what weight should i be

[amaferanga]

I find it disturbing that you think 67kg is heavy or in line with an unhealthy diet.

You are right on edge weight wise and I don't think you are going to stand up very well to any possible injury sustained on the road or any period of illness. Teenagers might weigh 63kg at 5'10" but they are still growing and putting on muscle, staying that way into adulthood is in no way good for you.

I also bet your immune system is depressed.

I don't like these threads because they put forward this warped idea that healthy or "fast" for a male cyclist means having the figure of a 17 year old supermodel who starves her self - it's about power to weight, not weighing as little as possible.

Everyone being a different size or shape size doesn't wash, you are the same height as me and I am not by any stretch of the imagination heavily built, I wear 30 or 32 trousers and maybe a 40 chest, there is no way on earth I should outweigh you by almost 20kg, sure I ride fixed and work in a job that means I have to be strong but I don't hit the weights for fun and I am certainly not muscle bound or carrying any extra fat.

Like I said - I hate these threads because they put forward very wrong messages about body image for cyclists.

Sure sounds like you have issues to resolve with yourself. The guy is thin and light. He says he's healthy - you don't know otherwise. I can't actually see how you're not quite chunky if you're 5'10" and over 80kg. But I'm not going to start telling you you're unhealthy.


P.s. maximising power to weight ratio is about maximising power and minimising (within reason) weight. No point in battering yourself to increase power if you're eating pies and drinking 20 pints of beer a week.

 

[monnet]

MacB, cheers for confirming I'm not going mad!

I wasn't sure whether to respond to Zoiders or not, but on balance I want to make three points. 1) I am perfectly healthy, as observed by my doctors comments at the speed I recovered from a recent stack. 2) I do not in anyway endorse the idea that skinny=fast. And I have no idea how you've come to the conclusion that I or other people here are saying that. 3) I do not consider 67kgs heavy, merely the heaviest I have ever been at a time when I was living an unhealthy lifestyle.

 

[biggstevo]

Wow !



I joined this forum to talk about cycling.

It seems that a lot of people are obsessed with weight loss and the perfect weight etc.

I`m 5` 9" and weigh 102kg. I used to be a natural bodybuilder some years ago. I have a beer belly now and want to lose it.

I used to weigh 92kg at full fitness levels when bodybuilding. I done a BMI and was told I was morbidly obese.
Body Mass Indexing is a generalisation method used to calculate your body mass, if you are just the average person. People who exercise intensely will find it very confusing because their body has changed to cope with the extra stress put on it. Your leg muscles will be much heavier than the average person and it will seem that you are overweight.

I think that fat loss and fitness go together. I`m just going to concentrate on getting fitter and I know the pounds will drop off anyway.

Never use scales to work out your levels of fitness. I have seen some skinny people who are very unfit.

Also, weight gain is going to be common place when you are cycling hard.

I just want to explain a few things without seeming to be cocky.


1. Your muscle fibres expand to receive more blood. -hence the weight gain.


2. Your body produces more blood to feed the muscles. - hence the weight gain.


3. Your bones become denser. - hence the weight gain.


4. You are born with a fixed amount of muscle fibres. Exercise does not increase the amount.


5. Fat does not turn into muscle, it covers the muscle.


6. Some people may look healthy on the outside, but they may have excessive fat storage around the vital organs.


7. Cycling is for fun, it gets you fit and keeps you fit.


8. The best thing to use to check your over-all condition is the mirror and `before and after photo`s`etc.


9. Everyone is different(genetics). You can never be the same as Joe Bloggs who also cycles and diets the same as you. Even if you are the same age, height etc etc.


Sorry if I seem a little harsh, but most of these so called experts that are popping up everywhere on fitness and diet, never use the system they preach !

I am not a fitness expert, but I know the basics of the human body make-up.

No offence to anyone, just airing my views and knowledge.

Cycle on !!

 

[david k]

good post bigsteve

i agree, its not one fits all, i climbed snowdon 7 years ago at 15s and struggled, did it 2 years later at 16 and a bit stone and found it easier??? i presume the weight made me stronger, i used to use alot of weights when playing rugby, its not an exact scieence at times, listen to your own body is my advice

 

[L.E.D.]

If the original poster is worried about his weight then maybe he should have taken his money out of his pocket when he was down the Cafe in Llantwit Major on Sunday and bought some cakes

Now who could i be ?

 

[bornagainst]

+2 I got the same reaction too.

+3. I got exactly the same reaction from a lot of friends and family. There is something about weight loss and men (even where the weight loss is very gradual) that just seems to produce 'worried about you' conversations, which can be quite difficult to answer in a way that satisfies people.

I just had to keep repeating that Yes I was eating well, but that I'd drastically cut down on the booze, and increased the cycling.

I just had to trust my own opinion... 37 years old, 6ft 6 and 12 st 2lb (from about 13st 8lb a year and a half ago).

 

[brockers]

I think the thing about doing lots of cycling and running, is that it seems to draw fat away from the neck and face first, giving you that not exactly attractive starved, concentration camp look. Common sense would say that's because you're really only activating your legs and glutes. I'm only 1/2 a stone lighter than I was pre-cycling, but I've dropped an inch from my collar-size, but only about the same amount from my waist.

 

[ColinJ]

I think the thing about doing lots of cycling and running, is that it seems to draw fat away from the neck and face first, giving you that not exactly attractive starved, concentration camp look. Common sense would say that's because you're really only activating your legs and glutes. I'm only 1/2 a stone lighter than I was pre-cycling, but I've dropped an inch from my collar-size, but only about the same amount from my waist.

I don't know what causes it, but that is certainly my experience.

My avatar photo was taken when I weighed about 13 stone and I was already getting the skinny face look despite still having a 4 inch roll of fat round my waist.

To completely get rid of the fat round my waist, I have to drop below 11.5 stone and I end up with transparent skin, my veins bulging out, hollow cheeks and sunken eyes - not a great look!

 

[MacB]

I don't know what causes it, but that is certainly my experience.

My avatar photo was taken when I weighed about 13 stone and I was already getting the skinny face look despite still having a 4 inch roll of fat round my waist.

To completely get rid of the fat round my waist, I have to drop below 11.5 stone and I end up with transparent skin, my veins bulging out, hollow cheeks and sunken eyes - not a great look!

Could get you on the catwalk though Col

 

[ColinJ]

Could get you on the catwalk though Col

Weird isn't it, that people looking like anorexic heroin addicts seem to be considered beautiful in the fashion world!

 

[Glover Fan]

I find it disturbing that you think 67kg is heavy or in line with an unhealthy diet.

You are right on edge weight wise and I don't think you are going to stand up very well to any possible injury sustained on the road or any period of illness. Teenagers might weigh 63kg at 5'10" but they are still growing and putting on muscle, staying that way into adulthood is in no way good for you.

I also bet your immune system is depressed.

I don't like these threads because they put forward this warped idea that healthy or "fast" for a male cyclist means having the figure of a 17 year old supermodel who starves her self - it's about power to weight, not weighing as little as possible.

Everyone being a different size or shape size doesn't wash, you are the same height as me and I am not by any stretch of the imagination heavily built, I wear 30 or 32 trousers and maybe a 40 chest, there is no way on earth I should outweigh you by almost 20kg, sure I ride fixed and work in a job that means I have to be strong but I don't hit the weights for fun and I am certainly not muscle bound or carrying any extra fat.

Like I said - I hate these threads because they put forward very wrong messages about body image for cyclists.

I find it disturbing that you are dishing out sweeping generalisations in a subject you obviously know nothing about.

I'm 5'10" and I weigh 64.4kg which is 10 stones 2lbs or 142 lbs. I have a 30" waist, but I am a 34" chest, so you are obviously carrying 20kg on your chest from your job!!!

When I weighed 82kg, I had a 38" waist and my BMI was nearly classed as "obese" on the much maligned BMI measuring table, I lost that weight and have now settled at what I would call a healthy weight. My immune system is perfect also and far from a depressed state, I came down with 1 cold this winter and that is despite living with someone who works in a hospital! During the winter I put on natural "padding" and went up to 10 stone 10lbs which kept me warm and cosy for those colder days. My BMI now is 20.3 which is still pretty far off 18.5! My blood pressure is all fine and my resting heart rate is about 45bpm, compare that to the mild hypertension and a resting heart-rate of over 80bpm only a few years ago.

This topic really gets my goat because when I was clearly overweight no-one ever mentioned the ill effects to my health I could have been causing through my lack of exercise and over-eating, but now I am slimline, cycle over 100 miles a week and eat well, suddenly there is massive concern amongst friends and family. There are plenty of people on this forum who are grossly overweight and rightfully so are looking for a way to reduce the body-mass for the benefit of their future living and we rightfully encourage them to do so and go on and lose the weight.

May I add, that for my job I sit on my ass all day as well. The only muscles on my body that are defined are the ones on my legs.

 

[Browser]

Drives me mental, especially when its the same people that commented when I was OVERWEIGHT, GRRRRRR, It's like they are some sort of weight police LOL

Rant Over

In your case Gary I'd say definitely jealousy at work again. They probably want to lose weight themselves but don't have your resolve

Back to the OP, I can remember when my brother lost a lot of weight, more than one person said he looked either gaunt or ill, my reply was that they hadn't known him when he was thinner, as I had, and that he wasn't ill just a better weight for his height.

 

[MLC]

How much you weigh should only be used as an indicator/confirmation to how you feel in yourself and what you see when you look in the mirror (provided there are no distortions due to mental disorders such as anorexia)

We are all so different one can look fat at 12 st another can look painfully thin even if they are the same height

Weight alone cannot be used as the only measurement of health

Arnie was circa 17st in his prime and probably around 7% Body Fat and probably a fair bit fitter and stronger than a lot of other people.

I'm 5'11 and when I was boxing at the age of 19-21 my weight was around 10.5 stone really struggled to get under that but I was very fit and very strong.

After stopping boxing and not doing a lot at all in my 20's my weight stabilised around the 11.5 to 12 stone mark.

Fast forward (quite a bit)

Turning 35, stopping smoking and still not doing much exercise my weight ballooned to about 16.5 stone. I did not need a pair of scales to tell me I was fat and unhealthy as I knew it.

I started cycling around 2 years ago and have in those two years I can count the number of time I have weighed myself on one hand. The scales are just used to confirm what I already knew that I was loosing weight. I am now around the 13st mark as I weighed myself yesterday (just after a roast dinner) and was fully clothed so I may even be just under 13st but I digress.

The point of my meandering post is that whilst I still consider myself to be pudgey I can honestly say that I feel better and am far healthier now than I was at 11.5 -12 stone in my mid to late twenties even though I weigh more.

 

[martint235]

Just my two pennies. My sister in law is currently saying I'm too thin. I'm 6' 6" and currently weigh in at around 14 stone. This time last year I weighed 16st but started doing the odd 100 miler and the weight dropped off. Typically, although some came off my gut, it was my neck and upper arms that took the brunt. Hey ho

20 years ago I weighed in at around 20 stone whilst playing rugby/ju jitsu and considered myself very fit at the time.

I think it's all about what you're happy with. I like my current weight and I also like the fact I can eat as much as I want.

 

[funnymummy]

I'm 6'2" & about 13.5st.

Skinny Bugger!!
I'm 6'2" not been under 15 stone since #3 was born (He's 7 this week)
I swim, cycle, round round like a loon at work, eat well... I've lost 10 stone, but I just can't get back to my pre-bubba weight of 12stone!