Cycling, exercise calories, and weight loss
eisterunicorn
Posts: 158 Member
Hi everyone 
I took up road biking a few months ago and I absolutely (despite the full body aches and bum pain lol) love it!!
I'm trying to lose about 15 lbs and myfitnesspal has me eating 1200 calories a day. (Desk job.)
I ride between 15 and 50 miles 3-4 times a week (tracked on Strava) and that ranges between 1.5 and 4 hours-ish per ride
When I log my rides on my fitness pal with the moderate speed option I get between 700 and 1500 calories burned.
I have been eating around half of these calories back, but as the days go on I'm noticing I have much less energy to ride, (have to take today off because yesterday I bonked on a 30 mile) and being at an already low calorie goal I would like to know if I would still lose weight at the same rate as if I ate 1200 and didn't exercise, as if I eat 1200+all of my exercise calories.
The goal is to have the energy to improve at and push hard during my rides, while losing weight at the same rate I would if I only ate for sedentary me.
Oh and before anyone asks, I use my scale for 90% of what I log and I've used mfp for a while so I've gotten pretty good at it.
Thanks guys!
Mae
I took up road biking a few months ago and I absolutely (despite the full body aches and bum pain lol) love it!!
I'm trying to lose about 15 lbs and myfitnesspal has me eating 1200 calories a day. (Desk job.)
I ride between 15 and 50 miles 3-4 times a week (tracked on Strava) and that ranges between 1.5 and 4 hours-ish per ride
When I log my rides on my fitness pal with the moderate speed option I get between 700 and 1500 calories burned.
I have been eating around half of these calories back, but as the days go on I'm noticing I have much less energy to ride, (have to take today off because yesterday I bonked on a 30 mile) and being at an already low calorie goal I would like to know if I would still lose weight at the same rate as if I ate 1200 and didn't exercise, as if I eat 1200+all of my exercise calories.
The goal is to have the energy to improve at and push hard during my rides, while losing weight at the same rate I would if I only ate for sedentary me.
Oh and before anyone asks, I use my scale for 90% of what I log and I've used mfp for a while so I've gotten pretty good at it.
Thanks guys!
Mae
0
Replies
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I have performance goals as well (rowing) and found that I did need to increase my intake (accomplished by eating back 90% instead of 50%). I'm losing a little more slowly, and my training performance has improved. I'm in taper week right now and am eating close to maintenance.1
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I wouldn't worry so much about your rate of loss over things that are more important over the long haul--developing new habits and a healthier lifestyle that you can maintain. Remember, when you lose weight you lose both muscle and fat, and the faster you drop pounds, the more likely it is you're losing significant muscle.
I wish someone had knocked me over the head with that. I lost the first 60 out of 70 pounds total over the course of 6 months at a steady 10 pounds per month. I was so focused on losing weight I ended up with loose skin. Now, when I finally saw the light and started lifting weights, I saw how much more valuable my experience would have been if I lost slower and worked harder to maintain my muscle mass.3 -
Yes, assuming your logging/numbers are pretty accurate - eating with no exercise will yeild the same results as eating with exercise and eating back exercise cals.1
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It sounds like your first priority is cycling, followed closely by weight loss. It's a tricky balance, but if you want to improve your performance you'll have to eat more of those burned calories back. Eat for performance and the rest will fall into place.2
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If you booked you simply didn't have any carbs to fuel you. We've all done it so don't worry about it. Any ride over 2 hours you shouldn't really have some food with you , energy gels Mars bars, malt loaf bananas to get an instant energy hit rice cakes and not the card bored ones Google Allen lim rice cakes1
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As a fellow cyclist and bike racer, I can sympathize with this. Some of it is probably related to overall calorie intake, but I suspect, as @ajwcyclist2016 alluded too, a lot of your problem is likely timing. For any ride over an hour I will generally eat something mid-ride. Anything 2 or more hours, I'll definitely eat something mid-ride. Another thing to do is time your regular eating such that you're fueled when it comes time to get on the bike. Think about what you need and when you need it. For example, you need carbs when you're getting on the bike, especially for longer rides. You emphatically do not need carbs later in the evening before bed.
Using myself as an example, I ride 6 days per week, usually in the late afternoon or evening after work. That being the case, I try to have protein, fat, and carbs for breakfast, midmorning snack, and lunch. My 3pm workout will have much more protein so that I'm loaded up with protein and carbs for my ~5pm ride. After the ride is a protein shake for recovery purposes, and usually a dinner that's small and very heavy on protein and light on carbs. That way when I'm sleeping and my body is doing most of the work to recover from the workout I have plenty of protein to do it with but not a ton of carbs that my body doesn't need while I'm sedentary (watching TV or whatever) or sleeping. As far as calorie intake, don't eat back exercise cals at all. My cals are set at roughly maintenance - 500.
Hope this helps, and good luck!2 -
Under 2-2.5 ride, I generally don't need to eat anything but if I'm going longer I start eating an hour/1.5 into the ride. Nothing big, 200-300 Cal per hour. Try not pushing hard on every ride, it just makes you slower due to fatigue. Intersperse hard days with easy days. It doesn't have to be structured but helps. On easy days, go really easy or stay off the bike completely (my go to). Rest is needed to make you stronger. I ride 6 days per week. Cycling help me loss 50 pound (gained some back after shoulder surgery but now back on track). It helps to raise the intake when you are doing intensive training. When I move to my build phase, 3x4 week cycle, I move my intake to maintenance. I time it to finish two weeks before my target event for the year. The two weeks is for tappering and I also eat at maintenance. I normally start another build phase after that and drop back into base building in October and cut intake. I moved to this schedule after a prolonged, 1.5 years, base building when restarted cycling after 23 years hiatus. Good luck, have fun, and enjoy the ride.1
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bonking is horrible - been there, done that and have the t-shirt to prove it
if I'm going to go longer than 1.5hrs - I fuel before (maybe 25g of carbs) and then during - I do mostly liquid nutrition (tailwind) since i do long distance races and do a chug every 15-20min after about 40min1 -
I bonked for the first time two weeks ago. I was doing a time trial and suddenly realized I had come to a dead stop. I was just sitting there, and I didn't even realize I'd stopped. My lesson learned was to increase my calories and plan my pre-workout snack better.1
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You need to work on your aerobic base. I've been out of the cycling game for a while, but I've finished many "endurance rides" (125 mi all the way up to 775 mi). I've done over 300 miles in a 24 hour period and only ate breakfast, a large fry from McDonald's and some cytomax.
While it is probably wise to moderate your weight loss, if you're running off a strong aerobic base you can run off of fats for a LONG Time and not bonk. Slow down, smell the roses, don't follow the Freds.1 -
Welcome to the club! You've already got good advice, so all that's left is to ask for some pictures of the bike and where you ride it. 1
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eisterunicorn wrote: »Hi everyone
I took up road biking a few months ago and I absolutely (despite the full body aches and bum pain lol) love it!!
I'm trying to lose about 15 lbs and myfitnesspal has me eating 1200 calories a day. (Desk job.)
I ride between 15 and 50 miles 3-4 times a week (tracked on Strava) and that ranges between 1.5 and 4 hours-ish per ride
When I log my rides on my fitness pal with the moderate speed option I get between 700 and 1500 calories burned.
I have been eating around half of these calories back, but as the days go on I'm noticing I have much less energy to ride, (have to take today off because yesterday I bonked on a 30 mile) and being at an already low calorie goal I would like to know if I would still lose weight at the same rate as if I ate 1200 and didn't exercise, as if I eat 1200+all of my exercise calories.
The goal is to have the energy to improve at and push hard during my rides, while losing weight at the same rate I would if I only ate for sedentary me.
Oh and before anyone asks, I use my scale for 90% of what I log and I've used mfp for a while so I've gotten pretty good at it.
Thanks guys!
Mae
I thought Stava linked to MFP in which case I would have it update your calories automatically. You need to eat more. I would suggest at this point eating all of them and if after 3-4 weeks your weight trend is upward cut back. There may be an initial upswing as you have more food in your gut digesting and as your glycogen stores replenish which results in water weight gain.
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deannalfisher wrote: »bonking is horrible - been there, done that and have the t-shirt to prove it
if I'm going to go longer than 1.5hrs - I fuel before (maybe 25g of carbs) and then during - I do mostly liquid nutrition (tailwind) since i do long distance races and do a chug every 15-20min after about 40min
I have been there and done that too. I had nothing to turn to so I stopped for a while, then slowly made my way to the nearest town and bought some high sugar stuff to get going again. Now I always pack stuff for long rides and have at least one water bottle full of something other than water.0 -
I use my Garmin 510 with HRM to estimate my energy expenditure as best as I can. I have found it to be accurate enough.
If I'm riding more than 15-20 miles, I suck on some jolly ranchers...30-50 miles and I usually have some dried fruit with me...over 50 miles and I'm also throwing in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Also, if I ride over 30 miles I usually do something for recovery pretty much immediately following the ride so that I can go about my day.1 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »I use my Garmin 510 with HRM to estimate my energy expenditure as best as I can. I have found it to be accurate enough.
If I'm riding more than 15-20 miles, I suck on some jolly ranchers...30-50 miles and I usually have some dried fruit with me...over 50 miles and I'm also throwing in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Also, if I ride over 30 miles I usually do something for recovery pretty much immediately following the ride so that I can go about my day.
For really long rides I pack along baked potatoes, never thought of something like Jolly Ranchers. They would be a quick easy sugar source.0 -
If I plan to spend more than 3 hours on the bike, I bring a pack of peanut M&Ms. Tear the corner off the bag, you can fold it shut and they won't spill out in your pocket, but you can pour a few out into your mouth while you ride. Your body makes the sugar available almost instantly, so you can put it into the pedals.1
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WOW I did not expect this many replies!!! <3_<3
Thank you everybody for sharing your experiences and advice.
A bit of sorta-conflicting? advice though, it seems. Or maybe I'm just a little slow. I'm just still a tad unsure how much to eat back...
@jjpptt2 You say "eating with no exercise will yeild the same results as eating with exercise and eating back exercise cals." Assuming accurate counting.
but then
@ntnunk You say "As far as calorie intake, don't eat back exercise cals at all. My cals are set at roughly maintenance - 500."
And that my problem is probably more just about timing... sounds legit. But just to clarify, does your maintenance account for your active lifestyle then? Because I believe I'm eating maintenance - 500, but set at sedentary.
@_dracarys_ You say "It's a tricky balance, but if you want to improve your performance you'll have to eat more of those burned calories back. Eat for performance and the rest will fall into place." Also seems legit.
And
@rileysowner You say "You need to eat more. I would suggest at this point eating all of them and if after 3-4 weeks your weight trend is upward cut back."
I respect and appreciate all of the advice here! From what I understand it's really all CICO for weight loss, and it's a science that you all understand, so nobody answering is "wrong". But would someone mind taking the time to sort of clarify what you are all getting at?
I want to improve at and have the energy for cycling more, without slowing down the weight loss.
Sorry for being slow, and thanks again guys!! ^_^;;;0 -
eisterunicorn wrote: »I want to improve at and have the energy for cycling more, without slowing down the weight loss.
That could be really hard to do. Improved energy needs more calories... more calories means less weight loss.
A few things to try, though...
1) change your macros, probably increasing carbs, but you might have to play around with this for a few months to find your sweet spot.
2) change your foods... see if you respond better to certain types of foods vs others (most obvious would be whole foods vs packaged)
3) change the timing of your intake... make sure you've eaten in the hours leading up to a big ride, eat during the ride, etc.
4) make sure you're getting more than enough sleep/recovery.1 -
Sounds like you're not fueling yourself enough, no matter the type of exercise. I too am set as sedentary and exercise 3-4 times a week. I've done this before WITHOUT understanding the need to fuel recovery and experienced your same fatigue. I'd start by eating back 75% of your workout calories on the workout day, and, if you feel exceptionally tired on your rest day then go ahead and have another 200 to your 1200. I find this works for me. I also make sure I have a post workout snack/meal fairly immediately after the workout, it helps fill my energy bucket back up and I have less fatigue. And take the rest days without guilt. Your body is still burning in recovery on those days, which is why I and you can have a few hundred more calories on recovery days. Now, if your rest day turns into 2 rest days, I personally go back to the 1200 for the second.
BUT, it helps GREATLY to check the Nutrition section in the MFP app. There you will see a weekly number of calories that you are UNDER your goal. That's your "bank" and calories under the already MFP built in deficit. Eat them if you need to.
Focus on your fitness and measurements. Because with that kind of leg workout and water retention during recovery you may not see the scale loss so much, and you may thing you are not losing fat, which is most likely an incorrect assumption.1 -
Weight loss is all about CICO you are correct there. My point is cycling takes a lot of energy, especially if you are on long rides. Thus, timing to get some fuel while on long rides is important to avoid bonking, but so is having your energy stores, in particular glycogen (stored carbs that are kept in muscles and liver). While fat can be used as an energy source, the process is not as efficient as that from carbohydrates. To keep your glycogen stores up you need to replenish them in your non-cycling food intake. If you calorie deficit is too aggressive, your body will not fully replenish those stores, leading to earlier bonking, especially if you are not consuming anything during the ride.
I don't know what your currently loss per week goal is, but at only 15 pounds to lose, it should probably be around half a pound to no more than a pound a week. For improving your cycling, you need to have the energy provided by what you eat, so going with a less aggressive goal would be better there as well. In terms of eating back exercise calories, that can be tricky. I know people speak of MFP over estimating calorie burns, but at the same time I know of several people who ate back all the calories MFP gave them and reached their goal. It is sort of a matter of figuring out how accurate they are for you.
In light of that, work for 1) Shoot for a less aggressive weekly weight loss goal of 1 pound or less a week. 2) Strive to have your logging as spot on as you can verifying the database entries you use, using a digital scale for all solids (including grated and ground) and measuring cups and spoons for all liquids as much as possible. Running a smaller deficit it is probably wise to start out measuring any pre-packaged stuff as well since there can be huge variations in them from the stated size. 3)Bring some quick energy food on your rides and replenish your energy stores in your non-cycling food consumption.
I may be missing something here, but basically if you maintain a small deficit over time you will lose and you should be able to improve your cycling.1 -
rileysowner wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »I use my Garmin 510 with HRM to estimate my energy expenditure as best as I can. I have found it to be accurate enough.
If I'm riding more than 15-20 miles, I suck on some jolly ranchers...30-50 miles and I usually have some dried fruit with me...over 50 miles and I'm also throwing in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Also, if I ride over 30 miles I usually do something for recovery pretty much immediately following the ride so that I can go about my day.
For really long rides I pack along baked potatoes, never thought of something like Jolly Ranchers. They would be a quick easy sugar source.
I used to go to my LBS and buy "special" stuff for my rides and then I was basically like, "isn't this just candy?" I like Jolly Ranchers and they seem to work well...plus I can just suck on them so they last awhile...I also live and cycle in the high desert at over a mile high, so they keep my mouth from getting dry.0 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »rileysowner wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »I use my Garmin 510 with HRM to estimate my energy expenditure as best as I can. I have found it to be accurate enough.
If I'm riding more than 15-20 miles, I suck on some jolly ranchers...30-50 miles and I usually have some dried fruit with me...over 50 miles and I'm also throwing in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Also, if I ride over 30 miles I usually do something for recovery pretty much immediately following the ride so that I can go about my day.
For really long rides I pack along baked potatoes, never thought of something like Jolly Ranchers. They would be a quick easy sugar source.
I used to go to my LBS and buy "special" stuff for my rides and then I was basically like, "isn't this just candy?" I like Jolly Ranchers and they seem to work well...plus I can just suck on them so they last awhile...I also live and cycle in the high desert at over a mile high, so they keep my mouth from getting dry.
My outdoor cycling is all in humid Southwestern Ontario, yet I still get really dry. I like the idea of jolly ranchers or the like for a similar reason. That is what I love about threads like this, new ideas I would not have thought of.0 -
Okay, I read and re-read everything and it's really starting to make sense to me now.
THANK YOU so much for going into such great detail for me! I wish I could pay you all!
I'm going to revisit this thread a bunch as I get used to this and I figure out what numbers work best for me. I was never into long distance anything until I bought a bike so I guess I wasn't prepared for the big numbers and fatigue.
Today's a rest day but aghh it's killing me to be reading all this on what to do and not do I just wanna go get on my bike and suck on some jolly ranchers!!! ':D Tomorrow, man. Gotta wait til tomorrow.
Thank you all again! I love this forum. <3_<3
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eisterunicorn wrote: »Okay, I read and re-read everything and it's really starting to make sense to me now. THANK YOU so much for going into such great detail for me! I wish I could pay you all!
I'm going to revisit this thread a bunch as I get used to this and I figure out what numbers work best for me. I was never into long distance anything until I bought a bike so I guess I wasn't prepared for the big numbers and fatigue.
Today's a rest day but aghh it's killing me to be reading all this on what to do and not do I just wanna go get on my bike and suck on some jolly ranchers!!! ':D Tomorrow, man. Gotta wait til tomorrow.
Thank you all again! I love this forum. <3_<3
I know the feeling. It was even worse when I injured my one leg early in the cycling season here and couldn't cycle for a little more than a month. It really put a hitch in my plans for the year. I live in a small town so almost all my cycling is in rural areas with lots to see, and covering long distances I get to see a lot. I really need to figure out a way to easily carry a camera that I can get out quickly and quietly to take pictures of what I encounter.1 -
eisterunicorn wrote: »WOW I did not expect this many replies!!! <3_<3
Thank you everybody for sharing your experiences and advice.
A bit of sorta-conflicting? advice though, it seems. Or maybe I'm just a little slow. I'm just still a tad unsure how much to eat back...
@jjpptt2 You say "eating with no exercise will yeild the same results as eating with exercise and eating back exercise cals." Assuming accurate counting.
but then
@ntnunk You say "As far as calorie intake, don't eat back exercise cals at all. My cals are set at roughly maintenance - 500."
And that my problem is probably more just about timing... sounds legit. But just to clarify, does your maintenance account for your active lifestyle then? Because I believe I'm eating maintenance - 500, but set at sedentary.
@_dracarys_ You say "It's a tricky balance, but if you want to improve your performance you'll have to eat more of those burned calories back. Eat for performance and the rest will fall into place." Also seems legit.
And
@rileysowner You say "You need to eat more. I would suggest at this point eating all of them and if after 3-4 weeks your weight trend is upward cut back."
I respect and appreciate all of the advice here! From what I understand it's really all CICO for weight loss, and it's a science that you all understand, so nobody answering is "wrong". But would someone mind taking the time to sort of clarify what you are all getting at?
I want to improve at and have the energy for cycling more, without slowing down the weight loss.
Sorry for being slow, and thanks again guys!! ^_^;;;
A couple of things here...for one, how much you would "eat back" using MFP's methodology really comes down to how accurate your burn estimates are. I use a Garmin 510 with a HRM and I have found it to be accurate enough where my energy expenditure is concerned...it takes into account my HR, speed, cadence, elevation changes, and many other things. It's an estimate, but I've found it to be accurate enough for me so I basically account for all or most of those calories.
In regards to wanting to improve and have the energy for cycling without slowing down the weight loss process...this is kind of two conflicting goals and one of the reasons I don't actively "train" when cutting...basically, if you're cutting calories, your performance is going to suffer to some extent unless you're a novice, in which case, any work you do is going to provide for increased performance...but there are limits when you're underfeeding, and that's just the reality.
I'm cutting right now and I ride and put in the work, but my objective at this point is just to maintain a pretty solid base while I'm cutting...I should be done by late March, early April when I really start focusing on my training for my 1/2 century in late May...if not, I'll be very close and my deficit will be very small when I commence my actual training program.1 -
rileysowner wrote: »Weight loss is all about CICO you are correct there. My point is cycling takes a lot of energy, especially if you are on long rides. Thus, timing to get some fuel while on long rides is important to avoid bonking, but so is having your energy stores, in particular glycogen (stored carbs that are kept in muscles and liver). While fat can be used as an energy source, the process is not as efficient as that from carbohydrates. To keep your glycogen stores up you need to replenish them in your non-cycling food intake. If you calorie deficit is too aggressive, your body will not fully replenish those stores, leading to earlier bonking, especially if you are not consuming anything during the ride.
I don't know what your currently loss per week goal is, but at only 15 pounds to lose, it should probably be around half a pound to no more than a pound a week. For improving your cycling, you need to have the energy provided by what you eat, so going with a less aggressive goal would be better there as well. In terms of eating back exercise calories, that can be tricky. I know people speak of MFP over estimating calorie burns, but at the same time I know of several people who ate back all the calories MFP gave them and reached their goal. It is sort of a matter of figuring out how accurate they are for you.
In light of that, work for 1) Shoot for a less aggressive weekly weight loss goal of 1 pound or less a week. 2) Strive to have your logging as spot on as you can verifying the database entries you use, using a digital scale for all solids (including grated and ground) and measuring cups and spoons for all liquids as much as possible. Running a smaller deficit it is probably wise to start out measuring any pre-packaged stuff as well since there can be huge variations in them from the stated size. 3)Bring some quick energy food on your rides and replenish your energy stores in your non-cycling food consumption.
I may be missing something here, but basically if you maintain a small deficit over time you will lose and you should be able to improve your cycling.
Not necessarily true. Cycling is actually a very efficient transportation process when compared to walking. Bonking and underfueling go hand-in-hand when one is using too many fast twitch muscle fibers. If one trains primarily their slow twitch system, the risks of bonking are low since they primarily run on lipolysis and the liver can keep up creating glycogen. I did this when I finished the Paris-Brest-Paris ride in 2011, and I did it last saturday when schlepped a 20 lb pack up to 14,200' with 4000' vert gain and 13 miles hiked in the snow (I ate nothing, took in no energy drinks for 10 hours) and I felt great at the end of the hike.
If one wants to keep up with the Freds right out of the gate, they'll need to fuel during even the shortest of rides (30 mins or more). I would also argue low intensity, longer duration training pays dividends in the long run.
I personally don't bother with weighing/measuring my food. I try to eat the proper portions to just barely feel hungry at the next meal. When trying to lose weight (Which seems to be most of the time), I like to go to bed a little hungry.
This isn't a condoning of losing too much weight in a small time frame, but rather to show if someone if feeling depleted because of their exercise program, one way to feel fresh with their exercise is to back off the intensity. Of course, when you slow down, you burn fewer calories per hour, so some give and take is needed. Prioritizing goals is important to sort out where one wants to land.1 -
eisterunicorn wrote: »WOW I did not expect this many replies!!! <3_<3
Thank you everybody for sharing your experiences and advice.
A bit of sorta-conflicting? advice though, it seems. Or maybe I'm just a little slow. I'm just still a tad unsure how much to eat back...
@jjpptt2 You say "eating with no exercise will yeild the same results as eating with exercise and eating back exercise cals." Assuming accurate counting.
but then
@ntnunk You say "As far as calorie intake, don't eat back exercise cals at all. My cals are set at roughly maintenance - 500."
And that my problem is probably more just about timing... sounds legit. But just to clarify, does your maintenance account for your active lifestyle then? Because I believe I'm eating maintenance - 500, but set at sedentary.
@_dracarys_ You say "It's a tricky balance, but if you want to improve your performance you'll have to eat more of those burned calories back. Eat for performance and the rest will fall into place." Also seems legit.
And
@rileysowner You say "You need to eat more. I would suggest at this point eating all of them and if after 3-4 weeks your weight trend is upward cut back."
I respect and appreciate all of the advice here! From what I understand it's really all CICO for weight loss, and it's a science that you all understand, so nobody answering is "wrong". But would someone mind taking the time to sort of clarify what you are all getting at?
I want to improve at and have the energy for cycling more, without slowing down the weight loss.
Sorry for being slow, and thanks again guys!! ^_^;;;
Yes, my maintenance accounts for my lifestyle and is a result of a lot of tweaking, testing, and experimenting. Like you, I have a desk job so the majority of my activity is on the bike. I've been riding the bike and training longer than I've been on MFP, so when I started seriously using MFP back in July of 2014 I was already riding and training. I used the various calculators/estimators to get a starting point and then tweaked up or down to suit. Where I am now, 1800-1900 cals per day generally when I'm actively trying to lose weight, lets me lose right at a pound per week if I'm tracking and eating carefully.
As to the eating back calories question, there are a few things at play for me. I have power meters on my 3 primary bikes so I have very good information about my calorie burn (that's a topic for another post, but suffice to say that power meters give you data that is almost a direct correlation to calories burned. Much more accurate than heart rate or Strava "guesstimations", etc). However, there's enough "slop" in calorie numbers from packages, restaurants, etc. that I generally think of exercise calorie burn as a buffer to account for logging mistakes or incorrect/estimated calorie data for meals. I know it worked out for me since over the six month period between July and December of 2014 I dropped from 209 lbs to 175. I averaged that weight loss over the time period and it worked out to just a touch over 1 lb per week, which is right at 500 cal/day deficit. Also, not eating back exercise cals lets me be a little more flexible. If I have had a particularly hard training day or I'm just extra hungry I don't feel bad about having a little extra to eat. It's a slippery slope and requires care, but it works for me most of the time.
Edit: also, for clarification, what I meant to say originally was "As far as calorie intake, *I* don't eat back exercise cals at all. My cals are set at roughly maintenance - 500." I intended to say what *I* do, not tell you what you should. What I do may or may not work for others.2 -
Regarding eating exercise calories ...
If I do a short ride (perhaps an hour, maybe up to 2 hours) ... I'll eat about half my exercise calories back.
If I do a medium-length ride (perhaps 2-4 hours or so) ... I'll eat about 75% of my exercise calories back.
If I do a long ride ... I'll eat up to about 99% of my exercise calories back.
And if I do a really long ride, I'll eat at maintenance for a couple days before, the day of the ride, and a couple days after, plus all my exercise calories back ... and sometimes even a bit extra.
1 -
Odd association. Doesn't fit English or the two common US usage. OP didn't mention slow riding on top of line equipment and wearing pro team kit or as a hipster.ronocnikral wrote: »Slow down, smell the roses, don't follow the Freds.0
This discussion has been closed.
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