# My Weight Loss Adventure Part 2



## Battery (May 7, 2016)

Hi everyone,
Not sure if anyone followed an old thread but I was pursuing weight loss while outdoor riding. Over the last couple years, I realized why my efforts didn't work out.

GOAL - Go from 290 lbs to 200 lbs (no time limit)

*Poor diet* - I rode 70-80 mile trips on my gravel bike and burned around 5,000 calories. In a single week, I burned upwards near 8-10k calories from distance riding. I used to pedal around 120 miles a week. My diet was terrible and I admit that was the reason why I didn't lose weight despite my calorie burn!
*Stress* - Mentally, I was in a challenging place over the last couple years and my anxiety problems were really bad! Stress most likely inhibited my weight loss journey.
*Lack of direction* - I didn't have a specific plan when it came to diet and exercise. I figured if I rode a lot, the weight would just fall off. Well that doesn't work for me seeing I'm in my 40s now.
*Pain and more pain* - being a permanent and totally disabled military veteran is challenging at times. I have chronic pain syndrome and a bunch of other issues. I let this pain get the best of me especially after distance rides. Pushing 120 miles per week was too much for my body to handle but I did it anyways because I'm stubborn.
Here is what I've changed to make this program work for 2022:

*Intermittent Fasting *- I started IF about 14 days ago and lost 3 pounds so far. My goal is to lose 1 pound a week. If my app is correct and I stay on track, I could go from 290 to 200 by summer. This program is a game changer for me and will be my focus for 2022!
*Better exercise routine* - I bought a Peloton back in June 2021 and cranked out nearly 600 miles before the year ended. I ride my Peloton 2-3 days as week and focus mostly on power zone training.
*Fight Camp* - I just started Fight Camp in December and it's a great total body workout program. I love physical combat exercise so boxing was a no brainer for me. I work really hard in this program but I don't go overboard. I always tell myself that I'm not training for the world heavyweight title so I can dial it down.
Here are a couple additional changes I've made to my life since my original post:

*Bought an ebike* - I finally caved in and got past my stubbornness! I bought a 2021 Specialized Turbo Levo for my weekend rides. I haven't been on an outdoor bike in a year and I will probably stick with an ebike from here on out due to my health problems. My ebike motivates me to get outside.
*Ride dirt bikes/ADV bikes* - I picked up an old 03 KTM 450 EXC and a 2020 Triumph Scrambler XE. I really missed riding my motorcycles! My mountain biking experience is a good cross skill for dirt bikes. My weight loss will help me ride my motorcycles much better on the dirt!
I'm looking forward to actually breaking my weight cycle and actually lose some pounds!


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## Preston67 (Mar 20, 2008)

I face a similar issue when losing weight - you can't out exercise your diet. 
You can only burn so many calories before you burn out.


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## toadmeister (Sep 24, 2017)

You sound like my parallel universe twin. I’ve experienced all the same issues and follies!

Where do you live? Would love to ride with you and share stories. I’m in Iowa. Message me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Tall BMX'r (Jan 11, 2021)

As Preston says, the weight loss needs to come from your diet. I workout all the time and have for most of my life. In my early 50's I went from 235 lbs to 250+ lbs with same workout routine. Your metabolism changes as you age, and you don't burn the calories like you did when you were younger. Till then, I never had to diet. I also sit more while at work these days. 
My doctor told me my sugar was a little high, but not that high. I started looking into the amount of sugar in my diet. It's easy to read labels and buy low or no sugar products. I decided to try to cut as much sugar as I could. I was amazed at how addictive sugar is. I drink ice tea and coffee with no sweetener. I drink juice, but not a lot. I eat two pieces of fruit a day. My dessert is Lily's brand chocolate bars sweetened with Stevia.
No donuts, cookies, cake, ice cream, yogurt, soda, or sweet drinks. Peanut butter with low sugar and bread with low sugar. But, I eat steaks, cheeseburgers, pizza, and French fries. It doesn't affect my weight. The first two weeks were hard. Withdrawals and temptation, but I did it. It was easier after that. I lost 10 pounds a month, and leveled out at 220 lbs. I've been drinking a few more beers a week lately, so I hover between 223 and 228. It's been three years now. If I take a bit of a donut, it tastes like I just stuck a heaping tablespoon of sugar into my mouth. It is just way to much to even want. 
I feel better, my knees don't hurt when I stand for a long time and I sleep better. I didn't read about a no sugar diet, I was more worried about becoming diabetic as a friend of mine did. I just cut sugar, and a side effect was weight loss. Good luck, and keep riding what ever makes you ride.


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## Sparticus (Dec 28, 1999)

Preston67 said:


> I face a similar issue when losing weight - you can't out exercise your diet.
> You can only burn so many calories before you burn out.


⬆⬆⬆ this, so much.
90 lbs in a few months is pretty ambitious.
I lost 20# in 3 months during spring '21 and I can tell you I wouldn't want to lose weight any faster than that.
For me, so long as I saw progress, even if it was gradual, I stayed invested & committed. That said, there's no question that my weight loss advances were diet related.
I've always ridden bikes a lot. When I was young, I think maybe I could exercise weight off. It seemed like it anyway.
If I ever could, not anymore. Exercise makes me hungry. I have to control that hunger. I have to eat the right things in the right amounts.
Good luck, Battery.
=sParty


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## Shark (Feb 4, 2006)

So, are you eating better?

You need to write down everything you eat, keep track of calories.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk


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## mrpizza (Jun 2, 2013)

I dropped 45 lbs last year. I cut out beer and soda, no sweet tea. If i needed something carbonated I would have a carbonated water. Portion control was my biggest change, had to get off the see-food diet.


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## tick_magnet (Dec 15, 2016)

I applaud you for your efforts. That is really awesome how much you are working at this. Just one question - you listed diet as no. 1 but in the changes you listed, the only thing related to diet is intermittent fasting. Did you change anything else about your diet?


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

Shark said:


> So, are you eating better?
> 
> You need to write down everything you eat, keep track of calories.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk


@tick_magnet 

I am eating better thanks to my wife. She's in Weight Watchers which means I am too. She makes a lot of zero point dinners which also benefits me as well. I do keep track of everything I eat in my Simple app but I'm not counting calories. Intermittent fasting does not require calorie counting. With Simple, you can eat whatever you want but the app will notice trends and identify them for you so you can make better choices. The app does a great job jumping in, identify your trends, and give you a slideshow PowerPoint how to handle it. The app also gives me a wealth of information related to the benefits of fasting. 

I've seriously cut back on sugars and bread which was most likely part of the reason why my first diet didn't work so well. I also drink over 100 oz of water a day too. 

Currently I'm on a 16:8 fasting program which is 16 hours of fasting and 8 hours of eating. I have so much more energy now. It's crazy! I don't even drink coffee or drink an energy drink during the day time any more. I actually eat more oatmeal w/ fruit in the morning now as a brunch when my fasting window ends.


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## Shark (Feb 4, 2006)

Congrats!

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## kevine1785 (Mar 29, 2021)

First off congratulations!.. I had a similar journey starting in Jan of 2020. I went from 245 to 185 and feel fantastic! I started with IF with a 17hr daily fast (7pm - noon). As far as eating.. I wouldnt focus on calories, I would really focus on limiting certain ingredients... Sugar, red meat and alcohol were flagged ingredients for me. This doesnt mean cutting it out, it meant being more conscience about not overindulging. I found that shortly I was "eating for the bike".. as in I was tracking my rides and times on Strava and noticed that if I ate healthy the day before (beans, fish, greens) I got better results the next ride. 

Overall the key to successful weight loss is:
Having a plan
Having Support
Having Fun with it
NOT beating yourself up when you slip up

Congrats to a good start to your 2022!!!


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

kevine1785 said:


> First off congratulations!.. I had a similar journey starting in Jan of 2020. I went from 245 to 185 and feel fantastic! I started with IF with a 17hr daily fast (7pm - noon). As far as eating.. I wouldnt focus on calories, I would really focus on limiting certain ingredients... Sugar, red meat and alcohol were flagged ingredients for me. This doesnt mean cutting it out, it meant being more conscience about not overindulging. I found that shortly I was "eating for the bike".. as in I was tracking my rides and times on Strava and noticed that if I ate healthy the day before (beans, fish, greens) I got better results the next ride.
> 
> Overall the key to successful weight loss is:
> Having a plan
> ...


I definitely agree! I sometimes cut myself some slack on the weekends depending on our plans. I was part of the Simple FB group and left after a week. People were asking so many questions and it got old. I joined the group for moral support but geez, people ask the same question repeatedly!

"Can I add this to my water?" 
"Does xxx have calories?" 
"I'm not losing weight and I weigh myself every day." 

Ugh it got old quick! Some of the users flipped out that they were not losing weight. No thanks!


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## Tall BMX'r (Jan 11, 2021)

Battery said:


> I definitely agree! I sometimes cut myself some slack on the weekends depending on our plans. I was part of the Simple FB group and left after a week. People were asking so many questions and it got old. I joined the group for moral support but geez, people ask the same question repeatedly!
> 
> "Can I add this to my water?"
> "Does xxx have calories?"
> ...


Give us an update in three or four months


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## SteveJewels (Nov 9, 2021)

3 years ago I decided I was over being fat. 5' 10", 218 lbs.

I started gradually, eating salads for lunch and dinner, reducing portions and eliminating specific items one at a time.

I measure or weigh pretty much everything.

No simple carbs, avoid sugar as much as possible. Read labels and understand what they say. Example, someone mentioned Lily's chocolate. It has Erythritol in it which is a sugar alcohol. It is not "Sugar" but it is a sugar. I cut out cheese, croutons, went from 8 slices of bread per day (made from sprouts, not flower), to 4.

December of 2020 I started walking and averaged 4 to 6 miles, 6 days a week until September of this year when I dragged out the MTB and trainer. Now I get about 2 miles a day walking while I am at work and 30 minutes at an average of 16 MPH on the bike, two rides a day on days that I don't work.

I use stevia instead of sugar and NO calories after dinner, 0!

In September I weighed 146 lbs, a loss of 72 pounds. Went from size 40 jeans to 32's. I have gained about 5 pounds since I started riding, I assume muscle and glycogen as I did not increase calorie intake but significantly increased calorie burn.

My one splurge is a banana for dessert after dinner and after lunch on days I don't work.

I was doing some calorie calculations the other day. If you consume just 10 extra calories a day you will gain a pound a year.


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## masonmoa (Jul 11, 2011)

A few years ago, after recovering from injury/surgery, I dropped from 343 down to 277, so 66lbs over a few months. Mostly came from change of diet. Went nearly full keto or Atkins or whatever you want to call it for the first month, which included zero booze, and dropped first 20lbs that way. 

At 6'5" tall, my goal weight up til recently has been 265, what I weighed when I was 25, but now I now think I should get down to 250 if I want to keep up my lifestyle. Lean and mean.

Problem is I've been stuck around 280-285 for like 4 years. I still work out regularly, minimal drinking, diet is still good, high protein, no dairy or real carbs except low sugar fruits like berries except for dinner when I eat whatever I want. I'm thinking maybe full carnivore for a month to shock the hell out of system, but tbd. I heard the sh1ts are pretty bad tho...


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

I weighed in the other day and surprisingly I was down 3 pounds for the entire week. Over 21 days, I've managed to lose 5 pounds so far. I still feel pretty good with all the fasting as well. I took a 20 min FTP test on my Peloton and I increased by 9 watts (180 to 189). I know FTP scoring is mostly for road bikers and what not but I do Peloton endurance rides a couple days a week. My test wiped me out pretty hard so I ended up taking the rest of the week off until my body feels better. I was holding Zone 4 as my pace and sped to Zone 5 every couple of mins. 

Can't wait to get outside and pedal this weekend!


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## longtallsally (Jan 26, 2008)

Keep it up! So how tall are you?

I ask because you need to be a little cognizant of just how much you lose when it comes to riding the RFS or Brit bike (I’m on a 500EXC and 990 Adventure R). If you lose too much, you may lose some of the power (brute force and ignorance) that can help you in tricky single track, or even picking the big bike up.

I’ve been blessed and never watched what I eat for my entire life. My parents made me into an athlete, and I never really got away from it. My wife was concerned quite a number of years ago when I worked for a start up and spent absurd hours at the office and not exercising. I was doing energy drinks and pop tarts and the full monty of horrible foods. She put me on 2% milk, sugar free energy drinks, and cut out some other stuff. I promptly lost 20 lbs.

What we learned later was that mountain biking is the ONLY thing that will shed what little fat I’ve ever had. At my largest (when I was a bouncer) I was at 260 and somewhere around 5% body fat (I‘m 6’7”). But that was also 3 hours a day, 5 days a week of hard core weight training and a decent bit of mountain biking.

Career and kids have kept me from training as much as I’d like and I stayed around 230-240, but with I think around 20% body fat in the last 5 or so years. But the wake up call on strength was during a BDR trip on the 990, when I binned it and I couldn’t pick the bike up by myself. Never in my life had I not been able to pick up my own motorcycle (except right after back surgery one year). I could even bunny hop my wife’s WR250R! This was not acceptable, and thus why I think weight training is so important to help with a little girth to help move stuff. 

I just turned 50 and got back on the bike heavily with what we expect as our last move. At the end of the season, I was begging for 220. HOWEVER- and this is the point of my initial statement- although my cardio got to be off the chart, my STRENGTH was pathetic. Even my leg strength was really lame. Now that it’s winter and my cardio is on rollers in the house, I feel way better due to doing a good bit of weights now- and last year after doing weight type stuff all winter, my power for climbs on the bicycle was infinitely better. I also was way more confident in sliding the 990 around when I wanted to act like an idiot.

My point will all this is the cliche of balance out everything. Diet is key. You know what is bad and what is OK. Sugar is fine- just not too much. Red meat is great for energy- just don’t have a ribeye every night. Real milk is very good for you (I’m the smallest of my brothers and we went through 9 gallons of farm milk a week growing up)- but don’t do it in the volume I just mentioned. Carbs are great for helping process all the protein you should be taking in. Anything processed or synthetic is horrible.

I make my own lunches for work and every day is:

2 pieces of fruit
string cheese stick
granola bar
spinach salad with a bunch of veggies
Greek yogurt
protein shake
some entree with meat (leftovers usually), or a PB&J and another sandwich

This is not a perfect lunch, but I’m also not trying to get to 5% BF. I have more than enough energy to ride, train, work, etc.

Lastly, get enough good sleep and figure out how to do it.

You will kill this. Seek support when you need it like here, and power through days you don’t feel like training. Getting a smart watch (I’m a Garmin nut) to gather some metrics can help motivate as well.


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## Aquilon (Apr 3, 2008)

Battery said:


> *Stress* - Mentally, I was in a challenging place over the last couple years and my anxiety problems were really bad! Stress most likely inhibited my weight loss journey.


So what did you do to address this part?


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

Aquilon said:


> So what did you do to address this part?


VA got me back on anti-anxiety medication. I have an anxiety disorder which needs to be treated by medication. I got off the meds when I left Active Duty and thought I'd be fine without them. Yeah that wasn't working. After some experimentation, the VA and myself found the right anti-anxiety medication that works for me.


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## Brules (Jul 10, 2021)

My suggestion would be to cut carbs and sugars to near 0. That plus IF and activity - you’ll shed pounds easily. I’m down over 50lbs doing the same thing and still going. Carbs and sugars generate cravings. So if you can get rid of them you’ll have an easier time. Good luck, sounds like you’re on the right track.


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

Brules said:


> My suggestion would be to cut carbs and sugars to near 0. That plus IF and activity - you’ll shed pounds easily. I’m down over 50lbs doing the same thing and still going. Carbs and sugars generate cravings. So if you can get rid of them you’ll have an easier time. Good luck, sounds like you’re on the right track.


Thanks! Reading your post is great motivation for me to keep pushing. My weight loss stalled just a little bit but at least I'm not gaining weight. I'm not too worried about the weight loss at this point. My overall thought process is to have fun with my activities. If I'm having fun then the weight loss will work itself out.


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

I'm slowly progressing toward the January finish line. I'm currently 6 pounds under my starting weight from the beginning of the month. I wonder if I can lose another 1-2 pounds before February. I won't lie, my diet isn't perfect. I still eat pizza every now and then along with random junk food. However I don't let it dominate my life. I treat myself to smaller amounts rather than eat junk frequently.

I also cut myself some slack on the weekends and end my fast a couple hours early just to spend breakfast time with my family. Overall, I'm eating far less than I used to because I understand my hunger pains. Lately my exercise routine is a little hit and miss. I have to listen to my body frequently. My goal is to ride my Peloton 2 days a week and the 3rd session is outdoors on my MTB. I also box 2 days a week if my body can handle it. My chronic pain does act up quite often and some days are better than others. I just hope that if I lose enough weight, my chronic pains lessen a bit more.


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## SteveJewels (Nov 9, 2021)

Hunger pains are your bodies way of saying you are doing good.


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## Brules (Jul 10, 2021)

Battery said:


> I'm slowly progressing toward the January finish line. I'm currently 6 pounds under my starting weight from the beginning of the month. I wonder if I can lose another 1-2 pounds before February. I won't lie, my diet isn't perfect. I still eat pizza every now and then along with random junk food. However I don't let it dominate my life. I treat myself to smaller amounts rather than eat junk frequently.
> 
> I also cut myself some slack on the weekends and end my fast a couple hours early just to spend breakfast time with my family. Overall, I'm eating far less than I used to because I understand my hunger pains. Lately my exercise routine is a little hit and miss. I have to listen to my body frequently. My goal is to ride my Peloton 2 days a week and the 3rd session is outdoors on my MTB. I also box 2 days a week if my body can handle it. My chronic pain does act up quite often and some days are better than others. I just hope that if I lose enough weight, my chronic pains lessen a bit more.


I LOVE pizza too! So what I do is either eat cauliflower pizzas (they actually taste great) or make my own using low carb tortillas, light sauce and cheese/meat etc. I use Sams Moz cheese and toss in the oven for 20 min at 400. Super low carb pizza that tastes great! Good luck!


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

Brules said:


> I LOVE pizza too! So what I do is either eat cauliflower pizzas (they actually taste great) or make my own using low carb tortillas, light sauce and cheese/meat etc. I use Sams Moz cheese and toss in the oven for 20 min at 400. Super low carb pizza that tastes great! Good luck!


Nice. I like those ideas. My wife uses cauliflower as a substitute for rice and what not. She also makes home made pizzas from scratch and decks it out with all sorts of veggies. I might ask her to look into the cauliflower idea on a pizza as well.


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## Brules (Jul 10, 2021)

Order one from Mazzios and give it a try. I actually really like them now. Most chain places can do them. It’s not carb free but is about as good as you can get from a fast food place for a pizza. 😁

Also I highly recommend getting checked out by your Drs. Get full blood panels run. Check for T2 diabetes, check your testosterone levels! Those 2 alone can deep 6 any weight loss attempt quick!

I found out I had type 2 and low T. Got both of those lined out and it’s a whole new world! Game ON!


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## stripes (Sep 6, 2016)

Battery said:


> Nice. I like those ideas. My wife uses cauliflower as a substitute for rice and what not. She also makes home made pizzas from scratch and decks it out with all sorts of veggies. I might ask her to look into the cauliflower idea on a pizza as well.


Works great, unless you have issues with cauliflower (I do).


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

stripes said:


> Works great, unless you have issues with cauliflower (I do).





Brules said:


> Order one from Mazzios and give it a try. I actually really like them now. Most chain places can do them. It’s not carb free but is about as good as you can get from a fast food place for a pizza. 😁
> 
> Also I highly recommend getting checked out by your Drs. Get full blood panels run. Check for T2 diabetes, check your testosterone levels! Those 2 alone can deep 6 any weight loss attempt quick!
> 
> I found out I had type 2 and low T. Got both of those lined out and it’s a whole new world! Game ON!


Thanks! The VA does a full blood workup on me every single year. I have to fill up like 5-6 vials in one sitting and they don't even give me a cookie afterwards!


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

stripes said:


> Works great, unless you have issues with cauliflower (I do).


I'm not big on the cauliflower trees when it comes to eating them. I told my wife she just needs to grind it up a bit and I'll most likely eat it. That's assuming she hides it in the recipe


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## sgltrak (Feb 19, 2005)

Great job on the journey and best wishes for this next step. One thing that helps me is that I basically do not drink any calories or anything flavored. As a kid I'd go through a pitcher or two of Kool-aid every day and I still love fruit juice and Gatorade, but when I drink things other than plain water I see my weight creeping up.


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## stripes (Sep 6, 2016)

Battery said:


> I'm not big on the cauliflower trees when it comes to eating them. I told my wife she just needs to grind it up a bit and I'll most likely eat it. That's assuming she hides it in the recipe


I love cauliflower, but I react to it in a way that my allergy doc pretty much told me to avoid it.


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## Brules (Jul 10, 2021)

Battery said:


> Thanks! The VA does a full blood workup on me every single year. I have to fill up like 5-6 vials in one sitting and they don't even give me a cookie afterwards!


LoL I do it every 4 months lol!!!!! But I’m type II and I do TRT therapy so my Dr doesn’t mess around.


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

I've been dealing with some really terrible chronic pain syndrome all week. I had to leave work early because it was causing so much grief. I've been only able to exercise a couple times this week because of it. I missed out on some MTB rides this weekend because of the pain. I realized much of my chronic pain is from waking up in the morning and feeling like I fought Mike Tyson in the ring for 40 rounds straight. Looking up that scenario, it looks like it could be rheumatoid arthritis or vitamin D deficiency. The VA already noted I have a vitamin D deficiency and it's actually a family trait. My father went through that too. I've been on 2,000mg of Vitamin D for 3-4 years so far and it makes me wonder if that's the culprit. 

I figure if I continue to stick with my fasting, I can survive my chronic pains and not gain weight back. I've only lost 6 pounds for the month of January but my clothes feel like I've lost more than that.


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## Brules (Jul 10, 2021)

Try CBD for pain. I find it works 1000x better for me HS Tylenol or Aleve. If you smoke it it works really fast!!!! I buy gummies as well as it tends to last/work longer. 50mg of edibles works wonders for me.


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## stripes (Sep 6, 2016)

Battery said:


> I've been dealing with some really terrible chronic pain syndrome all week. I had to leave work early because it was causing so much grief. I've been only able to exercise a couple times this week because of it. I missed out on some MTB rides this weekend because of the pain. I realized much of my chronic pain is from waking up in the morning and feeling like I fought Mike Tyson in the ring for 40 rounds straight. Looking up that scenario, it looks like it could be rheumatoid arthritis or vitamin D deficiency. The VA already noted I have a vitamin D deficiency and it's actually a family trait. My father went through that too. I've been on 2,000mg of Vitamin D for 3-4 years so far and it makes me wonder if that's the culprit.
> 
> I figure if I continue to stick with my fasting, I can survive my chronic pains and not gain weight back. I've only lost 6 pounds for the month of January but my clothes feel like I've lost more than that.


Yeah if you think it’s vitamin d deficiency (i also have it), get checked out. If you’re not getting enough it can be related to lack of magnesium absorption, which can also cause some muscle pain. 

Also, make sure you’re getting enough water.


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## mtnbkrmike (Mar 26, 2015)

SteveJewels said:


> …In September I weighed 146 lbs, a loss of 72 pounds. Went from size 40 jeans to 32's.


Wow. That’s drastic. Did you notice any negative side effects? Loss of strength? Dizziness? Anything else?


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## Brules (Jul 10, 2021)

masonmoa said:


> A few years ago, after recovering from injury/surgery, I dropped from 343 down to 277, so 66lbs over a few months. Mostly came from change of diet. Went nearly full keto or Atkins or whatever you want to call it for the first month, which included zero booze, and dropped first 20lbs that way.
> 
> At 6'5" tall, my goal weight up til recently has been 265, what I weighed when I was 25, but now I now think I should get down to 250 if I want to keep up my lifestyle. Lean and mean.
> 
> Problem is I've been stuck around 280-285 for like 4 years. I still work out regularly, minimal drinking, diet is still good, high protein, no dairy or real carbs except low sugar fruits like berries except for dinner when I eat whatever I want. I'm thinking maybe full carnivore for a month to shock the hell out of system, but tbd. I heard the sh1ts are pretty bad tho...


Try IF/fasting.


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## SteveJewels (Nov 9, 2021)

mtnbkrmike said:


> Wow. That’s drastic. Did you notice any negative side effects? Loss of strength? Dizziness? Anything else?


It was over a 2 1/2 year period. Significant amount of weight total but it was only ~ 2 1/2 lbs per month. No adverse effects. Feel better, sleep better, back pain gone. Resting HR is low 50's, BP is ~ 120/80.


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## mtnbkrmike (Mar 26, 2015)

SteveJewels said:


> It was over a 2 1/2 year period. Significant amount of weight total but it was only ~ 2 1/2 lbs per month. No adverse effects. Feel better, sleep better, back pain gone. Resting HR is low 50's, BP is ~ 120/80.


Congratulations. That’s a life time achievement. Great to hear!


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## SteveJewels (Nov 9, 2021)

mtnbkrmike said:


> Congratulations. That’s a life time achievement. Great to hear!


Thank you sir.


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

Brules said:


> Try CBD for pain. I find it works 1000x better for me HS Tylenol or Aleve. If you smoke it it works really fast!!!! I buy gummies as well as it tends to last/work longer. 50mg of edibles works wonders for me.


Yeah I was on CBD tincture for a while and it helped a little bit. I used to buy a 2,000mg bottle from a shop for $100 shipped. It lasted me around 5-6 weeks but I can't afford to keep purchasing it repeatedly. I felt like the CBD did work but it didn't seem to help enough. I'm going to speak with my doc and see what the VA wants to do.



stripes said:


> Yeah if you think it’s vitamin d deficiency (i also have it), get checked out. If you’re not getting enough it can be related to lack of magnesium absorption, which can also cause some muscle pain.
> 
> Also, make sure you’re getting enough water.


My Simple app reminds me to drink water. I actually drink close to 100 oz of water daily seeing that's really important to IF. I'm going to ask the VA about the Vitamin D deficiency. They've kept me on the pills for years because my numbers are constantly low. I might scope out some of these vitamin D foods and see if I can incorporate some of it into my diet. I might take a magnesium supplement again as well. The VA said my magnesium levels are normal but the supplements seem to help me out. I might load that into my pill container and start taking it again.

Seeing today is the last day of January, I can say that I lost about 6 pounds in weight for the month which is a personal record. I could barely lose 1-2 pounds in a month with my prior attempt. I have to admit that IF changed my thought process big time. I hope to lose another 6 pounds or more by the end of February.


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## Brules (Jul 10, 2021)

That’s good then. With weight loss, slow and steady wins the race. Massive weight loss almost always results in a see saw of massive weight gain when do too quickly. Look at biggest losers. Almost allll of them gained all the weight back!


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## toadmeister (Sep 24, 2017)

A couple years back I had some bad muscle cramps, tried taking supplements of magnesium and hydrate but nothing did the trick.

They blood tests, found out I had a hyper para-thyroid. Had it removed, back to normal now.


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## Brules (Jul 10, 2021)

Wow! Past 40 it’s definitely a good idea to see your Dr regularly and get blood taken etc. could save your life!


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## SteveJewels (Nov 9, 2021)

Brules said:


> My suggestion would be to cut carbs and sugars to near 0. That plus IF and activity - you’ll shed pounds easily. I’m down over 50lbs doing the same thing and still going. Carbs and sugars generate cravings. So if you can get rid of them you’ll have an easier time. Good luck, sounds like you’re on the right track.


What is IF?


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

SteveJewels said:


> What is IF?


Intermittent Fasting: Intermittent Fasting: What is it, and how does it work?

The funny part is that I didn't eat super clean for the month of January. During the month, I've eaten 2-3 boxes of pizza (with my wife's help), some fast food here and there, and still lost weight. I don't go overboard with junk food in a single sitting. I dramatically changed the right parts of my eating life so I can make IF work while allowing myself to enjoy food.

For me, my typical 16hr fasting window is from 6pm - 10am. My eating window is 8 hrs. I typically skip breakfast and have brunch between 10-11am. I eat a very light lunch around 2-3pm and have dinner close to 6pm. I've skipped lunch several times because I didn't feel hungry. On those days, I would eat an apple or some other fruit.

I'm tempted to challenge myself and see if I can do the 20hr fasting / 4hr eating window.


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

I found this video by Paul the Punter. Very motivational! Dude lost 80 pounds just from mountain biking and being on a steady diet.


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## toadmeister (Sep 24, 2017)

Saw my doctor today. Told him I couldn’t seem to loose weight even though I’d cut back to 2100 calories/day and eat much healthier now. After 4 months I’ve only managed to gain a few pounds.

His prescription: drop down to 1500 calories and make it serious and don’t cheat a day. He says there’s no way I can’t loose weight at that.

It was tough hearing that. Gonna give it a try.


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## SteveJewels (Nov 9, 2021)

I gradually decreased the amount of calories I was taking in. I have been at ~ 1,600 for the last year +.

I estimate my daily calorie burn to be around 1,800 - 1,900. 200 calories X 7 days = 1,400. I lose about a pound every two weeks.


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## matt4x4 (Dec 21, 2013)

Anyone can lose weight on any diet
Its a matter of keeping it off, and doing it healthy.

I lost 100 lbs on keto, but I half assed it with many cheat days. Last 4-6 months has been intermittent fasting and we are talking 14hrs minimum with 18hrs being normal and a few 24hr fasts thrown in. I never done any fasting more then 24 hrs but I would sure love to, feel amazing doing it, sharper to. I did weigh myself but I wasnt stuck on it, did a lot of studying keto and I dont know why I stuck with keto and I.F., and calorie restriction which just comes naturally with being satiated on higher fats on the keto diet. I never counted no caloires, never weighed anything except the nuts from costco into separate bags. Those add up so darn quick its not even funny. I tried the resistant starches last week with cooked and cooled patatoe's, to much starch so I did it twice on my cheat days. I might do that going off keto eating higher starch vegetables but the biggest thing for me was not eating bread, flour, sugar, or drinking cola...... that was probably half the battle right there, the other half was probably something as simple as not eating processed food which has a lot of junk in it and a ton of chemicals which is never good. Start reading the labels, its frightening what the government allows, but look no further then the food pyramid and the scumbag ancel keyes who started it with his country study altered to fit his point. Processed food is any food in a box or any food not on the outside sections of the grocery store.

Sometimes I just crave sweets, thats why I have cases of Zevia around, and keto snacks. I have 30lbs to go but taking it real slow now, many more cheat days snuck in. When I do switch back to the lifetime diet, fruit will be added but very limited will have to study up on fructose again but I cant remember a time I did not eat handfuls of berries, but I know bread, flour, pastas is out, no more jugo juice. Def want to try a 2 or 3 days water only fast its a goal of mine. I felt the affects of wonderful bliss the times I did 24hrs of fasting back to back.

My stall points were from 385lbs starting weight stalled out at 330lbs and 274lbs. Fluctuations are 8-12lbs a day with no other factors, weighing nude as jeans are a cpl lbs, lined jeans are 3-5lbs.

I honestly dont know what kind of doctor I have, I told him about my keto, 100lb loss, when I got my blood work done he never told me what my hdl or ldl or tris were so I will go to a dietician or pull my own records. I think a dietician would be cool if I can get it for free, but I would also just love the expensive continuous glucose monitor but its real expensive. Keto Mojo is a good meter the blood type finger deal seems to be a few points off the CGM.

I just used the pee strips for ketones but the strips are useless after awhile, blood ketone test is better.

But if your on the vegan diet ketones dont matter, starches and complex starches are just another form of sugar, raising your insulin, blood sugar levels but at least they come down quicker, and if you eat fiber its overall down. But complex starch is better then candy, bread, pasta, coke.

One last thing to mention, I worked out a little bit. I tried every day to get a bit of excersize while fasting, that is what burned the fat off my body while restricting the carbs. I tried to break a sweat on my bicycle every single day. Some days I would walk around the mall when it was to cold out.

I would say its been 15-20yrs since I was under 300lbs, I remember clearly saying to myself if I ever breached 300 I am going on a diet, but I loved bread to much and pastas. I probably stayed at 330 for awhile, but those were my alcohol drinking days which I dont drink alcohol, lots of sugar in there, lots of empty calories.

Gut biom is what I am studying now. Hence the resistant starch experiment.


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## Brules (Jul 10, 2021)

I love IF. I feel clear headed in the morning and feel like my body processes food better and less stomach issues. I’ve done 24 hour before and some 20/4. For those and longer fasts you need to have your protein intake in point - ie: eat a TON of protein! 

It’s been one of the keys to my weight loss along with TRT and getting type II under control.


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## masonmoa (Jul 11, 2011)

Brules said:


> Try IF/fasting.


I have, but nothing too extreme, like 16/8 schedule, and it didn't work. I don't want to go too much shorter than that b/c I get migraines if I don't eat, and no amount of weight loss is worth that pain. 

I'm still trying to figure out my next strategy. Activity level is way up since it's been really dry where I live, so riding a lot, and eating has been healthy. But I'm still trying to get my head 100% committed to even more dietary changes. I'm almost there tho....

My weakness is at night. I eat way too fricking early in the evening b/c of a kid, and I'm a night owl, so I get super hungry an hour or two before going to sleep. Worse damn time to eat, too.


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## matt4x4 (Dec 21, 2013)

I do not really know what I do to get over the walls at 320 and 275

I tend to carb load and eat unhealthily for a day or two or 3, I will go to a pizza joint that I used to like, or a submarine sandwich shop like the italian place or a burger joint not caring and eating the bun and fries, even eating candy. This puts my body on edge, not knowing whats coming, but I dont over do it to much.

Then taper off slowly in a day or two then go full into intermittent fasting of a minimum of 16 hours but normally 18 hours fasting, 6 hr food window with one big meal high in fat to satiate me, a snack a few hours later, tapering back on I stay on point with keto higher fat, a little protein (size of whole hand) / low carb.

I wake up and good until 2pm, today I was good until 3:30-4pm because I premade a meal, snacked a little on olives, finished making the premade meals then eat biggly.

My stomach isnt used to that much.

Another great trick is to eat the same thing over and over again. This forces you to calorie restrict. I make a stew like thing in a slow cooker, its boring a.f. but it really does the trick.
Asperagus, butter, bell peppers, lots of mushrooms, canned tomatoes, pink himalayan salt, ground pepper
Salads with same veg but olive oil and balsamic vinegar

Its the same stuff every day and it works.
Cutting out the sneaky carbs, like snacks does the trick to.
Excersize is critical

I tried the resistance starch, I will get back into that, I tried that on a day off carb load.

See the problem I have is uninformed family members eat unhealthy with bread and pastas and candies and junk food in plain site so for me its hard that way.


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## TwoThirtySeven (Aug 29, 2020)

I joined WW and just started walking 3-5km every day. I can eat what I want as long as I track it and I don't go over my daily allowance.

I've lost 20kg (44lb) since Sept 2021. My goal is to lose 40kg total by Sept.Oct 2022.

There is no magic to it.


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## matt4x4 (Dec 21, 2013)

Whats the deal with weight watchers? is it more like just meetings and emotional support? my buddy did noom or whatever its called which is emotional support type meetings. I originally just wanted to pay for meals and always thought thats what weight watchers did, because if its just a list of foods you can eat all day everyday and a list of what to avoid then whats worth paying for?


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

matt4x4 said:


> Whats the deal with weight watchers? is it more like just meetings and emotional support? my buddy did noom or whatever its called which is emotional support type meetings. I originally just wanted to pay for meals and always thought thats what weight watchers did, because if its just a list of foods you can eat all day everyday and a list of what to avoid then whats worth paying for?


My wife lost around 90 pounds total through WW. She has access to custom WW recipes and uses a point system to control her calories and what not. I don't know all the details to WW but I know it worked for my wife.


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## masonmoa (Jul 11, 2011)

matt4x4 said:


> I do not really know what I do to get over the walls at 320 and 275


Pretty much the story of my life, except 5lbs higher. It's 325 and 280 for me, except once, when I was 20-21 I got sick and dropped down to 235 for about a year. I looked sickly af tho. Much healthier at 265.


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## toadmeister (Sep 24, 2017)

Got my calories better under control and accounted for. Been targeting 1800 cal/day over the last week and it’s working, I’ve turned a corner. Lbs are starting to steadily come off.

So easy to overeat! I don’t even have to try and I can easily shove 2000 cal into me at a meal if I’m not careful.

I’ve actually been exercising and biking less as it’s easier to keep the calories down. I will start to ramp that up as spring arrives.


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

Just thought I'd share a rant here. Please bear with me on this one.

Over the last 2-3 weeks, I've been struggling to maintain a simple workout program. My chronic pain has been so excruciating that I can barely ride a bike or exercise. I'm still trimming down due to my IF which is a plus. The other day, I rode my ebike to change things up and I barely lasted 30 minutes. Even with an ebike, I still struggle to pedal and stay focused. I ran my bike on sport mode which gives me plenty of assistance but it just wasn't working for me. I couldn't focus on what I was doing because my entire body was aching really bad. I know ebikes are supposed to get people out and ride but it just doesn't work for me (yet). I don't want to give up my ebike journey just yet but it's just frustrating that the one controversial bicycle category on the market isn't working out for me. I've spent countless years battling chronic pain and it just feels like nothing works. I've skipped so many Peloton rides because I can't handle this pain any more.

I have a feeling there is something else going on with my health that hasn't been discovered.
Nothing really changed in my diet or routine.
I did eliminate taking CBD supplements because I didn't want to pay $100 every 5-6 weeks for another bottle.
I'm going to schedule a VA doc appointment soon to see if I can get an ADA placard and get checked out for this chronic pain problem.

On my Levo, I installed Fox 38 Factory fork and X2 Factory shock along with Code RSC brakes. The general idea with the suspension upgrade was to supplement my flex bar and reduce any hard hits my body will take on the trail. I might make a few more adjustments to my sag and suspension setup to see if I can take my more bite out of any harsh hits on the trail.

This whole experience makes me feel depressed and I feel some regret for returning to the mountain biking world knowing I have so many health problems.


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## matt4x4 (Dec 21, 2013)

I got down to 268.5 today, 22 hrs fast today, 18hrs for the last week, dont feel hungry but today last few hrs stomach growling so did the tricks like drink water. I had thoughts to pull of a 36hr fast but I am moving slowly towards that. Trick for me was to keep busy so I did, I walked 1 mile around a mall because its to cold out to ride. Have to burn off the fat will pissing ketones, I know when I have ketones because the pee smells fruity and is dark. Thats all I do, just walk or ride the bike. To supercharge losing weight I could do High Intensitiy Intermittent Training, HIIT but I was just thinking about walking up the long stairs a few times but havent done so yet, maybe tomorrow when its warmer out. Microdosing might be good, I buy a bottle of mist for $30 and lasts a long time, not a problem for me which is why I dont bother buying the cans to much mimmicking drinking alcohol for me so its a big no. The mix cbd/thc is alright but I just do it every now and then.

I guess one could try nicorette gum to help lessen appetite, or drink caffeine. Every now and then I will buy 95% chocolate bars but dont eat to much, very high in calorie. I do look at labels and guess portion sizes but I dont analyze to much. The only thing I do is weigh myself everyday, some people in the know say do not do that but I do it but the key is I dont put to much emphasis on it.
First thing in the morning, naked, after the poo and pee I weigh. Maybe once a week I will weigh myself at night but I dont do that much anymore, to much variance in how much I eat or drank, can be as much as 5-10lbs difference in the swing of a day is my calculation, also depends on what you are wearing, lined jeans for the winter can be 3-4lbs by themselves.

LIke I probably posted here, from 268.5lbs as of this morning, I will continue this path until I reach 250lbs, then move to starchy vegetables but the diet wont change much, still no bread, no pasta, no sugar, maybe rice if there is a low glycemic index one out there, maybe some keto bread but anything granulated still is to fast absorbed which is no good. Just more cheat days probably. 250 is fine, means 130lbs lost, ideally I would like a total number of lbs lost to be 150 and a good bmi for me to be at is 220, but the charts say 211lbs which I think is to much, as I am tall and big boned.

It will be to easy to fall into old bad habits so I have to keep doing the low carb diet, just find the low glycemic index foods like fruits in the berry caregory, but even those its to easy to over eat. So I watch that to, like when I buy nuts from costco its just to easy to over eat and the calories add up quick.

The key is reducing total calories
But the other key is eating real food


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

matt4x4 said:


> I got down to 268.5 today, 22 hrs fast today, 18hrs for the last week, dont feel hungry but today last few hrs stomach growling so did the tricks like drink water. I had thoughts to pull of a 36hr fast but I am moving slowly towards that. Trick for me was to keep busy so I did, I walked 1 mile around a mall because its to cold out to ride. Have to burn off the fat will pissing ketones, I know when I have ketones because the pee smells fruity and is dark. Thats all I do, just walk or ride the bike. To supercharge losing weight I could do High Intensitiy Intermittent Training, HIIT but I was just thinking about walking up the long stairs a few times but havent done so yet, maybe tomorrow when its warmer out. Microdosing might be good, I buy a bottle of mist for $30 and lasts a long time, not a problem for me which is why I dont bother buying the cans to much mimmicking drinking alcohol for me so its a big no. The mix cbd/thc is alright but I just do it every now and then.
> 
> I guess one could try nicorette gum to help lessen appetite, or drink caffeine. Every now and then I will buy 95% chocolate bars but dont eat to much, very high in calorie. I do look at labels and guess portion sizes but I dont analyze to much. The only thing I do is weigh myself everyday, some people in the know say do not do that but I do it but the key is I dont put to much emphasis on it.
> First thing in the morning, naked, after the poo and pee I weigh. Maybe once a week I will weigh myself at night but I dont do that much anymore, to much variance in how much I eat or drank, can be as much as 5-10lbs difference in the swing of a day is my calculation, also depends on what you are wearing, lined jeans for the winter can be 3-4lbs by themselves.
> ...


Thanks for sharing your current journey. I'm slowly getting myself back on track. My diet is still way better but my exercise routine is still shot to hell since my rant. I want to make 1 adjustment to my routine that may help but we shall see. 

On Feb 24, I am going under the knife for carpal tunnel release surgery so I won't be able to exercise for at least 3-4 weeks. I might focus on stretches and maybe Peloton shadow boxing as well. My goal for this stretch of time is to focus heavily on my diet.


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## D. Inoobinati (Aug 28, 2020)

I've used the free "My Fitness Pal" to count calories and keep track of execise and lost 10 lbs in a month:










After that month, I stopped plugging in numbers (damn holidays and all!)
No weird diet foods, one beer per night, no crazy execising...just 1,550 calories per day. Eat normal food; just less of it.
NEVER eat before going to bed.
If you can't ride, then walk. Try walking to get your groceries. That's always an eye opener.
At some point, you'll have to get comfortable with whatever genetically programmed weight has been hardwired into your DNA.


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## toadmeister (Sep 24, 2017)

Battery said:


> Just thought I'd share a rant here. Please bear with me on this one.
> 
> Over the last 2-3 weeks, I've been struggling to maintain a simple workout program. My chronic pain has been so excruciating that I can barely ride a bike or exercise. I'm still trimming down due to my IF which is a plus. The other day, I rode my ebike to change things up and I barely lasted 30 minutes. Even with an ebike, I still struggle to pedal and stay focused. I ran my bike on sport mode which gives me plenty of assistance but it just wasn't working for me. I couldn't focus on what I was doing because my entire body was aching really bad. I know ebikes are supposed to get people out and ride but it just doesn't work for me (yet). I don't want to give up my ebike journey just yet but it's just frustrating that the one controversial bicycle category on the market isn't working out for me. I've spent countless years battling chronic pain and it just feels like nothing works. I've skipped so many Peloton rides because I can't handle this pain any more.
> 
> ...


Sorry to hear this bro. Keep searching for the cure.


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

Just had carpal tunnel release surgery yesterday. My hand feels much better despite the pain from the incision. I can't exercise with my hand wrapped and I definitely cannot lift anything. I might take up Peloton shadow boxing just to stay busy. Overall I feel very trimmed down despite the fact I gained around 4 pounds in weight since January. If I had to guess, it's water weight and muscle. I can still look down and see my junk which was something I couldn't do before. 

My back problems were mostly solved by my massage therapist. We figured out what was causing the problems. Apparently I was over exerting myself when boxing through Fight Camp. The right side of my back was really tight and left side was fairly loose. It was due to strong right jabs to my bag. When I recover, I need to dial down the intensity more and just focus on technique. Thanks to OxyContin my back doesn't hurt much! 

Looks like I'm staying the course! I'm hoping for positive progress in March.


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## stripes (Sep 6, 2016)

Battery said:


> Thanks for sharing your current journey. I'm slowly getting myself back on track. My diet is still way better but my exercise routine is still shot to hell since my rant. I want to make 1 adjustment to my routine that may help but we shall see.
> 
> On Feb 24, I am going under the knife for carpal tunnel release surgery so I won't be able to exercise for at least 3-4 weeks. I might focus on stretches and maybe Peloton shadow boxing as well. My goal for this stretch of time is to focus heavily on my diet.


Hope the surgery went well. This whole thing is super frustrating because it’s not straightforward. 

My weight loss journey has been struggle as of late, but I figured out the causes of my slowdown. 

With reactive hypoglycemia, it turns out I have to seriously watch my caffeine intake. Caffeine can screw with you royally as a hypoglycemic, and it triggered everything into being stuck weight-loss wise. 

I wasn’t drinking that much coffee (3-5 cups a week), but chocolate and tea really add up too. And i was eating dark chocolate (a small bite after meals), and light roast coffee, which all have high caffeine. So no more chocolate and no more coffee (until I can find a decent decaf). 

I also have to have _some carbs_ (around 30g per small meal, 4 small meals a day is ideal), but I have to really cut back on sugar, especially in the higher part of the glycemic index. 

Since I’m on day 5 sans coffee, I’m drinking black and green tea. And dinner and later, I’m onto decafs. 

Food’s been fun. I can’t do no carb (almost ended up in the hospital from that a few years ago) or IF, but I’m doing the whole balanced meal and cutting out as much sugar as i can now, and it’s definitely hard.

What’s going to be hard is riding season: I’ll have to have sugar during the ride (skratch), and make sure i have something with protein immediately post-ride.


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

Looks like I picked up a virus the day after my surgery. Talk about dumb luck. I've lost 6 pounds in 4 days due to this virus. I spoke with my surgical team and we concluded it's not related to the surgery. I just have to ride it out. I've been drinking 100 oz of water daily and my food intake has been very minimal. I just don't have an appetite. 

It seems the worst has passed so hopefully I'm back to normal soon.


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## Brules (Jul 10, 2021)

Dang that sucks. Good luck man!


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

Well I recovered from my virus. Took a while but it's all out of my system. My hand is recovering very well too. I've lost another 6 pounds somehow. My diet drastically changed since my surgery and I'm eating far less than what I normally eat. I dropped down to 277 so far and it might be lower than that today. I initially started at 291 back on January 1. I usually weigh myself on Wednesdays or Fridays so I plan on waiting until then to see where I'm at for the week. My fast program requires me to weigh in at least once a week so the Simple app can give me specific details how I'm doing. 

I also discovered that I am probably lactose intolerant. Every time I eat some ice cream, I have tons of gas that night and thermonuclear explosions in the morning. I wonder if this intolerance is the reason why I feel more bloated than usual too. Since I identified it last week and cut dairy out, my stomach doesn't feel bloated any more. I wonder if this change is the reason why my weight loss is humming along too!


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## Brules (Jul 10, 2021)

I cut all dairy except hard cheese from my diet and no longer have the associated stomach issues. Doing that, intermittent fasting and limiting carbs to 40-50 a day has completely changed the way I feel like nothing else! No more gas or crazy stomach issues. And I don’t miss the ice cream or sugar stuff either.


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

Brules said:


> I cut all dairy except hard cheese from my diet and no longer have the associated stomach issues. Doing that, intermittent fasting and limiting carbs to 40-50 a day has completely changed the way I feel like nothing else! No more gas or crazy stomach issues. And I don’t miss the ice cream or sugar stuff either.


It's funny because I can actually taste excessive sugar in most foods now. Makes me wonder if the VA secretly installed something into my hand that actually changed my diet and thought process! Ha! 

A few days ago, I had a 16 oz glass of Mt Dew with my dinner at a restaurant. I usually drink soda so my wife can drink beer when we are out. I couldn't believe how different it tastes now and I'm pretty much staying away from soda. I don't drink soda at home. I stick with soda when we go out to dinner. I might just stick with water or maybe tea when I go out!


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## Sanchofula (Dec 30, 2007)

Battery said:


> It's funny because I can actually taste excessive sugar in most foods now. Makes me wonder if the VA secretly installed something into my hand that actually changed my diet and thought process! Ha!
> 
> A few days ago, I had a 16 oz glass of Mt Dew with my dinner at a restaurant. I usually drink soda so my wife can drink beer when we are out. I couldn't believe how different it tastes now and I'm pretty much staying away from soda. I don't drink soda at home. I stick with soda when we go out to dinner. I might just stick with water or maybe tea when I go out!


You are dieting to lose weight and you drink soda with sugar?


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

Nurse Ben said:


> You are dieting to lose weight and you drink soda with sugar?


I drink sugary soda only a couple times a month. Wife doesn't allow soda in the house and I rarely drink it anywhere except at restaurants. We only go out to dinner a couple times a month. 100% of the time, I play designated driver so I drink a soda or 2 while my wife drinks her favorite beer.


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## toadmeister (Sep 24, 2017)

Soda is the devil and I only drink it with Whiskey 


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

Bam! That's gnarly! It's healing up fast though. If all goes well I might be able to ride again in a couple weeks. I washed my hand thoroughly once everything came off. Oh and I've lost 15 pounds total as of today. 


__
Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
Show Content


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## Brules (Jul 10, 2021)

Dude congrats! I’d switch to tea or something vs non diet mt dew if possible.

I know what you mean on the sugar stuff being super intense. Once you’re off it long enough you become super sensitive to it. I can eat a BITE or 2 of a desert now and taste it for a good half hour. It’s crazy!


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

Brules said:


> Dude congrats! I’d switch to tea or something vs non diet mt dew if possible.
> 
> I know what you mean on the sugar stuff being super intense. Once you’re off it long enough you become super sensitive to it. I can eat a BITE or 2 of a desert now and taste it for a good half hour. It’s crazy!


i still love my desserts but I eat way less of it now. I took my family out to dinner last weekend. I decided on peach lemonade instead of soda. It still has a lot of sugar but it's way less sweet than soda. The peaches were fresh cut too!

I am trying to troubleshoot my body though. Whenever I exercise on my Peloton during the week (or ride outdoors), I have a lot of chronic pain the whole week and have difficulty sleeping. While I was off for 2 weeks, my body felt so amazing! Not much pain except for my hand. I've dialed back heavily on my Peloton workouts. I really love power zone/endurance rides so I may stick with 1 or 2 30-45min endurance rides during the week rather than 2-3 20min weekly ride sessions on my Peloton. If I am going to hurt and suffer all week, I might as well make it worth it.

Oh also I've become a routine stoner since last summer. I discovered that smoking weed helps me sleep so well. All the other "side effects" are just bonuses. I can't believe how much better I sleep! I don't need any supplements or sleeping pills. I just pass out! Surprisingly my mental willpower to resist eating food while high is working out pretty well. I've found a couple of weed strains I love but they make me want to eat everything. I found some awesome strains that don't make me hungry so I'll get more of those!


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## Brules (Jul 10, 2021)

Which ones don’t give you the munchies lol!?!? Most indicas tend to but they also are best sleep strains.


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## Brules (Jul 10, 2021)

Dang was hoping you would dish on what strains! 😢


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

Brules said:


> Dang was hoping you would dish on what strains! 😢


I would but I'm too lazy to break out my stash hahahah!

The latest stuff I'm using is called Trophy Wife by Phat Panda. That's the one that doesn't trigger my hunger. I absolutely love Phat Panda strains.
The stuff I use to destroy a whole box of pizza in 10 mins is Wedding Cake by Phat Panda as well. I love getting their Bong Buddies stuff because I use a 19" percolator bong for all my jollies.


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## Brules (Jul 10, 2021)

Wedding cake def will do it. I only do cured or live resin vape carts, taste better and cleaner than a flame on flower. If it’s legal where you are try a cured resin cart. It’s 100% natural thc and terps only. I’ll be on the lookout for that strain. Thanks!


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

Decided to add my March update. I lost around 2-3 more pounds in weight for this month. It was mostly fluctuating but things are starting to taper down. I had some minor issues staying on track with a 16 hr fast but I think I'm coming around and getting back on track. I could only make it to 14 hrs for much of March. What's nice is that I went down a size for my motorcycle jackets! I also have a PNW Components Lander jacket that is a touch too small for me. I think if I lose another 10 pounds, it should fit pretty good.

My fellow MTB friend asked me to try turmeric and see if that helps. It seems like it's helping. Much of my chronic pain has gone down and I'm slowly starting to sleep better at night. I will need to take my bike out for a ride and see how I feel. Also my hand is recovering very well after surgery too. Over the last 2 weeks, it's been difficult to grasp the handlebar on my Peloton and MTB. I might be at the point where the pain is starting to subside much m ore and I should be able to ride again. I've been testing out my grip mostly on my Peloton!


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

Not an April Fools joke but I somehow lost another 3 pounds this week. I felt much lighter this morning so I weighed in again despite the fact I weighed in yesterday. Looks like my total weight loss for the week is about 4 pounds. From the start of March, I'd say I lost around 6-7 pounds total. I'm down from 291 to 272 since January 1. If I maintain my steady pace, I could hit my goal of 200 pounds by Dec 31.


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## Sanchofula (Dec 30, 2007)

Battery said:


> I drink sugary soda only a couple times a month. Wife doesn't allow soda in the house and I rarely drink it anywhere except at restaurants. We only go out to dinner a couple times a month. 100% of the time, I play designated driver so I drink a soda or 2 while my wife drinks her favorite beer.


Dieting is a temporary mindset, changing your diet requires adopting a different lifestyle.

If you have a health problem, then anything that negatively affects that health problem should be stopped.

I cannot for the life of me think of a single reason why you should drink sugar drinks.

Sorry, but there's simply no reason, there are too many alternatives, and absolutely no health benefits to drinking soda or lemonade.

If you are overweight, then you are simply consuming too many calories, I suspect that you giving yourself excuses for eating and drinking poorly is just the top of the iceberg.

Denial won't make you lose weight.

I'm not overweight now, but I was twenty years ago. One day I was looking at a picture of my self with my shirt off and said "whoa, when did that happen?!".

I decided to change my diet drastically, I started fasting, first I skipped breakfast and that led to a twenty pound weight loss, when I plateaued, I started skipping lunch, and that got me to my current weight. I have maintained that diet for twenty years and my weight has been stable for twenty years.

Recently I decided to gave up sweets, for all of my life I have liked fancy pastries, candies, etc... for me it was simply a habit that I had grown accustomed to having, so two months ago I stopped eating them. At first it was kind of wierd, going to coffee shops no longer held the same attraction, but over time I stopped thinking about it and now I just don't really care about sweets.

I'm now working on going vegan, cut out cheese and eggs, the only thing that's been hard is switching to non daily milk in my coffee.

So yeah, it's your body, and it's the only one you get, being weak minded and allowing yourself to be "treated" is just gonna shorten your life and/or decrease your quality of life when you're older.

70# overweight is morbidly obese, like it or not.


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

Nurse Ben said:


> Dieting is a temporary mindset, changing your diet requires adopting a different lifestyle.
> 
> If you have a health problem, then anything that negatively affects that health problem should be stopped.
> 
> ...


For the most part, I've converted to tea when we visit restaurants. Sugary soda just doesn't have the right taste for me anymore. yes, I am aware that 70 pounds overweight is morbidly obese which is why I'm pushing harder to make things right for me. I started taking turmeric supplement and it has subsided much of my inflammation and chronic pain. For once I can actually feel my muscles ache after a ride rather than my entire body aching. I still have to deal with osteoarthritis in my spine and neck though but overall I feel like I'm doing much better and getting things dialed in as I progress forward.

Oh and Bobo posted this hilarious video:


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## Brules (Jul 10, 2021)

Nice progress man. Slow and steady wins the race and is easier to keep the weight off. I’d say you’re doing it right by incremental changes that add up over time. I’ve found when you cold Turkey everything at once it’s hard to sustain that change long term. I’m 2 years in down 60lbs with about 20-30 to go and doing it this way has been the easiest ever and is easy to maintain with an over all life change. I don’t call it a diet either lol - it’s just a new way of doing it!


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## Alias530 (Apr 1, 2013)

Diet is EVERYTHING. To illustrate, here is a picture before/after only 6 weeks of diet changes and riding LESS THAN I USED TO. Don't click if you don't want to see a shirtless dude.

It was way easier than I thought it would be and I've maintained/improved on this for almost a year now. I'm faster than ever on the bike and feel 10 years younger. If you weigh more than you want, you're probably eating too many calories and not getting enough protein.


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## matt4x4 (Dec 21, 2013)

I gained 20 lbs but I been off the diet for a good month now, eating real bad. Just got stuck at 268 now 290.
I need to refocus my efforts, hit it hard and pound it out.

I can't imagine the amount of chemicals on the McDonald's fries alone. Yes, thats what I was thinking eating their burgs or fries or shakes, or pies lolololol

Yeah food, diet - Is an interesting conversation.

Might have been a month and a half actually that I've been off the diet, lol.
I remember clearly telling myself if I ever get over 300, I'm going on a diet, yet I reached 380lbs, crazy. The mind its a wonderful thing, many people are stuck in their ways.
The older they are the harder it is to change their minds. They are used to frying fries in a waste product, man-made, seed oil aka vegetable oil.
The immediate goal is to kick 268 in its ass. Extreme measures need to be eased up into 1MAD, Strict keto, gym 3x/wk.


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

The month of April had zero progress for me...at least I think so. I haven't lost any weight but my clothes continue to become bigger on me. I think I'm gaining muscle and maybe hit a plateau. I managed to keep my weight steady for the entire month and never went any lower. Most of it was due to my diet and not enough exercise. I slacked on my diet just a little bit but it wasn't a full blown total recall back to my old days of eating everything. My job is in the process of transitioning back into the office. I spent 5 days working remotely over the last 2 years and now I'm working 3 days a week in the office. By summer, we are going into 4 day work weeks. 

I have to take this change into my diet and exercise routine. One thing I'm very proud to say is that I don't snack all day at the office. But on the flip side, I'm not drinking enough water and I'm not always eating wisely. To fix this issue, I brought a water bottle to work so i can fill it up every couple hours so I can continue to hydrate. When it comes to food, I need to try harder and hold out until my 16hr fast ends. I've been cutting it short around the 14th hour due to work. 

For exercise, I'm not a morning person. I cannot work out at 5-6am every day. It flat out doesn't work for me. I've tried several times over the last few years. I'm just not a morning person. My energy seems to be more in the late evenings after work so I'm going to either ride my MTB outside or ride on my Peloton. Luckily I do have a mountain bike park not even a 1/2 mile from my house. During summer, the sun will not disappear until almost 10-11pm up here in WA so I can definitely get some MTB sessions done after work. 

Even though April didn't go completely as planned, I still made some gains and I need to make adjustments to keep my progress moving forward. My Cat 1 DH racer buddy is pushing me hard to ride more with him on more challenging trails so I'm looking forward to rad sessions with him. That motivation is pushing me to try harder and lose weight so I can perform to the best of my ability on my bike.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

I’ve always been a big believer in “that which can be measured, can be improved”, that being said it may be beneficial to have a body comp done so that way you have a little more solid numbers other than “clothes feeling looser”… but best of luck.

How far do you life from work? The only guaranteed way I can get myself daily activity is riding my bike into work…. Other wise it’s just too easy to convince yourself out of working out. Also I saw one person suggest that you go to the gym every day, even if it’s just for 3 minutes… creating the habit of going is what’s most important instead of initially beating yourself up if you didn’t have the time/energy to complete a planned workout


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## stripes (Sep 6, 2016)

Been following this while I’m on my own journey. 

In order to lose weight, i have to fix two things:

diet (obvs)
sleep

In order to fix sleep, I had to stop hurting so much. Been working with two different type of PTs, a neuromuscular therapist, and a massage therapist. 

Turns out I wasn’t giving myself enough rest from weight training. I needed a full off week, and not a deload week. That was killing me, to the point I wasn’t recovering.

Now I’m slowly getting back into weight training, not riding and weight training on the same days. I also have a rest week every four weeks. My sleep is improving, now I need to re establish my program, with the limitations and better exercises for me that the PTs recommend. 

Next part is diet. This has been a multifold issue, and slowly starting to unfuck it one bit at a time. 

For me (not anyone else), so far taking out beef and pork is a big help. I’ve had issues digesting them most of my life, and going to more seafood and poultry and increased vegetables is making a difference. 

The other thing it’s helping with is my sugar cravings. They’re going down significantly. Already down about 2-3 lbs, so we will see how it goes the next couple weeks.


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

Swolie74 said:


> I’ve always been a big believer in “that which can be measured, can be improved”, that being said it may be beneficial to have a body comp done so that way you have a little more solid numbers other than “clothes feeling looser”… but best of luck.
> 
> How far do you life from work? The only guaranteed way I can get myself daily activity is riding my bike into work…. Other wise it’s just too easy to convince yourself out of working out. Also I saw one person suggest that you go to the gym every day, even if it’s just for 3 minutes… creating the habit of going is what’s most important instead of initially beating yourself up if you didn’t have the time/energy to complete a planned workout


I actually live around 25 miles from work so it's a 50 mile commute round trip. Years ago I had the idea of buying a commuter ebike so I can ride to the train station, catch the bus on the other side, and arrive in front of my work. Unfortunately covid kicked off and riding on public transportation wasn't a good idea. It only costs me $4 a day to use public transportation due to my high disability rating. For now I'm keeping that idea on the back burner. We've also had a lot of suicides on the train tracks in my area so trains were running very late or they were canceled. If I were to ride 50 miles round trip 2-3 days a week, I think I would be in great shape. However traffic is a huge issue in WA especially in my area. It wouldn't be entirely safe to commute 50 miles regularly via ebike due to the volume of traffic.

Right now my left hand is still recovering from carpal tunnel surgery. It's doing way better and its 90 percent healed. I can do regular activities now. I just can't box. I like to participate in Fight Camp which is a lot of fun but I'm waiting until end of May to make sure my hand is ready for punching again. I am hoping that if I add Fight Camp back into my route, my weight loss journey will continue as planned. I feel happy that I've lost 20 pounds since January 2022. I'm not attempting to meet any kind of personal deadline. I just want to see how well I do by the end of 2022.


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## Brules (Jul 10, 2021)

Just stay the course. Don’t scale chase. If you’re weighing the same but clothes fit better - that’s a NSV (non scale victory). I’m in same boat, at 285 for 10 weeks, but I went back to gym full time 10 weeks ago and I’m suddenly into 2x shirts. I’m in body recomposing mode so I’m not concerned with scale at this point.


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## MTBGV (Jul 13, 2018)

Keep on fighting the good fight @Battery! Losing weight after surgery on a high use body part has got to be tough. I’m 6 weeks into IF and have lost 7 lbs. I spent a lot of the winter focusing on leg strength for snowboard and MTB season and have hit a similar plateau. Adding muscle but I can tell I’m also losing fat based on clothes fit. My goal is another 5-10 lbs but keeping up on the strength training. Good on ya


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

Brules said:


> Just stay the course. Don’t scale chase. If you’re weighing the same but clothes fit better - that’s a NSV (non scale victory). I’m in same boat, at 285 for 10 weeks, but I went back to gym full time 10 weeks ago and I’m suddenly into 2x shirts. I’m in body recomposing mode so I’m not concerned with scale at this point.


True! I weigh in every 2 weeks. My Simple app wants me to do that so they can track my progress. I love the fact that the app picks up on my trends and addresses them. They love to share power points regarding food choice and I admit I've learned a lot!


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

Well not too much to report lately. My weight has been staying the same even though I feel like I'm trimming down. I'm totally good with that though. To add more work to my workouts, I picked up a Santa Cruz 5010. I've been looking for a regular bike for a little while and decided to get this one. My plan is to ride my Levo on the vertically challenged trails and take the 5010 for my XC style rides. Overall it's working out pretty good. I'm addicted to the 5010 for all my local rides. Basically I ride my 5010 until my knees and back start to ache really bad. Seems to take much longer than before. Maybe my hard work is paying off.


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## Danimal (Nov 18, 2004)

If you’re serious about loosing weight, you need a daily diet & calorie plan and you have to diligently measure and record everything that goes in your mouth. Measuring “trends” ain’t gonna cut it - you need to know exacts on what foods and how many calories, and even then, it’ll take months to see good progress. You also need to weigh yourself every single day because of big fluctuations in water weight that will deceive you if you only weight yourself every 2 weeks.

Pay a dietician, or find a really reputable diet app - which are not cheap.

Exercise is really important for health, building muscle, and having fun - but weight loss is 99.99% what you eat.

Dan


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## Brules (Jul 10, 2021)

No need to “diet”. Eliminate carbs and sugars and eat meat and veggies and weight will fall off with activity. Literally ignore anything that suggests you eat carbs as they are the root of our current obesity pandemic. I lost 60lbs doing carb/sugar cut ONLY with no gym time. Back in gym last 4 months and while I haven’t lost a lb since I’m body recomposing majorly. Fasting is fantastic as well. 16-20 hours (18-20 is where benefits really kick in) is my sweet spot for fasting.


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

Danimal said:


> If you’re serious about loosing weight, you need a daily diet & calorie plan and you have to diligently measure and record everything that goes in your mouth. Measuring “trends” ain’t gonna cut it - you need to know exacts on what foods and how many calories, and even then, it’ll take months to see good progress. You also need to weigh yourself every single day because of big fluctuations in water weight that will deceive you if you only weight yourself every 2 weeks.
> 
> Pay a dietician, or find a really reputable diet app - which are not cheap.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the info but I'm not going to count calories or tracking every single thing I eat. I've done that lifestyle for too many years and don't plan on going back to it. I'm sticking with my intermittent fasting program and log my food intake into my fasting app. For the most part, my issues over the last 2 months were due to me not exercising enough because of ongoing chronic pain and sleep issues. 

My body is starting to feel a bit better now so I should be able to ride 3-4 days a week like I used to do.


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## stripes (Sep 6, 2016)

Battery said:


> Thanks for the info but I'm not going to count calories or tracking every single thing I eat. I've done that lifestyle for too many years and don't plan on going back to it. I'm sticking with my intermittent fasting program and log my food intake into my fasting app. For the most part, my issues over the last 2 months were due to me not exercising enough because of ongoing chronic pain and sleep issues.
> 
> My body is starting to feel a bit better now so I should be able to ride 3-4 days a week like I used to do.


Glad to hear you’re doing well. What fasting app are you using?


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

stripes said:


> Glad to hear you’re doing well. What fasting app are you using?


I was using the Simple app until they changed it. Now it's too frustrating so I'm not tracking anything any more. They used to have food categories and you just select the categories based on what is in your food. The recent change added a ton of food so if you type in "chicken" you get dozens and dozens of chicken meals. Sorry but I don't want to spend several minutes logging my food by looking at every variation of chicken.


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## stripes (Sep 6, 2016)

Battery said:


> I was using the Simple app until they changed it. Now it's too frustrating so I'm not tracking anything any more. They used to have food categories and you just select the categories based on what is in your food. The recent change added a ton of food so if you type in "chicken" you get dozens and dozens of chicken meals. Sorry but I don't want to spend several minutes logging my food by looking at every variation of chicken.


I’m with you in tracking. It’s beyond insane at this point.


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

On the plus side, I did purchase a Santa Cruz 5010. I've bumped up my exercise quite a bit since I bought it. I honestly can't stop riding this bike. I take it easy though. If I can't make a climb, I'll hike it. In my condition I have no shame in hiking nor do I have anything to prove anymore. I don't know what it is about the 5010 but it's an amazing fit for me and I just can't stop riding it. For the most part, I ride XC laps on my local trail for cardio and work on some skills. 

My ebike doesn't give me enough exercise despite how fun it is. It's obvious why but I don't hate ebikes for that reason. The 5010 lets me have some fun while exercising though! My leg strength has returned and my mobility is getting a bit better. I'm actually riding faster on my ebike now because of my 5010.


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

Hi all, I've been struggling over the last couple months. My sleep quality dropped significantly due to chronic pain and what not. It got to the point where I had to buy a Sleep Number DualTemp layer to help me sleep because I am always hot at night. Surprisingly it worked. However I developed some bad eating habits and lack of exercise due to my constant fatigue and chronic pain. The 10hr shifts at work don't help much either. The supplements and pain meds helped for quite a while but it doesn't seem to be working anymore. 

My wife and I also ordered a new Sleep Number mattress to help us out with sleep. There are many times where I woke up and I questioned why I served our country. Sometimes I just wonder if all the pain and suffering in the end was worth serving a greater cause. I gave up a huge chunk of good years and my health to serve and now I feel like the walking dead. It's hard to find reasons to keep mountain biking because my body has limits and tackling harder trails seem to cause more problems for me. I love riding harder trails but my body doesn't like it. 

Right now my focus is getting my diet back on track. I don't mountain bike much in the summer so I may stick with my Peloton.


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## Brules (Jul 10, 2021)

If you’re a vet and need someone to talk to, my best friend runs a veterans counseling service that’s VA approved. He’s 100% combat injury medical retired and has been through everything you’re going through. If you’d like his info holler and I can PM it to you. Thanks for your service!

Congrats on the bed. Once you find your sleep # - you’ll be ruined for life lol. I’m on my second bed (first lasted 17 years). You’ll sleep like a baby and will hate any bed that’s not a sleep number from now on!


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

Well I have a shot at having a semi-normal life. My Sleep Number mattress showed up last night. I slept so much better despite the fact I woke up quite a few times. I'm still adjusting to the bed but my sleep quality went up and I fell so much better this morning. Way better than I have in years. My back pain went down quite a bit. The Sleep Number store estimated my sleep number at 45 but 30-35 feels way better for me. The bed also adjusts to me when I turn on my side too. 

I feel way more energetic this morning and my back pain went down significantly. That's a huge game changer because it may enable me to ride outside a bit more now. More testing to come!


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## Brules (Jul 10, 2021)

It’s a bad ass bed. We’re on our second one. First lasted 17 years. They will ruin you though. Every bite or foreign bed will suck from here out lol!!!! Enjoy. Once you find your number it sleeps the same for literally ever. 

Oh and I sleep on 100. 🤪


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

Brules said:


> It’s a bad ass bed. We’re on our second one. First lasted 17 years. They will ruin you though. Every bite or foreign bed will suck from here out lol!!!! Enjoy. Once you find your number it sleeps the same for literally ever.
> 
> Oh and I sleep on 100. 🤪


Nice! I tried 100 and it's too stiff for me. Sleep Number worked with me and we figured out that 45 is the best number for me to work from. My wife and I both like 30-35 depending on how we feel. It's interesting because my sleep score is typically 80 and hers is 60. She does get up more than I do though so I don't know if that has anything to do with it. 

This morning I feel really good. I have plenty of energy and my back isn't as bothersome. I plan to work my way back into cycling due to all these changes. For now I'm just having fun moving around and doing things. I've literally been a train wreck the last 3 months and it's a nice change after getting my Sleep Number. 

My wife and I both agree that our lives are now ruined anywhere we sleep that's not at home!


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## Brules (Jul 10, 2021)

Nice. Glad it’s helping!!!!


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## Potential Roadkill (Nov 5, 2004)

I second the recommendation to write down everything you eat and drink. In Dec I was up to 287. I started logging all my calories and kept to a calorie goal of 1500 per day. I completely cut out booze. I also started walking on the treadmill at the gym in my office. I started out at 3 five minute walks, then 3 tens, then longer. I dropped down to 235 by June. In June I bought a gravel bike, I'd cycled a lot about 20 years ago and was shocked at how much that first 2 mile ride kicked my ass. I am now commuting to work three days a week and doing mountain bike rides on the weekend. I'm hovering around 229 and think I may want to give IF a shot.


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

Potential Roadkill said:


> I second the recommendation to write down everything you eat and drink. In Dec I was up to 287. I started logging all my calories and kept to a calorie goal of 1500 per day. I completely cut out booze. I also started walking on the treadmill at the gym in my office. I started out at 3 five minute walks, then 3 tens, then longer. I dropped down to 235 by June. In June I bought a gravel bike, I'd cycled a lot about 20 years ago and was shocked at how much that first 2 mile ride kicked my ass. I am now commuting to work three days a week and doing mountain bike rides on the weekend. I'm hovering around 229 and think I may want to give IF a shot.


Great to hear it worked! I am not good at counting my calories and tracking stuff. I'd say half my problem was my constant chronic pain that got in the way. I've made some major changes since I started this adventure.


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

To an extent, I fell off the grid with this adventure. I succumbed to my chronic pain for a couple of months and wasn't getting much help with it. After doing some research, I ended up taking a free testosterone test and got my results a couple weeks ago. I discovered that my free testosterone levels were still good but more on the lower end. I decided to take some booster pills (I'm in my 40s) and man, I feel so much better. I can manage my pain and I'm becoming far more active than before. I'm starting to get up at 5 am and work out 3x a week. I'm going to expand to 4x workout weeks soon. I'm walking my way up slowly without wearing myself out.

My Peloton has been helping me a ton with my journey. My current rotation for the week is 2 spin classes (45 min power zone training), and 1 strength class. In the past, I used to ride lower resistance, higher cadence but my HR would not increase. Since I flip flopped, my HR climbs and I can actually feel the changes in my daily activities. I can climb staircases much easier. I can also tie my shoes and put on my socks easier too. My legs are much more resilient to outdoor pedaling fatigue as well. I guess doing 45 min power zone climbs did make big changes for me.

I think my motivation kicked up a notch because I bought my first DH bike over the summer. I loved riding it so much but it required a lot of leg work out of me. That was enough motivation for me to train better and eat smarter. Also my buddy is a local Cat 1 DH racer and he coaches me when he has time. He also motivates me to ride more and feel good.


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## Brules (Jul 10, 2021)

Gonna throw this out there, if anyone is looking to lose weight, is considered “obese” or has struggled with weight loss and keeping it off long term, I cannot recommend this book enough:









The Obesity Code: Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss (Why Intermittent Fasting Is the Key to Controlling Your Weight) - Kindle edition by Fung, Dr. Jason, Noakes, Timothy. Health, Fitness & Dieting Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.


The Obesity Code: Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss (Why Intermittent Fasting Is the Key to Controlling Your Weight) - Kindle edition by Fung, Dr. Jason, Noakes, Timothy. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and...



www.amazon.com





I’m half way through the audio book, and wow. Everything you think or thought you know about weight loss/gain/diet is pretty much completely wrong. I saw the comment above about “1500 calories a day” and had to mention this book as he directly addresses that misconception along with many many others about how the body works and what actually causes and controls weight loss or weight gain.

Also for anyone T2 diabetic he has a second book that discusses it and how to reverse it.

I strongly recommend the audio book, I’m not sure I could finish the book version lol as he can get pretty technical sometimes. But regardless his info is well put, easy to understand and he cites everything.

This is definitely one of those life changer books. My lifelong fight with weight fully makes sense now, and I’m pissed that so many people have it so wrong and continue to push weight loss methods that do not, and will not work long term!


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

Brules said:


> Gonna throw this out there, if anyone is looking to lose weight, is considered “obese” or has struggled with weight loss and keeping it off long term, I cannot recommend this book enough:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I'll give this book a try. It's only 9.99 and gives me something to read on my lunch break!


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## Brules (Jul 10, 2021)

Be ready to be pissed lol!!!!


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

Brules said:


> Gonna throw this out there, if anyone is looking to lose weight, is considered “obese” or has struggled with weight loss and keeping it off long term, I cannot recommend this book enough:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Dude, I read the preface and part of chapter 1. Geez! So many interesting points. I'm really interested in reading this book now.


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## Brules (Jul 10, 2021)

I’m telling you it’s a life game changer. It’s a hard read, but he destroys Al the conventional miss info and then explains what actually works. I feel cheated for not knowing this 30-40 years ago! Glad you’re enjoying it! Just wait! 😁


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

Brules said:


> I’m telling you it’s a life game changer. It’s a hard read, but he destroys Al the conventional miss info and then explains what actually works. I feel cheated for not knowing this 30-40 years ago! Glad you’re enjoying it! Just wait! 😁


Oh I'm already screaming "WTF?!?" I can't imagine how many more WTFs I'll scream along the way.


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

I'm still reading this book. This information is crazy. I'm on chapter 6 now. Gonna take a while to read it. I read mostly on my lunch breaks. Information is fascinating while I'm still screaming WTF?! 🤓


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## Brules (Jul 10, 2021)

Glad you’re enjoying it lol! I’m almost finished. Then on to his second book about reversing t2 diabeetus!


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

I finished that crazy book and I now understand what I must do. The adventure must continue but I am more on track with my overall plan. 

My previous failure was truly understanding the potential damage that certain foods (and habits) create. My mentality was completely different prior to reading the Obesity Code. After reading, I really understand what kind of process I must create for success. Last year around this time, I fasted quite often. I lost 20 pounds within a couple of months but I did a bad job maintaining my fast for the rest of the year and I gained all my weight back. After reading this book, it made more sense why I failed multiple times.

This time I feel like I'm ready. I want 2023 to be a better year for myself. This book did a great job helping me understand the logistics of body function and obesity.


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## Brules (Jul 10, 2021)

I’m in the same boat with you!!!! I’m fixing to start his next one about curing t2 Diabeetus! Good luck man! At least now you have the ultimate knowledge!!!


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## stripes (Sep 6, 2016)

Battery said:


> I finished that crazy book and I now understand what I must do. The adventure must continue but I am more on track with my overall plan.
> 
> My previous failure was truly understanding the potential damage that certain foods (and habits) create. My mentality was completely different prior to reading the Obesity Code. After reading, I really understand what kind of process I must create for success. Last year around this time, I fasted quite often. I lost 20 pounds within a couple of months but I did a bad job maintaining my fast for the rest of the year and I gained all my weight back. After reading this book, it made more sense why I failed multiple times.
> 
> This time I feel like I'm ready. I want 2023 to be a better year for myself. This book did a great job helping me understand the logistics of body function and obesity.


Thank you for keeping this thread going, and as it's been informative and helpful to watch.

@Battery some food for thought. I read the Obesity Code (gawd, that was repetitive ****), and while the science is solid, it doesn't account for everyone. Everyone should have a personalized diet where possible because we have our own health issues so everything is not one-size-fits-all.

I tried IF, it screwed up my hormones so bad and it probably is what screwed with my thyroid. So make sure you take that into account. As of last 2 months, my thyroid is finally being treated and reducing the amount of HFCS out of my diet, my weight finally started to go down. I was 193.4 while I was trying to lose weight over the summer in Seattle (July 2022), and was down at 184.4 as of January 1 before starting the Whole 30 January 2. So please realize that your issues losing weight might not be diet at all-- but possibly medical (mine was hypothyroidism + HFCS + adjustment to female hormone intake).

Right now, I'm on day 5 of a MODIFIED Whole 30 for my reactive hypoglycemia and thyroid issues and I'm on this to clear up any inflammation and find sources of it. We can't weigh ourselves until we get past day 30. I'm working with a dietician and my doctor to make sure I don't get any blood sugar issues (thus the mods), but also start cutting stuff out that I'm finding bothers me through this adventure.

I hope you find answers. This is really frustrating, when you try and nothing happens, or even worse gain weight, but I bet you'll get where you want.


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

stripes said:


> Thank you for keeping this thread going, and as it's been informative and helpful to watch.
> 
> @Battery some food for thought. I read the Obesity Code (gawd, that was repetitive ****), and while the science is solid, it doesn't account for everyone. Everyone should have a personalized diet where possible because we have our own health issues so everything is not one-size-fits-all.
> 
> ...


Thanks for sharing your info with me. I definitely agree the book isn't a perfect fit for everyone. The biggest takeaway for me is understanding the delicate intricacies of what food can do to my body. For a while, I didn't truly understand nor did I care. I figure if I were to drop the hammer in my workouts, it should help. I've always learned that weight loss starts in the kitchen but I was never about that approach. This book gave me a good reality check that working out is just a small part of the puzzle. 

My VA doctor didn't find anything abnormal in my system that may be detrimental to weight loss which is a plus. IF did work for me last year but it was poorly executed. My goal is to tune in my diet much better and see what happens when I combine it with IF. If I continue to struggle, I will talk to my VA doc again and see if they can set me up with a dietitian. 

I typically exercise early mornings on Tues/Thurs and I ride outdoors on the weekend. If the weather is horrible, I'll switch to indoor cycling on weekends. Mon/Wed/Fri are my recovery days and I may designate them as my fasting days too. 

My plan is slowly coming together. 🤓


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## Brules (Jul 10, 2021)

Something to add I’ve learned more about recently is during workouts, try to do your reps in a 2up 2 down cadence to enhance “time under tension”. Apparently TUT is key to muscle growth and development. Give it a google, you may find it helpful / interesting.

I recently met with my trainer before Christmas to update my plan and my BMI has gone from mid 30s to 28. Since April 2022 I’ve lost 12lbs of visceral fat and put on 30lbs of muscle. still in the 290-295 range. He told me hey you may never get below 270 as my body type seems to love packing on muscle and I’m a gym dummy who likes slinging heavy weights lol.


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## stripes (Sep 6, 2016)

Battery said:


> Thanks for sharing your info with me. I definitely agree the book isn't a perfect fit for everyone. The biggest takeaway for me is understanding the delicate intricacies of what food can do to my body. For a while, I didn't truly understand nor did I care. I figure if I were to drop the hammer in my workouts, it should help. I've always learned that weight loss starts in the kitchen but I was never about that approach. This book gave me a good reality check that working out is just a small part of the puzzle.
> 
> My VA doctor didn't find anything abnormal in my system that may be detrimental to weight loss which is a plus. IF did work for me last year but it was poorly executed. My goal is to tune in my diet much better and see what happens when I combine it with IF. If I continue to struggle, I will talk to my VA doc again and see if they can set me up with a dietitian.
> 
> ...


What are you doing for IF? I was at 16/8 and I felt good, right up until I didn't. 

I'm stoked that your plan is coming together! Things that are also really important you've probably hear enough about:
1) hydrate (not alcohol or caffeine)
2) sleep

I think a lot of people forget out important sleep is (sleep is for the weak, I'll lee when I'm dead, etc). And remember, you can't out-exercise a poor diet either.

I'm recovering from being sick, so right now my priority is recovery, so lots of sleep and liquid, and exercise is a slow recovery (right now walking 15-20 minutes a day as I can tolerate, and probably adding in restorative yoga next, then body weight movements for weight training over the next couple of weeks).

I'm on day 5 of Whole 30, and when you're detoxing or starting new eating patterns, one of the things they've recommended is not to do anything at a high intensity or start a new intense program, so as you adjust just be aware of how your body is feeling, and listen to it.


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

stripes said:


> What are you doing for IF? I was at 16/8 and I felt good, right up until I didn't.
> 
> I'm stoked that your plan is coming together! Things that are also really important you've probably hear enough about:
> 1) hydrate (not alcohol or caffeine)
> ...


I'm going to work on a 16/8 routine.

Sleep---this has been a major issue for me. I deal with chronic pain and even though it's mostly under control, I still toss and turn all night. My body thinks my back hurts when it doesn't so I end up waking up. I have a Sleep Number and finally found the setting that works best for me. My rest is better but my deep sleep is still in work. I wear my Apple Watch to bed and track my sleep data every night.

One thing I'm doing that should help is replace my morning energy drink with tea. I developed a horrible habit of energy drinking when I was in the military. I was always on the night shift. I typically have a zero sugar energy drink while I'm physically at work. When I work remote, I don't drink them. I don't drink them on the weekends too. I associate my office work with energy drinks and I need to change that habit. I started tea today though. I'm gonna bring my own stash of tea and just make it at work.


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## Brules (Jul 10, 2021)

Been doing 16/8 for 2 years now. I need to go to 20/4 or OMAD and go full carnivore I think to see bigger results though I’m happy with where I’m at now. I think I’ll stick with current diet (IF, 2 meals a day, less than 50g of carbs/sugars a day) until end of march as that will be 1 year anniversary of working out in gym. My weight is stagnant but my waist keeps shrinking so I’m losing fat but packing muscle on as I’m actually tapering now vs looking like a fire hydrant lol!

For example when I bench I do 3x10 of 225 and then 1x8-10 of 285. So I’m really pushing some plates for 49 years old and adding mass. My thought is to mass build and bulk and then at some point go to more rep/less weight and start to work on cutting more fat and trimming down. I am on TRT (was at 650 last blood test a few weeks ago - my GP is keeping a close eye on it) so that’s been my major advantage for my age. It’s been a game changer.

As far as sleep I get 8-10 a night. Like you said for me less than 7 and I’m worthless. 10mg edible a night though and you’ll sleep great too. 🤣🤣🤣🤣


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## Brules (Jul 10, 2021)

Battery said:


> I'm going to work on a 16/8 routine.
> 
> Sleep---this has been a major issue for me. I deal with chronic pain and even though it's mostly under control, I still toss and turn all night. My body thinks my back hurts when it doesn't so I end up waking up. I have a Sleep Number and finally found the setting that works best for me. My rest is better but my deep sleep is still in work. I wear my Apple Watch to bed and track my sleep data every night.
> 
> One thing I'm doing that should help is replace my morning energy drink with tea. I developed a horrible habit of energy drinking when I was in the military. I was always on the night shift. I typically have a zero sugar energy drink while I'm physically at work. When I work remote, I don't drink them. I don't drink them on the weekends too. I associate my office work with energy drinks and I need to change that habit. I started tea today though. I'm gonna bring my own stash of tea and just make it at work.


I’m in same boat as you with Diet Coke. Obesity Code was a major eye opener for me in regards to fructose and fructose corn syrup. I’m down to only 2 a day(1 at lunch and dinner) and I’m fixing to pair it down, my issue is I hate plain tea! But there isn’t a sweetener that is safe so I’ll probably end up water only in the near future. That fructose/artificial sweeteners will F you up!!!!!!!!!!! 😢


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

Brules said:


> I’m in same boat as you with Diet Coke. Obesity Code was a major eye opener for me in regards to fructose and fructose corn syrup. I’m down to only 2 a day(1 at lunch and dinner) and I’m fixing to pair it down, my issue is I hate plain tea! But there isn’t a sweetener that is safe so I’ll probably end up water only in the near future. That fructose/artificial sweeteners will F you up!!!!!!!!!!! 😢


I drank Earl Grey today! I don't mind drinking water but having tea regularly seems to keep me more alert. It might be my crutch to ditch energy drinks. 

But yeah that book was definitely a wake up call!


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## stripes (Sep 6, 2016)

Battery said:


> I drank Earl Grey today! I don't mind drinking water but having tea regularly seems to keep me more alert. It might be my crutch to ditch energy drinks.
> 
> But yeah that book was definitely a wake up call!


Tea is amazing. You can get so many different flavors depending on what you like. My husband loves Earl Grey (too flowery for me), and I love the English breakfast teas. If you want a tea that will make you vibrate with a lot of caffeine, yerba mate is your jam.


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## stripes (Sep 6, 2016)

Where I am so far: back in July 2022 I was at my heaviest in years: 193.4ish. As of Jan 1, 184.4. I can't weigh myself in the spirit of the Whole 30, but I'm down a bit pants wise (1 size! Woot!). I'm now on thyroid meds and adjusted hormones, and I think that's making everything go the right way.

And right now, taking out inflammatory foods is helping a lot. My goal is down to 160 lbs, so I have another 24.4 to go. I figured a mountain bike worth of weight is ideal, considering I weight train and am pretty active.

@Battery You got this


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

stripes said:


> Where I am so far: back in July 2022 I was at my heaviest in years: 193.4ish. As of Jan 1, 184.4. I can't weigh myself in the spirit of the Whole 30, but I'm down a bit pants wise (1 size! Woot!). I'm now on thyroid meds and adjusted hormones, and I think that's making everything go the right way.
> 
> And right now, taking out inflammatory foods is helping a lot. My goal is down to 160 lbs, so I have another 24.4 to go. I figured a mountain bike worth of weight is ideal, considering I weight train and am pretty active.
> 
> @Battery You got this


Awesome to hear! I'm rooting for you too! Getting inflammatory under control is a huge motivator for anyone. 

On the plus side, I completed 67 miles this week while on my Peloton. That's a personal record for most miles on a Peloton. I've completed two 90 min endurance ride sessions and I feel great! My goal was 500 miles a year on my bikes but I'm gonna bump those numbers up to around 1000. When I was a roadie/gravel rider in a past life, I was riding around 1500 miles a year.


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