Commuting to lose weight.
kev2b3
Posts: 159
Hi there
i have been a very small time cyclist for a few years, In April my first grand daughter was born and since that day i have been commuting to work aiming to lose weight and to get fitter . I am 45 years old and weighing in at a huge 21 st. The commute into work takes around 1hr 25 mins and the distance i am covering is 15 miles i catch the train home .The problem i am having is once i arive at work i just can't stop eatting, i was just wondering if anyone out there have the same problem and what do they do to stop it.
Many thanks
i have been a very small time cyclist for a few years, In April my first grand daughter was born and since that day i have been commuting to work aiming to lose weight and to get fitter . I am 45 years old and weighing in at a huge 21 st. The commute into work takes around 1hr 25 mins and the distance i am covering is 15 miles i catch the train home .The problem i am having is once i arive at work i just can't stop eatting, i was just wondering if anyone out there have the same problem and what do they do to stop it.
Many thanks
0
Posts
Yep, it's a big problem for many.
Get home from work and then stand in front of the fridge for 10 minutes :shock:
I know many on this forum don't believe cycling is the best way to lose weight.
I'm very partial to jam butties and chocolate biscuits after my commute.
I'm fortunate because I'm at the top end of a normal weight BMI, but I would like to be at the bottom end.
How to stop it ? :roll: , good question, drink plenty instead of eating, also choose low fat foods and fruit to pig out on, instead of hard cheese pick low fat cottage cheese instead , swap chocolate biscuits for malt loaf.
Eat skinless chicken instead of red meat , basically substitute high calorie/fat foods , for low cal low fat .
If anyone else has got any tips .... I’d be very interested to know. :roll:
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The choice of foods is said to be crucial in reducing intake. Swapping high-carb foods for high-fibre or some protein is supposed to stop the hunger pangs; you fool your stomach that it's got loads of energy-rich food in it.
I'm the other way. Normally don't have much of an appetite after exercise so need to remind myself to eat. Probably need to work harder
Planet-x Scott
Rides
I find after I've ridden home its the worst time for me. I usually down a pint of Special R squash. Having a banana and strawberry, or kiwi and apple smoothie helps after that as the mush fills up your stomach.
Eating higher protein food mushed up is supposed to help too, something about it was on the telly the other night.
Dont worry about it!! Being able to gorge is one of the joys of riding! I started commuting to work 18 months ago to lose weight. I always stuff myself when I get home and I have lost 1.5 stone.
Weight loss is actually a very simple business, all this stuff about hormones etc is window dressing.
If you use more calories in a given period than you consume you WILL lose weight, likewise the reverse.
thank god i swear by Yorkie bars :shock:
Not to send this OT but I cant get Yorkies here.
"What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
"It stays down, Daddy."
"Exactly."
Call it a Marathon instead then :P
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My doctor also claims that cycling for an hour only burns off 300 calories, then again he's only stating the guidance for an average "leisure ride" and not a hell for leather road ride.
As for the hunger, trying drinking a fair bit more water than you normally do, and gorge on apples, pears or other fruit. Try having a banana and a handful of almonds as a mid morning snack.
Using a typical online calorie counter (this one is my fave: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/calories.php) you're burning off about 1100 calories on your way to work. This means your daily intake of food should total around 3000 calories for weight loss as your body will need about 2000-2500 for it's normal functions. I personally go for 2000 + excercise calories per day, and I've lost 2.5 stone in 7 months without needing to go on any fad diet and without feeling excessively tired or hungry, because it's normal to feel a little hungry if your body needs calories. It's really important to make sure you don't go overboard and eat too little, as putting your body into starvation will just make it store food, and will make gaining fitness a lot harder.
I personally find that having a huge breakfast (2 weetabix, bowful of bluberry shredded wheat topped with oats and covered in whole milk) is a good way to go, aim for about 7-800 calories (about a third of your total recommended daily intake of food). Cut out sugary drinks and sugar in general if you can help it, the less processed sugar you have the less you crave it, and once those cravings are gone your hunger is usually because your body genuinely needs food.
The best thing to remember is that if you lose the weight slowly over a period of time, eating well and not feeling like you're on a diet, you'll find it easier to keep up. If the biking does cease for any reason you'll not put the weight on as quickly either as your eating habits will have changed.
Hope this helps, and keep it up, it's a tough road but definitely worth it in the end.
not unless you are going to stretch out hard 40 milers 3 times a week
get used to it
running is the answer, no questions asked....i commute to keep fit, i run to lose weight
"What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
"It stays down, Daddy."
"Exactly."
But when you get those hunger pangs after a ride you have to treat them sensibly.
I, for example, drink a litre of water and wait 20 minutes before I act on those pangs, and even then I tend to have a banana or a bowl of fruit and fibre (no milk because I dislike it) or some rice cakes with vegemite and cottage cheese and then wait another 20 minutes. By then, I'm generally not hungry, or not hungry enough to eat much.
I can only suggest you try something similar. You also have to get rid of the idea that because you're cycling you can eat what you like, it's simply not the case.
HTH!
Viner Maxima, Tifosi CK7, Giant Bowery, Old commuter.
I went from 10K 4 times a week and 50 miles on the bike to 10K once a week and 100ish miles a week*
All of a sudden my bod started looking like a greyhounds ! I think its when I go more than 2hours at 80-85% max HR as opposed to 40-45min runs. I probably don't replace all the cals.
Just don't feel like eating after a couple hours on the bike but hungry after a run.
*averaged over 2 weeks as as I work shifts so week 1 50miles, week 2 150miles.
I do over 100 miles a week, but recently I've been putting on weight and that's after cutting out all chocolate (although I think doing this might've adversely affected my sweet stuff intake, i.e. these days I eat more sweet stuff).
"What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
"It stays down, Daddy."
"Exactly."
December 2007 - 39 Stone 05 Lbs
July 2011 - 13 Stone 12 Lbs - Cycled 17851 Miles
http://39stonecyclist.com
Now the hard work starts.
That said, I found the same when I started commuting; my appetite was voratious.
The result was that I got phenomenally fit (at least compared to before I started) but didn't lose weight. Now for me this was OK, I'm overweight (180cm and 86kg) but not badly so. What I wanted was the fitness and I got it in spades.
Then the weight started to come off. The first clue was Christmas, about 6 months after I started commuting 130km per week, I took 2 weeks off work, did nothing but eat and drink for that fortnight and didn't put any weight on at all. Starting back on the bike in January, I found that the weight was coming off. I'm going by shape here rather than kilos, coz I really don't watch the kilos.
What I think happened is that my body has changed gear. My apetite is about back to normal but with the increased output of doing the commute (which my Edge says is worth about 1500 Kcal per day).
The upshot is be patient. feel the benefits that the commute is giving you now (fitness) and have faith that this will lead to weightloss in time. I feel the it when I go mountainbiking, for example, for you it could be something different. Before long if you're like me, your metabolism will change gear and you'll find you're doing more excercise with less fuel, then the weight will start to fall off. Whatever you do don't starve yourself, you'll just be grumpy and knackered and blame the bike, which is a short route giving up the bike completely.
Beer in moderation ... is a waste of beer
If riding an XC race bike is like touching the trail,
then riding a rigid singlespeed is like licking it
... or being punched by it, depending on the day
As ever, you need to be aware of what you're eating and, where necessary, make active plans about what to eat and when. On the plus side, you have far more of an excuse for an occasional blowout; it's just having a blowout every time you ride that defeats the purpose!
Blog (incl. bikes)
That's the killer for me too. I find that if I'm cycling 100 miles per week at high effort levels then I can eat big meals and still lose weight PROVIDED I avoid goodies between meals. The approach that works for me is three fairly hearty but healthy meals and if I'm really hungry between meals then eat fruit.
However, the last few months I have lost my snacking discipline and it shows :oops:
J
I am back on the soup and bread. And have brought bananas in to replace the cookies and the post-commute-in-granola bars. And I'm going to chuck on an extra lap or so in the Park on the way home this evening (extra 6.7 miles). This should see my weight creep down closer to 12st. It better had anyway...
"What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
"It stays down, Daddy."
"Exactly."
The top ten things you need to know about losing weight on BBC (now i-player) that was on last week was good viewing.
I find it's a very fine line getting your nutrition right so you can get home without ploughing in when you are trying to lose weight.
I'm experimenting with a carb drink straight after I get to work circa 0830 and an egg sandwich on brown at my desk circa 0930. To get my refuelling going early doors with a carb / protein mix and hopefully having the go juice to get me home.
Also I'm into the low fat mueller yogurts at 100 cals a pot after lunch and breakfast - not sure about this dairy calcium bonding to fat thing but I'm willing to give it a try.
I'm aiming for 1,800 cals a day as experience tells me anything higher just doesn't get me dropping anything.
I'm off the sauce through the week as well - it's been a long morning.
15 miles, circa an hour and ten mins each way, everyday.
What would Thora Hurd do?
If I may make a suggestion, Mr T, sir:
Have you thought about extending your journey home slightly, say, twice a week, by fitting in a half-loop of Richmond Park?
"What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
"It stays down, Daddy."
"Exactly."
I've just been dashing back to take over screaming Bianchi duties from Mrs T - however now that we've got her maintenance programme on track and the weather's better I'm thinking about it again.
It's nuts but 30 miles a day just isn't enough.
I know that what I should do is mix up my training to change the load on my body and challenge my metabolism but my motivation for the gym at lunchtime is low.....
Swimming and running - forget it - just don't start.
What would Thora Hurd do?
If you can manage a couple of weights sessions a week on top of your cycling it will help you no end. Lifting weights doesn't burn as many calories as cycling whilst you're doing it but done with enough intensity can result in your metabolism remaining raised for several hours after you have stopped working out.
In addition muscle is active tissue, the more you have the higher your basal metabolic rate. Lifting weights whilst in a calorie deprived state won't lead to massive muscle gain but it should help to retain what you have got.
If you are calorie deprived your body will make up the shortfall by metabolising muscle as a preference, what you don't want to do is waste away your muscle and end up with less muscle and a lower overall calorie requirement, thus making you more likely to gain fat in the future when you start to increase your calories eaten.
I eat a couple of carrots a day chopped into batons as well....I guess other low calorie vegetables would work as well...celery sticks perhaps.
H.G. Wells.
I'm with you on sharing the screaming duties - I do mine in the morning because I can never guarantee an on-time departure from work, so I find that it's easier (in terms of motivation and the time impact on home life) to do an extra lap of the Park on the way home than it is to go to the gym.
"What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
"It stays down, Daddy."
"Exactly."
P.S. Try squat thrusts and leg exercises at home. You will entertain Banchi at the same time.
"What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
"It stays down, Daddy."
"Exactly."