Originally Posted by pdlamb

So you've gained 35 pounds on what you perceive to be a consistent diet, and you don't want to change how much you eat.

You could try an experiment on yourself. Maintain your current diet, and start riding that 30 minutes every day. Weigh yourself once a week, same day, same time. After two months, see if you've (a) maintained your weight, (b) gained weight, or (c) lost weight. (The two months is so you don't confuse one week's fluctuations with a long term trend.)

My experience is consistent with those who say you have to change your diet to lose weight. If, however, you start burning 200-300 Calories a day and don't start snacking more, you should lose about 4 pounds in that two months. If so, congratulations! If not, perhaps it's time to change something else.

If you've been inactive during most of your weight gain, perhaps you can add 30 minutes a day of walking on top of your bike riding. Or climb stairs, or add some other activity. Your self-reported symptoms sound like a lot of people's when they're used to sitting and not much else for most of the day, and most of those people see those symptoms diminish when they start moving more. In addition to that, if you can reduce your caloric intake by about 500 Cal/day, you should start losing about a pound a week, as noted. If I were a betting man, that combination is how I'd bet you could lose weight and keep it off.