devinscott09

Hi, all

I am an absolute newbie when it comes to cycling. I bought a bike last week and have alread riden it 50 miles. I usually go about 12 miles at an average pace of 16 mph. I have been following my diet as usual. I had been running, around 2-3 miles per day and I had been losing small amounts of weight. Now that I have started cycling, I haven't noticed any weight coming off?

How far should I be riding in order to lose weight? My iphone app (my fitness pal) says that cycling at that pace for 40 minutes burns 934 calories. Does anybody have a more accurate number for calorie burn?

Thanks.

Axiom

Losing weight is 80% diet. Get your diet in check by simply cutting back your calories or start a specific diet plan and you the weight will fall off. Don't pay much attention to your computer because I'm sure no matter how hard you try, you will never burn than many calories in 40 minutes. IIRC you burn around 150-250 calories an hour. Also, make sure you don't gear mash. Emphasize on spinning to build up your cardio which will help you lose weight. If you are new, biking 30 minutes a day 3-5 times a week for about an hour should be plenty.

Mark Stone

Sometimes when you start a new type of exercise, like switching from running to bicycling like you did, you will stop losing weight for a little while because you are building new muscle. However, you are still losing fat and getting leaner.

I think we all probably should be concentrating on healthy choices and increasing overall health and stop worshiping the scale as much as we do. Certainly, weight is important, but losing weight should be a natural by-product of healthy choices we make. Bicycling and eating right changes our bodies in so many different ways, and weight control comes as a natural by-product of that health. I'm on weight watchers, so I believe weight certainly is important to watch, but isn't overall health a better goal that, then, causes weight loss?

TrojanHorse

If you ride all out you probably burn 400 calories ah hour. Those calculators are bogus.

I'd suggest just ignoring the values it tells you and do not augment your diet to account for a 40 min ride.

rideorglide

Word.

After losing a bunch once and then putting back on — albeit while I was injured — I think slow and steady is the way to go with continuing that weight loss through lifestyle and diet changes.

I do ride and paddle hard on weekends, but I can also work up an equally impressive appetite to go with it, so calorie wise, it can be a wash. It also calls me to the feed bag on Monday, too, to replenish some more of whatever nutrients my body feels it's missing. So I try to eat right, per my nutritionist, and keep it under control, not too draconian.

Tonight, for example, is a major triumph, defeating my nemesis for one night: the family is having Chili and tortilla chips, etc. I usually succumb to extras of that as it's sooo good — but knowing it was on the menu in advance I asked for a salad with grilled chicken instead. The dog says "where's the fun in that? and where's my leftovers?" but all that effort on the weekend should not be for naught.

I aim to add weekday cycling, but that's a work in progress.

mcrow

First thing you need to do count calories, if you don't know how much you are eating you can't know for sure if you are eating too many calories or not.

Acquaspin

Keep calorie intake in check, be selective about what goes in your mouth as, contrary to public opinion, not all calories are equal. Drink more water. Sugars in general generate a response from your brain that usually triggers cravings/binges, regular sugar has been widely documented but sugar supplements usually do a similar thing (common belief gives them a pass because they carry no calories). Eventually drop the sugars all together, get them from fresh fruit instead. You'd still get some sugars occasionally at social events, parties, holidays, etc.

Incorporate the changes gradually. Slow and steady is the way to go. Begin with substitutes, regular milk with low fat milk, if you drink soda, then begin replacing half the daily volume intake of soda with water, so many examples to cite but that's the idea. As you make progress your body will provide clear feedback. Certain carbs are ok, other carbs make me feel sleepy/slow, etc.

Try so that every meal/snack have all three components (prot, carb, fat). Try spreading daily calorie intake into smaller meals (5-6) instead of the traditional 3 meal/day. Idea behind last two suggestions is to try to smooth out the sugar level in your blood. There are tons of medical reports/papers written about the subject.

Not all bodies respond the same to changes, again, so many variables at play that makes it virtually impossible to forecast pace of progress. The scale tells only part of the tale, body measurements, body composition and blood tests also are variables to monitor progress. Not all variables will move at the same time/pace, but I'm positive that at least one will be moving at any given point in time during your journey.

The exercise front is no different: slow and steady. Let the body adjust to the new activity, ramp it gradually. Distance and speed are only part of the tale, Heart rate or perceived effort, strength/energy, etc also variables to monitor progress. Like noted above, if one of these variables stall, most likely any of the others will show progress.

Last but not least, this is just some suggestions, some things may seem obvious and some other would make no sense. Keep it simple, the things that make sense to you are those more likely to stay for the long run. Patience will pay out.

Good luck

cafzali

First off, those calculators usually overestimate calorie burn because just like metrics such as maximum heart rate vary from one individual to another, so does the amount of calories an individual burns. Generally speaking, if you want to maximize your calorie burn during any type of work out, you need both a warm up period, followed by a period of rather intense exercise where your heart rate is getting pushed toward 80 percent or so of your max.

My impression is that your rides are simply too short to really be contributing much to your overall weight loss. That's not to say they won't improve your overall fitness and help you build muscle -- any exercise will do that. But unless your getting more strict with your diet or riding more, riding itself at those amounts/levels won't contribute much.

As others mention, you have to be fairly diligent with your diet, even if you're exercising a fair amount, to really see weight loss. One diet I've used for periods that is quite effective consists of mainly an egg white omelette in the morning, a protein shake for lunch and a sensible dinner of fish, rice, etc. Add a protein shake to this anytime before you're about to exercise intensely and you'll see some results. But you have to be dedicated to it and it's hard to do that if you work a regular schedule in an office environment. Think about 5 small meals a day rather than 3 big ones.