Fred D Mentor Group - Part II (Page 98)

You guys need to upgrade your keyboards and mice to one of the new "super-peripherals".  That and switch to the Aero theme in Windows.

Chris, I'm gone through the weight loss thing, but I'm not sure what you're asking.  Are you talking about how to lose a few more pounds or something else?  I typed out a response on losing my last 30lbs, but I'm not quit sure that's what you're asking.

Chris making small changes you will be more successful to succeed, if weight loss is your goal.  I am sure more advice and opinions will come.  btw I knew what to do, and I wasn’t doing it either.  I changed my diet became active again and wahala weight dropped from 205lbs to 170lbs. 

Chris, I have a really hard time with the carbs and sugar too.  For me, the key to dropping weight for IMMT was just to cut back a little bit on things, not do anything drastic.  I stopped taking a cup of raisins and almonds to work as a mid afternoon snack and instead took a small little container of almonds that held about a dozen of them.  At supper I stopped taking an extra piece of meat and when I was done and still hungry I waited a few minutes to see if I got full.  Usually I did, if not I ate a little more on that particular day.  When I had a bowl of cereal in the evening, I poured just a bit less than I did before.

I think the fact that my wife is a very healthy eater and she decided to drop a bit of weight at the same time made things much easier.  

That's a good question... what is my question?   I guess I know how to lose weight, and as James says, I probably know what to do, I just don't do it.  Or do it well enough... or   Losing the weight I did feels like I was just faking it by eliminating a few things, changing a couple habits.  Like I went from AAA ball to AA ball.  Now that I've plateau'd here, I want to get to the big leagues and feel like more substantial changes are needed. 

I suppose it's initially about losing the last few pounds, but more so how you guys eat, whether you follow a plan, a nutritionist, what's helped, what's a waste of time, etc.  I am not looking for a "diet" as much as a new way of eating and looking at food.  Which, I know, probably requires a therapist to some degree (only half kidding) 

And I know everyone has a different physiology etc. so what worked for one person may not work for another.

I think James is right about this.  You've said above that your diet continues to be a struggle because of the type of food that you eat.  Change that to a large degree and you'll start to see a positive impact.  I see no reason why you can't drop into the 190's if you become quite strict about the type of food, and the quantity of food that you ingest.  Part of the trick will be not to go full on and remove everything you like - that's just a recipe for disaster as you'll dislike the healthier food more since you can't have the unhealthy/tastier food.  And let's be honest, for most of us the unhealthy stuff is pretty darn tasty.  At least I think so.

Take my opinion with a grain of salt because I'm on the opposite end of the spectrum where it's very, very difficult to put on weight. 

I just had the opportunity to read your race report - even though it sounds like you had a tough day it is still a good end to an awesome season for you. For the record, flat runs clobber me a lot more than hilly runs. My coach says that is a good sign of the lack of run-specific leg strength, one of the limiters I have been working on.

Oh! And I just ordered the new dimpled iPad case from Zipp. Look out, suckers!

So, as a primer....   here has been a typical weekday for the past few months, with a few variations, I'd mix up the time I'd have certain foods, but these are the staples that would go in the lunchbox every day.  I try to eat every 3 hours or so.  Weekend are a little less structured, and I gave myself a "free" day.  ETA - as I read this I notice the lack of "real" food.....that this is better than I used to eat a year ago shows you how poorly I ate a year ago 

7-8 Breakfast - coffee and bagel with cream cheese.   Yes, I know.  But during the day this was one thing to look forward to the next morning, and is the "meal" that needs the most work.

11-  Bowl of lentil soup, handful of almonds, banana, yogurt (the with sugar kind)

2 - turkey sandwich on wheat, 2 carrots, 2 hard boiled eggs, banana

5 - apple

8 ish usually something bought but always along the lines of chicken, salad and rice, maybe a piece of pita or corn tortilla

I cut out any post dinner, um, snacks, but those have crept their way back in on occasion.  This is another big area for me.  Have 1 soda per day, cut those out totally for a while, but again, that creeping thing.

Not fantastic, but I don't drink 2-3 sodas a day anymore, or grab from teh office candy jar every time I pass it, or have a king sized snickers after masters, etc.....

My wife is my nutritionist - not really but she reads and researches a lot of stuff.  She doesn't jump on fad diet stuff but seems to make informed choices that make a lot of sense.  The things she says has made me start to look at the labels on food in the store.  She finds recipes for meals online that taste fantastic but are simple to make, (mostly) natural foods and low calories.  She followed the WW points system for years and still uses it as her benchmark for whether or not a meal qualifies as good for her even if she doesn't follow the plan itself exactly.  

I give her a ton of credit for the way I eat now and the weight I am currently at - although she says I can't lose any more and I think I have another 5-10 on me that could go if I really wanted to....

Got it.  My "plan," seriously, was put together upon reading a few of those weight loss threads on ST.  In/out is obvious, but amongst all the BS on those threads, there were a few things I thought were great.  Obviously anecdotal, but here you go:

On the weight loss thing, I think I'm lucky because I was actually a skinny guy just hauling around 70 or so extra lbs.  I was rail thin in high school and never really ate.  However, in college, I developed an appreciation for food (good and bad) and beers. 

I don't have a secret formula, but I did get pretty regimented with what I ate, but with some flexibility.  I lost the last thirty pounds with the breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper plan.  I'm still loosely on that sort of idea.  I would almost always eat the same breakfast: greek yogurt with museli, ezekial bread with natural peanut butter and local honey and maybe raisins, black coffee.  Lunch was more random, because I eat out a lot, but I would just try to make the selections and portions reasonable.  Dinner was usually grilled chicken on lettuce (a few times a week); homemade Mexican (beans, chicken, tortilla, some cheese and salad); spaghetti using steamed broccoli instead of pasta.  We always have homemade pizza on Sunday, so I just cut way back and also had a salad.  Didn't eat dinner too late. 

Portion control was big for me at dinner.  Although boring, I think the repetition of breakfast and dinner helped me stick with it - I wasn't trying to come up with new meal every night.  With these types of dinners, someone else in the house doesn't have to really cut back if they don't want.

I cut back on random beers during the week, which obviously helps.  I wasn't giving up beers on family pizza night, beach trips and such.  Paid close attention to getting healthy snacks between meals.  My go-to was almonds I bought raw and roasted at home.  Weighed myself everyday.  I was previously a firm believer that this was ridiculous, but it provided me with good feedback.

Early morning training was done fasted.  I wasn't, and am not, doing anything crazy long, but I cut out calories during training unless I was looking a more than two hours, which was really only one ride a week.  I would have half to a full pack of shot blocks.  I wasn't doing anything that required practicing nutrition, so that was easy.

So, my anecdotal opinion is that a active person that's just carrying around some extra weight can do it without any trickery.  It's tough.  But, seriously, once I started seeing those pounds come off it got much easier. 

ETA: I can also drink some Diet Coke.  I cut those out for a couple months, because I sort of bought in to the idea that the fake sugar caused your body to crave real sugar.  I don't know, or care, if that's true.  It helped me stop for awhile, and cut way back now.

Not accusing your wife, but it's funny how quick people are to warn against being what they perceive as "underweight".  I've had people telling me that my entire life.  I've worked out, I've changed my diet to put on muscle at times, whatever.  But it was never for me.  In my "old age" I've stopped worrying about what others think.  My body finds its equilibrium at 150-160lbs and that's that.

These days I focus on eating WELL and that usually starts with cooking my own food instead of going out all the time.  I could eat junk or eat healthy and it won't affect my weight unless I make a huge effort.  But it definitely affects the way I feel.

There was a bit in Fink's book about forcing yourself into a new routine for at least 3 weeks or so, so it becomes a habit.  Then re-evaluate at that point.  Most people think "maybe this isn't so bad after all".  He was referring to exercise but much of the same applies to dietary changes.

Chris...I know how you feel.  At my worst I was up close to 200 pounds (at 5'6").  I cut back down to 156-162 and have pretty much stayed there for the past 3 years.  It's also about the weight I was during college when I was very active with other sports (basketball, weight lifting, flag football, etc).

Obviously at 5'6", my racing weight should be around 140-145...and that's even a bit high.  But considering I still carry some bulk from weight lifting, and have that body type, I know I will never be in the 120's like some other people my height.

I know how to lose weight.  It's a very simple formula, and it involves some serious commitment.  I love to eat, and that's the biggest problem.

That being said, the thing that I have found to help is to eat as many small meals as possible.  5 is good...7-8 is better.  Obviously though that's hard to do since we have jobs, schedules, and we don't carry a refrigerator in our pockets.  And even if we did, who wants to spend the time to prepare 7-8 small meals a day?

I tell you what though...it works.  I did it for a few weeks and I could feel my metabolism just spinning out of control.  I was eating nearly 3000 calories a day and still burning of fat at a pretty good rate (working out less than I do now).  I was constantly hungy, but constantly eating at the same time.

So *FOR ME*...that was the biggest challenge.  Committing to a eating schedule and putting in the time to prepare the meals.  Once I did that, my stomach was happy.  I find it darn near impossible to eat 3-4 meals while trying to cut calories.  The mental battle of having to wait 4-5 hours between meals is something *I* just can't seem to win.

So thanks for bringing this up...because my goal for next season is to try and get down to true racing weight...and I now remember what I need to do. 

BTW, have any of you read the book (online copy) "Burn the fat, feed the muscle".  Pretty good read on the basics of losing weight and keeping it off. 

A big help, whatever your nutrition goals are: plan meals in advance.  If you already know what you're going to be eating for each meal during the day (or during the week!) then it's much easier to stick to it.  If it's "going out for dinner and beer with the guys", well, all bets are off.

Also I try to get some bulk cooking done on Sunday - usually things that take longer that I don't want to mess with during the week.  If I always have good food around the house then I'm less inclined to order a pizza or something.

Counting calories is a pain in the a$$ but I find it worthwhile to do now and then to recalibrate my input/output. Some of the iPhone apps are pretty good at this. You try and hit a reasonable daily deficit for a week or two then you just get used to 'what's normal'.

I find my calorie deficit turns into a surplus after a few months so i need to reset it.

I went from mid 230s to about 170 with plans to drop to 160. Every step along the way I thought this was 'just right'.

That’s good because diets imo don’t work.  I refer to the fad diets not nutrition.
 
Eat whole live foods nothing processed. 
 
.........and no you don’t need a therapist. 
 

Hey guys - on the food front

I am totally with you on planning meals and eating those. I am the cook for the house so i plan the week's dinners with at least two bigger batch type meals that become lunch for the week.  I try to pack a lunch 4 days a week and give myself one eat out lunch. 

I also have started ensuring that I buy healthy snacks (and 1 treat) for the week at work - and now my mentality is that i need to eat the food i brought before I go rummaging around elsewhere. And that has meant that i am often simply not hungry for the other things.  It also saves money

It's really really easy for me to indulge in junk all the tme - though there are healthy options too - because I work in a busy downtown office building attached to a mall.  It does take discipline. (I say as i sit here with the tea latte i just bought. I did eat all of the food I brought though)

They make tea lattes now?

Sorry...I'm not much of a coffee/tea drinker.  I'm the guy who walks into starbucks to buy a muffin, but walks out intimidated because I'm not sure if there is a special "lingo" to order a muffin. 

Just pretend you haven't had your morning caffeine yet, point and grunt.  You'll fit right in.

I've learned that if you yell that these little coffee people loud enough, they figure out what you want PDQ.

Yes, yes, really anything your heart desires.  Honestly, most people at Starbucks know what you mean when you ask for a medium coffee ... or one of those latte thingys. 

So, i have from my local Second Cup (Canadian fancy coffee chain) a London Fog tea latte - skim milk, earl grey tea, vanilla shot.  First time i've had one - quite tasty.  But this is exactly my example of having too many options to indulge. 

Yet another tea drinker here - but it is really just a delivery device for milk, sugar and caffeine quite honestly. Coffee can do the same job in a pinch. but I prefer tea.

Let's just keep that between us.