How much cycling do you have to do to lose weight

[Velocio]

I used to run regularly in my 20s and 30s which would keep my weight down...I'm 5ft 9ins...and for years kept a steady weight of 11 stone...and a 32 inch waist

I'm now passed 50...still 5ft 9ins...no longer run...but cycle a steady 250 to 300 miles a month...cycling every day...my legs are trim...but I weigh around 14 stone and my waist has grown to over 36 inches

Most of my current cycling is on the flat...and I work 5 days a week...9 to 5...at my desk

How much more cycling do I have to do to lose weight?

[Ron]

Same amount of cycling with less eating will solve it

[Mick F]

Velocio,

I too have a waistline problem. I've always been slightly overweight. I've cycled many, many miles a week, sometimes not that many. I've never considered myself super-fit.

I cycled E2E2E last July, doing 80 odd miles a day to do the 1800 miles in 3 weeks. I only lost 4lbs, and only about half an inch off my waist.

Cycling is good for heart, lungs, legs, bum and arms. Forget your waist!

Mick F. Cornwall

[Hugo]

I always work up such a good appetite!

.... and put on...!

[reohn2]

in the words of a dietry expert "if you don't shove it yer cake 'ole it won't go on yer hips":0)

Ron's right

[Mick F]

Yes Ron and R2, right.

BUT. What about 'Bonk'? You need 'input' for 'output'.

Somebody once worked out that one uses so many millions of calories per distance ridden. I agree, that if one doesn't replace the whole amount consumed, one WILL loose weight. It's just plain physics.

I suppose my example was misleading. How about cycling lots of relatively short journeys, like commuting, you wouldn't get exhausted.

Then you eat less? May work.

But what about happiness? What place Mars Bars? Beer? Chips?

Mick F. Cornwall

[Dai]

As Billy Connonly put - It's f...... simple, eat less and move more.

Seriously though - after a while your body becomes attuned to a certain exercise and you use less energy to perform that exercise the more you do it. As an example my wife is an ex competitive swimmer - she swam for Wales - so doing an hour pounding up and down a pool barely raises her heart rate whereas if I do the same I'm gasping for air and losing the will to live. Reverse the scenario and put her on a bike and the opposite is true.
I'm not saying don't cycle but try something else as well - one of the best is fast walking - it uses more energy than running.
As a further depressing thought - your wasteline spreads out as you get older anyway - it's nature.

[lisap]

I only ride 10 miles a day in winter and double that in summer 5 days a week with the odd off road ride at weekends and it maintains my weight.

When I go touring though it is completely different. I eat before I set off for the day and during the day I snack on raisins, protein bars and almond M&M's. At night I have a good dinner, normally steak, baked potato and salad/veggies or similar. By the end of the first week the fat (not the weight) starts to drop off me and by the time I get home I am a totally different shape but exactly the same weight. I normally tour 50-60 miles a day but two weeks twice a year keeps that tummy at bay.

However, this year I am off to Northern Spain for a month in June riding through the Picos if anyone wants to try to change shape as well.

[reohn2]

Yes Ron and R2, right.

BUT. What about 'Bonk'? You need 'input' for 'output'.

Somebody once worked out that one uses so many millions of calories per distance ridden. I agree, that if one doesn't replace the whole amount consumed, one WILL loose weight. It's just plain physics.

I suppose my example was misleading. How about cycling lots of relatively short journeys, like commuting, you wouldn't get exhausted.

Then you eat less? May work.

But what about happiness? What place Mars Bars? Beer? Chips?

Mick F. Cornwall

Bonk will help to loose weight but I believe cycling burns off more fat and is only slightly less enjoyable.Eating less will definately work,Hide and Seek also has the same effect as the Garda found out some years ago when they found a skeleton in a cupboard in Donegal, on closer inspection it was found to be wearing a medal round its neck with an inscription on it which read Hide and Seek champion of all Ireland 1938 proof I think you'll agree.Happiness is bon... err bicycle shaped as for Mars bars they're out of this world,don't drink,chips only on Fridays.

[Si]

I always find that rinding long distances slowly gets rid of a hel of a lot more lard than doing short distances quickly.

Riding at a lesser pace means that you can carry on much longer and thus burn more energy over all.

Just try and by-pass the cafes


when I did the E2E I lost around a stone from doing 2 weeks or 75mpd at a steady plod.

[David]

Being a skinny beanpole, I was shocked last year when I hit the 11 stone mark. I have been unable to get back to my more normal 10.5 stone despite doing more cycling. At least with some of you, losing the weight shows. I see nothing. Muscle is denser than fat so as you build muscle and lose fat, you may actually go up in weight but look leaner, I think this is why the BMI is important. Mine hovers around 20 - almost malnourished !! I still worry though

[horizon]

Given the age range of people using this MB in the recent poll, there must be lots of us worried about our waistline!

Apart from eating less and cycling more there are two other factors to consider: what you eat and how you exercise. Sugar and carbohydrate apparently accumulate on the stomach area and an expanding waistline is an indicator of a tendency to diabetes (i.e. the sugar is not being absorbed and used sufficiently).

So the answer to this is to change to a diet with less sugar and more complete carbohydrates such as wholemeal bread, grains etc. (If I'm beginning to sound like Gillian McKeith I apologise.)

The second factor is the type of exercise. I am not sure which muscles cycling really exercises but I don't think the stomach area is the main one. So a second type of exercise should be considered - anything from swimming and walking to sit ups and press ups. The trouble is that our weakest muscles are probably the ones that we are least inclined to exercise so this could present a challenge! A gentle triathlon perhaps?

I would be very interested to hear other views and experiences on this.

[David]

I have problems swimming - no fat to aid bouyancy, no upper body strength due to cycling, dense muscle mass in my legs due to cycling - I struggle along kicking like mad at 45 degrees ASCII art follows :-


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[Pete]

The secret to losing weight is not to exercise too hard. Moderate exercise sustained over long periods will allow your body to burn fat. If you're exercising too hard your body gets the extra fuel to burn the oxygen by raiding muscles for fuel.

If when talking y(during exercise) ou can start a sentence, and almost finish it then that's moderate exercise. If you're gasping for air after every word, that won't shift as much fat. This is a simpler rule of thumb than using Heart Rate Monitors etc.

If you want to improve overall fitness, give the pedals a hiding for 5 minutes avery 20-30 minutes and then recover. Downside to this is you will lose less fat when exercising as you get fitter - upside is the fitter you are, the more fat you'll burn sitting watching TV.

Hope this helps,

Pete.

[Mrs Tortoise]

A hour riding at about 15mph burns up about 750 calories, at 20mph it's 850. Most of this will come from glycogen stored around the liver. It is replaced as soon as you eat. However, after reasonably vigorous exercise, your body continues at a higher metabolism and thus burns fat for another half an hour or so.

Obviously healthy eating is also necessary to lose weight, if you skip meals, especially breakfast your body thinks it's being starved and stores the next meal as fat. So you need to eat to burn calories.

A combination of healthy eating and regular exercise will enable most people to lose some weight. Remember to drink plenty of water too, this helps reduce appetite and remove waste.