Figure out how many calories you burn each day in total, not just how many calories you burn on the exercise bike.

I wonder if my experience will help - I started to cycle to work, on top of my regular running and weights programme.  To my great suprise, my weight loss slowed up quite a lot.  The extra exercise put my deficit over 1000 cals per day.  I have had to eat back calories - keeping my deficit at about 500 - 700 cals per day, to get back to my 1 - 2lbs loss per week.  I'm loving the extra exercise though!!  Hope that helps,

Ax

Flogging- I've never calculated that sort of thing...do you mean like when I do laundry, walk upstairs, etc? Aside from the bike, I'm quite sedentary. Just another SAHM that does SAHM things...

Ax- to answer your question, no, I really don't need to bike that much!! :D

But, I do that much because my laptop is set up right beside the bike, so I bike whilst online, as well as reading or watching tv.

I love doing it, would like to continue, but I don't want to put the weight back on that I'd lost. I'd rather go back to a sendentary lifestyle, eat less, and go back to slowly losing than exercise and gain.

Did you have a hard time telling yourself that it was okay to eat so much and still lose? Did you believe yourself before the results started paying off? How many more calories did you have to eat to keep your deficit in check?

im a runner and do about 40 miles a week. that is a whole lot of calories burned. i look at the exercise as my ticket to treat myself. have ice-cream on a hot day, go to happy hour and things like that.

also, the other thing about gaining weight when starting to work out a lot more is that you a)gain muscle b)drink more water. if you are in fact gaining muscle, it will not be a steady increase. you will gain a few pounds and thats it.

if its water-weight, then its no big deal.

lastly, make sure you weight yourself at the same time and try and do it weekly, rather than daily. you will actually get a more accurate reading that way in terms of whether you are gaining or loosing weight.

Actually, I wonder if part of my problem is that I'm not drinking enough water- for all of the peddling I do, I only drink maybe 4 glasses of water a day...I know, not nearly enough. I know that causes dehydration, but could it also explain weight gain?

Original Post by queenmedia:

Flogging- I've never calculated that sort of thing...do you mean like when I do laundry, walk upstairs, etc? Aside from the bike, I'm quite sedentary. Just another SAHM that does SAHM things...

 He means what is your total caloric burn, at the end of an average day - that will tell you what your deficit is.  If you used to eat 1400 and lost 0.8 lb/week, that would imply (although it's never exact), that you had a 400 cal deficit (so you were burning about 1800 total, we might assume - but if you figure out your burn from a normal day, plus exercise, that would confirm those numbers). 

If you have increased the amount you burn while biking from 500 to 900-1200, you are now burning between 2200-2500 (still on the same assumptions).  If you are still only eating 1400, your deficit is going to be between 800 and 1100, which is probably too large - they recommend a deficit no more than 1000, and I know that for myself, I can't keep a deficit of more than about 500/day, or else my weight loss slows, and I'm 135.

There is such a thing as starvation mode. When you eat too little and do too much at the gym, your body will take everything it gets for calories and throw them into fat.. Then it essentially "lives" on your muscles.  You're reversing everything.  On the days you workout hard you MUST consume more calories.

Hi Queenmedia,

to answer your questions - I had to eat back about 200 - 300 cals per day - it's a few snacks, an extra banana at breakfast - it doesn't feel like pigging out.  It depends on the day and my activity level.  The important thing for me is to keep my deficit at 500 - 700 cals, how much I have to eat to do that depends on my activity level for the day.  I do this by setting my activity level to sedentary and adding in my day's exercise.  I then subtract 700, and that's what I eat.  If you love it, I think you should continue to do it - just eat enough to keep your deficit healthy, and at a level that works for you! 

Happy cycling, Ax

Thanks for the help everyone! I haven't biked all day and have felt weird- like somethings missing!

In my effort to get back to losing, I had even decided this morning that I should stop exercising and just eat my normal amount (it's been tried and true for my weight loss), but I "cheated" and mowed the lawn, went for a walk with my kids, and hopped on my real bike and pedaled around the yard for a few minutes.

By continuing with the exercise, I will truly enjoy eating more because I love to eat! (I'm a "live to eat", not "eat to live" emotional eater) but it's hard to whip my brain into submission that eating more is a good thing and will help me lose.

Again, thanks! You all are proof of what makes CC a great community :)

I would maybe try cutting down on the fast food and see if that works.  You may be gaining weight (or not losing as much ) because of your increased sodium intake. 

If that doesn't work though, go back to the tried and true method that had been working previously. 

Hope it works :)

The starvation mode thing is one of my pet peaves. Why does lapband and gastric bypass work.  It's because it limits your food intake. I don't mean to sound heartless but if you don't believe me head over to Africa and see how limited food intake affects their weight.  That's REAL starvation mode. 

Just use your common sense.  If you eat less calories than you burn you WILL lose weight. It is simple physics.  I'm now stepping off the Soap Box..... 

I think it is just a matter of how much weight you will lose in a given amount of time.  Sure you may lose, but with a lot more effort and while messing up your metabolism.

"The "plateau effect" has been known about for some time and weight management consultants recommend longer exercise times, higher intensity or cross training to combat it," Dr King said.

"But these studies show that a plateau in body weight occurs even in the face of a continued negative energy balance."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/ 060830220440.htm

deja vu

The recent splurge of fast food must've been partially to blame- at home I never add salt to dishes that I make, and add less than recommended when I bake. I currently have high-normal BP (130ish over 85ish), so I try to be careful with the sodium intake. My BP problems are due largely to genetics rather than diet or weight though- my 2 oldest children were induced 4&5 weeks early due to my hypertension and pregnancy complications as a result.

The good news is that my weight has started coming back down (have dropped 2 pounds since I originally posted). Although I'm not due for TTOM for another 10 days, I have been spotting...(tmi?)...

I'm going back to biking, but might not bike so much, we'll see :)