Got me a bike

[hoddo]

Recently got myself a push bike with the aim been to loose some weight. I would much rather have gone swimming and I hate running so the decision made itself.

I am wanting to know how much time will I (should I!) need to spend on the bike to start loosing a bit of weight? eg: 4x 15 minute stints a week. 2x 1hr rides etc

I dont eat too much crap and have recently really cut down on the mid-week booze as that was the reason I had to get the bike in the first place. Advice would be welcome.

Thanks

[dickymint]

Tip i learnt from an older cyclist this weekend - when you leave it parked outside the pub, tie a plastic bag on the saddle

[gbbird]

check out the pedal powered forum on PH - very good for cyclists.

I try to do 2-3 hour stints at weekends, and that certainly seems to keep the weight off

[hoddo]

Fantastic. I must have been blind missing the PEDAL POWERED section on here!

Thanks for the advice. The reason I wanted to get some advice is that I want to keep the weight off and as the years pass (only 24 now) weight seems to find its way onto the old body!

I want to do this regulary and I think it is more likely that I will be able to do 30 mins a night 5 days a week (sun-thur) then it will to do any at the weekend

[gazzab]

I cycle off road (at hard pace with big hills) for 1.5 - 2.5 hrs at a time twice a week. Tend to burn up to 2,500 calories each time in summer (probably a min of 1000 calories in winter on the shorter rides). This has trimmed my weight by a stone and my waist size by 2 inches. Had to start eating more to ensure the weight loss stopped!
I do eat healthily though - 1 bottle of light beer a night max , no crisps/choc snacking etc....
For breakfast I have bran, for lunch a pret salad and some fruit, before a ride I have a small bowl of wholewheat pasta with a tomatoe sauce. Normal evening meal is either wholewheat pasta or roast chicken and veg. I avoid white bread (in fact all bread), white rice, white pasta, potatoe etc... If I want to stuff myself with nice stuff I go for dark chocolate, red wine, flap jacks etc... as an occaisional treat.

[neilski]

Getting up early and cycling an hour a day before work should do the trick! Not so nice in winter as in summer though.

Take Saturdays off and do a longer ride on Sundays with the local cycling club. You'll be a whippet in no time.

[Locoblade]

Similar to Gazza, I started riding regularly in April and usually ride 1-2 times per week for a 2-3 hours at a time, and although I wasnt really overweight to start with (5'10" / 13.5st), Ive also lost a stone in that time whilst building up significantly more leg muscle, so probably lost more like 1.5st of fat in total.

[orgasmicliving!!]

Do an hour every other day. Go as fast as you can and really tire yourself out. Find the hills and attack them. Longer on weekends if you can. The weight will come off. The trick is to stick with it. It does hurt at first.

Get some lights and cold weather clothing as winter is approaching. Also, a heart rate monitor that tells you how many calories you have burnt.

And yes, eating right is important. 500 cals per meal, 200 per mini snack in between meals. Eat stuff that is nutritious and not high in calories ie. lentils, fish, salads, oatmeal, veggies. Limit your carbs and make sure they are complex carbs (oatmeal is great, fibre in fruit helps delay the fructose absorption) to keep the energy high metered out and avoid the spikes and crashes.

You lose a pound for every 3,500 calories you burn up, so if you taken in 1,000 less calories per day than you burn, you will have a deficit of 7,000 calories per week, which works out to a weight loss of 2 lbs. It really works, and soon you will be needing to eat more to avoid losing more weight!!

My story--age 37, 30lbs overweight according to the web, started riding July 14th of this year. Added in running. Then soccer. And tennis. Do at least two of these per day (hour and 45 mins on weekdays, longer on weekends). Started weighing and measuring everything I ate, but occasionally treated myself. Have lost 22 lbs and I don't watch what I eat too carefully anymore. Tore a muscle recently, so have slowed down a bit, but I am sticking with the exercise.

Edited by orgasmicliving!! on Wednesday 25th October 07:49

[gazzab]

Wear a hear monitor and dont let you heart rate fall 'too low'.

[mat205125]

gazzab said:

Wear a hear monitor and dont let you heart rate fall 'too low'.

...... or stop completely! That's bad

[4WD]

Welcome Hoddo. When I was your age I was doing 18 miles a day round trip to work on my bike. I couldn't stop loosing weight, despite having burker kings for lunch. Now I'm 31 and have to watch myself. I eat properly now, drink much less, and probably do only a few hours a week - all on sunday. That is made up off lots of INTENSIVE bursts doing laps and jumps etc, then resting / panting before the next lot. It's enough to keep me trim. I would say strolling round the block for 15 mins is a waste of time.

[aerospoke]

Hi Richard

If you want to improve your fitness any exercise from 15 mins onward is suitable. Fatburning only starts after about 15 mins into the training. For fatburning you would want to avoid high pulse because then you would only gain muscles and fitness but not loose any weight. You can see quite a few people with a nice little paunch that can embarras slimmies like me pretty badly.
If loosing weight and staying slim are your main concern the best thing is to get a Polar or similar Pulsewatch that tells you when you are in your personel fatburning pulserange.
If you just want to improve your general Feel any form of excercise you enjoy regularly will do.

Cheers Jens