The hardest thing about getting fit

[summit7]

The amount of eating you need to do just to stay healthy/keep weight on.

I am riding 2 to 3 hours a day with intention to start racing again after a long lay off. The riding is the easy part but I am already sick of putting enough food into my gob.

This isn't a "what should I be eating" it's just an ask, anyone else share my pain of forcing down food so that eating is no longer a pleasure ?

[Trevelyan]

Not a problem for me. I'm trying to lose some weight so although I cycle between 1 and 2 hours per day pretty much every day I'm still on a fairly strict diet. Strangely I never seem to get that hungry despite only eating cereal & fruit for breakfast and lunch, followed by a salad for dinner...

[coupeboy]

I found when I started back I'd eat alot, but as I got fitter I needed less food, I guess your body gets more efficient the fitter you get.

[WeirdNeville]

A mate of mine is a pro cyclist and his Faceache page is a constant stream of complaints about not being able to eat anything at all to keep his weight down!

One of the things I love about cycling is that it buys me an extra few hundred calories of leeway. I'd be a blimp without it.

[Pupp]

The hardest thing about getting properly fit is the getting ill immediately after you peak.

Oh, and having everyone who knows and cares for you asking (earnestly) whether you are alright... (my Mum was convinced I had contrated something awful when I was roadracing)

[Zingari]

Just out of interest I was watching that UK Borders programme last night. They recounted a story about a guy who was suspected of swallowing drugs. He was detained to await the bowel motion on the glass toilet. He refused to eat and only drank coke. He lasted 47 days WITHOUT HAVING A CRAP!

I wonder how much weight he lost.

[OneDs]

You wait when you stop training and then try to stop eating.

[Vladimir]

Summit - something isn't right then.

I find my appetite naturally goes up when I train hard then drops if I don't.

Eat a lot now but nothing compared to when I was a gym monkey - yet none of it was forced. I just had an endless appetite.

[robpearson]

Are you trying to bulk up? If so are you eating enough protein, and working at a high resistance, or spinning out? If you feel you need more calories, try the recovery drinks, they can be 500 calories per pint...

[summit7]

Just to put some flesh on the bones (groan) of the original posting......

I last road raced about 25 years ago. I am 5 foot 11 inches tall and at that time weighed 9.5 stone (I could out climb anyone) - in the end I just got ill as my body had nothing to fight infections with.

Roll onto now and I am having a season riding the Welwyn track league - for which alot more weight/power is required.

I started in December at over 14 stone and had a target weight of 12 stone which I was close to about 4 weeks ago. At that time I started taking whey protein/recovery drinks during training. I am now eating two main meals a day, breakfast is fruit and something "bready" eg 4 croisants.

I am still (all be it slowly)loosing weight and at times dread the protein drinks, eating double figure of roasties with my dinner etc etc etc.

I am determined NOT to be ill with training so am eating/drinking far more than before - but still the weight reduces.

I do not snack on crisps/biscuits/cake just see that as being "empty" calories.

Train on hilly routes, outer ring to build strength.