Delmarva

You can lose weight if the energy you take in is less than the energy your body burns. Look first at your diet before starting on an exercise program to lose pounds.

Little Darwin

I rode my hybrid yesterday, and the Map My Ride estimate for the 2 hour ride was 1600 calories.

However, as is said for any exercise, you can't outr-exercise a bad diet. For the 1600 calories, if I only eat enough calories to maintain my weight without the ride, the ride would have enabled me to lose about 1/3 pound.

But as far as stylle of bike to lose weight, they will all provide the exercise you need to supplement the weight loss from a good diet.

Midtown

I've been getting into kettlebell training and it has work great, You can do it at home and it takes little time, 20-25 minutes, three to four times per week.
Here's a good article to get going.
How to Do a Kettlebell Swing | The Art of Manliness

teicher

I've had the exact same experience. I like to stay active on and off the bike and people honestly dont' believe me when I tell them that I don't crave that kind of food anymore, nor do I feel good after eating it. I feel like crap. A used to be sane sized but now considered small hamburger patty is enough for me. Same goes for the pizza and fries.

jskash

It makes sense to me that riding a hybrid would burn more calories than a lighter and faster road bike. You have to work harder and thus burn more calories.

Shimagnolo

What makes you think the same person would ride both bikes at the same speed?
Or to put it another way: Why would a person not push themselves just as hard on a lighter bike?

Doctor Morbius

Nope, sorry.

gpburdell

If the question is which style bike is best for weight loss, the answer is "the style you'll RIDE regularly".

You can push yourself to the same level of effort on any style bike, even a spin bike that doesn't go anywhere at all.

BugDude

With the same amount of work and effort, a road bike may go faster than a hybrid due to radius of wheel, width of tire and road resistance, gearing, etc. but all that means is with the same amount of work (i.e. effort and calories consumed) one may go faster on a road bike than a hybrid. Me going 15 mph on my hybrid may consume the same amount of calories as me going 20 mph on a road bike. But I can still put forth the same effort on both just with different results. For me, the hybrid works well riding in my subdivision in the mornings since I'm making a lot of 90* turns and culdesac loops. I may get a road bike for weekend long rides on bike trails.

PedalingWalrus

Take a fitbit or similar calorie burning measuring device and bike for 3 hours. These devices do not need to be absolutely accurate to get the point across. Look at how many calories you burned per hour and then take a look at what you are eating per day. You will quickly realize that you would have to bike at least 6 hours every day in order to lose any weight by cycling. The realization will be that:

a) cycling alone is not a good enough exercise for losing weight
b) you need to control how many calories you eat per day
c) you might need to control how many carbohydrates (SUGAR) you intake per day

The trouble with limiting the amount of calories will be that you might become weaker and weaker to power the amount of exercise you need. You might want to look a (c) where you choose what kind of fuel you put into your body to provide enough daily calories to your body but also to eat the type of food that will be utilized most efficiently by your body.

travbikeman

I find that riding 4 miles in the morning with my hybrid, helps me stay active and energetic for the day. Days I don't do it, I feel lethargic. Being active helps me with controlling my appetite and to make better decisions in general. Since riding my bike on and off the trainer since around March, I've lost 40 lbs. It may not be the real cause for my weight loss, but it sure helps.

Allez3

Let me put it to you this way...

I used to ride everywhere. I was 6'3" and set between 160 and 170 on my weight. I stopped ridding regularly about 20 years ago. It took some time, roughly 10 years, but I started to put on weight. Got married, got a career, had a kid and the next thing I knew I was 240. Started having all kinds of lower back issues, developed SI joint issues, the fat goes everywhere so you feel it with the shoes (went from and 11 to a 12). The nail in the coffin was a thyroid problem. So I finally said eff it. I used to be able to eat anything, because the bike would burn it!

So I got back on the bike, a hybrid this time around. I started ridding, and ridding. I basically set out to do half an hour three times a week, then my wife asked me to get up early instead because I was gone for an hour or more. I walked three others and took Sunday off. I also went back to my Air Force fitness workout I used to do. It gives you charts and what not on what you should be doing based on age groupings. Do not take this test cold, people have actually had heart attacks doing it. I think one dude even died. Anyway.... At 45 I started to try and meet the test goals of a 60 year old (I couldn't do it by the way) and went from there.

So now I get up every morning and do some stretching. I do about 40-50 sit-ups, 20-30 push-ups, then walk or bike. Running has always destroyed me. Just the way I'm built. So I'm still 6'3" but I weigh 190, which is where I wanted to be. I always thought at sub 170 I looked like a stick.

Back problems gone, check.

SI joint problem, catches me from time to time. But I don't have the foot numbness I used to get.

More importantly, the Thyoid problem went away. I think not being in the bike the damn thing just stopped functioning properly. I actually wound up in the hospital because when it kicked in the medication I had been taking caused palpitations and I thought it was having a heart attack. They weened me off the medication over about six months.

Diet, didn't change much. Never been a junk eater but I was a big carb loader. That's fine when you exercise, but all hell breaks loose if you don't. If you want to do the Air Force thing, the link is below. It's a good aerobic test. I also used my BMI as a body composition measure vs. their method. It worked as a conversion to pace yourself. I time myself on the walk to test myself. Push-ups were never a strong suit, but last weeks test I popped off 65 sit-ups in a minute. Hadn't done that since High School.

Air Force Personnel Center - AF Fitness Program

Seriously though, do not try this cold turkey. When you do it though, go by the book. I did the run once and thought I was going to collapse. The way it's set up it will burn you if you aren't in great shape. Start slow.

ShortLegCyclist

Actually, don't use a fitbit for this.

Some time in the past eight months or so Fitbit updated their algorithm, and it no longer counts pedal strokes as steps. I used to end up with 12,000 steps a day with 8000 of those from cycling, but since the update, I'm down around 5000 steps a day despite actually cycling significantly more miles.

It does sometimes give you credit for "active minutes" while cycling now where it did not before though, but that is not consistent at all.

I'm actually about ready to drop the Fitbit, it doesn't really add anything for me now that I've accomplished my weight loss goals.

ColdCase

Exercise, like bike riding, is great. Not a lot of pounding stress. The most efficient way to loose fat, however, is so called weight training (not weight lifting). You need to work hard enough to break a good sweat and get out of breath, maybe 15-20 minutes of intense effort with small or moderate weights (or an exercise that stresses the big muscles). The weight training approach builds up muscles without hurting them and more muscles means burning more calories, even when resting. You may not lose as much weight as an exercise/diet routine because you are replacing fat with muscle and muscles can be heavy, but you are healthier and fit. Any exercise that builds muscle rather than just burn calories is better for fat loss and keeping fat off.

Weight training doesn't demand as much of your free time but it is more important to do something you enjoy so you will stick with it over the long term.

OldManJones

wow, nice job getting back in shape and taking care of all those issues. I'm 6'2'' and felt pretty chunky and not able to perform the way I wanted to so I've started to work harder at it. I'd add for the original poster, resist the urge to splurge when you've had a long ride, thinking you've earned it. Stop eating before you're full and don't eat an entire meal of bad food to reward yourself. Cut out as much pop and alcohol as possible, and bring some extra food along in case you bonk on your ride.

a1penguin

I recently purchased a fitbit one. It rode to work in my back pack and accumulates steps and floors. Based on mileage and average cadence and simply multiplication, the fitbit wasn't recording enough steps. I wore it on my shoe one and an it was spot on with the number of steps I expected. YMMV. But if you don't own a fitbit, for under $40 you can purchase a wireless cycling computer.

DelsFan

I am looking at a hybrid bicycle for this exact reason. I don't have time to ride more than 45 minutes to an hour per day; and I like the idea of the wider (hybrid) wheels and tires for stability (at 6'2" and 220 lbs).

1) As for losing weight, my experience is it is very difficult to lose weight through dieting alone. Exercising makes me less sluggish and, as many people have said, takes away the craving for thick crusted pizza or nearly any type of fried food (or hamburgers). As an aside, I don't get paid for this, I really like the Papa Murphy's (take home and bake in your oven) thin crust pizzas - chicken bacon artichoke is great... I know long distance rides require "fueling", but I find that 30 - 60 minutes of exercise make me want to eat slightly less food rather than slightly more.

2) The glib answer is that one can lose weight by eating less and exercising more, but the real question here is will a hybrid bike to the trick - and will it be better than some other bicycle? I'd suggest if OP has a bike that fits both his physique and his type riding conditions then he will ride it more and lose more weight. I guess one could make the point that a mountain bike would be better for losing weight - it is even less efficient than a hybrid bike. However, it seems one needs to get some enjoyment out of their riding also, or they won't do it.

For me, I'm thinking an upright hybrid will be more comfortable for me in the short term, and I will ride it more (and use more effort) than I would trying to lean over a more efficient road bike. We'll see!

DelsFan

Sorry, I didn't realize before I wasn't at the end of the thread!

Yes, I agree propelling the hybrid bicycle at 15 mph might/could/should burn the exact same amount of calories, with the same effort, as riding a road bike at 20 mph.

HOWEVER, for novice riders most likely riding around their subdivision or greenway trails I'd still suggest a hybrid would burn more calories - just because I am not going to ride past a certain speed if I am not on the road, with cars (!), and for now I'm just not going to do that. So, seriously, I'd still say more resistance on a hybrid (like walking on the treadmill at 4 mph, with a slight incline) would be better for weight loss than tooling around the neighborhood on my road bike.

RickGr4

This thread has gotten kinda funny. Raise your heart rate. Work up a sweat 3 or 4 times per week. If you don't lose weight at that point your diet is wrong... DAH...

Your heart rate does not care what kind of bike you ride.

I am amazed how many people over think this.

Anyone that is truly comparing which type of bike will help them lose weight is over thinking this and they need to change their focus to their eating habits...

Doctor Morbius

I think silly more so than funny. Anyway, a person can lose weight eating McDonald's and sitting on their couch watching TV all day. It just depends on calories in vs. calories out. It's simple arithmetic. There aren't even any complex logarithms or magic formulas involved.

DelsFan

OK, so the OP could have given a little more information on how and where he intended to ride - and he could have asked his question a little better. But he did say he is new to cycling (probably thinking of riding around neighborhoods and greenways as opposed to starting out riding with a pack, maintaining a cadence, etc.); it would have been easy enough to assume he knows next to nothing. Might not be a stretch to assume he has never been a runner, never measured caloric intake, might barely know the difference between a carb and a protein (or electrolite).

One thing for sure though, his first post anywhere on the BikeForums was at 4:18 and his last was at 4:41. Took less than half an hour to run him off!

Doctor Morbius

People join various forums all the time, ask 1 or 2 questions then disappear. Nothing new here.

dgunay

Lost 8 lbs in 2 weeks. I eat same things but started to ride 10+ miles every day.

I was 243-245 lbs (6'1") but now under 235

So the answer is, yes you can.

RickGr4

Eat better. Ride more. Eat less. Ride more. Drink less. Ride more.....................

Everyone is different but this isn't rocket science.

BugDude

A hybrid works great for me on weekdays in my subdivision and I'm thinking of getting a road bike eventually for longer weekend rides out on a local long straight path.