Fit Dietician

That is great news, its these small changes that can get you to your goal. Just remember that its not to say you have to keep dropping your portion sizes. Your as "big as a fist" is great but ensure that you getting enough calories to sustain you through the day especially since you have increased your training duration. It sounds like you have the balance right for now but re-evaluate the balance again when you hit another plateau. Keep going and you will see the results!

Thanks and thats dudette! I like your comment about "there is a thing as a better option when out at restaurants" - this is so valid ! Clearly you have invested your time in getting to know food and how you can enjoy it without feeling restricted, starved and deprived, while at the same time be at or close to your goal weight! Great feeling hey! Its all about balance!

The vast amount of advice above is the product of what i call "diet sampling". You see we all want to lose the most amount of weight in the shortest period of time and with the least amount of effort! What this translates to is us investing into empty promises (like 4-hour body) put out there by people who want to make money off you. After investing your hopes and money into these schemes you do perhaps lose the weight however once you have reached your "goal" you go back to your "usual way" of eating and you gain the weight back, plus. There is no secret to weight loss it is definatley about the balance of calories eaten and expended but what happens when you hit that dreaded plateau??? Eating a high protein, calorie restricted and cut this out type of diet can only work for so long, and this only stimulates dysfunctional eating and leaves your organs working harder than they should and throws off your hormonal balance. This could leave you with a variety of other health concerns, never mind the excess weight that you are now concerned about! Everyone is different and their body reacts differently to a change in lifestyle and as such it is vital to go to a dietitian and/or trainer who will individualize your needs and facilitate you to get to your goal. I am not in practice but i highly recommend Executive Wellness centre and the Sports Science Institute - both have DT's and PT's who have a sound track record. Please do yourself a favour and dont pursue some crazy diets or advice that cuts out food groups, tells you to only sleep for two hours a day, offers pills and potions, etc, etc, etc. We need all the foods that we have available to us (except junk food of course), we just have to learn how to incorporate them into our lifestyle so that we get lean and stay lean, and a DT can teach you all of this - after all we studied a science degree for 5 years and have to continuously stay updated with the latest and most valid research in order to keep our practice numbers, not to mention give you the best opportunity to health and wellness. There is no easy fix - get the right advice!

Everyone is different in terms of what they can stomach or not. Theory tells us that it is important to eat before rides that last longer than 1 hour and then after that hour to refuel with high GI carbs (food/drinks) with electrolytes. In practice, however, this is not always true for everyone and it doesn't always apply in every situation - good point is when i cycle i just have to have something to eat before the ride, but, when i run a 20km i don't find i need to eat and often feel heavy if i do. You need to do what works for you, try eating before riding and if you feel nauseous then perhaps a low GI drink will be better suited for you. If you still feel bad on the drink then go on an empty stomach but start eating/refueling on the ride sooner than usual, like 30-45min in if you riding for more than 1 hour. Even someone who is overweight will have to have some form of glycogen stores (not fat stores) to use for energy on long rides, in other words they too would benefit from having a pre-training/race meal and not run the risk of hitting the wall. Science has showed us that fat oxidation (metabolism) is really only efficient in the leaner, fitter type person. Unfortunately this is not an exact science, if only it was! Hope that helps!

There is sucrose in the product already and that's why the sweetness is sufficient for most people. Adding sugar will change the GI and mostly mess with the taste!

Future Life is a Low GI (glycemic index) product at a GI of 50 (the pack says 55, but that is just the logo GI Science Lab uses to prove that it has been tested and is indeed low GI). Something interesting that i was discussing with some clients the other day is that the original Weetbix has a GI of 70 (high)and the Salt&Sugar free Weetbix has a GI of 78. Theoretically, based on the high GI of Weetbix, it would satisfy you for only an hour or so and then you would feel hungry again. Depending on what you eat your Future Life (and for that matter any carbohydrate) with the GI can drop a certain amount. For example if you eat Future Life with water then the GI stays at 50, but when you eat it with full cream milk the GI will drop a little and therefore should keep you fuller for longer. Therefore protein, fat and most other LOW GI foods actually slow the digestive process and this lowers the glycemic response that a higher GI carbohydrate would normally have. So my feeling is that you may not be eating enough Future Life to sustain your (what sounds to be) fast metabolism. Having a slightly larger portion and may help, and do this daily until you feel you getting in what satisfies you. And what also helps some people is having Future Life as a porridge instead of a shake. The fluid volume of the shake may make you feel full without necessarily providing you the calories to keep you satisfied for 2-3 hours. Eating Future Life as a porridge may provide you with the calories in a smaller volume and thus give you satiety for longer! The other thing that may be a factor is if you are training more (and/or have more stress) than you did when you felt satisfied on Weetbix? - this means your body needs more calories to meet the demands and this can too be sorted by increasing your portion size. Hope that helps! BTW - did you know you can drop the GI of pizza by having an Appeltiser with it!

Im interested to know more info behind this ... "Cravings especially at night usually means that you are not taking in enough protein during the day" Thanks

There are various things that have been said about soya and it would help to know what you are concerned about to give you more information. IMHO there are a variety of health benefits of soya protein and for this reason i include into a balanced diet (like eating Futurelife cereal) where I eat moderate amounts of animal proteins, plant proteins (i.e. soya), carbs, fruit & veg, moderate amounts of essential fatty acids and small amounts of other fats. (Remember that animal protein comes along with saturated fat and this fat is highly correlated to the progression of cholesterol, so having a balance of animal and plant protein can be beneficial to your health). Here are some articles you can use to make your own decision: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1595159/ http://www.fertstert.org/article/S0015-0282(09)03594-8/abstract http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199508033330502 http://www.mv.helsinki.fi/jmtsihvo/Hamilton-Reeves_2009_Fertility-and-Sterility.pdf http://www.soya.be/soy-protein.php At the end of the day all foods consist of many molecules that can be beneficial for people, but these same molecules can be harmful to people when they are used inappropriately.

I agree with EigerSA, your doc or Sports Science Inst. may be able to help you. This may be your first choice and if you dont find that these practitioners are helping you, you can go directly to a specialist, as now days you dont necessarily need a referral from your doc. A Pulmonologist also does all the same tests if not more and there is one at the Netcare Blaauwberg Hospital. Dr Wisal Chabaan Pulmonologist Netcare Blaauwberg Hospital (021) 554 5174 Good luck!

I understood the initial question as general weight loss and not weight loss just before the event, like say a wrestler or boxer will want to achieve prior to a weigh in. Instead i saw this question as a general question for continued weight loss over a period of time and not just before the event?? And therefore not to hamper the progress of already lost weight by carbo-loading on high fat/sugar foods. Some people still want to partake in cycle races and feel good during them by eating increased carb meals before the race, but at the same time dont want to gain anymore weight. I believe this can be achieved.

I agree that the book that was mentioned on this thread is useful, especially if you really serious about your nutritional intake. You can still carbo-load and not take in a large amount of fats. Carbs do not necessarily have fats in them, except if you taking in pizzas, pastas with creamy sauces, pastries, pies, etc. Although you a bit bored with the usual suspects like rice, pasta, potatoes - these are the better choices when it comes to minimizing fat intake with carbs. Be creative and start experimenting with these stables by using various spices, low fat sauces, herbs, pestos etc. A good place to start is a recipe book called "eating for sustained energy" - they are filled with meals that are low GI and low fat. So you cant just load up on anything if your goal is to lose weight. In fact most people who are serious about their cycling and dont necessarily need to lose weight probably dont just eat anything and hope for the best. Eating "junk" could impede your performance. The trouble with trying to lose weight and doing sports events like cycling is that you have to be VERY patient because you need to take in enough carbs before, during and after an event, especially for the longer rides (more than 40-50kms). With carbo-loading you are essentially eating more carbs than you want to while trying to lose weight and excess carbs could mean weight gain. But this is not a huge train smash cuz once the event is over you can go back to your weight loss eating plan and you will continue to lose weight, plus you are using alot of those carbs stored as energy during the ride, if not some fat as well (depending on the intensity and other factors). Ultimately this will mean that your weight loss goals will take a little longer than usual. The key is that you dont go and blow your efforts by eating high fat/sugar foods as part of your preparation for an event (as mentioned above). As this could mean that you will maintain (or gain) weight, rather than lose it! Hope that helps.

I agree!!!

I get similar questions like this everyday ... When looking at fats you need to avoid or have very low amounts of TRANS FAT and SATURATED FAT- the easiest way to remember it is if the fat comes from an animal it is likely to to saturated fat. Transfats (hydrogenated oil), on the other hand are fats that have been transformed during a heating/manufacturing process to make a fat that the body doesnt really know what to do with other than contribute to cholesterol formation. Good fats are typically plant or fish fats and these are either monounsaturated (MUFAs) (nuts, including peanuts, walnuts, avocado, olives, olive oil, conola oil) and polyunsaturated (PUFAs) (salmon, corn oil, soy oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil - omega 3's are part of this group). These are good to choose in place of saturated/transfat. - so less McD and other take outs (steers, nandos, etc.) and more fish (sushi) and nuts (my hubby would like this ... more nuts ). Anyway - Roasting definitely hydrogenates good fats and therefore it is advisable to eat low-moderate amounts of these type of nuts. Not to mention the high salt content of most nuts - so opt for salt free (PnP brand has a salt free peanuts and raisins). We (dietitians) often recommend that a heart healthy diet consist of up to 30% fat intake (of total energy) of which no more than 7-10% can be saturated, 10-15% MUFA and about 10% PUFA. If you one that likes sushi - just have a balanced intake of prawn - these have a high amount of Cholesterol and you dont want to over do it here - enjoy salmon, tuna, and eel with sushi as well. If you concerned about your fat intake, go low fat on animal products and enjoy moderate amounts of plant and fish fats. Also add more fibre in your diet - this powerhouse will help lower CHL levels and you will be at lower risk of heart disease. (Fibre rich food are bran, barley, oats, fruit and veg, to name a few) So - What about peanut butter (PB). Most PB's will have hydrogenated fat in it - ORGANIC or NOT (even the woolies one). The bottom line is eat this power food in moderation and even less if you enjoy your junk food. BTW - more and more lean men and women are presenting with high CHL levels - so heart disease is no longer a fat man/womans disease. Hope this helps with clarification.

Thats really great Michelle. Just keep going ... persistence and consistency is the key to losing and maintaining weight loss!