Biking early in the morning.
 

How much better is it an all to ride in the morning, preferably some short time after I wake up, and bike >5 miles around..in regards to losing weight-fat I should say- rather than sometime in the afternoon?

Whenever you ride, are you riding ONLY 5 miles? If so, and if you want to lose weight, you've got to increase that amount. 5 miles is hardly worth getting out of bed for!!

How about getting up early in the morning ... and riding all the way through to the late afternoon? Start doing that a couple times a week, in addition to all your other activity, and you might see some weight loss.

I ride on a trainer in the AM before breakfast so that I'm burning fat for fuel instead of using blood sugar. I wouldn't do this out on the roads though, it can get rough on the system and if you pass out from lack of blood sugar it could get dangerous.
Just so you know, a 150 pound person biking at 14-16mph for 30 minutes burns around 300 calories. That's not even a Quarter Pounder w/Cheese (which is 510, BTW).
For calorie counting, go by time, not by miles. 30 minutes at least each day.
Plus riding in the AM will jump start your metabolism for the whole day. You will burn more calories over the day, with diminishing returns over the hours.

I've lost 30 pounds since last July, and I can't seem for the life of me to get below 220. Maybe Ill lower calories to 1800. I usually go 10 miles on my Fuel, but I meant the 5 miles in case I get lazy:p.

Alright Ginny, I'll start early, well, somewhat early that is,heh.

But now, this is some hefty aerobics. I think it's better to weight train before aerobics. Hm, then protein shake it up.

Even 10 miles isn't much. Think about it ... in an hour on the bicycle you probably only burn about 500 calories. 10 miles is only about 40-45 minutes ... that's like maybe 350 calories. The smallest bags of potato chips are about that.

You've plateaued now so you've got to shake things up a bit. Try doubling the distance you ride in a week. You might start seeing results again.

[QUOTE=Ginny]I ride on a trainer in the AM before breakfast so that I'm burning fat for fuel instead of using blood sugar. QUOTE]

You might consider getting a copy of Monique Ryan's Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes. The title not withstanding, it's a excellent book for everybody. She dispels that old myth about fat vs sugar burning. She uses the example of those who take long bike rides with out eating in order to supposedly lose fat. That just results in poor training.

Loosing weight is simply burning more calories than you consume, nothing more and certainly nothing less. The only advantages for exercising in the morning is getting it out of the way to make the rest of the day easier schedule wise and for some people, it results in better sleep at night than exercise in the afternoon. It also avoids the summer heat, but you freeze in the winter.

It would be wise for some to get some fast-burning sugar into your system to support the energy expenditure to perform better and feel better the rest of the morning.

I got up at 4:30 for decades for those reasons as I had to be at work before 7:00. Until I started eating a little jam before jogging or weight training, I would some times feel low on energy until after lunch though I always had a good breakfast after exercising.

I was jogging three or four miles three times a week and weight training often to 60,000 lbs per week.

I still get up before 5:00, but now that I'm retired, I'll bike or jog in the earlier a.m. only to avoid the summer heat.

Al

Don't lower your calories, this is the classic mistake weight loss seekers make. You have to eat, and *burn* more calories by vigorous, lengthier exercise sessions. This is the only way your body will tolerate a calorie deficit without lowering metabolism. Weights really help a lot, especially if you can get lots of protein in you, as it gives your body more to do when you're not biking (i.e. repair muscle tissue), and the muscle burns calories while you do your daily activities. Weights also help build bone density.

good food/small meals + vigorous exercise + weight training = weight loss

Forgetting the entire weight loss issue (have been losing weight for over 2 years now, slow and steady), I find I can do shorter rides 75 minutes or less first thing in the morning without breakfast first; longer than that and I have to eat something before I ride. I also find my overall speed is a bit slower on morning rides than afternoon rides, which makes sense, I need time to wake up and warm-up more. From a psychological point of view, I prefer exercising early in the morning b/c I "get it out of the way" and have the rest of the day free. From a comfort point of view, in the summer, I prefer it before the midday heat, in the early spring and late fall, I wait until later in the day, when the sun has had a chance to warm the air.

Now 5 miles a day isn't a lot, but when I first started, I could barely do 8 miles and it took me 90 minutes to do it. Don't get discouraged keep at it; so if 5 miles is what you can do, do it, it's better than nothing. Then next week, try to increase some of your days to 5.5 miles and so on. If 5 miles is all you have time for, and you don't mind a slow weight loss (like 2 pounds a month assuming you don't increase your calorie intake), then do it. Heck, in a year, you'll be almost 25 pounds lighter and that's significant.

As others have said before it's math - calories in less than calories out and you lose weight. At this point, time of day won't affect that formula significantly.

Well hold on a second. I was 250 and limited myself to a 2000-2200 diet. But now that I am 30 pounds lighter, I don't think I can still lose as much, since my body mass has decreased just a bit.

It's nice to see someone finally has an understanding that not everyone here is a top athlete. I respect and appreciate those that are I'm just not one of them. While 5 miles might not be huge it is hardly a waste of time and you can loose weight riding that distance. Granted you are not going to drop pounds and pounds but you will move in the right direction assuming your eating habits are good. Obviously 10 is better than 5 but you super athletes really need to put things in perspective and not tell others they are wasting their time if they are only doing a certain amount. We all have different goals and not all of us want to compete with Lance. Some of us just want to be healthier and feel better.

Think of it less in miles and more in time. This way folks of different abilities can more closely compare workout intensity.

An hour is good. 90 minutes is a lot better. 2 hours is ideal, but if you can ride longer it will get you faster results in fitness and weight loss. If you can only ride 30 minutes, then that's what you ride. But at least try to work up to a longer period.

Everyone's body is different, but I find that when I don't eat my energy level drops and I can't ride as long or as fast. It's also less enjoyable. I always eat something before any ride, and plan to have something directly after.

Az

Well I didn't mean 5 miles is all I can do. My normal route I take frequently is 10 miles, and I am not on a road bike here.
I read something that while you sleep you release this growth hormone so it is better to exercise in the morning.

I guess I didn't put that the right way. You've done great, but a common mistake is to go overboard and lower the calories too much instead of upping the exercise length and intensity. Luckily, you've already made so much progress, and you have room to go further with the biking.

Speaking as one who is definitely not a "top athlete" or "super athlete" ... when I started cycling "seriously" 17 years ago, I rode 2 miles, and had to take a break after the first mile because I was too tired. I knew that I was seriously out of shape, so I started gradually increasing my mileage. By the end of that first summer (4 months later) I did a 50 mile ride. It's not difficult to build up mileage!!

In my post above, I suggested that the OP double the amount he is riding each week. If he is currently riding 10 miles a day, 5 days a week, that's 50 miles a week. If he gradually increased the amount he rides each day, within a few months he could quite easily be riding 30 miles a day, each day of the weekend, and then 13-14 miles a day for 3 days during the week. That's not an overwhelming amount of cycling, but would likely shake things up to allow him to start losing weight again.

And BTW - the new daily recommended amount of exercise is 60-90 minutes PER DAY, 7 days a week in order to lose weight. North Americans (in particular, but probably many other countries as well) are far too sedentary.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6816952/

30 miles on a mountain bike is not as easy as 30 miles on a 20something pound road bike lol.

It'll give you a good workout then ..... just like when I ride my 27 lb road bicycle with approx. 15 lbs of bags on it. :)

And incidentally, I've done MANY centuries and a 200 km brevet with my 40 lb Mongoose mtn bike ... so riding long distances is possible on ANY type of bicycle. You've just got to work up to it.

Just think how fit you'll be!!! :D

When you ride in the morning you start your metabilism to run at a slightly higher rate for the rest of the day. In the summer when the temps reach in the 80's or above you have the opportunity to avoid the heat and get a good ride out of the way. By riding in the morning you have an opportunity to avoid the traffic and congestion. Do you need anymore reasons for riding in the morning? It would help a great deal more if you did more miles.


Gas, the price of a can of beans

Yeah true. I just dislike riding the same area over and over. When I can't go to the trails via vehicle, well I stay in this triangle, probably about 11sq miles, since this triangle is surrounded by uncrossable 5 lane streets:eek: When I do cross them, one in particular..trailpalooza:) I guess I should up the milage, maybe do my route twice for 20 miles, hm.

I'm sure it varies from person to person, but when some of you talk about going for 50 mile rides and so on, how long does it take you? What kind of bike are you riding, and are you on a trail or on the road? Is the path that you are on usually relatively flat when you go for long rides like this?

Unfortunately, where I live the only road with minute stretches of flat land is a 90k/h highway where the shoulder is about 1 foot wide - cars on one side, forest on the other. It's not unusual for bikers here to get hit by cars on this road because of this. All the other residential roads and such are insanely hilly. Other than that, we have old logging roads which are also hilly, and are occupied by dirtbikers... Not too easy here to find a place where you can safely bike for any further than 3km in any direction (and there are only two directions to go – north or south) without worrying about being hit by a car, run over by a dirtbike, or eaten by a cougar. *sigh*

I ride out of town to the hills. I like hills and gear my bikes to aid in climbing. Lately I've been focusing on just mountain biking, but generally I'd do a 60 to 70 mile ride once a week and an 18 mile trail ride on my atb once a week. I was using a 34 lb touring bike. Now I'm using a much lighter bike which I built up on a Titanium cyclocross frame. It's about 22 lbs with a rear rack, lights and removable fenders. The lights are ultra bright LED flashers to make me more visible during daylight. I also use a helmet mounted rear-view mirror.

I'd take probably around 5 hours for a 65 mile ride including breaks.

I've tried riding on paved trails made from converted rail beds. There are some within 100 miles. Really boring.

Al

You're an interesting member on here. Informative, have friendly posts, very knowledgable, and mysterious with no avatar, orginal custom user title, and discreet profile...and you're a special early 2003 member. Heh.:)

Thank you ----- I think. First I have to look-up "avatar".

Al

A 50 mile ride takes me 3-4 hours depending on weather and terrain. I ride a road bicycle and I ride on the road. I refuse to ride trails. The roads I ride on vary from very flat in Manitoba, to quite hilly in places like Vermont, Wales, England, France, Vancouver Island, and the Rocky Mountains of Alberta.

From about March-ish to October-ish I do a long ride or two on the weekends (preferably 100 kms+), and then shorter rides during the week. My shorter rides might be anything from a 15 km recovery ride to a 65 km round trip commute to and from work.

It took me a few years of cycling to build up to this, but now it seems very natural. If you've only been cycling a few months, I wouldn't recommend rushing out and doing a schedule like mine, but you can build up to it ... and more.

BTW - where do you live? Vancouver?

try commuting to work or school on your bike. By riding twice a day you can boost your metabolism twice in the same day. and continue to watch what you eat.

I live on the Sunshine Coast - no logging roads or cougars in Vancouver :P