How to Lose Weight Cycling – The Ultimate Guide

Are you planning to lose weight? Then one of the best things to do is to choose an exercise which helps you with your goals! A lot of people take up cycling, which is a beneficial sport that the entire family can do. However, does it really help you lose weight as people say it does?

That’s a big yes! As long as you know your stuff in cycling (and in your diet), you’ll be able to effectively lose weight. But the question is: Where do you start? Read on as I show a helpful guide on how to lose weight cycling!

The Benefits of Cycling

So you’re probably wondering: Why is cycling so beneficial and a great exercise for weight loss? Well, cycling has more benefits than just calorie burn, like:

1. Alleviates Your Energy and Mood

Just like many types of exercises, cycling in the morning can help with depression and anxiety. It’s also a great way to reduce stress and have more energy and concentration for the day ahead!

2. Calorie Burn For Weight Control

Cycling burns a good amount of calories, being a cardiovascular exercise. Because of that, it raises your metabolic rate, burning fat more efficiently and helping you maintain and lose weight.

3. Improved Posture and Coordination

Cycling is a low-impact exercise and is easier for many people to do. It improves one’s balance, strength, and coordination, which is great to prevent any bone conditions in the long run.

4. Stronger Bones and Muscles

Like mentioned, working on your legs and putting an impact for the long term can help strengthen your bones and muscles. This low-impact exercise helps manage various bone condition like osteoarthritis.

5. Helps Manage and Prevent Diseases

Did you know that regular cycling can help prevent cardiovascular diseases and other illnesses? It improves your heart, lungs, and blood circulation, preventing heart attacks, strokes, and high blood pressure attacks. Studies also show how it can help reduce the risk of certain cancers and type 2 diabetes.

Ten Ways on How to Lose Weight Cycling

So you want to begin losing weight by cycling? There is more to it than simply using your bike every day! To lose weight successfully while reaping the health benefits of cycling, here are the top ten tips to follow:

1. Eat Less and Eat Better

Your diet is actually the most important aspect to look into when you want to lose weight. Yes, your exercise matters, but as much as possible, continue to eat healthier to ensure that you have the right vitamins and nutrients, also lessening the number of calories you eat for fat burn.

So fuel up on fruits and vegetables, and limit your consumption of all things processed and high in sugar! Opt for healthier alternatives for sugar cravings and energy requirements, and always remember to stay hydrated!

2. Cut Down On Your Vices

This is probably a very obvious tip, though a lot of people who have vices such as cigarettes and alcohol are more prone to weight gain. Those who drink alcohol have the risk of weight gain and unhealthy eating habits, due to the high calorific drinks and empty calories. Plus, the munchies tend to get to you, having you consume more calories than you should!

So start lessening your smoking and alcohol consumption, which helps you lose weight in the long run.

3. Start Cross-Training and Flexibility Exercises, Too

Besides cardiovascular exercises, it’s recommended that you begin cross-training, strength training, and some flexibility exercises which can help give your body the balance of building your stamens, strength, and your flexibility. This can help improve your performance as you cycle, preventing injury and pain.

Some great cross-training and strength exercise you can do include swimming, Zumba, boxing, or weightlifting. Pilates and yoga are also great choices to do to help relax and recover from your cardiovascular exercises.

4. Hit the Road Whenever You Can

If you want to burn as many calories as you can, then you should improve your activity levels. You can do this by adding more steps to your day, as well as cycling for as much as you can (without overtiring yourself). If you’re able to commute using your bicycle or go to areas by cycling, then take that opportunity.

It’s a great way to burn more calories while getting homer faster. After all, you get to avoid all that traffic!

5. Eat Snacks While Cycling

A lot of cyclists and newbies to weight loss would skip eating before or during the ride, as there are too many obstacles to eating while cycling show. I mean, who would like to eat as you concentrate on cycling?

BUT, did you know that eating as your bike can help improve your performances, especially when riding for a long time? It gives you the energy AND helps you avoid overeating after the ride. Go for quick and healthy snacks as you bike, like energy bars!

6. Set Realistic Goals For Weight Loss and Cycling

This is a very helpful tip to follow and start off with, as you need to know what you’re trying to accomplish before you start getting on the bike!

It’s best to start off with realistic goals, such as losing up to five pounds a month or increasing your speed or duration of cycling by only up to 5% a week. This manages expectations and helps you lessen the burnout in the long run.

7. Ride at Moderate Paces

While you might think cycling at faster speeds help you lose weight, it can actually burn you out too quickly at the beginning of the cycle. Most of the time you do cycle, it should be at a moderate pace, which helps you burn fat. You should be able to cycle fast enough that you’re out of breath, but you’re still able to converse or talk. Do this for at least an hour a day, around two to three times a week.

8. Have High-Intensity Bike Rides

Just because you cycle in moderate paces most of the time doesn’t mean you should ignore high-intensity sessions, too! This help improves one’s cardiovascular health, which has your body become a calorie-burning machine. So add in more intensity and speed to your cycling twice a week, exerting all your effort once you’re almost done with your session.

Through adding this to your routine, you’re able to burn fat efficiently without winding yourself out most of the week.

9. Get The Right Amount of Sleep

While sleep isn’t a direct way to lose weight, it’s one of the ways things that would affect it, specifically your appetite. Getting enough sleep affects your energy levels and mood, and not enough of it can discourage you from exercising. Furthermore, less sleep is proven to have one crave for high-calorific and sugary foods due to the erratic blood sugar levels.

As much as possible, aim for at least eight to ten hours of sleep a day for best health and weight loss results.

10. Track Your Progress

As you keep going, stay motivated and continue to track your progress, looking into how much weight you lost, how fast you’re able to cycle, or for how long. Celebrate these achievements and continue to progress until you continue reaching more goals!

How to Get Started Cycling

Now that you’re familiar with how to lose weight cycling, you have to learn where to start, too! If you’re still a beginner and unsure of how to begin cycling, here are some helpful tips to follow:

1. Get the Right Bike and Attire

Before anything else, make sure that you get the right bike suitable for your goals and size. You need to get the right bike size, and bike shops can help you with that, based on your height. Other factors include your goals, such as if you’re going to bike long distances or faster speeds.

Make sure that you also have the right attire, from the helmet, shoes, kneepads, and breathable clothes.

2. Start Creating Goals And Riding Style

Start off with realistic goals in terms of cycling AND weight loss. I recommend that you find your riding style, which you can do so by testing the bike out for a while. Also, when setting goals, increase your intensity only by 5-10% to avoid injury and adding too much pressure to your body.

3. Make It a Habit

If you want to lose weight, then you have to ensure that you make cycling and your healthy diet a habit. Create a schedule and stick to it, enjoying your exercise and taking it little by little until it becomes something you love to do.

4. Stay Focused and Get Support

If you’re having trouble staying consistent, then I highly recommend that you get the right support. You can join a biking group or have your loved ones join you in your diet or bike rides for motivation!

If you want to learn more about how to get started with cycling, check out this insightful video:

Wrapping It Up

Losing weight through cycling may take some time, but when going slow and steady, that’s when the results come and last. Just remember to focus on your diet and balance your exercise, and you can reach your goals very soon. It only takes a healthy diet and exercise, as well as the consistency to continue your weight loss journey.

Hopefully, this article on how to lose weight cycling gave you an idea on where to begin. So don’t wait any longer and look into following these tips today! If you have any questions or want to share your tips on how to lose weight cycling, then comment below. Your thoughts are much appreciated!