Biking to lose weight?but not!
ladydeathstar66
Posts: 16 Member
I have been biking to and from work for 16 months now. I also bike on the weekends for about 3-4 hours. I haven't lost an ounce!! I am told I'm building muscles but I really don't think that's the case. I see zero muscle tonage and all my measurements are about the same?
1
Replies
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Are you eating at a deficit?7
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If you aren't eating at a deficit it won't matter how much you exercise. Get a food scale and weigh all your food and make sure you are using good entries. If you eat less than you burn you will lose weight.6
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I cycled 1000 km in both March and April ... and didn't lose a thing. Why? Because I ate enough to compensate for what I was burning.
As the others have mentioned, you've got to have that calorie deficit.
Also, regarding "muscle tonage" ... you won't get any on your upper body unless you're doing some pretty serious mountain biking. You also won't get much in your legs unless you really put in an effort doing intervals, climbing hills, keeping up a decent speed, cycling long distances, etc.5 -
Exercise is for fitness and health. Calorie deficit is for weight loss. If you're not in a calorie deficit, you're not going to lose weight.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10346155/cardio-isnt-for-fat-burning/p1
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
7 -
So I have to eat LESS calories than I burn? I think I'd be starving at that point0
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ladydeathstar66 wrote: »So I have to eat LESS calories than I burn? I think I'd be starving at that point
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
5 -
Eat less0
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I have no idea what this calorie deficit stuff is all about.0
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If I consume any less than 2,000 calories per day I can't perform on my bike...1
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ladydeathstar66 wrote: »If I consume any less than 2,000 calories per day I can't perform on my bike...
Are you weighing and measuring everything you eat?2 -
@tavistock road I barely eat that much lol..0
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ladydeathstar66 wrote: »So I have to eat LESS calories than I burn?
I have no idea what this calorie deficit stuff is all about.
Yes, of course.
Enter your details into MFP.
Select sedentary as your activity level.
Select to lose 1 lb/week.
MFP will give you the number of calories you need to eat ... that amount, no more.
If you exercise, enter that, but enter a very realistic amount. I choose the slow/low/light options and round the time down.
Eat about half your exercise calories back ... unless you go for a really long ride on the weekend, in which case you'll want to eat about 75% of your calories back.2 -
ladydeathstar66 wrote: »@tavistock road I barely eat that much lol..
But are you weighing what you eat?
You just said you can't cycle that far without eating 2000 cals... so either you're eating that much or you're not?0 -
ladydeathstar66 wrote: »If I consume any less than 2,000 calories per day I can't perform on my bike...
How far are you cycling on your commutes?0 -
ladydeathstar66 wrote: »@tavistock road I barely eat that much lol..
Till you actually track your daily calories, you may not really know.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
7 -
I get you're saying eat less. If I eat three very small meals a day without exceeding 2,000 which seems like not much to me. I'm STARVING by the evening and I've already met my calorie count for the day. I couldn't imagine eating less than that lol0
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You're obviously not using MFP right. Put in your stats and how much you want to lose a week. It will tell you how many calories to eat. You can work out and then eat those calories you burned back if you want or bank them for extra loss/cheat day (whatever works for you). Of course you can perform on your bike! I eat under 2000 every single day and run/swim/gym 6 out of 7 days a week. You just need the right nutrition.2
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You're obviously not using MFP right. Put in your stats and how much you want to lose a week. It will tell you how many calories to eat. You can work out and then eat those calories you burned back if you want or bank them for extra loss/cheat day (whatever works for you). Of course you can perform on your bike! I eat under 2000 every single day and run/swim/gym 6 out of 7 days a week. You just need the right nutrition.
+1
I exercise every day (often cycling) but rarely eat 2000 calories. It does take a few days to kind of settle into eating less and getting the right foods, but then it's OK.0 -
ladydeathstar66 wrote: »If I consume any less than 2,000 calories per day I can't perform on my bike...
See, to lose weight calories need to be restricted. No two ways around it. If you are not losing weight you more than likely are eating enough to make up for what you burn. See what kind of sacrifice you are willing to make, maybe accept a temporary drop in performance if it really is being affected. Or accept your current weight and focus on performance. If I were you I would go for the first option because the lighter you are the better you are able to perform.
Log your food as accurately as possible and make sure you are not overestimating your exercise to make sure you are eating within a calorie budget that allows you to lose weight and it's guaranteed to work.1 -
My maintenance is 1500 calories ... so if I want to maintain my weight on a day when I don't exercise (rare!), I eat 1500 calories. If I want to lose, I have to drop it to about 1350 calories.
Then, when I cycle, I burn about 100 calories for every 5 km ... so if I want to maintain, I can eat the whole amount, but if I want to lose, I need to eat less than that.
An hour's ride might burn 400 calories, if I'm moving briskly. Therefore my maintenance (1500 calories) + what I burned (400 calories) = 1900 calories. If I want to lose, I'll go with 1350 calories + 200 for the cycling = 1550 calories. And that's a reasonably satisfying amount while still being in deficit.1
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