Body image and diet

Nutrition
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I’m 9-month user of trainer road. Enjoying the train now and adaptive RLGL.

I’m wondering how much of an issue/concern body image is among you all. It is perhaps one of my biggest concerns and definitely results in limiting food intake in an unproductive way.

I do a lot of cycling, gym work for upper body tone plus core 2/3x per week, and eat healthy track my calories etc.

it all interlinks with being v light, 64.5kg and 5ft 11in, and having this hatred of my bodily appearance. I am being referred for therapy regarding my perfectionist tendencies around training, food and exercise but I was just wonder how much of an impact these things play on other TR users minds?

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Yeah i experience the same, quite a lot. I don’t let on too much, because I look ‘alright’ it seems to be hard to get my point across that it’s quite consuming and hard work mentally. I also wonder if people experience the same or more too.

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Don’t take this the wrong way but why are you not focused on bodybuilding if body image is important?

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Body image? Let it go. Nothing to worry about when you are training to race. The amount of hours on the bike will leave you without any time to eat. Pack in those healthy calories and your body will be what it wants to be.

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What are your concerns? That you are too skinny? Not skinny enough? Not muscular enough?

It’s hard to gather from your post what your issues around body image actually are.

I used to struggle with it a lot when bodybuilding. I was 210-220 lbs at 5’9’ at my peak and the same BF I am now at 160 lbs. I was always chasing more. I still have some issues but I still maintain a lot of upper body muscle for a cyclist. Wish I could drop about 3-5 more lbs but it seems to take a ton of effort vs maintaining my current level without a ton of unreasonable sacrifice.

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I look like a lollipop. Skinny yet well muscled legs with a ball on top. I don’t care for the look and even less for the extra 30 pounds I carry up each and every hill.

That said. I stll line up for XCM and 100+ mile gravel races. I may be the last ass across the line, but I start and I finish.

Even if I lose the weight, I’ll probably never “look” like a cyclist, but I still have a great time and I’m not going to let a look get in the way of my fun, let alone my mental health outlet.

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Cycling & Body Image are not best friends.

Looking at the pros etc I can appreciate what they are doing, but compared to what is popular visually amongst society, an ideally cycling physique is not appreciated.

Myself personally, I dont care. It works for me, legs are decent & everywhere else is a mixture of being lightweight (5ft 6, 59kg) and a connoisseur of fine take away food & pints of lager.

But if body image is a big deal, then as others have said, choosing body building may be a better life choice.

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Something just doesn’t sit right with me here.

The OP says they enjoy cycling and it would be a huge shame if they weren’t able to find a balance between body image and a hobby they enjoy.

Also don’t like how society seems to be pushing men into a direction where they feel that they need to be overly muscley to be attractive. Juicing in the gym seems to be absolutely acceptable now :person_shrugging:

I cant claim to have body image issues, but regarding weight I think my ideal cycling weight would be 70kg but think i look better at 80kg so I kind or aim for 75kg. Trying to maintain 70kg would make me miserable too and this is meant to be fun.

I completely understand that not everyone finds this balancing act easy - but I think if the OP struggles with training/perfectionist tendencies then getting into bodybuilding is asking for trouble.

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I guess it comes down to whether the OP gives in to his perfectionist approach & just goes with it, which will ultimately mean more gym work & less cycling specific, or the referral pushes him away to go against it & care less about image, more about enjoyment.

I agree though that it is a shame that society idealises and chooses these perfect or alleged perfect physiques when in reality, they all have their specific application and purpose.

It is also only something we do, e.g. I doubt a Rottweiler looks & judges a Greyhound about their body shape & size, but both have unique attributes ideally suited to their skillset.

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Hey @Boysey95 :slight_smile:

I think the past podcast episode we did resonates with your post.

However, I do think that seeing a professional about this is the best route to go, as it’s a sensitive subject that involves your health and should be taken seriously.

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Google tells me you are 180 which is just shorter than me. I am very impressed how light you are at that height given you go to the gym.

So that said, I care about weight, but not body image.

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I would recommend talking with a registered dietitian and getting a rock solid nutritional plan. This helped me a lot to stop focusing that much on what I eat, eat healthier, and have enough fuel for the training.

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Im a little confused, 64.5kg is very light at 5’11 so it is likely you are not holding that much muscle.

Are you saying you want to be lighter than this and restricting food?

If that is the case then I think it would indicate a problem.

When I’m 66kg @ 5’10 I get lots of comments about how skinny I am from non cyclists but learned to ignore them.

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Lol this is exactly the problem.

OP: I struggle with restricting food, being super skinny, still thinking I don’t look skinny enough and I hate my body

Other Cyclist: Wow! That’s amazing for you! I’m so jealous, I wish I could be just like you!

To OP, I think with your labeling it as “hatred” definitely points toward needing professional help which it sounds like you’re starting to get which is great.

For myself, I’m relatively large for a competitive cyclist at 6ft 180lb and I definitely notice it on climby-er races. But luckily most of our races have at most punchy short climbs where my power can overcome it for the most part.

However, having been super skinny when I was swimming (I left high school at like 5’11” and ~150lb so still bigger than you) I had so many issues with fatigue, lack of progression, medical issues (I ended up with blood pressure regulation issues so bad I had two seizures), etc. I can say without a doubt that I will never go below like 175 or so again.

After swimming I got into Olympic Weightlifting and gained like 50lbs and now going back to an aerobic sport with this base of strength and more muscle I feel so much stronger, I know how to eat enough to maintain my weight but also to make progression in my fitness.

Also, from a pure aesthetic perspective, most people think they want to be super skinny, thin, etc. But for most people what makes them look ‘better’ is a bit more muscle. Even the pros are looking to gain a bit more muscle (Jonas Vingegaard said he gained like 5 or so lbs of muscle before the tour this year) for strength, durability, etc.

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I didn’t say I am jealous. I said I am impressed that despite gym work he is so light.

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:man_shrugging: Sounds the same to me. Positive reinforcement for something unhealthy and that someone says they’re struggling with is not helpful.

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I am not seeing any gals chiming in here. Just wanted to pipe up and say, as someone with body image and weight issues since pre-teens (and with a warped brain that misses those days of weighing 90 lbs!! -but knowing that 55kg / 121 - 5’6” is ok enough) that this opened my eyes to how men can feel this way. That being said, it is hard when “normal” people say, “oh you don’t have to worry” to an endurance athlete. Gaining five lbs on a small frame is a big f-ing deal!

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Really appreciate that. I’m very similar. I used to be more visibly “underweight” despite never getting to a below “healthy bmi”. To this day I have a dichotomous desires to be both much thinner and bigger. Some days I feel so down about my weight and body image that restriction is the subconscious compulsion. In other days I see myself as a thin armed and thin legged person with a relatively large trunk and chubby face. Despite having v low body fat levels.

Fuelling on the bike goes haywire because I want to be able to eat with the mental energy of counting calories or tracking. If I burn 2000kj on a ride but end up in don’t end up in a calorie deficit filling my recovery meal i don’t feel as accomplished. This does affect my recovery and I know it’s unproductive but just like an alcoholic knows their habit is deleterious I do it anyway.

Some days im better and eat well on the bike but still struggle to consistently hit 60g carbs per hour.

It’s the same with training. I really struggle on not bike or high calorie burning days. Even on rest day I will walk at least 7miles and feel guilt for eating normally. It’s a massive mental burden. It’s all part and parcel of life factors that I have experienced and explored during previous therapy sessions but the active overpowering of the compulsive tendencies is extremely difficult when you feel like training and general diet/body image are the only sources of motivation, self worth, daily serotonin boost and control I have. This is of course not true but feelings are as real for everyone regardless of their bases in fact or not. I do have loads of other things to be happy for but the battle is hard and it’s not an easy fix. Especially so when you actually like the hobby that has become your vice. Thanks for all the messages btw

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This is very much a problem for a LOT of men. Myself included for a very long time. Moving from bodybuilding to endurance activities has been a big help. I’m not remotely as strong or as muscular as I once was, but just remind myself that from an endurance aspect I would wreck my old muscular self.

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Thank you for posting @LizzyMalloy

I didnt post as I’d end up writing a huge essay on this, and I still could. I felt like the OP has significant eating issues that need potential professional intervention, but then the guys came on, started talking about bodybuilding (i.e. not dealing with rhe issue but taking it in a different direction) and I figured men may deal with these situations in different ways so I didn’t comment.

With you post I realised there is going to be more than men reading this thread. So thank you for that.

I think people either get it because they have body image issues, or they don’t because they have never really had an eating problem.

Eating issues are, for me, rather like smoking and drinking. I do neither now, and haven’t for well over 2 decades, but I am only ever one mistake away from a slippery slope to destroying myself.

Same with food. I’d say I am 99 percent fine, but, it just takes one thing to send me the wrong direction and it has taken years to catch that early and not trundle off on a path I really don’t want to be on.

I had a real eye opener recently, about how much I am kidding myself if I think I am totally over it. I’m not really training much at the moment due to a combination of work and other stress that has taken a huge toll. My biggest worry? It isn’t loosing fitness. It dawned on me that I really do not care about loosing fitness. I just don’t want to get flabby. That was a real shocker. All those years of hard work, improving FTP, riding miles, building muscle, increasing technical skills wasting away?….meh, whatever. Feeling like a bloated beast THE WORST THING IN THE WORLD.

All the stuff about Pauline Ferrand Prevot? On the outside I’m like “you go girl, do what’s right for your career”. On the inside I’m like “gawd why can’t I have a team of nutritionists to get me that thin?” and I’m not even that big, although the biggest I have ever been at 55-56 kg / 5’3” But, hand on heart, if I could be any weight, I’d be 45kg. Don’t worry, I will never try to get back there, I lived my teenage years through the 90s heroine chic on cigarettes and diet coke and know how damaging it is, but still, aesthetically, I will still like my clothes to hang off my like a delicate flower than fill every inch of them like my cyclists power thighs do now. Even with the current drive toward powerful women, I personally, for me and me alone, would rather be skinny. This is despite that I adore the fact that the young ladies now are embracing their power and packing on strength, whatever their size, and embracing sport in a way I have never seen before. Thank goodness there is so much support now to be the body size you are supposed to be.

I listen to the podcast and hear Jonathan drop a huge amount of weight whilst simultaneously gaining power and Im like, HOW :thinking: When I should be thinking “stuff that, none of that loosing weight rubbish, you need to hold as much muscle as possible at this age to carry you into old age fit and healthy” logically i know that, and, like I say, 99 percent of the time I operate like that, eating what I want, when I want and trying not to fall into the ‘perfect nutrition’ trap. But it can be terribly hard, especially in a sport that values watts per kg and this means that, to get honest figures, I actually have to weigh myself. My latest burnout is related to a whole load of external stressors of which I have no control, but I don’t think I have helped the situation as I had a short time of trying to control he macros and ended up just not eating enough. If I’m already on a burnout precipice that is a sure fire way to kick me over the edge.

Because I am on a break from TR (I’m still weight lifting and riding the bike but without the constant progressive overload), I’m also not using the app, and it’s a blessing not having to be faced with the question as to whether that weight is still correct or whether menopause is shooting it up further again. I don’t have to step on a scale or think about what I weigh, at all.

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