Training & Nutrition - Lack of weight loss while cycling

its funny you say i could be under estimating my calorie burning on the bike, since everyone else here has said the opposite.

Sorry, just a typo. I'm pretty sure you're overestimating your calorie expenditure and underestimating the food intake. For comparison I'm 175 lbs and on a 52 mile ride this morning in 2 1/2 hrs fitday estimates I burned 2100 calories and my HRM indicated 2340. I suspect you weigh less (because I also want to lose another 20lbs) so your numbers should be lower.

Greg

thank you SSP for that calculation for estimated caloried burned. 2200 calories for 55 miles sounds reasonable to me. where does this calculation come from? (im asking sincerely because i'm an information junkie, not because i dont believe you ;) )

"40 calories per mile" has been a rule of thumb for a long time. I'm not sure where it comes from, but assume it's because it's in the ballpark for most riding scenarios.

Calculating calories burned on the bike (without a power meter, or other technology) is actually fairly difficult. There are a BUNCH of variables, including weight, age, gender, height, distance, speed, wind, air temperature, elevation gain, type of tires, and (most importantly) your position on the bike. For instance, riding bolt upright on a mountain bike at 20 mph will burn a LOT more calories than the same rider riding 20 mph on aero bars, or in a paceline.

In my CycliStats program, I use a formula that I adapted from a Master's thesis (not mine...I got it from a Kiwi). Most rides come in at 35-40 calories per mile, and I've been told by folks with power meters that they see similar numbers.

im actually right around 185-190 depending on the day, and 5'11. 175 would put me at a healthy bmi, but i dont want to be at the top end of the spectrum, so id like to bring it down to 165 to 170. theres really no way im underestimating my calorie intake....my meals are mostly soy protein meal replacements, weighed and portioned veggies, and chicken breast. ill have to check out fitday. the food/exercise log site i use usually matches up pretty well with my Polar readouts, which is why i figured that it was probably within the realm of accurate.

to get fitday (and most other things that estimate calories burned) to read correct .. you have to put in a lower weight then what you actually weigh ..

but on the calorie deficit part, idealy you want 250 to 500 cal def on a daily basis at the most ... not on a weekly basis ...

lol anyone who only has a 250 cal def per week wouldnt lose anything. i know i was rambling numbers earlier, i hope i didnt accidentally say something like that, and im too tired to go back and check. i think its time to hit the sack. the kids are finally asleep, and now its MY turn. woohoo!

thanks for all the great info, guys. definitely have plenty to think about. keep your fingers crossed, i know i will! :)

nickel, what does it matter if someone got 100% of their daily calories from fat? come on.... thats obviously unhealthy, unless the new trend the physicians are trying to sell these days is NOT to have a balanced diet.



Do you think you would lose weight on that diet? Healthy or not makes no difference.

I wasn't aware of you consuming carbs during the ride...which makes a big difference. Do you understand why? I wasn't trying to imply you were slow but there is not a steady stream of information here. :roflmao2:

I think you should find a sports nutritionist. Do you keep track of your body fat % in addition to weight?

I saw an estimate where an Olympic rower on a heavy training day burns no more than 6000 calories total in a day... the fact is as you get "better" at a given exercise you become MORE efficient and thereby burn LESS calories..

over estimating the number you burned/ under estimating the number you consumed = NO WEIGHT LOSS

to get fitday (and most other things that estimate calories burned) to read correct .. you have to put in a lower weight then what you actually weigh ..

but on the calorie deficit part, idealy you want 250 to 500 cal def on a daily basis at the most ... not on a weekly basis ...


no you dont.

the key to getting Fitday to give you a decent estimate of your BMR is to pick "Sedentary" for lifestyle and enter sleep as an activity.

later.

I saw an estimate where an Olympic rower on a heavy training day burns no more than 6000 calories total in a day... the fact is as you get "better" at a given exercise you become MORE efficient and thereby burn LESS calories..


Which is why they have coaches who make them up the intensity so they continue to make gains.

this makes sense...if you recall Barbara Savage's book (Road to Nowhere - highly recommended) about riding around the world, she claims she and her husband were ravenous after starting their trip and could basically eat whatever and however much of any foods and still lose weight due to day after day of endless pedaling...but they soon hit a plateau. Even though they were still putting in the same efforts they no longer lost weight and had to actually start watching their caloric intake to avoid gaining weight.

Here, take a look at this:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080702101351.htm

I've been exercising regularly every week for the past 12 weeks, and I've lost 17 pounds (a healthy rate of 1.4 lbs/wk). I still eat about the same amount of food, but I do cardio (swim and cycle) about 4~5 hours a week.

Your body needs enough calories to survive, and you'll maintain your weight if you consume roughly 10 calories per pound (without exercise). At 1000~ calories a day your body is starving, and lean tissue is the first to go...

What you should focus on is losing FAT, not WEIGHT. A 300 pound Footballer's BMI may be off the charts, but it doesn't mean he's fat. Once your start losing fat, your weight will naturally go down. Losing anything other than fat is probably not healthy if you are overweight. Losing lean tissue will decrease your metabolism.

Sorry I'm rambling, but cycling is working for me, and I'm feeling great =)