Cycling is the ideal way to get fit and lose weight

A stable body weight means that the amount of kilojoules from food matches the kilojoules used by your body. If your weight is increasing, this may mean that you are eating too much food, doing too little physical activity or both.

After 30 metabolism can start slowing down a problem caused by muscle loss. The more muscle you have, the more energy you burn and the easier it is to maintain a healthy weight.

Cycling is a great way to increase your physical activity level; remember the more cycling you do the greater the benefits. The number of calories you burn depends upon your weight, the activity you are doing and the intensity level you are exercising at.

Any activity that you perform can be done at a variety of intensity levels. If you exercise at a higher intensity level, you will be working harder, expending more energy and burning more calories than someone who is not working quite so hard.

Cycling will increase your daily Caloric output in two ways. First, and most obvious, is the energy required to move you and your bicycle against the resistance of air and gravity. A second, more indirect effect is through subtle changes in your daily routine to include more physical activity (such as walking up a flight of stairs instead of taking the elevator) because of an increased sense of vigor and well-being.

Many dieters worry that increased physical activity will increase their appetite. However a recent carefully controlled study of overweight individuals did not reveal a proportionate increase in appetite with exercise, lending support to the positive role of physical activity in reaching the goal of a negative caloric balance and resulting weight loss. In fact, vigorous exercise actually suppressed appetite for several hours, suggesting that this short term effect can be used as an effective appetite control strategy by planning your exercise immediately prior to your major meal of the day.

Regular exercise also increases your basal metabolism rate or BMR (the number of Calories utilised by the body at rest to maintain basic life processes). An increased BMR is associated with all aerobic conditioning activity and is maintained with as little as 30 to 40 minutes of exercise 3 to 4 times a week. One study indicated that the increase in BMR with regular exercise may be even more pronounced in the older athlete.

Not only is there an increase in your overall BMR with regular exercise, there is an additional 12 hour post-exercise boost in the BMR. As a rule of thumb, this adds 15 bonus Calories for every 100 Calories burned during your aerobic activity. To capitalize on this post exercise bonus, consider two (or more) rides per day - perhaps in the morning and after work - rather than a single ride of equal duration.

Remember healthy food and physical activity will give you more energy, leave you feeling healthier and improve your quality of life.

Source: Cycling Performance Tips