How to Lose Weight with Cycling (with an expert Sports Dietitian)

So why is it that many cyclists out there struggle to lose weight with cycling as their

predominant physical activity? We'll be answering that question in this video and a lot more with expert sports dietitian

Steph Cronin, I'll link to her details below, as we get into the 17th edition of the RCA

Training Tip Show. Why does a lot of cyclists not really lose much weight when they start cycling

It could be a million and one different things. I'll rattle off a couple of examples

So generally when people start exercising they get hungry. So typically what you'll find is someone starts exercising, they'll start cycling, but they'll

actually increase their energy intake as well. So there's a social aspect of cycling obviously, so they go out for a long Saturday morning

ride, stop and have a coffee, with that coffee might come a muffin, it might be a sausage

roll, whatever it might be. So all of a sudden the extra calories that are being burnt cycling, it's just human nature

to say, well I've burnt all this energy, therefore I kind of deserve to go and eat

And this happens kind of subconsciously, as people aren't actively going out saying I'm going to eat more because I'm cycling, it just kind of happens

You get hungry, you're in a social aspect, you typically will eat more after that training

session, so your energy intake is usually increased when you start doing extra training

as well. So that's one side of it. The other side is that, depending on the intensity, so lower intensity cycling, even though you

might be going for a number of hours, doesn't actually use a large amount of energy

So it can do, but for most people it's not an extra couple of thousand kilojoules or

anything like that a day. So all calories a day. Okay. So isn't lower intensity though the optimal fat burning zone that everyone talks about

But the key thing to know about weight loss is you need to be in a calorie deficit

So even though we talk about fat burning zones and zones of training, which you're going

to use more carbohydrates and more fat and things like that, it's totally separate to

weight loss. So we talk, that's what your body's being fuelled at during that zone

However, for overall weight loss, we are just looking for a calorie deficit, which will

then could mean that you're losing muscle mass as well as body fat

But to lose weight well, you've got to plan it out very, very strategically

So it's important to be in a calorie deficit, number one. How you get in that calorie deficit depends on 70% of what you're eating

So your 30% exercise, so if you're jumping on the bike, that's going to be 30% of your

weight loss journey as such. If you're not looking at nutrition at the same time, you're not even halfway there. Right

So is that a common mistake people make when they start cycling? They think that by cycling, they're going to lose weight and that's only 30% of the

pie, 70% is the nutrition. So they're not actually focusing on what they eat off the bike

So should they be calorie counting then? Is that what they should be doing? It's a slippery slope, so that can work well

What's important to understand about calorie counting is that there's a million and one different apps out there

There's still an estimation. So it's still based on averages of food

So you put in an apple, it's still based on an average calorie of that apple

So the data suggests that tracking by calorie apps can be up to 30 to 50% out of what you're

actually eating. So that also needs to take into consideration if someone's doing it accurately

So when you're calorie counting, for it to be accurate, you've got to include absolutely

every single thing that you're eating, all the oils that you might cook with, the sauces

any other fluids other than water. So it does get very, very draining

And I think going down that road, you've got to be very committed, but you've also got

to be mindful that it takes out the fun side of eating as well sometimes

So it is a slippery slope. I don't encourage it all the time

There are certain clients that I'll specifically ask to do that, and there's other people that

I will get to basically just keep a record of what they're eating

So a written record, what they've been eating, when they're training, how they're feeling

And if you start writing that on paper and having a look at that each day or each week

that's going to give you a really good idea of what you're doing, when you're over consuming on sugar, when you're over consuming on alcohol or different things like that

I would always encourage someone to seek advice from a professional, particularly a

sports dietitian, if they're going to be doing a lot of exercise, because at least then they

can look through the nitty gritty. Because there's another, they might be eating too little and training too much, and that

can actually lead to the body essentially being resistant to body fat changes. Yes. Okay. Interesting

The other side of that is how people are judging if they're losing weight as well

So if they're relying purely on the scales, it's not a very accurate representation of

body fat as such. If people are doing cycling, they're doing a lot of resistance training with that as well

So if they're doing a lot of heels and things like that, they're probably building a little bit of lean muscle at the same time, which if they're increasing lean muscle but losing

body fat, the scales might be staying exactly the same. And that's going to be leading to them thinking that they're not losing weight when actually

they are losing body fat. It's just not scale weight as such. Okay. Interesting

So what's some steps that people can make? Let's just say they're not prepared to go see an expert yet, but they want to lose some weight

What are the top three, five things they can do with say protein and carbohydrate intake

and all those things? So number one, definitely protein. So essential for maintaining lean muscle as well, because I guess when most people are

trying to lose weight, they're probably referring to body fat as opposed to weight as such

Not many people come in saying, I need to lose muscle. Particularly for cyclists who still want to keep that sort of power aspect of cycling

So when you're trying to lose body fat, super, super important that you're having enough

protein throughout the day. So we've got a protein target, but we also need to look at the type of protein you're

eating, how it's distributed over the day, how often you're eating as well

I can't have the Misashi bar, cookie and cream, 50 gram protein in one hit

It wouldn't be my first choice. Look, with supplements, again, as I say, protein, most people straight away jump to, I need

a protein supplement, whether it be a bar or a powder. They're convenient, but it's not essential

So ideally we're trying to still use whole foods because there's going to be other amino

acids, there's going to be other nutrients and minerals that are going to come with those

whole foods. Plus they taste a lot nicer than always relying on a bar or a powder

Those are convenient so they can definitely be included. It's just that kind of the last step that we would look at is using the supplements. Okay

So as an 80 kilogram rider myself, how much protein should I have a day

So again, it really depends on a number of different things, but as a guide, I would

say 1.5 to 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight

So that's up to 160 grams of protein. And spread sort of evenly throughout the day

So your body can only absorb so much at once. We know that that number is about 30 grams of protein

Depends on the size of the athlete as well. So you want to drip feed that really consistently over the day

It's going to help maintain lean muscle, but it's also going to help you feel full over

the day as well. Yeah. Okay. So what about carbs then? So I would say the next important thing prior to looking at carbohydrates is making sure

that we've got vegetables and salad in there. So that would be the second. So first priority is making sure we've got enough protein in the diet

Second priority is making sure we've got enough fiber from fruit and vegetables and salad, predominantly veggies and salads

That's going to help with the total health, immune system, all that sort of stuff as well

But it's going to fill you up. So people underestimate how much vegetables and salad do fill you up

If you eat enough protein and vegetables, then we add the carbohydrates in

And the carbohydrates are very strategically planned out. And it's not that carbs are bad

It's not that you have to cut carbs to lose weight or anything like that. It's just that it's the easiest macronutrient that we can target to reduce or at least be

quite strategic how we eat them, when we eat them, the types of carbohydrates that we eat

as well. So we look at the typical sort of westernized diet. It's very high in refined carbs

So we can definitely get rid of most of those sorts of things when you're trying to lose weight. Yes

Complex carbohydrates, good quality carbohydrates. So we're talking certain vegetables. We're talking fruits

We're talking whole grains, legumes, lentils, those sorts of things. Good quality bread, good quality rice, good quality pasta even

Those are the sorts of things that can be included, but we're being quite strategic where they are

And what I mean by that is, if you're a morning trainer, we want to give you most of your

carbohydrates in the morning. And then we would slowly back off those carbs as the day goes on, if you're not training

in the afternoon. Right. So we're concentrating the carbohydrate intake surrounding the training session. Yes

So periodization it's called. So wherever your hard sessions are particularly. So if you've got an easy session, we can be a little bit lighter on the carbs

As I said, it's not about eliminating them all together because it's important to understand

that carbohydrates are still really important for cognitive function, still important for

your immune system. And there's still loads of different minerals and vitamins that are going to come with those

not to mention they're super tasty and they are still to be included. Okay

And what about fats and things like that? So that makes up the rest of it. So very important that you still include fats and we're looking at good quality unsaturated fats

Not Mickey D's? Not Mickey D's. So the other side of that is that those unhealthy type fats basically will contribute to inflammation

So if you've done a really hard session, you drive through Mackey D's on the way home

you get a thick shake and a quarter pound of meal with some chips. It's a lot of saturated fat, a lot of highly refined oils in there

Your body's already in a state of inflammation after you've trained and you're adding extra

inflammation to that by eating those types of fats. So on the other side of that, we really want to encourage eating things like good quality

oily fish. So salmon, mackerel, sardines, tuna, that sort of stuff. Using nuts and seeds, using pesto, using avocado, using extra virgin olive oil for cooking and

things like that. And making sure that those sort of fats are included in the diet

Yes, they're going to be higher in calories, but again, it's small amounts throughout the diet

Percentage-wise of the diet, again, it really depends on the individual. There's no 10%, 20%, 30% goal for every single person

It really depends on the individual. Those sort of things, those fats will help reduce inflammation and they're going to help

you recover quicker so you can get back to your next training session quicker. So if you implement those three aspects that you talk about without calorie counting and

without really changing the way you train, you should be going a long way to improving

your body fat. Don't get me wrong. You have to be in a calorie deficit

So calorie counting is still important. It's just not essential. So it depends on the individual

If you love numbers, it's definitely something that's good to know, great education, but

it's not something that I'd encourage you to do 365 days of the year because it's quite draining

But what calorie target you need is, there's different sort of equations out there

There's different blogs and things like that that will tell you to hit these different

calorie targets. And there's no exact number for that. We can use equations, but we've still got to keep in mind how much you're burning throughout

a training session as well. And how much calories you're using for everyday activities

So washing the dishes, making the bed, just doing everyday sort of activities is still

requires energy. So we do need to make sure that we're looking after your metabolic or your resting metabolic

rate, which is the number of calories it takes for you to stay alive at rest to keep your

bodily functions working. So your heart pumping well, your brain working well, your liver functioning, etc

That's the minimum number. That number, you know, often we'll hear about these 1200 and 1500 calorie diets

That's generally where most people's resting metabolic rates sit. So if you're only eating at that, you're not giving yourself the energy to then do

your everyday activities and then you're not giving yourself the energy to train well as well

That can have some really long term serious effects. So that could compromise bone density, could compromise heart function, menstrual function

for women, immune system. So you might be getting sick, you could be getting injuries and those sorts of things

as well. So it's not less calories is better. That's why I would always encourage someone to seek a professional

If they're not ready to see a professional, that's okay. It's worthwhile just being very mindful that less calories is not always better