Originally Posted by
Willbird
I'm sorry but there is no way I believe the 1000 calories an hour part :-) on flat ground anyway.
And I have pretty much proved it for myself anyway, depending on how you define "big guy" but when I started I was about 200% of my "ideal" weight so I would think I qualified :-).
For the most part I now eat 1/4 to 1/2 of what I ate before, probably 1/4 on the weekends, and 1/2 during the week (I did not do so bad during the week, weekends were my real pitfall before).
Yesterday I made breakfast and it made 4 servings, 2 went in the fridge, the wife and I ate the other 2. It was not a low cal breakfast either, 700 cals, so a 1400 calorie breakfast was one hell of a way to start the day, sheesh.
I still think losing weight is far more about intake than exercise......but there are other very good benefits to the exercise other than just losing weight.
I'm sticking to 400 cals an hour as a rough estimate for myself.
Heavy guys burn a lot of calories holding a steady 15 mph clip. I'm not talking jacking it up to 15 mph and then coasting for a 100 yards. Averaging 15 for a whole hour, not averaging 12 mph with an occasional 15 peak.
anyway, here's a link.
Cycling - Calories Burned Bike Riding
I seriously doubt many folks in this sub forum actually average 15 mph per hour for several hours. It's not easy. And, if they did, the forum would be empty. I've been riding for years and as I get heavier, averaging much over 13mph for several hours has become incredibly difficult. It was a breeze at 185.
To average 15 mph at 220-plus pounds, for 3-4 hours, you pretty much have to put everything you've got into it. Not only do you need to push 18-20 mph on flats and beneficial wind conditions, because even 5 minutes at 12mph while climbing a hill or fighting a headwind or, worse, slowing down for crossroads or stopping at signs, will kill your average, but you also need supplemental nutrition, like gels or raisons, because no one can ride like that on breakfast alone. A sandwich won't do it either because digestion of solid food depletes too much energy.
Here's what I learned from personal experience. 15mph average at 240lbs is as hard as 20mph at 185lbs. The chart seems to support that.