# Weight Gain From Cycling?



## Brian_D

Hey guys I have a question...is it possible/probable to gain weight from cycling?

Background/history: I've been a rather active runner for the last few years (7-10 miles during the week with a long run 10-15 miles on the weekends). I started cycling late fall and naturally my running mileage dropped but my weight stayed very constant. I'm 5' 7" & ~175# +/-. I recently bought a new bike and began to really pick up the pace (for me anyways, went from averaging ~15mph and now ~18 mph for 18-20miles). 

What I've noticed is that when I ramp up my cycling mileage for one month, I gain about 5-7 lbs. When I ramp up my running mileage the following month, I drop 5-7 lbs. Weight range stays constant in the 170-180 lbs range. When my weight goes up, I know it b/c my pants get a bit tighter in the waist. Cycling times/running times are about the same, 2 hrs during the week and 2-3 hours for a long run/ride on weekends.

I'm thinking it's probably water weight/retention as I sweat my tale off when I run, I don't sweat nearly as profusely when I bicycle. Has anyone else run into this? Or am I the lone ranger on this one?

Thanks,
Brian.


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## JoelS

No. It is possible to gain weight from eating too much.


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## robdamanii

After spending the winter working on power and sprint speed, I put on about 5 pounds. Didn't change anything else, not gaining any further weight, just added about 5 pounds.

The leg grippers on some of my shorts are fitting tighter as well, so I'm guessing there was some muscular hypertrophy happening over the winter.


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## pdh777

You do not realize you are sweating as much on the bike because the wind is drying your sweat before it accumulates. You should hydrate as much while cycling as running.

Also from what I understand cycling actually is a little more efficient than running for burning calories - this is over the same amount of time. If you are 175 lbs, and cycle for one hour at 20mph you should burn in excess of 800 calories.- more if there is a headwind or hills.

Monitor your eating - does it stay the same with either activity? or are you consuming more with cycling?


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## AndyTomlin

You will expend more energy per hour running than cycling in all likelihood, so if you're doing them for the same amount, you'll be losing less weight in your cycling month. Either up your mileage when cycling or cut down a bit on the food in those months.


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## kit352

you can easily gain weigh by building muscles and losing fat at the same time. muscules weigh more than fat so as you melt away the fat you putting on muscles. its a fairly big difference if you have weak or are "soft" in the muscle area and you really start to work on them. youll probably end up gaining a few pounds converting the old muscles to new ones. once youve reached a point of just sustaining them and the initial burn in is over youll start droping the weigh by just burning the fat.
remember you leg muscles are huge and cycling works the bigger upper part more than running. Ill beat if you measure your legs or do strength tests youll notice an up and down cycle that follows your run/bike cycle.


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## heathb

Running recruits more muscle mass than cycling. Your gaining weight because your cycling workouts don't burn the number of calories your running does. 

Another sign is your waist band getting tighter. Your packing on pounds. Cut calories or bump up the bike work. 

I used to run 8-12 miles a day and yes you can dump weight a lot faster running than cycling, but that's just because it's hitting those muscles a lot harder, especially if you're running pretty fast. Also running being an impact sport almost tells your body to be as skinny as possible to make it easier on the joints. Cycling not being an impact sport doesn't have that kind of feed back, so you can be a hos and still power down the road like a champ.


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## Hawkeye16

If you are beefing up your legs from a higher cadence in a higher gear I would say it was definitely possible.

Then again my weight fluctuates ~5lbs fairly normally, not really tied to anything as far as I can tell so some of it may be in your head


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## dagger

I gain weight also and it's about 5 pounds. If I take 3 days off I will lose 5lbs. If you measure your legs before and after you will notice the weight is there and most likely water.



Brian_D said:


> Hey guys I have a question...is it possible/probable to gain weight from cycling?
> 
> Background/history: I've been a rather active runner for the last few years (7-10 miles during the week with a long run 10-15 miles on the weekends). I started cycling late fall and naturally my running mileage dropped but my weight stayed very constant. I'm 5' 7" & ~175# +/-. I recently bought a new bike and began to really pick up the pace (for me anyways, went from averaging ~15mph and now ~18 mph for 18-20miles).
> 
> What I've noticed is that when I ramp up my cycling mileage for one month, I gain about 5-7 lbs. When I ramp up my running mileage the following month, I drop 5-7 lbs. Weight range stays constant in the 170-180 lbs range. When my weight goes up, I know it b/c my pants get a bit tighter in the waist. Cycling times/running times are about the same, 2 hrs during the week and 2-3 hours for a long run/ride on weekends.
> 
> I'm thinking it's probably water weight/retention as I sweat my tale off when I run, I don't sweat nearly as profusely when I bicycle. Has anyone else run into this? Or am I the lone ranger on this one?
> 
> Thanks,
> Brian.


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## Kerry Irons

*High number*



pdh777 said:


> If you are 175 lbs, and cycle for one hour at 20mph you should burn in excess of 800 calories.- more if there is a headwind or hills.


Actually, the number is more like 625 calories. Your number is about 28% high. See analyticcycling.com.


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## ZoSoSwiM

I lost body fat while swimming this past winter and continued to lose weight as I started my base miles back in November.. Around January my weight started going up again even with my clothing becoming looser. In February I was about 5 pounds heavier. Since then I've lost the added muscle weight from swimming and Also lost some more fat. 

Muscle weighs more so a small muscle gain is a bigger weight gain.


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## SlurpeeKing

I've lost 55# in the last year while I cycled alot, I contribute 95% of the weight loss to diet. The weeks I ate whatever and still rode alot I gained or maintaned weight. It's all diet imo.


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## tarwheel2

Kerry Irons said:


> Actually, the number is more like 625 calories. Your number is about 28% high. See analyticcycling.com.


According to my research, your number is way too low. There obviously are a lot of variables -- someone's weight, speed, whether drafting or riding solo, wind, etc. However, here are the numbers I found for calories burned cycling for one hour at various website:

Healthstatus.com
840 calories cycling 14-16 mph

Nutristrategy.com
981 calories @ 16-19 mph (180 lb male)
817 calories @ 14-16 mph

LoseIt!.com
1263 calories @ 20 mph (175 lb male)
926 calories @ 16-19 mph
758 calories @ 14-16 mph

Fitpronutrition.com
1,121 calories @ 20 mph (167 lb male)
945 calories @ 16 mph

I think it is safe to say that a cyclist riding 20 mph is burning more than 1,000 calories/hour


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## Geoffersonspin

Before I started cycling (I was very sedentary, did basically nothing but sit around drinking and smoking) I was 6'4" and about 155lbs. Quite skinny. 

After cycling for a year and a half I am up to about 165lbs. My leg muscles are noticeably larger, harder, and stronger. I think that is where the weight gain in my case has come from.

As a side note, after this year and a half of cycling I am still 6'4"


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## looigi

SlurpeeKing said:


> I've lost 55# in the last year while I cycled alot, I contribute 95% of the weight loss to diet. The weeks I ate whatever and still rode alot I gained or maintaned weight. It's all diet imo.


Yes. IMO, exercising a lot can increase the complexity of dieting and make it more difficult to lose weight. You get hungrier and have to manage calorie intake to compensate for what you burn and to provide energy for strenuous exercising in the first place. Regular moderate exercise is best, IMO.


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## Sisophous

You likely are taking in more calories while cycling compared to running but don’t realize it. If you restrict your caloric intake, you will find the weight will come off whether your run or cycle. I ran moderately for years and cycled too. I’ve maintained my weight from running but seldom lost weight unless I restricted my calorie intake. Same thing with cycling, I will not lose weight unless I cut back on the calories. 

Cut back on the carbs and you will lose weight. I bet you are taking in a lot of carbs.


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## tarwheel2

For years my weight steadily crept up even though I was cycling a lot (6,000-7,000+ miles/year). Over the winter, I got serious about losing weight and started tracking all of my calories eaten as well as burned from exercise. Getting an iPhone for Christmas was the impetus because that made it much easier to track using the LoseIt! app (altho there are many other similar apps). 

Tracking my food and exercise was a real eye-opener, as I previously had no real idea how much I was eating in comparison to burning. With the app, I set a calorie budget aimed at losing 1 lb/week, which seemed like a reasonable goal. I have consistently lost weight close to my target since the first of the year and it hasn't been that difficult, altho I am religious about recording everything I eat and all exercise.

Long story short, I have lost 21 lbs. and I'm at my lightest weight since college days (over 30 years ago). I am almost at my goal (175 lbs.) but I plan to keep tracking to maintain that weight. If you don't have a smart phone, you can still track calories at LoseIt!.com and other websites. One of the things that make such tracking programs work is that they adjust your calorie budget to your weight and target, so your daily calorie allowance goes down as you lose weight. However, once you reach your target weight and don't want to lose any more, your calorie allowance goes up because then you are just trying to maintain your weight rather than lose more.


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## Undecided

tarwheel2 said:


> According to my research, your number is way too low. There obviously are a lot of variables -- someone's weight, speed, whether drafting or riding solo, wind, etc. However, here are the numbers I found for calories burned cycling for one hour at various website:
> [snip]
> I think it is safe to say that a cyclist riding 20 mph is burning more than 1,000 calories/hour


Yes, the variables you cite (plus elevation change, too) are very significant. As one data point, I have a ton of power meter files that suggest that over my most regular route (one lap of which is approximately 30 miles and 1,200 feet of climbing, made up of a rolling, approximately 20-mile loop with a moderately rolling, windy out-and-back spur off the loop), when I'm doing what I've noted as "endurance rides" (e.g., I'm alone, mostly riding the hoods and tops), 20 mph will be at about 258 watts (call it 925 calories/hour) watts and 21 mph will be at about 278 watts (call it 1,000 calories/hour), on average. I'm about 160 pounds. Distances and feet of climbing are measured by a Garmin, with a couple of known elevation points stored for this route.


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## cyclesport45

Eat less. Ride more.


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## Kuma601

One aspect is what you are consuming post ride. As we age, metabolism changes so there will be this constant refining of what will or will not cause weight gains and losses with all other parts remaining constant.

Start reading the nutritional values and ingredients. Making even a simple change by omitting one known ingredient that your body is sensitive to can be the big difference. Like going from whole milk to non-fat or eliminating the bowl of ice cream while watching TV.


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## Sisophous

Some good advice here. One thing I would like to add, if you want to lose weight then target about 1,000 calories intake per day with mild exercise. I once did this and the weight came off about a pound every two days. It just melted off me. I kept track of the intake of calories but if I went a couple hundred over it was no big deal. I wasn't anal about it, just never far exceeded it or abused my intake of calories. Of course if you are working out a lot then add 500 calories to roughly 1,500 calories per day. I guarantee the weight will come off. 

Tarwheel2 is spot on right about tracking your calories if you want to lose weight.


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