Riding Style weight loss

mr_eddy

Hi,

I am a 27 year old male and am 5'11" tall weighing 13st 6lbs. I am having trouble loosing weight, I would like to loose 10lbs to hit my target of 12st 10. I used to be 14st 10lb about 6 months ago. I have had huge success by riding to work and cutting out chocolate and fry ups however I cannot shift the last 10 lbs.

I have tried switching to my off road High Roller 2.4 tyres for my daily commute in a effort to burn more energy but nothing.

I ride a Cube LT Pro 09 hardtail

My question is this, Can I help burn more energy by changing my rding style. I currently stay seated and average about 16 mph to work (downhill and 9mph back - uphill), my commute is 4 miles each way.

Any help would be much appreciated.

supersonic

If you are putting muscle on, which is denser than fat, then you may not be losing weight. You may put some on!

AidanR

You could just take a detour and do more than 4 miles... deliberately choosing a less efficient riding style will not do you any favours, nor make any difference to your weight.

nferrar

You really need to be doing more miles (or more importantly longer duration), do you do weekend rides at all? Just add in a couple of evening 1-1.5 hour rides (steady pace and push hard on climbs) and a 2-3 hour ride on weekends. The trouble with short rides is you're mostly just burning your glycogen stores rather than touching the fat, still useful as it's all calories and reduces on-going fat depositing but longer rides at a steady pace will trigger fat burning and help shift the weight faster (and you'll get a lot more fitness benefit from it).

asdfhjkl

Look at sorting out your diet rather than doing more activity. This may even mean eating more. There's a saying in the bodybuilding community that "you can't out-train crap nutrition" which is very true.

mr_eddy

Yeah I think I may have to increase my mileage. There is an alternative route home which would double the journey home time from 4 to8.5 miles making the total commute 12.5 miles, I do try and ride at the weekend at least 20 miles but I suppose I could increase this.

In terms of diet, I often skip breakfast cause I wake up late and don't get time. I know this is no excuse but maybe eating porridge for example would give me more energy to cycle more?

robertpb

The worst thing you can do for weight loss is to skip breakfast.

The body thinks it's being starved so it starts to store more fat when you eat.

Hard riding does not burn off the weight, riding at 60% of your maximum heart rate is the best way. About an hour and twenty minutes per day for 9 weeks should shift that, or you have to eat 500 calories a day less over the same time.

rhyko7

to simplify things you need to burn more energy than you intake

yes you could make your ride harder by riding stood up or slower tyres, but doubt it would make enough of a difference, like the other guys said ride further, take a detour or ride more.

fat loss is a very desputable subject:
many trainers believe HIIT training is more effective due to the post exercise calories burnt (your body uses many more calories after an intense workout carrying nutrients and repairing and refueling the damaged muscles) and over all will give greater ammount of calories burnt and the acceleration of the metabolism.
however, bit old skool but still makes sense to me: many believe slow and steady is the way due to the higher % of fat that is used during the exercise
i suggest doing both tho!
oh and the guy above who mentioned eating breakfast is right about that too! think it slows your metabolism if you miss it out which is bad!, to lose weight you are supposed to eat smaller portions every 3 hours-again metabolism related.!
once youve lost the weight its easier to keep it off and you can eat more again!

basically just do as much as you can on your bike dude, ride ride ride!

chriskempton

robertpb wrote:

The worst thing you can do for weight loss is to skip breakfast.

The body thinks it's being starved so it starts to store more fat when you eat.

Hard riding does not burn off the weight, riding at 60% of your maximum heart rate is the best way. About an hour and twenty minutes per day for 9 weeks should shift that, or you have to eat 500 calories a day less over the same time.

+1 eat breakfast, always

mr_eddy

Ok I have now started averaging 11.4 miles a day which is up from my original 8, I have also started on the porridge breakfasts which makes me feel sick but Im sure I will get used to it.

Hopefully should shift the weight.

Cheers

rhyko7

mr_eddy wrote:

Ok I have now started averaging 11.4 miles a day which is up from my original 8, I have also started on the porridge breakfasts which makes me feel sick but Im sure I will get used to it.

Hopefully should shift the weight.

Cheers

lol you can eat something you enjoy! doesnt have to be porridge-although you can add jam or honey to make it taste better, or bits of fruit
you want slow releasing carbohydrates in the morning, but you can eat quick releasing too as you will be low in the morning.
i have choco/frosted or honey shreddies and a banana most morinings!

your heading in the right direction.

perhaps do some longer rides on the wkends (good couple hours)

ketka82

From what I understand, rides in the fat burning zone (60-69% MHR) are only really effective for long outings of at least 60 mins. To see any real difference in weight you'd need to do at least 5 sessions of 60 mins a week while not increasing your calorie intake.

If your commute isn't long enough to get a good 60 mins out of it, then try mixing up the speed a bit. Intervals are an excellent way of building fitness and the fitter you get the quicker the weight will come off. Try adding some sprints into your commute; periods of hard sustained effort followed by a periods of recovery, especially up hill. This of course will take you out of the 'fat burning' zone into the aerobic or even anaerobic zones but after a hard workout your body actually continues to burn calories even after exercise. There is definitely something to be said for quality over quantity when it comes to training!

The biggest mistake that people make when trying to lose weight through cycling is increasing their calorie intake to compensate for the exercise. If you were a steady weight before then you should aim for a calorie deficit of about 500 calories per day through dieting/calorie burn. Then you should see results.

Also, cycling does increase muscle density fairly quickly in your legs which can actually cause you to put on weight in the early stages. This seems to be pretty normal.

Druid \'64

OK so you dont like breakfast and you ride to work. Try to make your ride IN longer - i know it means getting up earlier - and have your brekkie when you arrive at work. This way you can incorporate a bit of BONK training into the mix.

~ ~ Cal ~ ~

My advice based on losing 14 lbs over 8 weeks >>

Eat little and often but effectively have "normal" meals

Cut out treats but have the occasional reward

Get out at night with a group of faster rides who'll still tolerate slower riders and encourage them to get fit

Give yourself a PRW - Powerful Reason Why - do you REALLY know why you want to lose weight and does it give you genuine motivation

Take a digital picture of the scales once a week and let that drive your target. % body fat is a better indicator but equally your belt notches and waist will soon show you the results

Breakfast - have a solid cereal such as All-Bran but then have an apple or diet style biscuit mid morning.

Drink LOTS more water than you would normally

Can you get out at lunchtime for a 45 minute blast ( urban or otherwise ?)

Do a graph in Excel and draw a line at your target weight - let it inspire you but not be the ultimate driver

Set a realistic target - go for 5 lbs first then take it from there ?

In summary - sensible diet and watching fat intake / calories. Then really pushing yourself on the bike. Cycling with a group means you push yourself. Way harder to do on a commute yourself. Lastly, head for "them thar hills" for real results

p.s I gave me wife £500 and told her to keep it if I did not hit my target. It worked as it added an extra incentive for buying a new bike / bits. It certainly kept my hand out of the cookie jar !

hender

i've just started adding fartlek training into my rides to work - 7 miles i do 3 sprints for as hard and long as i can, about 15-30 seconds - i was absolutely wrecked this morning (1st time). try adding circuit training - builds muscle and fitness. check out royal marine website, there is a training tool on there

bigmart

having yo-yo'd my weight over the last few years don't go mad to get x no. of pounds off in a short period, if it take 6 months to loose the 10lbs and you still ride and train and eat well you'll still be fitter, have a better body condition etc...

loosing it quick normally means putting it on as quick again, have a week off and you gains lbs

admire you will power and determiantion though, good work fella