Outdoor cycling to lose weight?

2

Replies

  • mjbnj0001
    mjbnj0001 Posts: 1,062 Member
    Outside cycling - my next big, big objective! As soon as I fit onto a bicycle, any bicycle!

    I'm over 60 years and over 300lbs. We chose a trail bike due to my size. A good bike shop should be able to make some recommendations to you. Every reputable bike has some sort of consumer "fitness for use" rating on weight, riding style, etc.

    When in Florida in March, I rented a recumbent bike to ride the trails and see what the recumbents were about. That's always another option for plus-sized folks. The one being rented had a slick fabric sling seat, which I didn't like so much (too "slidey"), but there are models with molded seats that I might find more suitable. The actual riding was interesting and fun. I think of these as potential future bikes as I continue to age. But for now, I'm loving my "normal" bike.
  • mjbnj0001
    mjbnj0001 Posts: 1,062 Member
    noblsheep wrote: »
    I ride to and from work, 10km a pop, whenever it's not raining or freezing. Added up to about 2000km last year. The commute was exhausting at first, had to stop for breathers, bring water, rest the next day, all that jazz. However, our bodies adapt pretty fast and in about a month I could do it every day. In three months it became routine. After I used the cycling for a cardio base to jump into running, it doesn't even feel like a "proper" workout any more unless I try to go really fast. (Cue weekend hills and long runs here.)

    750 miles is a great new years resolution. Cycling is one of the more fun ways of exercise and it burns lots of calories once you get into the groove. Good luck!

    Thanks!
  • mjbnj0001
    mjbnj0001 Posts: 1,062 Member
    Machka9 wrote: »
    I cycle a lot, but I find that if I want to lose weight by cycling I have to cycle quite a bit just about every day.

    In the years when I've cycled 8000+ km/year, my weight has been good. :)

    Less than that, and I also have to watch what I eat.

    I have to watch what I'm eating all the time. It's frustrating a bit, as I weigh every day. I watch for salt, esp., not for BP, but for water retention. That alone can be 1-2lb/day. One of my docs is also a nutritionist, and is measuring the replacement of fat with muscle, so I'm not seeing a 1:1 effect on burning off fat. As long as the scale continues to more or less go in the right direction, I'm happy. It's a long game approach.

    Thanks for your advice.
  • garystrickland357
    garystrickland357 Posts: 598 Member
    lorrpb wrote: »
    I wish I could bike, but all the roads in our area are narrow, hilly, and no shoulders and just busy enough to be dangerous with speeding cars. I would not feel safe. :'(

    This is one of the reasons I beat myself up sometimes for allowing myself to stop riding for a few years - I live in a roadie paradise.
    It takes me 5 minutes to get home from work. Five minutes from my door I can choose between 10-15-45 miles and more to ride with little traffic. Most days when I ride it's on rural two lane roads - but I usually see maybe 2-3 cars. There is a nice 45 miles loop I can take when I'll still see maybe 3 vehicles. It's more likely I'll see 3 tractors. You haven't lived until you draft a combine....
    I'm more likely to get smucked out by an armadillo or a jackrabbit jumping onto the highway from the side of the road that getting hit by a car. I can ride out into the wind in any cardinal direction and then float home with the wind to my back.
    Rural Texas has it's drawbacks, but this is not one of them.

    The good news is I'm back on the bike and I intend to enjoy these views now for as long as I can ride.
  • jlklem
    jlklem Posts: 259 Member
    lorrpb wrote: »
    I wish I could bike, but all the roads in our area are narrow, hilly, and no shoulders and just busy enough to be dangerous with speeding cars. I would not feel safe. :'(

    This is one of the reasons I beat myself up sometimes for allowing myself to stop riding for a few years - I live in a roadie paradise.
    It takes me 5 minutes to get home from work. Five minutes from my door I can choose between 10-15-45 miles and more to ride with little traffic. Most days when I ride it's on rural two lane roads - but I usually see maybe 2-3 cars. There is a nice 45 miles loop I can take when I'll still see maybe 3 vehicles. It's more likely I'll see 3 tractors. You haven't lived until you draft a combine....
    I'm more likely to get smucked out by an armadillo or a jackrabbit jumping onto the highway from the side of the road that getting hit by a car. I can ride out into the wind in any cardinal direction and then float home with the wind to my back.
    Rural Texas has it's drawbacks, but this is not one of them.

    The good news is I'm back on the bike and I intend to enjoy these views now for as long as I can ride.

    A lot like where I live, northern Wisconsin. I can be in the country in 5 minutes and see one car an hours...minus tractors...

    Oh and get the Garmin Radar system, love it, best 200 dollar gadget I have ever purchased.

    John
  • 0ysterboy
    0ysterboy Posts: 192 Member
    edited May 2018
    "[it] all comes down to how much I'm eating"

    BINGO
  • garystrickland357
    garystrickland357 Posts: 598 Member
    [/quote]

    A lot like where I live, northern Wisconsin. I can be in the country in 5 minutes and see one car an hours...minus tractors...

    Oh and get the Garmin Radar system, love it, best 200 dollar gadget I have ever purchased.

    John[/quote]

    I've heard good things about the radar system. Does it just give an indication of approaching vehicles and relative speed? How do you process and react to what it tells you?
  • mjbnj0001
    mjbnj0001 Posts: 1,062 Member
    Bike radar? Who knew? Thanks for the heads up!

    Gary ... there's a neat vid out on Amazon describing the radar (Varia) as paired with an Edge.
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
    I've heard good things about the radar system. Does it just give an indication of approaching vehicles and relative speed? How do you process and react to what it tells you?
    There's a good review of it on DCRainmaker (as there are of most things related to bike and and run electronics)
  • garystrickland357
    garystrickland357 Posts: 598 Member
    It looks like that radar is something I need. it's only $$$, right?
  • mjbnj0001
    mjbnj0001 Posts: 1,062 Member
    aokoye wrote: »
    I've heard good things about the radar system. Does it just give an indication of approaching vehicles and relative speed? How do you process and react to what it tells you?
    There's a good review of it on DCRainmaker (as there are of most things related to bike and and run electronics)

    Interesting website. That's another new thing learned today, thanks.
  • jlklem
    jlklem Posts: 259 Member
    I love my radar, worth every dime. It’s not perfect but it adds one more layer of protection to a sometimes dangerous sport. I still pretend I am invisible on the road. Always wear bright socks (which matters a lot) and pick the safest road I can.

    And what was this thread about...

    Oh yes, cycling does burn a ton of calories especially if you ride a lot....and get stronger in the bike.

    John
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,249 Member
    edited May 2018
    jlklem wrote: »
    When you get in good shape as a cyclist you can easily lose weight. I can burn 700-800 calories an hour with only moderate effort.

    But the key is good shape, which means lots of miles and time.

    John

    I beg to differ, yesterday I rode 30km (60km with the return trip) with 560m of elevation in a little over 1.5 hrs and burned about 750 cal according to my power meter and measuring watts is the most accurate way of gauging calories expended. I suspect that you're not really burning what you think you are with just "moderate effort". (Prior to getting my power meter I probably would have agreed with you.....it was a real eye opener)

    OP cycling is a great way to improve your fitness, the weight loss part happens in the kitchen. If you're new to being active I would suggest starting off with shorter, slower rides until you build up both your comfort level and fitness. Happy, efficient cycling is based on a bike that fits you properly and that is suitable to your riding needs.

    One of the great things about cycling is that it's pretty much zero impact, you could ride, if you wished, 7 days a week. Even after yesterday's hilly 60km ride I feel great whereas after Saturday's 21km run I felt a little beat up and took Sunday off.

    Have fun!
  • UmmSqueaky
    UmmSqueaky Posts: 715 Member
    I've found that the key to weight loss is integrating sustainable changes into your life. Part of that is finding exercise that you enjoy and that you'll want to keep doing. If you like cycling, than go for it! I started out 5 years ago 80 lbs overweight. I got on a bike for the first time in my adult life, biked a mile, turned around and went home. I slowly upped that, integrated bike commuting into my daily routine, started training for triathlons and look forward to getting on my bike nearly every day, even on a blustery January day here in Minnesota. Bonus, it burns lots of calories, but even if it burned less, I'd still do it because I enjoy it.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
    mjbnj0001 wrote: »
    Bike radar? Who knew? Thanks for the heads up!

    Gary ... there's a neat vid out on Amazon describing the radar (Varia) as paired with an Edge.

    You don't want the viewer. Just use the radar with your Edge, Fenix, or Forerunner. Have it beep or vibrate when there's a car behind you.
  • jlklem
    jlklem Posts: 259 Member
    jlklem wrote: »
    When you get in good shape as a cyclist you can easily lose weight. I can burn 700-800 calories an hour with only moderate effort.

    But the key is good shape, which means lots of miles and time.

    John

    I beg to differ, yesterday I rode 30km (60km with the return trip) with 560m of elevation in a little over 1.5 hrs and burned about 750 cal according to my power meter and measuring watts is the most accurate way of gauging calories expended. I suspect that you're not really burning what you think you are with just "moderate effort". (Prior to getting my power meter I probably would have agreed with you.....it was a real eye opener)

    OP cycling is a great way to improve your fitness, the weight loss part happens in the kitchen. If you're new to being active I would suggest starting off with shorter, slower rides until you build up both your comfort level and fitness. Happy, efficient cycling is based on a bike that fits you properly and that is suitable to your riding needs.

    One of the great things about cycling is that it's pretty much zero impact, you could ride, if you wished, 7 days a week. Even after yesterday's hilly 60km ride I feel great whereas after Saturday's 21km run I felt a little beat up and took Sunday off.

    Have fun!

    I rode 5 hours today at 216 watts. My ride today was 103.3 miles, 4900 feet of climbing. Other than hitting the hills really hard it was not to bad. I have owned a power meter since 2008 and currently own 4 different brands (used to have a Stages but they suck IMO) and have compared them to each other many times, plus I calibrate every ride. Here is the ride.

    https://www.strava.com/activities/1589058796

    But weight loss is about watching what you eat, that I totally agree with. What I meant about losing weight and cycling is when you burn 1000 extra calories a day you can eat a lot more, feel full a lot more, and still lose a pound a week.

    John
  • mjbnj0001
    mjbnj0001 Posts: 1,062 Member
    Interestingly, this popped up in my youtube "recommendations" this evening ...

    https://youtu.be/wGWCWf4AVGM
  • littlebear0121
    littlebear0121 Posts: 1,073 Member
    I ride on days when my feet are sore (I nordic walk the other days of the week.) We live out in the country, and the roads have wide shoulders (at least the ones that I ride on.) I ride 4 miles downhill with the wind at my back and 4 miles back up into the wind. I love it! I also sometimes mountain bike but I don't feel like it as good of a cardio workout, but it sure is fun!
  • blobby10
    blobby10 Posts: 357 Member
    I use cycling as an additional calorie burning exercise to my Mon-Fri gym sessions. I burn 30-35 calories per mile cycling and I'm averaging 15-16mph. Rides vary in length from 20 miles to 70 miles. When running i used to burn around 100 cals per mile but could only ever run for a max of 6 miles due to time and fitness restraints!

    You can also mix up your cycling workouts - do some long steady routes, do some short hill sprints, do HIIT on the bike! Cycle steadily for a couple of miles then cane it for a mile then steady again. Might not work if you're in a very hilly area but would be fun trying
  • jrae75
    jrae75 Posts: 16 Member
    I'm new to cycling. I bought a Trek Verve 2 and have been hitting the local trails. They are paved and relatively flat, so it has been easy to get some long distance rides in. I'm not really sure how to measure calories burned, though. I do keep pedaling most of the time, and my average speed is around 12 mph, but I feel like my bike does a lot of the work for me, so I don't trust the huge numbers MFP gives me for calories burned. My longest ride so far has been 30 miles, but the majority are between 15-20 miles. I haven't seen any significant change in how my weight loss is going. I started last June and have been steadily chipping away at it with CICO, walking, elliptical, yoga, and pilates. Cycling is the latest and the most fun. I'm 35lbs down from my starting weight and have about 10 more to go. These last ones don't want to move so easily, so I was hoping that cycling could give them some encouragement, but I'm actually up a couple pounds since I started. I don't eat all the calories back, because I don't trust those numbers. Idk if that's just the water retention from starting something new or what, but I'll keep plugging away and hope it works itself out.