i agree with the posters who say giving up processed carbs - basically anything white like white rice and white bread. complex carbs are better here.

also, not related, but i noticed that your training doesn't include a long ride (3-5 hours). i always thought that 1 or 2 of those a week was key to my fitness.

+1 on that one.

I tend to do this AFTER my longer group rides mind you. Have you had a bacon cheeseburger and a brew after a ride? It's heaven on a plate and zen in a bottle. The ride makes it that much tastier.

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Cervélo S2 2012 Red
Great minds think alike... sadly, so do the mediocre ones.

Think of it differently. If you want to lose 2 kg's it will take about 4 weeks(500 grams a week). That's 4 weeks where you will limit yourself from "stupid" foods like that bacon cheese burger and a brew. After 4 weeks you've reached your goal and then you can start treating yourself to a bacon cheese burger and a brew, because at the moment you probably maintain your weight with your current diet, so no worries.

So ask yourself - is a 4 week diet worth dropping 2 kg's for, maybe losing that last fat around the belly? I love to have a good steak and a beer after a 3-4 hour ride with good intensity, but I'm willing to make some sacrifices if it means that I will be lean when the season starts.

Also, there's nothing wrong with treating yourself to something "unhealthy" once in a while, even when you're on a diet. Just remember to keep it to a minimum And yes, keeping close to 500 kcals under what you should eat is tough, but I've not seen any decrease in performance. The secret is to get a good portion of carbs just after the workout to load the muscles, and maybe eat a banana just before the session.

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I like Spanish bikes and cars. Riding an Orbea Orca and a Seat Ibiza.

This is a great thread.

An interesting article I read recently which may be of relevance (not specifically to cyclists though) - http://artofmanliness.com/2012/01/25/in ... t-fasting/

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Exp001

Man, that Intermittent Fasting article kinda gave me a mind$%^&.

Food for me is the hardest part of my fitness to control - harder than sleep or even exercise planning. Adding this on top of my regiment will probably get me to quit cycling and get me off of hard metrics.

I think balance in any plan is very important. This kinda stuff just hangs on the side of extreme for someone like me, and it's not because I disagree with the facts or the study itself. I've done the fasting thing because of my religious beliefs once in a while and I loathe the idea whenever lent comes around - and to top it off - I am NOT a nice person when I don't eat. Kudos to the guys who can do this and reap the results - I got a business to run.

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Cervélo S2 2012 Red
Great minds think alike... sadly, so do the mediocre ones.

That article is so much wrong I won't even begin to start.

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"Physiology is all just propaganda and lies... all waiting to be disproven by the next study."
"I'm not a real doctor; But I am a real worm; I am an actual worm." - TMBG

Why not? Please enlighten this layman

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2010 Guerciotti Whisper
2007 Bianchi 928L (update Sep '11)
1999 Bianchi MegaPro 25CrMo4

Tapeworm: Start somewhere?

I'm open to all opinions and just learning what I can. In no way do I necessarily hold the statements of that article as absolute truths, just another article on the subject.

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Exp001

I've seen many do intermittent fasting with great results, but the thing they all had in common was that they were bodybuilders or the like. In other words, no cardio whatsoever. For a cyclist I think intermittent fasting would be close to suicide.

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I like Spanish bikes and cars. Riding an Orbea Orca and a Seat Ibiza.

I wondered the same thing too, which is why I posted the article with the caveat that it isn't specific to cyclists though. I'm wondering what would actually happen if a similar approach were to be adopted for endurance athletes looking to reduce fat with expediency.

Clenbuterol doesn't count.

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Exp001

That guy also says he eats 3+ pounds of meat everyday.

I agree with you Taperworm

First there is the pictures which doesn´t really say anything, over how long a period did this happen? how much muscle mass was lost? first you start to loos when you starve yourself is muscle mass, look at anyone you know who has been seriously sick. That diet is for body builders only who wants to become lean close to competition and not a very healthy one, even your brain could take damage with not eating enough fat.

I used to to body building at hobby level and i remember how hard it was to loose that last fat on stomach below the belly button. I started weighing 60 kg and I´m 178 cm 4 years later I was 75 kg more or less the same amount of body fat. I got fed with counting calories and eatng all the time up to 9-10 times a day. So I started cycling more and more and slowly (several years) I got down to 60 again.

Now I eat whatever I want but to some maybe it would seem like a diet . I never eat candy I don´t like it, never drink beer I don´t like it, sometimes wine and rarely I drink alcohol, I don´t like to be drunk that was funny 20 years ago. I eat cake and chocolate sometimes but usually I only eat one piece of cake because it makes me feel bad in my stomach. A glass of nutella 400 grams takes me about a week to eat sometimes less sometimes more. I also eat ice cream. But one thing I think that keeps me staying slim is that I never stuff my self to the point where it hurts your stomach and you can´t move except for christmas because the food is so good. Think about it the next time you eat sugar compared to normal food how it feel in your stomach, to me it hurts and if I eat to much in a day I end up craving for real food with protein,carbs and fat. On my training days I eat more and if I´m inactive I eat less but it comes natural I don´t think about it.

Kermithimself Coke will make you clog up so things that are supposes to leave your body takes longer than normal

I heard he had the same butcher as Alberto.

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I like Spanish bikes and cars. Riding an Orbea Orca and a Seat Ibiza.

Just - Nobody starve themselves after reading that though - please. The diet world tends to produce a lot of fad-driven weight loss solutions.

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Cervélo S2 2012 Red
Great minds think alike... sadly, so do the mediocre ones.

I can attest to Tapeworm's pro weight follows pro power, not the other way around.

Not that it means I eat Snickers during rides and fried chicken for dinner, but a diet befitting of what you'd eat to stay healthy suffices for weight loss if you're doing the training to keep pushing the power up.


Just my .02 for what it's worth

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Baum Ristretto, Baum Mondrian Corretto & the '89 Merckx! | "If you could eat it in one sitting, hold your line." | twitter.com/Tinea_Pedis