I've just penned a little Bear Bones New Years message and thought I might share it here too, you never know, it may just strike a chord with someone.
I'm writing this with only a handful of days left until the end of 2016. A new year's lurking just round the corner and as ever, it'll be full of ups and downs, the mundane and the extraordinary and a mixture of pain and pleasure. At this time of year many of us will look back wistfully over the last 365 days and think about what never was and what might have been. For some, this introspective journey will likely end at the bottom of a glass sometime in the small hours of January 1st. For others, it will be the catalyst that drives them into the New Year, all guns blazing; ready to change whichever character flaws or physical traits they hold responsible for whatever regrets they harbour.
New Year, new you and all that ... it's a great thing and as cyclists who potentially frequent the more extreme end of things, there's often considerable scope. Although many of us share a fascination for all things lightweight, deep down we all know that replacing our 20g tent pegs with some weighing 8g less, won't actually make very much difference when we're facing our third big climb of the day. We're fully aware that no amount of sulking or stamping of feet will actually make the rain stop or our socks miraculously dry out. No, sadly we know the painful truth and the truth is - we're the problem.
Lighter, harder, fitter, stronger - these are the things that will make a difference to how we perform and ride. They, rather than your tent pegs will decide whether you can ride fifty miles in a day or a hundred and whether you'll allow the dark monsters of your mind to dictate your actions or push on through into the light. They can't be bought in the shops or on-line but that doesn't mean you can't get them and January 1st will herald the start of many quests to search them out.
It can be a perilous voyage under a harsh captain and one that not all good intentions will survive. Some will have second thoughts and never even set foot on board. Others will fall victim to the rough seas within days and ask to be put ashore at the nearest port and a few will fall overboard into the cold waters, never to be seen again. However, those who can knuckle down and take the beatings will eventually find themselves on the bright white sands of the promised land and there they'll stand - lighter, harder, fitter and stronger.
Can I throw my hat in the ring too please? I was going to throw my helmet but that didn't sound right
I have 10kg to shift to get back to fighting weight. Not too fussed about the fat v carbs debate I'm working on the assumption that if I don't put it in my gob it wont end up on my 4rse!
NorwayCalling wrote:I have been eating like a horse these last 2 weeks as being ill and doing the RaphaFestive500 too has fired the glutton in me.
I don't think I've been eating enough to make up for it. Doing this many miles with ridiculous altitude and knobbly tyres on has been utterly wrecking me (and not leaving much time for food!).
I assume we don't want to clog up the weigh in thread with discussion, so I thought I'd post here to see how it's going and if anyone has some killer tips (hopefully without it becoming an argument over xyz...).
Well I managed to loose just over a pound between Boxing day and the official weigh in. I've been cutting out the junk and trying to keep the carbs down ( not specific number low) and being stricter since the official weigh in with a late brunch rather than breakfast and lunch.
The weather up here is still gales and sleety showers so cycling has been mainly turbo (mix of steady stuff and intervals) and after a 2 hour battle against northerly wind and hail yesterday on the road it may continue to be, wind had me down to 10kph on essentially flat road thinking I might actually be blown to a stop
Other than cycling I've been making sure I get an hours walk-about at a pace in and doing some regular low number (grease the groove) pull ups, dips and press ups in the shed.
Cabin fever isn't helping with the food, but My Fitness Pal is.
I'm using an app to track my calorie intake (MyNetDiary, if anyone is interested).
I've tried paleo before, and while it worked to an extent, it didn't fit with the rest of the family. Instead, I'm avoiding glucose-based carbs at least until lunchtime, and any snacks should be carb free (fructose is allowed).
So, breakfast is a boiled egg (or 2) and fruit.
Snacks are mainly nuts, a piece of ham, grapes or crunch of some frozen peas. There's a desire to eat, but I think it's partly ritual and taking on low carbs instead of high ones satisfies the desire. Also drinking more water.
Lunch and dinner are normal at the moment, though I'm trying to reduce the amount of grain I eat, and paying attention to meal size. I've already noticed that it's really easy to eat more carbs than your daily quota. My riding is much less frequent these days with family duties, and I can't keep stuffing in food as I wish without putting weight on.
I'm glad I'm not the only 'larger fella' on here. I'm the heaviest I've ever been and fast approaching 50.... I've got 22 days of being "in my 40's" :(
My weigh in was saddening at 111kg . I'm 5'10 .
My lad is about 6'1" maybe and a bit over 23st. :(
I've decided to follow a Joe Wicks Low Carb lifestyle. There do seem to be some great recipes in his books.... his portions are too big for me.
Had an vaguely exciting steak, spinach and cream sauce last night from the first book ... it was fantastic.
We know it's an exercise based regimen so we're doing a pressup challenge .... hoping to do 20 a day / 550 for January (this might get revised upwards if it proves too easy), and we're determined to do his HIIT workouts. I commute 3 miles each way in the week and usually get out on a Weds night.
I need to cut out on the alcohol. I don't think I drink a lot but my waistline and online investigation suggests otherwise, and with 210 calories in a pint of Guinness, it's an easy 3-4000 calories to cut in a week :) I'll drop onto rum & coke if the need arises.
Good luck to everyone, but especially the big blokes.
My Fitness Pal is a great app.
Yeh I was thinking all these bikepackers doing super distances and the like must be all racing snakes, obviously many are, but good to know I'm not alone.
Good to hear a recommendation for the Joe wicks book, think my wife will go for that
Egg mayonnaise ( our own eggs) and pork and leek sausages for brunch here.
The 3rd (Green ) Joe Wicks book has loads of great recipes in. the Blue one is quite fish heavy, and I'm not a huge fish fan ....
Saying that, me and the boy are trying to up our fish intake. Been having the Sardines / Pilchards /Mackerel in the little tins. Some are very tasty, but the toast is awkward on Low carb.
Our biggest problem is lack of planning. When we try to think of suitable meals, we seem to get a mind blank. So we've been through the JW books and written down a long list of possible meals, either low carb or post workout. Now we just need to go through the list and pick what we fancy :)
Thing is, its designed to work if you do some exercise. I've just walked 2 miles in 30 mins at 4mph, before lunch (salad, bean salad and Mackerel in Mexican Sauce :) ) , I have to ride home (will hopefully try to ride a bit further on the way back, and we'll likely do a HIIT before tea.
I just want to get ourselves moving more to kickstart the weight loss.
Mackerel or whatever on oatcakes works for me, atleast it's better than bread. I eat oat cakes a fair amount with cheese or pate on them. Nairns cheese ones are good