Cycling for weight loss

[Will81]

Hi, this is my first ever post so hopefully it makes sense!

I'm new to cycling and have been cycling to and from work for 3 weeks (4 days per week. 9 mile round trip) and trying to add in around 20 - 30 miles at the weekend. I am 33, 6ft tall and weigh 202lbs but I'm hoping to lose around 7lbs - 10lbs and to hopefully lose my little belly. But since starting I've only lost around 2lbs and my belly is as big as ever. I have altered my diet to cut down on things like chocolate and junk food, although I still treat myself sometimes, but I haven't noticed as big a change as I expected. I know it's early days and it's not going to happen overnight but surely I should have noticed a bigger change than 2lbs after 3 weeks and around 80 miles!? Am I doing anything wrong? Can any of you guys give any advice on this? Thank you in advance.

 

[vickster]

I don't think cycling will tone your belly, need to do crunches and other such tedious stuff for that

80 miles - you've probably only burnt off around 2500-3000 calories in 3 weeks, which isn't anything. 2lbs is probably reasonable

Cycling will improve your CV fitness and tone up your legs a bit but you don't have that much to lose so it won't fall off

 

[Will81]

Thanks for the reply. I'm not looking for a toned stomach with a 6 pack, just some weight off my mid riff. I know 80 miles in 3 weeks is not much but, as I said, I've only started and having a young family limits my cycling time at weekends. What sort of miles would I need to be doing on a weekly basis to try to reach my target weight in say 3 months?

 

[MrGrumpy]

been doing circa 150 miles a week on average for the last 3yrs at least and I`ve not got any lighter . Legs are certainly a lot more tone and some of the upper body but I still weigh in at approx 95-96 kg . Still have a paunch but feel vastly fitter . I`m same height as you but 10yrs older sp not so easy to shift. However I think if I was to abstain from the vino it would go a long way to reducing the extra. I do think 90 kg is a realistic target for me and that is my main aim. Hate to say it but diet is what I`m going to have to do

 

[MikeG]

You're just not riding far enough, and you haven't been doing it long enough, to expect radical weight loss. If that is the amount of riding you can do in the time available, then you are going to have to do your weight-loss by controlling your intake. Intermittent fasting works really well, but there are plenty of other ways. If you regularly "treat yourself", and if cycling makes you hungry (it does happen), then you could easily end up losing no weight at all on your current regime. I am afraid you are just going to have to work harder and longer, and be more disciplined with you food intake, if you want to start seeing some results.

 

[MrGrumpy]

yep cycling fools you into thinking you can eat more not so, by all means fuel up but not on junk. Oh and drink more fluids ( not lager ) ramp up the mileage on the bike. Hard work will pay off

 

[KneesUp]

I agree that you haven't done enough yet to see huge changes I'm afraid. In my last bout of cycling (when I was a student - I've just come back to it) I used to get to work at a reasonable pace so I didn't get too hot, but on the way home I'd nail it the whole way: a good run was one where I couldn't pedal in the last few hundred yards and then had to lean against the side of my parents house, still on the saddle and clipped in for a few minutes before I had the strength to get off. After a summer of that my resting heart rate was 24 (as checked by my mum, who was/is a nurse) and I was definitely thinner. Then I went back to Uni and drank it all back on

 

[Venod]

Keep at it, I have been running & cycling most of my life, in my opinion cycling is good for loosing weight, you have to use a high cadence between 90-100 revs per minute, pushing big gears will give you bigger leg muscles, muscle weighs more than fat so big gears wont help, you will feel hungry after riding but resist the temptation to binge & eat sensibly, your weight will eventually drop.

 

[nappadang]

Hello mate, you will definitely lose weight through cycling, I've lost a lot since I got a bike in August last year. I work on the basis of about 40 calories per mile (maybe a little less) and if you burn more than you consume you'll lose weight. It's also worth considering what you eat and when.
If you pm me an email address, I'll send you a break down of my less than scientific (but very effective) approach to weight loss.
Good luck mate!

 

[Will81]

[E="nappadang, post: 3045146, member: 31784"]Hello mate, you will definitely lose weight through cycling, I've lost a lot since I got a bike in August last year. I work on the basis of about 40 calories per mile (maybe a little less) and if you burn more than you consume you'll lose weight. It's also worth considering what you eat and when.
If you pm me an email address, I'll send you a break down of my less than scientific (but very effective) approach to weight loss.
Good luck mate![/QUOTE]

Cheers mate. How do I PM you?

Chee

 

[Broadside]

I agree that you haven't done enough yet to see huge changes I'm afraid. In my last bout of cycling (when I was a student - I've just come back to it) I used to get to work at a reasonable pace so I didn't get too hot, but on the way home I'd nail it the whole way: a good run was one where I couldn't pedal in the last few hundred yards and then had to lean against the side of my parents house, still on the saddle and clipped in for a few minutes before I had the strength to get off. After a summer of that my resting heart rate was 24 (as checked by my mum, who was/is a nurse) and I was definitely thinner. Then I went back to Uni and drank it all back on

Your resting heart rate was quite low, you should give the Guinness Book of Records a call

http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/2000/lowest-heart-rate

 

[Ern1e]

Hi @Will81 I don't want to dampen your spirtits but I have lost 8st 10lbs and still have a little belly because I need to do some crunches etc (no way hate gym type stuff lol) to get shut of that,but the cycling sure helps me maintain my weight and also lose it if I put some on so keep going and you will get results.

 

[KneesUp]

Your resting heart rate was quite low, you should give the Guinness Book of Records a call

http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/2000/lowest-heart-rate

Not quite a record though. My mum did say she thought I was dead Perhaps 21 years and all the beer has made my memory fail - maybe it was 34 - point it I was quite fit from a combination of gentle-ish riding and 'as hard as you can' riding - about 5-6 miles each way for six weeks.

 

[Broadside]

Not quite a record though. My mum did say she thought I was dead Perhaps 21 years and all the beer has made my memory fail - maybe it was 34 - point it I was quite fit from a combination of gentle-ish riding and 'as hard as you can' riding - about 5-6 miles each way for six weeks.

Even 34 seems low! Anything in the 50's and I would be thinking superfit, lower than that I would be thinking you need to be a professional sportsperson, but who am I to say! :-) it doesn't really matter but your statement of sub 30bpm caught my attention that was all.

 

[MrGrumpy]

i used to be 42 in my twenties, now its 50s.