You're not stupid! Let's clear that one up. This stuff can be confusing at first. This is an article that Banks recommended. It explains better than I can the implications of going under and over with your calories: http://www.fitsense.co.uk/fit_article.php?id=100 Good luck.

So true...both of you....excellent points....however when you consider the "hidden" costs of society's obsession with "cheap food" i.e. unsustainable growing practices, use of fossil fuels, the disastrous impact on the health care system from eating crap, it may be cheaper to shop at "Whole Paycheck" after all. In theory,…

I completely agree with you—the stress a single mom faces putting food on the table in this day and age is apples and oranges compared with anything a CEO faces. Even CEO's that fail miserably invariably land on their feet--it's built into their contracts. And though I have NO facts to back this up...when's the last time…

Interesting stuff. Especially the comments after the story. http://tinyurl.com/3jg7du Anyone else have study data on the relationship between stress and overeating? I really find it fascinating, in a "oh my god, is that me?" kinda way. My unprofessional, a-little-knowledge-can-be-dangerous-opinion is that it's all about…

Graphic designer/illustrator.

Hmmm...hadn't thought of the salt possibility. Actually I probably have been eating more salt. If nothing else the performance drinks I use during rides contain a lot of salt (electrolytes). Hey, thanks you guys. I owe ya. [/url]

So there I am I'm minding my own business...eating all my calories, riding my bike, losing weight at 1-2 lbs./wk...then the temperature out here on the Left Coast goes up into record territory...and badda boom...I gain 3 lbs in a matter of a few days. So what gives? Am I conserving water? I've learned never to weigh myself…

Good news...I'm pretty sure the calories in Peeps don't count! :wink: Onward and upward!

What's snow? :wink:

I also sit at a computer most of the day. My chiropractor/sports medicine doc says ideally we'd all stand while working at a desk, or sit on an exercise ball. Not really for the calories burned but because it's better for your back and core. I tried the latter (not really wanting to shell out the $$ for a custom computer…

Okay sit back, get comfy, put your feet up...I will now tell you all the reasons why cycling is the best exercise you can EVER do.... --It's the best calorie burn you can probably do...better than running, gym cardio machines etc. I just got back from my twice-weekly 20-mile ride (I do 2 midweek and 1 or 2 longer weekend…

I think you'll find that simply becoming aware of your eating habits is a huge first step. This site gives you a no-brainer, convenient place to get a snapshot look at "what I stuck in my mouth today". At first that can be a little shocking, but once you do it for a while, and you're rigorously honest, it'll become…

The first time I heard a well respected nutritionist publically say we should all be eating a few squares of dark chocolate every day, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Thus, what works for me is a few squares of artisan chocolate or dark chocolate-covered blueberries and/or a Trader Joe's lime Fruit Flos popsicle…

(Disclaimer: NOT an expert, only an avid reader and health/fitness junkie. Please take what you like and leave the rest). While the quality of the food you eat is certainly important in the long term, if only because the foods you listed are full of simple carbs and will play havoc with your blood sugar and may set up a…

Think of it another way...as you lose weight your body "needs" fewer calories just to sustain itself. Try exercise...it gives you a reason to eat (or excuse, if you choose to look at that way). :smile: