weight loss???

[lauriematt]

From alot of accounts from LEJOG...i have read that most people have lost weight!

lookin at a recent thread, someone was saying they lost 2STONE, down from 13 to 11stone!

is this the case for everybody??
i am quite light...and of a slim build...and have noticed that my weight remains low as long as im cycling.
is it possible to eat more to prevent weight loss during the trip...or is it unavoidable??

[eileithyia]

Well I've put on weight before now on a touring holiday to the highlands!
So it is possible to eat more than you expend even on a cycle holiday.

[Mick F]

During my E2Es a couple of years ago, I only lost a few pounds. I ate like a horse, choccy bars the lot!

During my Grand Tour, I lost 12lbs. I ate sensibly and stayed off the chocolate and peanuts. Tracker Bars and Kellog's Nutrigrain instead.

After the rides, weight continued to fall off me. I'm now over a stone lighter than when I left in late May.

[eileithyia]

Well done Mick, am keeping off all choccie bars, avoiding cakes. Eating fruit, veg, protein, and am frustrated at not being able to get rid of extra pounds put on during my weeks off the bike. Usuualy shed 3-4, plateau, then put them back on despite eating no differently. grrrrr

[Euskadi]

Do you drink at all? I've found I lose extra weight if I stay off the booze during the week.

[ransos]

From alot of accounts from LEJOG...i have read that most people have lost weight!

lookin at a recent thread, someone was saying they lost 2STONE, down from 13 to 11stone!

is this the case for everybody??
i am quite light...and of a slim build...and have noticed that my weight remains low as long as im cycling.
is it possible to eat more to prevent weight loss during the trip...or is it unavoidable??

My cycling partner actually put on weight during our lejog! It may be due to the large quantity of pies, beer & whisky we consumed during the trip.

[Si]

On my LeJog I started out the first couple of days following aneating plan of high carb foods and fresh fruit and veg, ect - just like all the books tell you.

By the third day I just ate everyting that I could find and went back for seconds. Typical day: full English with seconds if offered. Mid morning snack: flap jack etc., Pub lunch: eg lasagne and chips. Afternoon snack: energy bar or twix. Dinner: somethin large and filling: ideally pasta based, plus a big chocolate pud.

At the end of two weeks I'd lost just less than a stone. As I was pretty swelt to start with I ended up back at the same weight I was when I was around 16. Family thought I looked ill, but I found that I went up hills damned quick

[eileithyia]

I rarely drink an occasional glass of wine, so it is not even much of calorie cut if I cut it out.

My occasion in the highlands when I put on weight was due to a severe case of bonk on the second day, guess it frightened me enough to realise that i needed to stoke up at all the stops.......... obviously too much as it turned out.

[Tommo]

I put on the best part of half a stone on my first LEJOG. It was a fairly easy schedule that failed to really challenge me and I ate a lot more than I normally do.

My LEJOGLE was a bit different as I did higher mileage with much more weight on the bike and took 3 weeks longer to do it. I only put on 3 pounds. Beer and pies have a lot to do with this, I certainly wouldn't be able to handle such a trip trying to watch what I ate the whole time. The energy expenditure on some days was so high that I once ate 6 courses in a pub and made my way through 20 slices of pizza in one sitting on my day off in York. Still came back looking slim and feeling much fitter.

If you wish to lose a bit of weight it should be easy to do, but don't try to starve yourself. Just approach it naturally and eat what you think you need to eat. If you don't wish to lose weight then a fair bit of eating will probably be required. That's part of the fun.

[vernon]

I put on the best part of half a stone on my first LEJOG. It was a fairly easy schedule that failed to really challenge me and I ate a lot more than I normally do.

My LEJOGLE was a bit different as I did higher mileage with much more weight on the bike and took 3 weeks longer to do it. I only put on 3 pounds. Beer and pies have a lot to do with this, I certainly wouldn't be able to handle such a trip trying to watch what I ate the whole time. The energy expenditure on some days was so high that I once ate 6 courses in a pub and made my way through 20 slices of pizza in one sitting on my day off in York. Still came back looking slim and feeling much fitter.

If you wish to lose a bit of weight it should be easy to do, but don't try to starve yourself. Just approach it naturally and eat what you think you need to eat. If you don't wish to lose weight then a fair bit of eating will probably be required. That's part of the fun.

Good for you Tommo!

I lost 0.6% (2lbs) of my bodyweight when I did my first LEJOG. I didn't loose much more when I JOGLED and I think I put on weight when I did the Channel to the Med but who wouldn't with the plethora of bars, cafes, pattisseries and boulangeries en route?

[Rayb]

I set a target of 10 days to complete JOGLE, which worked out at an average of just under 100 miles a day. I was unsupported but stayed in B&Bs, so the bike was fairly loaded but not too much. The route avoided A roads so was quite hilly and I averaged around 12 -13 mph each day. I would have quite a big breakfast which would always contain scrambled eggs and baked beans - found I couldn't eat big meals at lunchtime so I would stop in the morning, pick up three rounds of sandwiches, muesli bars and bananas and would stop every now and then for a bit to eat. Despite consuming huge numbers of calories throughout the day I found I was losing half a pound in weight a day.

I guess the answer to weight loss/gain would be your starting level of fitness (if you've trained hard you won't have much spare weight anyway) and how strenuous you make the ride - the harder the days the more calories you need. There does come a point where no matter how hard you try, you just cannot consume enough calories to make up for those you use.

[vernon]

here does come a point where no matter how hard you try, you just cannot consume enough calories to make up for those you use.

You want to bet?

When I used to go fell walking I turned up at a pub with a fellow walker and we ordered four pub lunches and six pints of beer between us. When the bar maid asked where our friends were and we told her the order was just for us, you should have seen the look on her face

I used to be thinner than a thin thing then tho but.

[Mick F]

During my JOGLE in '94, I arrived at Carlisle starving hungry, and bought steak pie and chips from the first chippy I found.

Then I went down to the YHA (the old one) and discovered I'd pre-booked, and paid for, the evening meal! The chap was cooking it when I arrived!

So I scoffed that too.

[peterm]

When I stopped in Kinross recently I went down to a pub at the other end of the town from my B&B and had a big meal, pudding and 3 pints of bitter. Went for a walk afterwards and couldn't resist having a large portion of chips at the chippy next to where I was staying before I went to bed.

Next morning was a first for me -an Arbroath smokie for breakfast-very nice to.

[cranky1]

I did LEJOG in may and have lost 1stone since the turn of the year. I didn't loose any weight during the ten day ride although i did have to tie my trousers up with a peice of string by the time i got to Pitlochrey so there must have been a displacement of mass.

During the ride I tried to stick to poridge and fruit for breakfast, have a couple of snack stops along the way and pig out on whatever I fancied along with a couple of pints in the evening.

I think the bulk of the weight loss was due to increased milage leading up to the ride itself, although I have continued to loose weight since yet have cut back on the milage due to other commitments.

All good stuff you might think but I have had to replace my wardrobe by purchasing two pairs of 32 waist trousers. My wife made me dispose of the string.