Does Cycling ACTUALLY Help You Lose Weight? | GCN Show Ep. 569

[@gcn]

Tell us about your cycling nutrition 🥦

[@kolstefan5]

16/8 fasting, low carbohydrates, high fat and protein. This lowers insulin and produces ketones and burns fat.

[@TiberiusMoon]

My BMR is very low which kinda sucks when your reducing your body fat percentage, After many measurements with a consistent diet and exercise my BMR is around 1200 cal (and advice from a dietican) @@traderz13

[@ltu42]

Phil Gaimon's statement that you can eat whatever you like on the bike (in the context of huge chocolate chip cookies) because you'll burn it all by the time you'll get home really stuck with me. Coffee stops with guilt-free cake are so good. Other than that, my fave lifehack is 50 grams of maltodextrin in the first water bottle. No artificial flavours, no sickening sweetness, two gels worth of energy while sipping on the drink.

[@hutchy_4297]

@@kolstefan5 so you must be super thin?

[@markjthomson]

Bodies are made in the kitchen, and if you have to exercise to lose weight your nutrition is wrong! Exercise is great for many reasons, but weight management is not one of them. Eat right, real food, avoid ultra processed foods, exercise well, rest properly and sleep! In regard to ex pro's who "balloon", you can't comment on any reasons based on change in exercise alone, as it is a whole raft of changes including typically no longer being closely monitored in the areas of health, nutrition and exercise. Too many changes to simply isolate it to "less exercise makes them gain weight".

[@brittwoodruff9369]

While diet does play a part in weight loss I can honestly say that my weight loss from 440 lbs to 198 lbs over a 2 year period cycling definitely played a massive part in it. At my largest I had done so much strain to my joints that I choose cycling due to its lack of physical impact on joints to change my body. 100% cycling has made a difference.

[@jimcappa6815]

That's awesome! Keep up the good work. I did a similar thing. Went from 385 to 180. Feel great, and at 60, I hope to be around for a while.

[@mommamooney]

Nice work!

[@brittwoodruff9369]

@@jimcappa6815 absolutely feels incredible. Was able to get myself to a position that I attempted and completed the Whistler Forte Fondo in September.

[@johnrodgers6049]

Exercise most definitely helps control weight, but it is much easier to control weight by diet. BUT! There are a litany of other health benefits gained from exercise and the primary one may be psychological health. Exercise also helps with: Stroke. Metabolic syndrome. High blood pressure. Type 2 diabetes. Depression. Anxiety. Many types of cancer. Arthritis. Falls.

[@gcn]

You made the right choice! Cycling is amazing 🙌 Keep up the great work, What's the next goal?

[@philipcooper8297]

Not sure about my body weight, but my wallet certainly does seem much lighter than it was before I got into road cycling.

[@James_R_]

FACTs! Quit for 5 years because of this exact reason... Not only that, it was a loaner bike I was just trying to maintain. Then gained 100lbs. /facepalm

[@n22pdf]

lol so true 😂😂Pete

[@forsdykemontague1017]

Now you spend it all on overpriced Lycra 😂

[@gcn]

Hahaha we hear you there! Are you happier though? 👀

[@TikeMyson69]

Sounds like you can still afford food though.

[@dakotatroudt3736]

Hey everyone, I'm fella with the Globe Haul e-Bike! Thanks for picking my bike, while I don't ride everywhere with bikes on the back Si did cover the reason. I run a bike shop in my town and often bring my bikes that I'm switching out parts, need something, etc... and I've tried to go mostly carless over the last few months when commuting to work and we have a fantastic paved trail network here in Fort Collins. You'd be surprised how many folks here in town haul bikes with cargo bikes. I mostly did it out of sheer silliness to have fun with everything and give myself a practical way to get my bike to work when I don't want to drive them if they need something. Thanks for featuring me, made my day!

[@kevinfeeney5309]

I've done similar with an old dog hauling trailer. I stripped all the fabric (it was worn anyway) and since the frame was round tubing I used Yakima bike trays. I sort of did it as an exercise.. don't use it much. I do use a '76 KHS Gran Sport mixte with the Xtracycle Free Radical though. I have picked up several bicycles that were free in my neighborhood. I spot them on rides, so rather than having to ride back home to grab my minivan, I just use my "DIY" longtail.

[@jonheggen]

My wife, a retired PE teacher, always tells me, "you cannot out run(pedal) the fork". However, two years ago we road our bikes across the US. I ate what I wanted, drank an amount of beer that only Dan would appreciate and lost 15+ pounds (6.8 kilos, 1.07 stone). six months later, 10 of the lost pounds were found. Beer and Pizza consumption had to be reduced.

[@drkneesandtoes6312]

I'm at the other end of the scale after a lifetime of endurance exercise. For example, I rode across Australia, solo, unsupported, in 18 days of cycling (2 days off in Port Lincoln) doing 200 -300 km a day, on perhaps 3000 kcals a day - mostly stuff like dried fruit, tins of tuna, freeze dried veg etc. Back in the 80s the roadhouses were few and far between. But I lost no weight. Similarly on mountaineering expeditions, other people would lose 10kg or more, but I never lost any weight. And the reverse it true, as now I'm slowing down I am putting weight on but I can literally not eat for a week (like a recent hospital stay where I was on a saline only drip and NBM for 7 days) and lose less than 1 kg. More recently I've actually had my BMR measured - it's 1200 kcals/day. So it looks like 40+ years of cycling, mountain running, 24 hour orienteering, and mountaineering around the world, and generally undereating as food's heavy stuff, I've pushed my body to levels of efficiency where I can get by on minimal calories. But I'm suffering the health effects (REDS) like loss of bone mass and osteoporosis. So there's genetics, and there's training and adaptation, but everyone is different.

[@jigglypuff4227]

Hello; I noticed the same phenomenon when it comes to me, I wont lose any further weight at some point, no matter how many kilometers I did per day. I rode 5 times a week and sometimes around 70 - 90 kilometers per ride and only ate around 1.550 kcal - 1750 kcal the whole day, being 168cm tall and at 63.5kg It really feels that my body is completely stuck and it felt like I could even gain weight while eating 1650 kcal even though I should have burned every day over 1200 kcal or more per Zwift session. I have no idea what that is, I can not really get shredded :( I saw some videos where they claim it is the problem that I am not eating enough and therefore being skinny fat, but I am not sure. @@drkneesandtoes6312

[@gcn]

That's some great riding though and you need to fuel for a journey like that! What an epic tour - have you got any more tips lined up?

[@michaeltsui3435]

​@@gcnthe only sure way to lose weight is to consume more than you eat, and if you burn 2.5k to exercise your body must commit to extra food or reserves.

[@stephengirimont]

I've lost 50 pounds since March of 2021 when I started cycling. The ONLY change has been that I started cycling. I did not change my diet at all. Of course, I'm riding 1.5 to 2 hours a day 5 or 6 days a week, so the "endurance sport" calorie burn does come into play in my situation.

[@yumyumhungry]

I think the studies are only taking into account the vast majority of people who do a half hour to an hour run and call it a day. Not us freaks that will do 8+ hour rides.

[@Taz86]

@@yumyumhungry probably accurate tbh. My longest ride this year was around 9 hours in the saddle, and I burned north of 5,000 calories

[@healthandfitnesstips-o6t]

Are you Weight loss Transformation Solved? Please, commented YES or No

[@kevinhoffmann3713]

My weight fluctuation from riding is in direct correlation to the amount of cafe stops taken.

[@gcn]

Hahahaha! You've got to get a cake when you're at the cafe 🍰

[@deanjohnson6642]

Just 1?

[@helipeek2736]

Eschew pastry

[@jeffadams3489]

Cycling definitely helps with weight loss: I promised myself that I would not treat myself to that new bike until I lost 15 pounds, which really helped me stick to my diet! Love the new bike (6 years old) and have kept the weight off. Truly, I think that cycling is more about motivation to watch what I eat than what I lose through excersise.

[@gcn]

That's awesome! What a way to treat yourself, what bike did you get? 👀

[@jeffadams3489]

Thanks. It is a Carbon GT Grade Ultegra. I eventually changed out the cranks and cassette to get to 1:1, which I am only going to need more in the next decade. I switch from a 28 summer tire to a 35 knobby tire in winter, and then ride more gravel and off road.@@gcn

[@aihsanasl]

Cycling caused me to gain extra 15 kgs, Im 7/24 watching GCN videos and eating sandwiches, pizza and hamburger.

[@feedbackzaloop]

Looks like a diet to gain pounds, not kilos

[@johnhickie1107]

GCN as a cause of weight gain. Never realized that! 😂 I'll get up and jump on the trainer this minute.

[@judithdavison6698]

You could be burning fat and gaining muscle.

[@gcn]

We're sorry about that, we'll have too make out videos less engaging 😉

[@aihsanasl]

@@gcn don't worry girls find me hotter that way.

[@andrifsig]

yes! Cycling helps with weight loss! Started cycling moving away from a static lifestyle. Weighed in at 165kgs and about 191cm tall. Today I am 108kgs, so still a relatively heavy cyclist but able to complete long endurance rides over 200kms. And still targeting longer rides. Started at the beginning cycle touring and it is the absolute fastest way to shed off the weight but still eating like a hog. 11 day trip in the Westfjords of Iceland and shed off 10kgs on the trip. Ate whatever was infront of me and did so about 8 times a day. Even had a meal at the ready during the middle of the night because I was waking up still hungry. Just could not eat enough. Low zone2 riding for the win! Now the proud owner of 4 bikes and all put to great use throughout the week!

[@gcn]

Sounds like you are smashing your riding! Anything over 200k is pushing it 🥵 Iceland is an amazing place to ride - we've done some great gravel over there 👉 kzbin.info/www/bejne/aqirnqJrYrSprbM

[@Nasr.bussiness]

Great story man❤ Just keep up Me I'm 100kgs i have to lose over 15kgs to get best weight 😢 I'm searching about buying a bike 🚵

[@kaidean]

I took up road cycling last year specifically to lose weight. Since then, I have lost about 13 kg and am now training for riding across the UK in a day. I try to eat right (I logged every calorie I ate for about 12 months) and I ride about 100 - 120 km per week. I have just recently entered the world of Zwift which I find harder to put the hours in to burn the calories, looking forward to better weather so I can get back outside! In the last 18 months of cycling, I have found a huge shift in attitude to food consumption, I am not overly interested in eating, I eat at meal times and no real snacking. This means, I have zero desire to stop on rides for café stops!

[@jamesthomas2196]

As a relatively competitive marathon runner, i work by the 80:20 split for weight control and it works. 80% diet and 20% exercise. Also as a doctor, i see many patients claim they cant lose weight because they cannot get to the gym…they leave with the same advice i apply to myself

[@zao.224]

I also listened to a lecture from Dr. van Tulleken recently and found that calorie claim perplexing. Would be awesome for you all to have him on the show and dig into that a bit deeper!

[@r.massattack4052]

Cycling was tremendous in me losing weight. I was a free weight lifter but hurt my shoulder. I turned to cycling to not balloon up in weight. I started at 233 Lbs & in the 1st week I dropped 18Lbs. Im currently at 193Lbs. I never changed the way I ate but I do fast 2 days a week. I have a wheel on trainer & workout 1-2 hours, 3-4 days a week. My goal per session is 10 miles plus per hour. I found the GCN Sessions on YT & have been hooked ever since. I train on Zwift while training to GCN. 2 Birds, 1 Stone.

[@troughtonbl]

Interesting debate on weight loss, I think we need a presenter calorie test with Manon, Conor and Si - seeing how long it takes to burn a variety of calories 500, 750 and a 1000. Think we’d be surprised how different the timing might be

[@DB-sj8km]

The amount of time it takes Manon to burn 500 calories will be what it takes Si to burn 750, and Conor 1000. Not exactly, but around that.

[@WrathMania32]

I definitely think there's truth to this. I first started cycling seriously two years ago and was able to be pretty loose with my diet while still either maintaining or losing weight. I was doing 60 miles a week then. Now I do 100-120 and I find I have to budget calories pretty strictly. There's probably other factors involved (stress, for instance), but I do think my body adapted to the workload.

[@darrylhuculak4996]

As per Si's request - Current weather in Victoria, BC: 11ºC, overcast with light winds. We're a little pampered here on the West Coast.

[@deborahkontschak2098]

During summer and 7h weekend rides I definitely lose weight… BUT! since losing weight is one way to become a faster rider, cycling has helped me a lot in being more disciplined about eating.

[@colinricketts1415]

the hack or bodge thing on the shimano mtb mech/campy gear lever - that's similar to the avid rollamajig. Just removed one from an old mountain bike because it had stopped rolling due to wear

[@kevinfeeney5309]

That's what I was thinking about when Si was describing his little device...

[@alinapopescu872]

For me, a solid episode of deep depression is the best way to lose weight. The one I'm still treating made me lose 5 kilos, taking me from a barely healthy 50 kilos to 45. I've put back 3, so I'm out of the underweight zone. It works like a charm every single time.

[@colecoleman1499]

U lost water weight and muscle likely not fat

[@contactking]

Truth be told, it has been TOO WARM in Calgary. Yesterday, was +12C. Today, +4. We've only had a few days of snow so far. On the positive side, I've only fallen off my bike on ice three times.

[@nwimpney]

Canadian in Vancouver here: Probably similar weather to UK. Last week was around freezing in the mornings and foggy, last few days it's been warm-ish at around 10C, but loads of rain.

[@Quivivravelo]

#captioncompetition: Oh my Lloyd, These Karate kids trying to get their first DAN.

[@rasmuskoop3516]

Chris Van Tulleken misrepresented the study he is citing. it finds a positive correlation between physical activity and energy expenditure, that gets smaller as activity increases. Copied from the abstract :"total energy expenditure was positively correlated with physical activity, but the relationship was markedly stronger over the lower range of physical activity. For subjects in the upper range of physical activity, total energy expenditure plateaued." From the study "Constrained Total Energy Expenditure and Metabolic Adaptation to Physical Activity in Adult Humans " by herman pontzer et al

[@thenobleist9262]

To be fair, if I could ride an e-bike to the trailhead or to a local race start, I absolutely would do that. Quite the hack figuring out a way to transport one bike with another.

[@TimothyFish]

I agree that you don't have to exercise to control your weight, but my experience has been that I tend to eat the same amount of food whether I'm exercising or not. For that reason, it is a lot easier to lose weight when I am exercising than when I'm trying to keep my calorie count down.

[@gcn]

A healthy balance of them both is always the best option 🙌

[@davidmackintosh429]

I feel that when you start to exercise regularly your diet usually falls into place too. I find myself craving more nutritious foods, especially fruits when exercising and loads of meat and vegetables for after workouts.

[@serisingh]

2:47 you only loose weight if you consume fewer calories than you burn. If you do an immense amount of exercise, appetite usually increases to compensate (or come close) for many people because the body is designed to maintain homeostasis (in this case, body weight), which was an adaptation for survival before the days of easily accessible over-processed foods. For me personally, if I do small amounts of moderate intensity exercise, my appetite is more easily controllable, and I can loose weight. But if I do a lot of high intensity exercise, I always gain weight because my appetite goes through the roof!

[@diezrosales]

It certainly does. I took the GCN January 2023 challenge and I cycled for 30 minutes everyday. I enjoyed it so much, that I continued doing it for the rest of the year, as well as cycling 3 or 4 hours over the weekend. By June, I had lost 10 kg, even though I hadn't set out to lose any weight as I only wanted to improve my fitness, but it just happened. I have a balanced diet and never changed it, other than treating myself to a cake every now and then as a reward, which I wasn't doing before. In my experience, cycling regularly definitely made me lose weight.

[@Nasr.bussiness]

That's an amazing Keep up ❤❤

[@diezrosales]

Thank you@@Nasr.bussiness

[@TheImprobableIronman]

Having managed to stack on a ton of weight over the last few years, I finally decided (in April this year) that 2023 would be the year I finally got back in shape. I quit alcohol completely, started eating healthily, tracking it with MyFitnesspal and got my training focus back. Most days involve a 1 hour walk and an hour on Zwift. I mix in some weights and also a couple of 3 hour road rides each week. Starting weight (end of April) 141.6 KG - weight today 88.9 KG (tracked with a Garmin Index scale). I feel great and have seen my Garmin Vo2 Max go from 33 (think that was bottom 15% for my age and gender) to 50 (which Garmin tells me is the top 5% for my age and gender). I think there is truth in that saying that you can't out-train a bad diet.....the best weight loss exercise is 5 sets of eating less crap....etc. But I think I'm proof that regular exercise, combined with a healthy diet and a bit (or lot) of commitment really does get results. You also need to track what you're doing (we all easily forget the things we don't want to remember - such as that bag of crisps etc.). Studies, such as the one you refer to, are always interesting and their findings should be considered. But equally, you do speak as you find and the results I've seen speak for themselves - or they do to me, anyway.

[@recstoppauseplay]

When first getting back into cycling about 12 years ago, I did it for the fun and social reasons. There are some fantastic trails in my area. The urban infrastructure isn't too good but the parks and converted rail beds are excellent. I thought I'd lose some weight (now 76 kilos) but that didn't happen. I did lose some build up around the middle and now my old clothes fit much better - such a bonus. The benefits of cycling could fill a book, and maybe it has, but I don't think every cyclist will lose weight. Every cyclist benefits from the exercise though.

[@gcn]

Riding bikes is the best! For so many reasons - social, fitness, weight loss even mental health. Great to hear that you are loving cycling. We've filled some books about with cycling 👉gcn.eu/books 😉

[@theantichrome9842]

34:40 where I live, if a traffic light doesn't change after a few minutes, it's perfectly legal to treat it as a Stop sign and continue on when it is safe (not affecting anyone else's right of way) This law was enacted for motorcycles. Additionally, we have the 'Idaho Roll' law for bicycles. Stop signs are treated as Yield signs and Stop lights are treated as Stop signs. This law, when enacted, immediately reduced car vs bike accidents. It makes cycling in the streets much nicer. It reduces the amount of time we're exposed in intersections and It doesn't affect anyones right of way.

[@kelinryan8222]

I have to agree with Si on the 3d printed bodge. Forcing a Shimano mountain bike derailleur to work with Campagnolo road group levers is kind of like forcing a Ford truck transmission/gearbox to work with a Ferrari . I don't care if it worked you don't do it.

[@CameronFraserACHF]

I ran for a decade, eventually getting up to half marathons, and then came back to cycling, which I've been focused on for the last decade. I said on more than one occasion that despite all the exercise I hadn't actually lost any weight... I'd just rearranged it into a slightly more attractive package. A couple of years ago, I started using an app to track food intake and manage portion size. Lost 25 pounds in just over a year.

[@gcn]

Often the diet and exercise will work hand in hand, great to hear that you've come to the light side and away from... running! 😂

[@CameronFraserACHF]

@gcn At 65, it turns out to be, far and away, the easiest way... maybe the only way... to improve my power to weight ratio

[@jack002tuber]

I have heard someone say "you can't outrun (or outride) the fork". I believe it. Most power in controlling diet. Both diet and exercise has to be better, but don't expect to lose weight while not dieting.

[@newttella1043]

The bike on a bike is actually a bike on an E-bike. So getting to a mountain bike trail quickly, efficiently, and environmentally are good reasons.

[@MrPharmageek]

Me: nice, I just burned 800 calories on a zone 2 ride. Also me: proceeds to shove 1000+ calories worth of chips into my face.

[@gcn]

You're not the only one, nothing wrong with a chippy tea 🙌

[@jack002tuber]

We all find that the rate of intake is much nigher than outgo. One candybar in takes like two days of hard work to burn off

[@TravisBrodie]

as someone that has lost 80 lbs over the past 3 years, i can tell you for a fact you can out work diet, to a point. Burn more calories than you eat and you will lose weight, worked for me. Problem is most people also increase calories because working out makes you more hungry or they dont understand that a small amount of "bad" food has a lot more calories than they think.

[@hughbriz]

That shifter adjuster is for sale - j-tek shift mate allows various Shimergo combinations and works well. There are several different ones.

[@James_R_]

I recently found that looking at a fasting chart and listening to zone 2 gurus helped understand how little hard exercise contributes to fat weight loss and plateauing. Long story why I was overweight in the first place so I'll skip that. I was 305Lbs in may, I have been losing 10lbs per month since. 237lbs currently. I started by cutting carbs and sugar for the first 40lbs or so. I got back on the bike around 260lbs and started eating a little more and maintained the same weight loss rate. Ok, so back to the "what I believe to be true" and what I think I learned. In the fasting chart it showed that your energy used first is the energy stored in the blood stream, then in the muscle. After that it goes for the fat creating ketones for energy rather than readily available carbs in the bloodstream after you eat. This will be true when on the bike even in a hard ride. You will likely also be tired as your cells scramble to make and expend energy working overtime. Less tired if your body is accustom to generating ketones which most people are not. This is why some coaches push for fasted training sessions. My suspicions about long hard exercise would push beyond the body's ability to restore muscle cell energy fast enough with ketones from fat possibly causing local damage which prevents gains in strength. This is why over training plateaus exist. Thoughts?

[@draconianTL]

I'm in the middle of losing weight, going from a starting point of 84.5kg, currently at 79kg and aiming for

[@kevinblankenburg4816]

It helped me loosing 30kg in one year. Also I completely changed my diet. One meal a day, low carb. Key is to change your metabolism to fat burning and do a lot of exercise in aerobic levels.

[@jesmondo5785]

Or it's because you were in a massive energy deficit.

[@speedsociety9177]

to each their own. I lost 10kg and keep a low bf% for years now through cycling, eat clean food, 3-4 meals a day and still consume a normal to high amount of carbs. Just saying that there are many ways to achieve weight loss but be careful you are not underfueling with that approach. I did that in the beginning and messed up my hormones and felt terribly fatigued all the time.

[@gcn]

Are you doing lots of zone 2? 👉kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnPFfGBmq81gmpo

[@kevinblankenburg4816]

@@gcn mostly, short high intensity, but 90% zone 2.

[@jack002tuber]

Walking worked for me. Way better than cycling. I don't know why or how.

[@carlosdeno]

Not only does it help you lose weight, bang the miles in and eat what you want! 🌮🌮🥩🍨🍿🚴🏼🚴🏼🚴🏼Sixty years old, 5’11” and 72kg. Seriously though calorie deficit and exercise, equals weight loss. More importantly what it does for your wellbeing is absolutely superb. There’s no better feeling than being out riding your bike!

[@speedsociety9177]

exactly, I am "only" 40 but cycling allowed me to get down to 75kg at 186cm and keep it there. When I ride a lot, I eat a lot, largely clean food with the occasional cheat meal has worked well for me for years now.

[@timothyhorlacher]

Tim, 35yrs, Philadelphia PA. I have been cycling for fun since 2011 but my goal of weight loss started in 2019 when my body reached 275lbs. I focused on my eating habits first and it was trial and error on what kinds of food and how much food made me feel strong and energized. I would cycling intermittently to add some activity to my routine. By 2021 and 2022, I figured out the correct food intake my body wanted and I averaged 7 hours per week of cycling from march to October. The summer months I road longer due to the weather and extra sunshine. During this time I was very consistent with my food tracking, averaging 2000-2700 calories daily depending on the time of the season. I went from 250lbs to 185lbs during this time. Compared to 2023, I averaged 5 hours a week and did not track my food as rigorously, I currently sit at 200lbs. Not a big deal, I feel and look great! In 2024 (and beyond) I will continue to cycle and I will continue to be conscious about my diet. From my experience, if you are feeding your body with crappy processed food, over over eating sweet treats, or abusing alcohol…. You could never out ride the diet. Consistent weekly activity that challenges you, eating real food in moderation and getting plenty of sleep is all you need to lose some weight! Thanks GCN!

[@ianstewart8301]

When I was running and doing triathlons I was super fit. Now that I’m biking, doing minimal weights & yoga, it’s not the same. The main thing is that exercise also helps the heart and mind.

[@judithpreston4756]

As a casual cyclist (3 to 5 hrs per week weather permitting) I did not lose any weight but I did improve my endurance and muscle tone. Not to mention my mental health!

[@pierce9128]

I was 24½stone at the start of 2020. I started walking, some short jogs on the walk. 3yrs later im 15½stone. Managed a ½ironman cycle in 2hrs48. I didn't really change my diet much. One potato lest with my dinner and few lest sweets. Cut out fizzy drink aswell. So yes exercise does lose you weight but you still have to watch your diet to get the best results.

[@joshebrown2575]

"So you want us to break that brick? With our hand?" Dan is brilliant! #captioncompetition

[@MrStatsfreak]

My personal experience with losing 50 pounds a few years back was that while I was following a calorie monitoring system to control eating, without bicycling, and seeing the improvements in both enjoyment and performance of my rides because of weight loss which motivated me to continue with the program, I don't think it would have been achievable. Dieting alone wouldn't have worked for me.

[@jackatmensacosacoaching]

Having been a coach for many years, I can tell from experience that exercising for more than 5 hours a week is already quite a stretch for many and that a lot of exercise is actually compensated throughout the day with extra rest, which kind of off-sets the energy burned. If you are an athlete who works out for an hour at a moderate level and after that workout drinks a protein shake (because marketing tells you that's what you should do), you probably on balance haven't lost that much energy. Also we should take into account that doing a lot of exercise creates a lean muscular body, which is super efficient at storing and burning glycogen (hence the much lower heart and breathing rate when not exercising! - and therefore less energy demand when in rest). The problem is that the average athlete, which I think 99.9% of us are, are not working out at the same intensity and duration as elite athletes but, due to marketing, adopt a nutritional lifestyle similar to elites (protein shakes, sport drinks, energy bars, gels etc etc) which we actually don't need. I think Chris Van Tulleken has a point with his ultra processed food impacting our microbiome in a quite unhealthy way and you only have to read the ingredient label of any sports nutrition product to see that most of these products are ultra processed!

[@maxfera.]

#captioncompetition I'm sorry Sensei, I'd love to participate but according to *UCI rule 1.2.079 "Conduct of participants in cycling races"* _All licence holders… …shall refrain from any acts of violence, threats or insults or any other improper behaviour or from putting other persons in danger._

[@marcusantonyledulx]

If you eat a meat pie of 430 calories, to "burn off" that food requires 94minutes of riding at 23kmh (zone-2). People riding 36km for this ride, undo the burn off gain by eating a pie in 5 minutes. For weight control it's easier to not eat the pie.

[@9090Glenn]

I did a PERSONAL study in 2021 - I reduced my diet for 3 months and saw a gradual decline in weight - I then retained that SAME diet and exercised daily with 30 minute jogs or 2 hour rides over the next 3 months - I continued to lose weight but at an ACCELERATED decline - as I plotted all of this data over the next 3 months you can still see the DRAMATIC effect adding exercise had - there is a decline for 3 months and then a visually sharper decline the next 3 months - this year alone I have retained a standard diet and have lost 20 [lbs] cycling to date - FACTS - exercising BURNS calories - BMR + calories IN > calories OUT you WILL gain weight - BMR + calories IN < calories OUT - you WILL lose weight - its called the Calorie Bank Account and I monitored it over a year losing 53[lbs] in the process - FACT - if I maintain the SAME diet but then cease exercising my weight INCREASES week on week - I need to burn about 800 calories daily ( 4KM jog ) or 6500 calories weekly ( 150KM and 1500M cycling per week ) to maintain my body weight on a 2000 calorie daily diet - so your Doctors Study is pure BUNK which rhymes with JUNK BTW - I much prefer my OWN study and exercise routine and NOT relying on a DRUG like Ozempic to remove weight "for free" - that ONLY leads to a poor junk diet NOT being punished while exercising inherently makes your body CRAVE good nutritious food for energy and growth - a healthy body is NOT only about calories but also NUTRITION which is ESSENTIAL for health - so eating junk and losing weight with Ozempic results in an unhealthy body - get it ?

[@throughthewindow4894]

Cycling has kept my weight stable. I get the research, because if you eat properly and you are riding, you're going to lose weight faster. But I also get a bad feeling that a small percentage of people are going to latch on to this to prove their point that exercise is pointless.

[@rob-c.]

The research doesn’t say you’ll lose weight faster. It says your calorie expenditure averages out across a month/year whether you exercise or not. You use more calories when exercising, but then less when resting - relative to what you would have used if you just rested the whole time.

[@logicworkshop1]

When I restarted cycling in response to being diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes in my late 50s, I also significantly changed my diet. I lost about 20kg over 12 months and that was largely driven by the diet change. The cycling acted as a motivator to keep to the diet as I could monitor my weight loss through the gears I needed to use to go up hills. I think that the research is largely correct although maybe it would be more helpful to describe the results as exercise alone is not enough to lose weight but it is a great contribution to the process if supported by a sensible diet

[@DBmusICify]

Regarding the Globe Haul LT with the Epic EVO on the back, not all people have cars! I commute on the Haul ST everyday and have a similar setup but the wheel is on the ground.

[@jonathanbouchard39]

The Bike on a Bike is great when you want to lend your bike to a friend - Hack!

[@rjhoopoe587]

#captioncompetition: Everybody was Kung Fu cycling Those cats were fast as lightning In fact, it was a little bit frightening How quick they were at climbing.

[@becker517]

100% agree, during pandemic early years I was spending 3 times the time and miles on my bike losing significant weight, while eating more. Now, less time to ride, weight is back on while trying to eat healthier.

[@richardharris8538]

#CaptionCompetition: Arashiro's teammates didn't believe he had a karate dog, until they saw the little shih tzu.

[@kidShibuya]

What you guys are missing about the research going into food and weight loss is that the studies are increasingly showing that calories aren't all equal. You can take two groups of people who are eating on average the same calories and getting the same amount of exercise yet one group will put on more weight than the other. If it's just a simple matter of calories in vs calories burnt then these studies cannot exist. Yet they do. Myself I was gaining weight, so upped my exercise to one hour of cycling per night and walking 8km to work each day. Thats a lot of exercise and... I gained a few extra KG. Remember 20:17

[@alienaudaxer9827]

For the caption competition result you should send a black bottle with a white lid so it looks like a Guinness. Great hair this week btw Dan.

[@jmw2840]

Of course you can increase calorie expenditure in the short term (Pontzer says as much!). It is really tricky to out exercise a bad diet in the long run (It takes 2 hard hours to burn an excess 1000 Calories but 10 happy minutes to eat them). Even those who’ve managed it for an entire sports career have to modify their intake at some point in retirement. That said, amongst the many benefits of exercise one is that it does assist in keeping weight off. Probably by modifying satiety signalling rather than by excess energy expenditure.

[@johnnorris1457]

On the induction loop traffic sensor - when stopped, we used to lean our steel frame/rimmed bikes near parallel with the loops inorder to get the sensors to trigger. It may have been more of a superstitious act than fact based, but seemed to have worked enough times to keep us trying.

[@davidheathfield5040]

Jan Ullrich coming back from the off season, classic example of not being able to out-pedal a bad diet

[@Flexo_l]

People forgot that when you are cycling and burning calories you are putting calories back in with gels and sports drinks. After the ride you go in the pub or caffe and they you go for the lunch. You will never be in the caloric deficit that way. If you won't put something in on the long ride you will bonk so it is a thin line how much to consume to be in deficit and not to bonk.

[@aethylwulfeiii6502]

Switch to real food, spinach, banana, oranges, water only in the bottles. Have a black coffee. It works.

[@evasivefox7287]

I've lost 30lb this year alone and I attribute that both to my increase in cycling and my diet.

[@eloann]

I picked cycling up again (as in more than just commuting when it's sunny) this year and dropped from 80kg to 71kg in 6 months, eating more than ever. I do cook regularly and only consume meat once a week, but that has been the case for years.

[@darrin2382]

I've lost over a stone this year from cycling 1500 miles in my first year in the saddle.

[@dmitrypalaev3323]

We should look on wider angle. Losing weight is happening not just because of calorie burning during the exercise right at the given moment. Cycling is improving the whole body system including metabolism, oxygen level and so on. So this is why our fat burning factory is working better.

[@GenuinePluko]

I went from 210 lbs to 155 lbs, eating 2500 > 3000 kcal a day, purely from cycling too much. Long rides mid week, long rides at weekend. It got to the point I couldn't get enough food down me to find the sweet spot balance. I eased off the miles due to other commitments last year and went back to 165lbs. Until I ramped up my cycling my weight never fluctuated and I was 15 stone for many years.

[@davidadamus177]

Fueling on the bike has definitely increased my weight 😢

[@justsomedude7556]

I lost a whole lot of weight about 15 years ago going from 375 to 175, but now float between 195 and 215 lbs. I ride on avg 100 to 120 miles per week taking every 8th week off for recovery. At one point in time, while at 175 lbs, I felt really tired and weak, and when I would take long rides, 80 miles +, it would take me a couple of days to recover. After about 6 months of that, I determined that I was not getting enough to eat and decided to add 25 to 30 lbs on my frame and feel so much better during, and post ride. I do not ride for weight loss, although it helped me achieve my goal, but I ride for the other benefits it gives me as well as allowing me to not feel guilty having ice cream more often.

[@Stephen-nq5kd]

#captioncompetition Daniel San is one of my top 6 GCN presenters. “Daniel San look eye” *send Stephen a bottle*

[@edwin.jansen]

It depends on what bad diet and what body you have. I never managed to lose much weight at all from cycling in the long term. Heck, my yearly physical for my license doctor back when I was 26/27 always said I should lose weight while I was training 10+ hours a week and riding 15 races a year. Your body type has a lot to say about your ability to lose weight through any cardio. Also, your stress level reduces your ability to lose weight, due to your high cortisol levels. Having PTSD does not help. Also, body toxicity plays a big role as your body will use fat to store toxins it can not remove fast enough. And I think diet plays a very large role at the top pro level as they are always in need of marginal gains. At least most of them say that it was the biggest influence on their progress. The only time I really lost weight was when I rode my bike with baggage around the Swiss Alps for 5 weeks at 21. I lost at least 6kg in those weeks. People would ask me worriedly if I was eating enough. I walked around like Casper the ghost. I had fingers like ET. That was a long long long long time ago.

[@braapaholicracing6969]

I think diet and exercise often go hand in hand. When you are cycling and exercising more you tend to be me aware of what your are putting in your body.

[@johnhickie1107]

Missing from the discussion is calorie quality. A calorie is not necessarily the same as another calorie. Caloric content of food is based on burning a sample in a bomb calorimeter. Highly processed foods with small particle sizes are: a) easier to digest so that the amount of energy actually made available per calorie ingested is higher. b) as your body perceives the processed food to be easier to digest, you can ingest even more calories without feeling full c) small particle foods are often processed more rapidly leading to surges of blood sugar. Whole foods are processed more slowly leading you to (probably) eat less, and you don't get the sudden surges in blood sugar and insulin that is one of the biggest factors in weight gain. Having said that, I cycled 2000 km this summer on a bike trip and dropped lots of weight - you will lose weight with a negative energy balance - it's simple math. The trick of course is to control both diet quality and amount as well as doing some exercise the rest of the year to maintain a lower weight. It's not really one or the other. Diet wise, I avoid fizzy drinks, chips (AKA French Fries) and candy which makes a huge difference. Even if you don't lose a pound, exercise reduces the risk of obesity related diseases!

[@CamKnight1]

I started cycling 3 years ago. I lost 20kg in my fitst year of cycling with never changing my eating at all. Often I eat a small dinner and after that I ride in the evening (2-3hrs) until I‘m „empty“. So my body has to tackle my fat-reservoires at night. At least I thought that was the reason my „plan“ worked so well. I‘m super happy with my results because I can keep on eating all this unhealthy stuff if I want to, I am fitter, I look better and I can have a great time on my bike.

[@anthonyparkes8162]

I think it is common for many riders to treat themselves to a treat after a ride , which pretty much negates any calories burned by the ride. We naturally balance our calories in vs burned unless the calories in are carefully monitored.

[@torbenfrlund5964]

Interesting topic and discussion. I think that by training a lot you also start paying more attention to what you eat, it's difficult to train 10 or 20 hours per week on a very bad diet. The studies you are referring to also suggests that it's easier to maintain a weight loss if you are training, so that is also an important point.

[@SquareyCircley]

I'll just chip in to say exercising on the bike while still eating what I want did help a lot with weight loss. Of course, even more came off when I worked on my diet too. But exercise does help.

[@sausagesandwichSA]

When I raced in my 20's I consumed huge amounts of food and maintained about 70kg, out of season I porked out a bit. Now in my 60's I walk more, eat a similar amount but healthier in order to maintain 70kg

[@stevem1985]

I think what studies in question actually say is that exercise is not the best strategy for weight loss, however weight maintenance is an entirely different thing

[@davidkelly2000]

Dan made a good point, the system gets more efficient, the fitter it gets. Therefore burning less calories over time, keeping an equilibrium. Extreme athletes will need more calories but for the rest of us, it all comes down to the ingested calorie deficit to lose weight. That extra KitKat makes a big difference over time.

[@andersolinbechmann775]

Not sure what exactly gets more efficient? Resting heart rate is not a good measurement of how many calories one burns. It’s a good measurement of how efficiently the heart distributes blood to the head and body. How can the body burn less calories because of a lower heart rate if the lower heart rate is an adaptation to training? The heart simply pumps better/more efficiently per stroke. Agree that if I burn less through exercise (because I don’t ride my bike as fast or as long as the pros) I need to balance my calorie intake accordingly. So what is it that is being suggested to get more efficient? Mitochondria will react to whatever need the body puts forward and the heart will pump as much blood as is needed. But internal organs, brain, muscles, heart (etc etc) how does it get more efficient? Dans theory is flawed since he presumes that for a lower heart rate you will burn less calories. You burn the same but your heart pumps more efficiently. It can also be described as the training adaptation to cardiovascular training which enables you to lower your heart rate at the same given watts. So by Dans logic I burn less calories at 200 wats when I’m fit than when I’m not? Does not make sense to me at all.

[@davidkelly2000]

⁠​⁠​⁠@@andersolinbechmann775Efficiency as in, a 100kg man burns more calories sitting in a chair or standing than a 65kg man. For a 300 calories exercise session, the body may be able to smooth out the energy output by dialling down systems, like the reproductive system, as suggested by the theory.

[@andersolinbechmann775]

Thats not efficiency. That’s just the law of old and known physics. Yes a 100 kg person (probably) burns more calories than a 65 kg person due to increased muscle mass. Dans presumption that a fitter person burns less calories because of a lower heart rate or more mitochondria (or what is the actual physiological parameter that is being claimed to increase or be more efficient with fitness?) does not fit with how physiological adaptation to training works. 200 watts of exercise (holds very true for cycling) burns the same amount of calories at any given heart rate. My point being: lower heart because of training adaptations only describes how efficient the heart is at pumping blood. It does not affect how many calories you burn. I’m sure certain conditions (too little food, too much food, hard work, sedentary state, etc) will in some way effect how our body copes by adjusting (lanugo hair as a consequence of under eating for instance) but not to the extent that the author of the book references the study. Stating it this way does make it more interesting though. And interesting books sell better.

[@nickdigrispino2409]

The day after I was laid off from my job of 12 years, having at the time 3 small children and was the sole wage earner, I went for a ride, not casual, but a hard ride, 13 miles. Never did that before. When I got home, my body was not happy, my mind however was clear. No stress, anxiety, depression. That is why I ride. Physical health is secondary. The mental health benefits i get is why I ride.

[@pauljaffray6437]

Iv just started cycling, with an eye on doing an ironman plus other endurance events in the cycling and running world. Iv been running since lockdown. Same diet probably eaten more and have lost 2 stone and I wasn't large beforehand. With amount of calorie deficiency I have been in some months.

[@micktheshaggy3977]

I've started cycling regularly over 4 years ago and I've lost over 15% of my body weight just like that, slow, gradual loss of weight, no diet changes were applied. This took me 2 years, and the weight is fluctuating slightly around that new weight since then. Moreover, I have an impression that I consume even more than before. I need to mention that I've always loved sweets, and I still eat too much of them, so my diet is not very healthy. But it never was a final goal, I just have fun riding my bikes 😀

[@nigelw.9043]

I have tried calorie reduction both with and without additional cycling. I am certain, that cycling has accelerated weight loss and helped maintain a certain weight. Living proof was in the pro peleton years back. After the winter break and before the big races Jan Ullrich always had ballooned significantly, very much to the critic of team managers. However, by the time it got into the high mountains of the Tour he was a mean and lean machine.

[@MiddleAgedMike]

I call BS. My base metabolic rate based on a DEXA is 1980 calories. and my active calories are generally between 1k-2k each day. I eat when I’m hungry not watching calories but when I do I’m eating more than 3000 calories per day. And since I started biking regularly I’ve steadily dropped weight. I generally eat clean and avoid ultra processed food and have for years. Snacks have less than 10grams of sugar and that’s about the only thing I pay attention too. More exercise = weight loss and based on my last DEXA it’s been body fat loss. I just turned 40 and my body fat is lower than when I was 32. And I have more muscle than when I was 32.

[@oldmonkeybones]

Cycling definitely does help with weight loss, along with proper eating. In the 90s, I worked as a cycle courier in New York City, and I had trouble keeping my weight on. However, I was also eating a vegetarian diet, and found that while I was cycling that much I couldn't drink alcohol during the week (it made my legs burn intolerably). So there was a deficit in calories in there also. The sting in the tail is the increase in efficiency as you gain fitness. An unfit rider and a fit rider will burn the same number of calories in an hour, but the fit cyclist will go much farther than the unfit one riding for the same amount of time. You do not burn more calories during a given time of exercise as you get fitter; you burn less precisely because you are getting fitter, and more efficient with caloric expenditure.

[@capio78]

I actually agree that the body adjusts to a lot of cardio. I lost a lot of weight and now i do over 20 hours a week of hard cardio and eat pretty well and only maintain

[@Thierrydaoust1607]

37:55 -14°C right now. Still bike commuters coming to work. Got to -8°C during the day apparently

[@derickcastillo9083]

When I was racing I weighed 135 pounds. I ate like there was no tomorrow. None of my non-cyclist friends could believe how much I could eat. Now I am 170 pounds and eat less than half of what I did before. Dr. Inego San Millan talks about this in an interview about how much fat you can burn per hour during zone two. If you can get him on again, he is super interesting.

[@gcn]

Zone 2 is the way to go! It's amazing what you need to eat when you're racing - Conor found this out the hard way 👉 kzbin.info/www/bejne/laKVZJiFfNl9i5o

[@Pastamistic]

For the bike carrying e-bike it would save more energy for the fun mountain bike portion of the ride. If it's 5 miles to the trails then it's 10 miles round trip just to get to and from the trails. Then add whatever mountain biking you do. It would be much nicer to save your energy on an e-bike for getting to the trails. Then hit the trails hard with your mountain bike.

[@kevinfeeney5309]

Add to that....saving your mtb tires for actual mtb riding.

[@davidharrold9189]

Good one! A refreshing perspective. If someone went to the gym 3 times a week for an hour and spent 30 minutes lifting weights and 30 minutes moderate exercise on an elliptical, they will likely only burn 1000 kcal in a week. From doing nothing at all that will seem like a big effort, but at that rate it would take 4 weeks to lose a lb. You might not even see that on the bathroom scale at the end of the month. By comparison if you reduced your calorie intake by 300 kcals per day you’d loose twice as much weight even without any exercise. It’s clear what’s more effective. Someone that trains hard on a bike for 8 or 10 hrs a week could easily burn 5000 kcal. That’s a totally different proposition. You can’t escape the first law of thermodynamics….energy in = energy out - energy stored. Medical professionals are misleading people when they say you can’t loose weight exercising. It is just a lot harder and takes a lot more exercise than most people think, that’s all. They should give people complete information and let them decide what they want to do rather than just assuming they won’t do enough exercise for it to be effective.

[@2wheelsrbest327]

As much as I enjoy cycling running swimming if I want to lose weight its walking for me. Its also the easiest to do during the dark Winter nights. Great video.

[@markricketts6957]

I began serious endurance exercise, burning around 1500 calories extra each day. My calorie intake went up by around 50% and my weight dropped by 40 lbs.

[@robbie6638]

I have found over the years when my mileage is reduced it coincides with an increase of calories on the plate and too many treats. As I burn out from training and racing I want to smooth myself with junk. When I get back to training for an event I get my diet inline and the extra weight falls off.

[@atedejong5620]

I lost 55 pounds in 4 months in 2007. My normal weight was 75kg, and when our kids were born in 2001 and 2003, my weight went to almost 100kg (220pounds). Bought a Willier racebike, biked for 4 months (3 hours for 4x a week), didnt change that much on my diet, and lost 25kg. After that I started weight training, didnt biked that much since the last 10 years. My real nutrition change came in 2013 with a lower carb diet which I still have up till now.

[@tonywilson5468]

When I got back into cycling I ate cleanly for 3 months (no silly diets) and I rode hard 3 times a week. I went from a 34" waist to a 29" waist in 3 months. That wasn't from just eating cleanly.

[@gregknipe8772]

You two have the best chemistry.

[@serisingh]

Whether someone is able to loose weight after increasing their exercise (and calorie expenditure) is completely dependent on the regulation of their appetite! Genetics as well as other situational characteristics will determine whether their appetite increases to match their new calorie output (meaning they wouldn’t loose much weight, if any) or if it does not increase to match calorie output (meaning they would loose weight).