Cycling + Weight training - Sloooow change

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Anyone start out your weight loss by combining both? Did it slow your weight loss (yes the scale number sucks)? My measurements are going down but incredibly slowly.

I am eating about 2200 (non workout days) to 2700 - 2800 on workout days. I base my exercise burn on a HRM. My RMR is 2506(measured) I am (5'8" - 295.4)

The first 30 lbs I had lost was purely by walking and light weightlifting. Im at the same amount of calories as I am now. I kicked my workouts into high gear by riding 45 - 55 miles a week (4-5 days, 45 minutes each @ 13.5mph pace), 90 - 120 minute hikes on Saturdays (burning 1000-1200 calories on HRM) and adding in 3x 20 minutes super set lifting

To me I was thinking ok here we go, gonna kick *kitten* and see lots of change on the scale/inches. I have been doing this for about 12 weeks now and not losing much scale weight, but I did lose some inches here and there but nothing crazy. I do notice some body composition changes ( some muscle tone poking through on the legs, some shapes forming under the fat on my arms, my shoulders looking better ect). I do notice that my fat seems "flabbier and danglier" if that's even a thing.

I am going to keep doing this as I am training to do Half Dome at Yosemite in October, but it is a wee bit discouraging.

What do you guys think?
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Replies

  • BeginningNoStop
    BeginningNoStop Posts: 78 Member
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    bump
  • WorkoutJunkie1
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    I miss cycling! We are talking about cycling on the spin bike, right? I used to go to a spin class twice a day for 5 days a week and it was an hour each. I burned 1600 calories in 1 class! I was so happy with the results and my legs are not only got toned up skinny from it. I know when I go to the hotel I stay at, I always get on the spin bike in the fitness center or I go to a gym with a friend.

    I don't do much weight training because I don't want anymore muscle. I am satisfied with the muscle I have and now I just want to lose weight. However, I do mix it up with running and swimming.
  • fiveohmike
    fiveohmike Posts: 1,297 Member
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    I miss cycling! We are talking about cycling on the spin bike, right? I used to go to a spin class twice a day for 5 days a week and it was an hour each. I burned 1600 calories in 1 class! I was so happy with the results and my legs are not only got toned up skinny from it. I know when I go to the hotel I stay at, I always get on the spin bike in the fitness center or I go to a gym with a friend.

    I don't do much weight training because I don't want anymore muscle. I am satisfied with the muscle I have and now I just want to lose weight. However, I do mix it up with running and swimming.

    I mean road cycling, I use a Trek 7.2 Hybrid bike.
  • dannystorah
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    Try mixing it up a little, HIIT is a great way to boost your metabolism for hours even after you've finished exercising and improve overall fitness.

    Secondly, I'd recommend lifting some big weights: deadlifts, squats, bench presses, etc as, again, compound lifting gets your metabolism going for longer.

    Can I ask what your maintenance calorie intake is as I think your deficit could be lower.

    Good luck!
  • fiveohmike
    fiveohmike Posts: 1,297 Member
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    Try mixing it up a little, HIIT is a great way to boost your metabolism for hours even after you've finished exercising and improve overall fitness.

    Secondly, I'd recommend lifting some big weights: deadlifts, squats, bench presses, etc as, again, compound lifting gets your metabolism going for longer.

    Can I ask what your maintenance calorie intake is as I think your deficit could be lower.

    Good luck!

    Using scooby - 5'8", 295.4, 33, 3-5 hours of exercise a week: TDEE to maintain is 3944.
  • fiveohmike
    fiveohmike Posts: 1,297 Member
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    Also my 3x weightlfiting days do involve deadlifts, kettlebells and dumbells.
  • WorkoutJunkie1
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    I mean road cycling, I use a Trek 7.2 Hybrid bike.

    If I had friends to go on road cycling with, I would in a minute. But I want to go with a friend. lol I bet that could be so much fun!
  • dlevans_59
    dlevans_59 Posts: 10 Member
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    Hi There,

    It stands to reason that you are not losing as fast as you thought you would. Muscle weighs more than fat. You are replacing fat with muscle. That is why you notice the body composition changes and losing inches. I am guessing your "fat" is danglier and looser because it is not fat, but maybe skin? The fat is gone now and your skin takes awhile to shrink back down. Your plan seems to be working. I have been told, and this is hard to trust.; that if you amp up your work out but keep calories at your pre-amped status, your body might think you are starving it and will hang on to weight it would ordinarily lose. Keep up the good work. Good Luck.... Half Dome...sounds great.
  • smn76237
    smn76237 Posts: 318 Member
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    How do you measure your food intake?

    Also, sometimes training in high gear (like half-marathon or marathon training, perhaps your cycling training) can be somewhat counterproductive for weight loss. It's a delicate balance between eating enough to keep your performance and energy up for training, but eating little enough to be at a deficit. In the end, you may just be working with the same deficit you would have if you trained less and ate less.
  • JSHamm
    JSHamm Posts: 12 Member
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    Anyone start out your weight loss by combining both? Did it slow your weight loss (yes the scale number sucks)? My measurements are going down but incredibly slowly.

    I am eating about 2200 (non workout days) to 2700 - 2800 on workout days. I base my exercise burn on a HRM. My RMR is 2506(measured) I am (5'8" - 295.4)

    The first 30 lbs I had lost was purely by walking and light weightlifting. Im at the same amount of calories as I am now. I kicked my workouts into high gear by riding 45 - 55 miles a week (4-5 days, 45 minutes each @ 13.5mph pace), 90 - 120 minute hikes on Saturdays (burning 1000-1200 calories on HRM) and adding in 3x 20 minutes super set lifting

    To me I was thinking ok here we go, gonna kick *kitten* and see lots of change on the scale/inches. I have been doing this for about 12 weeks now and not losing much scale weight, but I did lose some inches here and there but nothing crazy. I do notice some body composition changes ( some muscle tone poking through on the legs, some shapes forming under the fat on my arms, my shoulders looking better ect). I do notice that my fat seems "flabbier and danglier" if that's even a thing.

    I am going to keep doing this as I am training to do Half Dome at Yosemite in October, but it is a wee bit discouraging.

    What do you guys think?

    I think you should take that scale then attach it to a rope behind your bike and drag it behind you on your next ride until it's a splintering mess of parts. I bolded the things you've already noticed so you obviously notice changes. I dunno, maybe add some "HIIT-style" to your bike ride. go fast fast fast - it's never boring.
  • fiveohmike
    fiveohmike Posts: 1,297 Member
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    How do you measure your food intake?

    Also, sometimes training in high gear (like half-marathon or marathon training, perhaps your cycling training) can be somewhat counterproductive for weight loss. It's a delicate balance between eating enough to keep your performance and energy up for training, but eating little enough to be at a deficit. In the end, you may just be working with the same deficit you would have if you trained less and ate less.

    I measure with a food scale.

    Its just frustrating to not see "more" change as I was hoping, but I am still getting faster on my rides, and my hikes are getting longer. So I know I am gaining endurance for sure.
  • fiveohmike
    fiveohmike Posts: 1,297 Member
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    Anyone start out your weight loss by combining both? Did it slow your weight loss (yes the scale number sucks)? My measurements are going down but incredibly slowly.

    I am eating about 2200 (non workout days) to 2700 - 2800 on workout days. I base my exercise burn on a HRM. My RMR is 2506(measured) I am (5'8" - 295.4)

    The first 30 lbs I had lost was purely by walking and light weightlifting. Im at the same amount of calories as I am now. I kicked my workouts into high gear by riding 45 - 55 miles a week (4-5 days, 45 minutes each @ 13.5mph pace), 90 - 120 minute hikes on Saturdays (burning 1000-1200 calories on HRM) and adding in 3x 20 minutes super set lifting

    To me I was thinking ok here we go, gonna kick *kitten* and see lots of change on the scale/inches. I have been doing this for about 12 weeks now and not losing much scale weight, but I did lose some inches here and there but nothing crazy. I do notice some body composition changes ( some muscle tone poking through on the legs, some shapes forming under the fat on my arms, my shoulders looking better ect). I do notice that my fat seems "flabbier and danglier" if that's even a thing.

    I am going to keep doing this as I am training to do Half Dome at Yosemite in October, but it is a wee bit discouraging.

    What do you guys think?

    I think you should take that scale then attach it to a rope behind your bike and drag it behind you on your next ride until it's a splintering mess of parts. I bolded the things you've already noticed so you obviously notice changes. I dunno, maybe add some "HIIT-style" to your bike ride. go fast fast fast - it's never boring.

    He definitely....however over the last two weeks...I saw exactly 0 change :( That's what got me frustrated the most.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
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    I lost my first chunk of weight (60lbs) doing nothing but cycling on a ...wait for it...... Trek 7.2 FX. I waited to long (my mistake) to add in weigh training. When I did add, the weight loss definitely slowed down, but I was eating much more as well, and it was pretty close to my goal weight so not sure how much of the slow down came from the weightlifting.
  • cvcman
    cvcman Posts: 438 Member
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    well....first off muscle does NOT weigh more than fat...a pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat...muscle does take up less room so you can weigh more BUT be smaller....also the starvation mode myth is just that... a myth...if you eat less calories than you burn you WILL loose weight....that my friend is a fact....if you eat more calories than you burn you will gain...

    When I started I was 50 yrs old and weighed 197 pounds...male 5'8" tall...I started biking about 25 miles a day 6 days a week at a 16mph pace.....I lost 23 pounds....I then added in running....5 miles a day about 3 or 4 days a week and lost another 30 pounds...

    so now I ride one day and run the next 7 days a week...but I eat fairly healthy and am pretty much always below what this site says I should be...my bike rides now are about 17-20 mph on my road bike and about 16 mph on my hybrid...I run at a 8 pace....

    Good luck
  • fiveohmike
    fiveohmike Posts: 1,297 Member
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    I lost my first chunk of weight (60lbs) doing nothing but cycling on a ...wait for it...... Trek 7.2 FX. I waited to long (my mistake) to add in weigh training. When I did add, the weight loss definitely slowed down, but I was eating much more as well, and it was pretty close to my goal weight so not sure how much of the slow down came from the weightlifting.


    That's what i was getting at in this thread I guess. The second I added intensieve weight lifting (although my overall intensity increased) pretty much everything slowed.

    Here are my current measurements:

    Neck - 19"
    Waist - 44.8"
    Hips - 50.3"
    Thigh - 32.5"
    Calf - 19"
    Bicept - 19"
  • _Resolve_
    _Resolve_ Posts: 735 Member
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    I lost most of my weight on a bike, I love cycling and try to get out a couple of times a week when I can.

    My suggestion is to maybe start doing some sprint intervals or maybe some hill repeats mixed into your average long rides. You will be amazed how making small changes to your routine will make a difference.
  • NextPage
    NextPage Posts: 609 Member
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    I think you have received lots of good advice about "taking it up a notch". However, I also think you should give yourself credit for major success to date. It looks like you lost 8 lbs in 12 weeks, improved your endurance, you are faster on rides, see body recomp improvements and have lost inches. Not too shabby my friend!

    You also sound like some one who wants to lose weight, look good, gain strengthen and improve in a sport you love. My experience is that the folks with really high weight losses, in brief periods of time, don't accomplish your other goals. I'm not saying that fining tuning things will not improve your results - just don't forget to give yourself credit where it is duly deserved and realize that we all have slow weeks and better weeks.
  • fiveohmike
    fiveohmike Posts: 1,297 Member
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    I think you have received lots of good advice about "taking it up a notch". However, I also think you should give yourself credit for major success to date. It looks like you lost 8 lbs in 12 weeks, improved your endurance, you are faster on rides, see body recomp improvements and have lost inches. Not too shabby my friend!

    You also sound like some one who wants to lose weight, look good, gain strengthen and improve in a sport you love. My experience is that the folks with really high weight losses in brief periods of time don't accomplish your other goals. I'm not saying that fining tuning things will not improve your results - just don't forget to give yourself credit where it is duly desired and realize that we all have slow weeks and better weeks.

    I have two simple goals: Not get diabetes as it runs int he family ( i started losing weight when I got dangerously close to pre-diabetic) and to look good naked (and in shorts at the beach) but mainly naked heh

    On a side note my pre-hypertension cholesterol has dropped like a rock to a normal range and my A1C and Fasting Glucose went from close to pre-diabetic to healthy numbers.
  • MostlyWater
    MostlyWater Posts: 4,294 Member
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    what exactly are you eating? maybe you need to change your diet.