Hi folks, I'm new to the forum (and I'm returning to cycling after a 20-year break). I'm also overweight and trying to lose some of it, so I thought I'd offer a few (rambling) thoughts.
The standard advice on losing weight seems to be to work out your maintenance calorie intake and keep your daily consumption to 500 cals lower than that, and that should lead to a loss of around 0.5kg per week. Does it matter if you do that by eating less or exercising more? Not a bit - 500 cals less by reduced eating or 500 cals extra burned by exercise produce exactly the same result (other things being equal), which is 500 cals worth of your body stores used up.
Which is the best approach? That will depend on the individual - a friend of mine has lost around 60kg over the last two years by diet alone.
But I've tried losing weight by diet alone multiple times and have always failed. I've always reached a point after a few weeks where I feel constantly hungry (even at just that 500 cals per day reduction), and I just can't keep it up - I can't concentrate on my work, for one thing.
With exercise, things are different, and since my return to cycling I've dropped from 98kg to 91.5kg in 12 weeks. The critical difference is that I haven't had the hunger pangs even though I'm watching what I eat (but not calorie counting - lovely vanilla cheesecake last night ;-). On diet alone, I'd almost be chewing at the carpets by this stage.
For me, I think it's largely psychological. And psychology is a big thing when it comes to weight loss and fitness. It's far easier to achieve targets when you're enjoying something and feeling good about it than when it's a chore and making you feel bad.
My cycling is only very modest at this stage too - an hour a couple of times a week, covering around 10 miles (though I'm doing a lot of walking too). But it makes me feel great - for the remainder of the day I *feel* leaner and fitter, regardless of any physical change, and that's far better than just sitting in front of the telly feeling hungry and trying not to think about the freezer.
As for how hard it can be to get started, tell me about it! I live near a park with a road circumference of 1.4 miles, and one of my exercises is doing circuits of it. There's one uphill section, and the first time I went out I had to stop part way up for a breather each time round, and then again at the top, and I only managed a couple of circuits. Last week I did 10 miles of circuits non-stop.
So I'm with those who say do a little each time, and let it build up slowly - it's amazing how quickly it gets better and more enjoyable. And exercise is a lot more satisfying than dieting!
Cheers,
Alan
