Any bike riding success stories

2

Replies

  • bluefox9er
    bluefox9er Posts: 2,917 Member
    I ride my stationary bike quite often in my battle of the bulge. But this thread is about outside bike riding. I have a bike and used to ride it regularly with the family. I haven't rode my bike outside in some years, and I'm going to start TODAY to ride at least 30 minutes per day.

    That made me wonder if anyone has any bike riding success stories. I know quite a few people who have lost the weight/reached their goal just by walking. I'd love to hear if/how riding your bike daily helped you in your battle of the bulge!

    How often do you ride?

    How much did you lose riding?

    Any advice, please do share!

    I lost the vast majority of my weight ( around 80 lbs) in about 8 months with loss and lots of daily cycling..the real thing, not a stationary bike. Bear in mind, i also ate at a calorie deficit which was stupid..1,200 calories a day. If I could go back in time and apply what I know now, I would have eaten a LOT more.

    I'd cycle around 90 minutes a day and 2-3 hours each day in the weekends. I should still do more of it, but I have got into running now.
  • NewLIFEstyle4ME
    NewLIFEstyle4ME Posts: 4,440 Member
    Have you heard about that Lance Armstrong guy? So inspirational.

    This guy is an inspiration to me...

    I Lost 320 Pounds Riding a Bike... Scott Cutshall was so fat doctors told him he'd die within six months. Then he looked out his window and saw a man riding a bicycle

    http://www.bicycling.com/training-nutrition/nutrition-weight-loss/i-lost-320-pounds-riding-bike?page=0,0
  • NewLIFEstyle4ME
    NewLIFEstyle4ME Posts: 4,440 Member
    I've lost about 100 pounds by riding a bike and monitoring my caloric intake. (Some of it was before I started tracking here, so my ticker doesn't reflect it) I started out after an injury struggling to get five minutes in without dying. Now I will be riding in a metric century (63 miles) in a few weeks. Stick with it, it's great therapy.


    :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :drinker: :love: :drinker: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart:
  • NewLIFEstyle4ME
    NewLIFEstyle4ME Posts: 4,440 Member
    I've lost my weight from a lot of different things, but when the weather is nice I bike every day to the campus or to where my studio is at. So a total of 30--70 min a day. It can be brutal with the hills and strong winds we have here, but it does get easier. :) The best part is now when I bike I can totally notice a difference in how much quicker I can go.

    I think what saved my legs the most was learning how to shift before hitting a hill so that I didn't get winded going up it.

    Yes!!!!! Also, I appreciate your posting about shifting BEFORE hitting hills. I'm going to have to learn that, because it seems my changing gears during hills doesn't work. I'll have to practice that for sure!
  • plateaued
    plateaued Posts: 199 Member
    The other thing about shifting is don't do it under tension from pedalling. It will throw the chain.
  • NewLIFEstyle4ME
    NewLIFEstyle4ME Posts: 4,440 Member
    The other thing about shifting is don't do it under tension from pedalling. It will throw the chain.

    DONE! I'll start practicing this today!
  • cOOkieLpX
    cOOkieLpX Posts: 63 Member
    I put in 10 miles almost every day and on Sundays my husband, brother and I ride 22 miles. I have lost 35 lbs since mid February and my brother has lost over 130 lbs since Oct 2012. He is more strict with his diet then I am ;) When I first started I could only ride 3 miles and I was super tired. Keep riding!!
  • mister_universe
    mister_universe Posts: 6,664 Member
    My wife and I purchased some nice bikes last spring. We ride together for about an hour several nights a week as part of our individual workouts. Its something we can do together without the obvious differences in our athletic abilities coming out too strong. I really value that time with her.
  • plateaued
    plateaued Posts: 199 Member
    I put in 10 miles almost every day and on Sundays my husband, brother and I ride 22 miles. I have lost 35 lbs since mid February and my brother has lost over 130 lbs since Oct 2012. He is more strict with his diet then I am ;) When I first started I could only ride 3 miles and I was super tired. Keep riding!!

    Doesn't your butt hurt?
  • cOOkieLpX
    cOOkieLpX Posts: 63 Member
    I put in 10 miles almost every day and on Sundays my husband, brother and I ride 22 miles. I have lost 35 lbs since mid February and my brother has lost over 130 lbs since Oct 2012. He is more strict with his diet then I am ;) When I first started I could only ride 3 miles and I was super tired. Keep riding!!

    Doesn't your butt hurt?

    You better believe it... But, it gets better with time. The moment you jump on that bike and ur butt touches the seat you want to automatically jump off but the pain isn't so bad after the first few minutes. The pain is now just a little discomfort but its totally worth it.
  • NewLIFEstyle4ME
    NewLIFEstyle4ME Posts: 4,440 Member
    I have this one and it's super nice--SUPER comfy--like sitting on a comfy cloud chair or something...EXCEPT, because it's just the "seat" part...it's kinda weird it takes some getting used to, because the long part is gone.

    http://www.amazon.com/Schwinn-No-Pressure-Bicycle-Seat/product-reviews/B000DZGLVY/ref=cm_cr_pr_top_recent?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending


    I may get this one, because I kinda miss the long part...

    http://www.amazon.com/Sunlite-Cloud-9-Bicycle-Suspension-Tri-color/product-reviews/B000H87PUI/ref=cm_cr_pr_top_recent?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending
  • sprintto50
    sprintto50 Posts: 410 Member
    Bike riding is great exercise. I live in a small community so ride on paved back roads. I find the peace and quiet and serenity even more important to me than the exercise factor.
  • NewLIFEstyle4ME
    NewLIFEstyle4ME Posts: 4,440 Member
    Bike riding is great exercise. I live in a small community so ride on paved back roads. I find the peace and quiet and serenity even more important to me than the exercise factor.

    Peace and serenity....perfect description, I feel that too, as well as YOUTH and vim and vigor--EXCEPT, when I get to those blasted hills I haven't conquered yet, after the pure strain and sweat of trying to ride up them and getting off the bike to walk it because my heart beats so fast, like it's about to bust outta my chest...well, after than--the peace and serenity does return, especially when I get nearer to my house:wink: Talk about BLISS as I getting closer to home--peace like a river:laugh:
  • amyniceneasy
    amyniceneasy Posts: 143 Member
    I got a tricycle April 4th as I am physically disabled and doubted I would be able to ride a bike at this time. My first ride was .33 of a mile in 30 minutes. I was breathing so hard and my heart was beating so fast I thought I was going to die. This afternoon I biked 3 miles in 45 minutes and it felt fantastic. Since biking I have lost 5 pounds, but certainly hope this trike will help me to eliminate another 148 pounds.

    I have a trike too as well as a regular bike. Honestly...the trike takes more effort than a regular bike. More wind drag and the bike itself is heavier.
  • littlechime
    littlechime Posts: 6
    I started commuting to work by bicycle last fall. Had to stop for the winter (ice on the roads + bike = disaster) but I'm back at it again. I don't know how much I've lost since I can't find our scale at home, but I certainly feel tons better! Some of my pants are starting to fit better and I love that I can work out my work aggression on the bike ride home instead of taking it home with me. My commute is 16 miles each way so I'm burning about 1500 calories per day just getting to work.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Diet (not dieting...) for weight loss - exercise for health & fitness.....

    At my advanced age cycling is about the only thing I'm likely to set a new personal best doing - so that's what I'm going to do this summer. Aiming for my first 100 miles in a day ride ("century ride").

    With a load of winter training indoors on a spinning bike I've got my resting pulse down to 51 and probably as aerobically fit as I've ever been.

    I'm working on long weekend rides now that the weather is better and am riding for up 60 miles at a time.
  • dimoul
    dimoul Posts: 137 Member
    Lost 80 lbs in 2011-2012 mostly with spin classes and riding bikes and following MFP very strictly. I started out only with spin 2x/wk + lifting and the occasional run. When about 50 lbs had fallen off, I got back on the road bike and had way more fun! I also started bmx racing. Now I try to ride 9-10 hours per week (road bike), but that's because I'm a cycling addict. you should check out the strava.com app for cycling even if you are not an addict. It's awesome.
  • dimoul
    dimoul Posts: 137 Member
    that scott cutshall story posted above is amazing. major source of inspiration for me when I was 289 lbs. bicycling magazine had him and dozens of other examples of major weight loss through cycling a few years ago. you can probably still find it. When you are heavy, you just can't run enough to really make an impact without hurting yourself. A bike allows you to burn way more calories than you could ever run because it doesn't take long to be able to bike an hour or two at the same or a much higher cardio intensity than you could ever manage while running when you are heavy. Make sense? Just try running for a half hour without hurting yourself (if you are big with no training) look up the calories, then bike for 30 minutes as hard as you can and compare the calories spent and how your legs feel after. You'll see.

    by the way, my ticker only says 8 lbs instead of 80 lost 'cuz i reset it to push myself harder...
  • pressedflowers
    pressedflowers Posts: 1
    Have you heard about that Lance Armstrong guy? So inspirational.

    This guy is an inspiration to me...

    I Lost 320 Pounds Riding a Bike... Scott Cutshall was so fat doctors told him he'd die within six months. Then he looked out his window and saw a man riding a bicycle

    http://www.bicycling.com/training-nutrition/nutrition-weight-loss/i-lost-320-pounds-riding-bike?page=0,0

    Awesome article! I've been thinking of biking due to a knee injury that makes running and even walking poor choices for me at my current weight. That is very motivating!
  • NewLIFEstyle4ME
    NewLIFEstyle4ME Posts: 4,440 Member
    My wife and I purchased some nice bikes last spring. We ride together for about an hour several nights a week as part of our individual workouts. Its something we can do together without the obvious differences in our athletic abilities coming out too strong. I really value that time with her.


    That is so very wonderful--thank you so much for posting! I'm riding with our children first...to try to get used to riding, my boyfriend/hubby has the same bike as I do, only a man's version and I want to ride with him once I get strong enough to keep up with him!
  • NewLIFEstyle4ME
    NewLIFEstyle4ME Posts: 4,440 Member
    My wife and I have made cycling part of our exercise, although it's not the majority due to weather concerns. in the last couple years in the summer we've been out there pretty much every weekend on the trail and that's helped a lot. We weren't serious about weight loss until 2011 after my wife had a stroke (nothing to do with her weight but we decided it was time to do something before it was a factor in something else going wrong). We just got back from the bike trail and had someone else there take our picture again to compare with a picture we had taken in 2007. Here's the comparison. (Currently I'm down between 65 and 70 pounds and still am working on it. She's down about 100 and is finished)

    CompositeBikes.jpg

    I hope your wife is doing much better and I think you guys are awesome!!!! Please be sure to give her a big ole High Fives for me on her tremendous weight loss and your too! Thank you so much for posting...you guys ROCK!
    :drinker: :drinker::glasses: :drinker: :drinker:
  • NewLIFEstyle4ME
    NewLIFEstyle4ME Posts: 4,440 Member
    that scott cutshall story posted above is amazing. major source of inspiration for me when I was 289 lbs. bicycling magazine had him and dozens of other examples of major weight loss through cycling a few years ago. you can probably still find it. When you are heavy, you just can't run enough to really make an impact without hurting yourself. A bike allows you to burn way more calories than you could ever run because it doesn't take long to be able to bike an hour or two at the same or a much higher cardio intensity than you could ever manage while running when you are heavy. Make sense? Just try running for a half hour without hurting yourself (if you are big with no training) look up the calories, then bike for 30 minutes as hard as you can and compare the calories spent and how your legs feel after. You'll see.

    by the way, my ticker only says 8 lbs instead of 80 lost 'cuz i reset it to push myself harder...

    What an inspirational and encouraging post! Your weight loss og 80+ pounds is just plain awesome:drinker: I'm so not a runner...when I was younger, how I loved to run (not jog, but long distance sprinting type of running--just for fun--but those days are over for me, I just don't want to run like I used to anymore, I really don't want to run/jog...but this bike riding, it's the bomb--I love it. My knees were on fire from today's longer ride, but I'm still getting used to it!

    Thank you so much for posting--you ROCK sir!
  • jtb1965
    jtb1965 Posts: 1 Member
    I love bike riding. I have included it in my commute to work. Given it takes me 35 minutes to drive or 65 minutes to ride, this gives me 130 minutes of cardio for the cost of 60 minutes a day (as the time in the car is dead time). Each way commute consumes around 700 calories, so a commute to and from is around 1400 calories per day. I find this the easiest way to burn calories and get very fit very quick. Cycling is also low impact so the chances of getting hurt are low (so long as you don't fall off of course).
  • time4changexx
    time4changexx Posts: 103 Member
    Bump
  • fishermanmatt
    fishermanmatt Posts: 308 Member
    Not completely on topic but I celebrated a hundred pounds lost by getting a bike. That first ride about a month ago was the first time I've been on a bike in nearly 25 years. Hoping to pile up some miles on it this summer as I work it into my exercise routine.
  • NewLIFEstyle4ME
    NewLIFEstyle4ME Posts: 4,440 Member
    Not completely on topic but I celebrated a hundred pounds lost by getting a bike. That first ride about a month ago was the first time I've been on a bike in nearly 25 years. Hoping to pile up some miles on it this summer as I work it into my exercise routine.


    W:love: W...100 pounds is totally tremendous, you ROCK sir. Also, to get yourself a bike as a reward is just way cool--WOOT!!!!
  • NewLIFEstyle4ME
    NewLIFEstyle4ME Posts: 4,440 Member
    I love bike riding. I have included it in my commute to work. Given it takes me 35 minutes to drive or 65 minutes to ride, this gives me 130 minutes of cardio for the cost of 60 minutes a day (as the time in the car is dead time). Each way commute consumes around 700 calories, so a commute to and from is around 1400 calories per day. I find this the easiest way to burn calories and get very fit very quick. Cycling is also low impact so the chances of getting hurt are low (so long as you don't fall off of course).

    Fabulous! I am finding that I am super loving bike riding and getting stronger and stronger day by day by riding my bike!
  • MandiJayKay
    MandiJayKay Posts: 5 Member
    I love riding! I ride around 12 miles a day five days a week (it usually breaks down to about an hour, sometimes I do it in two half hour increments one in the morning and one at night). So far it has been a success, I have lost 20 pounds fairly quickly with it as my primary exercise and the definition in my legs has been an added bonus! I am just now hitting a little plateau and plan on supplementing with another workout option to kick it up a bit.
  • eburkdoll
    eburkdoll Posts: 2 Member
    My wife and I purchased some nice bikes last spring. We ride together for about an hour several nights a week as part of our individual workouts. Its something we can do together without the obvious differences in our athletic abilities coming out too strong. I really value that time with her.

    This is exactly why my husband and I just bought bikes this weekend. He is naturally more active in his every day than I am so I have to do much more of the structured exercise. However, he still needs to be a little more active and I've always been looking for something for us to do together. I can beg him to go for a walk with me... and when I do finally get him to, he wants to stroll and I want to get my heart rate up. We've also tried jogging but he can jog much faster than I can. So biking it is!
  • iulia_maddie
    iulia_maddie Posts: 2,780 Member
    I once rode a bike. It took me where I wanted to go. Success!

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