I am a 50 year old female working to drop 10 pounds before the season. I am currently strength training 3 xs a week and riding 3-4 times a week. I am following to 18 week SS plan. I have modified my diet for the last couple of months reducing calories to about 1500 and been adjusting macros to see what will work for weight loss. Current macros of 60% carb, 30%fat and 30 protein. My weight has not budged. What am I doing wrong and how do I fix it? First event is in 12 weeks. Thanks.
Welcome @purdydi - are you Winning in the Kitchen?!
We do not advocate macros, etc… but I will let @Jackson chime in on that. Eat more vegetables, take our 30 Day Winning In the Kitchen Challenge:
@purdydi same age, male former athlete in college and never let life allow me to get “fat”. Without watching what I eat I’m stable at 165 lbs at 5’10" for reference…I was able to lose 20 lbs off that “stable 165”. Keeping it off is another issue and where this needs to be a lifestyle choice.
The only time I was really successful losing weight and truly getting lean was when I was injured and couldn’t ride (for a year)! The only cardio I did was 15 minutes stationary bike prior to PT 4X/week. I only add this information because I feel being in any calorie deficit while doing any base or build (and full career/family) was exceedingly hard. Certainly not that it can’t be done, just that doing a lot of Kj’s rev’s the metabolism off the bike in a different way than while not riding. It was simply easier for me to control the cals in vs. cals out while not riding. Here are some big picture things I did to lose the 20:
- If you ride eat more on the ride and worry about cal in/cal out off the bike.
- As Frank’s plan points out eat more vegetables/greens every meal. More than you think.
- Essentially eliminate all white carbohydrates (chips, breads, cereal’s).
- Along with^^^processed foods as best you can.
- No sweets.
- Along with ^^^no alcohol.
- I ate 5-6 meals a day.
- I counted calories knowing my BMR until I had a handle on portion size.
145 lbs was completely not sustainable for me once I started riding. 155 seems to be the sweet spot weight for me where I’m light enough to hang on climbs with peers and still durable and resilient week in week out with good fatigue resistance. This is where lifestyle became relevant.
Lastly and interestingly, while doing all 8 above, I did not see a change in the scale nor in the mirror for maybe 2-3 months. I can’t remember exactly how long it was but, long enough to wonder what was going on. Then all of a sudden the weight started dropping and I was visibly leaner when looking in the mirror, pant/shirts fit big etc…Point is I think most just don’t give realistic weight loss enough time. To be fair, I was injured so perhaps my body was hanging onto some extra water to heal? I have no idea but, just give it time. Cheers
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Wow. This is really helpful. I cut out sugar and processed foods a really long time ago. So long ago I can’t remember. I have been adding more veggies over the last few weeks and have seen no change in my weight. I still do whole wheat bread and pasta and brown rice for carbs. I am also coming back from a broken leg (mtb jump gone wrong) so maybe the healing point you make is applicable to me too. Waiting a couple of months for the changes is most likely where I’ve gone wrong. I tend to want to see changes in a couple weeks. Then I get discouraged and splurge with snacks and alcohol most likely. I had been toying with stopping weighing myself for a while. Change the lifestyle and screw the scale. Your response is encouraging to stay the course. I still have enough time before my first event to Drop some lbs. Thanks again!
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As read about here
I have the same thoughts right now. I’m down to 145 after the 10 weeks of resistance training. I’d like to stay there if possible through the 18 weeks of sweet spot. I don’t want to ruin my workouts by not eating enough. This will be a learning experience trying to balance weight maintenance and workout quality.
I would say I am 75% there on making good, consistent food choices. I am going to try harder and not weigh for the month of February. We’ll see where I end up at the end of the month. I am off sugar and processed foods and alcohol. I will be more focused on reducing the red meat and cheese. I will also also work more veggies in too. I admit I don’t eat enough now.
Right on @purdydi - per the more veggies, take our 30 day Winning In the Kitchen Challenge!
It simple - a serving of greens and a vegetable serving with all 3 meals a day for 30 days in row.
Here’s more in a training tip and a podcast for your next indoor trainer workout 
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Ok…I am about 30 days in and I am down 5 lbs. my A event is in 7 weeks so getting the last 5 lbs gone is doable. Interesting that I was on vacation last week and found I just didn’t have an appetite for all that cheesy Mexican food I used to love. WTH?! I am not complaining just couldn’t believe I didn’t feel deprived. I also rode mtb in the desert and was able to keep up! 27 miles over 2 days with over 8k of climbing. I was tired but not toasted. Over 5.5k of climbing In 1 ride is a PR btw. Lastly, I can’t believe how much fresh produce I am putting away. I buy way more than I think I can eat in a week and end up doing a mid week shop because I am out of food. I am now wondering how far this will take me long term. Thanks!!
I do have a question…I am a enduro/DH rider and your mtb plans seem to be for XC. Any plans to expand to more mtb categories or are the differences negligible and the XC plan is fine for all types of mtb?
Not 100% tailored for a DH racer but it will put you in a great spot. You will want that foundation and top end built up regardless. As I’m sure you know, you still need to be quite fit to race DH on many levels.
We don’t get a big DH community pull, so in those cases we tend to recommend direct coaching.
Congrats on loosing the 5pounds. Keep it up!
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