Cycling for weight loss

TrekCyclerChic

I've been biking for about 2 years and running for as long as I can remember. How much I do fluxuates a lot throughout the year. But in the last two years I have not lost weight. Ocasionally a pound here or there, but i have been withing 8 lbs of my avg weight for the last two years. This includes this past spring (jan to June) when I was biking about 250-350 miles a week while training for my tour. Then, I got very sick and stop riding as well as aborted the tour. But through it all I've weighed the same. It just muscle to fat and vice versa depending on what I am doing.

It should take a while to start losing. In an article I was reading, it generally takes a while to adapt, and then you are going to be building muscle which will not necessarily make you lose weight right away, it might even make you gain. But, once you have the muscle, you'll be burning more fat, so eventually you should start losing. But remember, it's not always about a number. I can weigh the same yet my size can vary a ton. So just keep that in mind to when you are weighing in and feeling frustrated. Personally I'd rather see an athletic well built girl than a thin one anyways. But cudos on the biking... isn't it addicting? :-D

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Diana

http://playsinmud.blogspot.com

Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, Champagne in one hand - strawberries in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming WOO HOO - What a Ride!

James Bruce Gil

If you look in my story above, maybe you will find out the answer
Bob[/QUOTE]

Bob,

I thought it was doing it for me at one stage, but it turned out to be cancer!

In general you must adjust your diet, to do otherwise will result in trimming you up, you'll put on more muscle, (which is heavier than fat), but your final weight won't be significantly different to where you started.

Not that this is a bad thing; Your heart-rate will certainly drop, (and along with it blood pressure), your aerobic fitness will improve and you'll feel better generally, but not much lighter I'm afraid.

KInd regards,

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Bluto

tjodit

Very good explanation! Thank you. But I have a question about the last part that I quoted above. Isn't a calorie a calorie - just a source of fuel for the body? If that is true then what difference would it make if your 1340 calories a day come from ice cream or chicken? Won't the body use what it needs and store the rest as fat regardless of they type of food? Isn't exercise what would determine how you looked? Flabby/no tone vs. lean and muscular?

Equus123

you're welcome for the explanation. my pleasure to clarify on calories and food sources....

hypothetically, the 1340 resting metabolic rate is what the body needs to maintain normal function. any increase in daily activity (i.e. exercise) will mean that more calories will be burned, creating a caloric debt, and therefore decreasing weight.

in regards to a calorie being a calorie, there is a lot more physiology behind how the body uses nutrients for energy efficiency and metabolic function. if i need 1340 calories and eat protein, veggies, good fats, and drink plenty of water then the body will use the protein for muscle (primarily), the veggies as vitamins, and the good fats as a source of either primary or secondary energy sources dependending on chemical composition. now compared to if i eat bad fats, minimal protein/veggies/fruits, and have a high sugar source (i.e. sweets, ice cream), the body will only use as much sugar (=carbs) as it needs for its current energy output. the other carbs will go to a secondary or third fat source which will be harder to lose.

a calorie isn't a source of fuel for the body, it is a measurement for how much energy the body will have to use to break down the food. would you agree that eating a chicken breast will be more beneficial than a bowl of ice cream? here's why... chicken is protein and muscle needs protein. so the body uses the protein to strengthen muscle and keep it healthy. since stronger, healthier muscle burns more calories naturally... that creates a lean body. ice cream is sugar. even though you may exercise and burn calories, that doesn't mean that you automatically burn the ice cream calories first. depending on when you eat and when you exercise, the body will burn sugar first (and the body is very efficient so it will use the easiest sugar available, which is not sugar that you eat but sugar that is made by the body). if you don't exceed normal energy output (1340) then ice cream sugar will be put into a secondary fat store and be hard to breakdown later when you do exercise. the body is a survival mechanism and between meals energy not burned gets stored as fat (that's why it's not good to not eat, especially since most thin women tend to have high body fat percentage as compared with the average).

hope this helps and it's too much info to process. i had a friend who is a biologist/athletic trainer write this for you. let me know if you have any more questions and we will be glad to answer them for you. happy riding!

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Cyclists are like men. The more T.I.T.S. they have, the better off they are.

borisBob

Bob,

I thought it was doing it for me at one stage, but it turned out to be cancer!

In general you must adjust your diet, to do otherwise will result in trimming you up, you'll put on more muscle, (which is heavier than fat), but your final weight won't be significantly different to where you started.

Not that this is a bad thing; Your heart-rate will certainly drop, (and along with it blood pressure), your aerobic fitness will improve and you'll feel better generally, but not much lighter I'm afraid.

KInd regards,[/QUOTE]


Well, I can only say, I feel much better, when I restrict my meals and tour at the same time long distances in the hottest summer days ... then I feel at my best! I do it more than 20 years.
Bob