50+ calorie intake
 

Biking is very efficient, not burning a lot of calories
Estimating 22 to 25 calories per mile is good for a lot of riders. At 15 mph, that's 330 to 375 calories per hour. Bike computers or phone apps often estimate way higher numbers. But riders with power meters can get a quite accurate calorie estimate, and this "under 25 per mile" number is pretty common. (I've seen just 27-28 cal per mile on fast-for-me group rides that include some spirited hill climbs, and 1500 to 1800 feet of elevation gain in 30-35 miles.)

I used to come home from rides and eat everything in the house, a net calorie gain for the day.

When doing "zone 2" or "conversational pace" rides, I'm burning proportionally more fat reserves and fewer carb calories. (Fast, hard rides still burn more fat calories than easy rides, and also way more carb calories.) I'm not nearly as hungry afterwards. It's a pace where I can recite the whole alphabet in one breath. For weight loss, I'd do more of these zone 2 rides, and maybe once a week include shorter, hard efforts. The zone 2 rides are also great for training your body to handle long rides.

5.5 calories per minute is pretty low compared with what I've seen in every medical site chart/formula, nutrition book or, actually, any source I've come across.

Lose It! is a good weight loss smartphone app that can both tell you your needed calorie level and track your food and exercise calories.

I'm 65, 6ft, weigh 170-175 depending on miles pedaled to donuts eaten. I'll give you this advice:
1) Give up soft drinks, regardless of diet or regular. This includes sports drinks.
2) If you drink alcohol in any form, seriously restrict your intake. Lots of calories there.
3) If you have a sweet tooth, likewise restrict your intake of sugar, which is in nearly all food that comes in a box. Don't add sugar to coffee, tea or anything else.
4) As recommended above, journal all food intake, and read the labels to see what you're actually eating.

Some people have success with ketogenic (carbohydrate restricted) diets, eating mostly protein. I'm going the other direction to mostly vegetarian with occasional chicken, but this is a recent development. Like you, I have always eaten anything I wanted. I recently "discovered" the concept that better nutrition might help me in my aging process. This approach may help you, also.

I recently lost almost 40 pounds (39.4 exact) in 90 days. I did it with calorie restriction and bike riding.

I would suggest you count and log each calorie. You’ll need a cheap but decent kitchen scale. Use grams, as it is easier to be exact than with pounds and ounces.

I have this $12 scale and I like it, I am sure there are many other good ones:
https://www.amazon.com/Ozeri-ZK14-S-.../dp/B004164SRA

Record your calories even on days that you may backslide. I intentionally let myself off the diet leash on big national holidays, like Memorial Day, and 4th of July. Then I eat what ever I want, and as much of it as I want, but it still gets logged and counted.

It will be a pain in the butt at first. you’ll need to Google “how many calories in 100 grams of _____”. Make a note of it, and then you won’t have to look it up again. So, for example, if you eat 150 grams of chicken, and the number of calories in 100 grams of chicken is 200 (about right, unless its fried) then you consumed 300 calories.

I use a plain text file on my computer, and after a while it is just a matter of copy and paste the same food items and quantity over and over.

Avoid junk food, chips, sweets, condiments, and butter or margarine. A calorie is a calorie, but they are empty calories. Not good for your health, and they just leave you craving more.

If you use any condiments, just weigh the container before and after. Depending on brand, some things like ketchup add up quickly, over 100 calories per 100 grams.

Avoid fast food, but if you must, most have calorie counts (under nutrition) on their websites.

Suggest cutting out alcohol, soft drinks, and juice, and save the calories for real food.

Food that I am heavy on is fresh fruit, vegetables and fish. I eat so much fish that I am concerned about mercury, so I stuck with low mercury fish like wild caught Alaska salmon and Alaskan Pollock (not to be confused with Haddock). Even then, I probably wasn’t getting enough protein, so I take a whey based protein supplement on the days I ride.

My typical diet is this:
Breakfast, 2 bananas. Or 1 banana and 1 fuji apple.
Riding snack, 1 or 2 bananas and a protein drink.
Lunch, Jethro sized bowl (1.4#) of frozen vegetables (Normandy or California mix (~45% broccoli, 45% cauliflower, 10% carrots). Plenty of salt, but no toppings (butter, cheese, etc.).
Dinner, fish.
Evening treat, fruit smoothie. Frozen banana, frozen pineapple, baby spinach, honey. Or 2 apples.

My results:

1st 15 days (I started mid-month in March): Miles on bike: 285. Lost 15.0 pounds. Daily calorie average: 1,127.

Next 30 days. Miles on bike: 604. Lost 14.8 pounds. Daily calorie average: 1,332.

Next 30 days. Miles on bike: 670. Lost 5.0 pounds. Daily calorie average: 1,724.

Next 15 days. Miles on bike: 410. Lost 4.6 pounds. Daily calorie average: 1,884.

I’m still losing, but those last pounds of fat come off so slowly. I started with a BMI of 32.5, now it is 26.2 and I am the lightest I have even been in my adult life. My unmedicated blood pressure also dropped from 155 to 110.

I have lost 30 lbs since June 1 (with 70 more to go... so) and here is what worked for me:
Pretty much quit drinking alcohol. The occasional Vodka and grapefruit and by occasional I mean less than once a week.
Wasn't much of a soda fan, but no treats (donuts, cookies, ice cream) except for special occasions. Like once this summer: my birthday.
Lower carb intake: no potatoes, only high protein whole wheat bread in limited quantities. I do eat granola for breakfast with yogurt.
I figured out the calorie intake of a weight below mine (given I started with a hundred pounds I started with a mid point)
Strive to eat only those calories and only in healthy foods every day
Minimize recovery eating after working out
I find it helps to eat my carbs in the AM rather than the PM. Cheese has been the hardest item to lower my intake of (well along with donuts, but I still get to eat cheese.)
Plan my workouts so the end at a regular meal time. Eat a normal (or slightly elevated amount. like add a banana to lunch or more vegetables at dinner.
Try not to eat in the evening. Most of my post Dinner food choices were ****e. After dinner I stick with low calorie snacks and only rarely: celery, pickles raw carrots.
Avoid going out hungry: I have good food at home its easy to make good choices.

Check the GCN channel on YouTube for their recent fasted riding tips. The theory is to kickstart the body into burning more fat when it thinks no carbs are coming.

If you're not sure you can handle riding 60-90 minutes at a low to moderate effort without having eaten for 8-12 hours, try it on an indoor trainer first. That's how I do most of my fasted rides, although I'll occasionally do them outdoors since I know I can handle it after working up to it very carefully.

If I do fasted rides outdoors it's only on familiar routes so I know the appropriate effort based on speed rather than how I feel. I may feel fine but if my top speed at maximum effort on a certain route is 18 mph and a good workout is 16-17 mph, I shouldn't be going anywhere near that on a fasted ride. Ditto on the indoor trainer -- no intervals, no sprints, no standing to pedal other than to stretch the legs for a few seconds, etc.

Or carry quick energy snacks and plenty of water. At the first sign of a low blood sugar bonk, stop for 15 minutes, eat a snack and drink plenty of water before continuing. Bonk symptoms vary for different people, but can quickly escalate from feeling peckish to growling stomach, feeling anxious, then irritable and lightheaded, even irrationally angry out of proportion to circumstances (hangry), headachy, dizzy, weak, trembling and faint. If you haven't experienced these before you may not have any problems. But once you've experienced the symptoms you'll know what to watch for next time.

I've pared off a couple of pounds of the most stubborn fat, the stuff around the middle that lingers after we've trimmed the rest of the body. But it's easy to go overboard so be sure you're in good health. I'm recovering from a shoulder injury and thyroid problem, so my efforts are relatively low compared with what I'd do normally.

Oh, and do take the advice to get an app to log every calorie eaten and every workout.

Our memory tends to be very selective and flawed about how much and what we eat. Studies confirm this.

Last autumn and winter I found myself losing conditioning rather than improving. Then I was sick with the flu longer than usual during the winter. I rarely get the flu at all but this year it went on for about two months. I also had a lot of other stresses going on, including an elderly family member transitioning from home to nursing home.

I used an app to check my diet and it turned out I wasn't eating nearly enough. Not enough total calories, not enough protein. That surprised me because most folks eat much more than they realize, especially in junk calories.

I changed my diet, gradually got stronger and leaner... until I was hit by a car in May. I'm still recovering from that setback, so I'm not really worried about what or how much I eat for now. As long as my weight is within 5 lbs of normal it's good enough for now. I've cut out the beer completely, and cut way back on the junk food -- cookies, muffins, etc.

For me, I think your vice was the difference maker. I've never counted a calorie in my life, but 8- 10 yrs ago, I decided to 90% quit drinking calories; meaning I'll have a beer, or a shake on rare occasion, but day in day out it's water, coffee, tea. Around same time I made a concerted effort learn what adequately satisfied meant for eating. For the most part I only eat when I'm hungry; I stop when I'm not. Like drinking calories, it's not a rule that can't be broken, just my general lifestyle. Net result is eating at a micro deficit, 210 lbs > 180 lbs over that time span. No weight gain as a year to year average in that span.

I’ve lost 75 lbs. and have never felt better at age 72. I started out at 237 lbs. and now I’m down to 162 lbs. I would love to be 155 lbs. but, it’s getting harder and harder to lose any more weight… but, I am maintaining, so that’s the good news.

The weight took a fairly long time to come off – several years of slow, but steady weight loss, with some frustrating plateau's. My partner and coach was my wife, who got on the diet train with me. It was a team effort, which really helps when you’re not going it alone. We logged every calorie each and every day and continue to this day.

Our meals consisted, and still do, of mostly frozen entrees, like Health Choice, Smart Ones, Lean Cuisine, etc. where the calories are plainly marked on the box. There are no guessing or weighing portions involved. Many of the meals are actually pretty good, others not so much. There’s a lot of variety and it is hit and miss until you can discover the dinners and brands you can stay with. The good part is there’s little chance for 2nd helpings like there is with home cooking – the key is portion control. On weekends we prepare some fun, home-cooked, low-calorie meals for variety and as a break from the routine and to cheat just a little.

Daily calorie intake for me is around 700 calories of actual food: 200 calorie breakfast and lunch and a 300 calorie dinner. I enjoy a beer or two in the evenings, so I went with 99 calorie light beer. So, my total calories are roughly under 1000 per day. Be patient and weigh yourself once a week at the same time… don’t weigh yourself every day, because you fluctuate all the time and that can be very frustrating.

You could continue eating the items you do, but cut down portion size by one-third.

You could take two or three of your nutritionally least appealing items and swap them for something "better" ... a bit more protein, a but fewer calories, etc.

If you haven't done so already, you could nix half or more of your post-4pm intake, allowing your body to essentially draw down your "ready" calories and begin drawing on stored calories earlier in the evening (for a deeper fast).

You could take your existing workouts and introduce more intervals into the mix, boosting the intensity above what you're currently doing.

Uncertain if you're doing a workout every day but, if not, you could begin doing so. And ensure a solid part of your week's worth of workouts includes higher-intensity components. (At least, higher intensity than you're doing now, on average, or with additional higher-intensity spurts [intervals].)

As others have suggested, it's highly dependent on your own metabolism, any medical conditions you might have, the types of foods you have, the degree of difficulty of your workouts. Everyone's different.


For myself, being over 50yrs of age, with my activity level involving a handful of ~75min workouts per week, including incorporation of higher-intensity interval segments on most days, and I typically consume about ~1400-1500cals. Less, and I lose weight. More, and I gain. If I want to lose another 20lbs, I could easily add another two or three ~40min workout sessions a week, and/or boost the number of higher-intensity intervals as part of my training, and/or lop off one-fourth of my current intake. In a couple of months, the 20lbs is gone. But, that's me, given what I consume and how hard I'm able to push my physical activity.

The above are offered as ideas to consider, not that each of them will necessarily be right for your situation.

This is what works for ME. I lost 33 pounds two summers ago by doing fasted rides and intermittent fasting, while also restricting carbs, especially sweets. I lost the weight in about three months. I started riding 15-20 miles fasted and worked up to about 70 eating nothing at all. I tried to keep the pace about zone 2 but occasionally I would go harder, especially after I got used to doing it.

I'm currently trying to shed about 10 pounds that I let creep back on over that time. I rode 62 miles this morning @ 17.4 mph. The ride had 3,900 feet of climbing. I felt great all the way through the ride. I've researched these methods and I realize that the opinions vary on the effectiveness. I think what does work is just the fact that calories are being restricted. It is easier for me to not eat anything until about noon each day. I usually eat supper the previous evening about 6, so my fast usually lasts about 16 to 18 hours.

I'm not recommending this to anyone. I'm just saying it works for me. In my opinion, the reason there are so many fat cyclists is the thought that they have to "carb load" the night before, then eat a huge breakfast, and stop every 15 miles and eat something else. For the average recreational cyclist, I don't think this is necessary. BTW, I'm 55 years old. Right now I'm 180 and working towards the low 170s. I'm 5' 11".

This is what I do. YMMV.

I'm a Clyde, why ask me?

I ride about 20 to 25 miles per day and tend to eat about 3000+ calories per day. I should lose weight but don't, but my blood sugars are pretty good with all of the riding.

Some very good advice in this thread, some of which I'll repeat in my own recommendations.

First off, I'm 55, 5'10'', and weigh around 135lbs. My wife is 47, 5' and weighs around 110lbs. I do all our food preparation and I restrict our overall calories, fat intake, and simple carb intake. And of course sugar and salt. In fact I'm careful about everything we eat - we drink alcohol only very occasionally, don't do desserts in the standard sense, eat no fast-food, and drink no sodas.

Here are my thoughts about maintaining a certain weight/physique:

No alcohol, or it has to be greatly restricted
No fast food or really any restaurant food. You can eat light out but most people fail epically when trying to, so it's best avoided.
No sodas or other sugary drinks, go diet if you must.
You must restrict your intake of bread - yeah I know, I love it, too. :(
Be aware of your portion sizes!

And lastly, understand that cycling - or really any other type of exercise - burns far less calories than most pople think. The reality is you could ride 100 miles every day and still put on weight without even trying. It's an unfortunate reality like death and taxes, lol. And believe me, I know how this goes, I ride around 20-50 miles daily, and and it really ramps my appetite up sometimes.

3speedslow on the forums here stays impressively slim himself, perhaps he'll add to this thread as well.. :)

The first and most important thing to remember when trying to lose weight is to not listen to people on internet forums about how to lose weight. There are countless better sources of information at your fingertips.

I dropped 25 pounds since the winter. Cut my calorie intake down to below a grand and I did the intermittent fasting thing. The fasting is in direct conflict with getting in quality miles though. However I was able to make it work during the week, and upped the calories for long rides on the weekends. Now that things are back under control and I think my weight is where it needs to be, I'm just eating clean protein, keeping the carbs low aside from long ride weekends and no snacking.

My Fitness Pal
 

I have My Fitness Pal set to 1960 calories per day. I've lost 20 pounds over 6 months. I've been lifting weights a little and built some muscle over the same time. Hoping for another 10, then maintain. Good luck .