[Closed] 4 week plan to make me fitter, lighter, healthier

Intervals on the turbo trainer (Was going to suggest rollers but given it's you...)

Lightly interspersed with Bodyweight cardio circuits (any Joe wicks style half hour jobbie will do)

Rest day Fri/sat followed by a as long as you can manage going steady on the pushbike

get fitter for long bike rides and hills

Do more long bike rides with hills for the next four weeks.

And the turbo idea above is good, or just go harder up the hills when riding.

Personally, I think it can be counter-productive trying to make too many lifestyle changes at the same time, get one thing bedded in (riding more) then add another.

Sounds like you're already on the path. Maybe look to add:

- 20-30 mins daily of youtube yoga to improve flexibility
- 10-15 mins daily of calisthenics (google 'convict conditioning' for a simple routine requiring no equipment) to improve strength and conditioning
- ensure some of your bike rides are specific (maybe try some interval sessions) to increase speed/endurance

Good luck and keep us posted on rogress!

4 Week Target
Lose a couple of KG
Cycle further, faster and with less recovery time
Touch my toes or get into the car without making funny noises

2kg in 4 weeks needs a 3500kCal a week deficit, or 500kCal a day. This is usually touted as the maximum 'sustainable' weight loss you can achieve so no bad thing. also don't overestimate what your 'recommended' daily intake is. As a relatively lean 6ft desk worker, I was disappointed to leann that the standard NHS allowance of 2500kCal a day was probably 'generous'.

Hard intervals on the turbo might help the weight loss but I don't think they'll help with generally feeling better on the bike, and I reckon it will take 4 weeks or so for you to properly get into the groove and start being able to do the workouts properly anyway (i.e. pacing them right etc.). I'd just do lots of easy riding and allow yourself a wee dig every now and then on a fun bit.

Best bit about easy riding is you don't need to worry so much about recovery etc and rides under two hours probably don't even need any food. Helps you get used to position on bike again as well.

Hmm, next one to mention sitting on a turbo-trainer gets hit with the ban hammer. It is spring and the evenings are light again so should be enjoying outside

I've had a few 'time off bike' episodes in the last few years and I'm fairly convinced that one of the things that helped me the most is consistent strength & mobility exercise. I currently use the Yoga workouts on the sufferfest app - just 15 mins a day. I'm sure there are lots of free videos on youtube that you can try out to see if you like it and/or it helps. For me it just helps me to feel more efficient and durable on the bike with less overall fatigue as the rides get longer.

I'm 25kg into my weight loss goal; not sure if I'm still trying to lose weight at the moment but another 5-6kg would be good.

You can lose about 1kg a week if you're really disciplined and reduce your intake to about 1200-1500 a day (1200 on a non exercise day, 1500 if you do 60-90 minutes or moderate exercise). This is how I've managed it. Losing the weight will automatically mean you can ride longer and/or faster without fatiguing so readily. Also try riding early morning before you've eaten - just a cup of coffee as this can help promote fat burning during exercise.

Good luck!

Similar hear, +16st (but 6'6) I'm just riding more and enjoying not being in the gym.
If I can do a couple of hours and feel it in the legs then each week will get better the more I push distance and effort.
I just want to enjoy being out on the bike after so long not being able to.

Saying that 15min stretching every morning with old man noises is the start to the day.

Edit: my diet starts in the shop if I don't buy it I can't eat it when evening nibbles kick in.

For me I’ve gone from 84kgs at the start of 2021 to about 75kgs now and feel so much better on the bikes.

My biggest thing has been controlled calories - it sounds like you have that under control. On a non-exercise day I work to 1750 calories. On an exercise day I just take the calories burned and eat enough to cover those. Use the ‘Lose It’ app to track my intake - it’s amazing how little things here and there can bump you way over your target without realising.

Fitness wise I’ve been using a turbo trainer and swimming in the main - I have done sporadic weight training bwteeen injuries! Think I overdid it on the overhead dumbell tricep extensions and gave myself tennis elbow I think. Laid off for a bit and it’s calmed down so gradually building that back up.

If you want to get out on the bike then maybe plan some circular routes with big hills in - so you can repeat them as an interval several times in your ride out. If you have Strava live segments you can star the hills and it goads you into trying to beat your pb I find.

Swimming is decent to add in once or twice a week - it takes me just over 40 mins to do a mile (64 lengths in a 25m pool) and I think that’s between a 300-350 calorie burn session and it’s very low impact on your joints.

20kg in 5 months from JUST cutting drinking? How much were you drinking and was it pints of Baileys?

I jest really, but that's a substantial loss, well done.

Personally, I'd just enjoy some longer rides and not worry about the 'maximum' you can do, if you push too hard, it might result in a WorldClassAccident, again!

Also, please buy a sack barrow, the degloving part of your previous post made me feel a bit sick!

I'd add another vote for daily yoga as well, and as you're time limited , self confessedly rigid (!) and probably a bit weak I'd stick to 10 minutes a day and be consistent. I like this one

. You should be able to sneak this in outside of your hour..

So here is the plan.

Diet - pretty much leave as it is. This means there is no impact for MrsWCA who feeds me and following the medical assessment last year, and weight loss since, that is pretty good and easily sustainable for the foreseeable future.
Yoga - 15 to 30 minutes a daily based on YouTube / Wii Fit Yoga coach
Cycling - At least 2 x 20-30 miles plus a week with one ‘base line’ route to monitor changes - probably one evening and 1 weekend
Swimming - At least 2 x 60 lengths in a 25m pool - I should squeeze this into the hour if I get there a bit quick

I can easily log the exercise but calories and intake is harder as food is prepared fresh and unless I sit and watch MrsWCA prepare all the food. She doesn’t use written recipes, and I am not sure how I would calculate the portion size based on a spoonful of this and a pouring of that etc. I can record the consumption outside of meals I suppose but as I don’t like cakes and sweets that is mainly fruit and veg. I guess cans of alcohol beer count even though they are only 29 Kcal per can.

I will record my average morning weight and wear a Vivio Active and average my heart rate recording between now and Friday. I will then start this new regime and give weekly updates.

Sound reasonable?

Suggested enhancements?

I’m no expert but if you want to get better at rides over 30 miles then 2 x 20-30mile rides a week probably aren’t ideal.

I’d split that into one shorter but more intense ride and then a 40 miler lower intensity ride I think. The intervals should help you build power and stretch your cardio and the the 40 miler will get you more into distance.

For example near me there’s a lap I can do that’s probably a couple of miles ish. However it’s got a hill that takes 3-4 mins to get up and then another shorter less steep hill that’s a couple of mins long. You then have one big descent to get back to the bottom. One lunchtime a few years ago I just lapped that as many times as I could fit in and I really attacked the 3-4 min long hill each time. Got my heart rate right up to the high 170’s / low 180’s then it got a chance to drop on the rest of the lap.

I will record my average morning weight

Once a week is enough, preferably at the same time.

Eat (a little) less, move (a little) more. Sadly it's the former that really leads to lighter. An hour of brisk walking, or even jogging, will see bigger gains and a nice way to enjoy the evenings. Your cycling sounds fine already.

When I remember/can be arsed, I try and do Kassandras 30 minute beginners yoga routine off YouTube - twice a week and I can feel improvements

You're not too far from me wca, so if you don't want turbo sessions, go do intervals up the numerous ramps around Midanbury's Witt's Hill plateau.

Further afield, mix up ways up Beacon Hill, or another good one is the rollercoaster of short hills between Morestead Hill from Winchester and the end of Corhampton Lane by Beacon Hill Lane base.

I will try that YouTube video

I will make it a shorter week day ride and a longer weekend ride.

Weekly Average just covers me for when I forget. It probably won't be every day but might be two or three weigh ins.

Do more, consume less has been working so far but it has begun to plateau since I bust the ribs as this chart shows. The sudden blip towards the end was caused by my body swelling following the accident and the effects of less activity are clear from the reduced rate of weight loss. I am thinking a month of increased activity will help get it back on target.

Skip breakfast

[i]Skip breakfast[/i]

Not too many calories in a large cup of black expresso

Those begineer Yoga videos crack me up. Assumes everyone has the suppleness of the person doing the video. I can't even do the first one ffs!

Good luck with the challenge. I have been trying to do a begineer FTP builder on Zwift, but now 4 weeks have passed and I've only managed 2 weeks worth.

Skip breakfast

Skip dinner! I'm enjoying going out for evening rides now, so long as I don't go *too* hard. I can have an enjoyably substantial lunch (usually healthy-ish e.g. three bean chilli and wholemeal pitta) then after ride in the evevning maybe an avocado or salad or something.

I've not done the research but had always felt like eating big meals, late, wasn't really a great idea so I prefer to load up during breakfast and lunch.

20KG already is amazing, obv doing something right.

Forget the magic, assuming your diet is good:

* Sleep 8 hours & drink min 2L water daily.
* Zone 2 training 2-3 a week, scaling up time / distance to where you want to get to.
* Some kind conservative movement / prehab stretch routine. Easy to get injured with Yoga and deep stretching if you have past injuries and are pushing age.

Once you can manage that:
* Add strength training focussing or core / back / glutes.
* Swap out on of the Zone 2 sessions for interval or hiit training.

Enjoy the speed

I will settle for 3 out of 4 of those and have about 1 hour a day, more at weekends, to achieve it.

I can't believe that you're fully occupied for 23 hours a day.

I was disappointed to leann that the standard NHS allowance of 2500kCal a day was probably ‘generous’.

Someone on here posted a formula, using age/weight/height etc. For me at 190cm, 80kg & 57 y/o I needed 1710 calories to 'maintain' my weight, and then more to cover exercise, physical work etc. I reckon the NHS ought to drop to 1500-1750 calories and then let folk 'add' for height and work effort etc.

If it's a for week plan, biggest improvements will come from running and sorting your sleep.

Someone on here posted a formula, using age/weight/height etc. For me at 190cm, 80kg & 57 y/o I needed 1710 calories to ‘maintain’ my weight, and then more to cover exercise, physical work etc. I reckon the NHS ought to drop to 1500-1750 calories and then let folk ‘add’ for height and work effort etc.

Yep, I'm 185cm, (currently...) 87kg and 39y/o. A similar base metabolic rate calculation gave me 1800kCal before exercise.

I don't wish this to be a hijack but I wonder if it might help the OP. I'm curious about skipping as exercise just to do something a bit different and also skill based. Wait.... No..... Given WCA's history I guess it could end badly for him?

Here is a time for tonight's 'test route' ridden alone at an easy pace. Let's see how it changes over the coming four weeks. It won't get easier but it might get faster*

Distance
42.69 km
Elev Gain
310 m
Time
2h 10m

*Perhaps I could get that printed on t-shirts and mugs etc?

As others have said, it's not too complicated. Diet is more important than exercise when it comes to just weight loss. As to increasing endurance, I think at the end of the day it's just a matter of discipline. But if you see results from week to week, that's motivation in itself.

Yoga has come up a few times - try 'Yoga with Adriene' on youtube. She does some 30 day intro courses, do it with the wife if you can.

If you want to be a better cyclist then ditch the swimming and spend the time cycling.

Just ride as much as you can. If you have an hour a day, ride in it. Some easier, flatter routes and some hillier, harder routes. More time on weekends, prehaps have saturday off as a rest day then perhaps start at 2 hours on a sunday, but increase it the following week.

You say your diet is good but my simple advice:
1. cut out sugar or things with added sugar
2. cut out sweetener
3. cut out simple processed white carbs, brown rice, brown pasta, brown bread.

It is general fitness rather than bike specific so will mix cycling and swimming as they are about the only two things I can do that don't exacerbate the ankle pain. Diet is reasonable according to a medical nutritionist so portion control will have more of an effect I suspect. Plus I don't want to inflict dietry restrictions or preparing two meals on MrsWCA who actually prepares the food.

Day 1 - 60x25m Breaststroke in 52 minutes

Diet is reasonable according to a medical nutritionist so portion control will have more of an effect I suspect

Was this to diet that got you to 120kg, or the one that's brought you down to 100kg?

TBH pretty sure you're shorter than me (6'2"), but at 20kg heavier than me I'm not sure that your diet is "reasonable".

As to increasing endurance, I think at the end of the day it’s just a matter of discipline

I was told this is wrong. From what I was told, for longer rides you need to teach your body to process carbs etc when your riding. Short rides only use your stored energy and don't allow you to process anything new, so if you only do short rides, you will run out of energy as your body wont be able to process anything new. A mixture is the way forward. I'm currently doing a 40-50min turbo once a week or about 20km, and a 60-80km ride on a sat morning at an easier pace than the turbo. Im not doing this to loose weight, but aiming for a few sportives in the year.

From that graph it looks like you've lost a quarter of your bodyweight in 6 months? That's really impressive

I'd say keep doing what you're doing and just tweak one or two things to keep your body adapting to new stresses.

As you lose more weight you're bound to get a slower rate of return so don't overthink it!

[i]Was this to diet that got you to 120kg, or the one that’s brought you down to 100kg?

TBH pretty sure you’re shorter than me (6’2″), but at 20kg heavier than me I’m not sure that your diet is “reasonable”.[/i]

It is the diet that I have been using to go from 120kg down to 100kg in a controlled and sustainable way, so yes, I would consider it reasonable. I am looking to continue to lose weight around the same rate but increase exercise and flexibility at the same time now.

I'm on an involuntary weight loss plan at the moment. Covid recovery means that anything with alcohol in it smells and tastes rancid.

3 weeks dry and my trousers are hanging off...

Effective isn't it. 44" originally and just had to buy some 34" jeans

Day 2 Riding at arelaxed pace
Distance
74.56 km
Elev Gain
890 m
Time
3h 59m

She doesn’t use written recipes, and I am not sure how I would calculate the portion size based on a spoonful of this and a pouring of that etc.

Just put less on your plate, when you are done see how you feel if you are starving have some more if you think "nah" don't if later in the day you start falling asleep you no you need to up it.

Or stuff yourself with salad.

joshvegas - exactly my method and it works well, helps that I actually like salad too.

Day 3 - Rest

Day 4
Swim - 60x25m Breaststroke in 43 minutes - main improvement was remembering to focus on swimming and not let my mind wander to poetry and art and almost drift to a halt
Riding with friend
Distance
58.76 km
Elev Gain
522 m
Time
2h 55m

a large cup of black expresso

ffs.

Despite that ^ well done, am just embarking on a similar journey myself.

[i]a large cup of black expresso[/i]

I was surprised to find out this is actually good for liver function so as well as having a three cup expresso in a mug every morning because I always ahave, it is part of my medical routine. Same as the hot tub is actually a hydrotherapy pool - same thing but you don't pay VAT on medical equipment.

Batfink - I found it very useful to have a reasonable plan at the start and then monitor against that plan. My first step was to adjust diet, primarily remove alcohol and reduce portion size, and see the impact on my weight with few other changes to lifestyle. Once the weight had stabilised I could then decide what to change in the lifestyle to further improve things.

The chart below shows the stages I went through and I am currently on Day 5 of the Kick start with the aim of losing another 5-10KG this spring/summer. I don't have a firm goal but something around 90 would be good.

I am using April as a kick start to get back on plan after breaking the ribs and am doing more exercise that normal but keeping consumption pretty much the same as before. Once back on target I shall reduce the exercise to a sustainable and enjoyable level that fits with other life commitments and see where the weight stabilises again.

I want a naturally stabilised weight that doesn't force me into unpleasant diet or exercise choices.

IMO a "plan to lose weight in 4 weeks" is absolutely the wrong thing to do.

A plan to eat and exercise better, on a long-term sustainable basis, will put you in a good place and never needing or wanting to go on a crash diet again.

My weight drifts up a bit when I'm being lazy, and drifts down a bit when I'm more serious about training (eg recently, aiming for a marathon). But I'm only talking about 2kg, maybe 4 as an absolute max range when I'm pushed out of my usual habits (eg travel with work). I'm marginally lighter than I was 35 years ago.

If you do a bit more exercise (but not aiming to "get fit in 4 weeks") and eat a bit better then the weight will take care of itself.

Okay - I admit the thread title was click bait - this is just part of a long term strategy as you can see from the chart.

The get fit quick bit was to see if there were any new ideas or suggestions out there. Increasing the exercise to more than I want to sustain for a four week period is okay as a quick fix but not a long term plan.

I am really using it to base line my general fitness now I have stabilised the weight based on diet and 1 - 2 rides or swims a week. Let's get some data for me at ~99Kg and then aim to get slowly and sustainably down nearer 90 by the end of the summer and repeat to see if there has been an improvement in overall fitness. This is a data gathering exercise as much as anything.

Your >90kg asymptote looks like the active side of every placebo controlled weight loss trial I've looked at (5% loss is a reasonable outcome, 10% is a blockbuster).

Semaglutide, which is not the first GLP-1 agonist, is a game changer, and it wasn't for weight loss (the class is for diabetes). It's rally gut hormone that either makes you sick or helps you lose weight. Their large studies showed a 12.5% loss and this is remarkable for the field. That you have lost 20% is itself hugely impressive. I'd say that 90kg might be a challenge, but continue to do what you were and thermodynamics will find a way to your new equilibrium.

Exercise itself will help lower that personal equilibrium, but everyone eats and drinks enough calories to weigh what they do, since weight changes more slowly than caloric changes in general. The variability between people is not metabolism (we don't slow lean muscle caloric requirements per gram tissue that much with age), it is really what drives the input side of the equation. Some people are sated with lower calories than others, and this is likely hormonal signalling in the gut (hence GLP-1 and other lectins).

https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-new-drug-treatment-chronic-weight-management-first-2014

TIRed - A lot of science in there that I will need to read up on but given your "What do you do" reply I will take it as accurate.

My thoughts are that before I snapped my foot off towards the end of 2012 I was, and had been for years, 90KG or there abouts. Although I struggle to be as actiuve as I was then, I have also substantially reduced by calorie intake in a fully sustainable way and have upped by calorie burn through exercise to compensate for less general walking about.

I am reasonably sure I can get back down to the 90KG as it is not as much a sudden 10% weight loss but rather a sustained and sustainable approach to return to the previous equilibrium.

I believe that if I hadn't broken 4 ribs, which stopped almost all movement, I would have continued the 0.5KG per week loss for a little while longer. I know that my calorie consumption increased during recover through 'boredom eating'.

We shall see how this works out and I will post results here. Now I am off to study your information, thanks!

By the way - I added the target line after I saw the trend, hence the close match.

I had to keep adjusting the formula for the first couple of months as the rate of loss declined but it soon was running at a constant 0.5kg per week which made the maths easy.

The great thing about not being a proper trial is that I can adjust my predictions and goals after the event to match reality.

@worldclass your post gave me the nudge to get back on MyFitnessPal and just ensure I am a little bit more active and avoid spending my evenings lazily on the sofa, week later and few KG's off

I can adjust my predictions and goals after the event to match reality.

Like every other failed clinical trial... the subgroup analysis will be along presently 😉

Weight loss is a very tough field. The recent GLP-1 data and approval is remarkable. But so is your progress. I ran a similar exercise with Mrs TiRed, based on "butter burning" - 700 calories per 100g, 1000 per kilo and butter is a bit like adipose tissue. Her calorie restriction tracked closely the expected curve for 500cal/day deficit.

I will post an updated chart occasionally so you can see if my 'remarkable' weight loss continues without resort to pharma assistance.

The thing to remember is where I started from which was extremely obese so it is quite easy to reduce that. Now I am just overweight which will make the weight loss harder and less dramatic I suspect.

Also need to check the cause of the weight gain over time. I used to eat loads and drink a lot and do masses of exercise so maintained my weight around 90KG. I snapped my foot off and was in bed for 6 months doing zero exercise and then 6 months on sticks learning to walk properly but doing zero other exercise. I was still consuming large amounts of food and probably more drink. My job involved lots of nights stuck in hotels with restaurant meals followed by nights at the bar until falling over time, again with little or no exercise. I eventually got an electric bike so I could at least ride a little and that helped a bit but then lockdown hit and made things worse again.

Now that I have managed to stop drinking completely, surprised how easy it was, and managed my food portions far better the weight reduces - shock! Crashing the electric MTB one too many times meant it has been replaced by an e-Gravel bike and I am doing longer and more continuous riding has also helped. My shoulders and bad leg make crawl slow, painful and totally unenjoyable but I have discovered breaststroke is bearable for 60 lengths or so, again it helps.

So from sedentary over eater and heavy drinker to active moderate eater and non-drinker appears to be working weight wise.

tiRED - I just read the FDA article and seems promising as and addition to self control. Drawing inferences from the clinical trial results is obviously impossible as there is so little collateral data shared bout the trial regarding any other dietary or exercise impact but the nearest trail to me is :

Another trial enrolled adults with type 2 diabetes. The average age was 55 years and 51% were female. The average body weight was 220 pounds (100 kg) and average BMI was 36 kg/m2. In this trial, individuals who received Wegovy lost 6.2% of their initial body weight compared to those who received placebo.

I am a little younger, a little more male and a little lower BMI but this suggests I would lose approximately 6KG. I am pretty confident I can do that anyway. I guess the people in the trail had already had a history of trying to lose weight so were starting from a low point in their weight range rather than me starting at the peak. Let's see if I am so smug in a couple of months time 🙂

Day 5 - Rest
Day 6 – 60x25m Breaststroke in 48 minutes Tired arms and thinking about work slowed me a bit

Unbelievable progress WCA! Well done! Breaststroke is a tough one for that kind of distance.

Day 7 Gravel Ride
Distance
25.31 km
Elev Gain
200 m
Time
1h 23m

[i]Breaststroke is a tough one for that kind of distance[/i]

It is with one foot stuck at 90 degrees, I am always heading slightly right as that leg has more drag

Day 8 Rest
I was going to go for a ride and then we had a storm with hails and stuff so I thought I might swim but the pool had 'open swim session' which means dodging screaming kids instead of actually swimming so did nothing. Will try harder tomorrow.

Day 9 rest - bloody families, I spent what should have been ride time building a tree house*

*And loved doing it. Long ride tomorrow, promise

Day 10 - Yes I actually got out for a ride!!

Distance
85.84 km
Elev Gain
823 m
Time
4h 41m

Early Days but looks like the weight is following the plan
1/4/22 99.5
2/4/22 99.3
3/4/22 98.9
4/4/22 98.8
5/4/22 98.5
6/4/22 99.1
7/4/22 98.7
11/4/22 98.4

Nice one - top work - you are right about where I want to be at the moment however I am a couple of KG off.

You've inspired me to move more though. I have lost around 6kg this year but purely through better eating and need to start feeding some exercise in now...

[i] I have lost around 6kg this year but purely through better eating and need to start feeding some exercise in now…[/i]

Great work from yuo too! That is the basic approach I took. Eat properly and see where the weight starts to stabilise and then add exercise to get it to where you want it.

Day 11
45km
No other details as my phone died and so using a friend Strava result. Also another friend has a mechanical so cute the ride sorry to ride home, collect a car and rescue him. Sub optimal

Day 12 - Nothing but 10-15 miles commuting around London on a hire bike

Day 13 – 60x25m Breaststroke in 50 minutes

Day 14 -
32.18km
1:30:00
21.5km/h

Day 15 & Day 16 - Bank holiday fun with family

Day 17
Distance
75.25 km
Elev Gain
566 m
Time
3h 32m

Day 18 - Two rides today as it was a sunny Bank Holiday and i had to drop one of my cars in for a respray about 30 miles away.

Distance
49.65 km
Elev Gain
354 m
Time
2h 45m

Distance
42.64 km
Elev Gain
452 m
Time
2h 6m

The sudden blip towards the end was caused by my body swelling following the accident and the effects of less activity are clear from the reduced rate of weight loss.

Stop having accidents

[i]Stop having accidents[/i] - That was moving a piece of art sculpture, not on the bike so it doesn't really count. Anyway, I have a reputation to maintain

Speaking from my own experience, I'd seperate 'training' from 'riding'

Training can be either in the gym, in the pool, on an indoor trainer or out on your bike. These sessions objectives are to make you faster, fitter, stronger and lighter. These will very probably not be fun, they will be hard. To help with training, lay everything out the night before to stop you from procrastinating and looking for a reason not to train.

Riding should be purely for the joy of riding your bike with no thoughts to how fast you're going or how many calories you've burnt. But the training will allow you to ride further and faster on your fun rides.

Diet obviously is important. Again like training, prepare your meals where possible the night before. This stops you from making bad eating choices when you're hungry. Go for a balanced diet with plenty of fruit and veg. Cut down on junk food, bread, alcohol, sweets, fizzy pop and cakes. Aim for a daily 500 calory deficit.

You can do it and if you can have a family member or friend help you then it'll be easier to stick to your plan.