I recently noticed a blog Mollie started the day after we got back that speaks to some lingering questions I have about bike touring, caloric intake, and weight loss.  Mollie writes:

I’ve been back for less than 24 hours and the most frequently asked question I have had is: So are you, like, really buff now? Followed by: So did you lose tons of weight. I haven’t measured my quads or weighed myself but I’m going to guess “No” on both accounts. I did, however, accumulate a gorgeous patchwork of bruises on my right leg from banging myself on my bike, falling off my bike, and walking into things. I also may have developed a low-grade addiction to oversized salty Virginia peanuts.

I would also have to admit that, no, I’m not any thinner (I was kind of hoping to get those skinny, svelte biking arms, but we only put in seven days of riding, so, I can’t be too disappointed), nor am I significantly stronger (though I went on an easy 5-mile run a couple days after our trip and felt like I could have kept on going and going and going).

Admittedly, we ate a lot of really good food.  But then, when I think back, we didn’t eat that much, especially during the day, when we subsisted primarily on cookies, crackers, and Virginia peanuts.  I don’t love the idea of counting calories; when you’re exercising all day long, I feel like you should be able to eat what you want and not feel guilty about it.  At the same time, I do wonder:  Is my bike computer telling the truth?  Did I really burn an extra 3,000 calories a day?  And if so, why aren’t I at least a few pounds lighter?

In going back through some emails I flagged for the trip–and then promptly forgot about–I found an UrbanDaddy email on the Fitbit, which is described as “a Nintendo Wii for your pocket.”  The basic idea is that it’ll track all your movements (steps taken, miles traveled, sleep time, and so on) and tell you exactly how many calories you burned on any given day.  Wonder if it works for biking?