Body Imagery and Cycling ...

[XXtwindad]

A number of the recent threads had me pricking up my ears, especially given my profession as a personal trainer. The subtext - expressed either implicitly or explicitly - concerned weight.

I'm curious about that.

I know the pro peloton is rampant with eating disorders and body image issues. Here's a really good read by a blogger and Rapha-sponsored rider: https://totalwomenscycling.com/lifestyle/cyclerexic-body-image-in-cycling

Perhaps the most salient quote from the blog post:

"And it’s worse for guys too. I’ve dated three bike racers, all of whom have been borderline anorexic. It’s no laughing matter. My friend James described to me the ideal male cyclist look is basically, “you look sick, if someone asks you if you’re feeling alright, you look sickly and gaunt, you’re over the moon […] no man in his right mind would want to look this way, and yet, that’s the ideal”. We even have a term for this body-weight-image obsession: “cyclerexic”.

I love cycling. It is my sport. But I just need to be honest about how it sometimes makes me (and many, many others) feel about our bodies. Cycling culture makes anorexic tendencies totally acceptable. You’re allowed to skip dinner, go to bed hungry, because it’s a good way to shed the pounds."

The irony of having Chris Froome as unnatural aesthetic ideal is that it's something women have had to deal with for eons.

I'm wondering if this preoccupation with weight, body image, and obsessive dieting is prevalent in the recreational cycling world as well...

[Ozz]

...I'm wondering if this preoccupation with weight, body image, and obsessive dieting is prevalent in the recreational cycling world as well...

I don't think I've ever gone to bed hungry....frequently, just the opposite.:rolleyes:

[seanile]

meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum:
https://www.revelatedesigns.com/site/ipedaledhere/

I was half way up City Creek Canyon, totally out of breath. My bike was heavy, and I told my friends to go on without me, I’d catch up. As they pedaled out of sight past the next turn I cursed to myself and thought about my weighted disadvantage. It’s true, my bike is heavy, but so am I. My mind wandered to a quote from the fabulous author Lindy West in her book Shrill:

“Maybe you are thin. You hiked that trail and you are fit and beautiful and wanted and I am so proud of you, I am so in awe of your wiry brightness; and I’m miles behind you, my breathing ragged. But you didn’t carry this up the mountain, You only carried yourself. How hard would you breathe if you had to carry me? You couldn’t. But I can.”

https://www.revelatedesigns.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Image-9.jpg

[Jaybee]

I've done better with portion control in the last 5 years or so, but before that, half the point of cycling was to let me eat whatever I want.

[Ronsonic]

A number of the recent threads had me pricking up my ears, especially given my profession as a personal trainer. The subtext - expressed either implicitly or explicitly - concerned weight.

I'm curious about that.

... Snippage ....

I'm wondering if this preoccupation with weight, body image, and obsessive dieting is prevalent in the recreational cycling world as well...

Not as much, but of course there are some. Always will be. Cycling garb is tight and the riding posture makes even the skinniest look thick around the middle.

As for the unhealthy obsessions, I blame le Tour for a lot of that. It's a ridiculous race that makes ridiculous demands and as a consequence some seriously unhealthy incentives; willful muscle wastage, calcium deficiency just sickness. Other races don't make those demands.

Whatever you want to say about Mario Cippolini he wasn't wrong to refuse the Tour for being unhealthy.

[fiamme red]

Whatever you want to say about Mario Cippolini he wasn't wrong to refuse the Tour for being unhealthy.He finished the Giro a good number of times. Is the Giro less unhealthy than the Tour?

[weaponsgrade]

One of my favorite past times was to go out all day, deplete myself, pickup a super burrito the size of a newborn with all the trimmings, a 6-pack, devour that thing while watching a DVR recording of a race that happened earlier in the day, go into a food/beer coma, and wake up in time for dinner.

[Jaybee]

He finished the Giro a good number of times. Is the Giro less unhealthy than the Tour?

It of course changes from year to year, but of the 3 GTs, I would say the Tour is generally the one that least rewards the scrawny waif climber and has the most to offer for the sprinters and roleurs. It has been a while since anyone who wouldn't be considered skinny by any normal standard has won a GT though. Maybe Indurain was the last "normal sized" winner?

[Jaybee]

One of my favorite past times was to go out all day, deplete myself, pickup a super burrito the size of a newborn with all the trimmings, a 6-pack, devour that thing while watching a DVR recording of a race that happened earlier in the day, go into a food/beer coma, and wake up in time for dinner.

We can hang. Or maybe we could have hung out 10 years ago.

[unterhausen]

I've always said that cycling is an eating disorder. I was never one to be super-skinny, that's not my body type anyway. And cyclists can eat an amazing number of calories and still stay skinny. But I remember when I hit 155lbs just after graduating from college and thinking I was morbidly obese. If I hit my ideal cycling weight now, people would probably think I had cancer. I really need to lose about 20 pounds to counter issues with blood pressure, but it has been really difficult. I rode a 1000km randonnee in June and lost no weight.

[fa63]

cyclists can eat an amazing number of calories and still stay skinny.

Speak for yourself :)

If I didn't ride, I would probably weigh 300+ lbs. As is, I am stuck at ~225 lbs despite the riding I do. I did starve myself last summer and got down to about 215 lbs while also riding lots, but that was not sustainable.

[unterhausen]

It's not working as well for me anymore either, but I'm not riding as hard anymore either. When I'm on a randonneuring ride, I can't eat much most of the time. Not sure how it ends up that I don't lose weight on those rides. I guess the top pro climbers are fighting their bodies over the last 5 pounds. Hard to believe they are going to bed hungry though. That sounds a lot more like something a amateur racer would do. I used to fast occasionally.

[Andy sti]

We had our bathroom shower remodeled and I had to move my scale for the construction. Prior to this I was weighing myself twice a day almost daily. Now that I moved the scale I rarely step on it. Still in the same room just not in my "path." So much better for me.

Although, I am about 1-1.5kg up from where I would like to be right now. For some reason my ideal is still ridiculously light.

[GregL]

Cycling for fun = basically healthy
Professional bike racing = unhealthy
Amateur bike racing = can go either way depending on your level of obsession...

My daughter calls pro bike racers "human stick figures." Personally, I like weaponsgrade's philosophy. Bike riding equals more food!

Greg

[dem]

Funny story after losing a bunch of weight and going to the doctor for a regular check up - he started in on his "teenage girl anorexia" checklist of questions: "are you happy with how you look?" "Do your friends think you're too skinny?" etc.

I laughed and told him I was training for an event, and not to worry. I'll put 10 pounds right back on once I lose focus. :)

[m_moses]

I'm wondering if this preoccupation with weight, body image, and obsessive dieting is prevalent in the recreational cycling world as well...


I don’t get a sense that this is an issue in the groups that I ride with. At least it’s not mentioned aloud. For me, there is the motivation to fit into my kit—which have become more form-fitting than ever.

half the point of cycling was to let me eat whatever I want.


This, exactly. But I’ve noticed it’s becoming more difficult to drop weight as I age so I’m starting to think twice about having dessert or a second or third beer. I find it hard to say no.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Dekonick]

Ride on. No matter...

[chiasticon]

One of my favorite past times was to go out all day, deplete myself, pickup a super burrito the size of a newborn with all the trimmings, a 6-pack, devour that thing while watching a DVR recording of a race that happened earlier in the day, go into a food/beer coma, and wake up in time for dinner.amen to that! :banana:

[cderalow]

I don’t get a sense that this is an issue in the groups that I ride with. At least it’s not mentioned aloud. For me, there is the motivation to fit into my kit—which have become more form-fitting than ever.


I suspect that has a lot to do with the type of people you ride with.

If you're like most of the folks on here, out riding to enjoy the scenery, the fitness and the catharsis of riding, then I'd wager you don't obsess over it.

If however you ride with the groups of people always looking to outsprint the neighbor even on a friendly sunday ride...

I'd imagine you do.

to me, cycling is a hobby, a passion. its supposed to be a fun, enjoyable way for me to maintain some resemblance of physical fitness while getting outdoors and being somewhat social while still maintaining the ability to be an introvert.

i can get out, ride with a group of hundreds yet still remain relatively solitary at the same time.

[cmg]

"But I’ve noticed it’s becoming more difficult to drop weight as I age" wait until your over 60. for every carb you eat you gain the weight of 2 and have to work (exercise) as hard if you ate 3 or 4 times. on body image, mine doesn't match the reality and i'm fine with it.

[benb]

This is a really really really small problem.

First off we're talking about a really small # of people.

Second Froome is not even medically "underweight" at race weight. I know that seems shocking but if the rumors are true and he's gone down to 145 that's still a BMI of 19.1. Normal BMI for someone 6'1" is 140lbs-190lbs so he's just squeaking in.

He probably seems outrageously skinny because we're so used to everyone being overweight/obese.

I'm 6'1" too, and I can't really imagine being as light as Froome, but I've had people make remarks at me like I had cancer if I was in the 165-175lb range. People's impressions of normal weight are just skewed beyond all recognition. I've had people guess I weighed 50lbs less than I do as well cause they fail to estimate how much more lean muscle mass fit people have.

Froome is not American, I wonder if reactions in other countries are different because their population is not so obese like the US population.

I usually consider myself someone who really notices how huge people are, partly cause I know I've kept a healthy weight and yet I've frequently had people question whether I was healthy. But when I was in Europe this summer I was still very very shocked at how much skinnier everyone is. I look average in Europe, not skinny.

If you're eating really weird trying to keep getting skinnier than maybe there's an issue.. but eating healthy/not restricting your diet like crazy and you're still in the healthy BMI range and you're light cause you ride a lot... probably not a problem at all.

I find the blog about staying overweight despite big backpacking trips more odd.

[benb]

Funny story after losing a bunch of weight and going to the doctor for a regular check up - he started in on his "teenage girl anorexia" checklist of questions: "are you happy with how you look?" "Do your friends think you're too skinny?" etc.

I laughed and told him I was training for an event, and not to worry. I'll put 10 pounds right back on once I lose focus. :)

I am curious how skinny you were for him to say that. It's pretty well documented that some doctors have often given up on giving overweight folks a hard time about their weight, it'd be more weird if you were questioned and you were at a healthy weight.

[XXtwindad]

This is a really really really small problem.

First off we're talking about a really small # of people.

Second Froome is not even medically "underweight" at race weight. I know that seems shocking but if the rumors are true and he's gone down to 145 that's still a BMI of 19.1. Normal BMI for someone 6'1" is 140lbs-190lbs so he's just squeaking in.

He probably seems outrageously skinny because we're so used to everyone being overweight/obese.

I'm 6'1" too, and I can't really imagine being as light as Froome, but I've had people make remarks at me like I had cancer if I was in the 165-175lb range. People's impressions of normal weight are just skewed beyond all recognition. I've had people guess I weighed 50lbs less than I do as well cause they fail to estimate how much more lean muscle mass fit people have.

Froome is not American, I wonder if reactions in other countries are different because their population is not so obese like the US population.

I usually consider myself someone who really notices how huge people are, partly cause I know I've kept a healthy weight and yet I've frequently had people question whether I was healthy. But when I was in Europe this summer I was still very very shocked at how much skinnier everyone is. I look average in Europe, not skinny.

If you're eating really weird trying to keep getting skinnier than maybe there's an issue.. but eating healthy/not restricting your diet like crazy and you're still in the healthy BMI range and you're light cause you ride a lot... probably not a problem at all.

I find the blog about staying overweight despite big backpacking trips more odd.

"BMI" as a tool for measuring fitness/health is antiquated and ridiculous. It was developed by insurance actuaries in the Fifties. Most significantly, it fails to take into account muscle mass, which is denser than fat. At six feet tall and 200 lbs, I'm considered borderline "obese" according to the standard BMI. That's ludicrous.

[FlashUNC]

Listen to Ben King. Guy's been through the ringer and come out the other side.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_2bybJWQFg

[XXtwindad]

We had our bathroom shower remodeled and I had to move my scale for the construction. Prior to this I was weighing myself twice a day almost daily. Now that I moved the scale I rarely step on it. Still in the same room just not in my "path." So much better for me.

Although, I am about 1-1.5kg up from where I would like to be right now. For some reason my ideal is still ridiculously light.

This is a very candid and interesting post. Thanks for sharing.

Male cyclists of your caliber (and perhaps a few notches below) have a unique perspective on the stresses that accompany body imagery issues.

There's a dirty little secret in the fitness world that's rarely discussed: training clients who want to lose "five or ten pounds" is very difficult. And they're overwhelmingly women. Those five or ten pounds are chimerical. For many women, it's a one-way ticket to a roller coaster of despair.

[unterhausen]

I am curious how skinny you were for him to say that. It's pretty well documented that some doctors have often given up on giving overweight folks a hard time about their weight, it'd be more weird if you were questioned and you were at a healthy weight.My diet goal was always to get so light that my doctor told me to gain weight. The PA that works with him used to really nag me about losing weight. Since I'm always working on it, there's no point and the nagging was annoying and unpleasant. And I also made the mistake of getting weighed when I was the lightest I have been in decades, so their baseline is skewed badly. Having said that, my blood pressure is normal when I weigh below 170lbs, and it's high when I'm over 180. I'm getting that treated now, so their obsession with my weight has tapered off. And my doctor says, "lifestyle changes never work."

I have a little problem with people just accepting their body image when they are overweight if that's causing medical problems like it does for me. This is mostly a worry for my immediate family. I never say anything even when I want to tell them to skip the frequent stops at Cin City. The women in my mom's family have all suffered with cardiac disease. Exacerbating that by being overweight is unwise.

[joosttx]

no. I know no one who obsessively diets or worries about their body image that ride bikes. for me, I feel good skinny and feel bad fat. That's why I choose to be skinny. Sure I would love to lose 5-7 more pounds. But I do not obsess about it. I doubt the pro peloton has a rampant body image issue. Since weight to power is so important in bike racing up hills sure they obsess about that but that's not about body image that's about winning.

[FlashUNC]

I doubt the pro peloton has a rampant body image issue. Since weight to power is so important in bike racing up hills sure they obsess about that but that's not about body image that's about winning.

But that's precisely what fuels the problem. Ben King's described it pretty extensively about his experience starting as a junior. That pursuit of results starts to distort a relationship with body and food pretty quickly.

[XXtwindad]

But that's precisely what fuels the problem. Ben King's described it pretty extensively about his experience starting as a junior. That pursuit of results starts to distort a relationship with body and food pretty quickly.

King mentions Froome specifically in the podcast, and how he aspired to be just as "skinny" ...

[azrider]

........

[Hellgate]

One of my favorite past times was to go out all day, deplete myself, pickup a super burrito the size of a newborn with all the trimmings, a 6-pack, devour that thing while watching a DVR recording of a race that happened earlier in the day, go into a food/beer coma, and wake up in time for dinner.Hellz yes!

[beeatnik]

The skinniest grown men at the World Famous Rose Bowl Ride. Note the curved backs and awful positions

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/28624434748_af9e19e738_h.jpg

[Andy sti]

This is a very candid and interesting post. Thanks for sharing.

Male cyclists of your caliber (and perhaps a few notches below) have a unique perspective on the stresses that accompany body imagery issues.

There's a dirty little secret in the fitness world that's rarely discussed: training clients who want to lose "five or ten pounds" is very difficult. And they're overwhelmingly women. Those five or ten pounds are chimerical. For many women, it's a one-way ticket to a roller coaster of despair.

I'm 6'1" (185cm) and I "like" to be around 155lbs (70.5kg). Right now I'm closer to 159lbs or 72kg and I don't like it. I'm not racing this year so it doesn't matter from a performance standpoint but I still like to ride hard and train. Maybe age has something to do with it - I'm 49 - but I don't think so. Maybe I've just been lazy but I still average 10-14 hours of riding a week. Maybe I just need winter to get here so I can get back on the skinny skis to build some muscle up. In reality my 2kg weight difference has not impacted my riding at all but I do notice it in the mirror.

[scottcw2]

6-1 and 155 sounds unhealthy. I'm 6-1 and the least I have weighed at that height was 175. I would ideally be 190.

Just call me fat (for LA).

[denapista]

6'1 140lbs is straight nuts! I'm 6'2 and I can't even fathom weighing 140lbs (Chris Froome).

I cringe when I see pro's on the podium in sneakers and you actually see how skinny the climbers truly are.. No way 6'1 (140lb) is a normality granted its in the scale/range, according to health information.

[makoti]

I lost 20lbs this year. No one I knew thought I needed to, I'm sure, but the difference in how I feel on the bike is huge.
5'9" and 145. That's as low as I care to go, but I am aware of the skinny look, so I try to hit the gym to have SOME upper body tone. I'm not overly successful. ;)

[zetroc]

It might be instructive to count the number of times people on this forum use the word "fat" to denigrate other cyclists. It happens all the time and is mostly unchallenged by others. If people don't make an effort to change the culture it will just perpetuate itself.

[AngryScientist]

no. I know no one who obsessively diets or worries about their body image that ride bikes. for me, I feel good skinny and feel bad fat. That's why I choose to be skinny. Sure I would love to lose 5-7 more pounds. But I do not obsess about it. I doubt the pro peloton has a rampant body image issue. Since weight to power is so important in bike racing up hills sure they obsess about that but that's not about body image that's about winning.

agree with this one.

[joosttx]

6'1 140lbs is straight nuts! I'm 6'2 and I can't even fathom weighing 140lbs (Chris Froome).

I cringe when I see pro's on the podium in sneakers and you actually see how skinny the climbers truly are.. No way 6'1 (140lb) is a normality granted its in the scale/range, according to health information.

When I ran in Highschool and College I was around 135 at 6’1. The lowest I got was 128lb. At home (in high school) i would eat an entire box of either saltines or Ritz crackers with peanut butter and almost a bottle of 2liter coke for an afternoon snack before a big dinner.

[AngryScientist]

Cycling culture makes anorexic tendencies totally acceptable. You’re allowed to skip dinner, go to bed hungry, because it’s a good way to shed the pounds." [/B]

...

i'm not a "serious" cyclist, just a recreational hack, but i have a hard time believing this statement too.

serious cyclists care about performance, and to perform optimally, the body needs to be fueled, rested and recovered. i think most of us know and understand that we can not put down our best efforts on the bike if we are literally starving, and i think we all know and understand our bodies will not recover properly if we do not re-fuel properly and rest appropriately.

i am not discounting or not believing the quoted person's view, i just dont understand.

[Davist]

I remember a TV show called "frontier house" or something on PBS, where people would basically reenact the sodbuster/homesteader days. Putting in rail fences, clearing 20 acres with a horse, etc. Just coffee, fat back, beans and what you could hunt. One guy was dropping weight like crazy, was down to 135 at 6'1" when he started 6 weeks earlier at nearly 200. The medical folks out of concern checked the civil war Army records, and sure enough, around that time, pretty normal weight. So, I think our perspectives have changed significantly.

[dem]

I am curious how skinny you were for him to say that. It's pretty well documented that some doctors have often given up on giving overweight folks a hard time about their weight, it'd be more weird if you were questioned and you were at a healthy weight.

I am around 6'1" and 158. But I do tend toward the gaunt/ectomorphic side. However, I still have a good inch of fat on my gut, I'm probably around 10% body fat. I could drop down to 150ish and not be "unhealthy"

A dirty secret is men can go very low on body fat and not be unhealthy - it is very difficult to maintain an "unhealthy" body fat level for a man.

I go with the earlier theory in this thread: americans are just fat, so if you're on the lower end, you will stand out. I see a huge (ha) difference just going from CA to.. say.. arizona/texas.. much less the southeast.

[mcteague]

6'1 140lbs is straight nuts! I'm 6'2 and I can't even fathom weighing 140lbs (Chris Froome).

I cringe when I see pro's on the podium in sneakers and you actually see how skinny the climbers truly are.. No way 6'1 (140lb) is a normality granted its in the scale/range, according to health information.

According to the BMI, 6’1” @ 140 lbs puts you at the low end of normal. So, not too nuts.

https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/BMI/bmicalc.htm

Tim

[Jaybee]

Whats amazing to me about Froome is not that he is 140 lbs, but that he still has the muscles to push world class TT efforts at that weight. I know when I was (like joost) running at around 6’, 135 lbs I both looked like a skeleton and barely had the strength to pick up a fork.

[joosttx]

Whats amazing to me about Froome is not that he is 140 lbs, but that he still has the muscles to push world class TT efforts at that weight. I know when I was (like joost) running at around 6’, 135 lbs I both looked like a skeleton and barely had the strength to pick up a fork.

I couldn’t bench anything but I remember scoring in the 90th percentile in a sit-up test at a health club where the Dallas Cowboys trained when I was in college. #glorydaze

[Heisenberg]

i went off the anorexia deep end when i was racing on continental teams. body not making hormones, hct dropping almost in half kind of deep end.

but i'm also the product of a former ballerina. seems body dysmorphia runs in the family. when i was at 2% bf i still thought i was a chonk.

my experience is probably quite limited. most people i know who ride recreationally don't much care. they eat whatever. there are some - usually those who have more normal american body compositions - who tend to get a bit self-conscious, but it's usually not enough to engage in destructive behaviors.

i still struggle.

[fa63]

I am around 6'1" and 158. But I do tend toward the gaunt/ectomorphic side. However, I still have a good inch of fat on my gut, I'm probably around 10% body fat. I could drop down to 150ish and not be "unhealthy"

A dirty secret is men can go very low on body fat and not be unhealthy - it is very difficult to maintain an "unhealthy" body fat level for a man.

I go with the earlier theory in this thread: americans are just fat, so if you're on the lower end, you will stand out. I see a huge (ha) difference just going from CA to.. say.. arizona/texas.. much less the southeast.

It is funny how different people carry their weight. When I was in grad school, I rode my bike 10,000 miles a year and weighed 175 lbs at just a hair over 6' tall. Our school's clinic had calipers for measuring body fat, so I went and got measured at 6%. I couldn't imagine weighing 150 lbs and what that would look like...

[GOTHBROOKS]

im 6'4, 185lbs , and an aquarius. i think rim brakes are superior and i prefer my burritos without sour cream or guac.
https://live.staticflickr.com/284/31364602313_56bd5fe531_z.jpg

[enr1co]

Would love to fit into size Medium jerseys and shorts again but metabolism slows down quite a bit after 58 years.

Also doesn't help the cause by eating way more than riding these days. When documenting my bucketlist Alps trip last year, preferred only "out of the saddle pics in attempt to not look like Barney Rubble on bike :o

Thank goodness for bib shorts and compression tech materials.

Body image issues? No way! ;) :D

[azrider]

..........

[beeatnik]

How many of you cats doing Intermittent Fasting?

[denapista]

According to the BMI, 6’1” @ 140 lbs puts you at the low end of normal. So, not too nuts.

https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/BMI/bmicalc.htm

Tim


I guess we're going to ignore the part where the BMI for that is categorized as "Underweight"? 6'1 140 is abnormal weight.

[Ronsonic]

He finished the Giro a good number of times. Is the Giro less unhealthy than the Tour?

It was when he raced it. They left out a lot of otherwise decisive mountain stages. Cippo would've had to lose a fair amount of muscle to contend in a Tour.

The Tour has evolved such that only a climber has a shot at the GC and yeah, it's worse.

Dope used to level the field a bit. But then you got freaks like Rasmussen.

[pasadena]

Froome is about 70kg - that's around 155?

6'1 140lbs is straight nuts! I'm 6'2 and I can't even fathom weighing 140lbs (Chris Froome).



Agree with benb, in terms of cycling "problems" this is really for the racers and a problem that is not just cycling specific. It is something that happens in many other sports. But still, as benb said, very few people. It's a serious issue, but very small %.

Also, the body difference between Americans and the rest of the world is pretty drastic.
The cut of American clothing is drastically larger than the rest of the world. It's not height, it's girth.

Endurance athletes tend to be skinny with low body fat. That is a different body type than "fitness" gym rats w/ low body fat but muscular.

Seeing endurance athletes in street clothes just looks like a fit, skinny person.
Most Americans are carrying 25+% body fat. Yes, healthy cyclists can look anorexic in that context.

This is a really really really small problem.

First off we're talking about a really small # of people.

I usually consider myself someone who really notices how huge people are, partly cause I know I've kept a healthy weight and yet I've frequently had people question whether I was healthy. But when I was in Europe this summer I was still very very shocked at how much skinnier everyone is. I look average in Europe, not skinny.

If you're eating really weird trying to keep getting skinnier than maybe there's an issue.. but eating healthy/not restricting your diet like crazy and you're still in the healthy BMI range and you're light cause you ride a lot... probably not a problem at all.

I find the blog about staying overweight despite big backpacking trips more odd.

[pasadena]

I think you're more like Los Angeles Luis Leon Sanchez :)
You seem to do alright around the group rides!

5'11", 165# and 31" waist but a belly breather. I'm the fat guy (for LA) in this flicka. Call me a thicc Alejandro Valverde.

https://live.staticflickr.com/897/28624434748_9f06dc6a1c_h.jpg

I always wonder what the other cats look like in human threads.

[Clean39T]

I remember a TV show called "frontier house" or something on PBS, where people would basically reenact the sodbuster/homesteader days. Putting in rail fences, clearing 20 acres with a horse, etc. Just coffee, fat back, beans and what you could hunt. One guy was dropping weight like crazy, was down to 135 at 6'1" when he started 6 weeks earlier at nearly 200. The medical folks out of concern checked the civil war Army records, and sure enough, around that time, pretty normal weight. So, I think our perspectives have changed significantly.

Yep. Humans are meant to be a bit of muscle, some fat to tide us over, and that's about it.....

Now, should anyone feel less-than, unworthy, hate themselves, get depressed, etc. because they are not that - no, emphatically no.

Everything in our modern world is designed to get us to eat more, and move less.

Food is fun. Drinks are fun. Salt, sugar, and fat. Yum!

Being anything other than obese in this culture is putting your shoulder to the wheel. It's choosing to be different. An uphill battle. Sisyphus.

But I like climbing, so it's one I've taken on to greater and lesser extents in my life - and at different times.

Right now, I'm not fighting that fight very hard. I'm cycling my normal amount - 6-10hrs/wk, mostly on the trainer - and not really doing any cross-training. And I'm eating and drinking and enjoying myself. Like I said, food is fun. I'm cooking a lot, eating out a lot, enjoying Portland for all its foodie opportunities.

When I do that, I float up to 190lbs or so pretty easily. I'm moderately fat right now - and I carry it as subcutaneous adipose tissue, meaning I don't have a belly, I have handles and big legs. It is what it is. Probably not all that unhealthy, but also not that fun. It's like carrying a backpack around. And my pants and bibs get tight.

My problem is that I've been fat before. I was pushing 240lbs at one point. I'm 6'4", so I didn't look huge even at that weight, but I felt it. And all those fat cells are still there, waiting to be inflated at the slightest prodding.

And I know what the answer is if I want to be down where I feel best - in the 170lbs range that I haven't seen for going on two years.. It's eating plant-based, no booze, no fried crap, eating my meals at home, no late night bowls of cereal, cross-training in equal proportions to my riding (trail running does it for me), and getting in a good 8-12hrs on the bike. I absolutely love what it feels like to be in that shape, for my clothes to fit and look great, etc.

But do I love it enough to not go try the new BBQ taco truck that's all the rage? Or to deny myself a split scoop of coconut lemon saffron and chocolate AF ice-cream at my favorite local parlor? Meh. Not sure. Here I am though, so the balance hasn't been tipped just yet.

I guess what I'm saying is, we make our choices, and we live with them. Skinny, fat, slow, fast, whatever - you're a cyclist, and that's enough for me (you don't have to be a cyclist either, just, here we are together...).

But let's not kid ourselves about which is healthier, or which feels better when you're out on two wheels. Sure, the extreme of Rasmussen is too far - that's like maybe 0.1% of all recreational cyclists though. The vast majority could lose 10-20lbs, or more. If they want to - if they have the free time to do so - if they care to push that rock up the hill...

And if they don't? If they have other priorities? If there are psychological and trauma-based reasons for not wanting to push in that direction?

Fine by me.

Let's use the power of two wheels to roll together, and regroup at the top.

[Clean39T]

Would love to fit into size Medium jerseys and shorts again but metabolism slows down quite a bit after 58 years.

Also doesn't help the cause by eating way more than riding these days. When documenting my bucketlist Alps trip last year, preferred only "out of the saddle pics in attempt to not look like Barney Rubble on bike :o

Thank goodness for bib shorts and compression tech materials.

Body image issues? No way! ;) :D

Can we talk about that Lapierre? I've been ogling one on Merlin...

Whaddidya think of it?

[pasadena]

Yeah that's about it

Skinny, fat, slow, fast, whatever - you're a cyclist, and that's enough for me (you don't have to be a cyclist either, just, here we are together...).

But let's not kid ourselves about which is healthier, or which feels better when you're out on two wheels. Sure, the extreme of Rasmussen is too far - that's like maybe 0.1% of all recreational cyclists though. The vast majority could lose 10-20lbs, or more. If they want to - if they have the free time to do so - if they care to push that rock up the hill...

And if they don't? If they have other priorities? If there are psychological and trauma-based reasons for not wanting to push in that direction?

Fine by me.

Let's use the power of two wheels to roll together, and regroup at the top.

[fiamme red]

It was when he raced it. They left out a lot of otherwise decisive mountain stages. Cippo would've had to lose a fair amount of muscle to contend in a Tour.

The Tour has evolved such that only a climber has a shot at the GC and yeah, it's worse.

Dope used to level the field a bit. But then you got freaks like Rasmussen.Cipollini never contended for the GC in any hilly stage race. He'd take it easy on the mountain stages and finish within the time limit. He never stuck it out through an entire Tour because his fans and sponsors were mostly Italians, who wanted to see him win every sprint stage at the Giro but didn't care so much to see him win on Champs-Élysées.

[enr1co]

Can we talk about that Lapierre? I've been ogling one on Merlin...

Whaddidya think of it?

Really liked it! Its a gran fondo geo (extra headtube) so very comfortable yet still lively. The bike felt solid and responsive on the long descent of the Ventoux summit. This was my first experience w/ disc brakes and was sold on them.
The curvy frame top tube/triangle design can take some getting used but I also poked around for one from the Merlin site after experiencing how nicely it rode.

Heres a link to the Pulsium that I rented from Ventoux bikes:

https://www.ventoux-bikes.fr/fr/produits/occasions-velos-d-autres-marques/pulsium-600-fdj-disques_pr199_85d7.htm

Were you looking at the Xelius? The paint on the 70th anniversry edition looks really cool!

[scottcw2]

Chocolate AF FTW!

[mhespenheide]

How many of you cats doing Intermittent Fasting?

I have flirted with trying it, but I wouldn't say that I've tried it seriously. I think it helped a bit, so I might have to try it more seriously. I only did the 12-hour fasting, not any of the other variants.



I graduated college as a serious runner, 6'4" and 168#. Now 46yo, 6'4" and ~190#. About half of that gain has come in the last few years as my metabolism has slowed down (apparently; I think I'm eating and exercising similarly, but the weight has crept up and neither cycling nor running nor backpacking has taken the weight off). I'd like to get back down to ~180#, so I'm going to have to try something(s).

[Peter P.]

I don't suffer from body image problems or weight obsession, and neither do my 4 cycling buddies, although 4 of us raced for many years.

You would think that by virtue of riding a bike as actively as pros and most amateurs do, that weight would never come into the picture as all that cycling would naturally take care of things.

Just like some cyclists obsess over the weight of their bikes when there's little advantage to be gained...

[stien]

How many of you cats doing Intermittent Fasting?

Flirted with it somewhat. IME gains (or losses) aren't realized until you stop doing it. Your body composition goes to hell during (I'd do it on and off during the week for example). I wouldn't think of it as a weight loss tool (I'd be just as hungry the rest of the day). I did find that the mind gets nice and sharp though. Just make sure you have enough practice with it to not snap at your co-workers!

If you want to lose some weight, go vegan! It's basically the opposite of intermittent fasting. I eat constantly.

[mcteague]

I guess we're going to ignore the part where the BMI for that is categorized as "Underweight"? 6'1 140 is abnormal weight.

Less than 140 (BMI = 18.5) is under, this chart shows it at the bottom end of normal.

Tim

[CDM]

This thread is interesting....my experience is that the majority of cyclists I know...aspiring pros down to beginners have an unrealistic view of body weight. This is the same in my crossfit gym too. I can see it coming at my daughters ballet school. Madison avenue have done their work....

[benb]

"BMI" as a tool for measuring fitness/health is antiquated and ridiculous. It was developed by insurance actuaries in the Fifties. Most significantly, it fails to take into account muscle mass, which is denser than fat. At six feet tall and 200 lbs, I'm considered borderline "obese" according to the standard BMI. That's ludicrous.

The # of people who actually have so much muscle mass that they defeat BMI is way smaller than the # of people who claim to have that much muscle mass.

If you look like a chubby cyclist there's no way you're in that category. If you look like a 5% body fat pro football player/body builder maybe so.

A lot of other people put it well.. most of us don't feel as good when when we start getting heavy.

For me by the time I get to 180 I start really feeling it. As I approach 190 (overweight) I feel dramatically worse than I do below 180.

I think the constant stream of overfat guys claiming they just have too much muscle mass is probably related to people thinking anyone on the lower end of the healthy range must be unhealthy. The more we delude ourselves into thinking a paunchy ex-football player physique is normal/fit the more we think normal looks unhealthy.

Not saying anything about you in particular but as a society we're completely delusional about this.. we'll never get the obesity health crisis under control if we've programmed ourselves to think normal weight looks unhealthy and overweight looks fine.

The whole thing with BMI is it is based on what people weighed before the obesity crisis took hold. Saying it is antiquated is basically trying to say the current problem is not a problem.

[XXtwindad]

The # of people who actually have so much muscle mass that they defeat BMI is way smaller than the # of people who claim to have that much muscle mass.

If you look like a chubby cyclist there's no way you're in that category. If you look like a 5% body fat pro football player/body builder maybe so.

A lot of other people put it well.. most of us don't feel as good when when we start getting heavy.

For me by the time I get to 180 I start really feeling it. As I approach 190 (overweight) I feel dramatically worse than I do below 180.

I think the constant stream of overfat guys claiming they just have too much muscle mass is probably related to people thinking anyone on the lower end of the healthy range must be unhealthy. The more we delude ourselves into thinking a paunchy ex-football player physique is normal/fit the more we think normal looks unhealthy.

Not saying anything about you in particular but as a society we're completely delusional about this.. we'll never get the obesity health crisis under control if we've programmed ourselves to think normal weight looks unhealthy and overweight looks fine.

The whole thing with BMI is it is based on what people weighed before the obesity crisis took hold. Saying it is antiquated is basically trying to say the current problem is not a problem.

Thanks for your response, Ben. Thoughtful as usual. I'll grant you that there's some kernels of truth in your response. I think you're half-right. But, inevitably, that means I think you're half-wrong.

There is an obesity epidemic in this country, no doubt about it. Hard to argue that one. All you have to do is look around. Doesn't matter where you are. (unless you happen to be in the middle of a pro peloton.)

But there is a corollary to that "new normal," that's equally as frightening: the desire to be skinny at all costs. Usually, of course, that pertains to women. It has been very frustrating as a personal trainer to deal with that skewed body image. I no longer train clients who want to lose "five or ten" pounds. It's a zero sum game that ultimately results in unhappiness and a feeling of failure.

There is no rational world where Chris Froome (pictured) is seen as an exemplar of fitness or personifies a healthy body image. I would have the same opinion of extreme bodybuilders. They're both cartoons, and nothing for everyday people to aspire to.

I think there is ample evidence of eating disorders, extreme diets, and body image issues in the pro ranks. A few of the members here (Andy Sti and Heisenberg) in the upper echelons of the cycling world have alluded to it.

My concern, however, was whether that paradigm has seeped into the recreational world of cycling. The reason I started the thread was that weight issues seemed to be popping up in threads where it seemed incongruous. But most of the Forum members here have said that their main concern was getting on a bike, enjoying the ride, and grabbing a burrito and beer afterwards. That's good enough for me.

[beeatnik]

^Dude almost looks normal (for a skinny guy, anywhere) in that pic.

[homagesilkhope]

^^ Looks pretty much like a skinny farmer to me. Used to be lots of those around. Some places, still are.

[beeatnik]

Ya, face, neck and shoulders pass the Too Skinny for LA Test.

[scottcw2]

He looks like a cancer patient in that picture. From sad personal experience.

[benb]

The photographer took that picture in a pose + angle + distance to try and make him look gaunt... it is not hard to do at all if you are a skilled photographer.

Relatively wide angle lens, closer than normal camera:subject distance, wait till an arm is extended in front of the body.. that'll make the arms look longer/skinnier and make the chest look smaller. The tan + lighting + color balance chosen on the photo can be manipulated to make him look more pale. We still have the misconception that pale = unhealthy & baked to within a millimeter of skin cancer = healthy too so that helps.

There are plenty of other pictures of him where he looks a lot more normal.

Context is everything with a picture. Take a picture of Froome in between two average Americans. He'll look deathly anorexic. Take a picture of him in between 2 average Europeans. He'll look a little skinnier. Take a picture of him between 2 Africans. He'll look pretty similar.

He is also all arms and legs which exaggerates the effect. He looks goofy in almost all photos on the bike cause he looks like his arms & legs got stretched out.

[pdonk]

Another relatively tall person - 6'2 ish and hover around 200lbs.

Over the past 18 months I have lost about 15 lbs, the first half due to a focused change and effort related to diet and portion control, the other half due to illness. Definitely feel better about myself at 195 lbs than at 210.

Wish I was lighter but kind of accept I won't ever hit 185lbs again without some type of intervention or serious life event.

[colker]

Thanks for your response, Ben. Thoughtful as usual. I'll grant you that there's some kernels of truth in your response. I think you're half-right. But, inevitably, that means I think you're half-wrong.

There is an obesity epidemic in this country, no doubt about it. Hard to argue that one. All you have to do is look around. Doesn't matter where you are. (unless you happen to be in the middle of a pro peloton.)

But there is a corollary to that "new normal," that's equally as frightening: the desire to be skinny at all costs. Usually, of course, that pertains to women. It has been very frustrating as a personal trainer to deal with that skewed body image. I no longer train clients who want to lose "five or ten" pounds. It's a zero sum game that ultimately results in unhappiness and a feeling of failure.

There is no rational world where Chris Froome (pictured) is seen as an exemplar of fitness or personifies a healthy body image. I would have the same opinion of extreme bodybuilders. They're both cartoons, and nothing for everyday people to aspire to.

I think there is ample evidence of eating disorders, extreme diets, and body image issues in the pro ranks. A few of the members here (Andy Sti and Heisenberg) in the upper echelons of the cycling world have alluded to it.

My concern, however, was whether that paradigm has seeped into the recreational world of cycling. The reason I started the thread was that weight issues seemed to be popping up in threads where it seemed incongruous. But most of the Forum members here have said that their main concern was getting on a bike, enjoying the ride, and grabbing a burrito and beer afterwards. That's good enough for me.

He looks pretty fit to me.

[beeatnik]

He looks like a cancer patient in that picture. From sad personal experience.

4 family members and friends with Stage 4 cancers in the last 10 years. Over a thousand hours visiting cancer floors. And, no, CF doesn't even look like a guy with bad allergies. But as we both know Cancer Sucks and we can agree to disagree about aesthetics.

[denapista]

Another relatively tall person - 6'2 ish and hover around 200lbs.

Over the past 18 months I have lost about 15 lbs, the first half due to a focused change and effort related to diet and portion control, the other half due to illness. Definitely feel better about myself at 195 lbs than at 210.

Wish I was lighter but kind of accept I won't ever hit 185lbs again without some type of intervention or serious life event.

Now imagine yourself weighing 145lbs... Tell us what that would look like? It's even hard for me to comprehend getting down to that weight. At 172 I'm pretty damn slim, but carry lots of quad muscle from leg pressing, etc. I think 170 is about the lowest I can fathom myself getting without looking sick. Blame it on American ways of thinking of weight..

[benb]

But there is a corollary to that "new normal," that's equally as frightening: the desire to be skinny at all costs. Usually, of course, that pertains to women. It has been very frustrating as a personal trainer to deal with that skewed body image. I no longer train clients who want to lose "five or ten" pounds. It's a zero sum game that ultimately results in unhappiness and a feeling of failure.


This is surprising since 5-10lbs should be a lot easier to lose than 25, 50, or 100lbs. Those of us who maintain healthy weight still have our weight go +/- 5-10lbs.. but we seem to have an ability to catch things and adjust and get back to where we want to be. What's weird about it is I think people who are good at it don't even really think of it as much work at all.


There is no rational world where Chris Froome (pictured) is seen as an exemplar of fitness or personifies a healthy body image. I would have the same opinion of extreme bodybuilders. They're both cartoons, and nothing for everyday people to aspire to.


I think you are somewhat influenced by your industry being massively over-influenced by body building & strength sports and the physiques they reward being seen as the ideal for fitness. Medical/Science folks seem to be way more skeptical about "heavy & muscled up" as being ideal... lots of elite/famous strength athletes seem to end up with all kinds of problems later in life as if "excess mass" is a problem even if it's not fat. If cycling puts people into a pattern of undereating most of these sports/activities put people into a pattern of overeating & focusing on intake of supplements that we should all be more skeptical of.


I think there is ample evidence of eating disorders, extreme diets, and body image issues in the pro ranks. A few of the members here (Andy Sti and Heisenberg) in the upper echelons of the cycling world have alluded to it.


I'd tend to agree with you, Tyler Hamilton definitely explicitly talked about it in his book. Not an allusion, he pretty much calls it out as unhealthy. But it's not an epidemic it's a really small # of people. It's not even the whole Pro Peloton, there's quite a bit of variation in Pros.


My concern, however, was whether that paradigm has seeped into the recreational world of cycling. The reason I started the thread was that weight issues seemed to be popping up in threads where it seemed incongruous. But most of the Forum members here have said that their main concern was getting on a bike, enjoying the ride, and grabbing a burrito and beer afterwards. That's good enough for me.

Burritos are generally unhealthy & beer is too. I wouldn't say you should think "I can reward myself for my bike ride by doing/eating something unhealthy" is good. If someone wants to go for their bike ride and then go home and have a Vegan meal meal or something that shouldn't be seen as bad.

[scottcw2]

Burritos are generally unhealthy & beer is too. I wouldn't say you should think "I can reward myself for my bike ride by doing/eating something unhealthy" is good. If someone wants to go for their bike ride and then go home and have a Vegan meal meal or something that shouldn't be seen as bad.

Just wow. You are implicating healthy/bad based on whether a person eats vegan or eats a burrito/drinks beer?

W O W

[GOTHBROOKS]

i see more deep fried vegan food passed off as a healthy substitute to “the real thing”. theres no animal byproducts in your oc fair twinkie but its twice the calories? you should totally eat two.
ive been type 1 diabetic for over 20 years. food is a prison regardless of whether you eat meat and hfcs or not.

[benb]

No.. I'm not a Vegan or a Vegetarian.

It was just an example I threw up there to explain the idea that "I went for a bike ride therefore I can reward myself with an unhealthy meal/alcoholic beverage" should not be seen as an ideal.

I would admit I'm biased by almost all the burritos I see these days are from restaurants that have supersized the Burritos to the point it's hard to get one that is less than 1000 calories.

[denapista]

Here comes the burrito shaming!

https://media3.giphy.com/media/aoxbnzCbluds4/giphy.gif

[FlashUNC]

We truly live in the darkest timeline if someone cannot eat a Taco Bell Party Pack by themselves without being called a gross monster.

[GOTHBROOKS]

make sure the papas fritas in your san diego burrito are fried with olestra!

[72gmc]

We truly live in the darkest timeline if someone cannot eat a Taco Bell Party Pack by themselves without being called a gross monster.

If you're by yourself, who is doing the name calling?

And if you like the tacos, who cares what name you're calling yourself?

[scottcw2]

Strange days, indeed.

[beeatnik]

We truly live in the darkest timeline if someone cannot eat a Taco Bell Party Pack by themselves without being called a gross monster.

Where's the best burrito in Berkeley?

and

more importantly

Where's the best Indian?

oh, I'd like to avoid College. I'm Old School Berkeley.

Alice Waters be qoo doe.

[FlashUNC]

Where's the best burrito in Berkeley?

and

more importantly

Where's the best Indian?

oh, I'd like to avoid College. I'm Old School Berkeley.

Alice Waters be qoo doe.

Vik's Chaat on Fourth Street for Indian. Then you can go down to the Aquatic Park and probably find a dead body. West Berkeley is still trying to keep it somewhat real.

Burrito, I'm partial to La Mission on University. But ditch the burrito and go to Casa Latina for their Torta or their Pupusas. Their Pozole is amazing too, but ain't exactly Pozole weather.

[beeatnik]

Vik's Chaat on Fourth Street for Indian. Then you can go down to the Aquatic Park and probably find a dead body. West Berkeley is still trying to keep it somewhat real.

Burrito, I'm partial to La Mission on University. But ditch the burrito and go to Casa Latina for their Torta or their Pupusas. Their Pozole is amazing too, but ain't exactly Pozole weather.

Mexican food in a former Taco Bell is so meta. What else is good at La Mission?

And isn't it always pozole weather in the Yay Area?

[azrider]

This thread is so weird

[FlashUNC]

Mexican food in a former Taco Bell is so meta. What else is good at La Mission?

And isn't it always pozole weather in the Yay Area?

It was 90 degrees on Tuesday. It's our three weeks of summer before the rain returns.

Their fish tacos are solid but not what I think anyone in LA or San Diego would say are life changing. Their enchiladas are also excellent.

[GOTHBROOKS]

Strange days, indeed.
https://media.giphy.com/media/SBr08jYCJH0jK/giphy.gif

[Clean39T]

make sure the papas fritas in your san diego burrito are fried with olestra!The disaster pants tho

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[denapista]

This thread is so weird

From body weight issues, to burrito spots in the bay area.. Slow times on Paceline.

[jlwdm]

...

There is no rational world where Chris Froome (pictured) is seen as an exemplar of fitness or personifies a healthy body image. I would have the same opinion of extreme bodybuilders. They're both cartoons, and nothing for everyday people to aspire to.

...

Froome might not be an exemplar of a healthy body image but he is obviously strong where he needs to be. Everybody is different.

I graduated from high school at 6'2" and under 130 lbs. I ate a ridiculous amount of food but could not gain weight. My metabolism changed at around 36 years old. At 40 I was just under 160 lbs and in the best shape of my life. Road my bike, lifted weights 4 days a week, played tennis, skied and ate really healthy food. I was the strongest I have ever been, faster on the bike and was told every day by people that I was too skinny. I had so much energy I would leap out of bed in the morning.

We all have to work with our own bodies and not worry about others.

Jeff

[Dave]

I had oral surgery a week ago, so no carbonated beverages and only liquid or really soft food since then. No chewing where my implant was placed. Lost almost 4 lbs already.

I've been stuck at 139 most of the summer and now I'm at 135. Another pound and I'll be back to my 10 years ago weight. If I was a racer, at 5'-6", I'd probably weigh 127. That would really be skinny.

The best thing is my old jerseys fit me once again.

[jtbadge]

The fact that so many people are chiming in with their weight/height is certainly a sign that we are keenly aware of the physical condition we keep ourselves in.

Many of you claim you don't know any cyclists with image issues - maybe they are afraid to share their feelings with you because you are in "better" shape than they are. Maybe they are afraid to share their feelings with you because they see you calling other cyclists (including members of this very forum) "fat." Maybe they are afraid to share their feelings with you because you make statements like "I make the decision to be skinny." These are all unhealthy behaviors in their own way. Negative body image can be a result of any of a million sources you may not be aware of - mental health is complex, and some of us have been struggling with this our entire lives.

Maybe some more sensitivity around this issue would be healthy for this forum. I have lost a ton of weight since getting into cycling, but many of the posts in this thread and attitudes of people I have met while participating in this activity have been very discouraging with regards to my own self image. And I know I am not alone in this.

Cycling is already such an exclusionary activity. Let's try to be more welcoming? And have open, honest conversations about feelings with your friends.

TLDR: body shaming is so weird.

[pasadena]

Don't know why people keep harping on Froome.
He's probably 70kg, and 75kg off season. Have you seen him in real life? He doesn't look like some cancer patient. He looks like a solid, carved athlete.

benb has said it- stay positive and just do you.
There is not a whole lot of negativity towards the avg cyclist here. Seems biased the other way.

Of course weight and fitness are relevant topics when discussing cycling.
There is a whole industry built on it, and training, etc.

[beeatnik]

James, that's a positive perspective but you're also a cat who will never be 5 pounds over his high school weight.

[Hellgate]

Sorry, but the long closed Pizza Heaven in Denver had the best burritos. I'd ride my Peugeot UO8 from Littleton to Denver, snarf a bean and beef burrito smoothered in Hatch pork green chilli stew, the turn laps in Wash Park. Oh, and I was 15, 6', 132lbs and ate everything in sight.

Today, I'm 55, 6' and 156. In my Army active duty days I was 190 and benched 220. Today, I never want to be that big again.

[jtbadge]

James, that's a positive perspective but you're also a cat who will never be 5 pounds over his high school weight.

Sure. But I've been struggling with that notion in my head since I was in college.

[CMiller]

The fact that so many people are chiming in with their weight/height is certainly a sign that we are keenly aware of the physical condition we keep ourselves in.

Many of you claim you don't know any cyclists with image issues - maybe they are afraid to share their feelings with you because you are in "better" shape than they are. Maybe they are afraid to share their feelings with you because they see you calling other cyclists (including members of this very forum) "fat." Maybe they are afraid to share their feelings with you because you make statements like "I make the decision to be skinny." These are all unhealthy behaviors in their own way. Negative body image can be a result of any of a million sources you may not be aware of - mental health is complex, and some of us have been struggling with this our entire lives.

Maybe some more sensitivity around this issue would be healthy for this forum. I have lost a ton of weight since getting into cycling, but many of the posts in this thread and attitudes of people I have met while participating in this activity have been very discouraging with regards to my own self image. And I know I am not alone in this.

Cycling is already such an exclusionary activity. Let's try to be more welcoming? And have open, honest conversations about feelings with your friends.

TLDR: body shaming is so weird.


x1000

Thanks for writing that

[beeatnik]

Sure. But I've been struggling with that notion in my head since I was in college.

J, welcome back.

[pdmtong]

My wife can still fit her college jeans. Has arm and abdominal definition.
I on the other hand am 5'10 and 172#s and am too chubby to shave time off uphill.

There are no cookies in our house - ever. Occasionally chips and ice cream. But only occasionally. Pitfalls of marrying a nutrition major.

Still, we both drink beer.

[GOTHBROOKS]

if ur not fluctuating between 20 lbs every 6 months to a year do u even rly suffer from multiple mental illnesses that u cope thru w drugs and food

[weisan]

http://lizquilty.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/former-pro-cyclist.jpg

[weisan]

http://www.stickybottle.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Legs.png

[weisan]

https://format-com-cld-res.cloudinary.com/image/private/s--L0mMda5Q--/c_limit,g_center,h_65535,w_960/a_auto,fl_keep_iptc.progressive,q_95/v1/aa464fdf19ce46a8b3002d8c8fb03699/draagnooitgeletrui_2.jpg

[weisan]

https://mbaction.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/M5Ritchey11.jpg

[weisan]

http://www.handbuiltbicyclenews.com/assets/news/originals/ritchey-sierra_ride_start_1977-1280.jpg

[pasadena]

James, that's a positive perspective but you're also a cat who will never be 5 pounds over his high school weight.

Ha! I wish Albee
In 2017, I lost 15lbs. It took me a year to do it. It wasn't intentional, just a by-product of a changed diet and more cycling.

[enr1co]

https://forums.thepaceline.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=1697985619&stc=1&d=1569120072

[54ny77]

I see your pastry and raise you a burrito.

https://forums.thepaceline.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=1697950712&stc=1&d=1512606753

[enr1co]

I see your pastry and raise you a burrito.

https://forums.thepaceline.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=1697950712&stc=1&d=1512606753

I knew there was a good reason for having two cages :D

[johnniecakes]

I weigh between 160 and 165 all year around. I really don't pay attention to my weight, but I do start to watch the empty calories when the 34in waist pants starting getting snug.

[jr59]

Lol at all of you guys!

I’ve always been a very big guy. 6’5 220 playing D1 basketball. In the years since I found that in normal times anything under 250 I felt mean and starved.

THEN I got very sick. Chemo, and other treatments took my strength away fighting it. I went from about 265 down to a little under 170. I was going into hopsice and saying farewell to all those I loved.

Trust me when I tell you, I didn’t want to look in a mirror, nor have any pictures taken of me. In fact, I broke the bathroom mirror and had the rest taken down from my home.

So size and weight are all relevant and everyone body is different. Me at 250 and I’m HARD! At 170 I cannot stand to see me.


All that being said, I got in a treatment plan that apparently is working, and I have gained almost 15 lbs. getting stronger every day with good blood work being turned in.

Personally I cannot wait to get back over 240. So how bout that you skinny dudes. :banana:

BTW; I can now walk a couple of miles and ride my beach cruiser at least 4-5 miles at a time! As I said stronger every day!

[Jaybee]

Lol at all of you guys!

I’ve always been a very big guy. 6’5 220 playing D1 basketball. In the years since I found that in normal times anything under 250 I felt mean and starved.

THEN I got very sick. Chemo, and other treatments took my strength away fighting it. I went from about 265 down to a little under 170. I was going into hopsice and saying farewell to all those I loved.

Trust me when I tell you, I didn’t want to look in a mirror, nor have any pictures taken of me. In fact, I broke the bathroom mirror and had the rest taken down from my home.

So size and weight are all relevant and everyone body is different. Me at 250 and I’m HARD! At 170 I cannot stand to see me.


All that being said, I got in a treatment plan that apparently is working, and I have gained almost 15 lbs. getting stronger every day with good blood work being turned in.

Personally I cannot wait to get back over 240. So how bout that you skinny dudes. :banana:

BTW; I can now walk a couple of miles and ride my beach cruiser at least 4-5 miles at a time! As I said stronger every day!

Awesome for you! Keep up the good fight!

[XXtwindad]

Awesome for you! Keep up the good fight!

+1. Get rolling soon!

[Black Dog]

Your progress put a smile on my face. Good for you! :)

Lol at all of you guys!

I’ve always been a very big guy. 6’5 220 playing D1 basketball. In the years since I found that in normal times anything under 250 I felt mean and starved.

THEN I got very sick. Chemo, and other treatments took my strength away fighting it. I went from about 265 down to a little under 170. I was going into hopsice and saying farewell to all those I loved.

Trust me when I tell you, I didn’t want to look in a mirror, nor have any pictures taken of me. In fact, I broke the bathroom mirror and had the rest taken down from my home.

So size and weight are all relevant and everyone body is different. Me at 250 and I’m HARD! At 170 I cannot stand to see me.


All that being said, I got in a treatment plan that apparently is working, and I have gained almost 15 lbs. getting stronger every day with good blood work being turned in.

Personally I cannot wait to get back over 240. So how bout that you skinny dudes. :banana:

BTW; I can now walk a couple of miles and ride my beach cruiser at least 4-5 miles at a time! As I said stronger every day!

[zetroc]

The best burritos in Berkeley are in Oakland.

[beeatnik]

Zetroc, how this East Oakland truck?

https://live.staticflickr.com/1770/42805734634_663cd80d08_o.jpg

[FlashUNC]

The best burritos in Berkeley are in Oakland.

And the best Oakland burritos are in the Mission.

The chain of causality never ends.

[AngryScientist]

at the request of the OP i am closing this thread.

lots on interesting discussion as usual, and again as usual, some of the repeat offenders here decide to derail the thread with their own form of humor.

note: it's getting old guys. if you dont want to contribute to the topic at hand, just move on.

thanks again to all who contributed with thoughtful and insightful posting.