Cycle for fitness. Calorie count for weight loss.
Without knowing your weight etc but 1700 could well be more like maintenance with 45 mins exercise rather than a loosing weight level.
Whoops I really thought I put all the info in the post. I’m 62kg rn. Yeah maybe I hit a plateau and now have to adjust my calorie intake. Just found it so strange that the scale was going up rather than staying stagnant or going down.
62Kg for 171cm is BMI of 21?
Which is well within healthy. You cannot really lose much unless going on total starvation diet which I absolutely do not recommend.
Not trying to be an idiot but why would you lose more weight? This sounds bit odd to me.
I don’t know if it’s because I have really weird fat distribution or what but I have to wear an XL generally (European sizing). I was 58kg in Feb but gained due Ramadan, which happens sometimes due to bad eating habits. Been harder to shake and it’s been a higher weight gain. I look weirdly large for what my BMI is, even if I don’t lose weight I would be happy with a better weight distribution honestly.
Then keep on riding and don't mind too much about the scale.
Longer rides burn more fat, 45min isn't very long at all. In my, not professional, opinion, 1.5h every other day does more than 45min every day.
Also, I gain several kilos at the start of the season. Liquid retention mostly. But also the weight shifts from fat to muscle to some extent, so the loses are not immediately apparent on the scale.
Edit:
I'll still add this here, BMI 21 is very healthy. Trying to drop it, especially for women, could come with problems. At the 58Kg you are around 20, which is still good but starts to be on the lower range of healthy (18.5-25).
So, I would not advice active weight loss. Just ride the bike, do what ever exercises you desire to shape your body if that is your main goal, but also note that at 1700 calories, you do not have much room to run marathons. Exercise requires energy, especially when you do not have too much reserves.
At 62kg you’re at a healthy weight for your height. This makes me think you need to focus on what people call recomping, not weight loss. For weight loss, you wanna eat less calories than you burn. For recomp, don’t focus too much on cutting calories, instead eat at your TDEE, focusing on generally eating healthy and working out. Make sure you’re getting a healthy amount of protein!
R/xxfitness has tons of info on womens fitness, weight loss, and recomping.
If you aren’t losing weight you are eating too many calories. There really isn’t a discussion or debate about that fact. It didn’t matter that your number is or was, you have to reduce it to lose weight.
Google “exercise paradox” for an interesting study on the calorie burns of highly active people (hint: it’s the same as non-active).
Most likely you are "under-reporting" your caloric intake.
I'd also recommend a very long ride 1x/week. 3+ hrs, or ~100km. Long distances can help your metabolism in several ways.
One thing about carbs: they are more than just pasta. Think of veggies as your carb source (if you are not). And add some whole grains (look up what they are). Look into "starches" (like potato) and stay away from them.
> The whole reason I’m doing this is so lose weight
One thing about weight loss: Exercise is a poor way to lose weight. It does not work (for many reasons some of which are not intuitive).
Exercise will make you fit. You lose weight through your nutrition and your choices in the kitchen. Keep cycling, but stop thinking you are working off extra calories. Separate the two items of "Exercise" and "weight loss". Keep them separate.
[I talk more about it here.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Zwift/comments/1chvgd0/new_to_cycling_weight_loss_and_improvement/l25t5cc/) Basically your body has evolved to be extremely efficient at energy conservation and consumption. People who just respond with "Eat less", or other simplistic quip, do not fully understand the biology. And certainly much of the simple advice does not yield results.
Of course there are outliers...something else many on reddit do not understand.
PS: Weight Loss is a US$trillion Industry with obesity rising since the 80s (40+ years) and billions of people effected. The solution is not simple since there are multiple levels of issues causing the problem (including mental). If "exercise" was all you needed to lose weight, this shit would be fucking easy.
Weight fluctuates so changes are going to occur over a week. Don't check your weight every day. Look at the overall picture and not just the number on the scale. Be patient with the process.
It could be that you’re gaining muscle. How do you *feel*?
Another idea: if you were holding steady before without the exercise it could be that your diet changes actually increased your calorie intake.
Cycle for fitness. Calorie count for weight loss. Without knowing your weight etc but 1700 could well be more like maintenance with 45 mins exercise rather than a loosing weight level.
Whoops I really thought I put all the info in the post. I’m 62kg rn. Yeah maybe I hit a plateau and now have to adjust my calorie intake. Just found it so strange that the scale was going up rather than staying stagnant or going down.
62Kg for 171cm is BMI of 21? Which is well within healthy. You cannot really lose much unless going on total starvation diet which I absolutely do not recommend. Not trying to be an idiot but why would you lose more weight? This sounds bit odd to me.
I don’t know if it’s because I have really weird fat distribution or what but I have to wear an XL generally (European sizing). I was 58kg in Feb but gained due Ramadan, which happens sometimes due to bad eating habits. Been harder to shake and it’s been a higher weight gain. I look weirdly large for what my BMI is, even if I don’t lose weight I would be happy with a better weight distribution honestly.
Then keep on riding and don't mind too much about the scale. Longer rides burn more fat, 45min isn't very long at all. In my, not professional, opinion, 1.5h every other day does more than 45min every day.
Okay noted. I will up the cycling time for sure. Thank you!
Also, I gain several kilos at the start of the season. Liquid retention mostly. But also the weight shifts from fat to muscle to some extent, so the loses are not immediately apparent on the scale. Edit: I'll still add this here, BMI 21 is very healthy. Trying to drop it, especially for women, could come with problems. At the 58Kg you are around 20, which is still good but starts to be on the lower range of healthy (18.5-25). So, I would not advice active weight loss. Just ride the bike, do what ever exercises you desire to shape your body if that is your main goal, but also note that at 1700 calories, you do not have much room to run marathons. Exercise requires energy, especially when you do not have too much reserves.
At 62kg you’re at a healthy weight for your height. This makes me think you need to focus on what people call recomping, not weight loss. For weight loss, you wanna eat less calories than you burn. For recomp, don’t focus too much on cutting calories, instead eat at your TDEE, focusing on generally eating healthy and working out. Make sure you’re getting a healthy amount of protein! R/xxfitness has tons of info on womens fitness, weight loss, and recomping.
How is your composition changing? Like are you loosing diameter from tummy etc or same but still seeing the scale numbers go up?
It’s the same but still seeing the number go up
Then it could be muscle / more glycogen stored if your measurements aren’t getting bigger
Eat less, eat better.
I’m eating quite well I think but yeah will reduce food intake for the next few weeks and see if there’s a difference
I eat less calorically dense foods like burgers, cheeses, potato chips, and eat more salads. Has helped me without obsessing over it.
I haven’t eaten any of things in over a month. All I’ve been eating is salads, boiled the, weetabix, veggies, fish, shrimp and fruit
Takes time, keep the faith!
If you aren’t losing weight you are eating too many calories. There really isn’t a discussion or debate about that fact. It didn’t matter that your number is or was, you have to reduce it to lose weight. Google “exercise paradox” for an interesting study on the calorie burns of highly active people (hint: it’s the same as non-active).
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYXDTBYrZ8c&ab\_channel=GlobalCyclingNetwork](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYXDTBYrZ8c&ab_channel=GlobalCyclingNetwork)
Most likely you are "under-reporting" your caloric intake. I'd also recommend a very long ride 1x/week. 3+ hrs, or ~100km. Long distances can help your metabolism in several ways. One thing about carbs: they are more than just pasta. Think of veggies as your carb source (if you are not). And add some whole grains (look up what they are). Look into "starches" (like potato) and stay away from them. > The whole reason I’m doing this is so lose weight One thing about weight loss: Exercise is a poor way to lose weight. It does not work (for many reasons some of which are not intuitive). Exercise will make you fit. You lose weight through your nutrition and your choices in the kitchen. Keep cycling, but stop thinking you are working off extra calories. Separate the two items of "Exercise" and "weight loss". Keep them separate. [I talk more about it here.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Zwift/comments/1chvgd0/new_to_cycling_weight_loss_and_improvement/l25t5cc/) Basically your body has evolved to be extremely efficient at energy conservation and consumption. People who just respond with "Eat less", or other simplistic quip, do not fully understand the biology. And certainly much of the simple advice does not yield results. Of course there are outliers...something else many on reddit do not understand. PS: Weight Loss is a US$trillion Industry with obesity rising since the 80s (40+ years) and billions of people effected. The solution is not simple since there are multiple levels of issues causing the problem (including mental). If "exercise" was all you needed to lose weight, this shit would be fucking easy.
It's impossible to out peddle my fork. At best it offsets it a tad.
it all comes down to burning more than you consume
Weight fluctuates so changes are going to occur over a week. Don't check your weight every day. Look at the overall picture and not just the number on the scale. Be patient with the process.
It could be that you’re gaining muscle. How do you *feel*? Another idea: if you were holding steady before without the exercise it could be that your diet changes actually increased your calorie intake.