I’ve been very truthful in that my diet is horrible. Have I tried to eat better? Sure but I always have problems with eating too much and eating the wrong stuff. I knew it was a problem but was too lazy to fix it. I made some half-heart attempts but never put anything permanently in place to correct the problem.

This is further mind-boggling because I knew that I needed to be counting, or tracking, my calories in order to solve my weight problems. So why don’t I do it?

Why Don’t We Count Calories?

Is it because we’re lazy? Maybe but I think the biggest problem is because we think it’s too hard. We’ve all seen the books available that show nutritional information for particular foods (calories, fat, carbohydrates, etc.). You have to look up your food, figure out how much you ate, and then write it down in whatever you were tracking it in (legal pad, moleskin, or perhaps excel). Then you had to add up everything and see how you were doing. Now you needed to figure out your balance of carbs, fats, and proteins. Good luck!

It Doesn’t Have To Be Hard

These days there are online tools (both free and paid) that let you do all this. They have big databases of pre-loaded foods with all the nutritional information already entered. All you have to do is figure out how much you consumed and the rest is done for you. Some of these online tools even track goals (weight loss per week, total weight loss, goal weight, etc.) as well as your exercise. They’ve taken all the hard work and made it easy.

I’ve used Fit Day in the past but was never really sold on it. Their database had a lot of food in it but you still had to enter a lot of stuff manually. Maybe that’s why I quit using it. Two days ago I was on Livestrong.com and found The Daily Plate. I looked at it but didn’t sign up. Then I read over on Jason Kearney’s blog, Out Here In The Middle, that he used The Daily Plate. so I headed back over there today to sign up (for free) and see what it was like.

I’ve only experimented with it a little bit but already love it. It pulled up my brand of oatmeal right away so I started putting in the rest of the things I’d eaten for the day. It tells you how many calories you’ve eaten for the day, how many calories you have left to eat based on your goal (for me it’s losing 2 pounds per week), and a nutritional breakdown. It also lets you add how many glasses of water you’ve consumed for the day. It’s got a ton of features I haven’t even explored yet.

Needless to say, I like it a lot. I’m going to give it a go, see how it works, and write a more detailed review later.

You Still Have To Measure

These online tools are great but in order to make them work we still have to measure how much we’re eating and exercising. For those of us cycling we have our trusty cyclocomputers to tell us how far and how fast we’ve ridden. What about food? We guess right? Wrong!

I’m just as guilty as the next person when it comes to measuring food intake. Some items are easy (1 packet of artificial sweetner has this many calories). What about that big bowl of noodles last night? Or that container of chicken I had for lunch? Or the taco dinner at your favorite taco joint. When left to do our own guesswork we always underestimate. Especially when it comes to food and counting caloric intake!

How can we, I, take our weight loss seriously if we can’t be honest with ourselves on how much we’re eating? The answer is that we can’t. Period.

That’s why I’m buying a food scale today.

Are You Counting Calories?

I’ve included a small poll below to see how many of my readers are counting their calories. Do you do it manually using the old book method or do you use one of the online tools?

Leave us a comment below if you have any good tips or recommendations for counting calories. Or maybe leave me a comment because you love my blog so much.

Vote Now! I guarantee there will be no hanging chads!

Feature image courtesy of Alan Cleaver.

Exercise is an essential ingredient in our goal to lose weight (diet is another but we’ll talk about that later) and riding a bike, cycling, is a great exercise. You don’t have to train like Lance Armstrong to lose weight cycling but you have to do something. For those of us that are overweight, cycling is a great sport to help us and here’s why I think so.

Weight Scale

• You probably already have a bike. There’s probably a pretty good chance you’ve already got a bicycle sitting out in the garage that’s seen little to no use. Why not use it to help you shed those pounds? Whether it’s in serviceable condition is another story so make sure you give it a good once over before heading out for a ride. If you can’t remember the last time you rode it then you’re probably not going to be able to hop on it without the tires being flat.
• Cycling is a great recreational sport. Like I said earlier, you don’t need to be racing like the professionals in order to enjoy the sport of cycling or to lose weight. Those guys and girls are great inspiration but their goals are different than ours (at least right now). Cycling is a great recreational sport you can enjoy while riding local trails or in your neighborhood. It’s also a great exercise to enjoy as a family.
• Cycling is low impact.I think this makes cycling a truly great sport for those of us that are overwieight. If you are overweight, you may already be experiencing joint problems due to carrying around those extra pounds. Participating in a high-impact sport, like running, can make those problems worse. I’m in no way saying running is bad, it’s a great exercise, but cycling lets use Clydes and Athenas work on getting the weight off without putting undue stress on knee and ankle joints.
• Cycling can help save you money. Along with using cycling to lose weight you can also save money by starting to commute by bike. Not everyone will be able to do this but if you can it’s a great way to save money on gas, parking fees, and car repairs. Plus it’s environmentally friendly. Losing weight while cycling to work is an added bonus.
• You’ll be uber-cool. Well maybe you won’t but you’ll feel uber-better after putting some time in on the bike.

Those are five reasons I think you should seriously consider cycling to lose weight. Cycling being low impact is one of the big reasons I’m doing it.

Are you cycling to lose weight or have another reason why cycling is a great exercise for losing weight? Let me know in the comments below.

Image courtesy of Peter Blanchard.

Day 33 – Rest Day

Not much to be said about that. I considered riding anyway because I had missed a day earlier in the week due to rain but decided against it so I didn’t compromise my Saturday morning ride.

Day 34 – 3 Hour Endurance Pace Ride

I woke up a little before 7 AM and headed on down to White Rock Lake to get this ride in. The morning was just beautiful and the temp was still in the lower 80s when I started. There were a lot of folks out this morning doing their riding, running, rollerblading and walking. There even looked to be some kind of running race going on but I missed most of it because it looked like it had started early.

This ride was fairly simple – ride at endurance pace (15 mph) for 3 hours. I’d done this same length of ride just a couple of weeks earlier so I knew I could do it. After a 15 minute warm up I settled into a good rhythm and went to it. Everything went really good but after about an hour the wind started to pick up from the South and that made my Southbound leg around the lake a little difficult on some of the exposed points. I was really happy with the way I attacked the three or four hills that I see in each loop. I did notice that after several laps I couldn’t maintain the same speed I did initially but I can tell I’m getting better at riding them. I brought a cliff bar with me this time and had it at the 1.5 hour point. Immediately after that I rode pretty good (could have been psychological) but the 2 hour to 2.5 hour time frame was pretty hard.

After I was done I felt really good about the ride and am happy with the numbers. While I didn’t ride 50 miles during my timed endurance portion, if I was to add on my warm up I would be over the half-century mark. Here are the numbers:

Total Time (h:m): 3:10
Total Distance: 48.4 miles
Avg Speed: 15.28 mph

Day 35 – 1.5 Hour Endurance Pace Ride

This is the same ride as Day 34 but for only half the time. Instead of waiting until the evening to ride I decided to ride early and am glad I did because it got HOT later in the day. One bad thing about the ride though was that the wind was brutal. Straight out of the South but blowing hard. It made it quite difficult on portions of the loop but I just grinded it out. Saw lots of riders again this morning. Here are the numbers:

Total Time (h:m): 1:30
Total Distance: 23 miles
Avg Speed: 15.3 mph

Day 36 – Rest Day (Week 5 Re-Cap)

Today is Monday and the standard rest day. The Century Training Plan I’m following also has tomorrow as a rest day so I should be well-rested for Wednesday’s ride. I know I need the rest but I don’t feel like I need two days off.

The mileage numbers and measurements for this week are below. I’m about 23 miles short of what I should have been for the weekly mileage due to a rain day but I’m still happy with the numbers. My measurements seem to be fluctuating a bit and frustrate me. I really thought I’d start seeing change changes in my girth by this point but I haven’t seen anything significant. It seems like I’m holding within a half inch on all measurements with some up and some down. The next several weeks should tell me a lot though because my Saturday rides will see me really raising the bar on the mileage with this Saturday calling for a 4 hour ride. I’d like to find someplace other than White Rock Lake to do it so if any of you readers are in Dallas and can suggest a safe, low traffic route I’d like to hear about it.

Here are this weeks mileage numbers:

Total Time: (h:m): 5:59
Total Distance: 91.3
Avg Speed: 15.2 mph
Total Training Mileage (since 4-Jul-09): 509.87

Measurements changes since last week:

Neck: +.5 in
Chest: -.5 in
Left Bicep: -.25 in
Right Bicep: +.25 in
Waist: +.5 in
Left Thigh: -.5 in
Right Thigh: -1 in
Left Calf: -1 in
Right Calf: 0

New Gloves

After finishing my ride on Sunday morning (Day 35) my gloves finally gave up the ghost with one of the seams giving way. The seam had actually given away a while ago but it finally came all the way loose today. I can’t argue with how they’ve performed because they were a cheap pair of Nashbar gloves that have probably seen well over 1000 miles of riding. They needed replacement a long time ago but I try to make stuff last as long as possible (maybe I’m just cheap). I ended up going to the local Performance Store and they had several gloves on sale. I opted for the Performance Century Gel Glove which cost me $12.99. I know they aren’t a name-brand glove but compared to some of the name-brands that were on sale the Century Gel seemed to fit better and had better padding. We’ll see how they go and I’ll probably do a long-term review to let you know how they work out.

Day 12

This is the traditional easy cycling day that has 30 minutes of easy spinning scheduled. Due to having to drive out of town I had to skip it.

Day 13

This was Saturday and I had a 3 hour endurance ride scheduled. Before heading out of town on Friday I mapped out a new route on MapMyRide to try. I was up at 6:00 AM on Saturday morning and rolling by 6:30. After 15 minutes I reset my computer and set out for 3 hours of riding.

I headed due east on Highway 199 towards Dickson. This is a fairly trafficked two-lane road but has six foot wide shoulders that makes it pretty safe. It’s not too flat either with three very good size hills over the 9 miles from Ardmore to Dickson. I lived and went to school in Dickson and had only been back through there a few times in the past 20 years. Before turning off Highway 199 I rolled by my brother’s house and past the old house we used to live in before moving when I was 10. Once in Dickson I turned North on Highway 177.

Washita River

Well, today kicked off my Century Training Series in which I’ll be blogging daily during my 12-week training plan as I get ready to ride my first century in September. I’m following the basic plan in the June 2009 issue of Bicycling magazine for those interested in following along.

Since it’s Day 1 it means it’s Monday which is sort of anti-climactic since it’s a scheduled rest day. Because it’s a rest day I’ve decided that Monday’s will be the day I update everyone on my progress as far as measurements. And since it’s the first Monday we need to establish a baseline for comparison later. In truth, I probably should have established this baseline several months ago so I could measure my progress to date but hindsight is 20/20. Establishing a baseline now will allow you to see how my body is changing during this 12-week training plan. Without further ado, here are my measurements:

Weight: ? (I meant to weigh yesterday since I don’t have a scale…look for my weight update in 2 weeks)
Neck: 17.5 in
Chest: 46 in
Left Bicep: 14.25 in
Right Bicep: 14.5 in
Waist: 48.5 in
Left Thigh: 28.5 in
Right Thigh: 28.5 in
Left Calf: 19.25 in
Right Calf: 19 in

My waist measurement is disturbing. It was measured around the largest part of my stomach which is a horizontal line around the body that bisects the navel. This is how the military measures your waist size and includes your love handles. Most people don’t wear their pants that high so your pant size is usually smaller than your actual measurement. I couldn’t believe that number when I first took it.

My neck size has been as high as 21 but I know in the last couple of months it’s decreased dramatically based on doing some test buttoning of the top button on my dress shirts. I’m pretty sure I’ve lost at least six inches in my chest as well based on a normal jacket size of 52 and some of my suits are fitting so good now. I have a wool overcoat that I wore last winter (didn’t get much use for it in Florida) that I couldn’t button. I put it on the other day and can now button all three buttons and have plenty of room to spare. A great feeling.

I guess one way to look at it is that those numbers should only get smaller.

Next week I’ll add in accumulated ride time and mileage for this week.

I’ve watched cycling for as long as I can remember. It’s thrilling to me to watch men and women push themselves to feats of physical stamina that us mere mortals can only dream of. Though most of us can’t attain those heights of physical performance we still push ourselves to ride harder and lose that extra weight, lower the time on our favorite route by a few seconds or hang with the elite riders on the Saturday morning group ride. Those are our feats of physical stamina.

When watching the pros ride their bicycles it’s amazing how effortlessly they propel themselves and how comfortable they look on their machines. They ride for hours at a time in what appears to be euphoric comfort while trashing their bodies in superhuman efforts. Is the ability to ride for hours at a time actually comfortable to them or do they suffer as much as I do? I’m not talking about suffering from a physical exertion stand point but rather suffering from actually being in the saddle and hunched over the bars for a significant period of time. For me, that period of time is limited to about an hour or so. After that I begin to feel discomfort and wonder if every cyclist feels what I’m feeling or is there something wrong with me or my equipment.

You see, comfort in the saddle is bothering me. I’m certain my current bib shorts are part of the problem but I’m concerned that I may have other issues. I always thought that as cyclists, once we’re accustomed to riding, we should be able to ride semi-comfortably for several hours on the bike. I’m finding this isn’t the case for me right now and it has me worried. I find it hard to ride comfortably in one position for any length of time/distance and have to move my hands around a lot and get out of the saddle to relieve pressure. Is what I’m feeling normal or should I be able to achieve a level of comfort on the bike that will enable me to ride comfortably for hours? I believe there are several factors that may be in play which include my bibs, bike fit, saddle, weight and, perhaps, my bike.

• Bibs. I discussed my bibs and the problems I’m having with them in an earlier post. I know I need new ones but I don’t think they are the answer to all my problems. If you have bib recommendations please leave them in the comments.
• Bike fit. This is always the short answer when cyclists discuss riding position and I’m sure it plays a significant role in comfort as well. I was fitted to my bike when I bought it 15 years ago but haven’t had it checked since. My gut tells me that’s probably very bad. I’ve gained a lot of weight since I purchased my bike and 15 years has got to have affected my fit.
• Saddle. I still have the original saddle that came with my bike when I bought it. It appears to be in good shape but I wonder if, with the technological advancements made in saddles over the last 15 years, if I would benefit from a newer, properly sized, saddle.
• Weight. I’ve probably gained 80 pounds since I bought my bicycle. I’m sure the extra weight I’m carrying is putting a lot of stress on the pressure points when I’m riding (like contact points between my rear and the saddle) and losing those extra pounds will alleviate some pressure. Will it be enough to let me achieve euphoric comfort in the saddle?
• My Bike. I’ll admit that when I purchased my bike 15 years ago that I knew nothing about bicycle components or frame geometry. Sometimes I feel like I was the latest sucker to walk in the door and the sales staff off-loaded a bike they were having a hard time selling. Don’t get me wrong, I like my bike but believe it may be a big contributor to my discomfort. It’s a 14-speed with down tube shifters, the older quill-shaft stem and classic road handlebars. It’s all aluminum with zero carbon fiber. I can’t get into the drops because of my gut but if I could I don’t think I could ride in that position very long because of the angles involved. With today’s newer, more upright designs, I sometimes wonder if it’s time for me to go ahead and upgrade in order to a level of sustainable comfort.

I can’t help but notice how several of the items above are related. Losing weight would not only take pressure off my sit bones on the saddle but would probably also improve my fit. Getting a properly sized saddle for my current weight may help as well. Getting a new bike with a more relaxed position may help with fit and saddle discomfort. See what I mean?

So, am I expecting too much by wanting to be comfortable on my bike? I don’t think I am but I may just be ignorant to what to expect and have my expectations set too high. I’d like to hear about your comfort levels on the bike and if you can ride for hours with little to no discomfort.

I’ve still been riding just about everyday as I near the twelve weeks to go point until my first century (July 4th is the 12-week point). Once I hit that twelve week point I’ll be following a training plan but until them I’m just trying to build base mileage, work on the hills and get acclimatized to the heat here in Texas. Tuesday was a day off the bike so I had planned on riding hard yesterday. That I did.

The heat this week has been pretty bad with temps at or near 100F with heat indexes over 100F. Yesterday was no different. Knowing this, I’ve been very conscious to drink water throughout the day and have a bottle of G2 in the afternoon. I’ve also delayed my evening ride by about a half-hour so I’m starting around 6:30 PM and religiously doing a slow six mile warm up. This combination seems to be working for me right now as I’ve had no episodes like last week when I was obliterated after 15 miles. One good thing was that some later afternoon clouds moved in which helped with the heat some yesterday.

I rolled away from my car and made it about 200 feet when I realized I forgot my sunglasses. I immediately pulled a u-turn and headed back to get them. It’s interesting to note that I’ve had these particular sunglasses for about seven years. They aren’t even ‘cycling’ sunglasses. They were given to me while I was still in the Navy and are actually safety glasses. You can buy them at Lowes or Home Depot and come in a number of designs. I’ve always carried them around and they seem to work OK. I’m probably missing out on some design benefits by not having cycling sunglasses but never pulled the trigger to spend the cash on some. If any of you have recommendations for a good set of inexpensive sunglasses for cycling I’d like to hear them.

My warm up went pretty good with no issues. Those first six miles were again strictly to get warmed up, settle in on the bike, and allow the heat to dissipate some before I really cranked up the speed. Me, cranked up and speed actually don’t below in the same sentence together but you now what I mean. I did have to stop during my warm up and tighten two spokes. It’s the same two spokes every couple of rides that keep coming loose. They’re the ones that straddle the valve stem on the opposite side of the cassette on the rear wheel. I think I’m having this problem for a couple of reasons. I think the main culprit is that this isn’t the original wheel that came with my bike. The original had to be replaced last summer and the bike shop only had one rim available that would accept my 7-speed cassette (having a 15 year old bike sucks at times like that) so I got it. I believe this replacement rim isn’t as ‘beefy’ as my original Mavic rim and therefore is succumbing to my ‘beefiness’ (i.e. my weight is a little much for the rim and works the spokes loose).

At the 6 mile point I ‘cranked’ it up to 16 mph and maintained that for one full loop around White Rock Lake. Sure, my speed dropped down a little here and there but I did my best to maintain it right at 16 mph. The downhill sections allowed me to recover where I dropped below 16. When that loop was complete I began the second. To be honest I was going to do the second loop at 17 mph but wound up starting it much faster. I looked down and I was cruising along at 20 mph. I maintained this pace for a couple of miles and dropped down to around 17 mph. At this point I entered into the section of the loop at the South end of the lake that has a couple of hills. I maintained my speed as well as I could (above 15 mph) and kept on pushing it. With about 3/4 of the loop complete I started to fade some and wound up struggling to maintain 15 mph. I relaxed for a mile or so and then picked it up again to around 17 mph all the way back to the car.

Overall I was really happy with that ride. I felt like I pushed it pretty hard and if I hadn’t gone out gang-busters on the second loop I probably would have maintained a solid 17 mph for the entire second loop. I hope this is telling me that my fitness is improving. I rode the 6 mile warm up at 12.7 mph and finished with an average speed of 14.7. That means I road miles 6-23.5 at 16.7 mph. I’m happy with that.

The one big problem I had yesterday was with my bibs. They’re the Nashbar Gel Ride Bib Short and have served me pretty well. They have a gel chamois with a cloth covering over the gel. I think they are now too big for me and fitting too loosely (which is a great thing) but I believe this is causing them to not fit properly and rub me the wrong way. Literally. I was very uncomfortable yesterday (and have been for several rides in these shorts) and when I took a look at them after showering it looks like the cloth covering the gel is now loose and the folds developing in it may be what’s causing my problem. All that said I think it’s time for a new set (I actually need about three sets). I’m considering the Performance Elite II Bib Short because they were the Bicycling Editor’s Choice for shorts under $100. If you have a set of these I’d appreciate your comments below.

I’ve been absent here for a week or so while I launch an affiliate website but that doesn’t mean I’ve stopped riding. On the contrary, I rode pretty hard last week and had a good ride last night.

After some of my recent problems riding down at White Rock Lake (rude cyclists and races) I’ve done some riding around the loop we use for our Monday evening training rides. It is kinda boring but there’s no traffic and the only real hazard is gettingtaken out by an airplane. The picture below is of some of the flowers on the loop. It’s actually quite pretty and is like that for the entire .8 mile loop.

I decided last week that I needed to step up my efforts in my rides because I felt like I was becoming accustomed to what I was doing. The first big change I made was to start riding on the big ring. I’m not exactly sure why I haven’t done this before now. I think I was holding back because of the hills (that I’m not used to). After the Monday evening training ride last week where we actually did some big ring work I felt more comfortable turning it.

Wednesday last week instead of doing my normal hill repeat day I decided to head to the loop and see how hard I could push myself. I did a warm-up of five miles that was probably in the 14 mph range followed by a hard 15 miles where at times I was averaging well over 20 mph a lap. In the end I rode the 20 miles at a 16.2 mph average which is huge for me.

Because the holiday weekend was over I decided to head down to White Rock Lake to get a ride in. I, again, wanted to push myself hard to see what I could do around the lake since I was riding a bigger gear now. The wind was supposed to be around 10 mph out of the SSE with gusts to 15 mph but an approaching thunderstorm had the gusts probably close to 20 mph and a steady wind of 15 mph. That’s all headwind on one side of the lake depending on the direction you ride. I rode into the headwind for the first half and pushed myself pretty hard all the way around staying in my 52T ring the whole way. All told I rode about 15 miles with a 15.2 mph average. I believe my previous best average around the lake is in the neighborhood of 14.5. I wanted to do another loop but the approaching thunderstorm didn’t look pretty.

I have to say the biggest change I’ve seen is my riding on the hills. I am now able to ride up them easier and more aggressive (I actually try to think of attacking them before I get to them). In fact, I rode all the hills last night in the big gear which really surprised me. I think I can contribute this to a couple of factors:

1. I’m getting used to the hills.
2. My fitness may be starting to improve.

I expected #1 to eventually happen but I think my biggest surprise is #2. Looking at the speed I was able to carry on the two rides I talked about above, along with the improved hill riding, I think my fitness maybe starting to turn around and be on an upward trend.

One of the biggest changes I’ve seen though is actually on my belt. I have been doing more riding the past 1.5 months (probably averaging about 70 miles a week) and have really tried to control my diet. There are days that my diet lapses but for the most part I’ve been very strict with it. I just need to tighten the belt (pardon the pun) and stick with the diet better.

Like I said, the biggest change I’ve seen is on my belt. I’ve already had to tighten it two holes and only have one left to go on this belt. When I moved out here from Florida I intentionally brought two smaller belts I’ve had for a while with every intention of being able to use them. I might be able to reach that goal in the next couple of months.

For as long as I can remember I’ve always noticed that I’m usually one of the last people to have someone sit next to me on a bus, airplane, train, or at some kind of event. I have good hygiene so I know it’s not that. It could be my looks because I’m no Tom Cruise. I’m convinced it’s because of my weight. I’ve gotten used to it over time but yesterday, on my flight from Jacksonville to Dallas, I was brutally reminded of it.

When I boarded my flight in Jacksonville I was literally the last person to get on the plane. I was flying Southwest and in boarding group C. Not cool but there’s not much I could do about it. I patiently waited my turn knowing that seating would be limited once I got on. I’m not someone who has to sit near the front so I moved towards the rear of the plane. I found a row where only one guy was sitting (on the aisle) and asked to slide in to the window seat (my favorite). I got settled in and we had the seat between us empty. He was a big guy too but bigger than me. I didn’t think much about it and settled into reading a book.

We stopped in Houston and most of the folks got off. There were maybe five of us left on the plane because it was continuing onto Dallas. I was hoping there wouldn’t be many people get on since I don’t like crowded planes. We were 20 minutes early to Houston so I had a few minutes to get up, stretch and use the restroom. I sat back down in my window seat as folks started to get on.

One of the first ten people to get on was a large guy. He was bigger than the guy that sat on my row from Jacksonville to Houston. With an entire plane to choose from this guy comes and sits on my row on the aisle seat. At first I was pissed because he had the entire plane to choose from and sat on my row. Then it dawned on me why he sat where he did. Then I was embarrassed.

The reason the guy sat where he did was because I was a big guy too. He did it knowing that nobody would want to sit in-between two large guys on a plane. He was right. As the plane got more crowded the seats started to fill up. A couple people looked at the seat between us and quietly moved on. After a while an announcement was made that it would be a full flight with only two empty seats. Great I said to myself. I put my nose in my book hoping to avoid eye contact with folks looking for a seat. Eventually it happened. Somebody needed a seat. Thankfully it was a nice looking guy who has had the self-control in his life to keep himself thin and athletic.

In no way due I fit the airlines description of being an obese passenger. I’m big but fit in my own seat, don’t need a seat belt extension, and have no problems with putting the seat tray down. Still, I’m broad shouldered, large in the middle, and take up some real estate. Do I harbor any bad feelings towards the big guy sitting where he did? No. I just feel embarrassed for myself and what I’ve allowed myself to become.

Has this made an impact on me? Absolutely. I don’t know when I’ll fly again but I’m going to do everything I can to make sure I don’t feel embarrassed like that again.

If you have similar stories I’d like to hear them. If you’re uncomfortable sharing them I understand.

I’ll admit it. I know virtually nothing about nutrition. Unless you let me count the fact I know that the more I eat the bigger I get. Over the past week I’ve been trying to remedy this problem by reading quite a few articles on cycling nutrition and trying to develop some kind of plan to help me reduce my tonnage. Call it good timing but a couple of days ago I received in the mail the May 2009 issue of Bicycling. I read with interest the article on Big Fat Lies.

After reading this article I’m convinced my diet is totally wacked. Not skewed or slightly off-kilter but totally wacked. I’m pretty sure I’ve been eating the wrong kinds of carbs (high starch) for years and it’s probably a direct contributor to my current size. That and no self-motivation to take care of my body.

I began my research by going over about 20 or 30 articles on Bicycling.com that dealt with nutrition. I copied down thumbrules I found as well as any good recipes. When I return to Dallas next week I’ll be using FitDay to track my daily food consumption in an effort to have a better balanced caloric intake.

As is usually the case, I’ve come up with more questions than answers and am going to post some here in an effort to generate some responses from some of the more experienced cyclists and nutritionists that read my blog (both of them….actually, they might be the same person which would be only them). Here goes:

1. How closely do you monitor the exact portion sizes? My gut feeling is that if you want to be accurate you have to measure good.

2. Do you prepare meals in advance? Tips would be awesome.

3. Where do you get your recipes? Are there any good cookbooks for cyclists or that follow the article in Bicycling? I may look at the one they talk about in the article entitled Flat Belly Dietby Cynthia Sass.

4. What balance of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats are you shooting for?

5. Do you have to take a supplement to make sure you get enough protein?

Over the years I tried to make light of my weight. I even had a saying that went like this, “I can’t stay fat and sloppy unless I eat.” How bad is that? I’m trying to make an effort to turn this around and would appreciate any info you can provide.