[Zipp0]

I am down to 188 from about 201 a few months ago, with my sights set on 178. (I'm 5'11") I started off mostly on the trainer in the spring and now ride outside about 8-12 miles, 4 times a week and one long ride of about 25 - 30 miles. On the short rides I do a couple short and one long climb, and intervals on the flats with recovery on downhill sections(mostly on roads). The weekly long ride is flat one week, that I treat like a time trial, and the next week I do a very long fire road climb and then double/singletrack for the rest. This is my first year of racing and semi-serious training. I figure that I burn about 600-800 calories on my short daily rides and maybe triple that on the weekly ride. I usually rest 2 days a week, sometimes with a third of light spinning. Over the course of 8-12 mile ride my computer indicates that I currently average around 16.1 mph. When I started in thie spring my average was around 12.5 mph. I'm certain that the weight loss increasing my climb average plays a big part in my gains.

My question is, considering that I want to continue losing weight, what is a good guideline for caloric intake in order to lose weight, but still have the energy to ride hard and feel strong? I just feel like that at this point it is still more important to get to my target weight than to worry about bonking on a ride. Is it possible to get stronger while cutting calories, losing weight and training at the level I am training at?

I am 37 years old. Currently I eat somewhere around 2000 calories a day - sometimes a bit less, sometimes a bit more. My resting metabolic rate, according to most calculators is about 1900 cal.

Thanks!

 

[aword4you]

Not an expert here, but your caloric intake sounds really low! I eat more than that and I'm a younger female who also races/trains. I shoot for 2400-2800 calories and BMR is supposed to be around 1400 for me.

Other than that, I'd say just make sure you eat plenty of healthy carbs (fruit, veggies, whole grains, etc.) and lean protein (fish, chicken, lean turkey) and get enough fat as well.

I use fitday.com to track calories in and out usually to make sure I'm eating enough of everything.

On your ride days if you're burning say 500 cals and then just sitting the rest of the day (literally not moving at all) you're still burning around 2400cal's and eating less than that.

If you aren't at all low on energy for life/exercise then I'd say you must be doing okay. If you wind up being really tired/lacking power/energy definitely bump up the calories a bit.

 

[oscarc]

cut out the fat, eat 500 calories less than you burn per 24 hr period, goal is to eat 3,500 calories less then you consume per week. 3,500 calories equals 1lb. of fat.

 

[sweetchiba51]

Dang dude 16mph is a pretty fast pace...im about your same size 6'0 178 and im still leaning out and getting stronger at the same time. My meal plan is as simple as it gets....pretty much its 4-6oz chicken and 1/4 to 1/2 cup rice every 3 hours besides breakfast where i have 4 egg whites in a wheat tortilla and depending on what im doing that day ill throw in 1/4 cup of oatmeal with a scoop of peanut butter...Usually my heave calorie days are on race day and the day after for recovery purposes...after every ride or physical activity i have a scoop of protein power (25g) and a tbsp of glutamine to aid in recovery...I also drink a gallon of water a day...ive been on this meal plan for almost a year now, when i started i was 215LBS...and im prob 10 percent body fat and for the first time in my life i have abs...follow this meal plan for 4 weeks and you will be shredded...

ps i ride 4-5 times a week and weight train 2 times a week...if you want details of my training regime ill be happy to give it to ya...

 

[marzjennings]

I find training for performance and training to loose weight two very different things and hence don't try to combine them. Most of my riding is for performance reasons and so I eat well, making sure I have more than enough energy to hammer the trails for 2-3hours. Probably around 3000cal a day for my 225lb average weight.
When I'm trying to loose weight, coming up to the start of race season I'll drop about 500cal a day and ride more endurance type rides that eat the fat up. I aim to loose 10-15lbs and get down to around 210lb.

It may be possible to combine performance training with weight loss, I'm just too lazy to work it out.

 

[motox155]

In the last 6mo I've gone from 210lbs to my current 174lbs. I'm 6'0" and 43 years old, usually riding 4-5 days a week. In the past I've always rode pretty consistently but also ate poorly and my weight always hovered around 190lbs at best. This time I decided to buckle down, eat right and lose the weight...I was already putting forth the effort. When I first started I went too much on the starvation diet...basically was eating nothing, probably around 1200 cals a day. I figured out quick that wasn't gonna work since I had no energy to ride. After I got my diet figured out I started shedding about 1.5 - 2.0 lbs a week consistently.Getting the diet together was the key for me, once I did I could ride, train at a decent level and still drop weight...as you get closer to your target weight you can't expect to lose huge chunks of weight, 1lb a week is a lot. Recently I've upped my caloric intake, actually I don't really keep track of calories too much, I just eat right, no more junk (or very little) and my weight stays anywhere from 172 - 175.

 

[Zipp0]

Dang dude 16mph is a pretty fast pace.....

Don't forget - that's on the road, not trails. If I could do that on the trails I'd be winning instead of crashing and coming in near the back of the pack.:madman:

its 4-6oz chicken and 1/4 to 1/2 cup rice every 3 hours besides breakfast where i have 4 egg whites in a wheat tortilla and depending on what im doing that day ill throw in 1/4 cup of oatmeal with a scoop of peanut butter......follow this meal plan for 4 weeks and you will be shredded...

I may give it a shot. I'll have to eat a somewhat normal dinner a few times a week though, or my wife will probably shred ME.

Thank you and thanks to everyone for all of the good advice so far. I think I am on the right track, but I could definitely step it up another level, and I just may. I do have energy (my desk job burns pretty much no calories) for life, and I eat half a power bar 1/2 hour before I ride in the evening, and my times/speed have continued to improve overall. My best ride this year came after 5 days off, so I guess I needed a rest.

 

[sweetchiba51]

Oh 16mph on the road....i was thinking wow this guy is fast..lol...I averaged like 13.5mph in my race last week..i couldnt imagine another 2.5mph faster..wheww.

Well good luck..another good thing about the chicken and rice meal plan is..is that it cost me only $3 a day to eat 6-7 meals..and i understand about the wife thing but if you concentrate on a %90 chicken and rice and the other %10 the other meals you will be good to go...

 

[Zipp0]

Oh 16mph on the road....i was thinking wow this guy is fast..lol...I averaged like 13.5mph in my race last week..i couldnt imagine another 2.5mph faster..wheww.

Yeah, I'm hoping that with continued training and 10 lbs less by the end of the summer I can get my race average up closer to yours. You must be doing well with that average speed unless maybe you race expert. I'm still learning hard lessons each race, so I'm sure experience will lead to better times, right along with fitness and technique.

Anyway, I'm already in better shape, looking, feeling, sleeping, and eating better than I did 15 years ago, so it's all good.:thumbsup:

 

[flankwood]

cut out the fat, eat 500 calories less than you burn per 24 hr period, goal is to eat 3,500 calories less then you consume per week. 3,500 calories equals 1lb. of fat.

Don't write this. You shouldn't cut out fat. LDL Cholesterol and any fat that hardens at room temp is what's bad for you. If you cut out all fat the body tends to store any fat you eat since it isn't getting enough. I eat nuts, avacado and it's great for you. Even Dark chocolate has great HDL boosting and LDL lowering properties. When we talk about fat, it's the heart we are more converned with as opposed to asthetics. I would say you need to increase fat intake as well as water. And fiber from fruits and veggies id great during the normal work day.

 

[CB2]

Don't worry about calories, ride more.
How many hours a week do your 4 rides total?
Try increasing the distance by 50% a couple of days, and ride them HARD.
When you're up to speed with that, increase the distance again.
Just my opinion, so take with a grain of salt.

 

[sweetchiba51]

Im still getting my butt kicked by 40+ year old men and im a 27 year old stallion...I got 1st in my class last week...18th overall out of 47...There are some guys out there on sub 25lb bikes, carbon bikes, its sick, im riding a 29lb Blur LT...but soooo fun. After each race we get swag and a pony keg of some dank beer...

Its good to hear that your feelin and livin better than ever!! Its amazing what mountain biking can do for the overall well being and health for your body...Thank god we have it cuz i would be lost if we didnt...

 

[perryr]

pretty much its 4-6oz chicken and 1/4 to 1/2 cup rice every 3 hours

I did something similar, except it was oatmeal and turkey, same 3hr intervals. I added veggies and a little bit of fruit. Dropped a lot of weight and I wasn't hungry all the time.

For me, the killer is breads and pastries, sweets etc. Those high glycemic things. During the diet it was important to completely stay away from that high glycemic stuff. Fortunately, I was eating so frequently, and with pretty good sized portions, I could ignor the urge to eat the bad stuff. Good diet plan.

 

[oscarc]

Don't write this. You shouldn't cut out fat. LDL Cholesterol and any fat that hardens at room temp is what's bad for you. If you cut out all fat the body tends to store any fat you eat since it isn't getting enough. I eat nuts, avacado and it's great for you. Even Dark chocolate has great HDL boosting and LDL lowering properties. When we talk about fat, it's the heart we are more converned with as opposed to asthetics. I would say you need to increase fat intake as well as water. And fiber from fruits and veggies id great during the normal work day.

when I say cut out the fat, that means, leave the cheese off a sandwichs, cut out the the donuts, lay off the cheeseburger and pizza, etc. Some amount of fat comes from most all foods so you're gonna get some anyway whether you want it or not. The point is to lose unnecessary fat off your body.

And no...you don't need to increase fat. what are you talking about??

 

[Zipp0]

Don't worry about calories, ride more.
How many hours a week do your 4 rides total?
Try increasing the distance by 50% a couple of days, and ride them HARD.
When you're up to speed with that, increase the distance again.
Just my opinion, so take with a grain of salt.

More like 5-6, but yes, I SHOULD ride more. It's very hard to find the time with a full time job, a home, and a wife (who rides a bit but couldn't keep up on a fast ride). If I had kids it would be nearly impossible. What I may do, though, is increase my weekday rides to 12-18 miles. I do a 4.5 mile loop, so all I would have to do is add another lap to bring the miles up to 18, and only another 16 minutes or so.

 

[CB2]

More like 5-6, but yes, I SHOULD ride more. It's very hard to find the time with a full time job, a home, and a wife (who rides a bit but couldn't keep up on a fast ride). If I had kids it would be nearly impossible. What I may do, though, is increase my weekday rides to 12-18 miles. I do a 4.5 mile loop, so all I would have to do is add another lap to bring the miles up to 18, and only another 16 minutes or so.

That extra lap will be a good start.
I know it's hard to find time, but it is possible; I'm married, w/ 3 kids, and own my own business, which means I work 6 days a week about half the year. Two strategies I use are commuting by bike to work, and riding very early before my family is awake.
Where there's a will there's a way.

 

[space]

I have a similar problem, I am trying to lose weight and get faster at the same time. I find if I eat more then 2000 calories a day I don't lose weight at all. However, less then 2400 calories a day and my workouts suffer.

I don't know how to deal with the issue at all. What I end up doing is splitting my month between weight loss mode and training mode. During training mode I eat more 2400-2800 calories a day and during weight loss mode I eat 1800-2000 calories a day and just try to maintain my current workout schedule.

My current schedule has me commuting 4 days a week (80 miles on the road), one extended after work road ride (20-40 miles depending), a long saturday and sunday ride (2-3 hours each day on dirt), running three days a week (6 miles a day) and hitting the gym twice a week. I take friday completely off and take wednesday as a light day where I only commute.

Any tips would help

 

[flankwood]

when I say cut out the fat, that means, leave the cheese off a sandwichs, cut out the the donuts, lay off the cheeseburger and pizza, etc. Some amount of fat comes from most all foods so you're gonna get some anyway whether you want it or not. The point is to lose unnecessary fat off your body.

And no...you don't need to increase fat. what are you talking about??

Intramuscular fat is great when carbs are used up .The body doesn't like burning fat because it takes more calories to do so (heat generated needed to use fat for fuel). By forcing the body to be accustom to using fat for energy, you are adding more usable fuel to your day. You are using the word "fat" too carelessly. Donuts have sugar and cholestorol. This is what's bad for you. Fat was considered bad for you way back in the day. Then the low fat/non fat craze kicked in but was a bad fad. Now people realize fat comes in many varieties and to say to cut fat, may make people think to cut all fat...which is a bad idea. Check out the Paleo Diet. It has a good explanation of the ideal diet. But not all food will give you enough fat if you train hard. Dairy, meat and nuts will but fruits and veggies of course will not. And milk cheese, cottage cheese, milk, and nuts and fish oil are the GOOD sources of fat. These should be kept at a good level if you train hard.

Check this out
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/fats-and-cholesterol/

 

[oscarc]

You are using the word "fat" too carelessly.

And you are right about that. I am assuming that people know the good from the bad, and how much is ok and not ok.

 

[kngpengwin]

the main lesson I learned when losing weight (I lost 60 lbs in about a year) while training was not to eat too LITTLE. you end up tricking your body into storing fat, while it eats what muscle you already have and fails to make new muscle. it's totally counter-productive.

fitday (or others like it) is a great tool. keep in mind that your BMR (which caloric intake is based on) can vary by 10% or more from what the "norm" is, so you might have to adjust your calories accordingly.

when I was losing a lot of fat, I'd try and be 500 calories below what fitday said I needed that day (including workouts, job, etc). now that I have less fat to lose I pretty much stick to what fitday thinks I need and I'm still gaining muscle and losing fat, but much more slowly than before.