ave wrote:>it is possible to drop big weight if you eat right. you just need the discipline to do it.
Plz. It's possible from a bodybuilder's body.
But from a hard training cyclist it seems a bit more tricky. I don't train too hard, don't eat too right, but I don't have much body fat. I'm sure I could drop 1-2 kilos, but I find it strange that a top pro can be so out of shape as I am at any time of year.
As for no money meaning someone being clean... Far from it. I know amateur cyclists who are clearly doped, and there is absolutely no financial reward for him. He just likes to be very good at what he likes to do.
Easy math for ya:
3500cal in 1lb of fat
400cal deficit per training day 5x/week for 2,000cal/wk deficit
Losing 5lbs of fat would then take 8.75 weeks of dieting at that rate. Lets not forget water weight or the fact that he quit drinking booze, which at 2 beers a day could get most of that deficit for him. He also started in the off-season and base season when his performance didn't matter as much. Endurance activity doesn't directly depend on muscle mass so say he lost a full 2lbs of muscle we're not far off the stated figures being very conservative.
Oh and he has 3 of the top nutritionists in the world looking after him, Gatorade handling all of his fueling needs, 3 coaches, and in some cases a personal chef. All he has to do is ride, eat, do as told. Its like a lab experiment. Know plenty of athletes, even people on this board that have lost as much weight and maintained or in some cases gained power. He won't sit at that weight all year. Even if he used cortisone he couldn't drop that much that quickly just on the drugs alone. Cortisone can "dry you out", but its not a long lasting or permanent effect.