Is cycling effective for weight loss..?

Fender76

I know that running for example is much more beneficial for weight loss..
I've seens a fair few rotund individuals at sportifs who can kick ass on a bike but they have big beer belly's etc.
So can you be fit but fat...?

TinyExplosions

Fender76 wrote: »

So can you be fit but fat...?

Yes. See


It can be pretty good for keeping weight off, but only combined with a decent diet etc etc

seamus

This is something of a running joke at tri events in Ireland according to people I know who've gone to watch a few.
The foreigners who arrive to compete are slender and trim, but many of the Irish lads are ample-framed and carrying a little extra yet appear to be unhindered by it and are well able to keep up with the foreign guys.

Canis Lupus

I've done a few sprint triathlons and due to eating so much during training I was usually a bit porky and yet at the fittest, in cardio terms, than I've ever been.

The problem I have with weight loss and cycling is you have to do heaps of it and go for miles whereas it's much easier to stay close to home with running and you can easily vary the type of running you do (sprints, fartleks, fast and slow runs). Oh, and you just need decent runners rather than a bike and all that figure hugging lycra

(still you'd never get me off my bike for commuting to work)

mloc123

As I am now...

At a 'sportif' I would be quite skinny
At a tri I would be well within the average
At a road race (running) I'd be a fat bastard.

Wanna lose weight, run IMO

Lumen

Fender76 wrote: »

So can you be fit but fat...?

To answer that question you must first define "fit".

godihatedehills

mloc123 wrote: »

As I am now...

At a 'sportif' I would be quite skinny
At a tri I would be well within the average
At a road race (running) I'd be a fat bastard.

Wanna lose weight, run IMO

but cycling is a lot more fun.....

Fender76

To answer that question you must first define "fit".

Well I guess in this instance what I mean by 'fit' is being able to ride a 100k sportif comfortably.....

RobFowl

TinyExplosions wrote: »

Yes. See


It can be pretty good for keeping weight off, but only combined with a decent diet etc etc

+ 1........(and a bit)

Lumen

Fender76 wrote: »

Well I guess in this instance what I mean by 'fit' is being able to ride a 100k sportif comfortably.....

Being fat will only make that slightly harder.

TinyExplosions

Fender76 wrote: »

Well I guess in this instance what I mean by 'fit' is being able to ride a 100k sportif comfortably.....

Then hell yeah you can... I'm a bloater, yet could do a 100k sportif alright (maybe not right now, but certainly when I was fitter yet still this weight)

smacl

mloc123 wrote: »

Wanna lose weight, run IMO

But if you're carrying weight, watch your knees, tendons, etc... I agree that running is very effective for weight loss, but personally I find cycling much easier on the body. This means I can go longer, and progress more smoothly without being set back by injury. I find with running, I'm much more prone to achilles strains, and sore knees, which in turn interfere with my training and hence weight loss. These days I mix it up a fair bit, cycling, running, gym, swimming, etc... although as things get warmer cycling will dominate.

Fender76

I mean I saw a guy at a sportif last year and he was a BIG guy.. not just carrying a few extra pounds, this guy was pretty fat... and he had a sweet carbon bike/wheels too, anyway I was half expecting to see him wheezing by the side of the road after a few k's but he actually tore ahead and finished well ahead of me... I was surprised to say the least.. I guess he just didn't look fit... looks can be deceiving....

andy69

It's great for weight loss, provided ur doing it right. I assume you mean 'fat loss', and that's achieved quite easily by training just below your lactic threshold for min of 2hrs to make a significant impact. Hard part is to determine the lactic threshold but a performance test will get that for ye.
I wouldn't run to save my life, but i imagine the heart rate would be well above latic threshold, and in that case ur burning carbs, not fat. Percieved weight loss might just be fluid loss, but I don't run so I might be wrong about it being above latic threshold?

Lumen

andy69 wrote: »

that's achieved quite easily by training just below your lactic threshold for min of 2hrs

:eek:

andy69

Hehe! Yeah, incredably dull, but it works!

mloc123

andy69 wrote: »

I wouldn't run to save my life, but i imagine the heart rate would be well above latic threshold, and in that case ur burning carbs, not fat. Percieved weight loss might just be fluid loss, but I don't run so I might be wrong about it being above latic threshold?

Oh lord....

The fat burning zone stuff is non sense for a start. As for running being above LTHR.. I rarely run above it apart from intervals and short races.

Undercover Elephant

mloc123 wrote: »

Wanna lose weight, run IMO

I've found the opposite - the weight doesn't want to stay attached when I cycle.

BUT - that may be because I could never be arsed to run more than 2-3 times a week, even when supposedly training for marathons, whereas Mr Bicycle demands my attention pretty much every day.

mloc123

The best way to lose weight is more cals out than in. So run/cycle/swim whatever you enjoy most I guess. Don't fool yourself with how many calories you burn tho, it will be much lower than you think.

austinbyrne21

mloc123 wrote: »

...Don't fool yourself with how many calories you burn tho, it will be much lower than you think.

Just a quick question on this. I've seen comments like this quite a bit. From your experience what should I be using as a basis to calculate a more accurate reflection of a workout. For example, should I divide what my Polar/Suunto tell me by, say, 2 or something? Is there any clear rule? Thanks in advance.

C3PO

mloc123 wrote: »

The best way to lose weight is more cals out than in. So run/cycle/swim whatever you enjoy most I guess.

Yep it's that simple (in theory!). Personally I've lost over 3 stone since I started cycling two and a half years ago without making any radical changes to my diet. Even only cycling 2-3 times a week for a couple of hours it's relatively easy to burn 3500 calories which equates to approximately a pound in weight (assuming your calorie intake remains the same). One of the great things about cycling is that it's low impact when compared to running, especially if your carrying some excess weight!
Having said that I'm finding it increasingly difficult to lose more weight despite riding 3-4 times a week for approximately 8 hours in total .... have to give up the sweets and biscuits!!

mloc123

austinbyrne21 wrote: »

Just a quick question on this. I've seen comments like this quite a bit. From your experience what should I be using as a basis to calculate a more accurate reflection of a workout. For example, should I divide what my Polar/Suunto tell me by, say, 2 or something? Is there any clear rule? Thanks in advance.

It depends on what HRM you use... polar is quite good at estimating calories if you have the correct weight, height etc.. setup. I am not sure what algorithm suunto use. I know the old Garmins were terrible, anything newer than a forerunner 410c or 310xt use the same algorithm as polar.

austinbyrne21

Thanks. I must Google Suunto's calculation and see how it compares to Polar. Cheers for shedding some light on that.

C3PO

mloc123 wrote: »

I know the old Garmins were terrible, anything newer than a forerunner 410c or 310xt use the same algorithm as polar.

Ahh ..... that explains why my new Garmin 500 is proving to be such a dissapointment to me! It seems to give me a "calories burned" number that's well below my old 305! :rolleyes:

kennyb3

Im with Undercover Elephant on this i lose far more weight cycling than running - which to me seems natural as i use significantly more cals cycling (due to more hours at it with it being non impact).

As said the key is diet, I think alot of cyclists think they can eat what they want because they cycle. Its easy to come home for a 3 hour spin and eat for half the day as you really do feel more wrecked than an hour or hour and a half run.

And dont forget to take account of the calories taken in via gels, sports drinks etc when working out what you ve burned

Cookie_Monster

yes, it does help you loose weight.
In three months I've gone from 89 to about 86/87 and noticeably lost weight around my mid section. and that's with also putting a noticeable amount of muscle on the legs too.

maybe it will make less difference the more I do it but certainly starting off its made a huge difference both weight and visually to me.

Beasty

I lost around 35kg over a couple of years, mainly as a result of cycling

Sunnyisland

My main fitness/exercise is cycling,roughly 20km x 5 days,also watch calorie intake.I find it much better for me for losing weight & much more enjoyable.

Original_Sin

Ive managed to drop from 89kg to 80kg in 3 months by cycling the 12km to and from work every day, have also severly changed my diet to not include all the rubbish i was eating tho...

Cape Clear

Beasty wrote: »

I lost around 35kg over a couple of years, mainly as a result of cycling

Well done ! How is your diet? When I first started cycling about 8 years ago I fell into the trap of eating too much and the wrong type of foods and drinking too many pints. In the last few years I have cut out the pints and improved my diet and can loose 2 to 3 lbs on an intense and little hilly 100k spin.

Beasty

Cape Clear wrote: »

Well done ! How is your diet? When I first started cycling about 8 years ago I fell into the trap of eating too much and the wrong type of foods and drinking too many pints. In the last few years I have cut out the pints and improved my diet and can loose 2 to 3 lbs on an intense and little hilly 100k spin.

I did it a couple of years ago - diet has not changed much, but as I'm averaging 200km or so a week, I've given myself getting on for 1,000 calories per day "head-room" compared to my previous lifestyle

twinsen

I didn't change my diet at all when I started cycling last year. Love food and don't see myself going on a diet.But I still lost 13 kg in three months, cycling 1 to 2 hours every day.

yop

Running I find myself better for the weight loss, but in saying that my legs have definitely become much more muscley from the bike.

I all the duathlon/adventure races I will certainly be hammering the runnings on the bike.

Even after 3hr spins I still don't feel 1/2 as hungry as I do after a 1hr run.

Cookie_Monster

Cape Clear wrote: »

and can loose 2 to 3 lbs on an intense and little hilly 100k spin.

that's just fluid loss though surely, rather than actual fat loss??

yop

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

that's just fluid loss though surely, rather than actual fat loss??

Absolutely fluid. Last year on Gaelforce I checked the weight at home before I left as I was curious to see what I would lose.
Over the full course when I got home I had lost 8lbs during the full days. But it had all gone back on with a few days

Paul Kiernan

If you start cycling an hour a day at a gentle pace (i.e. not panting or sweating like a pig) and change nothing else in your lifestyle you should be about a pound a week lighter.

That's a stone in 3 months and 4 stone in a year!

freewheeling

Evidence that cycling can help lose weight:
http://fatcyclerider.blogspot.com/

kennyb3

yop wrote: »

Absolutely fluid. Last year on Gaelforce I checked the weight at home before I left as I was curious to see what I would lose.
Over the full course when I got home I had lost 8lbs during the full days. But it had all gone back on with a few days

I think you need to have a serious look at your hydration and nutrition strategy so

Harrybelafonte

Paul Kiernan wrote: »

If you start cycling an hour a day at a gentle pace (i.e. not panting or sweating like a pig) and change nothing else in your lifestyle you should be about a pound a week lighter.

That's a stone in 3 months and 4 stone in a year!

After 18 months commuting, longer weekend rides, substantial change in diet (still some carp) 4 stone lost. 18.5 to 14.5. I'm not exactly skinny now, but it feels a lot better.

Once you get to a certain stage though, the ante may need to go up to keep the weight falling, it can get harder the lower you get.

Cookie_Monster

Harrybelafonte wrote: »

(still some carp)

what carp taste like, is it nice? :P

TinyExplosions

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

what carp taste like, is it nice? :P

It can be, though can also be very muddy tasting as they live at the silty bottom of rivers etc. One way around this is after catching, keep them in a tank of fast flowing, clean water for a few days, this should flush their system out a bit

yop

kennyb3 wrote: »

I think you need to have a serious look at your hydration and nutrition strategy so

Why? Its normal to lose poundage over long events, it has always happened to me, especially when you would be either running/cycling/hill climbing for up to 6 hours in my case.

In my case it would be nearly all fluid loss even with an intake of 2 liters of fluid during event and numerous energy bars and gels.

kennyb3

yop wrote: »

Why? Its normal to lose poundage over long events, it has always happened to me, especially when you would be either running/cycling/hill climbing for up to 6 hours in my case.

In my case it would be nearly all fluid loss even with an intake of 2 liters of fluid during event and numerous energy bars and gels.

A whole 2 litres over 6 hours racing? wow.

Id say you need nearly double that

Lumen

kennyb3 wrote: »

Id say you need nearly double that

I think it depends on your definition of "cool". That chart shows only 40% increase in fluid consumption from cool -> hot.

The most I've ever needed is 750ml an hour @ 70kg, in 35-40 degree heat, whereas in normal Irish weather I need barely half that (100% increase from Irish->hot).

kennyb3

Lumen wrote: »

I think it depends on your definition of "cool". That chart shows only 40% increase in fluid consumption from cool -> hot.

The most I've ever needed is 750ml an hour @ 70kg, in 35-40 degree heat, whereas in normal Irish weather I need barely half that (100% increase from Irish->hot).

Totally take your point, was more using it as an example, as really dont think its normal to lose 7lbs of fluid over the course of a race, albeit an endurance one.

Personally i always try come back from a 3 hour ride no more than 2lbs below what i started out at - that usually involves 2*750ml bottles, a sports drink (500ml) and a couple of fig rolls. Again thats just me though.

mloc123

freewheeling wrote: »

Evidence that cycling can help lose weight:
http://fatcyclerider.blogspot.com/

I'll dig this one out again...



Mainly cycling,running and watching what I ate..

unionman

Wow,

Never saw the 'before' picture, have only met you in the 'after' phase although did speak to you about weight loss, and you mentioned how much weight you'd lost. Very impressive.

As for OP's question, in my own experience it hasn't had a huge impact on my weight. Diet combined it certainly makes a difference, if you're counting calories / points or whatever method, cycling will help shift weight, but I've even found walking a more effective weight reduction exercise. One hours brisk walking is a better fat burner than one hour's cycling in my experience, but cycling is still more enjoyable.

Just don't make the mistake I made when I started distance cycling first and eat all around you because you're still 'recovering from a 200km sportive I did...erm..a few weeks ago'.

Denial is a very powerful thing.:o

mloc123 wrote: »

I'll dig this one out again...



Mainly cycling,running and watching what I ate..

frant2

I used to run a bit but the old joints and recovery time restricted milage - I changed to cycling about 2 years ago and it is amazing the difference - A 4 - 5 hour cycle in the hills is not an easy effort but is sooo much easier on the joints than running, Ive lost 2 stone in 1 year.

yop

kennyb3 wrote: »

A whole 2 litres over 6 hours racing? wow.

Id say you need nearly double that

I hear what you are saying but as Lumen says everyone is different, on my Sunday spins which would be near 3 hours, I would take on a very max 1 litre and more than often the 1 750ml bottle (High 5 4-1) mix does me fine.
I do though after the ride take on another liter

I must be a camel

petethedrummer

Worked for this guy: http://theamazing39stonecyclist.wordpress.com/pictures/

kennyb3

petethedrummer wrote: »

Worked for this guy: http://theamazing39stonecyclist.wordpress.com/pictures/

Full Astana kit - straight red for that!