Any bike will work; talk with the LBS about a wheel "upgrade" to a more heavy-duty wheelset as others have mentioned. If you have a bike built by somebody like IRO, you can specify the wheelset at the outset.

Mavic Open Sport, Velocity Dyad or Fusion with 36 spokes in 3-cross configuration are some other suitable choices. Formula or Surly hubs if you've got a budget, Phil Wood if not. DT or Sapim spokes.

And exercise will most definitely help. Eating right definitely helps. Simply putting yourself on a starvation diet is lunacy.