Body Imagery and Cycling ...

[beeatnik]

Originally Posted by scottcw2

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by XXtwindad

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.

Originally Posted by XXtwindad

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.

Originally Posted by XXtwindad

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.

Originally Posted by XXtwindad

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]

Originally Posted by benb

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!

[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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by beeatnik

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]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

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