Get people on bikes to combat obesity says new report

'Obesity' is a flawed generalisation of body mass - going by the standard BMI calculations I'm overweight, I can only assume because of my athletic build. Having been generally active for decades I started on an intensive cycle training program (6 days/ week) over 2 years ago and have 'lost' somewhere in the region of 1KG (currently 178cm/ 84kg). My diet hasn't changed, apart from a reduction in alcohol....

There is more to it than "just" food and exercise when it comes to losing weight. I put on a lot of weight when my thyroid packed up (I guess I would be one of those fatties dismissed as blaming glands - even if it is the gland that controls your metabolism...), and it's taken a long time to learn how I can lose it. If you restrict calories too much (or use a lot more that you take in), your body can go into starvation mode and the weight loss stops. In my perverse body, starvation mode can be so efficient I can put on weight if I get the balance wrong when restricting calories! I've had to up the calorie intake as I've lost weight to keep up the weight loss (more active needs more calories) but that's counterintuitive, and goes against the common wisdom. Surely I should lose more weight if I'm doing more and sticking at an arbitrary number of calories? It's not that simple! The advise given to "dieters" is contradictory, misleading, and often is aimed at those losing a couple of pounds - and that doesn't work if you're obese. The press tell you can get a beach body in few weeks - if you're obese, you can't. You try, end up feeling like you've failed, and you give up. Losing weigh (and I'm talking stones not pounds here) is a long-term project - a lifestyle change - and that's more than a calories in and calories out balance. There are fairly big psychological changes that needs to be made too.

It is really simple.

Don't put in what you aren't using.

You wouldn't put 50l of fuel in your car each week if you were only using 40l. It may take a few months but eventually you will just be spilling the fuel accross the floor. The body is similiar, though instead of it just refusing it, it is hard wired to deal with the lack of abundant food and so will store all excess as fat. Great for those days when your hunter gathering skills leave you without a meal for 2-3 days, not so good when if your hunter gathering skills fail you call dial-a-food.

What alot of people aren't savvy about is how much they eat and those "hidden" calories in beer etc. I know that if I over indulge one day then I should cut back the next few, but the occassional indulgence has become a regular part of people's diet.

Stating/restating the obvious again probably: Excess calories over and above what you need leads to weight gain. Similarly insufficient calories leads to weight loss. You’ll lose/gain quicker if the difference is bigger, so exercising will speed up the weight loss whilst under-eating.

If you use an activity tracker, or just a sports watch, and link it to a calorie counter app (and fill it in daily with what you eat) then it is straightforward to find out excess calories/undereating, and work out what to change. Some apps will also forecast your weight some weeks into the future.

I used this technique on tour recently and managed not to lose as much weight (2kg) as on similar previous tours (5kg).

I wonder how much did it cost the taxpayers' money for the research company to come up with this.

On a positive note, it's getting harder and harder for the government to ignore the pro-cycling argument. More and more quantifiable benefits of mass cycling participation are being proven by reports like this.
What's on our side is that the UK state is seriously skint and looking so for probably a generation, so anything which helps save money or deal with the problems which are costing the state money (obesity, mental health, pollution, improving public transport etc) will be looked at seriously.
As cycling is a) very cheap and mainly funded by Joe Public (we buy our own bikes) and b) helps to solve a multitude of these problems, so hopefully now government will begin to put some proper funding and support into changing UK driving culture and promote cycling as the massive societal benefit which it clearly is...

The cake hole is bigger than the bum hole.
Cram too much in and live a sedate life and you'll get fat.
Too many people don't take responsibility for themselves and will blame everything but their own actions.
Yes, life is busy and work gets in the way. But how about cycle to and from work - commuting and exercise done for the day. If that's not possible drive half and cycle half. Still too difficult, ok, park as far away from the office and walk to your desk/working environment.
Take a walk at lunch. Go for a short 20min jog at lunch.

I've been cycling for a few years now and it's changed my life. I actually eat more as I've bearnt off calories and need the extra food.
Over the last few weeks I've had to drive as I've had a bad cold I can't shift. I'm not as hungry and I listen to my body and eat when I need to not just as a routine.

What I am saying is, Yes, in my experience food is the main cause. Loads at work barely get off their arse all day and the only time they do is to eat large quantities of food or full fat coke. I also don't have much time in the working day but I find time a lunch to walk to the. Shops for some food.

Eat less, make the right choice of food and do a little bit of exercise and the weight will follow.

Stop blaming everyone/everything but yourself
Take responsibility for yourself, it's not up to everyone else to do it for you.
I also know there are a very few exceptions to this where certain conditions or medications can cause weight gain. But these are the exception and not the norm for what becoming an extremely embarrassing situation we as humans are getting ourselves in to as a species!
The Film Wall-e summed it up perfectly!

The cake hole is bigger than the bum hole.
Cram too much in and live a sedate life and you'll get fat.
Too many people don't take responsibility for themselves and will blame everything but their own actions.
Yes, life is busy and work gets in the way. But how about cycle to and from work - commuting and exercise done for the day. If that's not possible drive half and cycle half. Still too difficult, ok, park as far away from the office and walk to your desk/working environment.
Take a walk at lunch. Go for a short 20min jog at lunch.

I've been cycling for a few years now and it's changed my life. I actually eat more as I've bearnt off calories and need the extra food.
Over the last few weeks I've had to drive as I've had a bad cold I can't shift. I'm not as hungry and I listen to my body and eat when I need to not just as a routine.

What I am saying is, Yes, in my experience food is the main cause. Loads at work barely get off their arse all day and the only time they do is to eat large quantities of food or full fat coke. I also don't have much time in the working day but I find time a lunch to walk to the. Shops for some food.

Eat less, make the right choice of food and do a little bit of exercise and the weight will follow.

Stop blaming everyone/everything but yourself
Take responsibility for yourself, it's not up to everyone else to do it for you.
I also know there are a very few exceptions to this where certain conditions or medications can cause weight gain. But these are the exception and not the norm for what becoming an extremely embarrassing situation we as humans are getting ourselves in to as a species!
The Film Wall-e summed it up perfectly!

I suppose I was exactly the sort of person this study is all about; sedentary job/lifestyle and driving everywhere, plus years of eating crap, drinking and smoking had me at 20 stone and, I'm not embarrassed to admit, in potential difficulty as far as the longer-term consequences of obesity are concerned.

A change of job made walking, and quickly then cycling, to work a viable option, with the bike soon becoming a weekend hobby too. That saw me start shedding the weight, a good 3 stone lost at a constant rate over about 9 months.

BUT, I then hit a wall and the weight loss tailed off for several months, despite cycling more than I ever had been, as I was still eating a lot of rubbish, and the weekend alcohol intake was still on the high side...

Only recently have I started paying much more attention to my diet, and am cutting out a lot of the fatty, sugary or carb-heavy stuff, and the alcohol, with a view to having a 500 calorie deficit per day. And it's working. Another half stone lost in the last month has me down to 16 stone (and continuing to fall), and that's without doing anything like the mileage on the bike I'd been doing earlier in the autumn.

For me, time on the bike was a massive kick start, but it's equally about what you're eating, particularly if you're looking to lose a lot of weight.

It can't be forgotten that you also need the will to get off your backside and actually do something about it in the first place, which could be the biggest hurdle for many.

Of course the ideal is a balance of both, exercise combined with healthy eating is what is recommended by doctors.
Even being fit, but a little overweight is better than being just overweight.
There is some evidence cycling can reduce depression which is a factor in some peoples overeating.
For me cycling encourages me to eat more sensibly as I have become much more aware of my weight. Whether the constant reminder when cycling up hills or just being around more people that maintain a healthy weight. I still struggle as its all to easy to justify some cake after a long ride.

sedentary lifestyles are also a major factor. Lots of people now have jobs which require little physical effort. They also mention changing food portion sizes, food formulation and availability of high calorie foods in the study.

Agreed, the thing that make you fat are.
1. Eating too much

7. Not exercising enough

10. Eating the wrong things.

If you can climb Everest eating chocolate and walk across the Antarctic eating Lard, or win Olympic gold eating pizza it proves its not the foods fault. We don't teach people that hunger is important feedback and one of your bodies senses. Too many people today are afraid of hunger or just bored.

food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food... FFS it's the FOOD that's causing obesity NOT lack of exercise!