Posted: 29 March 2007 at 5:10am | IP Logged

Hey people,  I am a fairly new member her at RTR.  My wife and i purchased two new trikes.  We both want to and need to lose weight.  I am a type 2 diabetic and on insulin.  We hope to ride our new bikes a little bit every day and then go for a short tour on the weekends while building up our stamina.  I was wondering if there are any other people out there in bicycle land that would like to correspond and provide support for each other to attain this goal.  We have set a goal of riding in the DALMAC bicycle tour by the time we are 55 yrs. old.  that gives us four years.  The DALMAC is a bike tour in Michigan every Labor Day Weekend.  It starts on the campus of MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY  and goes to Mackinac City Michigan.  they have two different five day trips (east and west routes) and a four day trip.  You end up being able to ride your bike across the BIG MAC BRIDGE.  So, if anyone is interested in this endeavor please contact me. thanks Peabob

Posted: 07 April 2007 at 2:19pm | IP Logged

Okinell,  I check this forum once or twice a week as time allows. i will keep in conctact through here as much as i can. Hope you all do the same.

Update.  We have rode our bikes 5 out of the first 7 days we had them. This past monday and Tuesday we rode about 10 miles each day and then mother nature did her dirty. hahahah snow and cold so we left our trikes in the garage.  not into freezing anything important hahahhaa. We are still in the cold front and being good friday its still snowing some.  i want spring to be here. well have a great easter talk soon Peabob

Posted: 10 April 2007 at 6:06am | IP Logged

Hi everyone,  Hope everyone had a very good Easter Holiday.  I am back at work after a long week on vacation.  Did not get a thing done we wanted to but as the saying goes " a bad day on vacation is better than a good day at work". 

So.. here goes the first blog on the weight loss for yours truly.  I weighed in this morning at a stout 370 pounds.  I am going to weigh in every monday morning, the reason i am doing this are the weekends. They seem to be very unforgiving in the diet department so if i weigh in on monday maybe i can stay within reason on sat and sun!  what do you think. 

We have had a cold spell the past week and this thursday the  weather man says 1 to 3 inches of fluffy white &*%#. Man is spring going to get here soon.  I can only hope.  Well thats the plan anyone want to join me. thanks Peabob.

Posted: 13 April 2007 at 1:26pm | IP Logged

I need to tell you all of the other side.

Several years ago I contracted a rare neurological disease that causes loss of sensation and paralysis in the feet and hands. I can't run and can only walk for a hundred yards or so, I have severe balance issues and I can't twist my feet out of cleats quickly enough to be safe. Having been a cyclist and commuter for thirty years and a racquet sports player, all my exercise had been based on my legs. As a result my weight ballooned to 300 lbs (I'm 6'2" and normally weigh about 210). My health deteriorated as my blood pressure shot up, I developed borderline diabetes, sleep apnea and all the aches and pains of being overweight. Not to mention it made it more and more difficult to walk, causing more weight gain, blah, blah, blah.

As my health deteriorated I told a friend I was going to sell my beloved Cannondale because I didn't think I'd be able to ride again. He simply said: "what a shame." That hit home...it was a shame: I decided I was not going to become an invalid and I vowed then and there to fight this disease, first by loosing weight.

Thinking I wasn't able to exercise I concentrated on dieting. I limited myself to 1000 calories a day. Let me tell you when you do that, you use every lo-cal trick in the book, you watch every single morsel and you do anything you can to fill your stomach. Turns out that low calorie, filling foods (salads, etc.) are also healthy (who knew, lol). I started in June and by December I was down to 220.

Looking back, I don't know how I managed the will power but when the results start to show up it gets easier. Plus, when you diet without exercise you also generate less of an appetite. The downside is you loose muscle at the same rate as fat. You have to follow up with exercise.

One day, on a whim, I went for a bike ride with my youngest son and though balance was an issue (I wore no cleats) there was little, manageable pain because there was no impact. I was thrilled. I assumed my balance issues were going to keep me from commuting so I bought a stationary bike to exercise. I began to use it regularly. Guess what? My weight loss stalled. I simply couldn't live and exercise on 1000 calories, so I try to eat as little as I can stand: 1500 to 2000. Of course, as you might have guessed, I discovered recumbent trikes at that moment, bought one and started commuting again. My weight loss is still very, very slow but my shape has changed as my muscle mass builds and my health is totally better.

Bottom line: I'm turning 50 this year and my metabolism (or whatever) simply won't allow me to burn off the fat the way I could when I was younger. IF PEOPLE OUR AGE TRY TO BURN IT OFF WITH EXERCISE ALONE WE WILL FAIL! Plus, if you loose the weight first the exercise becomes a lot easier, more fun and more effective. I've also learned that when you get overweight and loose a lot of weight it becames much, much easier to gain it back. Please combine your exercise regimen with diet and vice versa as someone else said...it's the only way to keep the weight off.

Here are my rules:

1) Count calories only! Eat anything you want but keep the total daily consumption to some predetermined level and stick to it. If you want a twinkie, eat it, but recognize you could have had two ham sandwiches on lo-cal bread.
2) Bread, pasta, etc. have the highest level of calories of practically any food you eat. (The no-carb diets work temporarily but you feel awful and exercise is agony). But don't watch carbs (what a joke) watch calories.
3) Look for "free" food. Berries, melon and many others have remarkably low calories. Pickles only have about 5 calories apiece. Have no concerns about the artificiality of diet stuff: if it works, use it. Find a way to fill your belly on as few calories as you can. (But no diet pills!)
4) Drink tons of ice cold water. Your body burns nearly 150 calories warming up a pint of ice water in your belly. Plus, it fills you up.
5) Loose the weight first then worry about fitness. Even though you are eating fairly unhealthily in terms of nutrition, it doesn't compare to the health risks of obesity.
6) Little, common sense tips:
 Don't eat for entertainment.
 Don't eat habitually if you aren't hungry: skip a meal every now and again when you feel you are able.
 Don't eat three meals a day, eat lots of little bits.
 Get away from the table/kitchen as quickly as you can: put yourself in a food free environment.
 Make your first meal of the day your biggest meal (this really works!).
 Ride the trike every chance you get!

You can do it. I'm still working on it...I need to loose another 30 lbs (your friends, meaning well, will tell you not to worry about loosing more: "you look great" but don't be persuaded). I'm down from a 46 inch waist to a 36. My standing heart rate is down in the upper 50's and my BP is nearly normal.

Remember: if I can do it, you can too. We're all pulling for you.

Posted: 14 April 2007 at 6:25am | IP Logged

Joebanks 2020

Everything you wrote is so true.  being over 50 diabetic and trying to loose weight be healthy and enjoy life is not so easy.  but then nothing good is.  I will not diet anymore.  what i have done is started a life plan.  This will consist of a lot of the things you wrote about.  i have to want it and i have to have the will power to do it.  i will keep the forum posted every monday.  stay tuned good luck thanks and hope to keep on hearing from everyone.  No body has to do this alone and i am fortunate to have a wife that cares and is supporting me 110% plus.  thanks again your friend Peabob.  weigh day is mondays.

Posted: 14 April 2007 at 6:04pm | IP Logged

Okinell, I think it is good that you warned people not to starve themselves and to exercise.

But could you explain what you mean by "destroy the very metabolic centers"? What is a metabolic center and how is it destroyed?

 And most importantly, will it come back if one keeps good habits?

Posted: 14 April 2007 at 6:16pm | IP Logged

Okinell and Peabob,

Okinell is absolutely right and very welcome with his caution. Dieting without exercise is dangerous and almost always winds up with counterproductive rebounding. But I was not careful to seperate my particular circumstances from general ones and that obscured my point.

I had to lose the weight and I thought I couldn't exercise. But calories must be burned. As I reached my first target weight I was starting to see every extra calorie on the scale and that proves exactly what Okinell is saying. It was getting harder to burn it off as my fat burning mechanisms got smaller. It was pure good fortune that I discovered trikes at the very moment I was noticing my muscle mass deteriorate (a lot).

Okinell and I couldn't agree more we just quibble about the timing. Beginning to lose weight through diet has to come first when you are obese. You have to refocus your attention on what you consume, before you gain the weight, rather than burning it off after. That was always my worst failing, even when I was fit in my youth. Peabob said it best.

That is the lesson I have gleaned from my peculiar experience. If you concentrate on diet (as I had to) first and loose a little weight your natural vanity becomes your best coach. Not worrying about exercise during the initial loss actually makes it easier to stick to the diet...at first. EXERCISE MUST START AS SOON AS YOU CAN! And here's the good part: if you start exercising slowly at first you balance your muscle building against your appetite. Exercise gently, increase appetite gently, balance the rate of your weight loss to the improvement in your strength. But losing the weight first makes exercise easier and more fun. When you drop the pounds you can fly on your trike! Besides everything else taking it slowly is a lot safer for those of us with grey hair.

This is where I am stuck by the way. I haven't lost any real weight in four months. This much exercise has made controlling my appetite a real challenge. It's a lot harder than when it was diet alone because the internal furnaces need a lot more fuel. I'm really lucky: my wife, too, is great, I love my trike, I have a wonderful commute (85 miles a week on bike trails 95% of the time), an office with a shower and a really expensive parking garage. I have a lot of incentives to keep exercising.

Now, I only worry about keeping intake lower than output requires...weight loss is secondary...because now, my weight isn't such a worry. Being a healthier, stronger rider is now my goal. My muscle mass is taking the place of fat (I hope!) and I'm not as concerned about how much I eat as I was or probably still should be.

The main thing: I'll never stop being aware of my health. What an odd blessing this disease has been.

BTW, Okinell, thanks for the thought about water but this stupid disease makes my feet cramp when I swim. I have since bought a Bowflex and a rowing machine to provide an upper body workout. I hate the g*d*m Bowflex, it's my enemy (it's a great machine) but the rower is really fun. Just had to make sure it's a good one (a Concept 2 is the best value) because the cheap ones stink.

Best

Posted: 16 April 2007 at 6:34am | IP Logged

Good Monday Morning.  Yup its official as in my previous post 11 pounds. yipppeeee.359 no more no less.  thanks for the support everyone.  I will be posting every Monday. thanks Peabob

Posted: 17 April 2007 at 6:53pm | IP Logged

Been reading this thread, wondering if I should put in my 2 cents.  I'm diabetic, Type 2 for the past 17 years, on an insulin pump for the past 4 years.  My pancreas isn't totally dead yet, still makes some insulin, but my body doesn't know what to do with it, or something like that.  My Quack put me on a new drug called Byetta, two month ago.  So, in two months, I have lost 23 lbs., the first time I have been able to lose weight without my blood glucose being out of control.  Byetta is only prescribed for those with an active pancreas, has several effects on the body - makes your stomach stay full/feel full longer, cuts sugar cravings, slows absorbtion of food.  Injected twice daily, you must inject then eat within an hour. I eat a small (coffee and bagel) breakfast, and a small dinner - a salad or can of soup.  Snacks are some pretzel sticks or an apple!  No lunch - I'm not hungry, and sometimes not hungry even at dinner!  My insulin usage has been cut in half, I have energy like I used to have pre-diabetes, no more diabetic neuropathy pains in my feet and hands.  I can ride faster (yes - faster) and longer, and recover faster.

So, what did I do to celebrate this wonderful drug?  I went out and bought a new trike!  A HPVelotechnik Scorpion!  So, my new trike is about 20 lbs lighter than the old, and I am 23 lbs lighter than before, so I am hauling around 43 lbs less!  D@mn, no wonder I feel so good! Blood pressure and pulse rate are all down, too.  By summer, I want to be 30 lbs lighter. Started 272, now at 259!

peabob - ask your Quack if you can use Byetta, too!

THANK YOU, BYETTA!

Tourezrick

the Scorpion King

Posted: 20 April 2007 at 7:46pm | IP Logged

Baby steps before giant steps!  Before you know it, 10 miles will barely be a warmup - mental attitude is what counts insofar as licking this disease we have.   Just wish my trike would arrive.  Got word that it shipped from Germany yesterday, so one of these days.  Weather report for the weekend is promising, so you will have 2 good days for riding.  One good thing to look at is the Lightman Strobe (search for Lightman), better than a flag IMO, especially for those evening rides in the summer.  Have a great weekend, RYAO (ride your a$$es off).

Tourezrick

Posted: 23 April 2007 at 11:16am | IP Logged

Peabob - Losing 15 lbs. since April 10 is nothing to complain about, when you get on Byetta, it will go faster.  I've been stuck around 259 for most of a week, but the body is a strange thing, so says my wife - but I really think she was talking specifically about mine, not in general.  Check out our recumbent groups site - not a club or forum - just a group of good riding friends - http://groups.google.com/group/chicagoland-recumbent-riders- south  .  We have a few trike riders in the group - not all have seen the light! lol. Did my bike club's (Folks on Spokes) Easter Ride yesterday - windy but warm - almost 700 riders, only 1 trike - a giant (at least 6'6", 300+ lbs. on a Greenspeed GTO - also a member of our group).  Lots o fun!

Tourezrick

the Scorpion King

Posted: 24 April 2007 at 8:50am | IP Logged

Nice going guys, and Peabob, don't worry if you have an off  week. As you know, I'm sure, you have to give it enough time to change the fat to muscle.

Some guys at the health club I went to, make a pitcher of iced green tea and drink it all day. I try to drink at least 2 cups a day and find it helps.

Posted: 30 April 2007 at 7:42am | IP Logged

Harold..... Your welcome for the posts and I also enjoy the postings of the others as well.  support comes from all sides and trust me the more the merrier.  It helps me tremendously.

You did the mini Triathalon it seems to me.... Triking weights and swimming wow..... All i did yesterday was mow and trim my lawn rototill the garden and wash and wax our travel trailer and then cooked dinner.... and i was beat... lol.... We are going on our first camping weekend this coming weekend and I wanted to get our travel trailer ready... home away from home ya know.  Tonight i am taking my mother home as she has spent the last week with us since coming home from arizona. 

As far as what you said about gearing.  I tend to wander about trying various things to see what suits me.  On my trike I have surmised that the gearing overlaps and that what seems like a low gear can be a high gear????? I usually run in the second gear range and travel between 2nd and 8th gear.  It seems to work out pretty good for me so far.  But... i am always open to new ideas and such and will try the approach you recomended. what do i have to lose.... weight lots of weight lol... well okieee take care and be safe.. your friend peabob.

Posted: 30 April 2007 at 8:22am | IP Logged

You know the best thing, results aside, is the fact that you keep telling us how you're doing. Sticking with it isn't the battle, it's the war. Congrats guys.

I still haven't lost any more weight and I'm still not worried because I can feel myself getting stronger and see myself getting fitter every day. It does show what Harold said before: Losing so much weight so fast (80 lbs in 6 months) does do a real number on muscle mass and you have to work extra hard to get it back. And building back that muscle makes you legitimately hungry so it's extra easy to overeat. I still assert it was worth it because my health was deteriorating rapidly due to the obesity. Now I feel much better and it's much easier to exercise but, thanks to Harold, I'm being extra careful not to binge and fall off the wagon. Thanks for the warning!

I know what you mean about comments from friends (and support in general). Even though I'm not at my goal yet, everyone tells me how much better I look and it means a lot. My wife even asked me if I get tired of everyone asking me if I've lost a lot of weight...NO! lol. Of course she asked with a smile.

Posted: 30 April 2007 at 9:26am | IP Logged

Yup 'the war' is forever. Congrats to all! Reading the last several posts is a good reminder that we all have some different ideas that work.

And the scale is the grade on how we're doing. My husband and I both set out to lose about 20 lbs, about 5 months ago. As of today, I'm very close, and I haven't even gotten my trike yet .

I work out regularly at a health club and that has helped with the inches, but not the weight - that takes eating less. I actually stumbled on the trike idea by accident, as I was trying to find out about bikes for grandmas or some such. I need 'a sport' to stay on track and I hope this will be it. When I swam regularly (and fast for ten years) about 25 years ago, I never had to fight the scale ( the only time in my adult life), but due to problems, I had to give up swimming. So hoping the trike will do what swimming did. I try to eat only healthy food, the general idea being to make your metabolism and digestion work better, and so to lose weight more easily, which makes everything else easier and on and on.........

Posted: 30 April 2007 at 9:28am | IP Logged

  "He recommended for me to try to stay "geared" so that I was in a lower gear rather than a higher gear.  He said that you usually are better served building endurance rather than your strength on your biking routines.  Too high of a gear tends to fatigue your muscles and make them sore, where the more your legs are pumping the pedals the lactic acid will tend to get swept away."

Harold, lower gearing with higher cadence is not only easier on muscles, but also gentler on aging knees. I find that it really helps to use a computer with a cadence feature to moniter how fast I am spinning. If I keep my cadence above 90 I can ride long with no knee discomfort - below 80 and my knees will be uncomfortable. This is particularly true on my trike - possibly due to the extra weight.

Ed

Posted: 30 April 2007 at 10:36am | IP Logged

Oki,,,,, question about your Scarab... well several i think lol...

1) American made?

2) Do you know what the weight limit is? ie. just how much lard will that thang carry? lol......

3) just how fast can you go on one of dem ground scrapers?

4) is it hard to keep up a steady speed?

5) that will do it fer now hahahahah

Now on a general memo to all the great people reading and writing in this here post..THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. you guys and gals are just what a feller needs to keep up the "WAR" your the best. Peabob.

Posted: 30 April 2007 at 8:28pm | IP Logged

Hey Peabob -

Glad to hear you're dropping!  Way to go!  What did the Quack say about Byetta? They gotta put you on it - freaking Gila Monster Spit wonder drug!

I saw my GP today for test results - weight 258, BP 120/70, pulse 70, A1c of 6.5 !!!!!, cholesterol total was 96 !!  good 29, bad 67.  Wow, can this be me???  Got my new Scorpion Friday, rode it for the first time Saturday along the Kankakee River - hit 38 mph pedaling downhill! Sunday, rode up a long hill at over nine mph, where I used to do it a 6!  I don't ride to go fast, used to race an Alfa Romeo, so I've been fast, but fast that low with no roll cage is a rush. 

You just watch - before you know it, with the weight off, your endurance will improve dramatically, as will speed and fun.  Just promise me you won't revert to lycra!  There are somethings us Clydesdales must NEVER consider wearing! 

Tourezrick

ps - trikes are chick magnets!  Life is so good!   

Posted: 01 May 2007 at 3:34am | IP Logged

Tourezrick,   Glad to hear your chick magnet finally arrived... it works, how do you keep from running over them.. hahahahhahaha.  No on the Byetta for now,  the doc said she wants to do some reading up on it first.  With the meds i am on she wants to make sure its safe. I should know sometime later this week. no worry.  Your good Cholesterol is 29.. thats way low which i thought was not a good thing. I had the same problem and the dr. put me on Zocor. Seems to me the good cholesterol should be around 40? i think... i could be wrong its happened before.

As far as watching and promising,,, well lycra.... ummmmmm isnt that the skin tight clothing all the twiggie types like to wear and us clydes should just admire ???? i promise i will never wear that stuff.  i ride naked... hahahahahahhaha now thats skeery.... I will keep you all informed of the progress and such.. thanks for the support Peabob