Anyone else want to lose 15-20 pounds?

[Clydesdale]

I've got Bday #40 coming up this summer which isn't a big deal to me except that I would like to start my 40's at or very near my college weight. That gives me about 20 pounds to lose and I wondered if anyone might be interested in kind of a forum training club? My thought was we would just check in once in awhile and let each other know things like total weight lost, mileage, etc. in kind of an online journal.

It's not crucial to me but I thought it might be fun to know others were out there working on the same goals.

[jlwdm]

In late February I decided to lose some weight this year and sent out my goals with charts to some friends and told them I would send monthly updates. I was trying to create some public accountability.

One friend seemed to think I needed some public humiliation. He started calling me fatso and said I would be tubby when I broke 200 lbs and so on. So far it has been working.

Jeff

[saab2000]

yes

[vqdriver]

i'm game.

[GuyGadois]

Start a Google Document and share it between the participants and add your ride/weight/whatever. It is a great way to do this http://documents.google.com

-GG-

[SoCalSteve]

I'm in!

I just lost about 25 and have another 20-25 to go...

How do we play this game?

Just askin'

Steve

[katematt]

If god made it its good. (not getting religious on you)

The fewer legs the better. Read two better than four and no legs.... fish.

And I am sitting down to a nice bowl of Kamut Quinoa noodles. A great replacement for the white stuff.

Don't give up a beer or two, replace 3 and 4 with vino tinto.

Oh and ride as much as you can.

I turned 40 last year

[endosch2]

Im in for it too. Also turning 40 in late fall. I would like to lose 10-15. Back to my old race weight of 155-160.

[Ti Designs]

Turn 45 in two weeks, want to get closer to my racing weight of 20 years ago. As a junior I tipped the scales at 120 pounds at 5'11 - I was so thin I could draft behind my own handlebars. Now I'm 5'10 and 160 - nobody is calling me fatso, but I would feel better on the bike if I were closer to 145.

I find I can't lose weight in the winter, just never works for me. I get cold, I get sick, I get slow. As it warms up I start in with the longer rides, which is where the weight loss comes in. The trick isn't to eat less, that's just how you ride slower. The trick is to eliminate the blood sugar spikes and dips, low glycemic index before and during workouts, high glycemic index after the workout to counter the insulin reaction. There's a bit of a science to it and it requires some experimentation to keep the blood sugar level...

I thought the hair loss thing would have helped, but it hasn't.

[MattTuck]

Ok,

Try this:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=psieRcH1cnbqrdBDFNVREWQ

If you have problems with it, let me know.

Add your name and weight each day. I'll do the rest. Hopefully it will work.

DO NOT TOUCH THE "DATA MANIPULATION" SHEET. A cool graph should be available on the "Graph and Status" sheet.

[GuyGadois]

You could do something as crude as this...

Link (http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pgv_dUfxo2IUgwoUp32Y_Hw)

New users just add their name to the top of the column and record each week.

-GG-

EDIT: beat me to it. I would only do it per week. Weighing ones self more than once a week isn't a good thing, generally.

[MattTuck]

No worries, let us all design and over engineer google doc spreadsheets, and let the mightiest one win! lol

I'll add a mileage component maybe tonight or tomorrow if people like mine.

per week is good, but people may weigh themselves at different points of a week (unless we decide some arbitrary day is the day to weigh yourself).

So each person can put their weight in on the day they weigh themselves, and the graphing will take care of itself.

[Clydesdale]

I'm in!

I just lost about 25 and have another 20-25 to go...

How do we play this game?

Just askin'

Steve
Not sure Steve, anyone have any ideas? Daily mileage/activity reports and weekly weigh-ins? Maybe a new thread every Monday?

PS - by the time I posted there were already great starts on a format - thanks guys.

[SoCalSteve]

Ok,

Try this:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=psieRcH1cnbqrdBDFNVREWQ

If you have problems with it, let me know.

Add your name and weight each day. I'll do the rest. Hopefully it will work.

DO NOT TOUCH THE "DATA MANIPULATION" SHEET. A cool graph should be available on the "Graph and Status" sheet.

Ok, Im down with this! I'll enter my weight daily.

And, for anyone interested in a couple "helpful diet tools" along the way, I have a couple for you:

www.fitday.com Its a free website that works kind of like WeightWatchers (only free and better).

And, there is a book that I recommend that has really helped me change the way I think about myself-food-weight, etc...Its called: "The Beck Diet Solution, Train your brain to think like a thin person" Author is Judith Beck, Ph.D. and its published by Oxmoor House.

Good luck to us all!

Steve

[Liberace]

Cool, I'm in.

[endosch2]

I dropped my start weight and name on the excel sheet. How about another column per rider for miles ridden or time ridden that day. I dont want to make it too complicated, just a suggestion.

[MattTuck]

I dropped my start weight and name on the excel sheet. How about another column per rider for miles ridden or time ridden that day. I dont want to make it too complicated, just a suggestion.

Yes, I am considering the best way to do this. ie. 2 columns per user on same sheet, two sheets, but only one column per user on each sheet.

I'll think about it over dinner (headed there now) which is decidely NOT going to help me in this weight loss effort.

[gearguywb]

Turn 48 this year..Holy Cr**!

Built more like a linebacker than a bike rider, oh well. Started dieting/riding more this winter and have dropped 21 pounds so far, would love to loose another 10-15 so I'm in.

[vqdriver]

this is going to be fun.
i added myself to the spreadsheet, but i'm not sure how google docs works. can multiple people edit at once? how do you save?

[endosch2]

this is going to be fun.
i added myself to the spreadsheet, but i'm not sure how google docs works. can multiple people edit at once? how do you save?

I think anyone can add and it gets saved.

[Clydesdale]

Turn 48 this year..Holy Cr**!

Built more like a linebacker than a bike rider, oh well. Started dieting/riding more this winter and have dropped 21 pounds so far, would love to loose another 10-15 so I'm in.

Sad that I am trying to get back "down" to my LB weight :crap:

For the spreadsheet... will we just have a long column that we will put daily mileage in and a weekly for weight? Maybe two sheets? Start Monday?

Thanks for doing this - I didn't even know google had spreadsheets.

[regularguy412]

I just posted. I'm currently at 171, but would like to drop another 10 lbs. -- 15 lbs. would put me right in the ballpark of my old racing weight. I've been struggling with this last 15 lbs for over a year. I had ballooned to 221 (!) during the years I had stopped riding/racing -- ( and I'm only 5' 8" ). Took me 6 months in 2006 to lose 50 lbs.

Hope this little competition helps. I typically ride about 200-250 miles per week. I'd love to do a few more miles, especially on Sundays.

Thanks for posting!

Mike in AR:beer:

[TimD]

I'm 6 lbs over my high school weight. I've learned a lot about what to eat (protein) and what not to eat (high fructose corn syrup) over the past few years. Ice cream and the odd six dozen potato chips remain my weaknesses. I rarely drink a beer, but when I do it is not just one.

I'm riding 125 mi/week, some of it pretty hard for an old guy. I spent a lot of time on the basement trainer in December, January, and February riding Spinervals workouts. On the Road: Tucson, up Mt. Lemmon, 53x15/14/13/12 for 85 minutes - pretty effective at building strength.

My extended family traveled to the Dominican Republic for a week in February to celebrate my 50th. I ate something I shouldn't have and lost 6 lbs in three days. I wouldn't recommend the method, but it did eliminate much of what I'd stored up over the holidays.

Bottom line, I don't think I'd do well in this contest, but I wish y'all good luck!

[Karin Kirk]

Great idea! We did this on the forum a couple of years ago and people posted their weight weekly. It was helpful.

I also took the 40th birthday weight loss challenge last summer. I didn't have a lot of weight to lose, but I was highly motivated to do so. I got down to my early 30s weight, which was right were I wanted to be. I reached the goal literally on my birthday - yay! After riding season ended I worried what would happen over the winter. I am happy to report that the weight loss stuck. I gained a couple of pounds during the winter as I always do, but never approached my former weight. Now I am right back at where I was in the fall. Sweet!

Goal setting, peer pressure, and a public display of results all seem like useful tactics. Oh, and eating less helps too. ;)

[Dekonick]

can we lie?



sounds interesting :)

Turn 40 in 2 months :(

[jblande]

I'd like to give it a try.

In my experience, weighing daily can be discouraging.


I have always heard one should weigh oneself at the same time every day, e.g. first thing in the morning.

But I'm in.

[vqdriver]

can we lie?



hahahaha

[MattTuck]

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=psieRcH1cnbqrdBDFNVREWQ

Ok folks,

Here's the deal. This file should be open for everyone to edit (so don't go messing stuff up!) If I remember, I'll try to make a back up a few times a week.

There is a primary Data Entry Screen called "Enter Weight", go to the right along the top row until you find an empty cell, and enter your name there. Your name will then be copied to the "Enter Daily Mileage" sheet.

Use these two sheets to enter your results. You can input either as often or as far apart as you want. (If you only want to weigh yourself 1x per week, just enter your weight on the appropriate date each week).

The sheet "Graphs" provide some visual competition for us all, and show cumulative weight loss, and cumulative mileage.


PM me if you have any questions/comments/bugs, etc.

[martinrjensen]

I'm trying to get down to my college weight. trouble is, I never went to college. Still trying to drop 10 pounds. Maybe I'll go for a ride right now

[RudAwkning]

I've all but given up on the weight thing.

I've ridden a fixed gear double century, a fixed gear century, a 24 hr 380km Fleche and a double century with 19,000 ft of clmibing in the last 4 weeks.

I've been eating well and not snacking or eating anything "decadent".

I've gained 6 pounds. Maybe that's 6 pounds of lactic acid in my legs? :P

[jmeloy]

55 in Sept and fighting the waistline. I'm in! Harass me as needed to get me to lose 16 lbs.!

[Louis]

If you want some extra motivation buy one of those Tanita (or some other brand) body-fat measuring scales. It's an approximate number, but want you want to track is the gradual reduction (hopefully) over time, and that is fairly accurate.

Having a high-ish number motivates you to loose, and once the % body fat begins to decline it offers additional positive reinforcement.

[regularguy412]

Man! The charts are cool. I just entered my mileage. This will be fun!

Mike in AR:beer:

[GuyGadois]

Matt, awesome start. why not use an 'offset' function to calculate individual weight loss percent, a la Biggest Loser. Biggest Loser - Serotta

-GG-

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=psieRcH1cnbqrdBDFNVREWQ

Ok folks,

Here's the deal. This file should be open for everyone to edit (so don't go messing stuff up!) If I remember, I'll try to make a back up a few times a week.

There is a primary Data Entry Screen called "Enter Weight", go to the right along the top row until you find an empty cell, and enter your name there. Your name will then be copied to the "Enter Daily Mileage" sheet.

Use these two sheets to enter your results. You can input either as often or as far apart as you want. (If you only want to weigh yourself 1x per week, just enter your weight on the appropriate date each week).

The sheet "Graphs" provide some visual competition for us all, and show cumulative weight loss, and cumulative mileage.


PM me if you have any questions/comments/bugs, etc.

[endosch2]

Spreadsheet Looks Good: Here is my weight story - I used to ride / race at 155. I am 5' 9 and 1/4" tall. I used to see 150 on the scale sometimes, but for argument say I was 155. In my early-mid 30s my weight went as high as 192. I went back to 175 a couple of years ago - problem is I am stuck in the 173-175 range. So 165 would be good, 160 would be a dream. Last summer after a century I saw 170 for one day.

[Bruce K]

I'll give this a run as well.

Last year I dropped 27 and put back 5 over the winter.

This year goal is to lose the winter 5 and another 10.

That would put me in the lower 190's and would be good enough for me.

Let the Battle of the Bulge begin.

BK

[TimD]

I've all but given up on the weight thing.

I've ridden a fixed gear double century, a fixed gear century, a 24 hr 380km Fleche and a double century with 19,000 ft of clmibing in the last 4 weeks.

I've been eating well and not snacking or eating anything "decadent".

I've gained 6 pounds. Maybe that's 6 pounds of lactic acid in my legs? :P

That is nuts!

[Ray]

I'm trying to get down to my college weight. trouble is, I never went to college. Still trying to drop 10 pounds. Maybe I'll go for a ride right now
Enroll in a couple of classes NOW, before you lose any. Then your "college weight" target will be much more attainable!

I was slowly but surely putting on weight for all the years I was riding a ton. Because I was eating two tons. I started eating like the caveman guy a few months ago and my riding has been down to 3-4 rides a week of only 30-40 miles each for the past couple of years. Plenty of easy miles with periodic hard efforts on the hills. And I've really only started riding consistently this spring in the past few weeks. I've lost 10 pounds in the last couple of months and could maybe lose another 5-10. 10 would put me back at my high school football playing weight. Five seems more likely and as I turn 50, I'll take it. I wasn't badly overweight but I was feeling things I didn't like with the extra few pounds I was carrying. The improvement feels good so far.

I recently saw riding a ton and eating enough to fuel it described as digging a deep hole next to your basement and then using a ladder to clean the basement windows. I'm off that particular treadmill for now.

-Ray

[MattTuck]

Ok Folks,

I didn't anticipate this much interest. I made some modifications to the spreadsheet so there are more spots available. If there aren't any more spots and you want to participate, PM here and be patient. I'll take care of it.

For now, the graphs are set over the entire length of the contest (until July 1), would it make more sense to have them rolling? In other words, start this week just showing the next week, and then next week show the first two weeks, etc.... so by the end, it would look like it does now?

Guy, I got your idea about percent change in weight. I'll definitely think about it.

Anyone can let me know if there are other features you want.

I noticed some people putting in text into the mileage (trying to differentiate mtb from road)... for now, this can only handle simple numbers. I am sure that Guy's product can handle this type of complexity, but it is too much for this contest.

Thanks all for participating, I'll try to monitor this!

[NRRider]

Considering doing this but would it be more informative if you added climbing info? Perhaps many people don't know their climbing numbers? Could they estimate? Now that I think of it I guess the Garmin has spoiled me.
My "training" ride, which I'm trying to do more often now, is only a bit over 16.5 miles but has over 1200 feet of climbing. Much better workout for me than, say, 25 miles with no climbing.
Just a thought.

[jimp1234]

Ok....I'm in.. Anyone have any thoughts about doing a "diet-bet"? Basically, you agree to give $$ to your favorite charity (or uncharity) if you don't meet your goal. Here's one of the websites doing this...

http://www.stickk.com/

[Climb01742]

this is a very cool use of the worldwide interwebs and google docs. good luck to everyone! :beer: (lite beer, of course)

[MattTuck]

Considering doing this but would it be more informative if you added climbing info? Perhaps many people don't know their climbing numbers? Could they estimate? Now that I think of it I guess the Garmin has spoiled me.
My "training" ride, which I'm trying to do more often now, is only a bit over 16.5 miles but has over 1200 feet of climbing. Much better workout for me than, say, 25 miles with no climbing.
Just a thought.


I view the mileage as a secondary piece of information. People will vary in the number of miles based on hills, speed and other factors. I could have put a tracker for "time riding", but that is the same problem. Someone might do an easy spin for 60 minutes or ride hard for 60 minutes, no way to capture the difference.

Bottom line, weight is the goal of this contest. Use the mileage tracking too if you want, but I don't think it is as critical.

[thejen12]

I find I can't lose weight in the winter, just never works for me. I get cold, I get sick, I get slow. As it warms up I start in with the longer rides, which is where the weight loss comes in. The trick isn't to eat less, that's just how you ride slower. The trick is to eliminate the blood sugar spikes and dips, low glycemic index before and during workouts, high glycemic index after the workout to counter the insulin reaction. There's a bit of a science to it and it requires some experimentation to keep the blood sugar level...

Hey, wait a minute,

What happened to "on the road any day of the week", riding base miles all winter and teaching your body to burn fat and losing those excess winter pounds? ;)

Jenn

[SoCalSteve]

I view the mileage as a secondary piece of information. People will vary in the number of miles based on hills, speed and other factors. I could have put a tracker for "time riding", but that is the same problem. Someone might do an easy spin for 60 minutes or ride hard for 60 minutes, no way to capture the difference.

Bottom line, weight is the goal of this contest. Use the mileage tracking too if you want, but I don't think it is as critical.

+1!

I ran this morning almost 4 miles (1/2 running- 1/2 walking)...so, I dont think the cycling mileage iis gonna be a primary number for us...

Its poundage lost, plain and simple.

Oh, one more piece of advice: To be a "better butter burner" you need to do long and slow...This is the best way to lose weight. Long and slow.

Steve

PS: I am down a 1/2 a pound already! :banana: Let the games begin!!! :beer:

[endosch2]

Im not thinking the mileage will have much to do with weight loss - I just think it will be fun to track as a group.

[d_douglas]

Crazy, but I am turning 40 this year too. I am certainly not mature enough to be this age!

Everyone at work marvels at how fit I am because I commute to work and I run occasionally, but the truth is that I weigh 20lbs more than I should. I have replaced eating processed crap when living in Canada with eating high fat unprocessed crap in Europe, so this might be a barrier.

Anyhoo, I once fought hard to get in great shape (I was too skinny according to everyone) by eating about 2/3 of what I wanted to eat (which is highly recommended) drank no booze, ate no sugary stuff.

Still not much of a drinker, but I love food!

This is my year to get into that thong I have always been dreaming about!

Darren

[SoCalSteve]

Crazy, but I am turning 40 this year too. I am certainly not mature enough to be this age!

Everyone at work marvels at how fit I am because I commute to work and I run occasionally, but the truth is that I weigh 20lbs more than I should. I have replaced eating processed crap when living in Canada with eating high fat unprocessed crap in Europe, so this might be a barrier.

Anyhoo, I once fought hard to get in great shape (I was too skinny according to everyone) by eating about 2/3 of what I wanted to eat (which is highly recommended) drank no booze, ate no sugary stuff.

Still not much of a drinker, but I love food!

This is my year to get into that thong I have always been dreaming about!
Darren

We need pictures!

Just sayin'

Steve

[Karin Kirk]

This is my year to get into that thong I have always been dreaming about!



Oh dear. Everything was going so nicely until just then. :p

[Rubeboy]

OK. I'm in too.
I'm nearing 40 faster than I'd like and after a bad year I'm way above my normal riding weight - I have no idea what I weighed in College.
I had started my weight loss plan on Monday so I'm a few days in already.
Looking to be 15+ less. Sadly, my mileage suffers when I'm losing weight, but once I get closer to my goal the mileage will resume.

Public humiliation!!

Rob

[jlwdm]

As a young 61 year old I can't believe all of the whining about turning 40, 45, 50 and 55. When I left Arizona about 5 months ago my regular training partner was 72. He was a rower and his weight had not fluctuated 10 lbs in 50 years. It really helps to hold a good weight after 40 or 45 - it gets tough to take it off again.

I am naturally thin and at age 40 was 6' 2 1/2" and 160 lbs. Never real strong, but I was a better climber. Until I was about 35 I used to eat like crazy trying to gain weight and then my metabolism changed and all my poor eating habits caught up with me. Somehow I got up to 225 lbs two years ago and then down to 191 and back and forth between 205 and 195. I have lost about 8 lbs the last two months and am looking to see 175 this year. I only weigh once a month but I might have to weigh once a week for this program. Probably just under 195 right now.

Jeff

[Clydesdale]

While battling a brutal wind on a lunch loop I was wondering...

On the mileage form, is it possible to add a second column next to each person's name that could be used for text comments... Hills, group ride, average speed, elevation, running, single speed... whatever? It would be fun to see what others are doing and could be an easy way to add details.

PS - If you all think it would help I could also post a picture of myself in a thong... You definitely wouldn't feel like eating!

[MattTuck]

C'dale...

Adding an extra column would be a real annoyance due to the way the graphs work. What I can suggest is that you highlight a cell, and click "Insert" and then "Comment". This will give you the ability to comment on either a ride or a weight (note my comment today about eating pizza last night on today's weight).

Hope that provides the level of commentary you want. If not, you're welcome to save a copy of the spreadsheet and try to modify it yourself.


Cheers!

[vqdriver]

the form is pretty user friendly the way it is.
very intuitive to enter data and to review it as well, and the graph is gonna be pretty cool.

fwiw, i think for our purposes, simple = better on the common form.
but i've printed out a blank form for all the little notes about mileage, time, etc. because, really that info is useful only to the rider themself. and i find that nothing beats pen and paper for random notes. personally, i hate trying to cram in text into spreadsheet boxes.

[Clydesdale]

C'dale...

Adding an extra column would be a real annoyance due to the way the graphs work. What I can suggest is that you highlight a cell, and click "Insert" and then "Comment". This will give you the ability to comment on either a ride or a weight (note my comment today about eating pizza last night on today's weight).

Hope that provides the level of commentary you want. If not, you're welcome to save a copy of the spreadsheet and try to modify it yourself.


Cheers!
Its great as it is, thanks again for putting it together.

[SoCalSteve]

Its great as it is, thanks again for putting it together.

+1!

This is just like weighing in at Weight Watchers only you dont have put on pants to do it. :D

Just sayin'

Steve

[endosch2]

MattTuck - Thanks for adding the height / weight / BMI Sheet - It puts things in perspective....

[MattTuck]

No worries....

Thank keno (i think) for adding the target weight to the main weight entry page.
For now, the target weight on the "user info" page, and the target weight on the "enter weight" page are not linked at all. Putting a number in one does not automatically propagate it to the other.

I had some other cool ideas, for live tracking of BMI (yes, for all the haters, I agree it is a pointless number, but hey, would you rather just do lbs. per inch? Below two is where the great climbers are typically) and live tracking of progress to goal, but I am still learning google docs (and it doesn't have all the functions of excel...).

EDIT: If people need the link again, here it is: http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=psieRcH1cnbqrdBDFNVREWQ#

Also, I made the chart for mileage work a little differently. So now it won't have those annoying horizontal lines. I think it is an improvement.

We only have one more spot left until the spreadsheet fills up. If it gets full, and you still want to participate... just PM me, or if I notice it is full, I'll add more columns. Just be patient.

-Matt
Keeper of the Online Spreadsheet. lol.

[chuckster12]

Longtime lurker, seldom post.
I turn 50 on July 11 - riding my third Triple Bypass on my birthday and would like to be in the 170's for the ride. This should be a great way to track the weekly progress.

Chuck

[MattTuck]

Welcome aboard chuckster!

I see you on the graph now along with everyone else.

So far, it looks like it is shaping up to be quite a good participation. 26 people by my count.

[jeffg]

Does this mean I have to cut my wine consumption? Well, I'll give it a shot ...

[spiderman]

to put a sticky on it
and keep it going...
...clydesdale has challenged me to keep track of my fitness goals
but the whole spreadsheet thing kind of intimidates me!
i hesitate in mentioning anything negative on this post, though
because it seems like the whole tone of the thread
is positive and mutually encouraging...
...a very refreshing place to be.
thanks clydesdale and all those who are participating
and organizing this effort!

[WadePatton]

Sorry, I missed this one.

I made this move last year. I'm now at one year 20# lighter than I'd been since college. I'm 42.

My dealio was derived from seeking a performance diet. The difference is that I found that eating "proper" 5 days a week was plenty enough to do the job.

I've written up an essay 'bout the way I did it. Anyone interested, send me an email addy. It's too big for PM's.

But basically-fruit and greens AM, noon, any snacks. PM starches, bread and greens. no to overt fats of any sort. cut the akkyhol back to 2 or less.

then eat whatthehellever on the weekends.

My main sources of information, support, and guidance in this endeavor:

The 80/10/10 Diet, Graham.
The China Study, Campbell.
John McDougall, MD -see site.

Fruit rules. :banana: :banana: :banana:

and sure, I could drop three or four more, but now know exactly how easy it is.

[SoCalSteve]

to put a sticky on it
and keep it going...
...clydesdale has challenged me to keep track of my fitness goals
but the whole spreadsheet thing kind of intimidates me!
i hesitate in mentioning anything negative on this post, though
because it seems like the whole tone of the thread
is positive and mutually encouraging...
...a very refreshing place to be.
thanks clydesdale and all those who are participating
and organizing this effort!

A Sticky for this thread is a grand idea!

And yes, this is a very positive and mutual encouraging thread!!!

I hope we can keep it up, reach our goals and all be a bit healthier and happier because of it.

Just sayin'

Steve

[endosch2]

Who puts the sticky on ? The moderator? I would like to see this with a sticky too.

[SoCalSteve]

Who puts the sticky on ? The moderator? I would like to see this with a sticky too.

Yeah, Pete or BB Dave...

All we need to do is ask them.