Long intro thread...looking for thoughts/ideas/input

[speedpuppy]

Greetings & salutations! I’ve consulted this site numerous times over the last couple years & found it to be chock full of good stuff. I’ve finally decided it’s time to post & hopefully get some answers to a few questions that still leave me perplexed. Bear with me, as I can get a little verbose at times…

Like many people, I’ve been on-again, off-again inconsistent with working out. I’ve reached my early-40’s now & am unhappy with where I’m at. To put it mildly, I’m definitely overweight. At 5’9” I’m at 205 lbs. & roughly 36% BF according to my Tanita scale. Boo Hiss! I am not, however, a complete squishy blob. My husband & I have weightlifted off & on for the last 12 years. We are also avid cyclists & log roughly 1000 – 1500 miles in the 6 – 8 decent riding months per year. We also like to XC ski but usually don’t get quite enough snow to do that consistently. We definitely have a willingness to suffer! We have a Concept2 rowing machine, a good selection of weights at home, & we go to our local gym on the weekends to use some of the stuff we don’t have at home. Again, inconsistency rears its ugly head. We’re making a concerted effort to change that now & have been doing well for the last 2 – 3 months.

Under all this nasty fat I definitely have some good muscle mass, particularly my legs from all the cycling. If I could shed all this extra weight my power-to-weight ratio on the bike would be huge as right now I’ve got plenty of power - it takes a lot of work to haul my carcass around in group rides at 20 mph!

The other major factor is, of course, diet. Obviously, with all this supposed activity, my diet has been out-of-control if I’m at 36% BF. We’ve made some major changes here, too. I’m trying to get more protein & less starchy carbs (this is my downfall!). My carb sources are mostly whole grains, veggies, & probably dairy (milk & yogurt). Turkey, tuna, chicken, & egg whites are the main protein sources. Fats are mostly from olive oil, salmon, & peanut butter (Super Power Butter).

Here’s what we’ve been doing for the past month as far as WO & my corresponding diet:

MON: Shoulders (5 exercises, 3 sets ea.)
Abs (3 sets, ea. to failure)

TUE: Off

WED: Legs (4 exercises, 3 sets ea.)

THU: Chest (3 exercises, 3 sets ea.)
Bi’s (3 exercises, 3 sets ea.)
Abs (3 sets, ea. to failure)

FRI: Off

SAT: Back (3 exercises, 3 sets ea.)
Tri’s (3 exercises, 3 sets ea.)

SUN: Leg Press (4 sets + 2 drop-sets, just ‘cuz we really like ‘em!)
Abs (to different machines, 3 sets ea.)

We do lift primarily heavy weight/low reps, usually to failure, except for shoulders where it’s too hard to keep good form if you push heavier weight. We also change up the routine every 4 – 6 wks. for variety. Cardio is minimal to non-existent right now, but I will incorporate some if it’s really necessary (I’m trying to lay off for a bit now as I keep re-aggravating the tendinitis in the back of my leg caused by cycling with a too-high seat).

On WO days, an example of a typical breakdown of food is (usually 6 – 8 small meals per day):
1909 cal
138 pro = 29%
272 carb = 57%
34 fat = 16%

On non-WO days:
1526 cal
107 pro = 28%
224 carb = 59%
26 fat = 16%

Stuff I’m using: r-ALA (mainly in the 1st few meals of the day where there are more carbs), CLA, green tea extract, multi-vitamin, ON Whey, & SizeOn (1 scoop on training days only – just started 1 ½ wks. ago).

My goal is to get down into the 150-160 lb range. I realize that’ll take quite awhile & I shouldn’t be looking to lose more than 1 – 2 lbs. of fat per week. Our range of activities means needing to be able to combine both endurance & strength training so I know I can’t focus on only 1 or the other – I want more muscle than a typical long-distance cyclist but less than a typical bodybuilder, if that makes sense.

My scale says I should be consuming 2800 cal per day for maintenance. So if I undershoot by 500 – 1000 calories per day I should drop the 1 – 2 lbs. per week. What I don’t know how to factor is the fact that I have a thyroid condition. Well, technically, I don’t have a thyroid – it was removed back in 1995 due to cancer. I take a fairly high dosage of thyroid replacement hormone as a means to suppress the activity level of any residual tissue that might be present. My blood levels are kept below the normal range, which means I would be hyperthyroid if I actually had a thyroid. Yet when I ask my doctor about difficulty losing weight she says it’s because my metabolism is slowed way down due to the thyroid condition. I seem to only be able to consistently lose weight if I drastically undershoot & get roughly 1500 cal per day. This seems contrary to everything I see on this board & I surely must be losing muscle that way. Am I going about this all wrong?

So, in a (really big) nutshell, I don’t know how much I should be eating for what I’m doing & where I want to be.

Discuss amongst yourselves now, please...

[toronto2006]

Hey,
I don't know what affect the thyroid replacement would have, but I would suggest about 500 below maintenance. That would be 2300 calories per day to start. You're not eating enough, especially on non WO days.

16% fat is low too, try to get healthy fats into your diet (natural pb, fish oils, almonds, avocado)

And be patient too, it doesn't happen overnight, but it sounds like you are already very active, so getting your diet in check should make a big difference!