Advice for losing weight (or not gaining) while cycling

[goldfinch]

Some thoughts:

--As Muirenn says, track what you eat and calculate the calories. Sites like http://www.livestrong.com/myplate/ can help you with this.

--Figure out roughly how many calories you burn a day, your resting metabolic rate plus a guesstimate of your activity level. Here is a calculator: http://www.caloriesperhour.com/index_burn.php Keep in mind that this is only an estimate and may not be correct.

--Eat 500 calories less than what you burn a day and you will lose a pound a week. This is a good amount to lose.

--Vary the biking with weight training. Weight training helps you preserve muscle while losing weight.

--I find it helpful to eat after I exercise. It helps with the appetite. You can time your meals to eat that way. Or, spare some calories for a snack. My favorite post ride snack is chocolate whey powder in milk. 240 calories worth. Other people like chocolate milk. Or maybe some tuna or cheese.

--Listen to your body! If you can hardly walk in the evening maybe you are pushing it too hard. Maybe commute every other day? And weight train on the non-commuting days, maybe twice a week.

--Be sure to take a day off once a week to recover.

--Above all, have some fun with the biking. Fun will get you to ride the next day and the next day thereafter.