Why don't I lose weight when I ride my bike all the time?


 I read this article over the weekend and I've been thinking about it ever since. I'm trying something new - integrating different types of exercise as well as more interval work on the bike and reducing calories to try to break through the plateau I've been on. 

The challenge of having our bodies adapt to the routine:

The challenge of trying to lose weight just by exercising more is no secret to some clinicians. "This study actually explains a phenomenon that I see quite commonly," said Dr. Holly F. Lofton, director of the Medical Weight Management Program at NYU Langone Medical Center.

"I see patients training for a marathon and they ask me, 'Why am I not losing weight?' " even though they are exercising more and eating the same number of calories, Lofton said.

People who are increasing their exercise within a less ambitious range, such as going from being sedentary to walking or going from walking to jogging a few miles a day, will probably increase the number of calories they burn proportionally. But "over time, as you do higher levels of activity, you don't increase your energy expenditure [or calories burned] in a linear way," she said.

Reduction of calories:

Basically, if we don't reduce calories, our bodies adapt to the routine and we hit a plateau. 

The recommendation to cross-train:

"If you run all the time, try biking or swimming, and if you bike, try running or swimming, because using different muscles can increase your energy expenditure again," Lofton said. "It may also be possible to decrease and then increase your activity again and get an increase [in calorie burning]," she said.

And if you think you can necessarily rely on your Fitbit or other device to tell you how many calories you burned, think again: We probably burn proportionally fewer calories as we exercise above a certain level of intensity.

"Activity monitors are going to be wrong at predicting energy expenditure because they aren't incorporating this adaptation," Pontzer said. 

 Full article: http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/28/health/weight-loss-exercise-plateau/


 It's so much easier to jump on the bike every day as a routine. I love that I can get on the trainer and watch tv or a movie without having to go to the gym. I've been trying to introduce some weight training into my routine as well as a few more types of cardio workouts that don't involve a bike.

Have you hit a plateau? Or have you managed to power through it? What's worked for you?

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Gort 12-mile Pinklegneep on February 3, 2016 at 4:17am

I may not lose weight but check out my quads 

Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on February 3, 2016 at 4:25am

Ha! :-) Those are some killer quads.

Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on February 4, 2016 at 4:38am
Last year I lost no weight, but I also rode over 6000 miles, my best annual total. I think substitution of muscle for fat explains part/most of the lack of weight loss. If you look better in the mirror, then I think you'll be fine. :-)
Permalink Reply by Mike Keating on February 3, 2016 at 4:28am

Many, many years (and pounds) ago in my running days at Marquette whenever we wanted to slim down the advice was to "not eat anything white." Fast forward and science has found that cutting down on foods with a high glycemic index (most things that are white) will make you burn through fat. Sounds overly simple but it works. And unlike some low-carb diets you can and should eat the vegetables and most fruits you can. 

Permalink Reply by Thomas Bruzan on February 3, 2016 at 2:57pm

Yes

Permalink Reply by David Barish on February 3, 2016 at 5:33am

The glass is half full and  the stomach is  half empty.

Think of all the weight you would  have gained if you had not been biking. Now, reach around, if  you can, and pat yourself on the back.

Permalink Reply by daWillinChi on February 3, 2016 at 5:43am

I always say, if I didn't ride bike, I'd be a lot fatter than I am now.

Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on February 3, 2016 at 5:52am

#earnedtreats ;-)

Permalink Reply by V W on February 3, 2016 at 8:11am
This. When I moved and got a shorter commute I put on some pounds. The extent to which biking keeps one in shape is easy to take for granted.
Permalink Reply by djm on February 3, 2016 at 10:39am

Given the lack of good research, diets are religions...but I recently read a critique of Taubes by the Center for Science in the Public Interest.  In short, low carb diets provide a short-term weight loss because your body burns its stored glycogen and every gram of glycogen binds to 3 grams of water.  A very low carb diet also makes the kidneys excrete more water.  A low carb diet reduces water weight.  Long term, they rarely work.

Permalink Reply by djm on February 3, 2016 at 12:10pm

...some of the primitive cultures whose diet consisted mostly of protein, because of the animals they hunted...

The paleo diet is mostly hypothetical since we dont know what people ate then.  Some modern studies of remaining hunter-gatherer societies show that hunting may not be a very reliable source of nutrition and the largest part of their diet is from the gathering (fruits, berries, nuts, roots, etc.).  A high protein, high fat diet may not be a good diet if desired life expectancy is more than 35 years.

Permalink Reply by daWillinChi on February 3, 2016 at 6:04am

Losing weight is easy. Losing water weight is even easier - which is what most people lose anyway.

Losing fat is a different story. All come down to calories counting plus metabolic rate. If you burn more than your intake, you will lose weight - considering your metabolism keeps up. Also eating like who you are and not who you think you are will go a long way.

Plateau is also the biggest hindrance in keeping the weight off. I was a fitness instructor many moons ago and doing different exercises is something I recommend people do every few months and the other is taking time off. Although, the latter is somewhat difficult to come back from.

I bike continuously and during my commutes, I'd alternate between LFT and streets every few months. I also alternate between different bikes to keep it interesting. The other thing I change up is my pace. I'd go really fast one month and be the fastest toward the end of that month, another I'd do a leisure commute.

Thinking that you need to lose weight is also a bad motivation. You only reach that if you have another bigger goal. Like a new clothes you'd like to wear, impending health reasons, new job you've been vying for, or impressing someone in your life. Etc. Be careful with this one, though - like many things in today's society, you might be shamed out of it if it isn't to other's liking.

The last thing is $. Eating healthy isn't cheap. Don't listen to people who have never been fat or to people who was fat but has not been for a long time - their eating habit is different. Also has a big impact on your lifestyle, too. This one is also a big argument maker. 

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