Bike Riding & Weight Loss

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Replies

  • GiddyupTim
    GiddyupTim Posts: 2,819 Member
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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.
  • SweetCheekszx0
    SweetCheekszx0 Posts: 478 Member
    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!


    Ha lol yes I let's do it lol I hear often about people biking around the world if I lose all this weight and tone everything up with some weights after wards I'm so taking on one of those challeneges I've always wanted to ❤
  • SweetCheekszx0
    SweetCheekszx0 Posts: 478 Member
    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.


    It was tolerable for a month and then I started to roam and found a park loaded with them lucky me ❤ it wraps around. Lake beautiful view or sometimes I'll even ride by the train tracks.. It's amazing the views u see on a bike that you wouldnt in a car.
  • Cheri_Moves
    Cheri_Moves Posts: 625 Member
    ME! ME! ME! LOL!

    I started my "Journey" (so clich'e but its the best way to describe it :wink: ) In June 2011 at 227. Obese. By using MFP with a large calorie deficit (2 lbs a week), I started mountain biking on the weekends. About 2 months later, I started riding to work a few times a week. I kept this up and by October 2011, I had lost about 50 pounds.

    I DO NOT recomend that large of a calorie deficit (caused a plateau and metabolic damage that I am still fighting today) but the cycling helped tons. I still cycle and mountain bike regularly :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile:


    ^this is awesome ❤ I know for certain I'm going to continue even after I stop dieting because I'm hooked like seriously I really am lol. I never thought I would see the day when my work out clothes filled my hamper 6x more then my outting clothes lol. How did u mess up ur metabolism ? And how did u even realize it was messed up to begin with well if u don't mind me asking

    I messaged ya, so I wouldnt hijack the thread :wink:
  • Cheri_Moves
    Cheri_Moves Posts: 625 Member
    Oh, OP! I want to add something else :laugh:

    My husband is a cyclist. I call him a "cyclist purist"... he commutes to work and around town when he is by himself. Besides that, cycling is his ONLY source of exercise... he uses a trainer in the house and rides in races, etc.

    HE HAS LOST OVER 100 POUNDS.
  • DKWaggoner
    DKWaggoner Posts: 185
    Yes it does burn calories regardless if its uphill or not! I rode my bike to work and it was not all uphill and i burn 400 to 500 calories, so this statement is false
    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.
    [/quote]

    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.
    [/quote]
  • silversnake84
    silversnake84 Posts: 17 Member
    Seeing the bike paths next to my work is the reason I started this weight loss journey. I saw a lot of my coworkers taking their bike to work and I decided to get a bike and haven't looked back since! It's about 20km / day with lots of hills. I burn about 1000 calories a day just by biking so it's very effective!
  • Chipmaniac
    Chipmaniac Posts: 642 Member
    I lost most of my weight before I bought my bike but have lost an additional 33 pounds since. I've been commuting to work 15 miles each way most days since May. I also ride for pleasure on the weekend and did a 200 mile ride in July.
  • Chipmaniac
    Chipmaniac Posts: 642 Member
    I was bike riding (cycling?) for a few days last week but I wasn't getting my heart rate to go up (major problem if you want to lose weight). I found that my legs got tired before my heart started racing. So I think bike riding is a good step to do AFTER you get your body used to jogging/running. I bet if I did that first, I wouldn't spend so much time on speed 16 on my bike and more time on speed 4 or 5. But I do feel my leg muscles building from being on the higher speeds; but a lot of good leg muscle does when you can't get your heart rate to go up to burn the fat you wanna burn....
    I'd recommend that people build their aerobic base before attempting serious fitness bike riding. That's what I did. The worst thing that could happen is people get discouraged and quit when they just need to build their base so they can cruise at an appreciable speed without killing themselves.
  • CentralCaliCycling
    CentralCaliCycling Posts: 453 Member
    Lost some weight when I started riding again but the story I recently hear had a sad but inspirational ending. Guy on an extreme ride I was on recently had been riding two years and lost 100 pounds. His story ended up in the papaer due to an accident on the ride that claimed his life but his wife has stated that she is going to do the ride next year in his memory. It is a great way to shed weight though and doesn't kill the knees.
  • jcmartin0313
    jcmartin0313 Posts: 574 Member
    I cycle, run and swim to prepare for triathlons. As you can see I have lost almost 130 pounds over 2 years. I think to truly become fit while cycling you cannot simply go our for a leisurely ride here and there. You need to do a combination of distance, speed and hill riding. This will keep your muscles guessing, your HR up and improve your endurance. I also spin both in class and on my own because I think it helps me work on speed drills.
  • TDGee
    TDGee Posts: 2,209 Member
    I bought a bike several years ago, but unless you are riding uphill all the time, it doesn't burn many calories.

    Not true. This was my first half century (50 mile) ride I did a week or so ago. ALL flat. The only hill climbing was the single overpass I had to go over.
    551715_3835528525814_1287258052_n.jpg

    Also, I have lost at least 90 pounds riding a bike almost exclusively. (my ticker only reflects what I have lost since joining MFP). I am physically unable to run, and started out by struggling through 10 minutes on a stationary bike. I progressed to riding a mile or so around my neighborhood and now regularly ride 20-40 miles 3-5 times a week.
  • subcult
    subcult Posts: 262 Member
    The trails nearest my house are a little extreme one of my friends broke a few ribs and the other a collar bone. There's even several spots with 15 foot drops if you mess up at the wrong spot. Even though I'm still scared of roads I'm not sure which is accually more dangerous:)

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