I had some bike repair issues a few months ago that meant I was not riding for a month (aside from occasional stationary bike sessions at the gym). I actually lost almost 10 pounds. It was much easier for me to stick to a diet when I kept my exercise to just going to the gym a few times a week. I have been trying to loose an extra 25 pounds for a few years. My essential problem is that I love to exercise, I weight-lift and I hate to diet. The weight is more muscle than fat, but it's still extra weight I carry up the hills... Exercise of 2 hours or less makes me hungry. When I did long endurance rides, though, my appetite went down.

After trying many diets and eating patterns, this worked for me: aim for most meals to be gluten-free and try to consume most carbs at dinner- protein shake for breakfast, large salad with mostly veggies and some turkey and cheese at lunch, then whatever I want at dinner (within reason). I'm trying again to stick to the diet and add the cycling back in by adding some snacks on cycling days.