People commentng on weight (am I too thin?)

Doobz

Well I didn't know where to post this but I suppose since I am training a fair bit I might as well put it here,

I have had a few weird looks at work recently and today something really weird happened - One of my old mates who I had not seen for a while came over to my desk and just made some general convo and then out of no where kinda asked why I had lost so much weight. He even asked if I was on drugs or ill? lol - I know he has not come over to take the piss or anything as I felt as he came across as being quite concerned and he is a genuine kinda person. I told him I was cycling again and training really hard. Is it so odd for someone now days to be slim and trim?


My training is a bit like this I try to do one or two 100 miler's in a one week cycle.
One 100 miler during the week and one during the weekend (legs permitting). I then do smaller rides at full pace like 20 - 30 miler's at 20+mph really pushing myself to the limits. I usually do 3 ride days and one rest day but sometimes I even have two days off depending on how I feel.

Is it normal for someone to loose 10Kg's in 5 months? I was 75kg's and now I am 65Kg's

I know I am eating more calories then I am burning off but my metabolism is pretty quick so the more I eat the more I crap.. I take protein and Creatine to help my muscles recover quickly and it seems to work.

Some of the weird comments have been "I am sure you used to have bigger shoulders" - "have you lost alot of weight" - "how come you don't have any fat on your face - you can see all your facial bones etc"

but then a few days ago someone commented on my legs saying how athletic/muscly they were (sorry for sounding big headed)

What I am looking for really is re-assurance that its normal for an athlete at my level to be really slim and trim?

What do you think?

redddraggon

65kg is not excessively thin - but you don't mention your natural build or height.

I'm sure if you'd always been a skinny runt no one would have batted an eyelid - I think it's just they've noticed the change.

Doobz

medium build and 5ft8 -

Tom Butcher

Doobz - you know if it's a problem or if they just aren't used to seeing someone who is fit for bike riding. I had this when I took up running - I was 12 stone and 6'1.5 so not exactly anorexic - I thought they must be joking at first so in my case I just laughed it off. As I say you'll know yourself if there is any cause for concern - if it's honestly never crossed your mind then I'd say there isn't.

Doobz

well that's it Tom - maybe people nowadays are just not used to seeing athletes and people who are slim and healthy..

I think was more shocked more then anything as I dont really think I have changed so much as they are making out.

joorice

Hi Doobz

Well... I'm 1m89 in height and went from 83 kg to 74 kg between Oct and now... Went and did a test at Sportstest last week (courtesy of www.cyclosport.org, thanks again Mark !) and I still have too much body fat... could/should go down to 71kg...

The ratio of body fat is what is really important... as fat is useless weight (except in winter... )...

Fab

LingfieldXC

i have had a few people at school comment on how I'm thin.

I gave up rugby five years ago and only really grew aged 15+ now am 18 and 5'8" and around 65kgs. I love the fact that my muscle definition is better than most at school. But I started swimming to try and make my upper body a bit stronger.

I am allready feeling the difference in size. I also do pressups and situps etc. Was only able to do 15 odd last year. Now can do 45 easily but still look smaller than some who can do 20.

I guess my muscle is more dense or sommet. I have considered taking protein shakes etc but just don't like the idea. I think it is more to do with the shite they feed us at school. I weekly board and so all meals are at school. When I go home for holidays I think I eat at least 2 times what I would at school and much more meat. It shows as I put weight on rapidly. Luckily I finish school forever soon and so am looking forward to getting a bit larger. Last exam on the 19th june.

Doobz

thanks guys - the replies have made me feel a lot better and not as if I am alone.. Its a bit of a personal thing and initially I wasn't gonna post on a forum about this but all of the replies have been positive..

Thanks again
Adiós
Doobz

redddraggon

LingfieldXC wrote:

I am allready feeling the difference in size. I also do pressups and situps etc. Was only able to do 15 odd last year. Now can do 45 easily but still look smaller than some who can do 20.

Hmm, it's easier if you are smaller. You don't need massive muscles, it's a bit like climbing you need a good power to weight ratio.

Titanium

If you're happy, that's fine. Just eat healthy stuff and don't get obsessed about the weight. Eat proteins as your muscles need them. If you're naturally lean, you won't bulk up into a WWF candidate no matter how much you ride.

johncp

A rule of thumb for elite marathon runners is 2lb per inch of height which converts to 61.8kg - so yer still a bit of a porker on that basis Most people are overweight to some extent, BMI > 25, so it's true to say we aren't used to seeing healthy, athletic types and when we do they look mega skinny

BUICK

Tricky one - why are you concerned though? Do you feel personally like there may be something unhealthy about your current weight loss? I'd suggest you consider talking to your GP about it regardless - after all, the best cyclists in the world make sure they have regular contact with their doctors to make sure their health and wellbeing is maintained (putting aside the obvious skepticism about why SOME cyclists are in regular contact with doctors!).

I have also had comments about my weight despite being 12 and 1/2 stone on a 5'10" frame (I'm fairly slim now but certainly not malnourished) and in my case it's been about 50/50 between people saying 'you look healthy, you've lost some weight' and 'you used to be bigger, where have your muscles gone?' - ironic because I'm fitter now than I ever was, but look less 'macho'

Infamous

lift weights.

Anonymous

Johncp wrote:

A rule of thumb for elite marathon runners is 2lb per inch of height which converts to 61.8kg - so yer still a bit of a porker on that basis Most people are overweight to some extent, BMI > 25, so it's true to say we aren't used to seeing healthy, athletic types and when we do they look mega skinny

2lbs!!!!!!!!!! :shock:

Crikey.

If it was 2kg I am still 20 kilos overweight

mr_hippo

I am 1.90 and my ideal weight is about 95kgs (BMI - 26.3) - that puts me in the overweight category. I once got down to 85kgs (23.5 -normal) and people were asking me was I sick, did I have cancer and other questions.
So, Doobz, it's not what others think, not what the BMI says but how you feel!

Jonathan15

Well I'm 59kg and 5'10". Theres no problem with your weight - the people you talk to are probably overweight It really annoys me when people make comments such as 'you need more meat on you' or 'are you eating properly' :roll: :?

nolf

I'm 6ft and 65kg and I like being this thin.

Also I've got a reputation as being more of a pig than an anorexic when it comes to food, due to large meals consumed after 80 mile rides

If you feel healthy and are eating lots don't worry about it and take pride when you have to buy new clothes because you're old ones are too big!

neeb

It's not "normal" to be cardiovascularly fit and have a low percentage of body fat in western industrialised societies these days and if you are you will experience some degree of social pressure as a result, even although the recent medical evidence is tending to show that the less fat you have the better, assuming you are not malnourished. If you are naturally slender you can look skinny even when you have "love handles" if you tend to put fat on just in the abdominal area, and it's easy to think that you are at your ideal weight when in fact you would be fitter and healthier to lose a bit more. I've gone down from 68kg to 63kg (5' 9") in the last few months and have occasionally caught myself wrongly thinking that I was "too" slim. It doesn't help when you have difficulty buying clothes that fit.

My assumption (I'm no expert) is that any weight loss as a result of diet and exercise that doesn't negatively affect your strength, endurance and general daily energy levels has to be good.

I find that doing pull-ups is a good way to keep your upper body toned and reassure yourself that your strength to weight ratio is reasonably good above the waste too.

GeorgeShaw

+1 to most of what has been said. I'm 1 metre 75 and after two years of more serious cycling I'm down from 76 to 68 kilos. And I can stuff myself all day ... in fact I need to stuff myself all day.

TheGreatGatsby

wish that was the case for me. I'm 6ft and 66kgs and hating it. I long for the day when somebody says I'm looking thin.

Count yourselves lucky but don't get obsessed with it. As long as you're happy in your self, you eat right and can train at your optimum then just be happy being what you are.

Gats

Anonymous

I am 5ft 9-10 and I did weigh about 83-85kg, but in a matter of a couple of weeks I have came down to 77kg since I started doing long 70-100+mile rides at the weekends. I am getting worried really, I can see it in my arms and really I am just trying to eat more now as I dont want to loose any more, so today I checked and I weigh about 77kg, just over 12stone, well sometimes I check and I weigh nearly 11.5 stone and my arms just look too thin, still got fat on me though but any thinner I'd be looking awfull, shame cycling does not build muscle anywhere apart from the legs and possible arms on hills.

I was not too bothered untill my mum said, by you are getting thin! then I started to question if I am getting too thin, dont want to look like some of the riders you get looking like stick insects. I bet they can shoot up hills though.

GeorgeShaw

... just over 12stone, well sometimes I check and I weigh nearly 11.5 stone ...

Don't forget that your weight might appear to change dramatically because of fluid loss.

Anonymous

I guess so, still I used to weight 13.5stone and found I used to go down to 12.5-13stone, now over 4-5weeks its 11.5stone - 12.5stone, so lost at least a stone.

neeb

Willhub, check out the body mass index calculator on NHS direct (HERE).
When you were 13.5 stone you were a bit overweight for your height, unless you are very "big boned" or very muscular.

You are now just within your ideal weight range, but it wouldn't do you any harm at all to lose a little bit more, whatever your mum says!

fizz

Screw what other people think and say, if you are happy with your weight and your appearance, then I'd be inclined to ignore comments such as those that have been made to you.

Take pride in the fact that you cycle and that you are slim and trim, theres no shame in it, personally I'd be going and worrying about something else instead.

Im 5ft 11 and 13st 11lb yes I could do with loosing a few pounds, but I really dont care, I eat what I like and I cycle because I enjoy cycling. If I loose a few pounds in the process and get fitter then thats a bonus.

Sorry for the rant, but this sort of stuff really annoys me.

Mike Willcox

Nah. You should listen to your work mates. You're much too thin. Get a life and give up cycling.

neeb

Screw what other people think and say, if you are happy with your weight and your appearance, then I'd be inclined to ignore comments such as those that have been made to you.

I'd pretty much go along with that. Still, body image is a weird thing and what you are "happy with" may not be ideal, especially if you are getting pressure from other people.

Fact is that not being overweight is the single best thing you can do for your long-term health (other than not smoking) and if people are trying to tell you that you're "too slim" at 5' 9" and 12 stone they've got the wrong idea.

squired

I think the comments are just a sign of a modern fat society. In a society where everyone exercises and is the correct weight you would look like anyone else. In our obese society the vast majority of people are carrying extra and have fat faces. Suddenly you walk in lean and with the face of an athlete. Compared to everyone else you look different. As everyone is used to looking at porkers, you are considered abnormal. Thus in other words, you are the normal person, and its everyone else that has the problem.

Reminds me of a story I was told in a lecture at uni a few years back. At the time when she was regarded as one of the hottest women on the planet a study was done where they went to villages in (I think) South America, where fat is normal and regarded as attractive. Pictures of Cindy were shown to them and they were asked to comment. The response was something along the lines of her obviously being desperately ill. She'd probably had diarrhoea for a number of days and would die within the next 24 hours!!!!

Anonymous

The problem with me at the moment is that sure I may not be overweight anymore but I still see plenty of fat that needs to be got rid of and muscle put in its place but I cant afford the gym and just like cycling as much as possible!!, really on my stomach and chest I have fat I need to loose.

neeb

Just keep cycling! You'll burn fat from all parts of your body.

If you want to tone your upper body, buy some 10kg dumbells and one of those bars for doing pullups. You can fit the bar into a doorframe (they screw out to the right length and have rubber pads so you can fit and remove it in seconds and you don't need to damage the paintwork (much..) ).

Anonymous

neeb wrote:

Just keep cycling! You'll burn fat from all parts of your body.

If you want to tone your upper body, buy some 10kg dumbells and one of those bars for doing pullups. You can fit the bar into a doorframe (they screw out to the right length and have rubber pads so you can fit and remove it in seconds and you don't need to damage the paintwork (much..) ).

I have a 10KG dumbell allready, never use it dont feel I am getting anything from it.