Calories eaten & burned

Question
QUESTION: Hi Laurie,
I'm 54, male, 6 feet, 234 pounds. Trying to work my way down to 185, mostly by biking to work. My ride is 17 miles each way, and it takes me 2:40 to ride both ways (13 mph). I'm trying to balance the large calorie burn (around 2,300 each day that I ride) with enough food so I don't burn muscle mass (not much, other than in my legs), but still lose 2-3 lb/week. How many calories should I take in on biking days? 3,500? More? I go for a high-protein breakfast and a high-carb lunch (to prep for the ride home). Is this reasonable?

ANSWER: Dear Chris,

What a great move!  This sounds like a great idea, but partly that's because I love biking :)

I really have never heard of "burning muscle mass" through exercising--it's like with weight lifting--you are exercising the muscles and making them stronger, and building them.  When your body needs extra calories for energy it will either grab them from short-term stored carbs in your liver, a bit maybe from your blood stream, but especially after 20 minutes of riding, almost all from FAT!!
You can only lose muscle if you run out of carbs and fat stores first, or are on a starvation-type diet, such as lower than 1200 calories.

I would not suggest you eating any more calories to offset the weight you are trying to lose.

A high protein breakfast is good because it will keep you full longer, but be sure you aren't eating too many calories or too much fat (a couple of eggs are all you need: I had a client who was eating 6 oz hamburger for breakfast every day per advice from her personal trainer, but she could NOT lose weight--well that was a few too many calories to start the day with for her!!)

A high carb lunch will be finished absorbing unless you are biking home less than 2 hours later.

If you leave work after 4 or 5:00 I would suggest having a high carb snack (like a granola-type bar, some graham crackers, pretzels or other easily digestible snack about 200 calories) just an hour or two before you ride.  Also hydrate well at this time and even consider making a concoction of some fruit juice or gatorade mixed 1/2-1/2 with water to get more instant carb calories.

According to my calculations you may not be burning over 2000 calories per ride, but at least 1500--this should lead to nearly 3 pounds per week weight loss from the biking alone!
Probably as you lose weight and get used to biking your speed will go up by a mph or two each week, and when you are riding 16 mph your calories burned will jump a bit (plus you'll have a shorter ride).

Let me know how it goes, please--I'd love to hear all about your success :)
Laurie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Laurie,
Thanks for the quick reply! I got my calorie count from an online calculator (http://www.dietandfitnesstoday.com/caloriesBurned.php) that took my weight, average speed, and trip time, and gave me back a count of 1132 calories for a one-way trip. In any case, I was under the impression that one needed to take in a bare minimum of 1200 calories just to stay alive (maybe that's for a thin person), and if I'm burning 1500 (or 2264) on my rides, wouldn't I need to replace that, plus the 1200, or am I getting it wrong? Is it okay to burn more than I eat, and just feed off of my fat stores? I lost my first 25 lbs that way, but was tired all the time. During my ride, my heart rate averages 135-140 bpm for nearly 3 hours a day (with an 8-hour break in the middle). I expect that to go down as I lose weight. I shoot a 190-calorie SlimFast shake before I ride, have a breakfast sandwich when I get to work, then have sensible lunches and dinners. Probably about 2000-2500 calories, but I haven't been counting rigorously. Thanks again!

Answer
Hi Chris,

Yes, absolutely 1200 calories is a bare minimum, even for a little old lady to eat!  You should not be on a 1200 calorie diet!
I wasn't under the impression you were dieting, but exercising to lose weight without cutting calories, and thinking you should eat MORE to prevent muscle loss.

It makes sense for you to eat 2000-2500 calories; you could probably lose weight on this without much exercise; certainly like I said, I would expect you to lose about 3 pounds a week while biking on most days.  You are probably eating a bit more by downing the shake before the ride, etc.

Great that you lost 25 pounds already!  that's awesome... if you can figure out that what was making you tired was not eating enough, by all means, eat a bit more and lose a bit slower so you have the energy you need ;)

Since you are biking such a distance, I am assuming you are knowledgeable about shifting, cadence, etc.... you can play around and shift to a higher gear at times you feel you have more energy and strengthen your large leg muscles, burning more calories; other times you may shift to a lower gear and pedal more rounds per minute for a smooth ride, a lower cardiovascular stress, and a higher speed (maybe good if it looks like rain ;)
Biking can be such a fun way to get in exercise if you have safe roads to ride, great weather, and nice scenery.

Consider what you might be doing on rainy days or when winter comes.  Many guys love spinning classes that are offered at most gyms: they are stationary bikes you pedal to energetic music with a whole class of people and an instructor--sounds strange, but many people are addicted to it, and it's a great option when biking outside isn't!

Don't hesitate to write back with any further details I may have missed.

Laurie

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