Battle of the bulge (mine)
 

Perserverance is finally paying off. I'm down 12 lbs man its seems to be coming off really slowly but with my increased bicycle commuting the weight loss is starting to accelerate. 4 lbs in the last two weeks. Only about 15 more to my goal.

I have to confess that I've lost about 2 pounds in the last five years of commuting. My belt size did diminish. Not sure where all the weight is hiding.

However, congratulations to you and I hope you are having fun while reaching this goal.

I gained weight initially because I felt justified having pudding with lunch everyday since I was riding. Now that I'm eating normally I've lost what I gained.

I lost 10lbs just last summer after started cyclo commuting. Then went on a vacation. Gain half of them back. Despite my commuting, they are not going anywhere!!! :notamused:
I've a feeling that's because lately I've been using my road bike. Perhaps I should just get on my heavier clunky hybridzed mtb.

Lost about 5 lbs last week by cycling in the heat and humidity of summer. Down about 30 lbs in the last year. This is a small fraction of what I want to (need to) lose, but I am doing it slowly and sustainably so that when I achieve my goal I won't be yo-yoing up and down, it will be real and hopefully life-long.
If battling the bulge is the goal, commuting and cycling in general is just a small part of lifestyle changes that can help you achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

Congratulations! I haven't lost any weight since I started bike commuting 3 years ago, but I was already riding just as much.

Not all weight is created equal! You may be losing fat and gaining muscle =).

I lost almost 40 lbs about 3 years ago. I was at 202 when I started Weight Wathcers. Got down to 165 and felt really good but got lazy last year and especially this past winter. Cheese and cookies are my downfall oh yea with an occasional bag of cheetos from the vending machine at work so I was up to 192 when I started to really keep an eye on my consumption, eatin smaller portions and keeping the junk food at bay and also not soft drinks. Its working and I'm feeling better. My wife looked at me with out my shirt yesterday and told me " hey theres less of you than there was last month" glad she noticed and I did take up another notch in the belt.

Congrats! Lost over 15 lbs so far in about 1.5 months of commuting, change of diet and recreational riding.

12 lbs is very respectable ! Saluto ! Good job.

Exercise is only one part to weight loss, healthy eating is the major player in the weight loss game. Most people try cutting calories but eat food that are loaded with fat, which is easily converted to body fat. To lose body fat you need to cut the fat intake and exercise. Dairy is one of the worst for us fat wise, and it is something we all love whether it is milk in cereal, butter on everything or cheese. Good luck with the weight loss, glad you have seen some changes already.

I've been commuting for 6 years now and so far I don't think I've lost a pound, but I'm OK with that. I'm between 175 and 185 depending on various factors, at 5'11". I started running when I hit 195, got back down to about 185, got myself a stress fracture and switched to riding. I wouldn't mind lowering the range by 10 pounds, but I'm OK with where I am.

My big problem is cutting out HFCS - not drinking the two sodas a day that I'm pretty much addicted to would probably make the 10 pound difference.

Recent studies indicate that the body doesn't absorb fat much without carbohydrates also, for what it's worth.

Portion control is a major factor in weight loss. I eat less at each meal and eat more often, usually something healthy but I have learned that if I prohibit myself from a treat once in a while I start to crave things that are not good for me. Its a viscious circle so I reward myself with a candy bar about once a week. I'm still being vigilant about what ever I put in my mouth so it works for me that way. I generally follow the WW points system and it really works along with some regular excercise. I work with a woman that has lost nearly 100 lbs. She did it by eating less and cutting out the junk food, not a major change according to her just less food which equals less calories and no matter what kind of weight loss program you use call it a diet if you will, we have to take in less calories than we expend thats the bottom line according to my doctor.

That was my weekeness. During the summer month at the peak of my highest weight, a 2 litter coke did not last me more than a day or two at the most. I was miss piggy. My eye opener happened when my doctor told me the result of my blood test. It was lose weight or else. So out goes the soda and fatty food and started exercise on a stationary bike. In a year time, I loss 75 lbs (no typo error-yes 75 lbs!).

However each winter I would gain 10 back and I found that the routine on the stationary bike was just plain BORING. So I took a bike that was given to me and things just went from around the block to commuting. So far I gained back 20 of the 75 lbs loss, but commuting by bike this year I lost back 14 lbs. I am planning to lose another 10 before winter and that alone will put me back a good fit and weight for my height.

I replaced soda with those 0 calories flavor water. It help but I still need a little sugar because my body tends to over compensate by eating too much sugar if I don't have a little bit of sugar to keep the balance.

I used to say that it was ok that my r/t commute took almost three hours (30 miles), because I didn't have to go to the gym afterwards, but that really isn't true. At least for me, biking does next to nothing for the abs or upper half. It does, of course, do great stuff for cardio.

So lately I got an ebike (Trek Valencia+) which makes my commute faster and easier, especially on those hills, and I go to a gym near my job for a half hour almost every day. I've dropped 8 lbs since April 1st, my abs are in much better shape, and I no longer look like the Pillsbury Dough Boy on stilts.

Better sugar than corn syrup. HFCS is really horrible for you. I grab a bunch of the sugar sweetened sodas when I can (during passover around here Coke is available with sugar, and Pepsi has been doing "throwback" sodas with sugar).

In my opinion, sugar vs. HFCS is kinda like butter vs. margarine. It's not so much which is better for you as which is less detrimental. It would be best to exclude all sweetened beverages from your diet.

Well, maybe. There are plenty of studies that indicate that HFCS results in a lot more weight gain than sugar.

Recent studies indicate that butter is a lot better for you than margarine. And it tastes about a billion times better too.

My daughter is studying to be a pharmacist and if I recall correctly she tells me margarine is 2 elements from being plastic, not sure about that but its not too far. Our bodies and mostly our liver is able to filter natural foods and butter being a natural food its able to filter that but when we start eating foods with all these additives the liver can't handle that stuff. What becomes of it? I'll have to ask her maybe she knows.

The ends result is that you will be over taxing your liver. Mine was all choked up with liver fatty when they ultrasound it. Not good for your liver to stay in that state too long of a period. Fortunately your liver can heal itself if you take corrective measure early. My liver went back to normal only if I remain at a healthy weight and eat properly.

I like this fella already!

But excess sugar also contributes to weight gain.

People need to avoid thinking in terms of "sugar is better than HFCS", and should start thinking in terms of "sugar is less detrimental to my health than HFCS". Once people realize that neither is beneficial, they can start looking for alternatives that are (like plain old water).

Same thing with butter vs. margarine. People will justify lathering their toast with butter because it's "better" than margarine. Butter is not "better" than margarine, it's just not as damaging to your health as margarine.

When I used to imbibe in alcoholic beverages I had a checkup complete with bloodwork and liver function and all that stuff. Now I was not a heavy drinker but I did know the business end of a bottle of beer and wine. Doc says " hmmm yer liver function is not where we would like to see it, knock off the alcohol for a couple of weeks and see how it is after that" Bottom line is I did what he said and the next tests were normal. Go figure so now I don't drink but I'd guess there are chemicals I have been around that can mess me up on down the road. Not illegal stuff but things I have been exposed to in my line of work over the years that we weren't concerned about and now they are classified as toxic

What out for Zero calorie anything if it is sweet, artificial sweetners are worse than HFCS and sugar

That's what I heard also. The key is moderation. I try to take a sip of that stuff whenever I get a yearning for soda. However I try not to drink more than half cup. Then I eat some natural sweet fruit such as Raspberry, or grape to get my sugar fix satisfy. Natural fruit is easier on my liver to process. Too much of those unatural stuff and oily food will show up on my liver enzyme test.

better hurry up - your summer plateau is almost here!

You can bike through the winter; you'd be surprised how much fun it can be. There is a forum here where folks will let you know how to do it, but essentially you just wear some wicking layers. I commute 30 miles r/t down to around 20F. I cheat a bit by having electronic toe warmers and gloves, but you actually end up wearing less clothes than if you were just walking around. After two miles or so I start opening zippers on the windbreaker because it's getting too hot. I pass many a bus stop where people are freezing and I'm opening zippers.