I’m 50 and 6’0" weight 187 is (85kg). Been training over a year but on a 10-15 hour per week HIM plan of which I am 7 weeks into and includes many quality work outs. I HAVE NOT LOST AN OUNCE???
I eat healthfully but not a dieter and don’t count calories with only occasional cheat days. I eat numerous smaller meals more than 3 big meals.
I kinda wanted to be sub 180 by race day in 12 weeks. Just thought lighter is better (not a hilly race though).
Mostly I’m just perplexed about why I haven’t lost weight. I feel pretty badass. My wife said its just that I’ve gained muscle mass converted from fat so maybe that’s it?
You have to eat less… simple as that. From an exercise perspective, seven pounds at 3500 kcal/pound is a bit over 20,000 kcal, at your weight you’d burn that in about 180 miles of running… in addition to whatever exercise you already do.
If you cut out ALL ‘cheats’ in terms of snacking and drinks, you’d probably make some headway from the food end of things as well.
I’ve tried many diets, eating frequency, eliminating different things and could never get lean or lose weight.
I finally found the answer this year… I eat less…
I started eating less and magically started losing weight and I actually feel better for my workouts, I am averaging 15hr weeks currently.
I guess the eat less mantra falls under the Occam’s razor rationale. Just seems like when I did running only if drop the 5-10 lbs easy. Just seems odd that I was same weight when I was training 4 hours a week and eating same way and with 6 days a week and two-fers nada.
It is pretty common to train for a marathon, HIM, or IM and not lose any weight due to taking in additional “fuel” for those extra workouts. I know that you said you are not a dieter and don’t count calories, but if your goal is to lose weight, you need to know how many calories a day you are taking in. There are many apps that make it very easy by logging EVERYTHING you take in and they will put a calorie count to it. It can be very eye opening to see how many calories can be consumed even eating “healthy” food several times a day. Their is no magic to losing weight, you need to take in fewer calories than you burn each day.
Stick with it…you’re in the “good weight loss” area. This is how weight should come off: very slow. You need the calories for your workout, and muscle building. You KNOW you are building muscle and losing fat, but staying in the good medium. My guess is you probably take a lot of water in because of the training. I’m guessing you could EASILY piss out 10 lbs if you wanted.
As people mentioned, calories in v. calories out. BARELY cut something out. Get rid of the cheats…and you’ll slowly drop the weight. Also, as you taper, you’ll drop weight too (weird how that works).
Weight yourself tree times a day (at least). Once right as you get out of bed, once when you are done with your workout(s), last time when you go to bed. Your daily goal is to go to bed the same weight you were when you woke up. It sounds simple and sweet but it quickly becomes quite restrictive. The measurement after the workout is to help you better gauge just how much of a “recovery” meal you really need. You can eat anything you like. As long as you match the daily goal before going to bed. You will VERY quickly learn what to eat and what not to eat. The first three to five days will be easy. The following three days will be annoying. Then it starts to get maddening and you can’t think of anything else but to eat. More than anything, it will teach you just how much nutrition/hydration you really need. Be careful on days following long rides/run. There will be a lot of “noise” on your weigh measurements because of all the inflammatory processes going on during recovery. You will need to be a little flexible then. Make sure to stop/not push this after your weight drops less than a pound overnight. This is a public forum so if you so chose to do this, it is a choice you made at your own risk.
Running is the best sport for losing weight, partly because it burns a lot of calories, and partly because the combination of jostling your stomach around and getting hot tends to dull your appetite, so you tend to lose weight without really thinking about it. Carrying every single pound of your weight on your legs also makes you very aware at some level of how much you weigh (particularly if any parts are “jiggling” which shouldn’t be), which can’t hurt.
Swimming and cycling aren’t so good. Swimming doesn’t burn that many calories, it makes you hungry (I think due to core temperature being lowered) and there’s no real impact on your speed of carrying a few extra pounds. I have to be really careful after an early morning swim not to spend the rest of the day snacking. Cycling is the easiest sport to take on calories while you’re doing it - your frame is a ready-made larder for stashing sugary goods, and with no stomach jostling and a nice wind-cooling effect there’s nothing to stop you from munching your way through a ride. If you’re riding the hills then you will be aware of a few extra pounds, but riding on the flats or on the trainer it really doesn’t impact you. Cycling can be a great sport for losing weight, simply because you can do so much of it without a high injury risk, but it does require a lot of self-control.
So yeah, if you thought the weight loss from running only would be extrapolated to cycling and swimming, you thought wrong I’m afraid! As others above have said, cut the eating and with the amount of training you’re doing the weight will drop pretty easily. 500 less cals a day will drop you 1lb a week which is plenty enough for your goal.
Define healthily and define cheat day.
You might want to keep a food log. This will show if you are doing it right or doing it wrong.
Healthful = organic fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean proteins, no red meat, nuts, no alcohol. Training fuel is Skratch, gu gels, cliff bars. Occasional dark chocolate. Quinoa, kale, non-fat Greek yogurt with flax seed oil, chia seed coconut water fruit smoothies. Etc.
Cheat day = which is a rarity but for example my anniversary was Friday and we ate at a nice restaurant, had a glass of wine, desert etc. post race reward is a hamburger.
That’s sounds pretty solid. I am not seeing packaged junk food of any kind, pasta, etc.
If you are eating that well it is hard to believe that you are carrying extra bodyfat.
You are eating all good foods- whole foods too.
You mention flax oil- that is magic stuff!
Sounds like you are confining your cheat to one meal or post race- not going off for 24 hrs stuffing cake in your face.
It could very well be that you are at a great weight and not losing weight because you have gained muscle and and are storing glycogen.
Glycogen is stored with water molecules- having a full tank adds weight.
Define healthily and define cheat day.
You might want to keep a food log. This will show if you are doing it right or doing it wrong.
Healthful = organic fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean proteins, no red meat, nuts, no alcohol. Training fuel is Skratch, gu gels, cliff bars. Occasional dark chocolate. Quinoa, kale, non-fat Greek yogurt with flax seed oil, chia seed coconut water fruit smoothies. Etc.
Cheat day = which is a rarity but for example my anniversary was Friday and we ate at a nice restaurant, had a glass of wine, desert etc. post race reward is a hamburger.
I spy a potential issue.
I’ve never been a huge fan of the artificial crap. Granted, sometimes, like today, I did use a clif bar on my ride, but normally I’ll fuel using bananas. Also, be careful not to overdue it. Maybe I’m not the norm, but I did 75 miles today w/ 60min worth of threshold work and fueld with just a clif bar in addition to the toast with almond butter before I left the house. For rides like that, I feel like some people on here will gulp down 700+ worth of calories.
Furthermore, it’s not like “healthy” calories add up to any less than calories from junk. A calorie is a calorie (in this sense) and a harmless smoothie can add in some calories that tend to be disguised.
That’s sounds pretty solid. I am not seeing packaged junk food of any kind, pasta, etc.
If you are eating that well it is hard to believe that you are carrying extra bodyfat.
You are eating all good foods- whole foods too.
You mention flax oil- that is magic stuff!
Sounds like you are confining your cheat to one meal or post race- not going off for 24 hrs stuffing cake in your face.
It could very well be that you are at a great weight and not losing weight because you have gained muscle and and are storing glycogen.
Glycogen is stored with water molecules- having a full tank adds weight.
You might be right, I haven’t checked my body fat in years but at marathon peak I was under 10%. Im 50 but still slim and fit by other people’s standards. My cheat days are really not often and tend to be taking the girls to yogurt land. The weight loss is not for vanity and I have nothing really jiggling when I run I just feel like light would make the workload easier in my upcoming HIM.
Define healthily and define cheat day.
You might want to keep a food log. This will show if you are doing it right or doing it wrong.
Healthful = organic fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean proteins, no red meat, nuts, no alcohol. Training fuel is Skratch, gu gels, cliff bars. Occasional dark chocolate. Quinoa, kale, non-fat Greek yogurt with flax seed oil, chia seed coconut water fruit smoothies. Etc.
Cheat day = which is a rarity but for example my anniversary was Friday and we ate at a nice restaurant, had a glass of wine, desert etc. post race reward is a hamburger.
I spy a potential issue.
I’ve never been a huge fan of the artificial crap. Granted, sometimes, like today, I did use a clif bar on my ride, but normally I’ll fuel using bananas. Also, be careful not to overdue it. Maybe I’m not the norm, but I did 75 miles today w/ 60min worth of threshold work and fueld with just a clif bar in addition to the toast with almond butter before I left the house. For rides like that, I feel like some people on here will gulp down 700+ worth of calories.
Furthermore, it’s not like “healthy” calories add up to any less than calories from junk. A calorie is a calorie (in this sense) and a harmless smoothie can add in some calories that tend to be disguised.
I’m actually toying with the idea of scrapping that stuff but it’s almost a psychological crutch. I tried using coconut water for a hard interval ride today and swim. But got cramps in legs on swim so maybe not cutting it?
What’s your fueling strategy for training? In my experience, I don’t need calories for sessions under two hours… I use water fountains for my long runs (12-15 mi) and water for every other workout with the exception of my Sunday long ride. Granted, I’ve never really suffered from cramps, but yeah. My .02.
Your body needs to easy to process carbs when training. Don’t stop this.
Make sure you are fueled appropriately before, during and after training. This is the wrong place to cut. That said, make sure the intake is inline with the duration and intensity of the training.
If you are going to cut calories anywhere it should be in the evening. More protein and vegetables, not so much carbs (unless you have a huge day the next day or are training hard/.long for multiple days).