If you are cycling in order to lose weight it is vital that you understand the process and steps that lead to the weight loss. In this article you will learn about the bodies energy usage, the points when you are gaining or losing weight and what are realistic weight loss schedules for active bike riders.
This article is SIMPLIFIED and uses estimated numbers.
It’s objective is to give you a simple, plain English, grasp of how to use exercise and specifically cycling to structure your weight loss.
Lets start with the body overall.
The body takes in calories when we eat or drink. These calories are then either used immediately to power the body or they are stored for later use.
Taking the UK governments guideline figures a male needs 2500 calories per day and a women needs 2000 per day. This figure assumes an average person doing no additional exercise.
So if you eat/drink this exact amount of calories then you will neither gain or lose weight. BUT if you consume more or less than this then your weight will change. The magic number and the one you need to remember is 3500 calories. For every negative or positive 3500 cumulative surplus above or below your required daily a moment YOU will gain or lose 1 pound. For example:
Lets say you want to lose weight and you are a man.
| Daily requirement | 2500 calories |
| Actual intake | 2000 calories |
| Daily difference | -500 calories |
You continue each day doing this and your weight loss will be:
| Daily difference | -500 calories | ||
| 7 days | -500 * 7 days | = -3500 calories | = -1 pound LOST |
| 28 days | -500 * 28 days | = -14000 calories | = -4 pounds LOST |
Equally the opposite is true for weight gain
| Daily requirement | 2500 calories |
| Actual intake | 3000 calories |
| Daily difference | +500 calories |
You continue each day doing this and your weight loss will be:
| Daily difference | +500 calories | ||
| 7 days | +500 * 7 days | = +3500 calories | = +1 pound GAIN |
| 28 days | +500 * 28 days | = +14000 calories | = +4 pounds GAIN |
NOW the important step and remember this is simplified but provides a really easy guide to remember. For a man 2500 calories average calorie requirement per day. There are 24 hours in a day so roughly and I know its not exact but its simple ! Your (male) body is using 105 calories per hour.
When I work this out for myself I use 100. It’s not as exact but means I don’t need to use a calculator or anything. I can just do it in my head.
Now lets throw some exercise into the mix.
Exercise uses a lot more calories than just sitting around. The exact amounts used will be covered in an article tomorrow but for now lets imagine that the exercise you are doing uses 500 calories per hour. This would be a pretty typical easy paced cycle.
Lets go back to our daily figures again:
| NO EXERCISE | 1 HOUR EXERCISE | |
| Daily Requirement | 24 hours @ 105 calories | 23 hours @ 105 calories |
| Exercise Calories | 0 exercise | 1 hour @ 500calories |
| TOTAL DAILY USAGE | 2500 calories | 2915 calories |
| Food Intake | 2500 calories | 2500 calories |
| Daily Difference | 0 calories | -415 calories |
DAily Requirement to maintain weight is 2500 calories so in no exercise example your weight is going to stay same. In second example you are going to lose weight. How much and how quickly ?
| Daily difference | -415 calories | ||
| 7 days | -415 * 7 days | = -2905 calories | = -0.8 pound LOSS |
| 28 days | -415 * 28 days | = -11620 calories | = -3.3 pounds LOSS |
This example assumes that you are EATING EXACTLY the same amount of calories. So simply by doing 1 hour of exercise per day you will lose just under 1 pound per week.
The next step is to reduce your calorie intake a little bit. Again a detailed discussion of how to do this is beyond the scope of this article BUT imagine if you were to do the same exercise but at the same time reducing the number of calories that you take in. for example by reducing them by 500 calories per day.
It illustrate what that is. 500 calories is roughly 1 sandwich OR 1 snack that includes a chocolate bar and bag of crisps. This small change makes a massive difference to your weight loss while exercising. The figures now look like this:
| 1 HOUR EXERCISE | |
| Daily Requirement | 23 hours @ 105 calories |
| 1 hour @ 500calories | |
| TOTAL DAILY | 2915 calories |
| Food Intake | 2000 calories |
| Daily Difference | -915 calories |
| Daily difference | -915 calories | ||
| 7 days | -915 * 7 days | =-6405 calories | =-1.8 pound LOSS |
| 28 days | -915 * 14 days | =-25620 calories | =7.3 pounds |
So lets look at some conclusion.
If you want to lose weight. Then cycling or any exercise program will give you the killer advantage. It makes a massive difference to your ability to achieve weight loss.
How much you lose is a function of your food intake and how much exercise you do. Think more in terms of TIME SPENT EXERCISING NOT how intensive it is. I will cover more on this tomorrow but remember.
1 hour exercise per day AND eating one less sandwich per day = 7 pound weight loss per month.
You can do it.
If you enjoyed this article please take a moment to comment or share it on Facebook or twitter. I would really appreciate it. Thanks and keep cycling.
Luke Bream
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P. P. S. Are you getting the fitness and weight loss goals you desire? Maybe I can help you. To find out more check out Cycling Training
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- Is your cycling commute helping you to lose weight?
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