how good is cycling for weight loss?
Replies
-
Wow wish I can burn 600-1000 calories an hour - it's more like 350 for me even if I tried to ride "faster" @>30km" - I guess I'm a snail :ohwell:
How are you only burning 350 calories an hour at >30 kph? For the average person that's moving at 8 km/h. Even a brisk walk at 5.5 kph would burn more.
Unless you meant to say your total ride is only 30 kilometers? What method are you using to measure your calories?0 -
I find even when I push it hard (for me hard is an average of 28km/h at an average cadence of 85-90) I burn at about 450-550 Calories per hour according to my Garmin HRM.Wow wish I can burn 600-1000 calories an hour - it's more like 350 for me even if I tried to ride "faster" @>30km" - I guess I'm a snail :ohwell:
Just back from a 95k ride pace was low (average of 25km/h) as there was a lot of climbing (1000m). I averaged 420 calories/ hour.
I've never managed to get my average burn higher than 500 calories/ hour and I ride about 800km a month at an average of about 27km/h.0 -
And again - Last sundays ride - 86.8km @ 23.2kph average and 471m ascent (so admittedly pretty flat) - 3h45 and 2198kcals - call it 586kcal/hour... and that's from someone 1.85m and around 107kg... kcals from a New Leaf Calibrated Garmin 800 coupled with powermeter on the bike...0
-
Cycling burns 600-1000 calories/hour depending on intensity/speed (faster = more wind resistance = more calories burned). Over 20 mph you start to approach 900-1000 calories/hour. Obviously, not downhill. So it's very achievable to (dangerously) burn a pound of fat in a day. Very common for me to burn 2000-2400+ calories from cycling alone in a day.
Keep in mind the primary determinant of how much weight/calories burned is time, not speed/intensity. Riding 14-16 mph for 2 hours is far superior to riding 16-19 mph for one hour.
As others have noted, I also have some trouble with these numbers. Not sure how the calories burned are being recorded but without a power meter and HRM pretty difficult to get solid numbers. There are a number of things that affect burn rates, some you can control and some you can not control.
I just got back from doing intervals. 22 minutes to get to the course, 3 X 15 efforts with a 15 min rec between efforts. Then noodled home. It shows I burned 1348 kcals for the entire ride (2:10 total time). I looked at the interval laps and the burn rate for the 15 min efforts was 225 kcals or about 900 per hour extended. I do NOT think this is accurate today. The weather was really hot (37 C) and windy. So the HR had drifted up higher than usual and that impacts the calculation.
I'm using a new Quarq feeding a ANT+ Garmin 500. All the electronics are dialed in correctly. Can you burn 1000 kcals an hour ?? Maybe - but it is not sustainable at our level. What I continue to read is the fixation on burn rates and perceived calories that can now be eaten back. I'm pretty well convinced that most of us still eat too much, even with our rides. You just don't need the amount of calories you think you do because we over estimate the actual burned calories.
Normally I try to keep out of these exchanges. Sometimes my love of the sport gets the better of me. Lots of good info around here and lots of bad info too. The challenge is knowing the difference.0 -
Cycling burns 600-1000 calories/hour depending on intensity/speed (faster = more wind resistance = more calories burned). Over 20 mph you start to approach 900-1000 calories/hour. Obviously, not downhill. So it's very achievable to (dangerously) burn a pound of fat in a day. Very common for me to burn 2000-2400+ calories from cycling alone in a day.
Keep in mind the primary determinant of how much weight/calories burned is time, not speed/intensity. Riding 14-16 mph for 2 hours is far superior to riding 16-19 mph for one hour.
As others have noted, I also have some trouble with these numbers. Not sure how the calories burned are being recorded but without a power meter and HRM pretty difficult to get solid numbers. There are a number of things that affect burn rates, some you can control and some you can not control.
I just got back from doing intervals. 22 minutes to get to the course, 3 X 15 efforts with a 15 min rec between efforts. Then noodled home. It shows I burned 1348 kcals for the entire ride (2:10 total time). I looked at the interval laps and the burn rate for the 15 min efforts was 225 kcals or about 900 per hour extended. I do NOT think this is accurate today. The weather was really hot (37 C) and windy. So the HR had drifted up higher than usual and that impacts the calculation.
I'm using a new Quarq feeding a ANT+ Garmin 500. All the electronics are dialed in correctly. Can you burn 1000 kcals an hour ?? Maybe - but it is not sustainable at our level. What I continue to read is the fixation on burn rates and perceived calories that can now be eaten back. I'm pretty well convinced that most of us still eat too much, even with our rides. You just don't need the amount of calories you think you do because we over estimate the actual burned calories.
Normally I try to keep out of these exchanges. Sometimes my love of the sport gets the better of me. Lots of good info around here and lots of bad info too. The challenge is knowing the difference.
I appreciate you all weighing in (hah) on that. I'm currently only using Endomondo via smartphone to track my workouts paired with a Zephyr bluetooth HRM strap (after an appropriate update, changed phones). No powermeter until I get that Cervelo S5 out of my head. Money, money, money...
Might be a bit relevant to consider I'm from the States as well. Our "average" weight and thus "average" calories burned is going to run higher than it might across the pond. Still, that wouldn't be applicable to me since I run on the whippet end of the weight spectrum. Gives me significant pause for just that reason - eating back calories. I just broke a 1 month weight plateau and I wonder if that is why (I stopped doing full calorie eat-backs).
I'm certainly not suggesting calorie burns over 1000/hour are sustainable. I tend to keep my average pace at 25-32 kph (not lately) and it's tough for 2-3 hours. Staying above an average 32 kph (without drafting) is hellish. And that's 86km with a mere 152.4m ascent. I'm guessing I may be lucky to burn 800 calories/hour at that intensity (which Endomondo tends to agree with).
I appreciate the responses. I'll probably spend the next 2 hours digesting this thread before adjusting my calories burned downward. Or buying a powermeter
0 -
Take on a really big hill. Keep riding up that hill until you have conquered it. Then find an even bigger hill and repeat. My weight hasn't been this low in 10 years. I biked all through the winter, and I eventually conquered that hill. It took months to be able to ride to the top without stopping, and months more to feel like I wasn't going to pass out once I reached the top.
I rode that hill yesterday, and I wondered when I had gotten so strong. I zipped right up and just kept on going.
I have my eyes set at a 16% grade over 3 miles (5km) for my pinnacle. I'm not to that level... yet. One day I hope to be able to ride that hill.
This!! For me its all about the hills-) Returned from a holiday with my girlfriend last may and decided i had enough of keeping my t-shirt on when its 30 degrees so i decided to take up cycling to try and get myself back in shape , year later i'm 11 1/2 stone down from 14 1/2 .
As others have mentioned here its what you eat which is in my opinion the single most important factor i changed my diet completely going from take away pizza's to everything being cooked from scratch, fresh healthy food( oh yeah i can cook now aswell) .
I remember my first outing on my road bike (after switching from mtb) i felt like i was going to pass out trying to get up a hill i conquered on my mtb , i actually pedaled to a stand still and fell off still attached to my clips -) Not one to quit i tested myself on small hills until i could do hill repeats on 10-12 % climbs now i have my eyes on a 20% just a few miles from me, think i have a little more training to do before i manage that one
Eat well and enjoy your bike0 -
it's not spectacular by the standards of "proper" cyclists,
You are a PROPER cyclist!!! You ride your bike, you love it. What more is there to cycling?! :-)0 -
Like other posters on here, cycling along with very sensible (watching everything) eating has enabled me to lose almost 30 lbs in 5 months. I have not been this low in weight in about 40 years! Yes - cycling works!0
-
Everyone has already said it, you have to eat right, I rode a lot before my crash in May, had major reconstructive surgery on my arm. Almost lost 1/2 of it. gaining strength daily and can't wait til I can get back on the bike............0
