Questions from an overweight beginner

[MightyMitre]

I'm not a total expert on weight loss, but I have been a cycling beginner. Again, time in the saddle will burn up those calories. A popular approach is to do long , steady rides.

This is the kind of riding a lot of people might do over the winter to improve endurance and keep weight under control. The temptation might be to whizz off as fast as you can for a long as you can in an attempt to work off the weight, but while you need to putting in some effort, in the long run this kind of riding isn't the most effective as it'll leave your tired and frazzelled.

Aim for a pace where you're still able to talk enough to be carry out a convesation ( except up those especially nasty hills! ). At this kind of level your body can burn fat at a steady pace, you'll be able to enjoy the view and you'll be suprised at how long you can actaully ride for. Don't worry too much about distance, go more for duration.

By the way - even if you're trying to loose weight you might want to check out some of the threads on Nutrition. There's loads of good stuff.If you're going on a long ride, ie 1.5 hours + you need to make sure you eat. When I was starting out I used to get extremely hungry after relatively short distances and still make sure I eat after an hour , even if it's just a nibble.
Likewise, when you get home make sure you eat some nice carbs as soon as you get in, otherwise there's a chance your body might think it's going into famine slip into preservation mode and actually start retaing body fat!

I'd also second Bikelady - be patient with yourself , especially regarding weight loss. If you've got a lot of weight to loose, just think about how long it took to put on . Chances are quite steadily over a long period of time, so for it to stay off ,it's got to come off in the same way.

Good luck and enjoy your long ride this weekend.