A couple months ago I set a goal to be at a weight 145 lbs by the Bridge to Bridge ride. With only 11 days to go, that’s definitely not going to happen. As of today I am at 150. If I keep a moderate diet over the next week and a half, there’s a chance I can get to 147, maybe 148. I could go on a hardcore or crash diet and drop that and maybe more, but that would not be wise. I would lose muscle mass, fitness and probably not have much energy left over.qa
Even though I didn’t meet my goal, I am now at my lowest weight since Mitchell. I overdid it during that recovery phase. I ate and ate, then ate some more. This went on for probably two weeks, maybe longer, and I put those pounds right back on. Lesson learned. After Bridge to Bridge, I’ll have a good dinner or two, then get back to eating well.
I have found that it is extremely challenging to lose weight while riding. As I noted awhile back, I planned to cut back on my fueling during weekday rides. That worked great during the week. I saw my weight seesaw and usually around Thursday it would be at its lowest. Then I would get ready for a big ride, add some carbs, and load up. After a big ride I am always at a higher weight. That is the body’s reaction to all that stress. It goes into conservation mode, and it takes a couple days to get back to normal. So I would make a little progress, lose it, make some more, etc. If you were to put my weight status in a line graph, it would look like a rolling hills heading gradually downward.
I am now in an earlier than planned taper period due to other plans. Tonight through Saturday I have evening events and will not be able to ride. On Saturday I was going to ride Assault on Little Mountain, but instead I will be volunteering. This is actually a good thing. I’ll probably sneak in a ride on Sunday and then do group rides on Tuesday and Thursday at a recovery pace. This will probably result in easier weight maintenance and maybe I will get lucky and meet my goal. It is a juggling act and I’m still learning the best approach.
SteepClimbs.com 
September 7th, 2011 at 12:39 pm
I still haven’t mastered the art of weight-loss-while-training. I lost about 30lbs when I first upped my fitness level in late 2009, but I’ve been plateaued since October 2010 when I started focusing on longer distance events. It’s just such a fine balancing act to fuel properly for the long training days, while still cutting overall calories to see a drop on the scale.
September 7th, 2011 at 9:52 pm
Same for me. I lost a lot of weight a couple years back and sort of plateaued ever since. I can still lose weight, but it takes a lot of work for little. Like in these last two months of being strict with diet and riding a lot, I lost two lbs. I think during the offseason I’ll be able to mix things up and start 2012 a little lighter.