Simko

Ive been tuning my diet to a healthier one... ill have to keep a food journal to really track what im eating.

My commute is usually 5miles, but ive planned another route that is a bit more of a liesurely ride (country rodes instead of MUP) and the ride will be about 9 miles each way. If i want to look at burning calories and losing weight (fat), should i be going for a high cadence lower gear type of ride? I ordered a GPS/trip logger which i hope to use next week, but as of now im just using walkjogrun website

help me out!
im currently 5'8" 188lbs, chubby, 36" waist.

BigJeff

I'd eat a normal healthy diet for your height and body type and reduce by 300-500 calories below "maintenance". Then wait and see what happens.

Just tracking food calories takes so much effort, you'll eat healthier.

I'd take a path if available, no sense being near traffic if you can avoid it.

ericm979

To lose weight, ride more, don't eat more, and clean up your diet. Skip sodas and sugary junk. Eat more veggies. Ride more.

Unless you have a power meter any calorie burned numbers from a computer will be inaccurate, usually high. Sometimes by a factor of 2.

Bike paths suck. Lightly used back roads are better.

BarracksSi

OP, since you say that you're already eating cleaner...

Ride faster.

The thing about cycling is that it's a very efficient way to travel, meaning that you'll go farther with the same effort as walking. But if you really want to get a good workout with it, you've got to be going hard and fast. If you can hammer at 18-20 mph or more for the entire 9-mile route, then you're on the right track.

telebianchi

I have a 6 mile ride into the office. Seeing as how am barely awake at that point, it is just a ride. There are a couple of small hills that help get the heart rate up but mostly it's just getting to work.

My ride home takes a different route due to traffic patterns and is 10 miles. But some days I'll turn that into 20 to 30 miles. Throw in extra hills. Sprints, intervals, etc. Since I'm already on the bike for the commute, it doesn't take any extra time other than the actual riding.

And with the days getting shorter, make sure you have good lighting. Most of my commute is in daylight until October, but even now if I'm getting home at 8:15 or so I just switch on the light and do more riding on the neighborhood roads near my house.

I know some people have different opinions about this, but if I do not track calories religiously I get off course. I use a Polar heart rate monitor but only log about 70% of what it records for calories burned. I use FitDay.com for tracking food and activity.

Unfortunately, I'm working on losing weight for the third time in the past five and a half years. When I stop tracking things, the weight comes back on. But when I get my lazy butt in gear about it, it becomes a mental game for me to get in better shape and lose the fat.

Two more things. Just scan through a couple of years of posts in this forum. You will find lots of good info (and come crappy, but that's the internet for you). Also, read Joel Friel's "The Cyclist's Training Bible". While it is focused on people training to race all of the information in it is still applicable to a schmoe like me who just wants to ride their bike and get better at it. That, in turn, gets you fitter.