Cycling to lose weight - it works!

Cycling to lose weight - it works!

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LeMansNut

Original Poster:

744 posts

68 months

Friday 15th February 2019
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Hi all,

Just want to discuss my progress with regards to getting on the bike again after a quite a long break from cycling.

I'm an IT contractor in London and during my previous gig at a huge media firm I went from getting the train/tube into work, to then buying a moped to get into work, because I was frustrated with public transport, to putting on weight and then opting to buy a push bike to do the 30 mile round trip journey. During the 3 months of riding into work, the weight dropped off but then my contract came to an end. I decided to have a "career break" which also included a drop in cycling. I went out and about a few times but was just not motivated enough to stick to it. For me, I have to get to work and get home so that's a great motivator to cycle. The time taken is exactly the same or a bit less when compared to moped-ing or train/tube.

After a long break from working, I had gone from 15stone 5lb to near 18 stone. Yes, I was drinking beer/cider, eating like there was no tomorrow and I enjoyed every bit of it...apart from having to buy new clothes and busting old clothes. I did some great Euro road-trips in my C63 too.

I then got a new gig in the City of London, the place had secure bike lock ups and showers. From day three, I started riding in again which is a 26 mile round trip. Because I was a fat boy, the rear inner tubes would explode now and again and it was also punctures galore. But as the weight has come off, the punctures and pops are non-existent now...well...I still get the odd puncture here and there.

So here I am today and I've completed my 100th ride since day three of the new gig (2 rides per day). I'm not dieting at all and I'm drinking beer and eating whatever I want but I'm now at 16 stone exactly - the target is 14 stone. Yes, if I watched my diet then I'd have probably lost more but I like to drink, eat and then smash it on the bike (I don't drink and then cycle, beer/cider is an "after ride" thing). I average near 15mph coming across to/from the City to/from SE London, some nice hills to smash and on some stretches I hit over 25mph. I ride like a cycle version of Mel Gibson out of Gallipoli, I just smash it till I'm fooked and welcome traffic lights which are on red...for the rest. Everyday (Mon-Fri) is a smash-a-thon.

I use a Garmin 1000 with all the sensors and it's great to see the avg heart rate stuff go down since the start and the avg cadence near enough at 90. Using cleats (used them when I started cycling to/from the previous gig) seems to be one of the keys to the weight loss stuff, it's like non stop power...until Friday when I feel pretty knackered. I load up with beer and cider on the weekends, vape like a mofo (that's everyday), and by Monday morning I feel like Superman on the bike!

So to those who are thinking about cycle commuting, especially for weight loss, then do it! But make sure you smash it on every ride - get out of breath, get sweaty, ride until those muscles in your legs beg "no more" to you..lol. Get cleats, get a Garmin or something like that, get on Strava and make sure you get some "achievements" everyday. The great thing is that you also come across some awesome people who are cycling and you can get to know some of them etc. I'll keep you posted over the next few months.

Smash it!



Edited by LeMansNut on Friday 15th February 19:59

Daveyraveygravey

2,054 posts

190 months

Friday 15th February 2019
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Great post, keep it up! Just bear in mind, the law of diminishing returns applies, at some point the benefits of cycling alone tail off, and you then have to look at what you eat and drink too.
I love eating and drinking too, but at 54, I can't eat 4 or 5 doughnuts when someone has a birthday at work, or 7 or 8 pints two or three nights running

LeMansNut

Original Poster:

744 posts

68 months

Friday 15th February 2019
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Daveyraveygravey said:
Great post, keep it up! Just bear in mind, the law of diminishing returns applies, at some point the benefits of cycling alone tail off, and you then have to look at what you eat and drink too.
I love eating and drinking too, but at 54, I can't eat 4 or 5 doughnuts when someone has a birthday at work, or 7 or 8 pints two or three nights running
Thanks Davey, I didn't mention the all important "stats" lol. I'm 44 and tend to have a few "after-ride" buds (with a dash of lemonade). I've been out on some benders with the guys at work and then rode in the next day with a hangover. The hangovers have always cleared by the end of the ride...lol.

Yes, I agree with you on diminishing returns. I'll hit the plateau at some point and in the back of my mind I know that the mid-week buds + lunch Subway (6 inch only) and/or lunch McDs and/or lunch chicken burritos will have to be reduced. No issues there, I'm just enjoying the moment.

Chap I work with is a triathlon guy, has a lovely bike, he hits the gym every lunchtime and watches his food intake. He's quite impressed at my progress because he knows what I eat at lunchtime (he hits the gym after seeing me scoff down a Subway etc). Anyway, he reckons that my rides at least burn off lunch and then there's the "afterburn" effect too.

After a weekend on the pish, it's like the pish is my EPO (juice) because come Monday morning it's "power...unlimited power" (as Emperor Palpatine once said) beer

idiotgap

2,113 posts

139 months

Saturday 16th February 2019
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Hi LeMansNut,

I am 44 later this year, I work in IT in the the city and cycle about 28 miles per day on the commute.

I stopped cycling when I came down to London for university in 1993. In 2006, still working in London, I moved to live outside the M25 to the south and held a season ticket on the train for 10 years. I started cycling again in 2014 when I realised that since 2006 I'd been living in an area lots of people travel to for a ride, but I started slowly, having got up to about 16.5 stone and a 38inch waist.

I'm now about 13.5 and wear 32inch jeans. In a perverse way I have Southern Railway to thank for my weight loss, over the period when the service suffered due to sustained industrial action I got so demoralised with the train commute I took to cycling. In 2016 I gave up my season ticket since then, bar the odd train day for night out etc. I've cycled every day, though I probably work from home one day a week.

My total journey in is about 30 miles each way, but I only cycle the whole way once in a while because I find it too tiring to do it more than a couple of days a week. At the moment, I drive up to Purley with the bike in the boot and cycle from there, I tried using the train part way, but that didn't work so well because I was still exposed to the poor service, bike choice was compromised (folder or 'pub bike') and I found myself standing around in Croydon clammy from the exertion and getting very cold waiting for trains.

I've found the weight loss has tailed off now, but I love the commute I used to hate so I'm still motivated to continue. I think my body is still changing fat into muscle or something so I think I'm still getting fitter. I eat whatever I feel like and enjoy not counting, I am sure I could lose more weight by taking some notice of diet.

I've found quite a fun community on the road, a few people I've got chatting to at the lights etc. are now friends and it brightens up a sometimes dull commute to catch up. Some of the guys in my club who are into racing train on the commute and a couple of days a week I try and keep up with them in a bit of chain gang.

Also the SCR thread on bikeradar has added a bit of a social thing to it, though it is a bit biased around routes using CS7 and laps of Richmond Park.

I'd be interested to know what route you take, sometimes if I'm cycling all the way I head a bit to the East through Crystal Palace and West Wickham.

Have fun with it and let us know how you get on!

Edited to add - I cycled to Le Mans in 2015, have you thought about doing that?

Edited by idiotgap on Saturday 16th February 07:19

FukeLreeman

1,497 posts

181 months

Saturday 16th February 2019
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I do 4 days a week at 38 mile round trip. Two of those days, I'll add on efforts on turbo and/or chaingang loop.

It's free time for me. Saves sitting in traffic, and saves using a car. All low end Z2 recovery miles.

Sa Calobra

38,038 posts

217 months

Saturday 16th February 2019
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Sounds good but you are having bike rest days too? Not riding five days?

FukeLreeman

1,497 posts

181 months

Saturday 16th February 2019
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Sa Calobra said:
Sounds good but you are having bike rest days too? Not riding five days?
Nothing wrong with riding every day, if you understand your bodies limits.

Map your HR/Power zones, then sit in Z1 on recovery days. Far better than having a full day off.

Sa Calobra

38,038 posts

217 months

Saturday 16th February 2019
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You don't know your bodies limits until it flags issues.

Enlarged heart, immune system etc.

I used to ride alot. Too much and on my recent topic on PH maybe a few more too. I think you need forced rest days.

mcelliott

8,871 posts

187 months

Saturday 16th February 2019
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Of course you can ride your bike every day.

LeMansNut

Original Poster:

744 posts

68 months

Saturday 16th February 2019
quotequote all
idiotgap said:
I'd be interested to know what route you take, sometimes if I'm cycling all the way I head a bit to the East through Crystal Palace and West Wickham.

Have fun with it and let us know how you get on!

Edited to add - I cycled to Le Mans in 2015, have you thought about doing that?
Yes, you could say Southeastern trains drove me nuts. Not only was the service quite bad but the trains were rammed. I bought a moped which was great but the weight really piled on because I was no longer walking to/from the station and doing the stairs/walks on the Tube.

I come up through Lewisham, Peckham, Camberwell, over Vauxhall Bridge, past Parliament, then the blast down the cycle lane on Victoria Embankment to Blackfriars. Some decent hills there and on the way back, but nowt serious, but enough to get the bpm over 150 when smashing it.

I'm thinking of taking the bike with me to LM this year for daily trips to the bakery and to try and have a ride around the track. I don't think I could ride there, transport there is strictly in the C63 only lol.

LeMansNut

Original Poster:

744 posts

68 months

Saturday 16th February 2019
quotequote all
FukeLreeman said:
I do 4 days a week at 38 mile round trip. Two of those days, I'll add on efforts on turbo and/or chaingang loop.

It's free time for me. Saves sitting in traffic, and saves using a car. All low end Z2 recovery miles.
That's very good! I could probably up my miles if I went in via the S Circular, then do a right at Battersea Bridge which is then a good few miles of cycle super highway all the way to Parliament.

I ride Monday to Friday with Sat and Sun being rest days. And you're right, it's "free time" which I would other spend on a train/tube or on a moped. Cycling is quicker than both. However, you do burn time showering etc. and then getting to your desk. Either way, I always feel pretty pumped when I get to my desk after a cycle. Even when I come home, I feel more awake and ready to continue the day no matter how busy I was at work.

I also find that, mentally, I feel more positive. Yes, I enjoyed my time off but I did have those days of feeling "down". But since being on the bike again, I feel like life is pretty positive, if that makes sense. Sort of like smash it on the ride in, smash it on the project I'm working on at work, and then smash it on the ride back...lol

Daveyraveygravey

2,054 posts

190 months

Saturday 16th February 2019
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mcelliott said:
Of course you can ride your bike every day.
Not sure you can. Depending on age, lifestyle etc etc. Junk miles don't really help, if you can't stay in z1 or maybe z2, you might get more benefit from 2-3 days off the bike

anonymous-user

60 months

Sunday 17th February 2019
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Daveyraveygravey said:
Not sure you can. Depending on age, lifestyle etc etc. Junk miles don't really help, if you can't stay in z1 or maybe z2, you might get more benefit from 2-3 days off the bike
There’s no such thing as ‘junk miles’. Honestly, are we all ‘training’ for the tour or something. The trouble is, as rank amateurs (myself included) we do a few training plans and the odd race then buy into all this absolute BS. One of the best things I ever did was junk the Powermeters and HRM’s. And don’t get me started on Strava. My gramps used to cycle with Ealing Manor and was pretty rapid. Couple of his medals hanging around with various 56’s, mostly on a steel frame and wearing a woollen hat. Just ride the damn thing and listen to your legs.

Sa Calobra

38,038 posts

217 months

Sunday 17th February 2019
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If your going to do crazy mileage at least help your body by staying away from processed food, junk and alcohol.

Your asking alot of your body so at least run on the right fuel.

I'm 16stone3. If I did the OP's mileage I'd drop well below a stone lost if I ate well.

Don't listen to your legs. Negative effects can creep up over time.

Plus you ain't knocking out road mileage on Sunday morning in prestine air. It'll be London commuter air. That alone isn't healthy.

Admittably I only commuted by bike from end of Zone 2 to the centre of Oxford St for 8yrs but I rode through Regents park for part of the way. 30miles off road at weekends...I still had rest days.

Edited by Sa Calobra on Sunday 17th February 09:55

anonymous-user

60 months

Sunday 17th February 2019
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Sa Calobra said:
If your going to do crazy mileage at least help your body by staying away from processed food, junk and alcohol.

Your asking alot of your body so at least run on the right fuel.

I'm 16stone3. If I did the OP's mileage I'd drop well below a stone lost if I ate well.

Don't listen to your legs. Negative effects can creep up over time.

Plus you ain't knocking out road mileage on Sunday morning in prestine air. It'll be London commuter air. That alone isn't healthy.

Admittably I only commuted by bike from end of Zone 2 to the centre of Oxford St for 8yrs but I rode through Regents park for part of the way. 30miles off road at weekends...I still had rest days.

Edited by anonymous-user on Sunday 17th February 09:55
As I said, listen to your legs, includes your body. My point was/is, you can enjoy a bike ride every day. It’s the pressure people put on themselves to ‘train’ rather than ‘ride’.

LeMansNut

Original Poster:

744 posts

68 months

Sunday 17th February 2019
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Well, as usual it seems to be another Sunday where I notice a change in my body...err..."shape" after a week of commute cycling - approx 130 miles a week. Although the scales are reporting 16 stone, I seem to be able to fit into stuff I wore when I was around the low 15 stone area.

So, I have a pair of trousers which I bought in 2014 (they were borderline tight around the thighs and waist when I bought them), wore them for around 4 weeks at a gig I was working at and then "grew out" of them. Now bear in mind that the "media gig" which came after was casual work wear, so I didn't have to wear shirt and trousers. For my current gig, I do. Anyway, I tried on those trousers which have been hanging up in the wardrobe for years and they now fit with lots of room around the thighs and a snug fit at the waist.

Again, 3 "slim fit" shirts I bought from Next in 2014 and wore them for a month or two before I was too fat to get in them, tried them on and I'm nearly back in them. Belly area is fine it's just that they're a wee bit tight around the shoulders. So I reckon another few weeks of smashing it, and I'll be back in those shirts again.

biggrin

LeMansNut

Original Poster:

744 posts

68 months

Sunday 17th February 2019
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yonex said:
Honestly, are we all ‘training’ for the tour or something. .
Yep, I hear you on that. However, for me the HRM, cadence and other stats has been really good for me to track my own progress. It's good to see my average heart rate drop since I got back on the bike again. When I started riding into work again, I was a wee bit shocked at my average heart rate which was sitting in the 140s - but as time has passed that has decreased. It's all just a good fun and interesting to track progress. Also, my friends on Strava look at my stats and I get a lot of encouragement from them.

I'm not a racing rider at all, just a commuter cyclists who is interested in his stats. I do take the calories stuff with a pinch of salt though lol...I think Strava and Garmin are a wee bit generous on that side.

anonymous-user

60 months

Sunday 17th February 2019
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Sa Calobra said:
If your going to do crazy mileage at least help your body by staying away from processed food, junk and alcohol.

Your asking alot of your body so at least run on the right fuel.

I'm 16stone3. If I did the OP's mileage I'd drop well below a stone lost if I ate well.

Don't listen to your legs. Negative effects can creep up over time.

Plus you ain't knocking out road mileage on Sunday morning in prestine air. It'll be London commuter air. That alone isn't healthy.

Admittably I only commuted by bike from end of Zone 2 to the centre of Oxford St for 8yrs but I rode through Regents park for part of the way. 30miles off road at weekends...I still had rest days.

Edited by anonymous-user on Sunday 17th February 09:55
As I said, listen to your legs, includes your body. My point was/is, you can enjoy a bike ride every day. It’s the pressure people put on themselves to ‘train’ rather than ‘ride’.

LeMansNut

Original Poster:

744 posts

68 months

Saturday 2nd March 2019
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Just another update on progress.

I'm now under 16 stone and back into the 15 stone area at 15 st 12 lbs. However, today I was able to fit into a nice casual long sleeve shirt which I bought back in 2015 but wore 3 times before I grew out of it (pre-cycling days). Odd thing is this, I couldn't fit into that shirt properly when I was cycling to the previous gig and weighed a few pounds less than today? So I can only think that I've lost fat but gained muscle? Looking at my stats from the last contract-cycle-smash-a-thon, my cycling back then was not quite as intense as the current phase where I cycle everyday into work UNLESS I'm ill (have a cold). For the last 4 weeks, according to Strava, my average weekly rides have been 10 with mileage at an average of 130.

My belly has reduced big time and my man-boobs are near non-existent. Also, my rear end looks proper toned too. The changes are as "wearing clothes" so I don't mean to say that I stand in front of the mirror in the nude to note such changes lol.

Since 2 weeks ago, I'm also wearing a pair of trousers at work which I haven't fitted into since 2014 (previous gig was casual clothes so didn't need to wear shirts/trousers etc.). This means my waist size has gone from 40 to 36.

I'm still smashing the beers and ciders, not to mention the burritos, Subways and McDs on a lunch time. However, I'm still hitting daily achievements on the segments on Strava. I'm now managing to ride/keep up with groups of other cyclists on the London CS routes I use...you know...when there's a group of you boll*cking along at 25mph together and you shat your pants when someone in front hits the brakes lolz

As usual, my thighs feel like they're on fire during this weekend's rest days. It's not a problem, but my legs like to inform me that they want to rest on a Sat and Sun.

I'm still smashing it folks, and I enjoy every minute of it!

Smash it!

okgo

39,147 posts

204 months

Monday 4th March 2019
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Riding 5 days and having two off is fine, you will have built the fitness to cope with that. It isn't going to be a problem. Being inactive would be far worse I reckon.

I actually owe a lot of weight loss to commuting too, I went from 100kg or so down to 79/80kg through commuting. And I got lower than that in periods of caring a lot about what I ate, but mostly I never changed my diet, I still drank etc. You will be burning a lot of calories, even my 25 minute ride to work is 300 cals at a fairly sedate pace. They rack up quick.

Re Yonex point, lots of people echo what he says, I think for me its the opposite, I love seeing the watts come back after 16 months off the bike, it motivates me and the fitter I get the more calories I burn.

I know a guy that has commuted by bike every day, and I do mean every day, he never gets the train, since the early 90's and he's lived fairly far out for the last decade, he's well over 100k miles of commuting and over 50, good going I reckon.

Edited by okgo on Monday 4th March 16:40