Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - DIstance may be important

HI,
Ive been ridding since july, not much weight loss, decide to raise the mileage a little instant weight loss,
so for me going from 21 miles per day to 31 mile per day, I dropped 10 pounds,???
Oh yea I stopped drinking gatorade and went to a sugar free sports drink, forgot about that..
Doug
Hope this cotinues started around 264 at 6 ft 2 in and now about 248,, who..
Geeze now I need suspenders for my 42in pants.
Doug

I'm looking to go from about 215lbs to maybe 198lbs or so by the end of this summer...unfortunetly the weather is not cooperating here in Maryland. My normal ride is about twenty miles but I'm planning on slowly increasing throughout the year, so I can ride my first Century in September. I figure that wieght loss will pretty much take care of itself...

...going from 21 miles per day to 31 mile per day...
You were riding 21 miles a day and not seeing much in the way of weight loss? Once I got to consistently riding 100+ miles a week I couldn't eat enough keep from dropping pounds.

Well you could be like me supenders won"t help when you lose 5 pants sizes LOL .... So nothing I had fits so I am buying as few clothes that fit .But since Iam headed down even more I been buying some things from Wally World actually decent jeans for $10.00 a pair size 48x30 and decent t shirts and workout clothes for cheap that are actually decent I got a NICE wind suit last week for 9 bucks jacket and pants found them over by the Dickies work clothes under the flannel shirts on close out for 5$. that a get me thru the spring . I have gotten some nice stuf thou that looks and a last like expensive clothes like the jeans .

Good luck on your weight loss that Gatorade a kill your weight loss . But IF you find the long rides you need SOME carbs eat a few bites of say a clif bar or cut Gatoradewith 1/2 or 2/3 water but try and drink stright water when your just thirsty !! Just my 2 cents if its worth that

Gatorade is 310 calories for 12 oz. It all adds up.

Riding 20-30 intensive miles per day does very little in controling my weight. I still must watch what I eat, or I will gain. However, knocking off 30-40, with the same intensity, has a dramatic effect. I'll lose poundage quick, suddenly dropping as many as 5 overnight. However, I do still need to keep somewhat of an eye on my food intake.

Now, once I ride 50+ per day (roughly the dist of my commute) this activity then allows me to eat anything I want without gaining an ounce, and I quickly settle to a nice weight of around 200 or less. If life were totally under my control: perfect weather, no work or other obligations....I would ride a minimum of 50 miles every day for the rest of my life.

Gatorade is 310 calories for 12 oz. It all adds up.

The gatorade website show 50 calories for 8 fluid ounces. Unless you are not drinking the original Gatorade, or you are drinking a super high volume, that shouldn't make much of a difference.

The gatorade website show 50 calories for 8 fluid ounces. Unless you are not drinking the original Gatorade, or you are drinking a super high volume, that shouldn't make much of a difference.

And, if your ride is much over an hour you are losing electrolytes that plain water just can't replace.

I've been drinking G-2: 25 calories per 8 ounces...

I believe its all about the intensity. Heck if you are only riding 5 miles a day up hill and into a headwind, you are probably going to lose weight or gain muscle!

Track your calories and burn more than you take in.

Jerry

Unfortunately, our bodies are amazingly good at adapting to whatever we can throw at them. What you have experienced is adaptation. Your body got used to 20 miles per day. You shocked it by jumping your mileage to 30. When you did that your body suddenly lost weight. If you stay at 30 for a while, you will stabilize there as well. That is why cross training and mixing up the workout intensities becomes so important.


Riding 20-30 intensive miles per day does very little in controling my weight. I still must watch what I eat, or I will gain. However, knocking off 30-40, with the same intensity, has a dramatic effect. I'll lose poundage quick, suddenly dropping as many as 5 overnight. However, I do still need to keep somewhat of an eye on my food intake.

Now, once I ride 50+ per day (roughly the dist of my commute) this activity then allows me to eat anything I want without gaining an ounce, and I quickly settle to a nice weight of around 200 or less. If life were totally under my control: perfect weather, no work or other obligations....I would ride a minimum of 50 miles every day for the rest of my life.

I increased my commute to 15 from 6 miles, giving me of course, 30 miles per day. I rode 501 miles for Feb and I lost 12.5 pounds. I also kept my calories between 1700-2000, more or less. I ate healthier than ever, though. Lots of fruits and grains. Basically, I wanted to go home at the end of the day at 1000 calories or less, so I could eat a decent supper and go to bed satisfied.

I am a believer in ride more; eat less. Works for me.

I averaged just over 600 miles a month last year. This year I'm averaging 1050 miles a month and I'm pretty stalled still. I'm pretty sure I could ride all day everyday and if I was still eating I wouldnt' lose any weight at all I just don't burn that many calories cycling even keeping my HR up.
I added swimming and I hope that helps me start moving again. As long as I don't push myself swimming and just kinda go through the motions my doctor said it would be ok so it is more of a floating stretch session :o

How much gatorade were you drinking and how has the extra miles changed things? Are you doing 31 miles in nearly the same time as 21? Tackling more hills?

The gatorade website show 50 calories for 8 fluid ounces. Unless you are not drinking the original Gatorade, or you are drinking a super high volume, that shouldn't make much of a difference.Here's where I got the 310 figure: http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-gatorade-energy-drink-i88302

http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-gatorade-original-thirst-quencher-i88300

here is the one for the original Gatorade and not the Performance Gatorade.

Last summer I was not riding every day but I was riding to work twice a week. It is 18-22 miles each way depending on if I ride the whole way or not. I did not loose more than a pound or two after a couple of months. I have been trying to spend time this winter on the tread mill or rowing machine to keep some aerobic fitness so when the weather gets better and I can start riding again I won't be starting from ground zero... I guess I need to work on the eat less part this year. Although bonking on the way home sucks (happened twice last year).

Ruckin

I drink only water on rides that are 90 minutes or less.
I like G2 as a supplement to water for rides 90 min-4 hours. It has electrolytes without as many calories. For rides over 2 hours I take some power bars.

I have an inexpensive bodyfat scale that keeps me reality-based regarding muscle increase, dehydration, or gaining/losing bodyfat.

I gained about 15# since starting to ride my bike last summer. I put on quite a bit of lower-body muscle but I also increased bodyfat. So my speed, endurance, hill-climbing have improved but would be even better if I could lose my Athena status.

Calories lurk everywhere and they sneak into my diet without my realizing it. Some recent studies show that the folks who are most successful taking off and KEEPING OFF extra pounds will keep a food diary. I need to start doing that again.

My goal this year is to increase my mileage to about 100 miles a week up from 75. I hope I enjoy similar success to some of you guys.

Something else to consider: if you lose weight, you won't have to work as hard to achieve the same time/distance. Overall your body won't need as many calories to maintain your lower weight. So you will not be burning as many calories as you were when you started. Something will have to change to keep in a calorie-deficit mode.

Fun Fact: A 220 lbs man, cycling at rate of 16 to 19 mph, burns 1200 calories per hour.

So, cycling 60 to 100 miles will burn between 4000 and 6000 calories. Assuming we do not eat to make up for the calorie burn, I say it is pretty obvious that distance matters.

Fun Fact: A 220 lbs man, cycling at rate of 16 to 19 mph, burns 1200 calories per hour.

So, cycling 60 to 100 miles will burn between 4000 and 6000 calories. Assuming we do not eat to make up for the calorie burn, I say it is pretty obvious that distance matters.

Is it fun because it isn't a fact or perhaps the issue is I not a man :( That would be nearly 60 calories a mile which would mean I burned off 34 lbs (or more since I weigh more) so far this year which certainly is not the case :o I believe after a long time riding a bicycle you burn as much on a ride as you do sitting on a bar stool drinking, minus the calories from your drink unless you down performance gatorade.

This is one of the reasons this whole calorie in/out thing doesnt' seem to work for some I think. Calorie out can be somewhat hard to track at least for most individuals. When I do my food journal I don't even put in my bike riding as exercise anymore if I want any hope of losing weight.

60 calories per mile seems reasonable (or fun if you will) to me. At 16 mph, it takes 3:45 to go one mile. That is only 16 calories each minute. So you would burn 960 calories in an hour. I'm not a scientist, but I bet that is close to reality.

Is it fun because it isn't a fact or perhaps the issue is I not a man :( That would be nearly 60 calories a mile which would mean I burned off 34 lbs (or more since I weigh more) so far this year which certainly is not the case :o I believe after a long time riding a bicycle you burn as much on a ride as you do sitting on a bar stool drinking, minus the calories from your drink unless you down performance gatorade.

This is one of the reasons this whole calorie in/out thing doesnt' seem to work for some I think. Calorie out can be somewhat hard to track at least for most individuals. When I do my food journal I don't even put in my bike riding as exercise anymore if I want any hope of losing weight.

I got the "fun fact" from one of those Internet Calculator websites. As for it being correct: I'd say probably close.

BTW: The software did not ask whether a person was male or female; I'm guessing it does not really matter.

As for sitting on a bar stool: I highly doublt cranking away at 16 to 19 mph would qualify as an "at rest" condition. ;)

Get your bike legs ready for a multiple day tour... 5 nights on the road, away from the refrigerator . The pounds just peel off.

Fun Fact: A 220 lbs man, cycling at rate of 16 to 19 mph, burns 1200 calories per hour.

So, cycling 60 to 100 miles will burn between 4000 and 6000 calories. Assuming we do not eat to make up for the calorie burn, I say it is pretty obvious that distance matters.

+1... I believe the science is pretty well settled on this, though it is time at a given HR that matters. Which does translate into distance when you are running or on a bike.

I believe its all about the intensity. Heck if you are only riding 5 miles a day up hill and into a headwind, you are probably going to lose weight or gain muscle!

Track your calories and burn more than you take in.

Jerry

While I would not say it's all about intensity, there can be a significant intensity factor in weight loss. I spoke to a colleague of mine (PhD, Exercise Physiology... long research history) who confirmed that calorie consumption is related to the rate or intensity of work. Also intense work has a residual metabolic effect that keeps calorie burn going even after exercise. Caveat is that intense work can slow recovery and thus reduce overall work output.

It is probably a good idea to throw in some "speed work" in a ride when you feel like it, or push a little more going upwind. Just be sure you don't lay yourself low for the next ride. A little "speed play" in a ride is fun anyway, eh?

Speed play: I've begun to use a heart monitor during my rides. Once warmed up, I push my speed up until my HR is within 10% of my limit. I hold it there for a few miles, usually up until the next street crossing. I then ride at a more sustainable heart rate for a few miles and, when ready, cycle it back up to the max rate again.

I do this for a couple hours.

Get your bike legs ready for a multiple day tour... 5 nights on the road, away from the refrigerator . The pounds just peel off.

+1. I lost weight riding from Pittsburgh to DC last year, despite eating constantly, and heartily. I can't even imagine the calories in the crab pretzel and deep fried cheesecake I consumed.

I also can ride 20-25 miles a day on the road (17-18mph avg) and it has little effect on my weight, I am metabolically challenged. Working to recover from a herniated disk I got up to doing 30-40 miles a day on a mountain bike on crushed limestone trails, much slower average, I dropped 32 pounds in 6 weeks not changing my diet. It was in mid summer and 90-100 degree days so I did sweat a lot. I seem to need 2-3 hrs a day at a good intensity to see real weight loss results. Running is a different story.