The 5 rules for losing weight by cycling fast

Are your thoughts plagued by various questions about weight loss? Does cycling make your belly slim? Is cycling really a great way to burn fat fast? Keep calm, as they say, and know that slimming down by bike is possible and, indeed, it is one of the best choices you could make!

The bicycle, especially our new iO INBICYIt is a fantastic vehicle: environmentally friendly, useful for all your daily needs and movements, for long activitiesto go to work and to lose weight. The benefits of cycling are countless and, in light of that, do you think it is heresy if we define it as the perfect vehicle? In our opinion, definitely not.

The 5 rules for losing weight by cycling fast

The premise is a must: it is fundamental combine a balanced diet with cycling activity. Don't think that because you travel a lot of kilometres you can eat out and indulge in a more cheerful diet. Results also and above all come from good eating habits preserved over a long period. But now let's take a look at the 5 rules to follow to lose weight on a bike!

1. Set yourself a goal

You cannot centre your focus if you do not understand and idealise the weight you want to achieve and in how much time. Be realistic and do not set yourself impossible goals to be achieved in a short time. There is nothing worse than setting goals that are impossible to achieve, frustration is not your friend and demotivation is just around the corner.

2. Food and training: they go hand in hand

Eating with a view to your training cycling is a fundamental thing. Intense activity usually induces hunger and we tend, often, to increase what we eat because we are convinced that we have burnt a lot of calories. The problem? Easily putting back everything you have lost, with the result that you always look the same.

It is therefore very important to keep an eye on and respect the parameters of your basal metabolismcalories you need every day to live, aware of the fact that if you exceed that amount, your weight will go up, if you eat less by combining cycling with activity, on the other hand, your weight will drop noticeably.

For the calculation of basal metabolismThe following information is needed:

- sex;
- age;
- height;
- weight;

Here is for you a online calculator for your basal metabolism!

3. Drink a lot and eat often during training

Drink plenty of water, it seems trite to say, is important for two main reasons: it keeps you hydrated and reduces your sense of appetite. In this respect, we recommend that you drink half a litre of water as soon as you have finished cycling before eating and this will help reduce your hunger.

It may sound like nonsense, but in order to get positive feedback from your metabolism, favouring its activation, and to avoid arriving super hungry (in the series, I would even eat the table) at lunch or dinner time, it is useful to eating often during training. Take some protein and energy bars with you.

4. Slow gait

The more time you spend on the bike, the greater the energy expenditure. One of the most effective methods of losing weight on a bike is the LISS (Low Intensity Susteined State). As the name suggests, it is aslow-paced but sustained activity over a long period of time.

Are you wondering how many calories you can burn by following this methodology? We can't give you a precise answer, as there are so many variables (from your weight to the aerodynamics of your bike to the type of ground you ride on), but we offer you 3 case studies that indicate the calorie consumption in one hour of training:

Kcal burned by a 55 kg cyclist:

• 440 calories burned at a pace of 21 km/h.
• 550 calories burned at a pace of 24 km/h.
• 660 calories burned at a pace of 29 km/h.

Kcal burned by a 75 kg cyclist:

• 600 calories burned at a pace of 21 km/h.
• 750 calories burned at a pace of 24 km/h.
• 900 calories burned at a pace of 29 km/h.

Kcal burned by a 90 kg cyclist:

• 720 calories burned at a pace of 21 km/h.
• 900 calories burned at a pace of 24 km/h.
• 1080 calories burned at a pace of 29 km/h.

5. Stimulates VO2MAX

Stimulating your maximum oxygen consumption (the so-called VO2MAX), according to established studies, is an excellent way to burn a high amount of calories.

How is this done in practice?

To get into this state, it is good to do a couple of accelerations of 2-3 minutes at the end of trainingat high intensity, recovering for about ten minutes. By doing this you will stimulate your VO2MAX and continue to burn calories even when you are sitting on the couch.