Cycling is one of the best sports for losing weight—your body begins adapting with just 150 minutes of riding a week at a moderate intensity, without the need for any faddish diets or risky lifestyle changes. Here's what you need to know to go about it sensibly, safely, and sustainably. But you just might find out—as so many of us have—that shedding pounds isn't your goal in the end. "Cycling helps you live longer, boosts your heart health, and also boosts your mental health," explains fitness editor Monique LeBron in her chat with editorial director Bill Strickland. "There are so many benefits to getting into cycling beyond weight loss. It's about being strong, about being healthy. It's for everybody."
If you have questions or experiences to share about weight loss, drop us a note in the comments.
Bill Strickland is the Rider-in-Chief of Bicycling. His equal passions for cycling and writing have led to the books Ten Points: A Memoir; Tour de Lance: The Extraordinary Story of Cycling’s Most Controversial Champion; Mountain Biking: The Ultimate Guide to the Ultimate Ride; and The Quotable Cyclist. His Bicycling story, “100 Pedal Strokes” won a National Magazine Award for Interactive Feature in 2008. In 2009, he assigned and edited the story “Broken,” which won the National Magazine Award for Public Interest. “The Escape,” the December, 2011, edition of his Bicycling magazine column The Pursuit, was named a Notable story by The Best American Sports Writing. Various editions of his books have been translated into Dutch, German, Hebrew, and Japanese. He uses commas by rhythm and sound, which is a terrible way to do it but makes him happy.
