Bike Riding & Weight Loss

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  • FitXnX50
    FitXnX50 Posts: 122 Member
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    Starting off on a bike stuck on that gear is pure evil lol but now I swear it's cake work

    Sounds like you're approaching bicycling with a winning attitude - stuck in a hard gear, so I'll work harder! Kudos! That said, as a lifelong biker, 2 hints that worked for me:
    1) Take it to a bike shop and spend money for a tuneup. Borrow if you have to. Fear not; these shops are full of biking enthusiasts and I've never felt ripped off, because they want you to frequent their place. It's a worthwhile investment and will feel like a new bike, like the feeling of new running shoes, it makes you want to go out and use it. Have them install a cool bike rack and you can conveniently use it for errands. Which brings me to...
    2) I had to work bicycling into a routine. By making it part of my commute to work, I don't have to "make time" for an extra exercise. The cool thing about biking is it gets you somewhere in addtion to being good exercise. As much as I enjoy, say, going to a gym, I seldom do because it feels like something extra I have to fit in. Going to work is unavoidable & the bike awaits.

    As you know, it takes both diet and exercise, which is why I'm here. I couldn't bike my way to health and keep eating as I have in recent years. Have many a great trip!
  • chefsmash
    chefsmash Posts: 53 Member
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    The best exercise for weight loss is....


    Whatever you enjoy and stick with consistently. It's really irrelevant as long as you maintain a caloric deficit. I personally love cycling and in the past it's been great for my weight loss because it's something I looked forward to doing and doing a lot (thus ensuring I kept that deficit). Great for the heart and overall fun too. I wish I could get back to riding outside but unfortunately my high-end road bike has sat untouched since I am currently too heavy to ride it (yes, there are weight limits for certain bikes).

    Keep it up and just have fun; you will definitely see results if you stick with it!
  • psarah
    psarah Posts: 84
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    As long as your eating correctly any kind of movement is good movement..
  • SweetCheekszx0
    SweetCheekszx0 Posts: 478 Member
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    I bought a bike several years ago, but unless you are riding uphill all the time, it doesn't burn many calories.

    This makes me sad.. Looks like tomorrow I'll be reversing my route to up hill lol. I usually bike on the road for about 6/7 miles then do a 5 mile mountain bike trail after.

    I don't buy that it doesn't burn many calories unless you're constantly coasting. o_O Riding works the largest muscle group in the body, so it just doesn't make sense that it wouldn't burn many. That being said, your burn would be relative to your instensity and riding uphill would definitely increase it. Have you ever used a heart rate monitor while you ride? At what level do you feel your working out?

    My hubby just put some air in our tires and I'm excited about riding, but I'm not ready for the roads yet so I'll try to find a nice bike trail.


    I love it ..it literally gives me a piece of mind I couldn't buy anywhere else if I tried lol. I started on the road and then realized I lived 2 miles up from a state park loaded with mountain bike trails silly me.. Oh well now I mix it up I do my daily route and then jump onto some trails best way to end off my ride.. And yea I know I was seriously hoping the wasn't true. I give it my all but taking a shot in the dark I would say moderate but deff heart pumping and sweating all down my leggings and hoody -_0 I keep debating a heart rate monitor because I don't wanna obsess over the numbers to much counting calories and all I just got used t that lol. If I hit a plateau this month *knocks on wood* hey u never know ppl talk about plateaus a lot on here lol.. Then I'll deff buy one for now I'm just trying to push myself more each day
  • RCS17
    RCS17 Posts: 51 Member
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    I rode 3-4 time a week, about 15-25 miles each ride, and dropped almost 10 pounds in 3 weeks. Works well! Hahah.
  • libstr
    libstr Posts: 36 Member
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    love riding. when the weather is foul I do RPM/spin classes. I sweat buckets and get my heart rate soaring.... I will burn anything from 400-600 cals in a class.

    I did a big ride earlier in the year, it was 65km with a massive hill climb. (on road bike) I did it in 3hours and from memory I killed off over 1100 cals. so bike riding will burn off calories regardless of hills or flat out riding. I have great legs from riding and if you concentrate on holding your core you will also find you will strengthen that area too.

    Weather starting to pick up now, so time to dust off the trusty steed and get some Vit D happening!!
  • Marmitegeoff
    Marmitegeoff Posts: 373 Member
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    I haved lost weight by riding a bike down from about 25 stone to 15 now but it has taken several years as I get bored with the weight los bit and revert to former habits. The bike has been the only constant and has stopped me balooning back up to my former weight.
  • Helen_Luvnlife
    Helen_Luvnlife Posts: 230 Member
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    I just got my bike out and started riding to give my workouts variety It is a great low impact exercise that I find enjoyable. And that's what experts recommend - something you enjoy. So go for it!
  • teephil
    teephil Posts: 135 Member
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    I've lost over 60 pounds since I started riding again 10 months ago. I was doing 8 miles a day, but my weight loss eventually tapered off, so I bumped it up to 20 miles. Now I seem to have stalled again, so I guess I have to bump it up some more. Oh boy... Fortunately I love biking, and plan to do some long distance touring stuff once I get a better bike.
  • marinemomx2
    marinemomx2 Posts: 143 Member
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    I ride most days and lately it has been my main source of exercise. I love it except for the people on the road!
  • GiddyupTim
    GiddyupTim Posts: 2,819 Member
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    I go for two-hour, 30-mile rides a couple of times a week. When I weigh myself after the ride I am about 2 pounds lighter than when I started. Summertime, after all.
    I am really not trying to lose a bunch of weight, though. Just a couple of pounds -- about 5 pounds. Mostly I use the exercise to eat what I want that day.
  • srdoyle07
    srdoyle07 Posts: 1
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    I love the spinning classes that I take. For me personally, I require the motivation of an instructor and fun music to push me to crank up the gear or to sprint harder, etc. Kudos if you can just be your own motivation on the open road! I started spinning and eating right 1 week ago and have already lost 2 pounds. Good luck! You can do it!
  • SweetCheekszx0
    SweetCheekszx0 Posts: 478 Member
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    Starting off on a bike stuck on that gear is pure evil lol but now I swear it's cake work

    Sounds like you're approaching bicycling with a winning attitude - stuck in a hard gear, so I'll work harder! Kudos! That said, as a lifelong biker, 2 hints that worked for me:
    1) Take it to a bike shop and spend money for a tuneup. Borrow if you have to. Fear not; these shops are full of biking enthusiasts and I've never felt ripped off, because they want you to frequent their place. It's a worthwhile investment and will feel like a new bike, like the feeling of new running shoes, it makes you want to go out and use it. Have them install a cool bike rack and you can conveniently use it for errands. Which brings me to...
    2) I had to work bicycling into a routine. By making it part of my commute to work, I don't have to "make time" for an extra exercise. The cool thing about biking is it gets you somewhere in addtion to being good exercise. As much as I enjoy, say, going to a gym, I seldom do because it feels like something extra I have to fit in. Going to work is unavoidable & the bike awaits.

    As you know, it takes both diet and exercise, which is why I'm here. I couldn't bike my way to health and keep eating as I have in recent years. Have many a great trip!


    Yes I'm staying away from bike shops until next month not having money to splurge especially since I'm so excited is depressing.. I'm new to this so I don't know all the gadgets u can add on but I'm sure I'll be super excited ! The 2 things I've considered are a heart rate monitor and something to clock my speed or mileage that would be awesome. ❤ but thanks for the encouraging words and advice deff appreciated it! ❤
  • SweetCheekszx0
    SweetCheekszx0 Posts: 478 Member
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    I rode 3-4 time a week, about 15-25 miles each ride, and dropped almost 10 pounds in 3 weeks. Works well! Hahah.


    ^this okay so I dnt feel crazy I dropped the same amount in 4 1/2 weeks and fretted for a while ❤ but then again I know I went from being a soda junkie with no excercise and fried everything to str8 up water & oven baked food. Plus my bike being stuck in 7th gear I deff felt it lol ❤ touché to you tho keep going
  • Pinkigloopyxie
    Pinkigloopyxie Posts: 231
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    I don't have a car so I bike everywhere. 6miles to work and six back home 5x weekly, plus if I want to go anywhere. I did a 26mi trail ride last weekish and my heart rate was up really high, finished in 2hrs.

    A bit too high, really, so I'll slow down a bit next time. My legs are probably going to be the only thing with muscle on them when I finish losing weight. I can see my arm and leg shapes with the fatty part below them and my legs definitely have muscle whereas my arms do not!

    I have always hated running. Too self conscious, to many bad memories running the mile or doing sprints in school...
  • downsizinghoss
    downsizinghoss Posts: 1,035 Member
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    Still not to where I can ride comfortably, but check this guy out for inspiration on losing weight on a bike!

    http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/06/news/a-bicycle-and-a-few-friends-lead-a-big-man-into-an-even-bigger-world_226368
  • SweetCheekszx0
    SweetCheekszx0 Posts: 478 Member
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    I ride most days and lately it has been my main source of exercise. I love it except for the people on the road!

    ^^^ so funny you mentioned this I often come home b!tching and complaint about how people don't know how to share the road lol my boyfriends like geez I didn't think u'd get this worked up over excercise lol ❤
  • foxfirekenzie
    foxfirekenzie Posts: 244 Member
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    You can totally get your heart rate up biking, I'm not sure what type of riding those saying it doesn't are doing. I was dying on my last ride! It was awesome! You certainly lose weight biking, no doubt about it. Keep doing it and if you are by chance not getting your heart rate up there, put it in a harder gear and PUSH IT! You will for sure notice changes in your leg muscle definition too. I love that part a lot :)

    Ride your bike here and lets go for a cruise!
  • SweetCheekszx0
    SweetCheekszx0 Posts: 478 Member
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    I love the spinning classes that I take. For me personally, I require the motivation of an instructor and fun music to push me to crank up the gear or to sprint harder, etc. Kudos if you can just be your own motivation on the open road! I started spinning and eating right 1 week ago and have already lost 2 pounds. Good luck! You can do it!

    This is so odd ?? Not In a bad way at all lol but really what is a spinning class I've heard it mentioned before... Do u literally just spin? Lol
  • subcult
    subcult Posts: 262 Member
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    I burn a ton of calories on the trails especially the ones with insane hills even the way down works my arms quite a bit. I don't know much about on the road biking I don't trust cars and I find it boring.

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