Losing too much weight

Tjgoodhew

I know some of you might think this is a nice problem to have but i feel as though i am losing too much weight.

I am 6ft / 180cm and used to weigh about 85kg. In the past six months through cycling i am now down to 75kg and starting to look noticeably slimmer especially around my upper body.

I eat a relatively decent diet and tend to eat about 2-2500 calories a day but never shy away from a chocolate bar or a full fat coke. I try and up my calories to replace what i burn off riding but maybe im not eating enough.

I have always had a very high metabolism and as a kid i looked like a twig but as a 28 year old man im not sure i want to be super stick thin again.

Anyone else have this issue ?

markhewitt1978

You don't explain why this is a problem for you. At 6ft 75kg is considered in the middle of the 'healthy weight' band, why to you want to change it?

Tjgoodhew

I guess my main concern is that im starting to look a lot slimmer and am concerned that i am starting to look thin again.

My weight at the moment is fine but as i am riding more and more i guess i am concerned i will continue to lose more and more weight

Grill

I don't see the problem, and looking at your Strava you're not doing that many miles. My guess would be that either this is the quick weight loss before you plateau (common for those who don't do cardio) or there is something else going on causing you to lose weight. If you're worried about it then hit the gym for your upper body. You don't appear to do any climbing so putting on mass won't be too detrimental to your cycling.

markhewitt1978

Tjgoodhew wrote:

I guess my main concern is that im starting to look a lot slimmer and am concerned that i am starting to look thin again.

That's just peoples perceptions. A lot of people think that people of healthy weight are too thin because most people are overweight!

My weight at the moment is fine but as i am riding more and more i guess i am concerned i will continue to lose more and more weight

I would guess it'll level off. You could stand to go down to about 70kg before you'd even start to be considered to be underweight.

diamonddog

As Grill says your weight will reach it's natural low otherwise eventually you would disappear

ut_och_cykla

Can't you just eat a bit more? If you do this and keep on losing weight perhaps you should check with a doctor that you dont have any thyroid problems. Otherwise just enjoy being thin in an increasingly fat world!

ut_och_cykla

Oops double post - sorry!

t4tomo

Hang on you haven't got a problem.

I'm 180cm (5'11") and about 76kg having come down from just over 80kg. I am still not what I would regard as abnormally thin, I'm about right for a bloke in his 40s but have a bit of flab on the midriff.

When I was at uni I used to fight at 71kg. I was slim but muscular, certainly not thin / skinny.

You're a regular weight for someone of your height and still will be even if you lose a few more kilo. It is just there are a lot of fatties in this world of ours.

Tjgoodhew

So it looks like i really shouldnt be concerned at all.

I guess part of it was getting used to weighing a bit more and people commenting on how i have now lost weight.

So in conclusion i need to just get back to riding and forget about it

manxshred

I'm 1.82m and sitting between 70-71kg. I still have some fat around my waist and would love to reduce this, but I have plateaued a bit.

dgstewart

markhewitt1978 wrote:

That's just peoples perceptions. A lot of people think that people of healthy weight are too thin because most people are overweight!

+1 to this. There was a comment on some food/diet programme I saw the other week that the average weight of men in the UK in 1960 was about 10st, and it's now about 13st. That's a huge increase (pun intended). The average height has gone up, but not by 3st worth, maybe 1/2st max.

Since starting cycling 4/5 years ago I've lost at least 20lb in weight. I'm 5'7" (170cm) and now about 10st 3lb (65kg), giving me a BMI of 22.5. Leaving aside the details of how useful BMI is, this is still comfortably in the upper half of the "healthy" range, yet almost everyone I know considers me to be very thin. Yes I'm reasonably lean (especially compared to my pre-cycling look!), but a long way from "too thin".

Advice 1) In short, ignore most other people, they're probably too fat .
Advice 2) Telling them this doesn't always "meet with their approval" :twisted: .

BigFatBloke

madasahattersley wrote:

Just find what works for you. I got down to about 71kg last year (6'3" broad shoulders) and got ill whereas I usually never get ill, however 73kg is achievable for me quite happily with no health issues and another excuse to eat like a dustbin!

There is a fine line between a sustainable low weight and dipping below it, and illness is often the result. I never ever got ill, then age 40 I experimented with dipping my weight below 74 kilos. Got hit by illness after illness.

Never been ill since with weight back above 76 kilos. I had tests done by sports scientists / doctors back in the 1980s and was told not to go below 76 kilos. As I'm only 5' 7" I never really believed them and managed to convince myself I could get lighter. Big mistake. I have to accept I will never have a cyclists build.

dgstewart

BigFatBloke wrote:

I had tests done by sports scientists / doctors back in the 1980s and was told not to go below 76 kilos.

Interesting, do you know what the tests were and what that recommendation was based on - body fat, blood tests?

I'm genuinely curious, and no offence intended, but that seems like a pretty high weight to be considered a recommended minimum for your height. I presume you have quite a broad, well built frame?

BigFatBloke

dgstewart wrote:

BigFatBloke wrote:

I had tests done by sports scientists / doctors back in the 1980s and was told not to go below 76 kilos.

Interesting, do you know what the tests were and what that recommendation was based on - body fat, blood tests?

I'm genuinely curious, and no offence intended, but that seems like a pretty high weight to be considered a recommended minimum for your height. I presume you have quite a broad, well built frame?

Body fat, electrodes and callipers but I wasn't put in the bath.

No offence, I'm broad, long body, short legs. I'm also deep as well as broad. I had the tests done when very fit, and weighed about 12st / 76 kilos. I did have blood tests done but they were nothing to do with weight.

Should also explain, I was advised not to lose weight because losing weight would mean having to lose muscle mass as I had a low body fat percentage. I was not doing an endurance sport at the time.

manxshred

That makes sense, but your body make up at that time is very different to what is needed for cycling.

If you want to focus on improving your power to weight for cycling, then you do not want to carry large amounts of upper body muscles, and you want a good body fat percentage. Don't worry about your actual weight, but rather focus on these things.

BigFatBloke

ManxShred wrote:

That makes sense, but your body make up at that time is very different to what is needed for cycling.

If you want to focus on improving your power to weight for cycling, then you do not want to carry large amounts of upper body muscles, and you want a good body fat percentage. Don't worry about your actual weight, but rather focus on these things.

Agreed, the worst possible build for any cycling other than perhaps match sprint or kilo - even then debatable.

GGBiker

Thin in a fat world, tell me about it.

I tried to buy a pair of trousers for work in M and S a few weeks ago, they did not have a single pair in a size 30 inch waist!! They were available on special order only.

Plenty of 38 inch plus sizes though, gotta look good on your way to casualty with that massive coronary!

Crank spank

I know how this guy feels. I'm 6ft and weighed 75kg in May. I decided to quit the booze and up my miles on the bike this summer.
No matter how much I eat, the weight keeps dropping. I'm not too bothered because I feel really healthy and i like eating (alot) but I am 68kg now.
Would rather not lose anymore.

dgstewart

GGBiker wrote:

I tried to buy a pair of trousers for work in M and S a few weeks ago, they did not have a single pair in a size 30 inch waist!! They were available on special order only.

Exactly the same happened to me last year in the Aberdeen M&S. I was quite shocked, as despite the number of larger people these days I would have thought there were still plenty of wee Scottish people needing a 30" waist. Seems mad to me, but I presume they simply don't sell enough.

jjsh

TK Maxx can be your friend here. 28'', 30'' and 32'' racks full of gear, 34'' and above, slim pickings (no pun intended). You just have to be preparred to wade through loads of cr@p to find something decent.

47p2

I was also having trouble finding 30" waist trousers but managed to find plenty in Costco

BigFatBloke

dgstewart wrote:

GGBiker wrote:

I tried to buy a pair of trousers for work in M and S a few weeks ago, they did not have a single pair in a size 30 inch waist!! They were available on special order only.

Exactly the same happened to me last year in the Aberdeen M&S. I was quite shocked, as despite the number of larger people these days I would have thought there were still plenty of wee Scottish people needing a 30" waist. Seems mad to me, but I presume they simply don't sell enough.

I make a trip into London a few times a year to visit Douglas Hayward just round the corner to James Purdey - very convenient.

GGBiker

BigFatBloke wrote:

dgstewart wrote:

GGBiker wrote:

I tried to buy a pair of trousers for work in M and S a few weeks ago, they did not have a single pair in a size 30 inch waist!! They were available on special order only.

Exactly the same happened to me last year in the Aberdeen M&S. I was quite shocked, as despite the number of larger people these days I would have thought there were still plenty of wee Scottish people needing a 30" waist. Seems mad to me, but I presume they simply don't sell enough.

I make a trip into London a few times a year to visit Douglas Hayward just round the corner to James Purdey - very convenient.

They sound like two retired Tory MPs?

skinnyrider

Tjgoodhew wrote:

I know some of you might think this is a nice problem to have but i feel as though i am losing too much weight.

I am 6ft / 180cm and used to weigh about 85kg. In the past six months through cycling i am now down to 75kg and starting to look noticeably slimmer especially around my upper body.

Anyone else have this issue ?

I'm 186cm and weight 69kg.

You're still fat. Don't fret.

You'll get used to looking at a skinny self in the mirror and will become used to it.
If you really don't like it, do some body weight resistance exercise.

BigFatBloke

GGBiker wrote:

BigFatBloke wrote:

dgstewart wrote:

GGBiker wrote:

I tried to buy a pair of trousers for work in M and S a few weeks ago, they did not have a single pair in a size 30 inch waist!! They were available on special order only.

Exactly the same happened to me last year in the Aberdeen M&S. I was quite shocked, as despite the number of larger people these days I would have thought there were still plenty of wee Scottish people needing a 30" waist. Seems mad to me, but I presume they simply don't sell enough.

I make a trip into London a few times a year to visit Douglas Hayward just round the corner to James Purdey - very convenient.

They sound like two retired Tory MPs?

Douglas Hayward - Tailor and James Purdey - Shotguns.

dilemna

Tjgoodhew wrote:

So it looks like i really shouldnt be concerned at all.

I guess part of it was getting used to weighing a bit more and people commenting on how i have now lost weight.

So in conclusion i need to just get back to riding and forget about it

.

Yes. Your feelings of nostalgia and longing for when you were a fat b*****d are misplaced.