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I just checked my last Zone 2 workout (on a cycling trainer), and it was ~450 calories in an hour (assuming 25% metabolic efficiency, I believe). And an hour of zone 2 is both intensely boring and not all that easy; certainly I can have a conversation but I'm still sweating. (It's also hard on the butt, but that's cycling specific). Of course if you're much heavier (whether in shape or not) you'll burn more in Zone 2, but if you're out of shape as most fat people are you'll find it to be much harder.
Yeah, it's going to be harder on bike than running. At a typical Z2 running effort, I'll be running a 7:45 pace (assuming cool weather, heart rate drifts fast in the heat), which is pushing close to 800 calories/hour. I don't ride much, but looking back at my last decent Zwift ride, it was apparently 823 calories in 100 minutes.
Of course that's not feasible for people that are out of shape, but the point is that neither getting fit nor maintaining aerobic fitness is actually a no pain, no gain situation. Personally, I enjoy the painful workouts the most, but that's very much an acquired taste. I think one of the huge mistakes that people make is thinking they need to be suffering to build fitness. If I were advising someone just getting started, one of the first things I would be doing is explaining the basics of how zones work, getting them a watch with heart rate on it, and having them keep their HR down. They'll avoid injuries, they won't be miserable from moment to moment, they'll still see pretty rapid fitness improvements, and they're set up to succeed rather than dread the next time they have to get on the bike.
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