Struggling To Lose Weight Through Cycling? This Could Be Why

[throet]

5 hours ago, AustinBike said:

I do ~50g of carbs a day, almost all with dinner and never have anything between meals. Something for you to try is to not have anything between meals. Especially carbs. Basically that is what is probably keeping your glucose up. If you keep feeding it carbs throughout the day it never gets to calm down.

Actually the formula prescribed by my endocrinologist worked wonders in 2008 and I suspect it will work again to bring my A1c down. What's keeping my glucose up is a diet that scales too high on the glycemic index coupled with a pancreas and liver that don't effectively handle the associated spikes in blood sugar. The low-carb snacks in between meals helps keep things steady for me, which has been key in preventing the hypoglycemic crashes that tend to follow those spikes. I'm not a believer in extreme dieting or fasting. For me what has worked to maintain a healthy weight, balanced blood sugar, and energy to spare is simply eating mostly good foods in moderation and staying very active.  

[jcarneytx]

On 1/3/2020 at 11:56 AM, TheX said:

Calorie density, and nutrition per calorie are VERY important also.

If I freeze  beer, does that make it denser?

[AustinBike]

 

13 hours ago, TheX said:

Food is a real struggle for a lot of people. You can kick drugs, you can kick smoking, but you can't kick food. Modifying behavior is extremely difficult if you aren't ready, and dedicated. Eating healthy is a lifestyle.

You don't need to kick food, you need to kick bad food. Bad food is specifically made to be addictive.

[TheX]

2 minutes ago, AustinBike said:

 

You don't need to kick food, you need to kick bad food. Bad food is specifically made to be addictive.

It's called toxic hunger, and it'w what makes committing to changes so hard for so many. I get that you don't need to kick food. Food is supposed to be fuel, but most people use it as entertainment. Making changes that involve giving up something *for me* are much easier than making changes that involve modification of a behavior. Thankfully, I'm doing very well with food. 

[AustinBike]

10 hours ago, throet said:

Actually the formula prescribed by my endocrinologist worked wonders in 2008 and I suspect it will work again to bring my A1c down. What's keeping my glucose up is a diet that scales too high on the glycemic index coupled with a pancreas and liver that don't effectively handle the associated spikes in blood sugar. The low-carb snacks in between meals helps keep things steady for me, which has been key in preventing the hypoglycemic crashes that tend to follow those spikes. I'm not a believer in extreme dieting or fasting. For me what has worked to maintain a healthy weight, balanced blood sugar, and energy to spare is simply eating mostly good foods in moderation and staying very active.  

Working with a doctor is the right call.

However, you need to also open your eye to some of the alternatives as well. 

What I have heard from doctors is that they receive a few hours of instruction on diet in their education, and that happened years ago. Conventional wisdom is changing and sadly most of the medical field is not up to speed on those changes. For instance the diabetes association, until last year, was still talking about an obscenely high number of carbs in the diet to help minimize diabetes. Just look at what they serve diabetics in the hospital: starches, bread, orange juice, etc. It's almost criminal.

Do some research on your own in terms of carbs and diabetes and you'll see that the guidelines are changing. Discuss these with your endocrinologist and come up with a plan that is right for you. But don't just assume that your endocrinologist is up to speed on all of the latest medical findings, they may be working off of the 2-3 hours of nutrition that they learned in med school back in the 1980's. (For reference, in the 1980's and 90's we had the introduction of "low fat" foods that were stuffed with carbs; look at any charts of diabetes and obesity for the US and you'll see that was the beginning of the explosion.)

[notyal]

8 hours ago, jcarneytx said:

If I freeze  beer, does that make it denser?

Technically, it is less dense. It expands as it freezes but retains the same mass. This is why ice floats. What you're looking for is a nice double IPA. 

[throet]

3 minutes ago, AustinBike said:

Do some research on your own in terms of carbs and diabetes and you'll see that the guidelines are changing. Discuss these with your endocrinologist and come up with a plan that is right for you. But don't just assume that your endocrinologist is up to speed on all of the latest medical findings, they may be working off of the 2-3 hours of nutrition that they learned in med school back in the 1980's.

The only assumption here is your assumption that I'm approaching diet and diabetes blindly. I've worked in the medical field for 40 years with countless doctors and other health experts who thrive on continuous education, and I have personally studied all of this stuff relentlessly. You choose a diet of ~50g carbs per day and I'm choosing one that is closer to 90g made up of high-fiber fruits/vegetables, grains, legumes, and nuts. Why is there even an argument here? As stated, it worked wonders in the past; so why do you feel the need to challenge what is known to work for somebody? 

BTW I'm not sure what anecdotal incidents you're hanging your claims on, but I assure you that in the hospitals I've worked for over the years, a diabetic would not be getting orange juice or other high-glycemic foods. You may just be assuming too much there.          

[jcarneytx]

19 hours ago, notyal said:

Technically, it is less dense. It expands as it freezes but retains the same mass. This is why ice floats. What you're looking for is a nice double IPA. 

How about imperial barrel aged stout with 13%ABV? That's at least 20x one of those "light" beers, yeah?

[AustinBike]

21 hours ago, throet said:

The only assumption here is your assumption that I'm approaching diet and diabetes blindly. I've worked in the medical field for 40 years with countless doctors and other health experts who thrive on continuous education, and I have personally studied all of this stuff relentlessly. You choose a diet of ~50g carbs per day and I'm choosing one that is closer to 90g made up of high-fiber fruits/vegetables, grains, legumes, and nuts. Why is there even an argument here? As stated, it worked wonders in the past; so why do you feel the need to challenge what is known to work for somebody? 

BTW I'm not sure what anecdotal incidents you're hanging your claims on, but I assure you that in the hospitals I've worked for over the years, a diabetic would not be getting orange juice or other high-glycemic foods. You may just be assuming too much there.          

My father in law was just in the hospital for blood clots. He's easily twice my weight, very sedentary and also has gout. He was getting orange juice every day.

Here's a snapshot of "drinks other than water for diabetics": https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/daily-control-19/diet/slideshow-diabetes-friendly-drinks

I could go on and on regarding all of the bad diabetes advice that that ADA has given out over the years (it's starting to turn.)

Part of the reason that I said you need to do research is because too many people listen to people on the internet and take that blindly. I was not implying that you have not done your research, merely pointing out that just relying on a doctor's advice or just relying on internet postings will not get you the whole story. My doctor was trying to help me with high cholesterol and all of her advice was around eating less red meat. When I told her I did not eat much, she was pretty much out of nutritional advice. It turns out the culprit for me (and many others) was sugar. Sugar is really bad for cholesterol, which is a relatively new understanding. Most doctors that got their degrees in the 80's and 90's don't understand this link. I had to literally show her the AMA articles about that. So you can't just take their word for it.

When you said that you were eating ~45 carbs per meal and 10 carbs between meals, my math was ~145 per day (45+10+45+10+45), which is significantly higher than the 90 that you are eating.

[TheX]

Sugar is indeed the worst thing for cholesterol. I'm a heart attack survivor, with 5 stents. I've done DEEP research on cholesterol and heart health. Thankfully, Dr. Tiblier (my cardiologist) is a rock star. He recommends eating for that is close to the earth. Grass fed beef is a good choice. No sugars allowed in my diet, as mentioned earlier. 

Vegan and vegetarian diets, done incorrectly, can be terrible for you. Whole food, plant based can be VERY healthy, done properly.

[notyal]

4 hours ago, jcarneytx said:

How about imperial barrel aged stout with 13%ABV? That's at least 20x one of those "light" beers, yeah?

You have to listen to your body. If an imperial stout is what your body is craving, you probably have a serious alcohol deficiency, and that should not be taken lightly.

[throet]

2 hours ago, AustinBike said:

When you said that you were eating ~45 carbs per meal and 10 carbs between meals, my math was ~145 per day (45+10+45+10+45), which is significantly higher than the 90 that you are eating.

If you read carefully you'll note I said "up to". Even if I was maxing out the prescribed limit of good carbs, 145g is still relatively low and certainly not a bad thing for someone who does strength training 5 days a week and aggressive mountain biking 4 times per week. Muscle mass is a calorie burning engine that runs best with a blend of good carbs, protein, and good fat. You jumped to the conclusion that snacking between meals was the cause of my high blood sugar when I had already established that it was due to me falling into a high-glycemic diet while being inactive from an injury. Really no need to break that down further. I assure you that eating a handful of almonds or half an apple (both around 10g of carbs) between meals as part of a healthy diet will not cause your blood sugar to rise.

Always best to listen attentively to the story being told before jumping to conclusions and offering advice, especially when no advice is being sought out. 

[TheX]

2 hours ago, throet said:

Muscle mass is a calorie burning engine that runs best with a blend of good carbs, protein, and good fat.

Amen to that!

[Anita Handle]

On 1/5/2020 at 8:43 PM, AntonioGG said:

Your water weight, is it too much sodium or just packing the glycogen compared to your normal ketotic state?

That carb binge added 3 pounds of water weight for every pound of carb stored in muscles, liver, etc. It's not fat gain/loss. 

Yes, AB is a hill climbing skeleton.

https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article-abstract/56/1/292S/4715743?redirectedFrom=fulltext

Edited January 9, 2020 by Anita Handle

[throet]

So I've managed to lose 15 lbs in 2 months despite not being able to ride my bike and without giving up beer! Now that I've got the diet back in order, the fat is literally melting away and I'm getting my glucose levels back under control. Once I start riding my bike again, I may have to drink more beer just to keep from getting too skinny.  

 

[notyal]

13 minutes ago, throet said:

So I've managed to lose 15 lbs in 2 months despite not being able to ride my bike and without giving up beer! Now that I've got the diet back in order, the fat is literally melting away and I'm getting my glucose levels back under control. Once I start riding my bike again, I may have to drink more beer just to keep from getting too skinny.  

 

What are the restrictions of your diet?

[Tree Magnet]

Does it involve removing a limb?

Seriously, well done man! I changed my diet at the beginning of the year and I’m down 5 lbs. That’s like a good dump for some people. However, I can see my blood pressure sliding down and my cholesterol was good. I basically only eat meat at dinner and try to avoid snacking on crap. Beer is weekend material and I’ve killed a lot of vegetables the past three months.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[throet]

19 minutes ago, notyal said:

What are the restrictions of your diet?

Technically it's a diabetes prevention diet but much of it is just common sense. The focus is on eating plenty of protein and produce, with limited doses of high-fiber grains and good fats. No calorie counting and no carb counting, but by following the prescriptive ingredients, you naturally reduce carbs and completely eliminate the processed sugars that are killing us as a population. For me portion control has been a real key but I eat 5-6 times per day - 3 meals and 3 healthy snacks. I usually start my day early (5am) with an Atkins protein shake and a pot of coffee (half-caf). After my morning workout my breakfast might be a small serving of bran cereal with blueberries and a splash of milk. Then a high-fiber protein bar for a mid-morning snack. Lunch is usually meat and cheese on whole wheat bread and a small apple or equivalent. Afternoon snack is usually a handful of almonds. Dinner is mostly meat and veggies/legumes, but depending on how much my body is craving, I might throw in a little starch (like rice) or good fats (like sliced avocado).     

[RidingAgain]

Sugar... Fricking sugar.

It's a killer.

Started using monk fruit as a substitute... It's helped.

Also, if you want to eat bread try Dave's Thin Slice... Also helpful. And for sure, "...thin slice..." is just smart.

Edited March 4, 2020 by RidingAgain

[Jessica]

HEB has a pretty good protein bread that another cyclist told me about that is available at the Tech Ridge and Lakeway locations.    It seems that I can maintain my current weight without effort, if I want to drop to better power to weight ratio I have to do Keto. I did  keto a year ago for a few months and dropped 10=15 lbs easily.   I've worked on portion control and there is an effort/ROI that doesn't seem worth it to me.  Currently working myself into the mental space to go Keto again.  Post ride local beer is a real sacrifice.  

Those that Keto, what do you do pre ride?  If I eat a calorie dense breakfast- example McDonald's Bagel Egg and Cheese or pancakes - I can ride for  hours with a an hourly gel and a shake every 2 hours.  When I go light on my pre ride meal, I bonk at the 90 min mark and no amount of nutrition fixes the hazy-lazy feeling.  

 

 

[AntonioGG]

Have you tried IF?  I find not eating for 16 hours is way easier than anything else.   I love food so I will not put those limits on myself.   Start doing 1hr rides in the morning with just a black coffee.  Take it easy for a few rides and build up to it.  If you're doing high intensity workouts, then you'll need carbs before and during to maximize your workout gains.

[ATXZJ]

55 minutes ago, AntonioGG said:

Have you tried IF?  I find not eating for 16 hours is way easier than anything else.   

Same here. Wife and I are doing nothing besides water or black coffee from 7pm to 11am. kinda sucks at first but not terrible. 

Starting around 3 years ago, there's no bread, soda, chips, cereal, soda, milk or candy etc in our house. If it's snackable, I'll eat the whole god damned thing so it had to go. We also eat raw fruits and vegetables every day. My 16 y/o wasn't too pleased but shes adapted as she didn't have much of a choice😆 Holidays can be tough as everyone is baking and we just sit around and eat/drink. Booze is our last low hanging fruit so we've dialed that back since we got home from going way, way, too hard on our last MTB trip.

FWIW, to anyone trying to change your diet. You gotta give yourself a couple cheat days and just eat whatever TF you want. Denying yourself of any indulgence is a sure fire way to give up.

[throet]

On 3/9/2020 at 12:40 PM, ATXZJ said:

FWIW, to anyone trying to change your diet. You gotta give yourself a couple cheat days and just eat whatever TF you want. Denying yourself of any indulgence is a sure fire way to give up.

To me this takes even greater discipline than staying strict because you have to be keenly aware of what the acceptable "cheat" threshold is. In the past I would allow myself to cheat with anything thinking it was OK and next thing ya know I'm at Shipley's every morning getting a Big Earl and Cinnamon Roll. These days I'm considering a cheat day to be a 10oz Ribeye, baked potato stuffed with cheese and sour cream, and corn on the cob. Not exactly the healthiest  combo, but doesn't send me over the edge with sugar the way Tifts Treats or Baskin Robbins does.

My weight loss has slowed some over the past couple of weeks. I was losing 2lbs per week and now I'm losing about 1lb per week, still without giving up beer and now back on the bike a couple of times per week. I've gone from around 201 to 184 and plan to drop at least another 5lbs.   

[AustinBike]

On 3/9/2020 at 12:40 PM, ATXZJ said:

 

FWIW, to anyone trying to change your diet. You gotta give yourself a couple cheat days and just eat whatever TF you want. Denying yourself of any indulgence is a sure fire way to give up.

This is the key. Going low card doesn't mean no pizza ever, it just means pizza on very select days.

[AustinBike]

1 hour ago, throet said:

To me this takes even greater discipline than staying strict because you have to be keenly aware of what the acceptable "cheat" threshold is. In the past I would allow myself to cheat with anything thinking it was OK and next thing ya know I'm at Shipley's every morning getting a Big Earl and Cinnamon Roll. These days I'm considering a cheat day to be a 10oz Ribeye, baked potato stuffed with cheese and sour cream, and corn on the cob. Not exactly the healthiest  combo, but doesn't send me over the edge with sugar the way Tifts Treats or Baskin Robbins does.

My weight loss has slowed some over the past couple of weeks. I was losing 2lbs per week and now I'm losing about 1lb per week, still without giving up beer and now back on the bike a couple of times per week. I've gone from around 201 to 184 and plan to drop at least another 5lbs.   

That is awesome. It is really important to just keep a measured downward trajectory. Eventually the curve flattens out, but only losing a pound a month is still 12 pounds a year of loss. 1 pound a week would be 52 pounds a year. I went from around 195 down to 155 where I hover. At my peak (after the typical 2 week Asia trip) I would be as much as 210.

Most importantly, with just being low bard and watching what I eat, I can maintain this, and have, for 3 years now.