Losing weight. Advice needed !!

Ricey77

Right have had my new GT Avalanche Expert for a few weeks now, pleased with the bike (good old Cycle Scheme!!). I am using it to lose some weight and generally keep fit, riding mainly tracks and road work. I am generally riding around the 18-20 mile range in one trip, 3 times a week, with ride times improving and my average speed increasing.
The question i want to know is, is this a good distance to be doing, or should i be aiming for more? Or is it just a case of doing whats comfortable ??
Cheers chaps,
Nick.

Steve_F

In the words of Billy Connelly, "eat less and move around more".

If only it was that easy, certainly isn't for me :oops:

If you do more than you are comfortable with you'll put yourself off so build up gradually and if it feels tough one day just put it behind you and know the next one will be easier.

As long as you can keep your interest up then the fitness will come hopefully when the weather turns nice and the weight will fall off (at least that's what I'm hoping).

milkywhite

That's plenty! Do as much as you're comfortable with, and don't go out when you feel knackered.

As long as you try and eat sensibly what you're doing should give some good results. Cut back on the booze if you're a bit of a beer fiend at the weekend. I do that when I need to drop a few pounds and it makes a MASSIVE difference!

Cps

It will happen .

1. Start Calorie Counting and research the web - loads of info out there about how to loose weight.

2. On the days when you don't feel like riding - just do a shorter route!

3. Be patient - your efforts will start to pay off - with regular riding and a good balanced diet I have lost 10kg since January!!!

I've also been using Green Tea supplements - they are supposed to help you metabolism.
I can't say if they actually help because I changed a lot of things at the same time - but even if its a placebo effect I'll stick with them.

stumpyjon

3. Be patient - your efforts will start to pay off - with regular riding and a good balanced diet I have lost 10kg since January!!!

Me too (about 8Kg and the summer hasn't even started), definitely a combination of diet and exercise that made it happen. If you look at a lot of the exercise advice from the pros the one thing they all stress is not to overdo things. Infact the rest days can be as important as the exercise days. The rest days are when your body is developing the muscles etc. The other thing is not excersing too hard when you are exercising. Apparently mid level exercise is better for muscle developement as this is when the blood vessels in you muscles develope which allows your muscles to work more efficiently as they have access to more oxygen. Basically if you are excerising at your physical limit all you're doing is stressing your body out and not giving it a chance to improve. (apologies if I've got some of this a bit wrong, a couple of the mags, Singletrack and MBR, have done quite extensive features on ride fitness in the last couple of editions).

A caloried controlled diet is also vital if you want to shed weight, it's amazing what food you think of as healthy that is actually stuffed full of calories.

Ricey77

Some great advice, thanks chaps !!
I'm really enjoying the riding at the moment, and as you suggest watching what i eat !! As for the beer, thats the next thing to cut down on !!!
Thanks again.

Anonymous

bear in mind as long as you werent piling on weight at some bizarre rate before you started riding, that any excercise you do is more than before so in theory you wouldnt need t change anything in your diet, enjoy your beer and food because it wasnt a problem before and now you are banging out what is a fair old bit of training which means you will loose weight.

also, dont be too concerned with your actual weight, you might be gaining muscle as fast as you are losing fat . this would make you seem like you havent lost any weight or that your efforts arent bearing any fruits but if you check yourself out in the mirror, you will find that you are changing shape. you might be suprised at how big your legs get with regular riding!!

FFS whatever you do, dont get hung up with calory counting, it will send you beserk and atleast once a month you will have a cake attack the likes of which will undo any of your hard work!! if you want to start losing weight faster, think about having one less cooked breakfast per week* or have steak and salad instead of steak and chips every other time. that way, you can stil have what you want but know that you are cutting down on calories in a real and manageable way.

* these suggestions might be mute if you dont eat cooked breakfast but you get what i mean, im talking moderation, not starvation. (cr@p almighty, i came over all hippy then!!)

SBezza

I would say just eat healthy, and the exercise you are doing will mean you lose weight. I have lost 3 stone since November, and I have not counted a single calorie, I just eat better food, and more often. Also drinking lots of water is also needed, as this helps the body in processing fat as fuel.

I still have beer or wine, and still have the occansional treat, so as long as you eat high sugar foods in moderation you should be fine.

stumpyjon

I am following a calorie controlled diet but not getting too hung up if I have a takeaway or meal out every now and again. Sheepsteeth is right. getting too hung up on a diet can end up self defeating. I work on the basis that every day I stick to a controlled calorie intake is a plus and the days I fail are just normal. As long as the weight and waistline is steadily decreasing I'm pretty happy.

Body fat is a better indicator rather than weight as muscle weighs more than fat. Same thing goes for BMI, it's only and indicator. As has been said many times before many ahtletes are considered obese based on their BMI alone (that said for us mere mortals a BMI above 30 does suggest some weight loss is in order).

jeffers696

i lost over a stone, when i biked from cardiff to holly head, and i was eating 4000+ calories a day, did it in 4 and 1/2 days. biking its one of the best ways to stay slim and fit. controling what you put in to your body is the main thing. put crap in get crap out!

Anonymous

i must eat a couple of portions of crap a day

Sikora

The most important thing is to keep enjoying cycling. Try to see weight loss as a bonus to enjoying your hobby.
I hate going to the gym because it just feels like i'm going to try and lose weight, while if i go cycling or play football, i'm doing it because i enjoy it.

I don't drink, but i enjoy my food too much to start living on salad. I just try and eat in moderation - one less butty or packet of crisps for work, etc, and make sure i have breakfast everyday.

ride_whenever

Try to eat more, smaller meals as this will keep your metabolism running faster so that you use more energy when doing nothing, that change helped me loose whed loads, i'm now eating 4-5 meals a day and loosing weight.

lincolnkent

Hi, if you're serious about losing weight, like me, try "Lipo-6x", lost 6kg in 2 weeks, combined with just 40 miles a week of road cycling with a heavy gt avalanche mtb with offroad tires. 6kg in 2 weeks - unbelievable but achievable, remember "Lipo 6x", you heard it from me,

Sikora

14 stone in a day!

wiffachip

consume on av 2000 calories a day, do a bit exercise, ignore nutters with faddy diet tips and the weight will drop off

alcohols not too bad, you don't see many fat alcoholics - its the kebab and chips on the way home that does the damage, as well as the fry up the next day

bridboy

The best advice I can give to you is to join a group! I goto slimming world and have lost just short of 4 stone in a year. You can still eat some of your favourite foods and you get support. Combine this with cycling and all will be good. In the last 4 weeks I have lost 4kg and eaten some takeaways s0o try it for yourself. Be wary of quick loss plans because they can effect your health badly.

GOODLUCK!!!!