Is a Fan Bike a Good Way to Lose Weight?

When you've decided it's time to get exercising to help you lose some weight, a wide range of exercise regimens are worth considering. If you enjoyed cycling as a kid, buy a gym membership and give a pedaling workout a shot. Riding a fan bike is an effective way to burn enough calories to help you lose weight, provided you spend enough time breaking a sweat on the bike.

  1. Losing Weight

    • The prospect of losing weight might occasionally be overwhelming, but the science behind the process is simple. To lose weight, you have to put your body in a calorie deficit, which means you're burning more calories than you consume. You can achieve a calorie deficit through exercise or diet, but combining regular exercise with a healthy diet drastically boosts your chance of finding weight-loss success, notes the American Council on Exercise. A calorie deficit of 3,500 equals the loss of 1 pound of fat.

    Pedaling Calories Burned

    • The rate at which you'll burn calories during a pedaling workout depends on your speed and the exact nature of your fan bike or other type of stationary bike. Regardless, Harvard Medical School notes a pedaling workout is one of the fastest ways you can burn calories. On its calorie-burning page, the website HealthStatus groups stationary bikes and spinning bikes together, noting a person can burn a couple hundred calories in a short amount of time. A 155-pound person will burn 246 calories during 30 minutes of moderate-intensity pedaling and 400 calories during 30 minutes of vigorous pedaling.

    Your Workout Regimen

    • Don't hop on the fan bike at the gym, exercise for a short period and expect to lose weight. Only through consistent exercise will you begin to experience weight loss; MayoClinic.com, for example, suggests it's practical to attempt to lose up to 2 pounds in a week. Aim to spend at least 300 minutes each week performing aerobic exercises such as a pedaling an exercise bike, and complement the aerobic component of your workout with at least two days of strength-training exercises.

    Low-Calorie Diet

    • You'll significantly increase your chance of losing weight if you combine your workout regimen with some dietary changes. The key to making dietary changes is to reduce your calorie consumption, which you can do in a multitude of ways. Simple methods include to cut your intake of soda and beer, increase the number of fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet, resist the urge to snack on unhealthy foods and avoid foods high in saturated fats.