Axiom

Alright, so I've been working on losing weight, and I though, "What better way to lose weight than biking?". Right now I do 8-10 mile rides 2-3 times a week (It includes 4 steep inclines along the way), and I'm going to add 10-15 mile rides 1-2 times a week.

Some information about me:
• I'm 17 years old
• 6'2, 254 (I'm big, I understand)
• Before I bike I do a few stretches, drink some water, and eat a small meal (It depends, it's usually a protein and fiber). I also drink 2-3 bottles of water, and a gatorade for simple carbohydrates to keep me going)
• I ride with 2 friends to keep me company

My goal is to lose 40-50 pounds. I would appreciate any suggestions on how to lose weight efficiently without sacrificing any muscle (I'm trying to get cut at the gym as well).

One problem when I ride is my joints. I'm only 17, but my size seems to be an issue because my joins in my feet get really sore (I'm going to start taking glucosamine). Also, I have a wal-mart schwinn, and I'm not sure if it will last long doing these bike rides (It's a 40Lb comfort bike). So far it's not had any problems at all.

All information is appreciated.

chinarider

The bggest thing is patience and controlling what you eat. If you ride 50 miles a week, thats about 2000 calories. There are 3500 calories to a pound. So you could expect to drop a couple of lbs or so a month if your diet was such that you were neither gaining or losing before and you stay with that diet. If you ride 10 miles and use that as an excuse to eat a candy bar, you're not going to lose anything. For the mileage you're doing you don't need the gatorade. There is nothing wrong with gradual weight loss. Fast loss from extreme dieting and exercise programs is easily put back on. Lasting loss is from lifestyle changes.

The foot pain may be from your footware. If you're wearing soft soled shoes that could be the problem. Ideally you'd get bike shoes & clipless pedals, but that may not work with your bike. Try shoes with a stiffer sole. There is a lot of doubt regarding the effectiveness of glucosamine. Especially at you age, you're probably wasting your money. It would be better spent on better shoes.

Axiom

2000 Calories burned over 50 miles seem a little low. And my diet has changed so it's healthy, so that shouldn't be a problem. What shoes are best for biking?

jayvo86

I'd also focus on time. Don't worry about mileage. Every gets caught up on miles. I rarely pay attention to how far I go any more.

Axiom

Today I rode 14 miles, but it took me like 3 hours because I rode at a comfortable pace.

Carbonfiberboy 

The simplest thing to do for bike shoes is go to a bike shop! Buy the cheapest stiff soled mountain bike shoes they have. Try to hold it to $80. You'll see shoes for $300. Cheap shoes are a good start, though. If the bike shop doesn't have cheap shoes, try on some and find out what your size is. Then order cheap shoes from Performance Bike or Bike Nashbar online.

Bring the bike with you or ride. Ask the bike shop if they have toe clips that will work with your pedals.

The WalMart bike will be fine for a long time. You're not trying to set any speed records, just to have fun. It's amazing how much fun it can be to just go somewhere on a bike. So do that. Explore roads and streets you've never driven on.

Losing weight is all about both diet and exercise. Don't starve yourself, but you will have to feel hungry some. Don't ride too slowly. Do push it a little bit. You want to sweat and breathe deeply while you're riding. Work done equals calories burned.

umd

Depends. For someone your size and the pace you said you are going, it's probably not far off.

molecularman

Since your goal is to lose weight, push the comfort level.

DwarvenChef

I'm doing the same thing, but a bit older... 6'1" 240... I've been riding 3 months now about 10 miles 5 times a week. I push it as hard as I can for the first day, than go light the next day, day off light day, Hard push, light day and so on. First two months with eating right I lost 18 lbs. I also started timing these rides, I ride a set course for these rides, and try to beat my last time on the PUSH days. I also time my light days just to see how far I'm getting in a given time slot. As I get better I find my light days are catching up to my early push days

My primary goal is touring stamina, loosing extra weight, and strengthing up a bit. I'm not a racer and have no interests in racing. Everyong has their own set of goals and that changes how they workout and for how long. So be aware of your goals and work twards them

Pat

There are elements to losing weight. No matter how much you exercise, you can eat enough to gain weight.

Exercising (which is part of calories used) alone is not enough to lose weight. You need to control the calories taken in. There is a sort of execise equation: (calories burned - calories consumed)/3500 = lbs of fat lost. When many people exercise, they figure "well I exercised today so I can reward myself by eating an extra large hot fudge sundae".

A good way to lose weight with exercising is to get more knowledgeable about your eating habits. Learn how many calories are in the food items you eat. That way, you can make a decision, is this big old burger worth this many calories to me? If you do things right, you will go in for some small indulgences but stay away from the eating disasters.

Secondly, unless you are an aerobic powerhouse and do a pile of exercise, your exercising will not burn that much in the way of calories. In most cases, if you want to lose weight, the best thing is to increase your caloric intake little or none in response to your exercising. Better yet is eating better and decreasing your calorie intake while exercising.

A bad thing is to be a slave to the scale. Losing weight and keeping it off is a matter of a life style choice. It is not important to lose 40 lbs in 3 months only to gain 60 lbs in the 3 months after that. What is important is losing the weight more slowly and learning how to live in such a way to keep your weight under control.

A good thing about exercise is it gives you something to look at instead of weight loss to make you feel like you are making progress. It can be increasing MPH, increased miles ridden, increased stamina etc.

Weight loss is a very individual thing. It is hard to lose weight and keep it off in "the land of the big mac".

Good luck to you.