Biking to lose weight?but not!

ladydeathstar66
ladydeathstar66 Posts: 16 Member
edited November 18 in Fitness and Exercise
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?

Replies

  • ladydeathstar66
    ladydeathstar66 Posts: 16 Member
    So I have to eat LESS calories than I burn? I think I'd be starving at that point
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Eat less
  • ladydeathstar66
    ladydeathstar66 Posts: 16 Member
    I have no idea what this calorie deficit stuff is all about.
  • ladydeathstar66
    ladydeathstar66 Posts: 16 Member
    If I consume any less than 2,000 calories per day I can't perform on my bike...
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    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?
  • ladydeathstar66
    ladydeathstar66 Posts: 16 Member
    @tavistock road I barely eat that much lol..
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,701 Member
    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.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    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?
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,701 Member
    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?
  • ladydeathstar66
    ladydeathstar66 Posts: 16 Member
    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 lol
  • Misssynth
    Misssynth Posts: 179 Member
    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.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,701 Member
    Misssynth wrote: »
    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.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    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.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,701 Member
    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.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    edited May 2017
    ladydeathstar66 wrote: »
    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 lol

    For the third time... are you weighing everything you eat?

    Less than 2000 cals could be 3 meals of 600 cals... That's not really small?

    Or a small breakfast and lunch of 300 - 400 cals each and 1000 for tea...
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
    ladydeathstar66 wrote: »
    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 lol

    You have to eat the right things to feel full and not starving--everyone is different there, so you have to experiment. It's important to have a digital food scale and use it to weigh everything you eat. The trick is to eat as much as possible and still lose weight. If you aren't losing, you're maintaining, so you have to cut something.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    ladydeathstar66 wrote: »
    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 lol

    If 2000 cals is 3 very small meals, you're doing something seriously wrong. Make smart choices and you can eat mountains of food with 2000 cals.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    ladydeathstar66 wrote: »
    I have no idea what this calorie deficit stuff is all about.

    So, you burn calories 24/7...you burn a lot of calories just existing...you burn more calories going about your day to day...you burn even more calories with additional activities such as exercise.

    For myself, I cycle quite a bit and do some lifting and through the course of a day, I burn around 2800-3000 calories. If I eat 2800-3000 calories per day, I'm going to maintain my weight regardless of the fact that I cycle quite a bit. If I eat 2300-2500 calories (less than I'm burning) I will lose about 1 Lb per week.

    Note that even with a relatively small deficit, performance will suffer to some extent...the bigger the deficit, the more you're going to see performance issues...but some loss of performance just comes with the territory.
  • capitan66
    capitan66 Posts: 1 Member
    My question is this what is your fat to lean body mass ratio? Too many people are fixated with total body weight......you may be just great the way you are. So it is not about total body weight it is about lean body mass....more muscle less fat......if you are fixated with weight loss eat less and don't exercise you will loose muscle body weight and fat....What do you want to weigh and why? Answer some of these questions? And you can come up with a conclusion. Personally my body weight is 215...Weight watchers tell me I should weigh 174 lbs. Cycling is a great exercise...however if you are not working at intensity you will burn less energy and not loose weight...that is if you need to...I think not....
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    Exercise is for fitness and health.

    That's honestly a limited way of looking at it. For the OP, exercise is for getting to and from work. And exercise is probably for saving boatloads of money on a car payment and insurance.

    On top of all that, it sounds as if she's maintaining her weight - without the exercise she'd be gaining.
  • HonduranHaze
    HonduranHaze Posts: 17 Member
    I'd be interested in seeing what kind of food you are eating. Enough healthy fats and healthy carbs? Cutting out sugar?

    I am eating about 1200-1500 calories a day. I feel like I am always eating just to get in that many calories. Protein, veggies, healthy fats like avocado, and small amounts of fruit have helped me lose about 9 pounds this month.

    Also, I am very erratic with exercise. Some weeks, I can ride 80 miles on the bike and the next week I don't ride. LOL

    I hope you find what works for you!
  • Cocoa1020
    Cocoa1020 Posts: 197 Member
    before i started MFP, i would work out for an hour to two hours a day 3-4 times a week. I had a very active summer once where i would go to the gym, do cardio for an hour, strength train, go bike to the park, play sports with my friends, bike again (my main form of transportation at the time). The scale never moved.
    You really need to be more mindful of what you eat and how much you eat. buy a kitchen scale. start measuring. its annoying at first but it gets better since you build up a little list.

    You really can't outrun (out bike) a bad diet :P
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    Cycling is a great way to lose weight while eating normal sized meals. But you do have to make sure that your meals are actually "normal sized." I maintain my weight on about 3,000 calories per day because of how much I ride my bicycle. If I were trying to lose weight, I could be eating the 2,000 calories per day that the average person needs and I'd be losing two pounds per week.

    However, what usually happens when people ride a bicycle is that they feel hungrier after their ride so they eat more. If you don't feel hungry for part of the day, you aren't losing weight.
  • JetJaguar
    JetJaguar Posts: 801 Member
    Add me as a friend if you want an example to follow. I'm a cyclist returning to the sport after a couple of years. During my break I gained 35 lbs, and now I'm riding while losing weight. Your body can't serve two masters, you need to focus on one primary goal. So while I've been improving (really just regaining some of the base fitness I had before), my first goal is to get back to my riding weight. Once I'm there, only then will I resume training for performance.
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