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Lose 10 Pounds by Biking

So you want to lose weight. All of us do at some point and losing weight is a great way to both look and feel better. Not only that, but you'll feel better about yourself and have more confidence. A great goal to set for yourself when initially trying to lose weight is to try and lose 10 pounds. This should be an attainable goal for almost anyone.

So where do you start? Most people, when they think of weight loss, think of unappetizing diets or strenuous exercise regimens, but it doesn't have to be that way. If you're looking to lose 10 pounds while still having fun and getting some fresh air, look instead to what was probably one of your favorite childhood activities: bicycling.

There are many benefits to biking, but the main one is that it's really the only form of exercise that can also function as transportation. The reason it's difficult for many people to lose weight is because to try work too much time into their already busy lifestyles. For example, let's say your plan is to lose 10 pounds by getting a gym membership and going a few times a week. While this may be great at first, there's a good chance that it's going to start interfering with other commitments: one day you have to stay late at work so you skip gym; one day you have to pick up your son from soccer practice so you skip. Eventually it becomes easy to break the gym routine, because it's always going to seem like some "extra" that you don't always have time for.

Now say instead of going to the gym to lose those 10 pounds you decide to bike to work. While it may take a little longer to lose the weight, by biking to work you're really losing no time at all. If you live in a city there's a good chance that it's not going to take you a whole lot longer than a car trip does. So basically you get to lose 10 pounds "for free", as it were, because you don't have to make time for exercise.

When you engage in most other forms of exercise, you're engaging in it exclusively: you're not getting anything else done when you're at the gym. With biking, on the other hand, the exercise is almost a secondary bonus to the primary function of getting somewhere you need to go. Add to this the fact that you're saving money on transportation and doing good for the environment, it's hard to argue against biking as one of the best forms of exercise.

By simply biking to and from work every day you should be able to lose 10 pounds fairly quickly without affecting your schedule too much. If your employer is a far enough distance away from you that you must drive, consider instead using a bike for errands outside of work. And if you want to really lose those 10 pounds quickly, start biking for recreation too - some weekend bike riding will do wonders for weight loss.