2016 motivation for getting lighter and faster

[NotSoBigBen]

For me 'external' motivation never worked or at least never lasted long anyway ..... and it is generally not cheap!

[Veebee]

i agree that its easier when you live on your own. I was doing soo well when I lived in Jhb, no junk foods in the house, was healthy meals for the entire day and I was getting lighter by the week.

 

Back to DBN now for a year around the family and my weight this week is exactly where I was a year ago... freaking depressing.

[pe3nguin]

Diet is just as important as time on the bike. Gotta nail the diet down to see the weight loss you desire.

For me, it was bran flakes every morning. And then chicken, rice and broccoli lunch and dinner every day. Did this for two years. Two years. Motivation waxes and wanes. Dedication is far more important. But to do that you need to identify your goal. Verbalize it every single day, and then chase it.

[pe3nguin]

 

Back to DBN now for a year around the family and my weight this week is exactly where I was a year ago... freaking depressing.

Do the long ride on Sunday. Come suffer a little. The pain will chase away the depression

[Veebee]

Do the long ride on Sunday. Come suffer a little. The pain will chase away the depression

 

I don't mind suffering... But not feeling good again, a bit of a cold and traveling to JHB from tomorrow to Saturday so will have to see how I feel on Sunday morning.

[pe3nguin]

I don't mind suffering... But not feeling good again, a bit of a cold and traveling to JHB from tomorrow to Saturday so will have to see how I feel on Sunday morning.

 

Ouch sorry to hear that. Hope you recover soon dude.

[NordicElf]

Diet is just as important as time on the bike. Gotta nail the diet down to see the weight loss you desire.

 

For me, it was bran flakes every morning. And then chicken, rice and broccoli lunch and dinner every day. Did this for two years. Two years. Motivation waxes and wanes. Dedication is far more important. But to do that you need to identify your goal. Verbalize it every single day, and then chase it.

 

Been thinking about this all day, how to make the motivation stick... but I think you nailed it, you just have to be dedicated and committed regardless of how you feel .

 

It's easy for me to go out and ride, even when I don't feel like it because I'm committed to the training program or I'm committed to do the goal, ok not easy but I do it. I never thought of applying this to diet, diet in terms of eating life style.

 

Hmmm I'm going to give this a bash. Apply the same rules as to training, listen to your body, I'm sure it's hardly ever REALLY going to need that cupcake! But it might need an extra serving of (something healthy-ish).

[pe3nguin]

Exactly, if you clearly define what you want, it is a lot easier to make those decisions. Then when you are staring at that cupcake, you can measure it in real terms against your goal. More often than not, you should be able to ignore the snack. Some days you will cave, but if on the balance of things you can resist the temptation to indulge on a treat that adds ZERO benefit to your end goal, you will be much happier.

Establish your priorities. Personally I know having that cupcake for example, will not bring me enough joy to offset the subsequent frustration at caving to temptation. That and I have convinced myself that I don't really like sweet treats. Not sure if that's just a little lie I tell myself.

[HappyMartin]

I was a skinny kid and skinny up to 34 when I went down to 67kg doing a long cycling tour. I'm 182cm.

 

Then over ten years went up to 94kg. Managed to get down to 84kg then slowly over time to 75. Problem was I would lose focus and quickly go up to 84 again. So it went. Every January the fight would begin. I would fight to get back to around 76kg. Never managed to hold it there.

 

Until now. At 55 I hover around 75kg and every now and again must up my food intake and have a few treats to pick my weight up when it dips below 74kg. I am loving it.

 

What's changed is no carbs as a general rule after 10:30. I et bread about once every two weeks. Every Monday I fast. No food from Sunday night until Tuesday morning. It's the answer for me and its sustainable.

[Mntboy]

 

 

I have spent hours and hours reading up about healthy eating plans and the the pros and cons...in fact there are so many it is confusing...one plan tells you eggs are the best thing and another tells you they are bad for your health...anyway that is not what this is about.

 

the one thing that seems to be missing which i believe is more important than any plan itself...the motivation to get started and stick to it.

 

How to motivate a 130 kg person to get up and change their entire life...in fact even a 90 kg person who is over weight and lives and unhealthy lifestyle.

 

it too easy to live life and not find time to fix the problem...it is too easy to find excuses not to get up and change the way you do things...once you fall into the rut it is a downward spiral and the longer you leave it it the more difficult it becomes to get out of it.

 

in theory if you are a single person it shouldnt be a problem...but as the circle grows...you meet someone...get married and then have kids...run a bussiness...works shifts etc...so the your spare time becomes an asset which has to be managed very carefully.

 

it only takes a couple of weeks for something to become a habit...this is why for me the best way to motivate myself to do anything is to commit to something like cadence where you have a person telling you what to do and checking that you are doing it correct...i dont believe signing up a 2 year gym contract is the way to go...in fact i know from my own experience that even having a free gym contract doesnt help...all it did was become a mission to go clock in twice a month...unless you are at that stage where you are committed to improving on your own.

 

i believe the better route to take would be to do as i have done in the past...rather sign up with a personal trainer for a month or 2...it will cost you a few bob...but if they give you the correct advise on training and nutrition it would be worth it...but what is more important is if they motivate you to want to get fit and healthy...without the motivation it is worthless.

 

now to figue out a way to motivate myself to change my terrible eating habits...maybe i should try cooking classes;)

I find that balance is the key to success with my diet which is still pretty much eat what I want just less of it and from a smaller plate. That change took a while as it's still easy to load a smaller plate with a shedload of food. What aided me was being able to see the overload and then to re-adjust. Once I got the portion size under control it helped the adjustment of feeling full off of a smaller plate, your body can and does adjust. As for the balance of food on my plate: half veggies, quarter meat and a scoop of rice.

 

Been thinking about this all day, how to make the motivation stick... but I think you nailed it, you just have to be dedicated and committed regardless of how you feel .

 

It's easy for me to go out and ride, even when I don't feel like it because I'm committed to the training program or I'm committed to do the goal, ok not easy but I do it. I never thought of applying this to diet, diet in terms of eating life style.

 

Hmmm I'm going to give this a bash. Apply the same rules as to training, listen to your body, I'm sure it's hardly ever REALLY going to need that cupcake! But it might need an extra serving of (something healthy-ish).

The hardest thing about making an adjustment to your diet or the way you approach it is definitely the mental aspect of it. Getting your mind to get the rest of the body in sync with what you're trying to achieve! Once that's done the rest falls into place easily.

 

Sent from my GT-S6790 using Tapatalk

[eccc whippet]

Last year when i started this journey at around 130 kg my primary goal was to to give the "cycling" a full go...went into hands and feet...loosing 25 kg happened because of the motivation and commitment to the cycling got me trying all sorts of things to help make the ride easier...

 

but more important i had my wife on my side...whatever "we" tried worked...be it weigh less or banting type eating...so we know any eating plan will work...some a little faster than others...but you need to understand the implication of your choice...you body might not respond the same as someone else.

 

So we have established there are 2 issues to be addressed...

 

How to motivate yourself...

 

How to stay committed...

 

The cycling side of this journey is on track maybe a little slower than i was hoping...but hey i am 50 year old with health issues [emoji12]

 

my strava profile indicates that in every segment i ride there has been minor improvement...so we going up which is a good sign no matter how slow....if it changes...back to cadence for a little nudge.

 

The weight on the other hand is the problem...i need to see a downward trend...which is not happening....the motivation and commitment is lacking.

[NordicElf]

Last year when i started this journey at around 130 kg my primary goal was to to give the "cycling" a full go...went into hands and feet...loosing 25 kg happened because of the motivation and commitment to the cycling got me trying all sorts of things to help make the ride easier...

 

but more important i had my wife on my side...whatever "we" tried worked...be it weigh less or banting type eating...so we know any eating plan will work...some a little faster than others...but you need to understand the implication of your choice...you body might not respond the same as someone else.

 

So we have established there are 2 issues to be addressed...

 

How to motivate yourself...

 

How to stay committed...

 

The cycling side of this journey is on track maybe a little slower than i was hoping...but hey i am 50 year old with health issues [emoji12]

 

my strava profile indicates that in every segment i ride there has been minor improvement...so we going up which is a good sign no matter how slow....if it changes...back to cadence for a little nudge.

 

The weight on the other hand is the problem...i need to see a downward trend...which is not happening....the motivation and commitment is lacking.

 

 

You guys clearly know more about this than I do but have you considered a different measurement for your weight progress? Cm's or photo's or items of clothing or body fat ... perhaps by "weight" you are encompassing all of these...

 

I also need to see an improvement, that downward trend. I weigh myself everyday and record it, it fluctuates a lot but over time I can see the trend. When I only weighed once a week I saw no improvement, I understand the fluctuations now, so I can see the downward trend, when I'm working on it. 

[rudi-h]

Forget about the getting faster part - that comes automatically with time.

 

If you want to lose weight you should focus on long slow rides. It's the 3h + morning rides on an empty stomach that will eat up your fat reserves.

 

You need to switch your body operational mode to burn energy from fat instead from your carbo storage. 

 

I like your goals. But don't get too obsessed. You need to keep the fun part in the cycling. Having fun is the best motivation out there IMHO :-)

 

can't say i agree...

 

I believe in giving your body the nutrition it requires to do what you demand of it.  a 3 hr ride on an empty stomach isn't the fastest way to get fit, neither is it optimal for recovery and neither is it fun IMO...

 

I focus on getting fit.  The more Watts you can manage, the more energy you can burn in the same amount of time.  i.e. 3 hour ride at 100 Watts is the same energy expended as a 1 hour ride at 300 Watts...

 

So if you can up your watts by focusing on fitness instead of weight loss, you will get to a point where your easy ride (with little nutrition) can be at significantly higher watts than what you will achieve if you continue to plonk on with long empty stomach rides from the start.

 

In a nutshell, it's much easier to lose weight when you are fit, so focus your effort on getting fit, then the weight loss will come by itself.

 

edit:

 

PS there's gynormous motivation in rapid progress as you improve fitness and ability, so getting fit as fast as possible also aids with motivation, having fun and feeling great

[eccc whippet]

PS there's gynormous motivation in rapid progress as you improve fitness and ability, so getting fit as fast as possible also aids with motivation, having fun and feeling great

 

I agree in the beginning...as you set out on your journey.

 

This was one of my mistakes...i had this mind set that there was no rush to loose the weight...i would get stronger carrying the extra weight...then just get rid of it when i was ready...boy has it back fired on me.

[eccc whippet]

So what have i learnt from this experience...

 

Eat healthy and loose weight...power to weight is the key to climbing hills and going faster...cycling is a very small percentage of weight lose...rather focus on getting lighter by eating correct.

 

Interval training and long slow rides will help make you faster...improve power and loose some weight.

 

Stretching is essential as your muscles develop...more important than we would like to believe.

 

Core and upper body training is just as critical as riding the bike.

 

Riding both mtb and road certainly has its advantages...

 

Mtb...you become a flexible fun person who greets others.

 

Road...its friday [emoji6]

 

 

Ride in a bunch to save energy.

 

Ride with a faster bunch to get faster.

 

Ride with a bunch to enjoy the company...cyclists are awesome people [emoji1]

[eccc whippet]

just an update...no changes with the weight...same ol same ol fat gut...i have taken a ton of information viewed on youtube and come up with a short list list...of the basics and realized no matter how much time you spend figuring out how to loose weight it is quite simple.

 

most important tip...

 

figue out a way to motivate yourself to loose weight...without the motivation and consistency  all the advice i the world is not gona change your eating habit.

 

 

however the riding is improving...

 

i believe i broke myself going from an avg of 60 km a week to 240 km a week... wasnt a wise idea...which was made up of interval training and long rides.

 

so i took a break after the block for a week...which also proved to be too short...my legs where still taking strain on every ride no matter how fast or slow...so i have been taking it easy and riding very little...just doing the odd circuit and weekend rides with the club.

 

one of the challenges which made me realize things werent right was climbing armstrong...if i could climb the M19 at 12 km/hr from the bottom to the top i couldnt understand why i couldnt do the same on armstrong...the M19 is a lot harder to climb...yet i had to take 2 breaks up armstrong.

 

this weekend just past...i could feel a huge improvement in my legs..a lot more breathing issues than leg pain ...i even managed to lead the bunch into the wind (need a bit of practice with that) wasnt sure what speed to sit at...was going too slow at first..then too fast...so i need to work on it and just get some advice from the fellas...was also having some fun doing a bit of sprinting with the lads on the circuit...got dropped...but hey work in progress...the lads can put pressure on the pedals.

 

looks like i might need to rethink my target to be the fastest 50 year old on one segment of the circuit this year ...the week before last I managed a 4 th place for the day...avg speed 46 km/h and a max speed of 55.8 km/h with a massive SW from behind...not so great when you consider the person with the kom has an avg speed of 64 km/h ...8 km/hr faster than my max speed...eeeish.

 

really starting to enjoy the merida...had no issues with the wheel since i got it back from jhb...been using rock n roll chain lube (thanks to my mate anton for selling me a bottle from his stock )...makes the bike run super smooth...very little chain noise...the freehub (standard clicking sound) and Di2 lever are the only things making a noise...just a pity about the issue with the lever...for the amount of money you spend on Di2 i would have expected the back up service to be a little better...much like assos...i send them an email about my bib within 24 hours i get a response and a new pair of S7...no questions asked.