I am 5'10" and 159lbs and still slow :)

I am in a similar boat. Still carrying quite a bit of excess muscle from my hockey playing days. Back then, I was about 5"8, 180. Now I float from 167-172, which doesn't sound like a lot less, but I've had many people who haven't seen me in years ask me if I got seriously sick at some point. I lift once per week usually. I have gone through spurts of not lifting (after my appendix burst I used it as an excuse to take December-May off lifting entirely) and I find it makes no difference to my weight. If anything, I will gain a bit when I stop, and my body composition is not as good. I don't usually do heavy stuff though.

I'm trying to get to 160 which I haven't weighed since I was 14 but given I still have the remnants of my thunder thighs (which are roughly half the size they used to be) I'm not actually sure I can hit it. My body fights me something awful whenever I near 165.

I'm not sure if others are like this but for me, right after exercising hard, I am in no mood to eat very much. I graze but can't put down much. At every triathlon finish, I see people downing beer and pizza and I'm just grazing on a few pretzels and fruit. My system is in no mood for large quantities

I've highlighted your lies. ;)

I don't think the weight is holding you back as much as you might think.

As said, on swim/bike, there's much less of a weight penalty, and if you choose a flat bike course, you likely will have an ADVANTAGE from being a bigger powerful rider with low Cda.

The run is where your weight will def cost you, but again, unless you're really losing the race entirely on the run, it's not going to be anywhere near as big a gain as you'd expect given the offsets from the bike/run.

I'm always surprised at the number of big guys (190+) that can throw down sub-5 HIMs pretty readily. I can barely hang on with most of those guys in a flat triathlon, but I'm beating them no problemo in open running races as a lighter, smaller guy. Similarly, I've dueled with a few uberlight women on the bike course who are at least 30, if not 40 pounds lighter than me who I pass like they're standing still on the flats but who come back and pass me on the climbs despite me holding steady power on both.

I have lost 15kgs (33lbs) in the past 2 years, my top tips would be:

1. Food diary - Count, weight etc. and record down EVERY thing you've had to eat and drink for 1 week every month. You will be amazed how much crap you eat and drink without realising it, and how easy it is reduce calories. When I did this I would have estimated I was drinking 10-11 beers a week, turned out I was drinking about 20.
2. Make very small changes that you can sustain that aren't like a punishment for something e.g. I stopped having beer Sunday to Wednesday rather than saying I wasn't drinking again.
3. Always have good snack options to hand and never let yourself get hungry - you make poor choices when you're hungry.
4. Keep your house and fridge stocked, coming home and not having something decent to cook is a trigger for a takeaway or 8 bowls of cereal
5. Don't buy stuff you don't want to eat.
6. Drink lots of water. Hunger and thirst some times feel like the same thing..
7. Peppermint Tea as a desert. After dinner some times I fancy a snack. I have a tea, if I still fancy something, I have another tea, if I still want something I will have it.
8. Fuel your sessions properly, doing fasted rides to burn fat is pointless if you come home and eat 12 bagels, 2 bowls of cereals and drink a gallon of pepsi.

Last and most important thing. I switched my mindset, I used to feel like I deserved a beer or I had earned it because I had trained. Then I realised that training is my hobby, training is my treat for going to work etc. so I don't need another treat.

I have now got down to around 70kg (154llbs) and I don't want to be any lighter, so I am a little more relaxed but essentially these are rules I live my life by.

i've tried lifting. it's hard to squeeze it in with most days already being two-a-days, plus i find it torturous. i know i should do more of it, i just lack any motivation to do so

This is my mentality. I'm not fast even if I was at an ideal weight, but I know it would help. I just love eating too much. And if I try to eat clean for a week or two, I'll binge eat badly the day I fall off the wagon, haha. I'm 5'11" and currently hovering at 165#, down from 190-195# when I first started training a year ago. Current goal is to get down to 155#, but it's a goal that I haven't been trying all to hard to reach recently. I'd much rather increase my hours training than cut back on food.

 

I'm not sure if others are like this but for me, right after exercising hard, I am in no mood to eat very much. I graze but can't put down much. At every triathlon finish, I see people downing beer and pizza and I'm just grazing on a few pretzels and fruit. My system is in no mood for large quantities[/quote]
There's a triathlon here in Toronto where they do great burgers and beer (free) after the race and it breaks my heart, because it will be two hours before I can even contemplate eating.
When I am training I would kill for either, but throw a race bib on and I'm cooked.

I've been trying to work in more weight training myself, for similar reasons. I'm pretty big-torsoed, so after a year of training I was starting to look like a potato with toothpicks for limbs sticking out at 180lbs. At that "ideal" BMI of 22 that was thrown around earlier, I'd be at 162 lbs and probably able to count ribs. On the list of reasons why I won't be on a podium anytime soon, adding weight training has gotta be pretty close to the bottom!

Incidentally, nicely done in NOLA, that wind was a right bitch. I had a great-for-the-conditions swim time and celebrated by smoking myself on the bike into the wind and walking the last half of the run.

That's the damn truth right there. Most of my racing is local short course stuff, and while I'm no threat to the truly fast guys, I can hang out in the top 10 through the swim and the bike. Being a big guy and not a natural runner, as soon as we get out of T2 that stops being the case. The lighter guys have no problem cranking out 20' or under 5ks, while I'm about to keel over in the finish chute to get under 26'. Hell, my fastest standalone 5k was just under 24' and I was damn proud of it!

I'm 6'10" and weigh 230lbs. That's pretty lean for someone my size. I think I could diet down to 215 by cutting muscle, but anything less than that would make me feel anorexic.

At 6'10 I have to put out a lot more power to go the same pace on the bike leg.
Case in point this past weekend I did a sprint tri with a 13mile bike leg. I finished with the 4th fastest bike in my age group, I'm friends with one guy that beat me by only 12 seconds. we have very similar aero set ups, so I don't think there is an advantage in gear or not much of one anyway. He's 5'9" and weighs around 150. I averaged 307 watts, he averaged 259. So I basically had to ride 50 watts harder for nearly the same exact time. I think it is entriely do to my size.

Point being there is only so much you can do as a big guy to prepare, we're at a natural disadvantage in triathlon/endurance sports, which is why they have Clydesdale divisions. Just comes with the territory, and why I'm racing against the clock and myself more than everyone else.

Pretty big into weight lifting here, mostly now in the winter offseason but was year around for 6 years. I'm 5'11 170lbs now with roughly 10% body fat...got down to 161 with 8% earlier in the year, but couldn't hold it...Benchmarks include 225 bench press reps, 140 shoulder press, 315 dead lifts, squats, and a lot of core work, etc.

I generally find it harder to be as lean as I can be when I'm training hard, which frustrates me. Some tips in this thread are helpful. Ideally I want to be down to 160 for race weight, but I don't want to ever lose my muscular balance.

Eating clean and cutting beer is important, but so damn hard when I have to look at the stupid trainer!

FWIW - I'm 5'10 and 2 months ago weighed 163lbs. I began running again consistently at the beginning of the year, but had a hard time seeing any progress. After July 4th I've cut out alcohol completely and now I'm down to between 145-147lbs and I still eat terribly, but I've been able to up my mileage, feel like I'm recovering much faster and can definitely handle the heat better. My times have come down dramatically too.

Everyone's weight is holding them back. If you had no mass you would literally move at light speed.

My comment to lightheir was in regards to the flat course racing he referred to, which if your race was, something's off. Similar equipment setups aren't necessarily indicative of comparable drag numbers, especially given a >1ft delta between riders. There are way too many variables that go into it to conclude you're paying a 50 watt "tax" due to weight alone.

I was ready to vomit even at the sight of those burgers this year. I could barely stomach a banana.

After a long ride, I am the same. Could eat an entire box of cookies.

I definitely have more drag. I just meant we both had aero bikes (shiv and bmc) both had aero helmets etc.

Not like I'm riding an old aluminum bike vs a superbike

Thanks for this post. I find it super interesting. I'm in the "still haven't sorted it out" group. I struggle with eating mostly and as a result, am out here racing at 245lbs. Last year through calorie counting I got down to 230lbs and put it all back on in the "off-season" by assuming that 6 months of training/racing rewards me with the ability to eat whatever and however much I want for 6 months.

I cannot for the life of me stick to a healthy eating regimen though. I end up cheating and going way off the deep end. It's such a mind fuck because I want so badly to get down to around 200lbs. I'm reasonably quick for my size, will win Clydes races and generally finish in the top 1/3 overall of most races. Primarily due to solid bikes. I can only run a 1:54 open half marathon, so obviously not very quick on the run.

I feel like for most, calorie counting all of the time is not realistic to maintain. It's tedious and not super fun. Has anyone found success with maintaining an enjoyment for food and experiencing weight loss? I'm curious to understand/learn how to change one's perspective on food and learn to enjoy healthy eating and the feeling of fit, rather than binge eating crap and wanting to eat grabage, fried food. Most healthy people seem to find the things I like to eat disgusting. What gets you to that point? Does anyone have any hints or tricks that helped them find success in weight loss other than calorie counting?

That, I think, is the key for most non-obsessove calorie counting people. I heard somewhere that when you put food on your plate, 75% of it should be healthy, clean stuff (non-processed, lean protein, leafy greens, nuts, beans, good fats, etc) and the other 25% can be whatever you want, and that will get most people to a pretty damn good balance. I like the KISS approach, and that 25% for me tends to be beer ;).

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Long Chile was a silly place.

More protein. Fewer carbs. No dessert and no candy, soda, that sort of sugary stuff.

If you can list what you typically eat in a day we can probably make better suggestions.

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

Can you identify why you 'cheat'? Is it because you are hungry, or is it because you miss eating [insert food here]? Do you create too much of a caloric deficit and then your body is so starved for anything that you sort of cave in?


I think you have to suffer through 10 days or so of not eating crap. Then you start to notice how sweet carrots actually taste. Another thing to notice is how you feel after eating fried food, or sugar, or whatever - probably not very good if you're honest about it. Or, think about eating a bowl full of fresh berries vs a pile of Skittles (or whatever). Which of those is ACTUALLY tastier?

If you don't want to calorie count, I think you have to be pretty good at actually eating when you are hungry, and making good choices.

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

Unfortunately, many do not know how to prepare tasty veggies and salads.

It is actually, I'd say, half the game to be able to prepare healthy food that also tastes great, helping you to enjoy life.

This evening's veggie:
Sweated kale with home-made chicken stock, shallots, some other secret ingredients and topped off with a dash of Worcestershire sauce.

YUM!

I came from rugby to triathlon so had quite a bit of muscle, 5'8 and 190. I'm now around 72kg (160), I don't do weights at all anymore and really I just find it much easier being lighter. I'd like to lose a bit more weight, but also don't want to look like I have AIDS. I don't think I'll lose that much more though, unless I completely stop eating. I find swimming ensures I still have some bulk. I'd consider ditching the weights or maybe going lower weights/high reps especially if you're just doing it for aesthetic purposes. You're not going to lose any tone or anything, especially if you're swimming.

I've thought about giving up the weights, and just exercising and going lean. I'm guessing I'd drop quite a bit of weight, and be much better of an endurance athlete. I also agree that "being lighter" feels better. Bulking up...weighs on you. I don't know if that's a good explanation, but it sounds like you know what I'm talking about. When I first got down to 196lbs I attended a old hockey function and a friend told another friend that he was concerned and thought I was sick. I'll never be "elite" in triathlons, so I don't want to look like Tom Hanks in Philidelphia if I'm not standing on the podium.

Anyways, I just find it funny listening to "weight" being talked about on here. Then again, I also laugh when I hear "slow running" and sub 7 min/miles being discussed. If I break 8 min/miles I feel like lighting.