How far have you adapted it to your own design?

Is it still working for you?

I really wanted to do it properlu, but realistically I’ve only cut back on pasta, spuds and rice.

I started last march/april, or whenever the first race of the season was – lost two stone (from 12.5 to 10.5), will now try and get the last half stone off I want before racing starts this year.

If Im riding (which is pretty much every day) I eat fruit, occasionally Ill have some rice with chilli or a curry Ive made, and I have two free days, but dont go mad, my biggest luxury is a bowl of muesli with honey and a cappucino every sat & sunday morning.

Weight has stayed off and about to push the other half stone off…

ugggghhh. I have fallen off the wagon. I love bread, and chips, and cheese. Still as fat as ever.

The most annoying thing is that my low carb evangelism is taking a knocking from the intellectually challenged in the office who see my failure as a failure of the concept of low carbs. (which is akin to saying that heroin must good for you if you cannot give it up)

I was in the presence of the mighty iDave last night. He’d just got back from a night ride, I went to meet the guys in the pub because I’m laid up with a separated shoulder.

Admittedly, I’ve crept back up 2kg from my target, but still way below where I started last May. And still sticking to my version of the life-long eating plan.

Was I upset that he didn’t notice my fantastic weight loss of over 2 stone?

Not a bit. 😥

oh and I have a kitkat (currently the peanut butter ones!) every wednesday!

Dont miss bread at all, will occasionally (poss once a week) have a wrap with refried beans and chillis, but last time I ate bread over christmas it didnt agree with me at all…

I’m not following it to the letter as I don’t really need to loose a lot of weight. I still eat friut, drink tea with 1/2 sugar + milk, and I still have All Bran for breakfast.

I’m following the diet for evening meals and I love iCauliflower rice. On my weekly shop, half the trolley is now packed with Veg and beans.

Despite not following correctly I’m still loosing weight consistently. I’ve lost a kg since Monday. I must add that I also train 5 times a week and I only weigh 75kg. Target weight is 70kg.

Now down 10.2lbs after 4 weeks. Based on advice from my trainers I’m allowing some oats and rye bread in the breakfast every couple of days. I’m also having blueberries in the morning. As I’m training heavily my daily diet generally looks something like this:

7am – 3 egg omelette with one onion and a pepper & a large espresso

10am – Handful of mixed nuts

1pm – Something I’ve prepared for the week: chilli, pork and beans, lentil curry etc. Extra portion of veg too: carrots, cauliflower etc

3pm – Protein shake

5:30pm – Pre-training energy drink

8:15pm – Recovery drink

9pm – Grilled chicken or fish, two large portions of veg

So far I’ve lost three inches off my waist, 2 off my hips and an inch off my chest. Based on my (simple) calculations I’ve lost 12.5 pounds of fat and gained 11 pounds of muscle.

Very happy so far.

BigJohn, to be fair the cravat made you look fat. 😛

bigdawg – that’s a pretty significant proportion of your weight to lose?

How tall are you? Have you lost muscle mass?

Started on it last May and was quite strict at the start and I dropped from 13.5 to 12st pretty quickly, then had a month off it in August and put on 1/2st in no time!

At the moment I’d say about 1/2 to 2/3rds of my meals are iDave friendly but I still have milk in my tea and coffee but have really cut down on the amount of rice, spuds and pasta I eat.

I’d imagine I’ll keep eating this way for the foreseeable future

TSY – No muscle loss at all, I still go climbing (indoor at the mo)at wekends and im reaping benefits there, and on the xc front I was steadily improving last year until I was getting top 15 in vets, but already Im way ahead of the game compared to where I was last year.

Im 44, 5ft 7, over the last eight years Ive just let my weight creep up and was usually 12stone, but for whatever reason last year, first race of the year I was just shy of 12.5 stone, and it was seeing a picture of myself in that race when I realised I needed to do something.

Ive now been 10.5 since August, sustained that over christmas, without missing anything, and now it’s feb Ive promised myself to get rid of the last half stone, although that may be harder as already my bodyfat levels are down to 7/8%, I may have gone a far as I safely can – but heyho there arent many 44 year olds that can still fit into the same size clothes they were wearing nearly 30 years ago and can see their stomach muscles…

‘ish… more an awareness that i bring to my diet. i’m more focused on getting more formalized and regular excercise and keeping off the booze.

way i see it i have three obstacles; booze, activity and food. of them food is the easiest for me to deal with, activity 2nd and ale the worst.

if i can keep going as i am, and it seems to be going well though right now not weighing myself, going by how loose my trousers are, then i’ll slip into the strict idave when i’m down to the final stone from where i would like to be.

Ahh fair play… you sound like you’re exactly the same build/ size of my Dad. Albeit he’s 20 years your senior.

I’ve taken myself from 12.5 to 11.75… no way I could get to 10… even 11 might kill me.

Idiot question. What do you use to measure your body fat percentage?

What do you use to measure your body fat percentage?

I’m using scales with the fat measuring gubbins. I’m aware of the downfalls of them however I’m keeping my measurement criteria consistent i.e. same time of day, similar hydration etc so at least if the base figure is wrong, the change over time should be relative to that so there’s a degree of accuracy to that element.

I’ve only modified it slightly, I now have 5-10 bad days followed by one good day so no chance of my metabolism getting used to reduced calories, although it’s not proving as effective as I’d hoped…

What do you use to measure your body fat percentage?

NOthing is that reliable… if you get some bodyfat scales… make sure they have an athlete setting if you do a lot of exercise or they’ll just read ‘ERROR’.

I want some Tanita BC1000 scales.. but at £125!!

Ah I see. I have basic digital scales. I do weigh myself at the same time every week ensuring my body state is the same.

im using tanita scales, prob not the most accurate, but they take into account muscle mass, and when it says 8% and I look in the mirror and can see my abs I guess I must there or there abouts. I do however always weigh/measure the same time of the day, after breakfast, so maybe if I did it beforehand Id be even lighter!

so maybe if I did it beforehand Id be even lighter!

But with a higher BF%.

so maybe if I did it beforehand Id be even lighter!

Before breakfast but after morning pee/ poo 😉

I’ve stuck to it, with one tiny exception; my morning coffee. I only have one coffee a day but that one has to have a tiny splash of milk added.

Other than that it has been easy to be honest.

So far I have lost 1st 1lb, I have 5lbs to go. I can not see me changing back after as I just feel so much better for it, not just the weightloss.

I might give this 3 weeks. I eat way too much bread and am currently a bit bloated…I prob only need to drop 7lb or so but it would be handy to lose that and the bloatedness for me marathons…

What model scales BoardinBob?

I’ve been struggling this week to control sugar cravings – i think its related to being so cold in work all the time. I was doing really well and my abs were visible but they aren’t so visible after a bad week of eating biscuits 🙁

I’ve ditched a lot of milk from my diet, but still have an inch or so in my espresso. Ditched the bulk of my treats (chocolate/biscuits) but as i exercise 6 days a week, i’ve kept the bulk of my carbs the same, although eating more root veg in place of pasta.

I’m now 5kgs lighter, 17% body fat (using calipers method and triple checked, and women’s body fat is higher than men’s anyway), lost inches all over – including 5 off my thighs and something like 8 off my abs. My weight seems to have stablised at 53kgs which i’m happy with. I could still lose a bit of body fat but i think i’d have to work pretty hard to do so. The challenge will be to keep my weight at this when i start racing in March as i’ll be using energy products whereas now a 2-3 hour ride is done without anything/only a banana.

one of the things I found racing (2 hour xc ‘short’ course) was that I wasnt as reliant on energy products – previously Id be taking a gel every half hour and go through about a litre of drink – the last races I did I think I had two gels and still had some left in a 500ml bottle.

Pre race I now obviously drink like a fish (alweays have done) but I eat nuts, dried fruit and a banana…

Don’t feel anywhere near as tired as I used to when finished either

I have trouble getting enough carbs. Now I don’t know whether or not to just deal with it and ride more slowly to get my body to adjust; or to supplement with more fast carbs to allow myself to ride faster.

I prefer the latter to be honest, it feels better, so I am currently riding fast and monitoring the ache in my legs to decide if I need extra fast carbs.

That might work but I’m also currently miserable and depressed, which makes it virtually impossible for me to avoid at least some treats. I’ve found that I don’t miss starch at meal times at all, no trouble with that. It’s just between meals or sometimes after them that I grab a bit of choccy or a cake. Overall I’m sure I’m eating far less fast carbs, so maybe I am still getting an advantage.

Weight loss is v slow now though after going back up from my minimum following a couple of bouts of non dieting.

one of the things I found racing (2 hour xc ‘short’ course) was that I wasnt as reliant on energy products

Did your results improve?

I’ve been on it just over three weeks and it just feels normal now, not really missing anything too much and feel better for it.I’m happy with my weight, so will have oats for breakfast if I fancy it, I’m in it for the long haul I reckon.

Molly – it’s only a theory but I reckon you should try and do some training first thing in the morning pre breakfast when you’re properly carb depleted.

a) bugger off, training is the last thing on my mind at 6am, seriously

b) I dunno – on this diet I’ve been carb depleted at all times of the day and night

c) pathetic.

Go for double depletion… get your body burning fat.

i’d say your base/fat burning is bad. It seems you’re always doing High intensity stuff. I neglected a lot of zone 2 training this time around and i was bonking even riding to work..

Put in 2 weeks of zone 2 and now I feel fine

What model scales BoardinBob?

Salter. Can’t remember the model but they were around the £50 mark.

tbh training when tired is prob how Ive done so well…

Due to having two small kids I had to find a way of doing intensity training , but not losing a mrning or day at the weekend with them. So, since May/June Ive been up at 5.30 every sunday and on the turbo for 90 minutes – now when I say turbo its a tacx fortius fitted with real life videos of world cup mtb courses, the beauty of the tacx is it alters the resistance at the back wheel to simulate hills / off road riding and you can race against apponents – so effectively before breakfast Im doing a 90 minute xc race racing against myself. During this I get through 750ml of hi5 zero cal. By the time Im finished (7.30 ish) breakfast with the kids and then off swimming &/or climbing with them.

I would say though that this is as high an intensity as I could get to without actually racing someone, theres nothing like climbing a 200 mtr hill with another rider visisbly gaining on you to motivate you to ride faster. Im guessing my body adapted quite quickly to converting fat for fuel as opposed to the small amount of carbs I consume.

@ bigdawg, i’m not reliant on energy drinks/gels but for road racing i can’t actually eat proper food during the race – a handful of honey stinger chews is fine for a 1.30-2hr race. I tend to get very mentally down if i don’t get some fuel in when riding but rarely bonk. Road racing also gives me a serious appetite for days after it!

@TSY, not all of us can exercise at that time of day! I get more out of my weights routine by doing it in the afternoon than i did at 7am. Never again! Plus the sleep i lost from getting up early wasn’t good either. Sorting out my sleep for this season is a big priority to help me get faster!

@trickydisco, ygm (fb) re training camp help!

I’m a disciple: if you’re going to do something then surely you have to stick to it to make sure it works? Since the end of July I’ve lost two stone and gained a hell of a lot of definition. With eating sensible portions and following the guidance on carbs before and during exercise I haven’t had any problems at all with my energy levels. In fact (as someone mentions above) I’ve noticed that I need far less while I’m riding or running than I used to. So, for example, whereas I might have had a couple of flapjacks before a night ride last year and then another one while I was out, now just one energy gel will do the job.

@Dirty_G – wimp! That’s one of the three key training times you’re excluding yourself from.

Do cardio first thing then! I’m up to 2k swim a day or approx 20mile time trial.

Plus the sleep i lost from getting up early wasn’t good either. Sorting out my sleep for this season is a big priority to help me get faster!

I’ve found my sleeping pattern to be drastically improved over the last 4 weeks. I was horrendously bad for snoozing the alarm about a dozen times.

Now I’m waking up naturally around 6am, about 20 minutes before my alarm is supposed to go off. I’m getting up straightaway and taking the dog for a 40 minute walk.

My quality of sleep is massively improved too. Unbroken sleep all night and much to my wife’s delight, I’ve stopped snoring completely. Apparently I was a constant loud snorer before.

I’m attributing it to a combination of zero alcohol, idave diet and intense exercise. I’m full of energy all day long and ready to sleep at 10pm.

I have to introduce a few cheats being a vegetarian to make sure I get enough energy, but have been quite good otherwise.
I seem to always eat too many nuts and may in fact turn into one. This has slowed my loss I think.

The hardest thing for me is those 3 poached eggs I have EVERY SINGLE MORNING OF MY ****** LIFE!!!! Am so sick of them, even though I add nuts and rocket and stuff…. Boring.

@ TSY 😛 – this from the man who hasn’t entered any RRs… 😀 I’ll show you wimp – gym challenge is on!

Last time i tried cardio pre breakfast, my running partner thought i was going to kill him! I just can’t, i feel better/stronger later in the day. It works for me! Plus as i said, losing at least 1 hour of sleep on exercise days has a pretty big impact – it can mean under resting and then more time off exercise in the long run. Not helped by flat sharing and getting woken up by the flatmate either.