wrote:


Ride lots and eat less, but how much less? A pound of fat is about
3500 calories (yum). So to burn a pound of fat in a week you need to
run a deficit of 500 calories per day. (And ride so as to burn the fat
off, but presumably you're doing that anyway.) That is a moderately
large calorie deficit, which is why losing more than a pound a week is
fairly hard. Of course you can lose more by going on a starlet-type
lettuce-only diet, but the danger is that starving yourself before a
big race isn't good for performance either.

Just curious, how do the grand tour contenders show up looking like POW
hunger strikers? They must have lower training loads for a few weeks
before the start, burning fewer calories. Is it a matter of getting
lean while training hard then weighing every meal until the prologue?

I'm likely to stick to something moderate, just avoiding overeating for
2 weeks even though my appetite is out of control right now.

Thanks to those that chimed in, even PZ, that's kinda cool. Thanks,

janek