Age: 53Occupation: Assistant ProfessorHometown: PittsburghStart Weight: 230 poundsEnd Weight: 175 poundsTime Cycling: 12 years
I used to be a fitness instructor when I was in my 20s. Then in 1990, I moved from Sacramento, California to Pittsburgh, where I focused on my advanced educationa masters degree in rehab counseling and later a Ph.D. in counseling psychology. I married in 1994, and we had children in 99 and 2003.
Basically I was focused on other areas of life, and exercise and fitness became an afterthought. After we had our first child, I weighed around 230 pounds (fat not muscle), my cholesterol was high, and I had a bad back and knee pain.
There was a brief period around 1995 or so when I went on Weight Watchers and lost about 40 pounds, but I gained that back fairly quickly. Eating too much combined inconsistent exercise at minimal intensity kept the pounds on. I never challenged myself beyond 60 to 70 percent of my target heart rate.
Around 2008 I was having health issues with high cholesterol and severe back pain. I weighed around 220 pounds. That same year, I had a career change with a new office space. I decided that enough was enough with my unhealthy lifestyle and decided to start riding an old Trek bike that I had for many years. I began riding to work regularly which helped with a great deal of weight loss.
In 2010, a friend introduced me to mountain biking and took me into a local park (Frick Park) which has some great mountain bike trails. I loved it immediately and bought my first real mountain bike that year. Around 2013, another friend suggested riding with a cycling team. I gave it a try and entered my first race in 2013a mountain bike short track race.
I thought I was in good shape having ridden to work the last few years, but after the race I thought I would have a heart attack from the exertion! I was not in race shape. I tried some cyclocross races which further reinforced to me that I was not in race shape. I ended up joining a team in 2013 and began riding with other riders to get into race shape. From that point on Ive raced mountain bikes and cyclocross every year.
I now weigh 175 pounds and rarely go above 180. Additionally, cycling has been a blessing on my lower lumbar back problems. Just as an example, one time while in grad school when I was overweight, had a back flare up after just sitting down on a chair. The pain was so bad my fellow students had to call EMS to have me taken to the emergency room, and my wife drove from Pittsburgh to West Virginia to pick me up. Since Ive been consistently cycling at a competitive level, my back has not flared up like that again.
As for my eating habits, at first I was on a very low-fat diet with limited calorie intake because of my tendency toward high cholesterol. Since Ive been racing and riding at high levels, Ive been able to cheat a little more and still maintain my weight. I still do not eat fast food or fried food, I limit eating fats like butter, I mostly eat egg whites with only a small bit of yolk, and I maintain a good level of protein especially now that Im in my 50s.
Though exercise has helped me with most health problems, I still have joint arthritis, but it rarely bothers me. Its mostly mountain biking that affected my arthritis because of the constant tension and jarring of the legs and arms. My arthritis is advanced in my left knee and I also have right shoulder arthritis. However, the most I do is take Advil after a long or intense mountain bike ride. Casual mountain biking (two hours at a moderate pace) doesnt bother me that much.
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Now, I average 80 to 100 miles a week, sometimes more. To get my miles in, I road ride to work. On weekends (sometimes during the week) I gravel or mountain bike ride. I occasionally do off-road and mountain bike races. I also work in strength training twice a week and play tennis a few times a month. And, I participate in about 12 to 16 mountain bike and cyclocross races a year.
In the future, Id like to go on more mountain bike rides in new and interesting places. I would like to be a mountain bike instructor to help people in my age range, and maybe younger, learn the fitness benefits of cycling.
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A Career Change Helped This Cyclist Lose 55 Pounds | Cycling Weight Loss - Bicycling
