Can be tricky indeed. I was encouraged to have some cake. I smile and say that I share the spirit and am allowing others to have more.

It's vegan cake. Have a couple of bites, spit it out, and you'll be fine.

Mine won't divorce me. She just starts baking.

Haha. A key woukd be large napkin availability and, perhaps, a good quality cough. Or, some good slight of hand. This would likely be child's play for David Blaine. He could probably "eat" cake for 48 hours straight. I wonder if the Man-vs-Food guy would approve of this thread.

In any event, I have a pre-breakfast ride to do; later in the day will be a mild challenge as I'll be having lunch with the former provost at the faculty dining room, where you can get a lot of food at a low price. I'll have to squelch my frugal side.

(OK, Botto, yes, there is a feel of that Roger Maris movie minus 20 here -- not gonna say "that" number -- but, it's working for me, thus far.)

Thanks, I'm going to get that book

+1, I haven't seen 140 since 9th grade. When I was 164 with 9% bf people were asking my wife if I was sick, I am pretty broad and have bigger arms, chest and legs, it would be impossible for me to get below 160 and have enough strength on the bike. 164 is just about perfect for me, that would put me at 2.34 lbs per inch.

i personally don't understand the fascination with the 2lb/inch rule. A lot of good classics specialists are around 2.3lb/inch. Not all of us are meant to be climbing stratospheric mountains, nor are there a lot of courses featuring those type of mountains in the first place.

personally, i have no illusion that i'll be dancing on my pedals on a way up a 8% grade any time soon.

Well said...

2lbs/inch is for climbing specialists, not for your average pro.

Amen brother, and that's the type of racing that fits my strengths best, well that and crits.

not really. the lowest i hit this summer was 143 lb. i'm 5'9" i'm pretty sure i could have dropped down to 138-140 lb if i really wanted to, but there was no need.

I'm 5'11" at 140lbs. Honestly could drop more too, and plan to eventually. Someone people's body styles are just lighter than others. I have a friend for instance that is the same height as me, but I'm pretty sure could never be under 150lbs, just because of his body style. Where as I have another friend that is significantly thinner than me, and will probably never be as heavy as me.

I think that whole "two pounds per height inch" thing only applies to climbing big mountain passes.

For the majority of American races you are probably better off with a bit more strength, even at the cost of a few extra pounds.

$.02

(btw I sometimes make the cut when I get to 134 and below, which is not all that often, and I think I'd rather have more power)

I'm fully in agreement. The number of races in the US where climbing is decisive is very low, there's little need and little opportunity to try for mountain goat status unless you already are.
Even with a 6 stage races worth of climbing on my calendar this next year, and 4 of them being all about climbing - I'm going to go into the year with an open mind about where my weight will end up. My target numbers may well get revised over the course of the season to more like 2.1-2.2 in/lbs. I am currently re-reading the chapters in the Racing Weight book about determining optimal racing weight, and I'll track my power over the winter and see where I end up.

That book changed how I think about eating and training, I'm not much of a shill, but I'll step up for that book.

I did Gila a bit over 2.2 and hung or better on all the climbs till the last day. When I was in California I was at 2.15 and won some climbing stuff.

As far as the book goes...there were some good things in it but it annoyed me too. Paragraph after paragraph about what didn't supposedly work then the occasional "but it worked for some people" or giving very brief summaries of two or three studies that came to different conclusions. Could have been written and edited a lot better.

It did reinforce most of the primary things I do/did to lose weight which are fairly common sense but take some diligence and discipline. Several years ago I did a spreadsheet to track in/out and used it to build a database of foods. That probably did more to make me aware of what I was eating and the effect it had on me than anything else.

it often gets embarrassing when i start tracking. I used to be extremely anal about it, but not any more. I agree that the awareness itself is more than half of the battle.

Question: Does it melt in my mouth?

Hint: The answer should be no.

Question: Do I contemplate wiping the oil off this before I eat it?

Hint: The answer should be no.

Question: Is this beer?

Hint: Answer should always be yes after a long ride @ base.

I'm 6'3". The only person who can guess my weight by looking at me is me. My girlfriend/family/coworkers think I look the same at 190lbs as I do at 165lbs.

I've just quit telling them that I'd like to lose weight, or be at a race weight/whatever.

Some of my racing friends used to make fun of me for counting calories until they tried it...

The remnants of yesterday's vegan chocolate cake were out today. I stared it down without any worry. A colleague said that it wasn't decadent enough, so, he didn't bother with it. For lunch, spinach ravioli and shrimp. At dinner, my wife brought out some treats from the middle school bake sale to support the theater arts production of Fiddler on the Roof. I had only one of the chocolate covered pretzels -- chocolate is on my ok-to-eat list. Passed on the brownies, truffles and, oy, yummy looking red velvet cupcakes covered with halloween sprinkles.

I was 133.6 Saturday morning and 129.6 after my ride today. Since I was probably dehydrated, I'm guessing I'm somewhere around 132.5 or 133. I'm happy with that at this time in the year. I'm going to start taking my weight in the morning to get a more consistent reading.

BTW, at 133lbs, I'm at 2.11lbs/in and I'm really not that lean (compared to other athletes such as swimmers, wrestlers, runners, and other cyclists).

My best year I was about 2lbs/in. 133 lbs, 5'7"

My goal was to get to 155 this year. I failed, sort of (maintained that weight briefly). It would make me just over 2.3 lbs.

My goal next year is to be in the mid-upper 140s. Let's call it 148. That's 2.1 lbs.

I have NO illusions of being able to climb any better than "horrible" at that weight. At 133 lbs I couldn't climb more than few hundred meters with everyone else. That's road length, not height gained.

Climbing specialists are climbing specialists. They combine a certain minimum amount of power plus a very low body weight. I may get to a low body weight but I'll never make that certain minimum amount of power. Therefore I'm no climbing specialist.

Great thread guys.

I'm in a bit of a rut right now for the past 6-8 months or so and feel I have hit close to rock bottom and perhaps my involvement with this thread will cheer me up. My lowest racing weight was around 158 lbs and I've gained about 20 lbs of weight due to being largely sedentary. I stopped talking to my friends for months now and I don't have a real motivating social network of friends that are cyclists. In fact I avoid social situations. I'm an emotional eater--I just keep cramming food in my mouth even though I'm absolutely full, I absolutely regret it afterward and tell myself I wouldn't do it again and that I'll diet tomorrow. Tomorrow comes and I start up again sometimes for a up to a week but then one day I'll lose it all and binge, regret, and repeat.

I know how to eat properly and I have all the knowledge at my disposal to make this happen. I want to lose weight, I want to stop being a depressing *****, and however embarrassing this post may be perhaps it's what I needed. I'm starting today and I'll update in this thread everyday (use it as a commitment device) to hopefully get me going on the right track to success again.

Food log, pre plan your meals, and force yourself to get out and get some exercise. You don't want to hit SAD season on a downward slope.

I agree with RacerX. Planning/packaging your meals is a good way to avoid binges. Writing down helps you keep accountable. Tracking sleep quality/quantity vs. how you feel the next day might help as well. Getting some work in definitely helps like 99% of people. I get more bang for my time mentally by lifting weights, but stress-free time riding or hiking away from cell phones and pressures is good too.


I work at a university in a position where I see a ton of bright kids with great futures parade through my workplace on their way to taking a quarter off or dropping out all together. Depression and stress is no joke. Admitting that you're struggling and venturing that you want to get better is a big part of getting through it, so good luck to you.

i have a difficult time determining my true weight. I have been weighing myself several times a day for the past 6mo and noticed how much my weight fluctuates. of course its due to whatever is in my stomach at the time (after dinner I can weight 5 lbs more than before or after a long ride I can loose 10+lbs of water etc) Perhaps the best way to get an consistently measurable weight would be to make sure my stomach is empty and after a moderate ride? My nutritionist also has a bioimpedance meter that measures lean body mass and fat mass which I consider a better metric than overall body weight. less water = less lean body mass

step on the scale each morning when you wake. it goes up and down during the day, so just track where it starts each day.