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THE WEIGHT THREAD
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This is a place to ask questions, get feedback, post progress, get encouragement, brag, or rant about your weight loss journey.

I've seen several posts recently from folks asking advice about weight loss, optimal weight, weight's effect on performance, etc. Here's a place to discuss.




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Re: THE WEIGHT THREAD [bryce_d] [ In reply to ]
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I'll kick it off.

This is where I'm at:



I'm losing about 2lb/week, which right now is sustainable given that I'm 6'0" and am about 195 (starting from 211 on 2/5/17). My highest recorded weight was about 220, which was about 8-9 years ago. After that I got serious about losing weight (counted calories, food log, lots of cycling) and went down to 168. Things fell apart at a birthday party when I busted a pinata and devoured all the candy inside, and I totally lost my dedication.

Now I'm back at it, hoping to see how lean I can get without sacrificing performance. Right now I'm neither lean nor performing great, so improvement is easy.




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Re: THE WEIGHT THREAD [bryce_d] [ In reply to ]
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bryce_d wrote:
This is a place to ask questions, get feedback, post progress, get encouragement, brag, or rant about your weight loss journey.

I've seen several posts recently from folks asking advice about weight loss, optimal weight, weight's effect on performance, etc. Here's a place to discuss.

...and by the way, the ST training log has the weight feature back in it.

(No graph yet, but "coming soon"!)

-Eric
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Re: THE WEIGHT THREAD [EricTheBiking] [ In reply to ]
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I am 5' 10" tall and am in my 5th year of racing. I currently weigh 170.8 lb, and started out at 174 lb 3 weeks ago.


Last year I managed to get to 160 lb on the key race day, and sat at 9.6% body fat.

This year I have set a goal of 8% body fat and am assuming with my increase in muscle mass I will be at that similar 160 lb. It may end up being higher or lower. Not really sure.

1 lb a week seems to be the most I can sustain while training, and come race season I figure I should already be within 2 lb of race weight as I don't want to be in a calorie defecate during my heaviest training time and limiting fitness improvements.

I also notice that I swim like crap when I lose weight getting used to the reduced buoyancy. I haven't noticed it yet, but I will be expecting it in the next few weeks.

Anyone have any opinions?

Tyler

I am a bad runner.
I met Javier Gomez once.
I don't speak in miles.
I have opinions.
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Re: THE WEIGHT THREAD [bryce_d] [ In reply to ]
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bryce_d wrote:
I'll kick it off.

This is where I'm at:



I'm losing about 2lb/week, which right now is sustainable given that I'm 6'0" and am about 195 (starting from 211 on 2/5/17). My highest recorded weight was about 220, which was about 8-9 years ago. After that I got serious about losing weight (counted calories, food log, lots of cycling) and went down to 168. Things fell apart at a birthday party when I busted a pinata and devoured all the candy inside, and I totally lost my dedication.

Now I'm back at it, hoping to see how lean I can get without sacrificing performance. Right now I'm neither lean nor performing great, so improvement is easy.

That's some solid progress. Is this more of a fitness goal or for race performance? How long do you think you will be able to sustain such a rapid pace of weight loss?

-Tyler

I am a bad runner.
I met Javier Gomez once.
I don't speak in miles.
I have opinions.
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Re: THE WEIGHT THREAD [MBTRIATHLETE] [ In reply to ]
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Both fitness and race goals. I'm overweight, which can't help performance.

How long can I keep this rate up? Maybe another 10lbs? Maybe 15? Ideally we'll be checking in at regular intervals and time will tell.




Your favorite mafia sucks.
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Re: THE WEIGHT THREAD [bryce_d] [ In reply to ]
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I'm 6'3" and sitting around 178 right now. I raced lightweight crew a few years ago where I had to get under 160 for races but even then I was sitting at 170. Feel pretty good where I am now but hoping to race around 175. I'm definitely not rail thin.

Benjamin Deal - Professional - Instagram - TriRig - Lodi Cyclery
Deals on Wheels - Results, schedule, videos, sponsors
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Re: THE WEIGHT THREAD [bryce_d] [ In reply to ]
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My journey started 5 years ago at 336 pounds on a 5' 9" frame. Carried it well for many years but no getting around I was real fat. Sitting at 250# right now, still fat, with last years racing weight low of 236#. Ya 14+ pounds of winter, stress from getting laid off and what other excuse I can come up with. Ultimate goal right now is 200# and then go from there. Lost all of mine from cutting carbs to about 75 a day, 1500ish calories and exercise.

I also use a doctor to make sure my thyroid numbers are in line.

I got motivation this past Saturday when I got my fit from Dan and my limiting factor of getting low was the thighs hitting the gut. That just ain't cool.

Ron
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Re: THE WEIGHT THREAD [WaterRat] [ In reply to ]
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6'2", started the year at 205. Currently 191 and aiming to be at 180 by my target race in August.
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Re: THE WEIGHT THREAD [bryce_d] [ In reply to ]
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I'm currently working my way back down.

I stopped riding for about a year and a half and my weight jumped up to around 235 pounds ... started riding in August again and have been doing more core and upper body work than any time in the past (since I started riding) and am down to 186 pounds as of today, and will be working my way down to 170-175 pounds by July for some hill climbs.

My historical weight loss has been a long journey.

In December of 05 ... I weighted about 310-325 pounds. I know it was over 300 for sure, and the last time I got on a scale it said 310 but was too embarrassed to get on a scale after that. My wife and I went to watch a College Football Bowl Game and when we got home and developed the pictures (days before camera phones were the norm), I couldn't believe how big I had become and started riding bikes.

Started off with 45 minutes 5 days a week and built up from there.

By August I had dropped down to 235 pounds and was feeling much better. Then winter hit, I didn't ride as much, my weight went back up to 242 ... but I had decided to race the next year, so I had to start hitting the trainer and drop weight. Starting in January that year, I went from 242 to 196 in mid April and stayed between 190 and 210 up until two years ago.

Two years ago, I really concentrated on losing weight and was able to drop down to 173 pounds ... 6 pounds less than I wrestled at in the 7th grade!

My goal is 175 pounds again ... but more muscular than I was two years ago, which would still be less than I weighed in the 7th grade (I'm a naturally big, muscular person).

I don't have any fancy graphs like you do, but am averaging about 2 pounds a week right now ... 11 - 16 pounds to go.
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Re: THE WEIGHT THREAD [bryce_d] [ In reply to ]
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I'm 5' 6". When I was running marathons and doing a few triathlons back in 2011-2013, I was about 145lbs. I don't know if this was a good race weight or not but I felt good and age group placed in the two local triathlons I did with an actual tri bike.
Lost all motivation and jumped to about 170.
Changed careers mid 2015 and with random workouts here and there and just the job demands in general, I dropped back to 160.
Fast forward.
I was shot last December. While laid up for two months I decided to get my shit back together. So I purchased a road bike and am currently on week 5 of TR Sweet Spot I Low. Also running two to three times a week with no set running schedule. (For example, tonight after my ride, I ran 4 miles. The other day I ran 6 miles on a trail. Have done up to 9. All by how I feel).

5 weeks in now though and I'm at 158. Two measly pounds. I can tell a slight difference in my appearance, but the weight just isn't dropping off.

Really enjoying Trainer Road so I'm going to jump to the Mid level Sweet Spot for phase II. Hope that helps.



I have no weight loss goal, but want to get close to where I used to be. Only "race" I have signed up for is the Hotter N Hell Triple Threat which consists of a 13 mile mtb race on Friday, Century Ride on Saturday, Half Marathon trail run on Sunday. It is this August.
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Re: THE WEIGHT THREAD [bryce_d] [ In reply to ]
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Good Lord I must be the fattest tri guy ever. Was 367 last month now down to 360. 6'4 and have only done 2 sprints with plans on doing Imaz in 2018. Working my way up if you will.
Good luck all in the weight loss.
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Re: THE WEIGHT THREAD [Wookiebiker] [ In reply to ]
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Can I ask your strategy for going from 200 to 173? Like what was training and food intake like? I'm in that phase of weight loss (last time did the 235 to 200 drop).
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Re: THE WEIGHT THREAD [MBTRIATHLETE] [ In reply to ]
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I am 6'1, and normally am at about 162 or so. Last year I decided to see how much weight I can drop and most about 10 lbs in 7 months. Have to say that it was not great - could not sleep, no sex drive whatsoever and had shitty mood swings. Yep, swam like shit too being close to 8% body fat. I am pretty sure that 160 is about my right weight.

Next races on the schedule: none at the moment
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Re: THE WEIGHT THREAD [holograham] [ In reply to ]
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holograham wrote:
Can I ask your strategy for going from 200 to 173? Like what was training and food intake like? I'm in that phase of weight loss (last time did the 235 to 200 drop).

A combination of eating better and working out ... pretty simple really. However, I'm achieving it differently this time.

First time:


  • I was commuting to work three times a week, 21 miles (1100 feet of climbing) each way. I took off Monday and Friday's and rode another 6 hours during the weekend.
  • I developed a routine I called commutervals ... basically stoplight intervals. The lights determined how long the interval lasted. I would go once a light turned green until I hit the next red light ... holding threshold to above threshold during each interval. I would do this on Tuesday and Thursdays and most of the time my average power was between 300-310 watts for an hour of riding, with stops.
  • The combination of twice a day rides and intervals really burned a lot of calories.
  • I cut/counted calories so that I had a -1000 to -1500 calorie a day deficit (on workout days).
  • Saturdays were 3.5 - 4 hour group rides, generally hard.
  • Sunday's 2 hour recovery rides

This time:


  • Zwift intervals on Monday/Wednesday and moderate/recovery rides on Tuesday and Thursday (1.5 hours each)
  • Friday's off
  • Saturday group rides (3.5 - 4 hours)
  • Sunday recovery 1.5-2 hours
  • Cutting out as much refined sugars as possible (for me at least). This has been big with dropping fat. I tend to eat a lot of boiled eggs, nuts, fruits, cheese, salads, meats, etc.
  • Core work each day and this time around chest/shoulder/back work ... light lifting, 30 minute routine each day.

I think for me as I'm getting older, putting on some upper body muscle is very important for both general fitness and fat loss. I can still achieve a low weight (for me), while being stronger overall. I'm willing to give up a theoretical 10 -15 pounds lost for better overall fitness and lower body fat.
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Re: THE WEIGHT THREAD [bryce_d] [ In reply to ]
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After racing IM CDA '15, I went from 173 to 190 from sitting on my ass. I was still putting in training time, but my off time was spent on my couch. In the meantime, I've had a meniscectomy and am able to get back to training and am looking to actually focus on my weight for once in my life.

My plan is to do less siting around on my ass at work and at home. I'll still put in 12-15 hours of training per week, but what I do when I'm done will be more active. Right now, I'm away from home at a conference in PDX and in the 4 hours I've been here I went for a quick 4-mile run (quick because I had to get back for the free booze and snacks at the hotel!), walked about 3 miles downtown checking things out and getting a few groceries. I could have easily parked it and tuned into the NBA games...
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Re: THE WEIGHT THREAD [Wookiebiker] [ In reply to ]
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awesome
well done !

Wookiebiker wrote:
I'm currently working my way back down.

I stopped riding for about a year and a half and my weight jumped up to around 235 pounds ... started riding in August again and have been doing more core and upper body work than any time in the past (since I started riding) and am down to 186 pounds as of today, and will be working my way down to 170-175 pounds by July for some hill climbs.

My historical weight loss has been a long journey.

In December of 05 ... I weighted about 310-325 pounds. I know it was over 300 for sure, and the last time I got on a scale it said 310 but was too embarrassed to get on a scale after that. My wife and I went to watch a College Football Bowl Game and when we got home and developed the pictures (days before camera phones were the norm), I couldn't believe how big I had become and started riding bikes.

Started off with 45 minutes 5 days a week and built up from there.

By August I had dropped down to 235 pounds and was feeling much better. Then winter hit, I didn't ride as much, my weight went back up to 242 ... but I had decided to race the next year, so I had to start hitting the trainer and drop weight. Starting in January that year, I went from 242 to 196 in mid April and stayed between 190 and 210 up until two years ago.

Two years ago, I really concentrated on losing weight and was able to drop down to 173 pounds ... 6 pounds less than I wrestled at in the 7th grade!

My goal is 175 pounds again ... but more muscular than I was two years ago, which would still be less than I weighed in the 7th grade (I'm a naturally big, muscular person).

I don't have any fancy graphs like you do, but am averaging about 2 pounds a week right now ... 11 - 16 pounds to go.
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Re: THE WEIGHT THREAD [cbump] [ In reply to ]
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cbump wrote:
I was shot last December. While laid up for two months I decided to get my shit back together. So I purchased a road bike and am currently on week 5 of TR Sweet Spot I Low. Also running two to three times a week with no set running schedule. (For example, tonight after my ride, I ran 4 miles. The other day I ran 6 miles on a trail. Have done up to 9. All by how I feel).
.

Am I the only one curious on the story behind this?
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Re: THE WEIGHT THREAD [bryce_d] [ In reply to ]
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I am just over 79kg (about 175lbs) and want to get to 75kg (about 165lbs)
I haven't been 75kg in my adult life (I used to be fat), I got to 76.xkg a couple of years ago, but started to gain weight again after.

I am trying to cut out crap food, meals are largely vegetables + something, snacks are fruit. I know it isn't a big journey to lose 10lbs, but I am doing Roth in 16 weeks, so would like to get it done before the biggest training weeks start!
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Re: THE WEIGHT THREAD [Snowvols] [ In reply to ]
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Snowvols wrote:
cbump wrote:
I was shot last December. While laid up for two months I decided to get my shit back together. So I purchased a road bike and am currently on week 5 of TR Sweet Spot I Low. Also running two to three times a week with no set running schedule. (For example, tonight after my ride, I ran 4 miles. The other day I ran 6 miles on a trail. Have done up to 9. All by how I feel).
.

Am I the only one curious on the story behind this?

Hate to derail the thread, but I'm a police officer. Hazard of the job I guess.
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Re: THE WEIGHT THREAD [cbump] [ In reply to ]
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Wow! Yeah that's gotta be tough to come back from. Great job and getting back on the horse and sorry about getting shot.
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Re: THE WEIGHT THREAD [Snowvols] [ In reply to ]
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Thank you sir.
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Re: THE WEIGHT THREAD [bryce_d] [ In reply to ]
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i started my weight loss journey in earnest in August 2015. i had just had a cardiac implant inserted a few months before because of a large atrial septal defect and i was tired of being fat and decided it was time to get healthy. i had raced in the past, just sprints, and i was kind of terrible at it although I did enjoy them. i was a crap swimmer, eh cyclist, and a super crap runner. i decided to start addressing my running and signed up for a half marathon and started training for a 10k. i started logging everything i ate religiously in myfitnesspal. i'd weigh in every day and measure a few times of week. i was determined to stick with it. i stuck with my hal higdon plan for a 10k and then transitioned over to a half marathon plan. i was so consistent and doing so well that i signed up for a half marathon 4 months sooner the one i originally signed up for. i finished in 2:12ish.

after the half marathon that january, i pulled out my trainer and signed up for trainer road. my world changed. the weight kept coming off with a combination of calorie tracking and exercise and because of the exercise, i could still have burgers and pizza.i stuck with the training, treated myself with a shiny new felt ia 10 and flo wheels and attempted my first half ironman in july. unfortunately that race was Racine 70.3 which was a total crapshoot so I don't really count it. By that time I had hit my target weight of 162 (completely arbitrary). I continued to log calories but in maintenance mode.

In the meantime I did some olympics here and there. In November I raced Miami Man and qualified for Team USA and then immediately started a marathon training plan. I still log calories, I'm super deathly afraid of gaining the weight back. I gained a few pounds during the marathon taper (~3) but managed to finish with a time of 3:29:50 for my first marathon. This year I'm going to try to drop to 155 to improve my run times and because my races this year will have actual elevation. I'm still logging and will probably continue indefinitely.

First photo was when I won the clydesdale category at a sprint. I have mixed feelings about the medal. The second photo was some time last year, at target weight at an olympic race. Definitely faster. By the way, I was able to increase ftp from 185 to 251 while losing all the weight, so don't think they're mutually exclusive.




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Re: THE WEIGHT THREAD [bryce_d] [ In reply to ]
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52 yrs....6'......Currently at 197lbs. I've been (14 yrs ago) as high as 236 #s.

My only open Half Marathon was in 2010...and I was running 40 mpw. I've done a few HIM's since then, and that's the distance/type of race when I realize how much weight holds me back. Back then (2010), I only got down to 189 #'s. Plan is to get to 190 #'s by IM Choo (70.3) and down to 185 #'s for IM Lou.

MY issue is.....I guess I feel like I train enough - that I can eat anything I want. I can, if I want to stay at 197 #'s. On a side note, my wife would not appreciate me being lighter than +/- 185. She didn't like 189. I do this for the fun of it. I would not consider sustaining 185 #'s a lot of fun. I'm at 10 hrs/wk right now.......with no swimming (to speak of)....ramping up, weekly.
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Re: THE WEIGHT THREAD [bryce_d] [ In reply to ]
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Good thread. I've never captured my journey anywhere and this might help others so here goes.

tl;dr version. 7 years ago I weighed in at 214 lbs (6'1"). I now weight 163 lbs. Was able to get down to ~190 initially from just getting some exercise and watching what I ate (paleo/primal), and thought I was pretty fit lol. About 2.5 yrs ago I got into triathlon and have steadily lost the rest since. To say I transformed my body is an understatement.

On the left, 214 lbs at weigh in for a challenge that started my journey. On the right a couple of weeks ago (sorry you guys have to look at my wife in a bikini).




My diet throughout the triathlon portion was always decent. My family pretty much eats meats and veggies for dinner and I try and pack them for lunch the next day too. I get in trouble with treats. Ice cream. Cup cakes. Etc.


As for the details of the triathlon portion of this, I started half ass training in Oct/Nov of 2014 after volunteering through my church to help out at a local sprint. Then in January I signed up for Galveston 70.3 and started following a free begginertriathlete.com plan. Wasn't a ton of volume (avg about 7.5 hrs) but I was down to ~178 lbs on race day and got through the race in 5:23.


My run was atrocious, and I started following barryp immediately after. Got my run volume up to 40 mpw and avg ~10.5 hrs of training over the next 20 weeks and steadily lost a small amount throughout the summer/fall down to ~173. Got sick in the fall and took about a month off and was back at 180 by December.


In December I got my shit back together and started training hard for IMTX 2016, May 14th. I got down below 170 during this block but showed up race day right at 170. During this block I avg ~15 hrs of training and didn't really watch what I ate. I ate everything. Except I did cut out the pint of ice cream a night about a month out from the race lol.


I basically held steady at around 170 the rest of the year. I dropped my run back to around 20 mpw and did a bike focus in the summer then kept getting sick in the fall and abandoned my 70.3 in early Nov to start offseason training early in Oct. Avg volume from May through Sept was about 9 hrs. Was higher in the summer but a lot of low weeks in Aug-Sept.

Sometime in mid-Oct I read desert dudes full ass challenge thread here on slowtwitch. I was tired of having a shitty run so I said f it I'm going to do it. I built my run volume up to 50 mpw by mid December and have held it there since. This has gotten me down to 163 lbs even though I only avg 12 hrs per week. Much less volume on the bike (mainly no super long rides), but much more time spent running. I did slightly change up my diet. I have a very high calorie recovery shake after every workout, then try and eat sensibly at meals. This seems to have allowed me to workout hard and get stronger, yet continue to lose weight.




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