Ideal weight!!

[mh24]

Hey groovers - right...I am 106kg but reasonably fit (imo !!?). I am on a fitness / weight loss mission - Anyone got/ fancy making an equation of how much weight to lose to make hills feel easier!!?? Found those hills a b***ger last night!! M

[whitestone]

I'm sure there's formulae about that will calculate it to the nth degree. There's a video on road.cc or British Cycling or similar about weight on hills where they time an ascent of Box Hill then add weight to the rider and time the difference.

Basically any weight lost is a benefit. I went from just under 100Kg down to 80Kg and my times on hills (road) dropped dramatically.

[psling]

Probably worth having a read through the Bearbones Fatfighters thread on this forum and glean what you can from that. It's quite informative just reading the personal experiences of others without too much of the 'science bit' sometimes.

[Richard G]

Realistically you'd need an idea of your FTP (Functional Threshold Power) or 20 minute power to come up with any sort of a proper calculation. Then you can work out your FTP / KG, which is basically how we'll you'll deal with hills (bikepacking gear aside).

Problem is, if you lose too much weight, you'll likely lose power too, so both sides of the equation can move around a lot. I improved mine by 30% from last year to this year, and it's make a pretty noticeable difference. I wont get gains like that in the future though as I'm getting to be near my max.

[padonbike]

Pantani weighed 54kg and could climb up L'Alpe d'Huez at 25kph.
Does this help?

[whitestone]

To quote Greg Lemond: "It never gets easier, you just go faster"

One point to note is that as your weight drops then the relative proportion of your bike and gear goes up!

It's worth doing strength exercises rather than endurance ones when losing weight to ensure you do keep strength. You'd think that you'd lose all tissue types at the same rate but it doesn't seem to work that way.

[HaYWiRe]

Pantani weighed 54kg and could climb up L'Alpe d'Huez at 25kph.
Does this help?

I weigh 53kg and im pretty sure id never get up there that fast!....if at all in one go!

[Richard G]

One point to note is that as your weight drops then the relative proportion of your bike and gear goes up!

Aye. I never used to worry so much about bike weight. Now I definitely do.

On the weight training aspect... I wonder how many here do it. I know there are three of us for sure, but I suspect we're VERY much the minority.

[mountainbaker]

I've gone from 95Kg to 70 Kg over the last 3 years. Climbing gets easier the more you lose for sure. All this power to weight stuff might be useful to some (as a means to spend money on more kit), but in reality, ride more, eat better. If you really want to lose weight, cut out animal products and oils/fats. The science is all there, just most people refuse to engage with it or acknowledge that what they eat is killing them. Or they believe the health claims from large multinationals on their highly processed foods. Real food, whole foods. It's actually really simple, and you'll feel a lot better for it generally too.

Don't get sucked in by Paleo/Atkins either, it's junk science. https://nutritionfacts.org/video/paleo- ... -exercise/

[Richard G]

Is meat not real food? How about nuts and fish (both full of delicious fat)? Am I still allowed olive and coconut oil? No eggs?!?

(You may have guessed, I don't agree with the entirety of your post there)

[mh24]

Probably worth having a read through the Bearbones Fatfighters thread on this forum and glean what you can from that. It's quite informative just reading the personal experiences of others without too much of the 'science bit' sometimes.

Thanks - that is brilliant. I will join up now!!

[mh24]

Pantani weighed 54kg and could climb up L'Alpe d'Huez at 25kph.
Does this help?

Don't know - I will try it this afternoon! Any excuse for a holiday!

[mountainbaker]

Is meat not real food? How about nuts and fish (both full of delicious fat)? Am I still allowed olive and coconut oil? No eggs?!?

(You may have guessed, I don't agree with the entirety of your post there)

Did you even watch what I posted? Or do you know it all already?
I'm not saying what you can/cannot eat. I'm showing you that there is research that shows that these diets are really quite bad for you. LCHF athletes often appear really healthy, have great performance etc, then at 40 they have a heart attack.

I saw this a few years ago, was quite interesting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMOjVYgYaG8

[Richard G]

Didn't comment on LCHF whatsoever. I don't personally use it.

I've actually read the study that your link discusses there btw... and there's far more nuance to it than the headline and video indicates.

Edit - I'd like to see the research on LCHF athletes having heart attacks at 40 though if you have it. I'm not aware of many athletes that have utilised this dietary technique, nor any study addressing their mortality rates or incidence of cardiovascular events vs other athletes.

[mountainbaker]

https://nutritionfacts.org/2015/05/19/l ... lood-flow/ touches on the only study to date of blood flow relating to LCHF diets. Doesn't look too good. I'm sure more will be done in future, be interesting to see what comes of it.

Patients following recommended treatment for each of the independent variables were able to regress both the extent and severity of their coronary artery disease (CAD), as well as improve their myocardial wall motion (function) while following the prescribed medical and dietary guidelines. However, individuals receiving the same medical treatment but following a high-protein diet showed a worsening of independent risk factors, in addition to progression of CAD. These results would suggest that high-protein diets may precipitate progression of CAI) through increases in lipid deposition and inflammatory and coagulation pathways.

PS the LCHF athletes having heart attacks was anecdotal from a documentary I watched recently called "What the health" Also worth a watch. https://vimeo.com/ondemand/whatthehealth

[giryan]

Didn't comment on LCHF whatsoever. I don't personally use it.

I've actually read the study that your link discusses there btw... and there's far more nuance to it than the headline and video indicates.

Edit - I'd like to see the research on LCHF athletes having heart attacks at 40 though if you have it. I'm not aware of many athletes that have utilised this dietary technique, nor any study addressing their mortality rates or incidence of cardiovascular events vs other athletes.

there are an increasing number who do, and do really well on it.
and quite a lot of good new science about it too, e.g. FASTER http://www.vespapower.com/the-emerging- ... daptation/

[Chew]

Whatever people are eating, it does seem to make them grumpy

Just eat a bit less cake and ride your bike a bit more.

Other activities are available

[sean_iow]

As it started to go a bit STW I thought, oooh, I bet there's a panda coming up soon, stopped reading and scrolled down

[BigdummySteve]

I thought it was junk science as well.... but after following a panda around wales all weekend I can confirm grumpyness was at a much reduced level.

[psling]

I thought it was junk science as well.... but after following a panda around wales all weekend I can confirm grumpyness was at a much reduced level.

I hope you weren't following that panda in the same manner that the one in the image above is "following"....

[mountainbaker]

Wow, two people have a discussion and it's going a bit "STW". Whats the matter with people discussing what they read about elsewhere? Too challenging for you?

[jameso]

No idea or opinion on diet types etc, but

Real food, whole foods.

is a good point. Easy to drop weight by changing some common food types or cutting carbs, fasted riding etc.
Watts per kg overall is what makes you fast uphill. Power to weight ratio. My when riding and eating normally is ~75kg and I find dropping 3-4kg makes quite a difference to my climbing on hills I know well. If i drop below a certain weight my power and (it seems) my recovery drop, but down to 70-71kg it's fine. I guess it depends if that weight loss has been all fat loss or some muscle wastage after a longer trip where nutrition's not great.

Seems that strength is maintained longer than top-end cardi fitness also -no science for that, just observation- so if you maintain your riding ability and drop 8-10kgs over a few months you'll notice enough difference for it to be highly motivating!

[sean_iow]

Wow, two people have a discussion and it's going a bit "STW". Whats the matter with people discussing what they read about elsewhere? Too challenging for you?

That was meant tongue in cheek, no offence meant. The panda picture prompted me to say it, apologies.

[Chew]

Too challenging for you?

No, just boring

Its the same old stuff, said by the same people, said every week........

I'm sure certain diets may add a few extra years onto peoples lives, but if it makes you come across as grumpy/miserable/aggressive* then is it really worth it?

Anyway, its a Thursday so i'm off to the pub. Cheers




*I'm sure you're adorable in person Gabes, but all of your recent posts make you sound like a miserable git

[NorwayCalling]

And back to the original question......

Hey groovers - right...I am 106kg but reasonably fit (imo !!?). I am on a fitness / weight loss mission - Anyone got/ fancy making an equation of how much weight to lose to make hills feel easier!!?? Found those hills a b***ger last night!! M

At a starting weight of 100kg, every 5kg you loose you will find it noticeably less effort (still hard work mind, but less effort) to ride up any given hill.

As weight gain/loss is a slow process you wont' notice an immediate effect but month-by-month you will notice that it is taking less time to do a section on a ride and you ill fell a noticeable increase in momentum for every 5kg you lose.

Anything less than 5kg is "lost" in the overall effort, but as i said, 5kg steps are noticable.

For the thin out there who a questioning this... simply add 3 kg to you bike (bags, packs, lead weights, however you want) go ride and its not that noticeable (yes yo do notice as it "different" but it wont hold you back that much). On the other hand, adding 5kg you will notice. Adding say 7.5 kg is not much different to the 5 kg, but adding 10 kg is very noticeable compered to the 5kg.

So 5kg increments are noticeable...

Good luck with the weight loss - come on over to the fat fighters for some mutual support