Cycling for weight loss - Advice sought

[Oldjohnw]

Whatever you eat, quantity is a factor.

Caloric intake >expenditure = weight gain. Intake < expenditure = loss.

Some food has excessive fat and sugar compared to its value: processed/fast food.

I write this as a cheese loving modestly overweight pre-diabetic.

[Gearoidmuar]

The less obesity etc., of vegan, vegeterian diets is all explained by one of the great confounders. The "Healthy User Effect."
How would you eliminate this? Match the compared groups.

In 1978 or so, a matched prospective study was performed by Loma Linda University in America comparing Seventh Day Adventist doctors to other doctors to see if the 7DA got fewer gastrointestinal cancers, expecting that they did. They actually got slightly more.

Vegans tend to be people who don't smoke etc etc. If you correct for this they don't do that great.

E.g. in Okinawa in Japan, the Japanese remarked some years ago that though Okinawans lived very long, none of those reaching 100, which was common there, were vegetarians.
Mental health problems are considerably more common in vegetarians/vegans than omnivores. Double. Big survey in Austria. Now is this confounded? It could well be..

[dim]

try this:

you can half the distances in the beginning or even do less than half)

https://www.verywellfit.com/bicycling-a-double-century-training-schedule-3119434

but ride slow and use the polarized training method (zone 2):

https://philwilks.com/polarized-training-and-my-experience-1-year-on-b334eb99e440

if you don't have a powermeter use a heart rate monitor and use zone 2 as per link

there's lots more on google about polarized training

[Patrickpioneer]

I hope you learn to love your bike, I hope you loose the weight you want but its more important to love your bike

[softlips]

Eat less than you burn, it’s as simple as that.

I bought a Fitbit three years ago and a road bike. I monitored my intake and ensured a deficit against what I burned each day. I’m now five stones lighter, have joined a cycling club and had three changes in wardrobe.

I didn’t go for a massive calorie deficit. Tracking what I ate educated me into making better choices for snacks etc. I don’t beat myself up if I have a binge now and again as that’s just life. It’s been a lifestyle change that’s easy to stick to and I think this is key.

People will tell you Fitbit etc don’t give accurate calorie analysis, this may be the case. All I can say is I know on days when I don’t have a small deficit I put weight on, days with deficit I always lose*

* I travel a lot and store water if sat down on flights or long train journeys. I ignore my weight the morning after.

[cotterpins]

It's not the miles you put in your legs . . . It's the meals you put in your stomach!! Eat good wholesome fruit and veg, meat, and calorie count. Exercise well but remember burning calories only makes you peckish. Try calorie counting, gradually reducing intake. Don't forget alcohol calories needs to be taken into account. Slow but sure is the only way.

[gbnz]

It's not the miles you put in your legs . . . It's the meals you put in your stomach!! Eat good wholesome fruit and veg, meat, and calorie count. ....Don't forget alcohol calories needs to be taken into account. Slow but sure is the only way.

Plus 1+. Have to admit I've allowed the diet to slide over the last two months and while I'm still fit & slim, changing over to fruit, veg, meat & fish, without the homebaked cakes, cookies and pies in excess quantity is proving difficult! Though it's always pleasing when just 3-4 days without the sugar and fat, banishes the longing for it.

(Nb. Thought I'd managed it yesterday, but the a tray of home baked scones got in the way, thought I'd managed it today, but then a tray of homebaked chocolate cookies got in the way (Plus several enforced hours in front of a computer, baking proving a welcome break!)

[mattsccm]

I have been doing 20/25 miles 4 or 5 days a week to work since about February. Not really changed my diet which isn't brilliant not not dire. Maybe a 4 pack of beer a week . Short club ride every other weekend so 150 to 200 miles a week. A stone gone and more to the point 1 minute 20 seconds from my 10 mile TT PB at the first event of the year.
All sorts of theories but calories out more than in is what is needed.

[Marcus Aurelius]

If you want to lose weight, you have to maximise fat burn. The best way to do this, is get to a point ( through practice / training ) where you spend most of the Ride, cycling at a relatively high RPM ( Cadence ) and a Power at which this becomes worthwhile ( a high enough gear / steep enough climb / combination of all these) and I find that the kind of ball park figures to get this to happen is about an average 80-90 Rpm , at over 150 Watts. This ‘mode’ of cycling will engage the big twitch muscles, forcefully enough, for suitable durations, to push the bodies feeding equilibrium towards fat fuelling, over Glycogen fuelling. Lower Cadence, at a similar power, will push the equilibrium towards Glycogen fuelling. Not only will relatively high power, high Cadence give you better fat burning results, this mechanism is also more oxygen efficient, so until your fitness ( Max heart rate, VO2 max, and lactate thresholds in particular) increase, it should make the rides feel less hard work as well. You should also find you recover more quickly post ride too.

[Ivor Tingting]

If you just want to take up exercise to lose weight and haven't yet bought a flash bike, then don't. Buy some running shoes instead and run 5-6 miles a day. It will literally save you £££££££. Cut out all the crap in your diet - refined sugar, processed foods, pizzas, cakes, pies, sweets and alcohol. Eat fresh food, fruit and veg. Cook it yourself. Don't eat late at night. Cut down portion size. Look after your body by getting a roller and hard hockey type ball to massage muscles before and after exercise. Also do lots of floor exercises. There are lots of YT videos on calisthenics which are great for strength and stamina. In 3 months your weight loss will be significant and you will feel great. Then maybe consider cycling.

[Vorpal]

If you just want to take up exercise to lose weight and haven't yet bought a flash bike, then don't. Buy some running shoes instead and run 5-6 miles a day. It will literally save you £££££££. Cut out all the crap in your diet - refined sugar, processed foods, pizzas, cakes, pies, sweets and alcohol. Eat fresh food, fruit and veg. Cook it yourself. Don't eat late at night. Cut down portion size. Look after your body by getting a roller and hard hockey type ball to massage muscles before and after exercise. Also do lots of floor exercises. There are lots of YT videos on calisthenics which are great for strength and stamina. In 3 months your weight loss will be significant and you will feel great. Then maybe consider cycling.

Not everyone likes running, and it can be hard on the joints. Cycling is nicely low impact and doesn't give people shin splints.

Personally, I'd far rather spend money on bikes than running shoes, but each to their own...

[foxyrider]

If you just want to take up exercise to lose weight and haven't yet bought a flash bike, then don't. Buy some running shoes instead and run 5-6 miles a day. It will literally save you £££££££. Cut out all the crap in your diet - refined sugar, processed foods, pizzas, cakes, pies, sweets and alcohol. Eat fresh food, fruit and veg. Cook it yourself. Don't eat late at night. Cut down portion size. Look after your body by getting a roller and hard hockey type ball to massage muscles before and after exercise. Also do lots of floor exercises. There are lots of YT videos on calisthenics which are great for strength and stamina. In 3 months your weight loss will be significant and you will feel great. Then maybe consider cycling.

Not everyone likes running, and it can be hard on the joints. Cycling is nicely low impact and doesn't give people shin splints.

Personally, I'd far rather spend money on bikes than running shoes, but each to their own...

Its not that I don't like running but I have issues which prevent me running more than a few yards for the bus these days. (even a stiff walk/hike can cause me issues) However, stick me on a bike and i'll exercise all day quite happily. I'm still trying to work out how riding further and faster seems to have me putting weight on rather than losing it!

[ossie]

Many long distance runners turn to cycling due to joint injuries etc. That said diet is absolutely the quickest way to lose weight.

Cycling wise what works for me without changing diet is increasing distance. My weight losing tipping point is 45 miles. Regular steady 45 mile plus will result in a steady weight loss. Faster more frequent 30 mile rides has little effect for some reason. Perhaps I'm rewarding myself more on the faster rides.

Even better go on a two / three / four week tour with 4 panniers and a tent - the weight will evaporate

[Vorpal]

Even better go on a two / three / four week tour with 4 panniers and a tent - the weight will evaporate

I always lose weight touring. I can hardly eat enough.

[Ivor Tingting]

If you just want to take up exercise to lose weight and haven't yet bought a flash bike, then don't. Buy some running shoes instead and run 5-6 miles a day. It will literally save you £££££££. Cut out all the crap in your diet - refined sugar, processed foods, pizzas, cakes, pies, sweets and alcohol. Eat fresh food, fruit and veg. Cook it yourself. Don't eat late at night. Cut down portion size. Look after your body by getting a roller and hard hockey type ball to massage muscles before and after exercise. Also do lots of floor exercises. There are lots of YT videos on calisthenics which are great for strength and stamina. In 3 months your weight loss will be significant and you will feel great. Then maybe consider cycling.

Not everyone likes running, and it can be hard on the joints. Cycling is nicely low impact and doesn't give people shin splints.

Personally, I'd far rather spend money on bikes than running shoes, but each to their own...

Yes each to their own. Not every one likes cycling. It can be bad for osteoporosis. I was making a simple suggestion that I felt would help the OP to achieve their goal of losing weight without spending a fortune on a brand new bike. Running gear is considerably cheaper than a new bike and cycle clothing and accessories. I cycle and run and find running just as effective in fact more so at keeping in good shape. I have no idea whether cycling or running gives people shin splints. Maybe these people have an inherent weakness in their legs anyway that is exacerbated by exercise. It would depend on the surface you are running I would suppose and the quality of your footwear. In any case this thread is not about you, nor for you to start rubbishing others' comments. Simple courtesy and manners. If you don't have anything constructive or good to say then don't say anything at all. It is about giving advice to a newbie OP who asked for advice. Do you think your opinion is superior to mine? However I notice the OP hasn't been back in almost 2 weeks.