Cycling & Weight loss

[Leodis]

Afternoon everyone,
Just looking for some advice or experience on fighting the belly. Anyone got any tips on fighting back the years of booze & takeaways through cycling or will cycling only lose so much and running or a gym is needed?

Thanks in advance.

 

[spen666]

Consume less calories than you burn up and you will lose weight



There is no complicated science to why we put on weight.

 

[gambatte]

Its true
I was 14st I should be 11.5-12
I've got down to 12st 4... but I put some back on. All last year I hovered about 12-12, now its just over 13.
I swim, run, cycle
The only problem is conflicting hobbies and targets.
I aim to get fitter and in the process lose weight.
The wife has reignited her interest in cooking and baking...... unfortunately she's good at it
I'm going to have to exercise more portion control.

 

[Leodis]

I started out using MyFitnessPal and cycling, I've lost some but thought with cycling and eating well but its the weekends which are killing me .... Hmmm.. Beer....

 

[smokeysmoo]

Seek out gb155 of this parish to see what cycling can do for weight loss. From 39 stone, (I kid you not), to around 13 stone.
He's an inspiration to many

You can check out his blog here; theamazing39stonecyclist.wordpress.com/
or contact him directly via CC here; http://www.cyclechat.net/members/gb155.3910/

 

[spen666]

I started out using MyFitnessPal and cycling, I've lost some but thought with cycling and eating well but its the weekends which are killing me .... Hmmm.. Beer....

Unless you are dedicated and change your habits you will have little long term success in losing weight. I know I fail at this

 

[jdtate101]

Depends upon how much cycling you do and how much effort you put in. I was 18.5st in May last yr, I'm now 12st 12lbs. Thing is I've really hit it hard and done loads of miles and go out hunting for hills. If you really want to shift that belly, then you have to put in the effort. I don't really diet at all, as if you're doing loads of exercise dieting is not good, but rather I've CHANGED my diet to more fruit/veg/fibre, lean meats and fish and have smaller portion sizes rather than cut anything out.

 

[DCLane]

The first thing is an honest appraisal of the calories that's going in.

The second is working out what needs to be cut out to manage it.

Then, and only then, can the exercise you do reduce that.

Vernon's doing great this year with progress. Me, I'm on a 'maintenance' after last year and it's going well.

For me, I cut out alcohol completely and only had occasional treats. That, combined with lots of cycling, meant I lost 1-2lbs a week for 6 months = 3 stone+ lost.

 

[ianrauk]

I started out using MyFitnessPal and cycling, I've lost some but thought with cycling and eating well but its the weekends which are killing me .... Hmmm.. Beer....

Well it is quite simple. If you are serious about losing weight then cut right back on the beer. And I mean right back... to one or two pints a week if that.

 

[gambatte]

I think I'll have to bite the bullet.
I packed up smoking. Decided I wasn't a smoker, so I didn't need to leave home with enough for a pack of ten in my pocket.
When I'm at work I have my wallet on me. Despite the fact that I take snap into work, I can still hit the vending machine or order a bacon butty at lunch.
Today was a Snickers 271 calories....
Going to have to decide what I'll have and leave the wallet at home.

 

[smutchin]

I started out using MyFitnessPal and cycling, I've lost some but thought with cycling and eating well but its the weekends which are killing me .... Hmmm.. Beer....

I'm the same. My weight goes steadily down during the week while I'm cycling to work every day and keeping an eye on my food, but often goes back up following weekend "socialising"...

But your body weight can easily vary by +/-2kg from day to day for all sorts of reasons, which is why you shouldn't look at short-term fluctuations and instead focus on the long-term trends. I record my weight daily in an Excel chart but I don't read anything into the daily measurement - instead I plot the figures into a graph based on a ten-day rolling average, which smooths out the daily fluctuations nicely.

Also, don't worry if it's not going down very quickly. Play the long game. It's more sustainable to lose weight at a slower, steadier rate - crash dieters are usually yo-yo dieters. Losing half a pound a week is a very achievable target and though it may not sound much, if you can keep it up for six months, you'll have lost over a stone.

d.

 

[Leodis]

Thanks for the advice and guidance, I generally am under my 1500 cals a day and not always eating back my exercise cals but I need to really cut down on the beer on weekends which is killing me and push myself more on the bike rather than once or twice a week and the rest just pootling along home.

 

[smutchin]

Well it is quite simple. If you are serious about losing weight then cut right back on the beer.

Or compensate by riding more...

The way I look at it is: one pint of standard strength beer is roughly equivalent to half an hour of moderately intense cycling.

Although beer doesn't make very good cycling fuel as your liver can't metabolise alcohol into glucose.

d.

 

[ColinJ]

Assume 1 pound of weight loss per 100 miles of cycling, provided that you don't take in many extra calories to fuel that! It might be a bit more or a bit less but it won't be too far out.

Restrict yourself to 1 take-away a week maximum and don't take the opportunity to completely pig out when you do have one! Cut the booze intake right down. A maximum of 3 or 4 pints once or twice a week, preferably less.

Greatly restrict junky snacks, preferably eliminate them.

If I ride 100 miles and drink no more than 5 pints of beer in a week, I lose about 2.5 pounds. If I cut the beer out altogether and do more than 100 miles, I can lose 3 pounds in a week. I'm not currently doing that, but I've done it in the past a couple of times and lost 3 stone in less than 6 months.

I don't have a problem with food. I eat lost of steamed vegetables, salads, tuna, low fat cottage cheese and so on. I don't eat meat, and can't have bread or full fat cheese in the house because I am fatally attracted to them! (Toasted cheese sandwiches and the like are treats at cafe stops on forum rides!)

 

[smutchin]

I generally am under my 1500 cals a day and not always eating back my exercise cals

Be wary of this - if you're doing lots of exercise, you need to make sure you consume enough calories to provide the energy to keep you going. Don't let yourself go hungry.

The thing about alcohol is that it's "empty" calories - you should count it "below the line", ie not as part of your daily 1500 target (if you're using myfitnesspal, that 1500 will already factor in the daily net calorie deficit you need to meet your weight loss target, so going under is extra deficit).

However, it's also worth bearing in mind that myfitnesspal does tend to overestimate the number of calories burned in cycling...

d.