[FrankBooth]

well at the end of our Texas XC fall series i got a bad case of the "crud" stuff thats been going around so that took me out of the first two cyclocross races this CX season and i kinda lost the drive for racin' then i kinda been eatin' and drinking all the BAD stuff that i know i shouldn't and lo' and behold 30 days later i'm 8 lbs. heavier.

this is typical for me yearly i ride my butt off get in great shape do well at the races i wanted to peak at and then re-discover Beer, Fried Foods and Sweets and get lazy and fat then stress about losing 10 to 15lbs in a few months while "riding" back into shape

well i'm back on the eating right wagon no sugar no fried, no processed foods and no-beer or sodas and getting back on a regular riding 12-15hr a week schedule however...i'm wondering if anyone has some weight loss tips to get my fat ass back down to 185 lbs or less...right now i'm 198lbs and during the racing season i'm right at 190lbs all the way to 185lbs but that seems hard to maintain.

what are some good sensible diets or habits i need to get into to keep from having to crash diet each December, January, February just to get ready for the spring XC racing season in March?

 

[Homer Simpson]

Sounds like you are on the right track. To be successful in a diet you must occassionally splurge and treat yourself to the things you desire, or your desire can get to large for you to handle and then you binge and gain mucho weight. Sometimes you have to reward yourself for hard work. Doing this occassionally will not hurt you and is a good reward for hard work.

The best diet is to eat sensibly and exercise. There are no miracle diets, it's desire and committment to the end result that will get you where you want to be.

 

[Wasatch Walt]

let's see; 3500 calories in a pound of fat; gained eight pounds, probably lost some muscle during that period; over 30 days ...

so you were eating about 1000 additional calories per day

I have a suggestion Frank, eat 1500 calories less per day and maintain your activity level and report back in a month.