My Diet
We all know how to lose weight. Eat less and exercise more.
Well, bicycle riding is a big help in the latter category.
As for the eating part… well, that’s where the struggle lies.
For me, I have found the best thing I can do every day is write down what I eat. It’s all in the math. I know that every pound equals 3,500 calories. I know I burn about 400 calories an hour on a normal training ride. I also know, from experience, that if I consume no more than 1,800 calories and burn from 200-500 in exercise, I lose weight.
Here’s a link to a free Website that has you enter in your weight, how much you want to lose and then calculates how many calories you need to eliminate each day to get there in a specific amount of time. And on my My Training page here, I have links to programs you can get to keep a journal or log of your food and exercise.
As for diets, I’ve tried everything. Atkins, South Beach, Fit for Life, Weight Watchers and even things like Fen-Fen and prescription diet meds. Everything works, for a while. But it all came back on.
I have found, finally, a solution that works for me. It involves taking those pre-made shakes. There are lots of really expensive products on the market but two in paricular have worked for me. Both are affordable and easy to get. The first is the well-known and heavily advertised program called NutriSystem
You can order online (and thus tap into a really effective motivational program, too) or get them in supermarkets. I have had good luck using them as a meal substitute.
The other program and the one I’ve had the best luck with is called Medifast.
I drink four to five of the pre-made Medifast shakes every day. They’re about 100 calories each. One for breakfast, one at mid-morning, one for lunch and one mid-afternoon. Then, at night at home, I have a small salad with vinegar and oil, lots of green veggies and a 300-calorie Lean Cuisine. Sometimes, it will just be a small serving of whatever my wife makes. Or if we’re out, a very small filet or fish. In the evening, if hungry, I’ll have another Medifast shake or have a sugar free cup of Jello with a couple tablespoons of sugar free Cool Whip.
You can get details from the Medifast Official Site but my doctor was familiar with the program (it has been in use for 25 years) and okayed it with no reservations for me and all I can say is it really works. Obviously, before embarking on any major diet program, you should check with your doctor, too.
I lost about 40 pounds on Medifast in about four months. Then I started replacing the shakes with small regular meals, but using the Medifast shakes for breakfast and lunch two or three days a week. At the start of a biking season, with my typical winter poundage gains, I’ll go back on the four or five shakes a day until the exercise and diet get rid of the seasonal increase.
Some day, I’ll figure out I need to exercise hard all day, every day, all year round so I don’t keep finding all that weight I’ve lost 
But the Medifast supplements help get regain control fast. I know. We’re all different. They may not be your solution. But they work for me.
There’s a whole book on the program you can get (The Medifast Book - $19.95) that explains the details and offers specific plans. I just order the shakes (chocolate and vanilla are my favorites).
If you want to try it, they have a promotion that offers 1 Week of Medifast free.
How fast can you lose? With Medifast I lost 2-5 pounds a week. That’s pretty fast. I like that about it. It’s not forever. But it sure helps me get rid of the bulk and then rely on so biking to burn any extra calories I need to deplete to lose or maintain weight. I’ve been doing this now for three years.
So there you have it. That’s my diet. And I’m sticking to it. Works for me.
I feel funny writing all this. I’m no expert, like I said. But people are always asking me how I did it so this page is an attempt to answer them. Below are banner links to the two programs for you to check out. They’re both offering free one-week starter programs.
Remember, though, you need that exercise. And exercise, until you get to your ideal weight, is never enough. Eat less, exercise more.