# Age, weight gain and matabolism



## Steve D (Mar 1, 2002)

Hey coach, 

Wonder if you can help me. 

I'm 44 years old and have been riding for 20 years doing fast recreational and club rides. While I haven't raced in years, I can keep up with the A group most of the time and this year, I rode my fastest century ever (21 mph) thanks in part to trying to keep up with my 16 year-old kid.

Here's my problem: In the past 5 years, I have gained 15 + pounds despite riding the same amount of miles each year (5000). I'm 6'3" and weighed 212 this morning. I've heard that matabolism slows down as we age and since I'm not eating differently, I'm wondering if there is anything I can do do increase my matabolism through training. 

Throughout the summer I ride 5 or 6 days a week. For the most part I've been riding at one level of intesisty and have probably spent too much time focusing on my average speed. By training this way, is it possible for my body to get more effecient and thereby burn less calories? If so, what should I do? 

In the fall/winter I play basketball, but that's just one day a week. I really have a passion for cycling and don't want to give it up to do some other form of cross-training if possible. Any ideas?


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## ridewt (Jan 14, 2002)

*Eating less ...........*

I'm a bit older than you and have been racing, during my "comeback", for a little over 5 years now. I have steadily lost weight and am your height and about 177 now. I have found that when I start to pile on the miles in the Spring the weight comes off a bit but I also work out almost every day year round. Sounds like do pretty much as well. I weigh myself every day, usually, and try to stay on top of any slight weight gains by immediately responding with a very light dinner that night. I find that if I eat a normal breakfast and lunch, with some fruit as snacks in between, I can get away with a very light or even no dinner. If the weight is up a pound or too, doing what I described for 2-3 days usually brings it back down. Granted, it's not fun but I want to race well so I do it. I try to cut out any non-essential calories too. Soda and other junk food is pretty much out - except for the periodic lapses. I try to eat lean protein, and lots of fruit and vegetables. Also, after I train hard, I always eat a decent meal since you need that to recover and get stronger.


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## Sub (Feb 13, 2004)

Steve D said:


> Hey coach,
> 
> Wonder if you can help me.
> 
> ...



I think we are all aware of the fact that as we get older it is tougher to keep the weight off, but not impossible. It's a simple formula really, either you need to burn more calories or consume less.

I've got some info I can give you that will help with the weight loss so PM me your email address if you don't want to post it in the forum and I will email you some info that if followed will allow you to lose the weight.

As far as training, I hate speedometers. When I setup a training plan or train myself, no where in that plan is speed mentioned. Training is all about time and effort. What happens when your trying to maintain a high average speed is you end up spending all of your time doing junk miles. Junk miles are those miles spent going hard enough to fatigure the body but not hard enough to force adaptation.

If you just can't stop looking at the speedo, then take it off the bike or remove the magnet from your wheel so you don't lose HR function if you have a combo unit. Once you can stop obsessing over your average speed then you can put it back on.

Since you mention you use to race, you know that when you race your not sitting at the same speed/intensity through out the race. I've been in races personaly where I will be chit chatting with the guy next to me for miles, then riding at my limit for short periods of time and back to cruising. In order to be successful at racing, you need to train your body to handle these surges/attacks and spending every ride worrying about your average speed isn't the way to do it. The only time I pay any attention to my speed while training is when i'm in a paceline and want to hold a consistent speed when i move to the front.


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## ridewt (Jan 14, 2002)

*resting metabolic rate ....*

I'm not a coach but I did have my coach do a resting metabolic rate test on me. Basically, I just sat in a chair for about 15 minutes and breathed into a tube and somehow the machine tells you how many calories that you burn at rest during a day. I think mine was about 1,700, which he said was a little on the low side. He said that if you diet, sometimes your body will try to preserve fuel and switch to a slower metabolism. I think that I've read that you can increase your metabolism if you engage in exercise multiple times during a day. So, you might want to think of doing something like taking a walk in the morning or evening or lunch time (whenever it is that you are not riding) in order to get your body to rev up the metabolism. Also, once you know your resting metabolic rate, you can add your daily caloric expenditure to that and figure out how many calories will keep you at the same weight - or eat 500 less and perhaps lose 1 pound per week. I think it takes about 3,000 plus calorie deficit to lose a pound. 

I believe that you burn about 500-600 calories during the day just from walking around and other very simple movements. Anyway, all my info is second hand but it gives you some ideas to think about.


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## reikisport (Aug 16, 2006)

[


As far as training, I hate speedometers. When I setup a training plan or train myself, no where in that plan is speed mentioned. Training is all about time and effort. What happens when your trying to maintain a high average speed is you end up spending all of your time doing junk miles. Junk miles are those miles spent going hard enough to fatigure the body but not hard enough to force adaptation.


While I agree with most of what Sub has said I would have to ask(him) to be a little more indepth on this comment.
To me what you describe sounds like a Zone3 or Tempo workout (76-90%power or 84-94%ofHR @LT2 (ACoggin)). 
Yes at one time a lot of poeple thought of this as junk miles butthats changed. There are adaptations and benifits to riding like this (its still aerobic development) you will burn more Kcals then a Zone 2 Endurance ride and they can be particuly useful when you don't have time to do a longer ride.
If you think about it this is where you spend the most of your time during a race or hard group ride.


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## Sub (Feb 13, 2004)

reikisport said:


> [
> 
> 
> As far as training, I hate speedometers. When I setup a training plan or train myself, no where in that plan is speed mentioned. Training is all about time and effort. What happens when your trying to maintain a high average speed is you end up spending all of your time doing junk miles. Junk miles are those miles spent going hard enough to fatigure the body but not hard enough to force adaptation.
> ...


I didn't mean to imply that you never want to ride at that intensity level. That statement was meant to convey a more broad understanding of how to train. 

You need to focus more on effort/time rather than staring at your speedo for 3 hours straight worrying about every .1 mph change in your average. I try to stay away from getting to technical, like quoting coggin in every thread, because most questions don't need to be that specific and the OP probably wouldn't understand the lingo anyways otherwise he wouldn't be asking the question.


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## reikisport (Aug 16, 2006)

I misunderstood what you were getting at.
My mistake. It just seemed that you were implying that riding at a certian intensity was junk.
Also I wasn't quoting anyone just referencing where the info came from.


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## Sub (Feb 13, 2004)

no problem, wasn't trying to single you out though I guess it does appear that I was. The main point I was trying to make was to stop chasing the average speed. The big picture on the weight loss is less calories in/more calories out. When the OP sends me his email I will give him some info that will help guide him to lose the weight if he commits to it.


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## Mark McM (Jun 18, 2005)

*Metabolism and weight gain - junk science?*



Steve D said:


> Hey coach,
> 
> Wonder if you can help me.
> 
> ...


The idea of a naturally "fast" or "slow" metabolism appears to often be used to explain away difficulty in losing weight. While there is some variation in metabolism between individuals, and there is a (small) decrease in metabolism with age, it's affect on weight loss is frequently exagerated. Kind of like people claiming that they are overweight because they are "big-boned". "Big-boned", what the heck is that? Have you ever seen a fat skeleton?

Regardless of the handwaving about metabolism or genetics or what ever, weight loss comes down to one simple equation - if calories consumed are less than calories expended, then one losses weight. There is just no getting around this equation. It is true that various factors (some age related) may affect how easy it is to expend calories (i.e. physical activity, either intentional or unintentional), and various social factors may affect how easy it is to restrict calorie consumption, so as a practical matter it may be harder for some to lose weight. But regardless of how easy it is to change the variables in the equation, the equation remains the same.

On the personal side, I've had two phases of weight loss (through diet and exercise) over the years, once at around age 25, and again in the past couple of years at age 45. In both cases, I went from around 175-180 lb. to 145-150 lb (about 30 lb. lost in both cases). I can't say I've noticed any difference in the ease of losing weight the 2nd time - in fact, it may have been easier, as I'm probably more disciplined now than when I was younger. In both cases, my caloric intake was about the same (about 2000-2500 cal/day), my exercise level was about the same (about 150 - 200 miles of riding a week), and my rate of weight loss was about the same (about 1 pound/week). So, despite a 20 year difference in age, I have seen no apparant difference in metabolism.

(As the weight gain in the intervening years. My activity level didn't decrease all that much, but my caloric consumption increased. Although highly active (compared to the average American), I simply ate too much. No excuses about genetics or decreasing metabolism or the like - I simply ate more than I needed to, and over the years it caught up with me. Once I start counting the calories I am consuming, and lowering to an appropriate level for weight loss, the weight simply comes off.)


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## Sub (Feb 13, 2004)

Mark McM said:


> The idea of a naturally "fast" or "slow" metabolism appears to often be used to explain away difficulty in losing weight. While there is some variation in metabolism between individuals, and there is a (small) decrease in metabolism with age, it's affect on weight loss is frequently exagerated. Kind of like people claiming that they are overweight because they are "big-boned". "Big-boned", what the heck is that? Have you ever seen a fat skeleton?
> 
> Regardless of the handwaving about metabolism or genetics or what ever, weight loss comes down to one simple equation - if calories consumed are less than calories expended, then one losses weight. There is just no getting around this equation. It is true that various factors (some age related) may affect how easy it is to expend calories (i.e. physical activity, either intentional or unintentional), and various social factors may affect how easy it is to restrict calorie consumption, so as a practical matter it may be harder for some to lose weight. But regardless of how easy it is to change the variables in the equation, the equation remains the same.
> 
> ...



Good post, and exactly what I was trying to say. I like to ask this question to those that want to make excuses as to why they can't lose weight. If we put you on an island with nothing but water and come back and get you in a few weeks, you think you would lose weight? We all know the answer to that. Like it's been said, it's a simple calculation of calories in and calories out and you will lose weight. I'm not advising anyone to lose more than 1-2 lbs a week either, but one of the things you have to do is allow yourself to feel a little hungry in order to lose weight.


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## bill (Feb 5, 2004)

> Junk miles are those miles spent going hard enough to fatigure the body but not hard enough to force adaptation.


I realize (a) that this issue is thread drift and (b) the writer already has corrected his description of junk miles, but this statement, often repeated, is emblematic of what is wrong with exercise physiology as it is preached to the masses.

How can something the body and not force adaptation? Maybe it's not the adaptation you need to happen, but it's going to force adapation, no?


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## Sub (Feb 13, 2004)

bill said:


> I realize (a) that this issue is thread drift and (b) the writer already has corrected his description of junk miles, but this statement, often repeated, is emblematic of what is wrong with exercise physiology as it is preached to the masses.
> 
> How can something the body and not force adaptation? Maybe it's not the adaptation you need to happen, but it's going to force adapation, no?



Wow, I thought this had been clarified. Of course, someone else will just jump on this answer also. Of course everytime you do some sort of physical activity the body is going to respond to that, it may not be a good response though. My point was you need to vary your exercise in order to get your body to adapt the way you need it in order to get the best performance for a particular event/exercise. Riding along staring at your speedo hoping and praying is gonna make you good at exactly that, right up until you burn yourself out both physicaly and mentaly. It's not the most efficient way to improve. I'm done with this thread so I won't be back to clarify my clarification. I've sent the OP some good information to help him with his question.


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## bill (Feb 5, 2004)

Sub said:


> Wow, I thought this had been clarified. Of course, someone else will just jump on this answer also. Of course everytime you do some sort of physical activity the body is going to respond to that, it may not be a good response though. My point was you need to vary your exercise in order to get your body to adapt the way you need it in order to get the best performance for a particular event/exercise. Riding along staring at your speedo hoping and praying is gonna make you good at exactly that, right up until you burn yourself out both physicaly and mentaly. It's not the most efficient way to improve. I'm done with this thread so I won't be back to clarify my clarification. I've sent the OP some good information to help him with his question.


man, you made the statement. and then you said something about, yeah, it's not as if you never ever want to ride there, but you don't want to "get too technical." The little people won't understand you or something. You go on to say that your body's adaptation "may not be a good response," and you call that a clarification. hmm. Yeah, I got it now.
You know that an awful lot of drek gets passed around as accepted wisdom. Using terms like "junk miles" doesn't improve understanding.


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## Steve D (Mar 1, 2002)

Sub said:


> When the OP sends me his email I will give him some info that will help guide him to lose the weight if he commits to it.


Thanks for the info! Very helpful.


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## Steve D (Mar 1, 2002)

So if metabolism doesn't change much over the years, can our bodies get more efficient performing the same exercise? 

To ask it another way, would I lose weight easier by doing another form of exercise like running instead of spending the same time cycling?


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## wfrogge (Mar 5, 2007)

Steve D said:


> So if metabolism doesn't change much over the years, can our bodies get more efficient performing the same exercise?
> 
> To ask it another way, would I lose weight easier by doing another form of exercise like running instead of spending the same time cycling?



If you are working out at "x" MPH then yeah your body over time is going to get more effcient riding at "x" speed. Also if you are using HR zones your body will get more effcient when riding in zones you normally train in (dosnet matter if its 1 or 5). 

The best gague here is PE. Make sure that on your hard days you are honestly pushing as hard as you can go. Dont stop or let up when you hit the same speed/HR zone number you are used to seeing. 

Sounds like you need to take it to the next level. Changing activities from cycling to running might be a quick fix because you will use different muscles but in the end you will need to push and hit the next level here as well. I say stick with cycling


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## Steve D (Mar 1, 2002)

wfrogge said:


> <snip>
> Make sure that on your hard days you are honestly pushing as hard as you can go. Dont stop or let up when you hit the same speed/HR zone number you are used to seeing.
> 
> Sounds like you need to take it to the next level. Changing activities from cycling to running might be a quick fix because you will use different muscles but in the end you will need to push and hit the next level here as well. I say stick with cycling


Since I stopped racing, I haven't really found a need to do intervals and have hard days. Instead, I've just been riding for riding's sake. And I've been having a blast doing it 

Now that my weight is up, I guess it is time to start having hard days again. I'll certainly stick with cycling, but will probably add a few short runs each week over the next couple of months to try to jump start the process (and get ready for basketball).


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## hooper (Jul 22, 2006)

Steve D said:


> Since I stopped racing, I haven't really found a need to do intervals and have hard days. Instead, I've just been riding for riding's sake. And I've been having a blast doing it
> 
> Now that my weight is up, I guess it is time to start having hard days again. I'll certainly stick with cycling, but will probably add a few short runs each week over the next couple of months to try to jump start the process (and get ready for basketball).


your weight gain is more from eating the same amount of food and reducing your calorie expenditure. Simply eat less food. It is so much easier to eat 500 less calories a day than to try to increase your output by 500 calories. :idea:


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## Mark McM (Jun 18, 2005)

Steve D said:


> So if metabolism doesn't change much over the years, can our bodies get more efficient performing the same exercise?


Most of the "efficiency" gains as we get older are by doing less wasted motion - not because our muscles somehow get better at putting out the same power for the same number of calories. In other words, our muscles don't get more efficient at generating power, we just get more efficient at how we use our muscles.



Steve D said:


> To ask it another way, would I lose weight easier by doing another form of exercise like running instead of spending the same time cycling?


There are two answers to this question:

Directl answer:

No, you won't burn calories faster - or at least, not at first. If your muscles have been developed and adapted for one particular activity, they will be less effective at another activity, and therefore they won't be able to do as much of the new activity before fatiguing. If you've developed your muscles for cycling, they become good at converting calories into pedaling power, and can do it longer before becoming fatigued. Therefore you have more potential for burning calories with the activity that you have been trained for.

Answer:

Maybe. If you have a fresh new enthusiasm for the new activity, then you may be more likely to do it longer, harder and more often. And just doing more of the activity will by itself burn more calories. And if the new activity is more enjoyable, then the positive attitude it generates may help you through the rest of the day. (This may help with any hunger pangs or low-energy feeling you may get when you reduce your eating to lose weight.)


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## Steve D (Mar 1, 2002)

Mark McM said:


> <snip>
> If you have a fresh new enthusiasm for the new activity, then you may be more likely to do it longer, harder and more often. And just doing more of the activity will by itself burn more calories. And if the new activity is more enjoyable, then the positive attitude it generates may help you through the rest of the day. (This may help with any hunger pangs or low-energy feeling you may get when you reduce your eating to lose weight.)


Nope. I hate running and could never garner any enthusiasm for that activity... 

I'm off to eat less and ride more/harder.

Thanks all for your input.


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## dahowe (Aug 12, 2007)

Steve D said:


> Hey coach,
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Ok I am waay late here but what the heck. Regarding your question of speeding up your metabolism: 

1) Be wary of any advice from someone who says that metabolism does not slow as we age.

2) Eat smaller meals more often. This will increase the amount of calories you will burn while resting. Eating too little can cause the body to think it may starve and thus it naturally reduces the caloric useage. Eat too much (usually after eating too little) and the body can not use it, and thus it goes to (usually) stored fat. A little all the time will do wonders for your resting caloric burn quantity and you won't believe how good you will feel all day.

3) Muscle takes calories to sustain. Increasing your muscle mass will increase your overall caloric burn for the day naturally and by default. As we age our muscle mass decreases thus compounding the problem.

4) Watch the food your eat. When possible keep the glycemic index low. 

5) I don't care how much you exercise, you need to control the eating habit. No exercise program in the world can make up for a pizza binge.

day late and a dollar short...


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## Doggity (Mar 10, 2006)

The OP may also do well to get some routine lab work. IE:if his TSH is high, that would indicate that his thyroid output is a little low, which would also explain the weight gain. That would be followed up with a thyroid panel, which would tell the story. It is not at all rare for people's thyroids to 'to just start getting tired' around the 5th or 6th decade.


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## LO^OK (Feb 1, 2008)

dahowe said:


> Ok I am waay late here but what the heck. Regarding your question of speeding up your metabolism:
> 
> 1) Be wary of any advice from someone who says that metabolism does not slow as we age.
> 
> ...


+1 Well put.

I would add that one of the fundamental principles of the body (cells) is to resist abrupt changes forced upon form the outside environment. Short term solutions might work for lucky individuals but that's a mere coincidence. The reasons are much more complex.

For someone in the OP position a long term nutritional_strategy_changing_habits is one of the few realistic options I think. However in social settings (incl. family) that may be difficult or near impossible to implement.


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## homebrew (Oct 28, 2004)

I am a certified nutrition coach and health counceler. You say your eating the same as 15 years ago. IMO that is a problem. Second I would suggest you check your percentage of bodyfat. Perhaps you have put on muscle.
If your body fat is out of line with what you feel is good for you then its time to set some goals. Both long term and what you want to accomplish this week. Look at the type of foods your eating. Are there alot of processed foods? Empty calories? Are you getting a good balance of complex carbs, healthy fats and fiber? I would suggest some cross training. We tend to become very efficient at what we do over the years so cycling may not be your best fat burner at this time. There are lots of workout to choose from and most all will work for you but for best results change your workout every few weeks. This advise is also good for your diet, many people remember eating with the seasons, this was good advise. Graze don't gorge, eat small meals often but refrain from eating 2 hours before bed (it turns off the growth hormone responce that normaly kicks in 1 1/2 hour after you fall asleep. Use your common sence, fads and diets don't work in the long run. Eat good quality food that as fresh as possable. Don't eat foods with a 2 year shelf life, in fact foods with the shortest shelf life tend to have the most antioxadents. Eat as many colors of foods as you can each day.Take a good quality fish oil daily or eat cold water fish at leat 3 times a week. 
Last, its not a bad thing health wise to gain a little weight when you age, studies show that fit people with a few pounds ( I said a few!) will have a longer life expectancy the those in the 8% bodyfat group. 
FYI I have lost 51 lbs in the last 6 years. I am 52 years old and have a resting heartrate of 42. Today I did a century that included 3 mtn climbs and lots more hills in under 5 hours on my own. My current bodyfat is 11%. 
Life is good


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## Lookbiker (Sep 2, 2006)

I'm keeping a food diary. After one month, I could really see where those extra calories were coming from. Now I track calories burned on the trainer so I can see the negative and positive calorie flow each day.


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## benchpress265 (Nov 7, 2006)

Just my 2 cents. 

And I know everyone is differerent, about 10 years ago I peaked out at 230 (Let see wife, 3 daughters say no more). Weight trained most of my life (off and on). Just decided one day that I was tired of being fat. (5' 11 1/2", 36-38 waiste). I went cold turkey and did the Atkins thing (ok don't laugh). Dropped my weight to 199 (I wanted to get below 200), so I made that, Got off of Akins (Understanding that eating protein all the time is not really good for you), Started to gain weight again. Still working out and that included weight training and lots of cardio stuff (ellipticals, tread mills, biking etc), got up to 210 and decided to really look at what I was eating. First concentrated on one food group to eliminate from my life, that food group being SUGAR (and any form of it). Dropped down to 190. Then continued to drop down to my lowest weight in years to 178. Now almost 59 years old, maintaining 185, 32/33 waist (yep can even see some of that six pack). I don't count calories, I eat what I want but try to reduce the sugar intake at all cost (yep I don't eat deserts anymore) Substitute a beer or glass of wine), Also upped my fiber intake, including off the shelf stuff.

That is my uneducated view on age, weight gain and motabolism!


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## Steve D (Mar 1, 2002)

*Update*

Since I posted this question last September, I'm afraid I completely fell off the wagon and gained lots of weight. In fact, on January 1, I weighed 229.5 pounds. Ugh. Most of the weight was gained over three months. 

Anyway, I have been working hard to lose the weight (I'm down over 20 pounds so far) and have come to the conclusion that no amount of exercise is enough to compensate for eating like a pig. Let's face it, even a 3-hour ride doesn't give me the "right" to eat a huge bowl of pasta. I'm no TdF racer that logs 6 hours in the saddle day after day. Even if my heart rate monitor tells me that I've burned 3000 calories on a long ride, I can't stuff myself with 3000 extra calories of food and think that I've "broken even". 

Keeping a food log has helped me the most. Better still, has been keeping this log on www.sparkpeople.com because the (free) website estimates the number of calories I'm eating, plus gives me a ballpark on the grams of fat, carbs and protein. This has been hugely eye-opening, and has helped me learn what is acceptable to eat, and what I need to avoid. Right now, I'm eating between 1500 and 1800 calories a day and have been losing about 2 pounds per week.

The other thing that I have learned is that I needed to add some intensity into my training. Logging lots and lots of base miles wasn't enough. Although I'm not racing any more, I have added some intense interval sessions into my weekly workouts and this seems to have helped me jump start the metabolism.

When I look back at my original question from last September, I think that my metabolism probably had slowed down some due to lighter and easier workouts (rather than age). Further, I know believe that the amount of food I was eating was more than I thought. In fact, I now know that my portion sizes had slowly increased over the years so while I thought I was eating the same amount of food, I was eating more.

Thanks for all your responses to my original question.


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## benchpress265 (Nov 7, 2006)

In stead of counting calories, I use the loops on my belt around my waist to gage if I start eating more then I can burn off. I got my waist down to almost a 32, and I am almost religious now to check to see which hole my belt buckle tongue resides in. If it move in to the next hole I can eat a little more or treat myself to something, if it moves out one hole I need to cut back on what I am eating. It is a pretty good gage. It is a really goog predictor of how inflated my fat bad is around my waist.


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## Kram (Jan 28, 2004)

I'm 5 yrs older than you. I've been riding as much or more than I did when I was younger but had the same problem as you. I didn't gain 15 but I did gain. The only way to lose it is to eat less. I eat a LOT less than say 10 yrs ago. Hurts for a while, but I've adapted. Except when I'm on vaca, but that's something for another time...


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## cpark (Oct 13, 2004)

Steve D said:


> Since I posted this question last September, I'm afraid I completely fell off the wagon and gained lots of weight. In fact, on January 1, I weighed 229.5 pounds. Ugh. Most of the weight was gained over three months.
> 
> Anyway, I have been working hard to lose the weight (I'm down over 20 pounds so far) and have come to the conclusion that no amount of exercise is enough to compensate for eating like a pig. Let's face it, even a 3-hour ride doesn't give me the "right" to eat a huge bowl of pasta. I'm no TdF racer that logs 6 hours in the saddle day after day. Even if my heart rate monitor tells me that I've burned 3000 calories on a long ride, I can't stuff myself with 3000 extra calories of food and think that I've "broken even".
> 
> ...


I personally think that some weight trainning boost your metabolic rate.
Last 2 years, my riding time has been cut in half.
At the same time I started to lift weights - always doing superset or compound set.
My weight hasn't really change much but my waistline did get slimmer.
I'm 42 years old and I can definitely tell that the metabolism has slowed compare to when I was 25 years old......


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