need some help guys

[simonm]

hi all
feels pretty lame that this is my first post but I really need some help

Ive been doing this dieting caper for ages and not going very far, I admit Ive made some bad mistakes, but learning along the way and willing to atone

im male/34/5 11, ergh 93(!)kg prolly 20 something bf
Im into cycling, so not real super keen on building mass

now my problem is im not loosing weight, currently I eat 2200cals per day ( p:f:c 230:100:120 ) of the fat I take 2tbs of flax oil and swallow 6g of fish caps a day, take a multi and zinc

typically I eat ( divided into 6meals)
1/2 cup porridge with a prot shake on top first and second brekky
tuna salad with cheese/mayo/salad for lunch
2 eggs on wholemeal toast a/noon tea
steak or chicken for dinner
and snack on eggs and cottage cheese

exercise wise I ride my bike, my heart rate monitor tells me I burn about 3000 cals a week ( 1x long ride 3Xshort)
during my long ride I usually add about 800 carb cals back into my diet to stop the bonk

how does that sound?

well 6 weeks ago ( before much searching here ) I weighed 88kg!!
but I was eating about 1500cals/day , I know , I know
during that time p was 170, the rest basically bugger all

so I increased upto 2200 (91kg) - 2 weeks
then 2700 (92.1kg) - 2 weeks
back to 2200 (now 2 weeks) and today 92.5kg!

now when I was eating 1500 I was taking eph 3x daily, but am not atm ( they heaps expensive here in .au )

It doesnt look like Ive put on leg mass, frankly it looks like water/fat on the midriff

Im confused!
how do I make this body (and brain) loose weight
I really really want to get down to 85kg but the target moved 5 kg south in the last 6 weeks.....
I wanted to be there for october19th for a 220km bike ride
no use carrying extra baggage you know!

honestly im sick of dieting, and sick of going nowhere
sick of being tired and short tempered
can you guys help?

[hugoshi]

what about weight training? lifting weights should help, I find that it's been helping me loose weight.


you're protein fat and carb ratios seem not too bad, I go less on the protein myself, but it seems fine.

Your fats aren't so good though.. The cheese and mayo are bad. the others are good though. Maybe you could mix the tuna w/ olive oil, isntead of mayonaise? Ia sandwhich place I know used to do that. I duno if that makes a big difference, because I cheat fairly often and I still drop weight, but yeah, if you want to be optimal, change those fat sources to good fats.

Also, the only thing I can think of is maybe you aren't counting your portions properly? are you weighing everything?

and water.. a gallon a day right? you're doin that I assume

how loing are your riding sessions, and how intesnse are they?

[as0l0]

Originally posted by hugoshi
maybe you aren't counting your portions properly? are you weighing everything?

*bump*

[simonm]

thanks for the response, its really good to see the support that goes on here

water um err *cough*
I probably drink a gallon a day, but it would be a mix of black coffee, green tea and water ( in that order )

actually i make the salad myself, it was olive oil lthe last few months, but im over the taste ( at least for awhile )
I use 1tbs of mayo and 2oz of lo-fat cheese daily
fitday tells me the daily fat ratio is fairly even between
sat : mono : poly

everything is weighed, well everything except salad and veges
some little digi kitchen scales take pride of place on the counter top!

just a tad concerned about the weight training lower body
my legs are usually pretty fried all week
do you guys agree?

my long road ride can be fairly intense, usually 140-155bpm
which makes it 65-75% hrm max, 2-3 hours duration
definitely enough to bonk

the 3x short rides are on the bike trainer all HIIT, get 15minutes in HIIT after a 5min warm up
when summer gets here again, that time will increase alot
which kinda begs the next question...

the 10x-11x cal recommendation, does that figure include an implied allowance for excercise?
or do I add the daily exercise usage to that figure?

eg....for 10x aim (205lb)
2050 cals + 400 av daily exercise cals = 2450 daily total cals
or is it 2050 cals because excercise is implied in the calculation already?

[as0l0]

you should be able to drop weight on 2400 cals. I would suggest you start lifting, including doing legs. take some protein powder post workout, including cardio and lifting, grab it from sizematters.com.au

you should maybe take a longish walk once a week just to mix things up a bit.

[RonJ73]

Originally posted by simonm
water um err *cough*
I probably drink a gallon a day, but it would be a mix of black coffee, green tea and water ( in that order )

When it's said that you should drink a gallon of WATER a day, it's exactly that. Water. Not tea, not coffee...water. Green Tea and Black Coffee both have caffeine in them and are diuretics, they will actually make you RETAIN water. Try lowering your coffee intake and increasing your water intake.

Also, a bump on as0l0's advice, as usual.

[simonm]

ronj73, when you mentioned drinking water.....
will the lack of pure water slow/stop weight loss or does it just make you retain water


as0l0 you mentioned losing on 2400 cals, i currently eat around 2200
do you guys think that maybe the reason I dont lose is because my cals are still too low? or maybe because of having them way low in the past and suffering with a slowed metabolism

I suppose what makes me think maybe they are still too low is that I always seem to be tired and short tempered, not sure maybe I just dont sleep enough.....

[RonJ73]

The lack of water will cause all sorts of nastiness to happen in your body. Water aids in digestion, muscle growth, lubrication for your joints, metabolism, even in your immune system. Remember, your body is roughly 75% water. Basically everything it does relies on that. So to answer your question, yes, it will affect it.

If you feel as though your calories are too low, try doing a "refeed" for a few days up to a week, where you eat a little above your maint levels for that time. That will shock your system a tad and kick your metabolism up a notch.

[simonm]

as per suggestions i ate at 16-17x last weekend
low fat, high carb, normal protien

sunday rode bike, hrm said i burnt 4300cals tho


its interesting the last 3 days i have been HUNGRY!!
havent been hungry eating 2200