Bike Bod

[inatree]

i havent lost any weight at all from cycling. and my body doesnt look any better. i ride about 16 miles everyday. am i not doing enough or something? anyway it has helped me immensely in a spiritual way tho. im not taking antidepressants anymore. and i sleep better. i have also dealt with an eating disorder for a while and i it seems my cycling habit is replacing my try-not-to-eat habit. i think about food in a very different way now...

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Inatree,

I found I sleep better now than when I wasn't biking or exercising. I don't keep waking up all night- I sleep straight through more and feel more rested. Now it's just my bladder that wakes me up sometimes!
16 miles a day- hew that's GREAT!!
Listen, often visible body changes don't become noticable until after a few months- they didn't much with me anyway.
You GO girl...

[RoadRaven]

i havent lost any weight at all from cycling. and my body doesnt look any better. i ride about 16 miles everyday. am i not doing enough or something? anyway it has helped me immensely in a spiritual way tho. im not taking antidepressants anymore. and i sleep better. i have also dealt with an eating disorder for a while and i it seems my cycling habit is replacing my try-not-to-eat habit. i think about food in a very different way now...

16 miles... 25kms... ok, so you are getting a good workout? On a training ride 25kms takes me about 45mins to an hour I guess at a reasonable clip (thats an average of about 25-30 kms, depending on my goal for the day, and wind etc.)

So, at those speeds my heart rate is elevated... and that is an essential element of weight loss by exercise.
QUESTION: when you ride, is your heart rate elevated so that you know it is working harder, but you could still talk to a fellow cyclist beside you?

OK, distance/time... to lose weight, you should do 30-40 consecutive minutes of aerobic exercise (heart rate elevated, but still able to talk) at least 4 times a week.
QUESTION: Is your 16 miles split into two rides? Or done as one ride? If it is done as one ride, it should be enough to start changing your shape. If it is done as two, consider making the first/morning ride long enough to take you to 40 minutes at the aerobic workout level.

K... if you exercise in the morning you will lift your metabolism and it will work harder and more efficiently all day (that is, burn fat for energy and help you lose weight). If you do your 40 minute aerobic workout in the evening, your metabolism is lifted, but then you go to sleep and it will take longer to lose weight.

I have been cycling now for two full years.
In the first year, I changed shape and dropped two dress sizes, but there was no difference at all on the scales (which means I lost some fat, but built muscle).
This year - my second - I have lost 10kgs and continued to build muscle.
In 2007 I want to lose another 10kgs.

You should aim to shift weight slowly and then it will be more likley to stay the way you get it.



I absolutely agree about the spiritual element to cycling, and the "betterment" for my own headspace.
I too also think about food differently now. Its not something I obsess out or crave now - it is a fuel for my body and I think of it in that way without losing the absolute pleasure I get from eating.

[indysteel]

I started cycling and practicing yoga at about the same time in May/June and my body has changed quite a bit. I had already been doing some light weight lifting, but didn't see it all together until I started to drop a bit of weight and body fat, presumably from cycling. I have defined arm muscles for the first time ever. I get tons of compliments on that alone. I also lost inches in my waist, hips and upper thighs. I have better defined muscles in my legs and my butt, while still a little on the flabby side, is smaller. I ultimately had to buy a whole new work wardrobe, mostly in size two or xs. I haven't seen those sizes since I was overworked and overstressed in law school over ten years ago. I haven't had my cholesterol checked since this before I started riding. I'll be interested to see if it's changed (it was already "normal"). My blood pressure has always been low so I expect that it still is.

Most of the changes that really matter to me are mental and emotional. The thought of riding more than five miles at a stretch or doing a backbend in yoga were alien concepts to me a year ago. I haven't thought of myself as an active or athletic person since my running days in high school so to do what I do now on a regular basis is a source of tremendous pride and satisfaction. I am an athlete now, and that new image of myself has opened the world up to me in a new way.

Both cycling and yoga are very "zen" to me. I find peace in both--in different ways. They have both helped me stave off depression and are a reliable antedote to a bad day. I've made new friends, too, which is a great bonus as well. I've spent a lot of money on both this year, all of it very well spent. I feel like I've reinvented myself.

[LBTC]

I feel like I've reinvented myself.

Ditto

With serious cycling in the last few years came a new appreciation of what this body can do. I had strength, endurance, power, some skill, and I looked great! Cycling led to more exercise, too. Kickboxing started as a way to cross train in winter and soon became an activity I loved; yoga became more intense, focussed on serious balance and power and mind involvement....

All three activities have a zen element for me. I know I can not do any of them safely without being completely present. That's one sure way to stop thinking about work, the house, whatever.

This year my bike bod (racer body as DH liked to call it), deinvented itself as I struggled with what turns out to be Crohn's disease. I was diagnosed about a month ago and am so far no closer to understanding what I can and can't eat. I am getting over the emotional feeling that I'm suddenly "breakable", but I do go through waves of feeling sad and like I've lost something, to feeling like I will regain my fitness and my athletic self.

This year will be an interesting journey. I plan to train, I plan to ride, I plan to kickbox, I plan to do a peacock pose again, I plan to race.....and I somehow need to adjust my expectations so that I get enough rest when I need it, learn how to recover properly, and am able to manage stress effectively, in order to keep this disease in check. I hope that the effects of the exercise will make a visible difference to my body again. I hate to think that I may have already peaked!

There are many reasons to love riding and what it does for us. For each of us, the mileage may vary.

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[Wahine]

i havent lost any weight at all from cycling. and my body doesnt look any better. i ride about 16 miles everyday. am i not doing enough or something? anyway it has helped me immensely in a spiritual way tho. im not taking antidepressants anymore. and i sleep better. i have also dealt with an eating disorder for a while and i it seems my cycling habit is replacing my try-not-to-eat habit. i think about food in a very different way now...

Hey inatree,

I'm happy that you've found a sport that is helping you spiritually. I also echo all of the great points that Raven made about intensity of riding etc. But there are a couple of things in your post that worry me a little. If you had an eating disorder, you likely also have an unrealistic body image or unrealistic expectations of what your body should look like or how it should change.

You didn't telly us how long you've been riding. It may not have been long enough to make a change yet. We also don't know what your body is like now. If you're normal or on the underweight side, you are not likely to lose weight, in fact you'll likely see an increase due to muscle. As for not noticing a change in your body, if you are undereating, your body has no nutrients to use to build new muscle or reconfigure the muscle that you have.

Try not to be judgemental about yourself or your riding. Do it because it makes you feel good. If you're riding 5 days a week that's great. If you're providing your body with the proper nutrition, it will change, it has no choice. And remember, it's not important what the scale says, they're only numbers.

Last little piece of advice, remember that eating disorders are similar to other types of addictive behavior and any exercise can also become an addictive behavior. If it's taken to the extreme, exercise addiction can be very unhealthy as well. Believe me, I know.

Take care and have fun riding.

[mimitabby]

Good post, Wahine. I gained almost 10 pounds from riding my bike!

It looks great on my legs, I'll tell you. I went from being someone "thin" to someone fit. Everyone does NOT lose weight from riding.