Battle of the Bulge: A Grumpy Old Man’s Approach to Nutrition, Life and Honesty

My son is lean and mean – okay, he is not mean, really he is a gentle giant, but when he attacks those hills I would hesitate to get in his way. His dad (that would be me, Steve) is a not-so-lean grumpy old man. We both cycle but while my son has no weight to lose I do, yet in the end, our nutrition needs and goals are similar. We both need well-balanced meals that provide us with the energy needed to put in the miles and hill repeats. The only difference is he needs to take in enough calories to maintain his weight and Dad needs to have enough nutrition to cycle but with just enough of a calorie deficiency to lose weight.

There are hundreds of books and theories on nutrition and diet. Have a favorite diet? Then there is a book out there that will support your theory. I’ve seen and tried most of ‘em.  So let’s toss all of that out the window and just focus on what you are convinced is a well-balanced diet.

With that in mind, I am going to ask you to be honest.  A well-balanced and nutritious diet can still lead to the dreaded “bulge”. You need to be honest about portions and total calorie intake. You need to take in the good stuff at the right amounts. To do this you need three things:  a digital food scale, a set of measuring cups, and a food journal.

Digital Food Scale. You need to weigh your food to accurately calculate calories. All chicken breasts are not created equal and can vary in size widely thereby varying in calories. Guessing what a homemade hamburger patty weighs can be an easy way to lose control of your calories.  

Measuring Cups.   These are a great way to reign in foods that need to measured by volume. Order yourself a set of those fancy stainless steel cups. If you can afford a carbon fiber bike, you need these cups, beside they are more manly.

Food Journal.  Now that you have put in the good work of measuring and calculating make sure that you don’t lose count during the day. An easy way to keep a food journal is use a website like www.caloriecount.about.com or http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/. These are easy to use and give you other tracking features. Some folks prefer to keep a non-digital version. Whatever you use just be sure that you do use it!

So now you have the tools now start estimating your calorie needs. There are many guides for this, so use one www.caloriesperhour.com/index_burn.php  and pick a calorie goal.  Do not be concerned if you get it wrong you will know within a month and you can adjust accordingly. The journal is an essential tool for helping you know what is or is not working.

Now I am going to ask you to weigh every day. Weigh yourself at the same time every day with the same clothes or no clothes, just be consistent. Do not freak out if your weight varies a lot from day to day. Why? One pint of water weighs one pound. The day after a long ride I always weigh 2 to 4 pounds more because I have over-hydrated. The reason for weighing every day is to establish a pattern. Journaling will do this for you. Watching the trend will tell you if you are taking in the right amount to maintain “fighting weight” or the right amount to get to there.

I followed this plan and lost 30 pounds reaching 222. Then I stopped weighing and measuring and journaling. My thinking was “I had it down, knew what I was doing”. Before long I was back up to 234. So December 1^st I went back to the plan. I set a goal of 1850 calories per day. (I maintain a rigorous schedule of cycling and cross training. At 65 years old I have no choice if I want to have a quality life.) Amazingly, in the first two weeks I have lost 5.6 pounds. Nothing motivates like success. So I may still be a grumpy, old man but one with less of a bulge than a couple of weeks ago. It can be done and I plan on updating you every two weeks as to my progress. That could be a fourth part of the plan; holding yourself accountable to someone.

-Steve Grove, GroveTribe Patriarch