Is weightloss possible from riding alone?

[indysteel]

I lost 35 pounds about 1.5 years ago (and have kept it off effortlessly with good diet/exercise habits). For me, what was key was:

1-Discovering that I undersecrete insulin and therefore need to eat a low carb diet to both normalize my blood sugars and body weight.

2-Get over the myth that we need to consume carbs and/or mass quantities in order to ride a bike.

I think that many women who gained weight when they started to cycle, also have problems with blood sugar control, especially if they also started eating more carbs as they upped their cycling intensity. In fact, that can even be the source of hunger many of you are commenting on is brought on by cycling. I would argue its not the cycling, its the hyperglycemic state some people enter if they consume too many carbs while riding.

I am not saying that carbs are not a good fuel source, in the right body of course they are. But if you have a body that is either hypoinsulinemic (like mine) or hyperinsulinemic/insulin resistant (a more common problem especially among heavier individuals), then carbs are not the best fuel source. Instead, I fuel my rides with protein (amino acid metabolism generates TCA cycle intermediates that can be used to generate ATP in muscle) and body fat.

As long as I eat the foods my body can process correctly, then my body weight really is regulated by the calories in/calories out equations.

I also noticed that when I was heavier and used to ride with other heavy women, most of them ate constantly on the bike. Now that I am lighter and can ride with light men, I notice they consume much less food on the bike. Yes, fuel on a ride is important, but the amounts and frequency is not as great as some people think, especially if the goal is to even partially utilize our fat stores as fuel when we ride.

So food is important, but folks that can't loose weight despite good diet and exercise habits, really need to explore whether there are underlying metabolic reasons that could be corrected by a modified diet.

Interesting information. Thank you for sharing.

I would agree that a lot of people overeat during rides and/or use a sports drink of some kind when water will do. As a general rule, I eat far less than what is often recommended and have never bonked. Rather, my hunger usually manifests itself 24-48 hours following a heavy weekend of riding. I think I could stave off the worst of that hunger by making sure that I eat several small, well-balanced meals during that period. Still, I think some of my perceived hunger is purely psychological in that I feel justified in eating more because I'm riding. Finally, I would note that dehydration can manifest itself as hunger so it's important to stay well hydrated.

I would further note, in sharing my personal experience, that I didn't need to lose/gain any weight when I started riding and I've never actually dieted while cycling. I will freely admit that I could eat far less and still have enough fuel to ride as much as I do. The hardest time for me is when the weather starts to change such that I can't ride as much or at all. Significantly decreasing my caloric intake to account for that is difficult, and I ususually pack on a couple of extra pounds as a result. It doesn't help that it usually coincides with the holidays.

[OakLeaf]

I would agree that a lot of people...use a sports drink of some kind when water will do....my hunger usually manifests itself 24-48 hours following a heavy weekend of riding.

Unsurprisingly, the cheapest sports drinks are the ones made with HFCS, so those are the ones that casual athletes and ride organizers tend to use. Most people DO need to replace electrolytes and plain water WON'T do for the duration of a ride. Yes, things like Nuun and Emergen-C are available, but they're expensive and available only at specialty stores.

I was just remarking how the sole advantage of the holiday grease/salt/sugar binge is that I haven't needed to intentionally add salt to my beverages...

And it may not be true for everyone, but if I'm ravenous a day or two after an intense ride, I'm depleted in many different ways, and it's not healthy - not least because I'm not up to continuing my regular workouts on those days. If I replenish glycogen and a bit of protein immediately after a ride - within the window of an hour or two when I really have to FORCE myself to eat - then I don't overeat because I'm not hungry at all, in fact the idea of food is nauseating; and I don't experience the ravenousness that kicks in once my body realizes it's depleted, because I don't allow it to become severely depleted.

[Triskeliongirl]

Yes, indeed electrolytes are important, especially on longer rides. For a commute ride (45 min. at low intensity) I drink plain water and don't eat anything or supplement with electrolytes.

On longer rides (i.e. club rides or touring), I use a sports drink that is made from protein and electrolytes, but is carb free (again, remember I have impaired glucose tolerance). I supplement that with almonds after about 2 hours.

[Di bear]

I find that I generally can eat what I want during cycling season, but I have to put in about 8 to 10 hours a week. Also, the part about sports gels and such is also something to consider. If I'm out for less than 90 minutes than water is sufficient. Certain exceptions do apply, like excessively hot weather or race pace. A lot of it is experimental, and you have to do the experiments to see what works for you.

[Sarabeth]

My main exercise is bicycling. I've lost weight and kept it off. But you really must eat very good nutritious foods. That combo of the very best of food and vigorous exercise just never fails. I've lost about 40 pounds through biking. This year I've bike about 9,300 miles! That's a lot of cranking the pedals. Eating too much junk is a slippery slope to weight gain, no matter how much you cycle/exercise! I'm almost 64 years old, and after menopause it isn't easy -- those pounds can really stick tight -- unless you MOVE that body everyday!

Read my blog posts: www.bycycletrips.blogspot.com

When I went cross country in 2001 and again in 2006 (You can read my journals of these trips, a link is found on the blog) I lost weight then too. Averaging 85 miles a day of cycling -- your metabolism is like a furnace! Loved it!

[aicabsolut]

You're going to hate me, but I have to eat so much when I'm training hard to avoid losing too much weight (including burning off muscle) that I just get sick and tired of eating. So, I have to eat a lot more when I ride my bike. I struggled with 5 extra pounds or so of college flab for a long time before I got into cycling. It was a full year before I really lost any weight, though my body composition did change some. Within another 6 months I had gotten a lot faster, a lot more fit (finally seeing big changes in my resting HR, faster recovery times, etc.), and I dropped about 10lbs from my starting point (only about 3 lbs dropped that first year). Now I'm nearing 2 1/2 years of road cycling, and I have definitely gone down a size in clothes. Pants are still a challenge because of the thighs, which have always been muscular for me, but I'm still down.

When I started training to race, I gave up on all the dieting and watching what I ate that I had tried for years. I still have a fairly structured diet because I have IBS, but cycling has helped me control those symptoms so I can eat some foods and amounts of food that had previously been too risky.

[DebTX]

I thought the weight would fall off when I started cycling (it's the most regular exercise I've done in years, and surely the most intense). But my weight hasn't budged and it's frustrated the heck out of me. I took off 50 pounds two years ago and put back 10 over the last year. I've been struggling to get that 10 back off and gotten no where. I try to focus my eating around low glycemic index foods.

I do know that an early mistake I made was buying the power bars, etc to eat while on the bike. I experimented with giving those up, and found that breakfast holds me for any ride under 2 hours (I just bring water.)

I was hoping riding would give me license to eat more (have desserts once in a while - live a little, after a lifetime of diets) - but it really hasn't so far.

I do know, however, that my calves got slimmer. In years past, I had trouble buying boots because of big calves - not any more. It's the only place I've seen a sustained difference.

[Red Rock]

A few years ago I was about 10 lbs overweight. I started riding, doing small rides working up to longer ones. I have always watched my eating fairly well. I do have a choclate addiction so that has to come in somehow. Other than that, I have been able to ride and keep myself in pretty good shape.

I have not ridden in a while and the last two weeks I have put on more miles than I have in long time. I put my "normal" clothes on after the ride and I am getting shape back into my body again. It is such a nice feeling. At least I know progress is being made. It might be slow but slow is better than nothing at all.

There is a cycling club around here but times and some rides do not meet my schedule. I grew up riding by myself. So to me, I think this is normal. I enjoy the ability to be able to clear my brain of anything happening and relax on the bike and enjoy the view as I ride along. So I have lost weight and still continue to ride. It is possible. Keep it up.

Red Rock

[mudmucker]

I've never been overweight per se, but I generally gain 5 to 7 lbs. over the winter. I usually ride alone, and once I start up in March/April it takes a couple of months to kick in but by late June to September I whittle the weight off so, that I have to be very careful not to drop too much and I have to be careful to eat enough and properly. That's just my metablolism. And I don't train - I only ride 3 or 4 times a week and maybe 100 miles/week or less. Historically I've dropped weight so that I didn't have periods during July, August, and Sept. Now I don't have periods occasionally due to the big M. Interestingly, along about November and on, my weight usually drops, despite eating more portions of winter comfort food and not being as active. I'm convinced that my muscle is merely turning to fat and I weigh less. When we have a good winter with a lot of snow for xc skiing, then I weigh more.

[mudmucker]

I thought the weight would fall off when I started cycling (it's the most regular exercise I've done in years, and surely the most intense). But my weight hasn't budged and it's frustrated the heck out of me. I took off 50 pounds two years ago and put back 10 over the last year. I've been struggling to get that 10 back off and gotten no where. I try to focus my eating around low glycemic index foods.I

I've wondered if, when it is difficult for some women to drop weight is it because they've just started an activity after many years of inactivity as opposed to years of having exercise or some form of athletic activity during every season as a lifestyle. Or is it simply "people have different metabolisms".

Just the same, you did drop 40.

[deedolce]

Winter is such a struggle for me! I, too, have my Winter fat storage on my belly - about 5 pounds. I'm hitting the big 5-0 next week, and found from this past year that 150 miles a week was the point where I could eat those treats once in a while, and not have it show, multiplied, on my body! 125 miles a week wouldn't do it, it had to be around 150. And I still can't eat just anything I want (darn it all) I always have to be conscious of what I eat to not be a little dumpling!

I'm sure that number will have to go up as my body continues to change, and my body gets used to the effort.

[DebTX]

I've wondered if, when it is difficult for some women to drop weight is it because they've just started an activity after many years of inactivity as opposed to years of having exercise or some form of athletic activity during every season as a lifestyle..

I think you're on to something. I definitely think those of us who've led sedentary lives have a very different metabolism than folks who've always been active.

Same thing with training - I think my body is far slower to adapt, than say my husband, who's been athletic all his life. We both learned to ride at the same time, but he's now a relative speed demon while I still gasp for air at the top of hills.