cycling fasted = better weight loss?

[montage]

Ok, knees are mending, so I am looking at trimming my weight down to racing levels for the 2010 season (10% or below bodyfat), currently lying around 13-15% bf. I can't do much more than 30 mins cycling at the moment before the knees start aching, so is it best to do these 30 mins before breakfast with some gentle core excersizes thrown in?

At the moment my pre-breakfast routine is:
100 dorsal raises on stability ball,
100 crunches,
1 min rest
100 dorsal raises,
100 crunches,
5 minutes gentley on the bike followed by streches (paying attention to my hamstring which have caused my knee issues) then 20-25 mins around 70% effort.
Nice big bowl of porridge
I will then do more excersizes in the evening/afternoon, upper body and core mainly

Am I sustaining a long enough effort to bring the weight loss down effectively?

 

[jimboalee]

Ok, knees are mending, so I am looking at trimming my weight down to racing levels for the 2010 season (10% or below bodyfat), currently lying around 13-15% bf. I can't do much more than 30 mins cycling at the moment before the knees start aching, so is it best to do these 30 mins before breakfast with some gentle core excersizes thrown in?

At the moment my pre-breakfast routine is:
100 dorsal raises on stability ball,
100 crunches,
1 min rest
100 dorsal raises,
100 crunches,
5 minutes gentley on the bike followed by streches (paying attention to my hamstring which have caused my knee issues) then 20-25 mins around 70% effort.
Nice big bowl of porridge
I will then do more excersizes in the evening/afternoon, upper body and core mainly

Am I sustaining a long enough effort to bring the weight loss down effectively?

To get a rough estimate of the calorific consumption involved in Crunches.

Ask someone to measure the vertical distance by which you are raising the centre of gravity of your upper body.

Estimate the mass in kg of your upper body.

Kg x g ( 9.81 ) x distance ( m ) = Joules.

Joules x 0.2343 = kCals.


Because the entire session will not be lasting over 60 minutes, you are not allowed any additional nutrition above your BMR, so forget breakfast until you have finished your physical exercising.
Your breakfast should be mainly protein, as ingesting carbohydrate will simply replace the adipose you have just called upon to replace the glycogen used doing the exercising.

 

[ttcycle]

Make sure you do eat something - not having breakfast is not wise at it encourages your body to slow its metabolism which if you're concerned about weight is counterproductive - no point forcing your body into auto starvation mode - think about what it is you need to eat- probably worh having a higher ratio of protein and healthy fat in your diet

 

[ttcycle]

just a thought - don't worry too much re the BW to fat ratio as that should come into line over time as your body gets used to working more efficiently and using fat as a fuel source- being sub 10% fat for some people is just not possible- just work on your technique and get your knees etc back up to scratch frist surely?

 

[Bill Gates]

Ok, knees are mending, so I am looking at trimming my weight down to racing levels for the 2010 season (10% or below bodyfat), currently lying around 13-15% bf. I can't do much more than 30 mins cycling at the moment before the knees start aching, so is it best to do these 30 mins before breakfast with some gentle core excersizes thrown in?

At the moment my pre-breakfast routine is:
100 dorsal raises on stability ball,
100 crunches,
1 min rest
100 dorsal raises,
100 crunches,
5 minutes gentley on the bike followed by streches (paying attention to my hamstring which have caused my knee issues) then 20-25 mins around 70% effort.
Nice big bowl of porridge
I will then do more excersizes in the evening/afternoon, upper body and core mainly

Am I sustaining a long enough effort to bring the weight loss down effectively?

ttcycle is right eat your breakfast and if possible allow 2 hours before starting exercise. You will then be using glycogen rather than your breakfast as the energy source.

Forget about gym exercise causing weight loss. It does but nothing like as much as aerobic activity will.

70% MHR is OK but if you have sore knees then you should be spinning @ a high cadence, +100rpm. And make it at least 30 minutes, and better 45 minutes, which in a low gear may be achievable before the pain sets in. In fact if your knees hurt should you be doing it at all?

 

[jimboalee]

If you eat breakfast before you exercise, those are calories you CANNOT eat at another time of day.

For the vast majority of folks who are trying to lose weight and including 1 hour's exercise per day in their regime, when and what they eat is totally flexible within their daily BMR and 'food pyramid'.

Whatever suits you.

Jump out of bed and hammer the turbo for an hour.... or
eat a relaxing brekkie at 07:00 and then mount the turbo at 10:00.... or
eat brekkie, lunch at 12:30 and then get on the turbo at 16:00.... or
eat brekkie, lunch, tea and ride the turbo at 20:00....


Some commute cyclists don't eat breakfast, some do. Some don't prep for the ride home, some do.

 

[ttcycle]

If you eat breakfast before you exercise, those are calories you CANNOT eat at another time of day.

why not jim?

I don't get the impression montage has a massive weight problem - he is trying to lose excess fat (already at acceptable levels) for competition.

However, it seems he has recent trouble with his knees - I've not kept up to date with all posts - this could be health related or it might be a symptom of overtraining/not enough rest - especially in light of the gym training regime.

I'm trying to provide a balanced answer.
Not having breakfast is counterproductive as it slows the metabolism and if someone is relatively or highly active and needs the calories (more calories than normal) why would restricting the diet be a good idea?

 

[montage]

All answers have been excellent, thank you.

ttcycle, I would not skip breakfast, I would have it more or less straight after excersize. The knee issue has been going on for a while, misdiagnosed ITBS and now labelled as being down to "direly tight" hamstrings - simple to cure (streeeetch)

Bill gates, I do spin, around 110rpm, I tend to keep going until the knee begins to twinge, which is getting longer each day, the average of which being 30 mins, ish.

Jimbo, are you saying eat whenever during the day, before breakfast, after, in the evening etc as long as you have not eaten within 2 hours?

 

[Bill Gates]

Lets say you eat 3500 calories (balanced diet) a day and your activity burns 3500 calories a day then this would keep your body weight stable, which seems reasonable.

OK so now if you eat nothing all day whilst keeping your activity the same then that would equal a net loss of 3500 calories and you would lose weight.

The next day you eat 7000 calories, burn 3500 calories and then you're back to square one.

Wrong.

Quite simply, your body goes into 'starvation mode' on Day 1. This mechanism means the body becomes super efficient at making the most of the calories it does get from food and drink. The main way it does this is to protect its fat stores and instead use lean tissue or muscle to provide it with some of the calories it needs to keep functioning.

This directly leads to a loss of muscle, which in turn lowers metabolic rate so that the body needs fewer calories to keep ticking over and weight loss slows down. Of course, this is the perfect solution if you're in a famine situation. But if you're trying to lose weight, it's going to do little to help you shift those unwanted pounds.

I try to eat little and often and always eat breakfast and try to ensure it's at least 2 hours before I exercise.

 

[Garz]

Just adding to some of the good advice, regarding eating for the majority of people it is beneficial to eat smaller portions but more often. Effective weight loss is gradual and easier to maintain if you take your time. People can crash diet or yoyo for speed but this is both unhealthy and harder to sustain.

I agree on BG's post with the target figures of circa 100rpm cadence (I think 110+ is a bit OTT) and anything over 45minutes to strip the fat. Some on here might argue about intensity (or whatever % max) to train to but your goal seems to be weight loss and not performance at this stage.

 

[lukesdad]

Why not have your brekky on the bike thats what I do on my morning commute flapjacks and a bit of fruit for instance.

 

[Bill Gates]

Why not have your brekky on the bike thats what I do on my morning commute flapjacks and a bit of fruit for instance.

Your commute is very long though; over 2 hours, and depending on how hard you're going you may well have depleted your glycogen stores and need to stuff some carbs before you get to the other end.

Anything of 1.5 hours or less then eating on the bike isn't necesary.

 

[lukesdad]

Your commute is very long though; over 2 hours, and depending on how hard you're going you may well have depleted your glycogen stores and need to stuff some carbs before you get to the other end.

Anything of 1.5 hours or less then eating on the bike isn't necesary.

This is very true. Its a time fix really as I start around 5.30 am its easier to have breakfast on the bike. Start with the fruit and leave an hour to digest, before anything else this averts putrification in the stomach. carb and protein snack when I finnish does me till lunch convenience really but it seems to work well.