# When do you start to lose weight?



## KnackeredBike (5 Mar 2017)

So, I've been commuting 11x2 miles several days a week for eight months now. Starting out at 108kg for just under two metres so a BMI of about 27.5. Slightly overweight.

In eight months of cycling without especially restricting food I've lost quite a few cm from the waist but not very much weight. I guess this is fat into muscle, which is of course no bad thing. Certainly I find hill climbing much easier.

I was wondering how quickly people find they start to lose weight? I've been trying to eat high quality protein where possible but not really cut back on socialising so alcohol and restaurant meals either.

I'm potentially relocating jobs which will double the commute so thinking that hopefully that will start to drop the kg. I have suffered from food disorders in the past so trying not to get too hung up on it. But it would be good to know what to expect, partially to check I am not dropping weight too fast either.


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## ColinJ (5 Mar 2017)

You can lose weight without cycling and you can ride a lot and still gain weight.

On my first cycling holiday in Spain, I rode over 700 hilly miles in 2 weeks but I came home 2 or 3 kgs heavier because I had been eating too much at the hotel buffets and drinking too much in the bar afterwards! 

I think that cutting back on the booze and eating out are what you should look at for losing weight, and use the cycling to get fit and have fun.


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## S-Express (5 Mar 2017)

KnackeredBike said:


> I guess this is fat into muscle, which is of course no bad thing. Certainly I find hill climbing much easier.



Not necessarily fat into muscle, which I think is a common misconception. Sounds like you have lost minimal weight, but improved your aerobic fitness. Actual weight loss usually starts in the kitchen, not on the bike.


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## KnackeredBike (6 Mar 2017)

S-Express said:


> Not necessarily fat into muscle, which I think is a common misconception. Sounds like you have lost minimal weight, but improved your aerobic fitness. Actual weight loss usually starts in the kitchen, not on the bike.


I know of course you cannot physically convert muscle into fat, but surely I must be gaining muscle and losing fat to loose waist inches.

I'm aware that it would accelerate loss if I reduced food but restricting food for any reason is a slippery slope for me (I used to allow myself 200 calories a day and tend to have low blood sugar even eating properly).


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## ColinJ (6 Mar 2017)

Well, you could certainly do something about the alcohol intake!

As for the food ... How about eating _DIFFERENT_ food instead of cutting food out? For example, you could eat vast amounts of salad, cabbage, broccoli etc. without taking in too many calories, and that should reduce your appetite for more fattening food.

Do you have a medical condition causing low blood sugar?


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## Debade (6 Mar 2017)

My experience and my DW is it takes about 2 weeks with a fully loaded bike and averaging 50 miles per day to begin to experience weight loss. For a 30 day plus trip, we will lose 10 to 15 pounds, with no concern with what we what we eat. In fact we do not eat healthy. We eat cheap. 

My DW has always been at her proper weight and gets back to that eventually. Of the 3/4 inches I originally lost, i was able to keep 2 inches off my waist. (I am really handsome now )


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## KnackeredBike (6 Mar 2017)

ColinJ said:


> Well, you could certainly do something about the alcohol intake!
> 
> As for the food ... How about eating _DIFFERENT_ food instead of cutting food out? For example, you could eat vast amounts of salad, cabbage, broccoli etc. without taking in too many calories, and that should reduce your appetite for more fattening food.
> 
> Do you have a medical condition causing low blood sugar?


Honestly a good night out is one of my only vices and I don't really have any desire to change (this being my last year as a twenty-something possibly related to it).

I do eat for the most part fairly healthily, little meat, lots of vegetables, but as I said I don't want to start calorie counting.

The low blood sugar is caused by two of my meds and there is not really any cure except eating sugary food when I start to feel rough, unfortunately.


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## KnackeredBike (6 Mar 2017)

Debade said:


> My experience and my DW is it takes about 2 weeks with a fully loaded bike and averaging 50 miles per day to begin to experience weight loss. For a 30 day plus trip, we will lose 10 to 15 pounds, with no concern with what we what we eat. In fact we do not eat healthy. We eat cheap.
> 
> My DW has always been at her proper weight and gets back to that eventually. Of the 3/4 inches I originally lost, i was able to keep 2 inches off my waist. (I am really handsome now )


Thanks for sharing. I would like to take a cycling holiday but my wife is firmly in the "drive everywhere even when it's a five minute walk" camp, much to my annoyance. Maybe once my two year old can cycle properly it might be an option.


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## Debade (6 Mar 2017)

KnackeredBike said:


> Thanks for sharing. I would like to take a cycling holiday but my wife is firmly in the "drive everywhere even when it's a five minute walk" camp, much to my annoyance. Maybe once my two year old can cycle properly it might be an option.


I know a 9 year old who road a couple thousand miles with his 12 year old brother. Our kids took road 100 miles in 2 days when 12. Don't underestimate your child's ability. In the meantime, get a bike trailer. Your wife can SAG


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## KnackeredBike (6 Mar 2017)

Debade said:


> I know a 9 year old who road a couple thousand miles with his 12 year old brother. Our kids took road 100 miles in 2 days when 12. Don't underestimate your child's ability. In the meantime, get a bike trailer. Your wife can SAG


Oh I am well aware of how great cycling is when you are young. I was totally fearless and would go on very long rides seeking out steep hills which I would bomb down. When you come off you bounce and it's dreadfully funny. My mum of course forbid me from going on roads so I would push my bike out into the fields then onto the roads when out of sight.

However I am reticent to get a bike trailer because some of the drivers around here are absolute cockwombles and I would rather mini-Chris doesn't become a crumple zone.


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## User16625 (6 Mar 2017)

ColinJ said:


> Well, you could certainly do something about the alcohol intake!
> 
> As for the food ... How about eating _DIFFERENT_ food instead of cutting food out? *For example, you could eat vast amounts of salad, cabbage, broccoli etc.* without taking in too many calories, and that should reduce your appetite for more fattening food.
> 
> Do you have a medical condition causing low blood sugar?



A better alternative to that is to have a heart attack. I for one cant stand veg. I love fruit tho. Is it even possible to eat healthily without vegetables? That said I do often eat salad, burgers and kebabs always come with some.


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## ChrisV (6 Mar 2017)




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## Racing roadkill (6 Mar 2017)

It's complicated. Everyone is different, but if you wanted a kind of 'blanket' answer. As your fitness levels increase, your body starts to use fuel more efficiently. So, to put a gross oversimplification on it, the longer / harder you ride, the less ( relatively speaking ) you need to eat ( purely on calories, not thinking about nutritional info ). If you get fitter, ride longer / harder, and don't tailor your calorie intake, it's actually possible to gain weight. You may also start to develop more muscle, which cubic meter for cubic meter, weighs more than fat. Body composition calculation starts to become just as important as weight to height. There is a better guide to whether you're the correct weight, by using a calculator that includes waist size / height. If a muscular athlete ( say an international rugby winger ) used the standard BMI calculator, there's a good chance they would find themselves in the pre-obese / obese range, whereas using waist to height would tell a more accurate tale. In short, eat less move more.


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## Joffey (6 Mar 2017)

Maybe try and log your calories on something like My Fitness Pal for a week or two to see how much you are consuming. It is really easy to overeat without knowing. You might find this is the case and then you can amend your diet accordingly if you want to lose weight.


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## screenman (6 Mar 2017)

The day you eat less calories than you use is the day you may lose weight.

Nothing tastes nicer than feeeling slim.


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## Racing roadkill (6 Mar 2017)

Joffey said:


> Maybe try and log your calories on something like My Fitness Pal for a week or two to see how much you are consuming. It is really easy to overeat without knowing. You might find this is the case and then you can amend your diet accordingly if you want to lose weight.


MFP, is actually quite useful, but you do have to be careful to be 100% honest with it, if you want it to work.


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## smutchin (6 Mar 2017)

KnackeredBike said:


> commuting 11x2 miles several days a week ... not really cut back on socialising so alcohol and restaurant meals either.



Can you be more precise than 'several'? Three? Four? And how much are you drinking?

If you want a reality check, each time you ride your bike to work, you're probably burning off around one pint of beer's worth of calories. So if pints consumed > commutes ridden, you're cancelling out your efforts.



KnackeredBike said:


> I must be gaining muscle and losing fat to loose waist inches



Are you losing waist inches? If so, that is good news and you have nothing to worry about, so just keep doing what you're doing. A shrinking waist is a far more meaningful sign of health improvement than a reduction in BMI.


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## Bodhbh (6 Mar 2017)

ColinJ said:


> Well, you could certainly do something about the alcohol intake!



^^ this. It's really hard to loose weight while doing much in the way of boozing - the calories from the booze, plusthe havok it plays with any kind of restraint on what you eat. I'll loose a kilo a week if I'm teetotal and doing the usual commute, with 2 square meals aday and without much in the way of dieting. Otherwise, nothing shifts very fast. Drives a coach and horses thru any motivation to do anything active at the weekend too.


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## pawl (6 Mar 2017)

KnackeredBike said:


> So, I've been commuting 11x2 miles several days a week for eight months now. Starting out at 108kg for just under two metres so a BMI of about 27.5. Slightly overweight.
> 
> In eight months of cycling without especially restricting food I've lost quite a few cm from the waist but not very much weight. I guess this is fat into muscle, which is of course no bad thing. Certainly I find hill climbing much easier.
> 
> ...




I underwent heart surgery three years ago.

I wasn't allowed to ride the bike for eleven weeks.Rehab new I also enjoyed walking.They gave me a programme of walking a minimum of one hour a day five days a week increasing the time and distance over the eight week period

While waiting for surgery my weight increased from around eleven and half stone to twelve and a half.stone.My.phyisio opinion is that that the one hour of power walking I would need to do two hours of cycling at the same intensity. You meh need to break your ride down into hard And easy intervals 
Good luck


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## keithmac (6 Mar 2017)

I went on 500kcal deficit a day for nigh on a year to lose 2 stone.

Unfortunately the body is quite efficient, especially when joined to a bicycle!.

You can't outrun/ outride a bad diet..


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## Alan O (6 Mar 2017)

My general rule of thumb in cases like this is that if my weight falls I'm losing fat, and if it rises I'm gaining muscle... it keeps me happy.


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## mjr (6 Mar 2017)

Crude body fat % measurements are given by some scales and blood pressure monitors, so you don't have to guess. Does anyone know how accurate they are?



RideLikeTheStig said:


> A better alternative to that is to have a heart attack. I for one cant stand veg. I love fruit tho. Is it even possible to eat healthily without vegetables? That said I do often eat salad, burgers and kebabs always come with some.


Really? _No_ vegetables? There's a huge range, including different methods for cooking most, and even if you don't like some, you may find others acceptable. If you like salads, then experiment with salads and you can probably get enough although I suspect (OTTOMH) that you may struggle for brassicas.

But if you think that the slow hell of a heart attack is better than changing your diet, I suspect many people are going to find that difficult to understand and struggle to give relatable advice.


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## Alan O (6 Mar 2017)

mjr said:


> Crude body fat % measurements are given by some scales and blood pressure monitors, so you don't have to guess. Does anyone know how accurate they are?


Something I read a while ago (can't remember where it was - I'll post a link if I find it) suggested scales that measure body fat are hopelessly inaccurate - because they're checking a current flowing through your legs, and that's usually not where the fat is.

Alan


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## jarlrmai (6 Mar 2017)

If you want a truly accurate body fat then you need a Dexa scan, otherwise body fat calipers used by someone who knows what they are doing is best.


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## ColinJ (6 Mar 2017)

In case it helps (though the actual weight loss numbers would vary from person to person) ...

You say that you are nearly 2 metres tall. I put the numbers into the BMI calculation and that suggests that you are about 1.98 m (6' 6") tall. 108 kg (17 stone) is quite heavy, but for someone of your height it isn't _terribly_ overweight. And as suggested above, BMI isn't the best way of choosing a target weight anyway, but assuming that you do want to go by that and get down to a slimmer BMI of 23, you would need to reduce your weight by 18 kgs.

I lose approximately 1/4 kg in weight per 100 kms of cycling providing I don't eat or drink extra to fuel the cycling. (If I were riding 4 x 25 kms I could do those rides without extra food. If I rode 1 x 100 km I would have to eat more, so from a weight loss perspective, lots of shorter rides are better than fewer, longer ones.)

If you absolutely insist that you just want to do lots of cycling to lose the weight and don't want to change what you eat and drink, then here are the numbers for me: 18 kg = 18 x 4 x 1/4 kg = 72 x 1/4 kg. That corresponds to 72 x 4 x 25 km of cycling

I would have to do about 288 rides of 25 km to get that amount of weight off. 7,200 kms! To translate that into the 11 mile commutes ... 7,200 kms = 4,473 miles. 4,473 / (11 x 2) = 203 commutes (to work and back).

I think that illustrates why it is taking you a long time to get the weight off solely by commuting on your bike, and why taking another look at your food and drink intake would be a good idea! 

You don't have to count calories. Just decide that you will not drink alcohol (say) 4 nights a week and don't drink to excess the other 3 nights. As for food - categorise it into Healthy/Calorie-dense (eat/drink in moderation); Healthy/Lower-calorie (eat/drink as much as you want); Unhealthy/High-calorie (eat/drink sparingly as occasional treats and don't binge on those occasions).


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## KnackeredBike (6 Mar 2017)

Thanks all for your input. I'm thinking of using something like Huel for a bit so I can control the calories, I work 13 hour day so it is difficult to cook and eat healthily every day.


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## Big Andy (6 Mar 2017)

In my opinion and experience losing weight is about 80% what you shove in your gob and 20% ecercise related. 7 stonesin a year by joining Slimming world.


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## colourspinner (6 Mar 2017)

Firstly, I think it's great that you're riding to work. It would be easy to just hop in the car every day to work or the pub, but you chose to get on the bike.

I work 13-hour days sometimes (and a sedentary job too), and I am just an all round lazy person. In order that I don't just plonk on the sofa with a family sized bag of crisps at midnight and have that as dinner, I work out what I don't mind eating every night during the week and batch cook and freeze during the weekend. I guess I am lucky in that I don't mind having the same thing over and over again. Sometimes I might leave one or two portions in the fridge for Monday and Tuesday. I also make sure that whatever I cook can be eaten with pasta/rice/boiled new potatoes/some form of carbs that is quick to prepare. All I have to do when I get home is heat the frozen stuff, cook the carbs and some veg in the same pot (yes I am lazy and I have figured out when to add the veg so it doesn't turn to mush), and dinner is ready.

Some days I feel like a pizza and I will listen to my body and have a pizza. As long as that's not every day of the week... It's hard at first, but when I see that at least I'm not gaining weight it motivates me to stick to making my own food and not just eating any edible grub I find on my way home.


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## ColinJ (7 Mar 2017)

KnackeredBike said:


> Thanks all for your input. I'm thinking of using something like Huel for a bit so I can control the calories, I work 13 hour day so it is difficult to cook and eat healthily every day.


When I was a student I used to cook a huge vegetable curry on Sunday afternoon, eat one portion of it that evening, and freeze the rest of it to eat during the week. It meant that I always had something healthy to eat when I might otherwise have been tempted to nip out and buy junk food. I also knew exactly what I was eating because I had bought the ingredients and cooked them!


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## KnackeredBike (7 Mar 2017)

ColinJ said:


> When I was a student I used to cook a huge vegetable curry on Sunday afternoon, eat one portion of it that evening, and freeze the rest of it to eat during the week. It meant that I always had something healthy to eat when I might otherwise have been tempted to nip out and buy junk food. I also knew exactly what I was eating because I had bought the ingredients and cooked them!


It's a really good idea. Part of the reason I struggle with food is that I do one job but work for two different employers (thank you bizarre public sector) so tend to do days midweek then nights over the weekend, then back to days, which means your body clock is always out and so you don't have the standard breakfast/lunch/dinner that you get if you are working 9-5 (what a way to make a living).

I've always wanted, but never been organised enough, to cook large batches and freeze it in portions so I can take have something quick and healthy. Might pop down to Poundland and see if I can get some cheap containers.


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## ColinJ (7 Mar 2017)

That's the spirit!


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## Big Andy (7 Mar 2017)

Get a slow cooker. Great for doing stews, casseroles and curries etc. Chuck stuff in, turn on and go to work. Ready to eat when you walk in after work with loads left for freezing.


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## jefmcg (7 Mar 2017)

KnackeredBike said:


> Part of the reason I struggle with food is that I do one job but work for two different employers (thank you bizarre public sector) so tend to do days midweek then nights over the weekend, then back to days, which means your body clock is always out


https://www.wired.com/2009/03/nightshift/


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## KnackeredBike (7 Mar 2017)

jefmcg said:


> https://www.wired.com/2009/03/nightshift/


Four hours a day, what a bunch of lightweights


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## MarkF (7 Mar 2017)

KnackeredBike said:


> Thanks all for your input. I'm thinking of using something like Huel for a bit so I can control the calories, I work 13 hour day so it is difficult to cook and eat healthily every day.



I work 12 hour days regularly, but I rarely cook anything ever, never mind food to take to work, it's really easy to eat healthily, or unhealthily.


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## BrumJim (7 Mar 2017)

To be honest, a 2-y-o is not the greatest way to loose weight. Since I became a Dad, I have started to add a few cm to the waist again. Too much time on the floor playing with my little one, and not enough going out on my bike.

Going to be tricky for a while. I was doing 20-30 mile rides at least once a month, and several quite big ones, on top of a 6 mile commute where I was full gas all the way in and back home again. Now I can't afford the time for the long rides, and somehow there are more interesting things in life than pushing my legs and lungs to the limit 10 times a week.

As above. The time you start loosing weight is when you stop worrying about it. Unless you haven't modified your lifestyle, in which case that is when it starts going on again.


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## mythste (7 Mar 2017)

Another vote for my fitness pal. Be honest with beer and snacks.

The canteen at my work has these amazing flapjacks they I used to buy as a "recovery" for cycling in (I know...) turns out the little suckers have almost 600 calories in each 

That was a little change and over 3 days a week, a days worth of calories saved!


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## julioalmeda219 (7 Mar 2017)

ColinJ said:


> You can lose weight without cycling and you can ride a lot and still gain weight.
> 
> On my first cycling holiday in Spain, I rode over 700 hilly miles in 2 weeks but I came home 2 or 3 kgs heavier because I had been eating too much at the hotel buffets and drinking too much in the bar afterwards!
> 
> I think that cutting back on the booze and eating out are what you should look at for losing weight, and use the cycling to get fit and have fun.



Great info


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## Alan O (7 Mar 2017)

BrumJim said:


> The time you start loosing weight is when you stop worrying about it.


Funnily enough, that's when I started gaining it


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## steve292 (7 Mar 2017)

Joffey said:


> Maybe try and log your calories on something like My Fitness Pal for a week or two to see how much you are consuming. It is really easy to overeat without knowing. You might find this is the case and then you can amend your diet accordingly if you want to lose weight.



If you do this you will be able to see where the excess calories are coming from. I thought I was generally eating well until I did it for a week. It is a eye opener to see all the snacks and treats add up. but you have to be honest with what you put down an the quantities. 

For how you describe yourself Slimming world may work well for you. It does for me, as you can eat loads of pasta, rice, spuds and meats. Don't discount it, for a man it just may be the perfect way to get rid of the excess flab. The hardest thing is walking in the door.

Steve


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## si_c (8 Mar 2017)

I lost 7 stone using my fitness pal, but it was about solid calorie restriction. I used exercise to effectively buy larger meals so I wouldn't feel so hungry. Limited carb intake and ate mostly chicken in various forms and loads of veg.

Edit: to the OP I'm your height and was around 21ish stone.


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## pclay (8 Mar 2017)

I decided on Jan 1st of 2016 that my 2016 cycling target would be 6000 miles - a lot for me, working full time. It required 115 miles per week. My main motivation for this was to loose some weight....

.....I lost none.

Although I was conscious of healthy eating, i didn't track calories, and although I lost no weight, I gained none either.

The thing I have learnt over the years, is that if you go to bed hungry, you will be loosing weight (of course you can't feel any hunger pains once you are asleep).


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## GuyBoden (8 Mar 2017)

I stopped at a shop half way through my 100Km ride today, scoffed 2 chocolate fatjacks (homemade and yummy), 1 pork pie (also homemade and yummy) and a bottle of cola.

At 6' 1" and 15 stone, I doubt if I'll lose any weight by cycling, but it's very enjoyable...........


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## david k (8 Mar 2017)

You may benefit from researching calorie density, it's help make much more sense of eating to me.

My diet is much better, more nutritious and I am slowly losing weight with minimal exercise at the moment, just regular walking


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## KnackeredBike (9 Mar 2017)

GuyBoden said:


> I stopped at a shop half way through my 100Km ride today, scoffed 2 chocolate fatjacks (homemade and yummy), 1 pork pie (also homemade and yummy) and a bottle of cola.
> 
> At 6' 1" and 15 stone, I doubt if I'll lose any weight by cycling, but it's very enjoyable...........


The first time I rode 50 miles I had frequent sugar/drink breaks  will have to go for the 100km if I get a pork pie too.


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## MarkF (9 Mar 2017)

GuyBoden said:


> At 6' 1" and 15 stone, I doubt if I'll lose any weight by cycling, but it's very enjoyable...........



Why not? I am 6'1" but 13 stone and I am nowhere near thin!


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## GuyBoden (9 Mar 2017)

KnackeredBike said:


> The first time I rode 50 miles I had frequent sugar/drink breaks  will have to go for the 100km if I get a pork pie too.





MarkF said:


> Why not? I am 6'1" but 13 stone and I am nowhere near thin!



I eat a lot on rides, I'm usually out all day. When I was younger, in the early 1980's, I weighed about 11 half stone and could ride 200 miles in a day.


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## jefmcg (9 Mar 2017)

KnackeredBike said:


> Four hours a day, what a bunch of lightweights


I think you missed the point of the article. Shift work (particularly changing shifts) lead to obesity*. So you are starting against the odds already. The study where they shifted the body clock by four hours *every day* allowed them to measure the biological changes that could explain it.

**also heart disease, bone fractures, cancer, diabetes


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## jefmcg (9 Mar 2017)

More data about how cycling is orthogonal to weight loss:

The first year I upped my annual distance to 8000km, I lost 10kg without trying. The following year I cycled the same distance without changing anything else (obviously things changed, I just didn't notice) and put the 10kg back on.

When I cycled 1200km in 4 days with a poor appetite so I probably ate less than I normally do, I ended up 5kg heavier at the end! That was fluid retention, but when the fluid had dispelled a week later my weight was back within 500g of my pre-ride weight. Presumably over the week after the ride, I managed to consume enough calories to make up for the deficit over the four days.

So diet is important, even when one doing a lot more miles than you are at the moment.


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## MrPie (22 Mar 2017)

Back of fag packet calc......say you burn approx. 30kcals per mile. 30kcals x 11miles x 2 = 660kclas/day.
Say you are cycling 3 days per week: 660kcal x 3days = 1980kcals/week or roughly 8,000kcals per month (give or take a hoof in the 'nads).
There is roughly 8000kclas in a pound of fat......but remember, you wont be burning just fat, so arguments sake you're burning up 1/2lb fat per month.
Over 8 months....about 4lb......which equates to almost the square root of feck all.

Mr. Pie......bringing real scyence to sport


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## MrGrumpy (22 Mar 2017)

Ignore weight for now and look at inch loss, you will notice in your clothes rather than the scales. Another thing to bare in mind, as you get older the harder it seems IMO to loose weight ?


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## Shortandcrisp (22 Mar 2017)

MrPie said:


> Back of fag packet calc......say you burn approx. 30kcals per mile. 30kcals x 11miles x 2 = 660kclas/day.
> Say you are cycling 3 days per week: 660kcal x 3days = 1980kcals/week or roughly 8,000kcals per month (give or take a hoof in the 'nads).
> There is roughly 8000kclas in a pound of fat......but remember, you wont be burning just fat, so arguments sake you're burning up 1/2lb fat per month.
> Over 8 months....about 4lb......which equates to almost the square root of feck all.
> ...



That's true but it's not all about calories burnt during exercise. Raising your metabolism, increasing muscle definition/bulk and upping your testosterone levels naturally can all help with weight loss.


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## vickster (24 Mar 2017)

Shortandcrisp said:


> upping your testosterone levels naturally can all help with weight loss.


I certainly don't want to be doing that!!


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## pclay (24 Mar 2017)

MrPie said:


> There is roughly 8000kclas in a pound of fat......but remember, you wont be burning just fat, so arguments sake you're burning up 1/2lb fat per month.
> 
> 
> Mr. Pie......bringing real scyence to sport




I have often heard that it was 3000cals in a pound of fat??


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## si_c (24 Mar 2017)

pclay said:


> I have often heard that it was 3000cals in a pound of fat??


Yep. 3200ish.

The higher figure above is about right for a kg. Although these are rough figures and a nutrition scientist would probably dispute the applicability of the numbers.


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## Alan O (24 Mar 2017)

pclay said:


> I have often heard that it was 3000cals in a pound of fat?


Yeah, that's about what I eat


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## MrPie (24 Mar 2017)

Every day is a Skool day.....


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## currystomper (8 Apr 2017)

Shortandcrisp said:


> That's true but it's not all about calories burnt during exercise. Raising your metabolism, increasing muscle definition/bulk and upping your testosterone levels naturally can all help with weight loss.


Wow didn't know cycling increased your testosterone levels, I'm off for a long bike ride :-)


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## Shortandcrisp (8 Apr 2017)

currystomper said:


> Wow didn't know cycling increased your testosterone levels, I'm off for a long bike ride :-)



Was thinking mainly of weightlifting as the form of exercise more likely to increase testosterone levels! ️


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## Milzy (8 Apr 2017)

I know a guy with a long commute so he eats many calories to power him to work and home. Trouble is it's too much food and he gains weight despite 100 miles a week.


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## ColinJ (8 Apr 2017)

Milzy said:


> I know a guy with a long commute so he eats many calories to power him to work and home. Trouble is it's too much food and he gains weight despite 100 miles a week.


I wouldn't call 10 miles each way a 'long commute' and I don't think it is necessary to eat (much) more to power ten 10 mile rides a week. If he thinks he needs to eat (much) extra then it isn't surprising that he gains weight.


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## Milzy (8 Apr 2017)

ColinJ said:


> I wouldn't call 10 miles each way a 'long commute' and I don't think it is necessary to eat (much) more to power ten 10 mile rides a week. If he thinks he needs to eat (much) extra then it isn't surprising that he gains weight.


Suppose he's just a fat lad at the back then.


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## ColinJ (8 Apr 2017)

Milzy said:


> Suppose he's just a fat lad at the back then.


But good on him for doing it! It may not be 'long' but it is long enough to make a big difference. In fact, a year of that commute would be further than I rode in 2016 ... 

PS It isn't _you_ is it!


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## Nigelnaturist (15 Apr 2017)

I once made a few observations (nothing really scientific ) all things being equal i.e. no extra increase in calorie input, I reckoned on losing 1lb of body fat per 360 miles or so, this is loosely based on 25% of calories used are fat calories and approx 40cals/mile so 40*0.25=10 3500(fat cals to lose 1lb)/10=350 miles, like I said not scientifically proven, other factors play apart also.
I think its possibly why many start cycling to help lose weight then give up as nothing seems to be happening and its fing hard to start with.


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## keithmac (16 Apr 2017)

Cycling helps your fitness, very worthwhile doing it for that but if you don't look at diet as well then weight loss probably won't be part of it.

Justifying 600kcals of flapjack because you've done a decent ride out has probably wiped out any weight loss benifit (we've all done it!).

Unfortunately a person on a bike is very efficient so you need to put plenty of miles in to burn the calories off.

I think if more people view cycling as fitness enhancing only and dieting to lose weight there would be far more people cycling after the New Years Resolutions have worn off..


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