Final Up to date: October 6, 2025
Fast Take: Driving 100 miles every week doesn’t assure weight reduction. You’ll be able to out-eat any journey should you’re not monitoring energy. Hydration, depth, and restoration habits all play a job — however the true secret’s sustaining a constant calorie deficit.
I get this query rather a lot: “I’m placing in critical miles each week. How come the dimensions isn’t shifting?”
I’ve been there. Throughout certainly one of my highest-mileage months, I used to be driving nearly day-after-day — but my weight barely modified. The reality is, endurance biking burns energy, however it additionally boosts urge for food and effectivity. In case you don’t observe either side of the equation, the deficit disappears quick.
1. You’re Consuming Again What You Burn
Even average rides can torch 500–1,000 energy, however it’s shockingly straightforward to switch that with an additional snack or two. Cyclists typically reward themselves post-ride — a “restoration” meal that may be twice what’s wanted. The repair? Monitor what you eat, at the least for every week, and examine it to your precise burn.
I realized that lesson the exhausting means on a 500-mile tour I rode in a single week. Once I received house, I really weighed extra than after I began. It made no sense till I did the maths — I’d been filling bottles with full-calorie Gatorade from comfort shops all week. Between that and the massive meals after every day’s journey, I used to be ingesting and consuming again each little bit of my deficit. Now I follow zero-calorie Gatorade powder and hydration add-in drops that exchange electrolytes with out the sugar. Generally the repair actually is that straightforward.
2. You’re Driving Simple, Not Exhausting
These lengthy, regular rides in Zone 2 construct endurance, however they don’t all the time drive fats loss except paired with depth. Sprinkle in brief, high-effort intervals — hill repeats or tempo sections — to nudge your metabolism increased. Selection retains your physique guessing.
3. You’ve Turn out to be Too Environment friendly
The fitter you get, the less energy you burn for a similar tempo and distance. It’s nice for efficiency, not so nice for fats loss. To interrupt that plateau, combine up your terrain or attempt new routes with rolling climbs and variable efforts.
4. You’re Underestimating Energy In, Overestimating Energy Out
Most health trackers inflate calorie burn. And should you log your meals loosely (“a few cup,” “roughly a tablespoon”), you may be off by lots of of energy a day. Precision counts greater than perfection — weigh and log for every week to see what’s actually occurring.
5. You’re Gaining Muscle or Retaining Water
Leg coaching and glycogen storage can masks fats loss on the dimensions. In case your garments match looser however the quantity doesn’t drop, you’re in all probability shedding fats however gaining or holding one thing else. Use a sensible scale to trace physique composition as an alternative of chasing the uncooked quantity.
Gear That Helps You Keep on Monitor
6. You’re Rewarding Your self Too Usually
“I rode 40 miles immediately — I earned this burger.” That mindset kills progress. The journey doesn’t cancel out junk energy; it simply justifies them. If you need seen outcomes, preserve meals decisions easy and constant — excessive protein, low sugar, loads of water.
7. You’re Not Monitoring Actually
You don’t must log meals eternally, however you do want an trustworthy week or two of knowledge. Each handful, each sip. Apps like MyFitnessPal can sync with bike computer systems and sensible scales to maintain it straightforward.
Backside Line
Biking is an incredible instrument for health and longevity — however weight reduction comes from managing consumption. If the dimensions gained’t budge, tighten your calorie monitoring earlier than you tighten your chain. Experience since you find it irresistible, eat with function, and the fats loss will comply with.
