gman214

Wow, Congrats on the weight loss!!!! Thank you!!!!! I pretty much eat like you, a lot of fruits, veggies and lean protein!!!!!!

Willbird

I have went a week or two on 600 a day a LONG time ago...most of that was protein too...along with about FOUR low to zero carb energy drinks a day. A friend did that from 450lbs to 180lbs or so. I will not do that again :-). I was also on my feet and working 8 hours a time at that level of intake. I bumped up to 2500 with almost strictly complex carbs and ran that intake from 275 clear down to 180 if I recall right, no consistent exercise other than working 8 hours on my feet and moving around all day.

Naa 2222 suits me just fine, with 60+ minutes of cycling, and 8 hours on my feet at work, which includes climbing an 8' flight of stairs literally 20-30 times a night some nights :-). I wore my Iphone at work to count steps for about 3 weeks straight, one shift added up to 4000,6000 steps just at work.

Pamestique 

It's not unusual for sprinters to be in the 175 - 190 range but they are also usually tall (some exceptions like Cavendish). I recall some being over 200 (was that Tom Boden?) but then again, there is a reason sprinters are in the last groups to climb over the mountains. Peter Sagan appears to be an exception and I suspect he may became a CG contender in the future.

That said, CG men are usually inbetween, say 145 - 160 and the pure climbers are in the 130 range (and very short/small).

Consider riding, at top effort, for 4 - 6 hours, doing routes that would take a normal person 2 - 3 maybe 4 times that long (I remember doing a climb that took professionals 45 minutes to complete and it took me 3 1/2 hours). On top of that, there is little recovery. Consider a double metric (their routes are usually 120 - 125 miles long) is akin to doing a marathon. That's back to back to back... marathons for 3 weeks. It would be hard to maintain weight with all that effort and at that level of fitness, the riders can ill afford to lose weight.

So the answer to all your diet questions - just go out everyday and ride a double metric in less than 5 - 5 1/2 hours. But also remember, the riders aren't eating junk food... they are eating needed protein and complex carbs; all foods that turn to fuel and energy.

Lvlbiker

Thanks been a good journey. It's not over yet but I'm making progress.