- [Dan] If your goal is to lose some weight, then cycling is a fantastic way to
do it. And some more good news is if cycling is your only goal,
losing weight whilst maintaining power will make you faster,
- [Simon] Yeah, so for example, a 75 kilogram rider
cycling up a long hill would actually get to the top a
minute quicker if they lost just 2 kilos in weight.
- Yeah, and taking that example to the extreme, the differences are huge.
So a 90 kilogram rider, if he manages to lose 10 kilos under those exact same
conditions will save almost five and a half minutes.
- So what are the best ways to lose weight, then? Well, coming up are five
quick and easy tips that will help you do just that.
- Years ago, we were all told that the best way to lose excess weight was to
spend a lot of time in the so-called "fat-burning zone." The theory being,
you'd burn a greater percentage of fat versus carbohydrates at a lower intensity
than that higher intensity.
- [Matt] And that's fine if you've got all day, every day to train,
but the fact is most of us don't have that luxury. So, if you're trying to train on a
full-time routine, then high intensity is where it's at.
- Yeah, you're going to burn far more calories per hour on a really hard,
intense ride, than on a long jaunt in the saddle. At the end of the day,
losing weight is all about burning more calories than you're consuming.
Plus, there's the added benefit that you generally feel slightly less hungry
after an intense ride than after a long, slow ride, so you're far less likely to
overeat once you get through a door.
- Now, here at GCN, we've got quite a few short, intense sessions you can do
indoors. If you incorporate two or three of those into your weekly training
routine, you're definitely going to be on your way.
♪ [music] ♪
- Drinking water is really good for you, and not only that, it can also act as a
little bit of an appetite suppressant. Now, after you've had a fair bit,
you won't feel quite so hungry. So here's a neat little trick for you.
When you get in from your ride, drink a really big glass of water,
maybe a pint or so, before you have your meal. It'll settle your stomach and that
way when do come to having your meal, you won't feel quite so hungry,
and therefore you'll be a little less likely to overeat. And you could also use
this trick before your main meals of the day. Breakfast, lunch,
and dinner, and even before your mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack.
Happy days, cheers.
♪ [music] ♪
- Tip number three. Eat little and often on rides over 90 minutes in duration.
Now, it might sound a little bit counterintuitive to eat more than you
normally do, especially when you're trying to lose weight, but just bear with us for
a few moments, and we'll explain.
- Yeah, you see, there is a tendency when trying to lose weight to restrict the
amount that you eat whilst doing exercise, but as we already mentioned,
that can lead to problems with overeating when you get home. So, instead,
if you eat little and often during your rides, you'll probably find that you're
much less hungry when you walk through the door, and you're therefore less likely
to binge eat. You got any spare?
- No, it's all gone.
- Aargh.
♪ [music] ♪
- Right, this next one is related, somewhat, to point number one,
and that is high intensity. So even if you're not heading out necessarily
planning on a full-blown interval section, you can still do yourself a hell of a lot
of good by throwing in a couple of high-intensity intervals right at the end
of your ride.
- That's right. Studies have shown that post-exercise, oxygen consumption can
actually help the burning of fat. So the best way to get into that state is to do
some high-intensity efforts towards the end of the ride, and that way your body
will still be burning loads of calories, even when you're sat on the sofa.
How good is that?
- Yeah, it's the best thing ever.
- Our final tip is to make goals and to keep them written down,
along with a chart of your weight. Now, make sure that you keep your goals
achievable, because there's nothing worse than setting goals that aren't attainable.
And then, write them down and keep them in the place where you're most likely to see
them, say for example, on the fridge door, and that way you're far more likely to
stick to your plan.
- Yeah, and as Matt said, you should also keep a regular track of your weight.
Plenty of people out there who suggest not weighing yourself on a daily basis,
but I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing, as long as you do it at the same
time each and every day. There will be days, of course, when that number does go
up ever so slightly, but if you keep some kind of graph of your weight,
then what you should find over time, in a number of months, is that the general
trend of the line is going downwards towards your ultimate goal.
♪ [music] ♪
- And now a tip on what not to do. Now, this is something that many of us may have
been advised to do or even seen other people do over the years,
but primarily in France.
- Anyway, wrapping up in extra layers of clothing so you sweat more will produce
instantaneous and potentially significant weight loss. However,
it is all water. So as well as being potentially dangerous, as soon as you
re-hydrate properly, all of the weight will come back on.
- Don't do it.
♪ [music] ♪
- So, there you have it. To try and lose weight, make sure you incorporate plenty
of high-intensity rides, drink water strategically, eat regularly on longer
rides, throw in a couple of intervals at the end of your steady rides,
make goals and write them down. And finally, don't overdress to try and lose
weight. Quite simple, really.
- Yeah, very simple. Now, we mentioned earlier about our indoor training videos.
So, if you click up there, then you'll get straight through to our place where we've
got some great high-intensity workouts. Or just down there, Matt and I have made a
video about bike weights and that's effect on your climbing performance.
So there's some good signs right down there.
- And to subscribe to GCN, how about clicking on that rather gorgeous view?
- Oh, and don't forget to "like" our videos, or this one in particular.
And other ones, as well.
- In particular.
- Yeah.