E-biking to Lose Weight
When it comes to losing weight, good exercise habits and smart dietary choices have reigned supreme for as long back as humans have been around. The simplest explanation of how to lose weight is generally to move more and eat less. Although consuming fewer calories than you burn in a given day is a theoretically possible way to lose weight, it can be more difficult than that in the real world.
Responsibilities at work and school, social activities, and willpower are all commonly cited reasons to skip a workout or a healthy meal. We’ve all been there. It can be difficult to summon the motivation to exercise, even when we know we should. It often feels better to order a pizza and watch TV, not because we are lazy, but because we’ve been busy all day and don’t have time for anything else. This is where e-biking can help.
E-bikes are an incredibly fun and productive form of exercise and travel. However, until recently, e-bikes weren’t commonly available or efficient enough for everyday use. But thanks to advancements in battery technology and a desire for more sustainable transportation, e-bikes are finally an affordable method in the toolkit of products to help you lose weight and keep it off. Because e-bikes are so fun and customizable, they remove the friction from getting up and exercising more. Let’s explore the reasons why.
Why Choose an Ebike?
Why are e-bikes the best choice for people looking to lose weight?
E-bikes, such as the Cruiser from Himiway are equipped with quiet electric motors that provide just the right amount of additional power to keep you moving and progressing, especially when you encounter a large uphill road or difficult terrain. With the 750 watts of power from the geared hub motor of the Himiway Cruiser, you can tap into the motor’s energy to get you over that last dreaded hill climb. This takes the sting out of exercising and actually makes for better a memory and therefore more likely you will do it again.
In addition to a powerful motor, many e-bikes come with pedal assist technology. Intelligent pedal-assist allows you to customize the level of assistance the motor and battery provide to you while riding. Choosing a level from 1-5 will provide extra power as you pedal the bike. You will look and feel like you are simply riding a traditional bike, all the while the motor is lending you a helping hand for those tricky moments when you get too tired to keep going or when you don’t want to arrive at your destination covered in sweat.
Lastly, we know many injuries can set back a person’s exercise routine and prohibit them from doing the activities they used to do. If you are one of those people who exercise less these days due to a past knee or leg injury, an e-bike may be just the answer you are looking for. By opting for a step-thru e-bike model and setting a high level of pedal assist, you can take out the joint pain of manually pedaling so strenuously that your previous injury flares up again. And you’ll wake up with less pain than you may otherwise from a traditional bike.
If you’re simply less flexible than you were when you were younger, look no further than a step-thru e-bike to solve your dilemma of getting on and off the bike each ride.
How to Lose Weight by Cycling On an E-bike?
We’ve covered why e-bikes come with great features to help you lose weight, but what about the lifestyle around such an endeavor? We’ve covered many fitness-related e-bike tips before, but let’s go over more specific tips for losing weight by cycling on an e-bike.
To start, consider it a primary goal to just ride your e-bike as much as possible. This may not be an issue due to the joy of hitting the throttle and zipping through traffic or down the road, but it never hurts to remind folks to move, move, move! By moving, our bodies will naturally burn calories. However, exercise is not the only piece of the puzzle, it just now happens to be the most exciting thanks to powerful electric bikes.
Another key tool in your arsenal should be a heart rate monitor and/or fitness tracking app. Humans have a tendency to over and underestimate how much or how long of a workout they did. A heart rate monitor will tell you when you are getting enough cardio because your beats per minute (bpm) will be higher than your natural resting state.
To get your heart rate higher, you should turn the pedal assist power as low as possible to achieve a good workout. Try aiming for pedal-assist 2 or even 1. This will still give you a bit of power, but you’ll be doing most of the work. And don’t worry, e-bikes are not cheating, they are simply allowing you to experience more exercise and more fun at the same time. Set some realistic goals and start small.
Of course, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention that losing weight, helps to maintain a healthy diet and develop healthy lifestyle habits. But this doesn’t have to be torturous calorie counting or tasteless meals! One excellent method to lose weight is to eat rawer and “real” foods. This just means less-processed foods that are high in salt and fat. But raw ingredients such as seasoned chicken, brown rice, steamed veggies with garlic or pepper, and other similar raw food can all taste great if prepared correctly.
Another trick is to only eat when you are actually hungry. If you aren’t hungry, feel free to skip the snack or treat. Your body will tell you when you are hungry, not your mind. Keep healthy snacks at eye level in the pantry or fridge and try not to buy pop, ice cream, and chips. By not keeping those high-fat items in the house, you will naturally consume less of them without even trying.
Which Model is Suitable to You?
We’ve covered a lot of tips and reasons why e-bikes can be useful in achieving weight loss, but let’s briefly describe the best Himiway e-bike collections that fit this build. The Cruiser and Cruiser Step-Thru are both excellent models as they are powerful, affordable, and offer the Step-Thru frame to reduce the likelihood of injury. Similarly, the newer Zebra and Zebra Step-Thru are also great choices. The Zebra offers a slightly longer battery range and an upgraded hub motor, as well as that useful step-thru frame option. You cannot go wrong with any of these models to achieve your weight loss goals.
Choosing an e-bike for your weight loss needs is both environmentally responsible and effective. With pedal-assist, powerful motors, and step-thru frames, e-bikes make great friends on your fitness journey. Combining an e-bike with a general healthy lifestyle will double the speed of your weight loss and get you feeling energized in no time. Happy riding!
