QuestionHello. My husband had always been a runner but as he got into his 40s, he injured his knee too badly to continue. That caused him to gain weight and so now he has taken up biking. To train for a long-distance ride, he is training at 90 miles a week. He is not losing much weight at all, even though he has been riding consistently for three months. What gives?
Of course nothing may be as effective for weight loss and maintenance as running, but is biking not going to work for him if it hasn't already? What suggestions (other than swimming or something that would require a gym membership) would you have? Thank you.
AnswerFor burning more calories in a shorter time frame running is the best. In your late thirties and forties biking is safer. The first thing when it comes to weight lose is that exercise is only part of the equation. The idea is to burn more calories then you are taking in. The best way is to watch what you eat and cut back on your intake in a safe manner. Exercise insures that your body is physically fit. Remember a body that is not fit has a harder time taking off the extra pounds. One reason for this is that a fit body has a metabolic system that is working in most cases. Where as a not fit body may have a stalled metabolism or a slower metabolism making it much harder to lose weight. There is a machine that I enjoy called the AMT which is a walker/ jogger/stair climber and you burn calories at higher rate then a bike and it is better then the bike for protecting your body from injury. In order to lose one pound you have to intake 500 calories less each day for a week. I am not talking about water weight because it is fairly easy to get rid of that if your workout is vigorous enough. The problem with water weight is it looks great on a scale until you have a drink and it comes right back.
As for the bike it will work if combined with proper nutrition. The best thing about the bike when done outdoors it is more exciting the sitting in the gym.
Thanks
Larry
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