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Top 10 tips to lose weight cycling
AllieDen - Dec 2020
Losing weight is one of those things that is a lot simpler than it seems. When it boils down to it, losing weight is a matter of eating fewer calories than you burn (known as creating a calorie deficit). Of course, it never really is that simple in real life! But there are two ways to create a calorie deficit - one is by eating fewer calories, and the other is by using more calories. And using more calories is where exercise comes in.
When you exercise, your body converts calories into the energy that you need. These calories can either come from the food that you have eaten that day or from those that you have stored in your body as fat. So the more you exercise, the more calories you can burn and the bigger your calorie deficit (https://www.verywellfit.com/what-is-a-calorie-3432508).
The best types of exercise to lose weight are those that use a combination of big muscles, rather than using one muscle on its own, because all those big muscles working will need lots of calories to use as energy. Cycling is, of course, a good example of an exercise that uses muscle groups all over the body. So if you want an exercise that will help you lose weight, cycling might just be the one for you.
If you want to get the most out of cycling as a weight-loss exercise, then here are some ideas that will help!
1) Plan and set a realistic goal
It can be really tempting to try to go all out and lose as much weight as you can in a short space of time, but this isn't sustainable or healthy. Before you start your weight loss journey, it is important to plan out how much weight you want to lose and how quickly.
The first thing you should do is work out what your calorie deficit should be. The healthiest and most sustainable calorie deficit is generally around 300-500 calories a day. This will help you to lose weight without losing muscle or getting fatigued. Since every pound of fat stores approximately 3,500 calories, having a daily deficit of 500 calories will mean that you lose one pound of fat a week.
The number of calories you need every day depends on your age, height, weight, gender, and activity level. If you use a calorie tracking app, it will usually ask you for these details and then calculate your daily calorie needs for you. You can then input the calorie deficit you want to achieve.
2) Ride at a moderate pace often
Your goal when exercising for weight loss is to burn as many calories from your fat stores as possible. One of the best ways of doing this is to get your heart rate into the "fat-burning zone". This is when your heart rate is at approximately 70% of your maximum heart rate. When it reaches this level, your body uses fat for calories instead of the carbohydrates you have eaten
You can calculate your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220. So for a 20-year-old, their maximum heart rate would be 200bpm and their fat-burning heart rate would be 140bpm. If you don't measure your heart rate with a tracker, a good rule of thumb is that if you are out of breath but can still hold a conversation, you are in the fat-burning zone.
So cycle at a moderate pace, often, and your body will start burning away that fat for you!
3) Ride at a high intensity a couple of times a week
You may have heard of high-intensity interval training (HIIT), but lots of people don't realize that you can do HIIT while cycling. With this type of exercise, your heart rate is more at 70-90% of your maximum heart rate. The basic idea of HIIT is to do very short bursts of exercise at a very high intensity (hence the name!) with short periods of rest in between each set.
An example of this on a bicycle would be:
• 10-minute warm-up
• go as fast as you can for 30 seconds
• pedal at an easy pace for 30-60 seconds (depending on fitness)
• repeat four times
• ride at an easy pace for four minutes
• repeat the whole set three times
HIIT training is a great way of losing body fat. Pushing yourself hard will, of course, burn lots of calories. But on top of that, because your muscles will be repairing themselves for quite a while afterwards, HIIT training will increase your metabolic rate for up to 24 hours after your workout. What this means is that you will keep burning more calories than you normally would, even while you're sat on the sofa watching Eastenders!
4) Try fasted riding
As we have mentioned, when you exercise your body either takes its calories from the food you have recently eaten or from your fat stores. Of course, if you're trying to reduce your body fat, you really want the calories in your fat to be used. One way of achieving this is to make sure that there isn't any recent food for your body to take calories from. Fasted riding is when you cycle after fasting and this means that your body is forced to use its fat stores to fuel your ride.
Of course, you don't have to actually fast if you cycle first thing in the morning. Most people don't eat any food during the night and don't break their fast (breakfast!) until the morning. So, if you go cycling as soon as you get up, your body will take the calories it needs from your fat stores, and this will help you to lose weight
5) Increase your muscle mass
In between rides, it is a good idea to include some strength training in your routine. A major pitfall when losing weight is that you can also end up losing muscle mass alongside the fat. This isn't just a problem for how you look, it also makes it more difficult for you to continue to lose the weight that you want.
Muscles use protein to grow and repair themselves, and making muscle out of protein consumes a lot of energy. So the more muscles you have, the more energy your body needs to maintain them, which means it will use more calories .
The best part of this is that your body will be using these calories to maintain your muscles even when you're not doing anything active. In other words, if you increase your muscle mass, you will have a higher resting metabolic rate.
6) Eat a balanced diet
While it is tempting, going on a crash diet to lose weight won't help you long term. And if you are using exercise to aid your weight loss, not getting the nutrients you need will mean that your body won't be able to work as efficiently as it should.
(https://www.bicycling.com/training/g20020541/14-ways-to-lose-weight-with-your-bike/).
You may have heard people talking about "counting their macros" and this means keeping track of the percentage of each macronutrient you are eating. The three major macronutrients are proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. As a general rule of thumb, your diet should be:
• 45-65% carbohydrates
• 20-35% fats
• 10-35% proteins
.
(https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-to-count-macros#step-by-step)
7) Cycle your commute
If it is possible for you, taking your bicycle to work instead of your car or public transport is a great way to use calories and increase your calorie deficit. Making exercise part of your daily routine makes it more likely that you will stick to it long term, and this will make it more likely that you will lose weight.
Cycling at a moderate pace of 12-13mph for 30 minutes can burn between 240 and 355 calories. So if your commute is 30 minutes each way, you will be well on your way to reaching your weight loss goals without having to try and fit in exercise before or after work.
8) Be social
Another good option is to add a social element to your tracking.
There are lots of apps out there where you can share your ride with your friends, or with other people who use the same routes, and you can see your progress on the leaderboards. If competition is your motivation, then pushing your way to the top of the board will be enough to help you burn those few hundred extra calories!
9) Track your progress
This might seem obvious, but it is going to be difficult for you to get a handle on your calorie deficit if you don't know how many calories you're burning. Some people might choose to use an activity tracker or smartwatch to measure their heart rate, speed, etc. If you don't fancy the idea of an activity watch, you could also attach a speedometer to your bicycle and then use one of the many free online calculators to work out how many calories you burned on your ride.
It is, of course, also important to keep track of how many calories you are taking in. There are plenty of calorie-tracking apps out there that can help you do this.
10) Cycling can make you happier
Cycling is a fun exercise. It gets you outdoors where you can see the sights, breathe in the fresh air, and interact with other human beings. A lot of people also enjoy the day-to-day care of their bicycle (as well as buying all sorts of accessories!).
Making cycling your hobby, rather than something you are doing to achieve the goal of losing weight, will make it more likely that you will keep it as part of your lifestyle long term. And that can only be a good thing!
