Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Hi Im New here

Hi there im looking to get into cycling to loose weight , i do enjoy cycing and have been using it to commute for a short while but only eally short distances say 4 or 5 miles at the max most of my commutes are shorter though , on average i probably only do 10 miles a week and thats at a pretty slow pace
I am a bigger rider weighng in at about 265lb at 6"2 and would ideally like to be weighing about 200 i am not in any rush to loose it , and as i explained in my main intro thread i was going to the gym where i was loosing about 2 or 3 lb a week buti was down to about 240 but was frustrated and didnt really enjoy going so in the end i slowly gave up going which is what generally happens when you dont enjoy the way your working out and now ive put weight back on which i lost at the gym

Good luck!

Where are you? There may be some local casual / social rides / groups, and that makes it a great way to meet people, and it always seems easier to ride further and faster with others.

The most important thing about any exercise regime, whether in the gym or on the bike, is to make sure you have FUN.

That way, even if the weight doesn't come off as fast as you'd like, you're still having a good time.

Im in manchester england , i know there is a local casual cycle club who do a ride of 20-40 miles every couple of weeks but id like to maybe build up a bit of fitness before i started riding with others as currently im in pretty bad shape after a few months of practically no excersise at all . the sign of even the smallest hill at the moment and im knackered at the top ,all of my commutes are pretty flat so im ok on the flat but once i see even the smallest hill im tired out very quickly

I do enjoy cycling and find it fun , i dont really care how fast the weight comes off as long as i know its coming off people told me loosing 3lb a week at the gym was pretty slow progress but i thought that was fast enough for my liking . Part of the reason i dropped the gym was because i actually enjoyed the bike ride there a lot more than actually being in the gym so i figured the ride was free and i could do it any time i wanted and i was actually going somewhere as i excersised which was a great motivation to me , i just cannot get motivated sat on an excersise bike or on a cross trainer in a gym for 20 minutes as im just looking at the same wall

Welcome muz, and we will forgive you if you are a United chap, lol.

3 lbs a week is pretty significant, all in all. Most plans for healthy weight loss average about half that. It's OK to lose 3, but be sure you aren't starving yourself to do it.

As for riding longer distances and buildiing stamina, I suspect you know the answer already. The only way os to ride more. Just build up a little at a time. If you are curentlt riding 5 miles a couple of time a week, increase the amount of days you ride, then slowly bump up the distance. In no time at all you will gain strentgh and distance.

Lol if you mean united as in the football team then im not really a huge foloower of football ,

I was still eating perfectly well when i was loosing 3lb a week and i thought it was a lot too, i would be happy even if i was loosing 1lb a week as long as im enjoying the excersise im doing
As for riding longer distances i pretty much figured that was how id do it , at the moment i prolly ride about 10 miles a week so if i could maybe double that to 20 or 4 X 5 Miles rides a week do that for a few weeks and then maybe when i get a bit fitter add a longer ride in at the weekend how does that sound to begin with

You probably don't have to make it weeks between transitions. Maybe up your rides to 4 times a week for a couple of weeks, then try and add distance every week. Increase your distance by 10% each week and you probably won't even notice it.

I have always saved my biggest additions for the weekend though.

what about hills would it be wise to add a few hills to my rides after ive gained a bit more fitness because currently i die at the sight of a hill

First off welcome.

My suggestion would be start off with small manageable goals. If you ride 3 miles today try 4 miles tomorrow. If you ride MWF maybe add in a Saturday as well. Explore a different route or check out new scenery. Don't think about the miles. If you are worried about hills then go only part way up and coast back down. Set a goal to see what is on the other side of the hill a week from now. If you can't bike all the way up what's stopping you from walking the rest of the way.

A 3lb. weight loss a week is a lot. I definitely think you should enjoy doing what you like. But sometimes it's also about doing what works.

Hi , thanks for the welcome ,
first off its not that i cant get up the hills i usually just about manage but its that im completely tired once im up there .
I know im probably not going to get anywhere near 3lb a week , i was workingout pretty intensly at the gym 3 or 4 times a week to get to that that level of weight loss and like ive said i dont really care how long it takes to loose the weight i just know its got to go , as for doing what works its not just the weight loss that i want to achieve from this im thinking of applying for some jobs over the summer (along way away i know but being a student ive gotta have my whole finances planned ahead for the year ) that are a bit further from where i live than walking distance , some 5-10 miles and with me being a poor student i cant really afford a car so id like to maybe get fit enough to commute those distances daily over the summer which would save on public transport both in time and money terms so im looking over the long run to have a gain in fitness .

It wasnt that the gym wasnt working for me in terms of weight loss that was working perfectly the problem was just that i was a bit frustrated at going and sitting on an excersise bike and pedalling away for 30 mins at a time and not going anywhere whereas i could go outside and do that on my real bike and actually see things and get somewhere and breath the fresh air outside.