i put cycling in search & 2 pages came up
hope this helps

I have been given an exercise bike which I shall start using after my hols. It’s sitting in the spare bedroom at the moment so I wont be seeing any nice scenery 🙂 I have joint probs due to Lupus so must be wary of getting to over excited with it as I don’t want to upset my body. Can you cyclists advise me of how far I should cycle from the start and how quickly I should build up please? It has various settings and a mileometer on it, it can do hills etc but I need to ease myslef in. At the beginning of the year I was doing Zumba twice a week but I was then very ill for a while and have lost all my fitness and gained weight. 🙁 Although I have lost a stone on the 5.2 since January.

Thanks for that Chuck I’ll certainly do some hills. I shall wait for the weather to cool first as it is like an oven upstairs so exercising in that heat wouldn’t be a good idea. Think I’ll do 2 miles at first and see how I get on with that. Will include getting my head down and “going for it” :-0 too. Well done Mike for the weight loss, when you said you needed new shorts I thought you had worn them out from the inside 😉

Thanks guys – onwards and downwards.

Hello beccadarby!
Sounds like you’ve been exercising all along, great to hear that. Swimming is one of the few low-impact exercises, glad you’re helping out your joints as well! Adventures around the city – I’m glad you have a city amenable to cycling, that makes all the difference. Ah, yes, strength and stamina do get better, I agree! I was pondering that today as well – I think part of it is that as we loose weight, we don’t have to lug around all that extra freight – I think that too puts more zip in our steps (plus the workout build muscles, more horsepower).
Yes, I know Chicago quite well (our family hails from the windy city) – contending with the lake wind, that’s as much as a hill energy-wise to overcome! But I understand as well, the pollution in the city is a problem, so anytime you can get fresh air and hills, I can see the relief in that, especially with asthma!
Loosing steam on the long rides – I have to agree, today’s 76 mile journey had me pretty well pooped at the end, but then as the metabolic shift to fat burning occurs, I wonder if it’s just temporary? A little low, then back to normal? Today’s run wasn’t a good test of hypothesis, as I was shivering near the end as a storm rolled in, with enormous headwinds and stinging rain, loss of energy gets balled up in forces of nature, but it was invigorating in a psychological sense, like riding up Mt. Olympus.
Good suggestions on the seat adjustment and handlebars – I will take the time to set mine right too.
Cheers!
from Chuck.

Just an observation. I cycle with a social club doing about 40-50 miles on an outing. I fasted on the day prior to the ride and found that on the next day’s ride I ‘hit the wall’ after about 2 hrs of riding (ave speed 13 mph). My conclusion is that I had depleted my glycogen reserves in my muscles, which were low due to the fasting day before the ride.
I now re-arrange my fasting, so as to cycle when only after a day of normal eating. Not yet tried to ride on a fasting day.

Yes, that is what I was thinking as well, and I’ve lost weight rapidly burning the fat, though there is a transition phase during the cycling day, but after a little while it seems that my energy levels return during the ride. I usually keep my outings to around 30-40 miles, but I did try a 76-mile ride and survived it quite well, so just bear down and you’ll make it too!
My thoughts though are on proper protein intake on cycling days, as I would like to build some more muscle, and on the day after a vigorous ride (when the muscles repair themselves). I’ve come down to 155 pounds / 70 Kg, but at one time weighed 185 and was leaner/muscular, so it would be nice to get back to that level of fitness. And thoughts or suggestions? Also, I have discovered that one can wear out a bike! Busy welding the frame in the shop tonight.. ;).

Also started cycling to work only 5 mile a day 5 days a week. Really enjoy it but the roads can be a wee bit daunting some drivers are wild.

@mike-in-suffolk
” I always cycle on my fast days, as it seems sensible to burn energy when there is no available food as fuel, thus forcing my body to turn to its reserves.”

I do cycle with an e-bike, so it’s not the same as regular cycling except when I run out of battery charge.

I don’t have access to a stationery cycle for indoor sprints.

So, I do sprints on the treadmill, and because of the accessibility, I am able to do it frequently and consistently without the hindrance of Chicago weathers.

My metabolism slows down on my second day of fast & as you say, that may be the best time to burn fast as fuel. I will do that for better & quicker results.

Glad to connect here.

➰

I have been on the fast diet for ten weeks now, an have only lost 2 kg. For the first eight weeks I did not lose any weight at all.
As I have read in the above comments: not losing weight does not mean that your body doesn’t change. I go to work by bicycle 4 days a week, which is about 15 miles away. That means I cylce 120 miles a week, both on fasting and non-fasting days. The result is that I have incredibly muscled legs, a slimmer waist, feel very healthy but yes, I am almost as heavy as before.
Sometimes I wonder if burning 1000 kcals on a fasting days is healthy. What do you think?

I cycle three times a week, 30 miles a ride, and average 14/15 MPH.
Any advice?

How are you doing?

Wish the authors of 5:2 Fast should address the exercise on Fast or non-fast days issues?
As a cyclist, I can’t afford to “bonk out” half way through a 30 mile ride. Must I then only ride on non fast days? Must I eat more protein and/or fat for breakfast (250 calories) if exercising?

Hello there – IF (16:8) and I cycle regularly, always at the end of my fasting period. Rides in the ~30-40 km range (ergo, ~20-25 miles) and done at 20~22 kph – in a rather hilly area. Longest fasted state rides have been in the 50 km (30 mile) range – not because of fasting/energy issues but rather due to cycling fitness.

Thus far no issues noted, and as the weight comes off and the regular riding continues I am noticing a significant improvement in performance.

The 5:2 is helping keep my weight consistently at a level where I am now riding long climbs faster than previously. I’m 63 and have just returned from Majorca where I managed several personal bests on long climbs that I have ridden many times before. I am managing to stay with riders who are 10 years younger than me and I put this down to not having to carry unnecessary fat up hills! The one thing I avoid though is a fasting day before a big or hard ride as I find I need a breakfast and a lunch to get back to full RPM.

I’ve lost nearly one stone over the past 2 years. I increased my cycling and my annual mileage doubled to 3,000 miles a year during this time. I have to say that I didn’t really start to lose any weight until I reduced my food intake. I don’t subscribe to the theory that calories in must equal calories burnt through the exercise as I think that the fitter you get the more efficient the body gets with its use of food energy.