Is weightloss possible from riding alone?

[TahoeDirtGirl]

Hi there...Bounces- what a crack up- I'm like that with bikes too..oohhh shiny!

Anyway, here is my weigh in (ho ho ho) on riding and losing.

I started out at 270 lbs. and lost 70 lbs riding a Specialized. It wasn't real easy but I wrote down everything I ate and tried to stay within specific calories (you can find calorie calculators or use a sports nutrition book to find out what you need to take in). But after riding for hours on end, I got so hungry I had to eat back some calories, so I would eat back about 1/3rd and that seemed to work.

I dropped another 30 lbs after getting my Ellsworth. BUT then I moved to the East coast from Tahoe for a while for work, and this winter, I put 20 lbs back on. How depressing. The only difference is I wasn't riding. I have about 40 lbs to go including the 20 lbs to get to the magic 155 lbs. I am supposed to be no bigger than 140 lbs but I'll see when I get there. I am pretty muscular and I can't imagine weighing less than that.

So I guess you really need to watch what you are eating. I wouldn't go splurging like mad if you rode a couple of hours, that and I stopped eating out but once a week (which I think has alot to do with gaining weight!) and eating packaged foods. Right now, just to change things, I snagged a Weight Watchers kit that has the calculator and books to do the Points deal. Yeah yeah, but you know what, it's so much easier than fiddling with all the calories and it's actually kind of fun. And more mindless. I'm losing about 2 lbs a week and I ride about 3 hours a week. I'm starting to commute back and forth to work (32 mi round trip got sidelined with a kidney infection) and when that starts it just will drop off. I think the key is doing something that is built in. I did that last year and it just dropped faster. Good luck!

[Crankin]

Not sure what the props comment was.

All I am saying is that you CAN do it. It may be slow, but the weight comes off. It takes a lot of self discipline. I know because I gained 25 lbs. when i got out of college. It took my dad telling me I looked like a fat pig to start exercising and eating right and I haven't stopped since then. It took me a year to lose the weight, but I think doing it slowly kept it off and gave me time to adjust to new habits.

[teawoman]

Not sure what the props comment was.

It's a compliment: http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=props (see last).

[Tabby]

In my case, I thought I was doing OK on the foods, I was trying for more fruits/vegies/protein and cut back some not so great stuff, but I learned there are SO many hidden calories.

Out of curiosity I became anal about readinglabels and looking up calories in everything I ate and kept a detailed log of everything, not to chastise myself or feel bad about that pint of B&J, but to actually see where it all came from.

Then I started to cut back portion sizes and some of the periferal foods and I started to lose (45 lbs since Jan 2007). I record what I burn off so I know that my net calories average for a week needs to be 1400 to maintain my weight. So those 3 hard candies I suck on to stay away from the cookie jar are still 140 calories. The steak sauce was 50, but start adding "just a few" calories all day and all of a sudden I can be at an extra 200 calories ...that's a lot in my scheme of things. Even the power bars after a ride are a couple hundred calories.

I believe we just need to know at what point with net calories our body will lose, maintain, gain weight.