Is 30min cycle enough to make a difference?

[ScottishStottie]

I need to lose about 1.5 stone. Going to start doing a 30min cycle on excercise bike at least 4 or 5 days a week, cycling about 10km in that time (is that an ok pace?)

I know that the fastest way to lose weight is through diet, which im paying more attention to, but have had bad experience with 'dieting' so want to try and avoid calorie counting if possible.

My fitness level atm is 0, so surely this is going to help a bit if i build this up a bit?

I'd say that's definitely worthwhile

Absolutely it is worthwhile. Obviously the more effort you put in, the better the results but going from nothing to 30 minutes, 4 times a week is great! Well done you.

And yes, 10km is 30 is pretty quick for a beginner.

It's surely better than nothing, but I would make sure to change routine and not do same every time - try intervals etc

It will help yes. But you will also have to watch what you eat.

It's much better to engage in long term habit changes than huge pushes and diets. If you're starting then that's a great step

If you think you can realistically fit in 4 or 5 times a week then great, but if you've not comfortably got that time then you might be better saying you'll do 3 times and anything extra is a bonus.

You can't out train a bad diet though and you don't need to calorie count. It would probably be useful for you to have a look at some visual guides as to what a portion is as it can be easy to gain weight even eating reasonably healthy, home cooked food if your sense of portion size is out.

Yes its worthwhile but as above I think intervals better. So perhaps hard cycle for 1 minute, slow for a minute then do that for the duration. As you are a beginner dont go too crazy to begin with though.

Can I join? I have an exercise bike and do similar but dont do it enough! I have a similar amount to lose. Fancy a diet/exercise buddy?

Definitely worthwhile.

I’d probably swap one or two cycles a week for some weights or body weight workouts.

Whenever I’ve needed to lose weight, I’ve always done it without counting calories (I got totally obsessed once and I know it’s not healthy for me). You can definitely make a positive difference to your diet without needing to go down the MFP route.

I cycle, a bit more than that (though not today given the weather). I can sadly say that while it's been great for my aerobic fitness and I have impressive legs, it hasn't improved my waistline; I like cakes too much. I agree with pp that you can't outrun (or even out-cycle) your fork....

Exercise bikes can be good exercise, but it can be really easy to not work that hard on one. They can also be quite boring, so unless you have an actual exercise plan or classes for the bike, you quickly lose motivation. If it’s a decent spin bike, you can pay for apps that will motivate you with classes. If it’s a bog-standard exercise bike, it’s really limited. Not that great to be honest.

I hear what you’re saying about having issues with dieting in the past. But the reality is that weight loss is primarily about food, NOT exercise. Unless you’re doing obscene amounts of exercise. 30 mins on an exercise bike will maybe burn 200cals, unless it’s a spin class or something. 200 cals isn’t very much. It’s really easy to eat 200cals.

Good luck either way. But if you’re relying on exercise, look into a more varied routine than just the bike, unless it’s a really good one with classes and stuff.

@nosuchthingastoomuchcheese yes a training buddy would be good!

About 5 years ago i used to be a lot more in shape, saw a PT once a week and went to the gym a lot. But never really enjoyed the gym background as always felt self conscious.

Part of my problem is i know what i 'should' be doing. I know the benefits of weight training, counting macros etc and have a basic knowledge of how to, but find it too overwhelming to jump into without any motivation. And then when im not doing that, i decide i might as well not do anything as its not as 'good' as it could be, so i sit on my arse all day instead.

Im hopeful that just being a bit more active on a regular basis will help me find the motivation to concentrate more on diet, but i dont want to try and do everything at once in case it becomes too much and i just stop everything iykwim

To stop the bike from being boring, i stick on an episode of sex and the city (30mins long) and watch that while im cycling.

At the end of it im sweaty, and my heart rate is defo raised pretty much the whole duration.

[quote ScottishStottie]@nosuchthingastoomuchcheese yes a training buddy would be good!

About 5 years ago i used to be a lot more in shape, saw a PT once a week and went to the gym a lot. But never really enjoyed the gym background as always felt self conscious.

Part of my problem is i know what i 'should' be doing. I know the benefits of weight training, counting macros etc and have a basic knowledge of how to, but find it too overwhelming to jump into without any motivation. And then when im not doing that, i decide i might as well not do anything as its not as 'good' as it could be, so i sit on my arse all day instead.

Im hopeful that just being a bit more active on a regular basis will help me find the motivation to concentrate more on diet, but i dont want to try and do everything at once in case it becomes too much and i just stop everything iykwim[/quote]
I am exactly the same!!

Dont do anything because until I can do a 50 minute class without dying I cant be bothered to do anything! But I need to do the gradual work to build up to that!

Although im not counting calories or doing anything like avoiding carbs etc, im more aware of what im eating. Defo snacking a lot less (none at all the last few days), tea without sugar or milk, and drinking a lot less alcohol. So not counting or tracking but i would say definitely consuming less calories than 'normal'

I’ve had to really change my mindset to “anything is better than nothing” for exercise and “one dodgy meal doesn’t need to become a whole bad day”.

I’ve got a Les mills subscription (I’d definitely recommend it). I like that you can choose a short class, or just do half a class and there are loads of different things you can choose from depending on what you fancy/can cope with!

It depends on the resistance of the exercise bike, but you'll probably burn about 280 kcal.

I have the resistance quite low atm, my fitness really is zero haha!

280 calories for 30mins seems like a pretty good amount? One of the things i have retained from my time with a PT is the ability to know my limits, so feel im able to push myself past the point where my brain wants to stop. Which was about 10 mins into todays cycle...

Think ill stick with this for a few weeks aiming for at least 4/5 days a week (on furlough so have plenty of time...) While slowly building up as my fitness increases.

Am i better trying to build up resistence and therefore possibly not covering the same distance due to being 'slower' or trying to increase the distance i can cover in the same time?

Im not too keen on doing intervals or anything like that, i know it works for some but i prefer slow and steady, and i know theres a lot of research out there that indicate that hiit isnt neccessarily better than liss so keen to just stick with what works best for me.

Ive said above that i have changed my diet? Just not as strictly as i have before.

I said upthread that ive stopped snacking, cut out sugar and milk in my tea, and cut down on my alcohol intake.

Theres no way i would be able to read a book while cycling 😂

I use the tv as a distraction from watching the seconds tick, but could only be something ive watched loads so i dont have to concentrate on it fully to follow whats happening.

Hi OP, my suggestion on intervals was not only because of hiit, but more mixing your exercise. If you do same thing every time, you may hit plateau and could be more likely to injury. Good luck in any case!

Exercise has never helped me loose weight. In fact it's made it harder as it's made me more hungry.
Imo exercise is great for health (obviously) and for toning your muscles but for me the only was to loose weight is with diet.
Saying that exercise can be a great catalyst to all kinds of positive changes.

Oh my goodness after yesterdays cycle my bum is so sore!! 😂

My legs are really achey as well, feels like growing pains you got when you were a kid?

Oh well it can only get better from here i suppose...!

A Peloton will help you lose weight for sure!