Steely Dan

it really depends on where someone is starting out. when i lost 75 pounds in my first year of bike commuting, it was because i was woefully obese at 250 pounds. when i started doing some daily cardio with the bike commuting, the weight started flying off (~10 pounds/month as i stated earlier), then i did indeed hit a plateau, where i was starving myself at 1400 calories/day and still biking 28 miles 5 times a week to continue losing weight once i got below 185. i eventually decided that getting back down to my high school weight of 170 was just not worth that much unpleasantness to me. 1400 calories/day sucks ass. it's not enough to enjoy life.

besides, i was quite pleased with the results as they were, even if i wasn't at my old high school weight:


before bike commuting.........................after bike commuting



bottom line, if you've got A LOT to lose, bike commuting can certainly help you shed pounds fast, but if you're just trying to shave off the last 15 or 20 pounds to get back down to your old high school weight, bike commuting will likely not be the silver bullet you're looking for. starving yourself is the only thing that i've found that works for those stubborn last pounds.

HardyWeinberg

70 miles a week of commuting doesn't do it for me, I need to do extra rides to lose weight. Really, I need to not eat like I'm commuting during periods when I'm not.

fastbartender

Since I started commuting full time I definitely feel stronger and my clothes fit better. I am sometimes ravenously hungry when I get done riding and I think this has kept me from losing much weight. I brought food home for my lady and I the other night. She was too tired to wake up--I work nights-- so I went ahead and ate it all.

phage

Does anyone know of a good site to find low calorie meals?

I've just started doing about ~75 miles a week at 5'3/135lbs, but it seems insufficient to slim down so would definitely appreciate some dietary advice!

weshigh

Not sure if you are already doing this, but I found that making sure to eat something before each ride, really dropped down on my ravenously hungry moments getting home or to work.

tarwheel 

If you do it right, you can lose weight without being hungry all the time. The key is to run a moderate calorie deficit, eg, 500 calories a day, and eat often so you aren't hungry. High fiber food and protein also help curb hunger. Tracking calories help you learn how much to eat and control portions. It's easy to overeat if you exercise a lot. That's partly because it can stimulate hunger but also because many of us (me included) tend to think you can eat whatever you want because you exercised. You can't, if you want to maintain or lose weight.

El Duderino X

My wife likes this one. Apparently, so do I. https://www.gidiet.com/
Maybe not exactly what you're asking for but the recipes in those books helped me drop the 17lbs I needed to start riding my Dahon (max rider weight 230lbs) then drop an additional 23lbs during the first few months of riding said bicycle. So far I've managed to keep it off (the last four years). Give or take five pounds.

The Chemist

This is pretty much me as well. Same length of time commuting, same length of commute, and similar amounts of weight loss - as well as still drinking plenty of beer!

DataJunkie

I originally lost around 50 lbs. 30 through just riding. 20 more after diet modifications. Since quitting commuting due to working from home I have lost 10 more.

MNBikeguy

Steely Dan - cool pictures. Looks like two different guys.
Sadly, at 54 I need to ride just to maintain my weight. No ride = weight gain, even if I eat reasonably healthy.

elkootcho

My commute is 20 miles RT. I started over 2 years ago at about 195. Now I bounce around between 163-166. If I really try to eat well I drop to about 160.

BarracksSi

I think it's also easy to undereat if you exercise a lot --- IF you're counting calories, trying to run even a moderate deficit (not extreme), yet forgetting to account for the calories burned by all that exercising.

I wonder if that's what Steely Dan was experiencing. I can't tell if his 1400 cal/day is "gross" or "net" calories, but his post reminded me of other guys I know who also tried to eat that little while exercising heavily every day and ended up feeling like crap.

For example, I did some cardio this afternoon that my Garmin claims burned just under 400 calories. If I tried eating just 1400 calories, I've got around 1000 left to do everything I need to do during the other 23 hours of my day -- and that's really not a whole lot when you think about it.

When I was using LoseIt! religiously, it guesstimated that my daily calorie budget would be 1800-1900 calories. If I exercised, I could afford to eat more; if I didn't exercise, I had to eat less. If I had a big workout or a long, fast bike ride (or shoveled snow for six hours ), I ate nearly 3000 calories.

Once I made it a habit, and after six months of doing it every single day, I didn't feel crappy or hungry, I felt... well, I felt great. 30 pounds lighter, more energetic, and just plain happier.

FunkyStickman

I went down to about 1500 calories (some days less) but I made sure to eat a balanced diet with plenty of nutrition and no artificial ingredients at all. I didn't feel bad, and I was riding 350+ miles a month. I was hungry, but not starving.

Your body has plenty of calories in reserve, it just needs nutrients. If you're getting the vitamins, fiber, enzymes and enough protein, you don't really need many calories at all. Talk to your doctor, do your homework, and see what works. An all-natural/organic balanced diet did the trick for me.

newkie

This! I'm just that much hungrier and haven't lost anything. But at least I won't keel over from a heart attack (I hope!)

imi

Have you tried eating a banana or two during your ride home? This may help stave off the food attack...

I'm 5'8", 150 lbs and only lose weight on tour doing 60-80 miles/day for months on end. Being a vegan isn't conducive to putting on weight either :/

Telly

Started my car-free life three and one half months ago and have lost 16.5 kilos (37 lbs) since (my counter below started from a diet before commuting), I feel much better all around and have also lowered my stress levels (former road rage).

Bud Bent

Nope. I weighed the same when I started commuting by bike two years ago as I do now. Riding did help with my weight loss, but it was long before I started commuting by bike.

cellery

It seems like most of us plateau after a year or so of continuous riding and diet adjustments. When I started riding I dropped about 40 lbs. in about 9 months. I had adopted a vegetarian diet a couple years earlier but the weight did not come off until I was riding just about every day, mostly from commuting. I still ride almost every day, but my average weekly mileage has tripled with the addition of fun/training rides. I still eat about the same amount as I did back when I only commuted, eating only fresh foods, but I cannot seem to get below an average 155-160 lbs. Not that I really care to, I am quite happy with my weight. I just think it is interesting how most of us seem to find some weight at which we plateau at, and it is different for each person. It probably has to do with acclimation to the particular type of exercise, and more efficient use of calories from cycling, or something like that.

Antaresia

I haven't lost much weight, but I think that's because my muscles got built up. I have a 4 mile commute, so about 40 miles per week, plus whatever bike errands I do (carfree here).

I have noticed some clothes fitting a lot better, I had one sweater that was in line for the donation bin but it fits again!. I think a big problem was that when I saw this happening, I went back to my old bad habit of having a beer after work. Basically, biking allows me drink what I want and not get fat. It's a good life.

chefisaac

I have a crap load of weight to lose. Excerise is good and easy for me but eating really sucks.

paul2432

I lost about 15 lbs after I started daily commuting 12 miles each way. When my commute went to 3/4 mile each way last March I gained 10 lbs. I'm finally getting that back under control.

Paul

gdhillard

Lost 45 pounds in about 10 months. Happy.

1242Vintage

My commute is 50 miles roundtrip. When I started two years ago I commuted two days a week. Worked up to 5 days a week this year. Dropped 65 lbs along the way, going from 250 down to 185 lbs. I'm stilll losing weight, though now much slower than when I first started commuting.

clawhammer72

I started out this past summer at around 255lbs. After commuting, I've lost maybe 5lbs but I've definitely slimmed down or toned up, or whatever, and people notice a difference. The scale refuses to comply. I guess it's lost fat but gained muscle, at least I hope so.

Whatever the case, I feel great. I haven't change the diet at all, though, pretty much eating what I want. So, if I want to move forward, I'm going to have to put the fork down, as our kind roadie friends say.

MK313

Steely,

Congrats on the weight loss. The before/after pictures seriously look like two different people. Amazing.