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COACHING FOR BODY COMPOSITION

CYCLING COACHING FOR WEIGHT LOSS
FUEL THE PERFORMANCE. THE BODY COMPOSITION FOLLOWS.

This is coaching for cyclists who want to change body composition through training and nutrition done properly — not through under-fuelling, fasted rides, or chronic restriction. The cycling internet keeps telling you that weight loss is calories in versus calories out. That advice is so outdated, and it's probably part of why you're still stuck.

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THE PROBLEM MOST RIDERS IN THIS SPOT FACE.

Most cyclists trying to lose weight do the same thing: ride more, eat less, do fasted rides, track every calorie, see results for a few weeks, then stall and rebound. Power drops. Mood drops. The numbers go back up.

The internet's calories-in-versus-calories-out advice is incomplete at best. Anthony lost 7kg in 12 weeks while eating MORE food than he had in years. Power didn't drop. Energy went up. The 9pm junk-food cravings stopped on their own. He didn't track a calorie. He didn't skip a meal. He didn't do a single fasted ride.

The reason most cyclists fail at weight loss is that they're fighting their physiology. Fuel performance properly, train consistently, sleep well — body composition follows. The protocol works because it stops fighting the body.

WHAT CHANGES IN THE COACHING

  • Eating to fuel training, not restricting to lose weight
  • Protein adequacy targeted at 1.6-2.0g/kg — most cyclists are well under
  • Carbs around training to support intensity and recovery
  • Body composition tracked by DEXA, calipers, or photos — not scale weight alone
  • No fasted rides — they bonk you, kill power, and don't accelerate fat loss
  • Sleep and stress treated as core nutrition variables, not extras

FUEL

HOW THE COACHING WORKS

The five pillars adapted for this segment. Same system — periodised differently to fit what you actually need.

01

FUEL PERFORMANCE

Every training session is properly fuelled. In-ride carbs at 60-90g/hr on rides over 90 minutes. Real meals around training. The energy availability that supports adaptation also unlocks body composition change — under-fuelling shuts both down.

02

PROTEIN ADEQUACY

Most cyclists eat far too little protein. We target 1.6-2.0g per kg of body weight, distributed across the day. Protein protects muscle during fat loss, accelerates recovery, and is the most satiating macro you'll consume.

03

TRAIN CONSISTENTLY

Body composition follows training consistency, not training intensity. The cyclist who rides 5 properly-fuelled hours a week for 12 months loses far more body fat than the cyclist who hammers for 10 hours, gets sick, takes 2 weeks off, comes back, repeats.

04

TRACK COMPOSITION, NOT SCALE

Scale weight conflates muscle, fat, water, and glycogen. Track body composition through DEXA, calipers, or progress photos every 6-8 weeks. Most cyclists doing this work see strength go up and clothes get looser even when scale weight is flat.

05

SLEEP, STRESS, HORMONES

Sleep deprivation tanks insulin sensitivity and increases cravings. Chronic stress elevates cortisol and stalls fat loss. These aren't optional add-ons — they're core nutrition variables. We coach them because ignoring them is why most diets fail.

EXAMPLE TRAINING WEEK

WHAT A WEEK LOOKS LIKE

A typical mid-block week for a cyclist working on body composition. All sessions fully fuelled. No fasted rides. Real meals around training. The protocol that drops body fat without dropping power.

8-10 HRS/WEEK

MONDAY

Rest day — protein priority, no caloric restriction

0 MIN

TUESDAY

VO2max — 5 x 4 min @ 110% FTP, fuelled with carbs pre and during

75 MIN

WEDNESDAY

Zone 2 endurance — fuelled, NOT fasted, 60g/hr carbs

75 MIN

THURSDAY

Heavy strength — back squat, deadlift, RDL, 4 x 5

50 MIN

FRIDAY

Easy spin or rest — protein-led day

0-45 MIN

SATURDAY

Long Zone 2 ride — 80g/hr carbs from start, real meal after

3-4 HRS

SUNDAY

Sweet spot — 3 x 12 min @ 88-93% FTP, fuelled session

90 MIN

Adjusts weekly based on how you actually responded — power trends, HRV, sleep, life context. Built and reviewed in TrainingPeaks.

FIXABLE MISTAKES

MISTAKES TO AVOID

The patterns that hold this segment back the most. Each one is fixable — that's the whole point.

01. FASTED RIDES

Fasted rides bonk you 60km from home, kill the session's quality, and don't accelerate fat loss meaningfully. They also reinforce a restriction mindset that makes the whole thing harder. Fuel rides over 60 minutes. Your body doesn't burn more fat hungry — it just trains worse.

02. TRACKING CALORIES ON MYFITNESSPAL

It works for a few weeks. It also turns food into a constant mental load, makes you suspicious of normal eating, and is almost always inaccurate by 15-25%. The cyclists who keep weight off long-term build food awareness, not spreadsheets.

03. SKIPPING MEALS OR DOING INTERMITTENT FASTING AROUND TRAINING

Skipping breakfast and then training, or training and then skipping dinner, almost always backfires. You bonk training, recover poorly, get hungry later, and overeat. Eat real meals around training. The body composition results come from the training and the protein adequacy, not from missing meals.

04. CUTTING CARBS TO LOSE WEIGHT

Low-carb training is the fastest route to dropping power, killing recovery, and tanking motivation. Cyclists need carbs to fuel hard efforts and rebuild glycogen. Body composition change happens around well-fuelled training, not in spite of it.

05. WEIGHING YOURSELF DAILY AND PANICKING

Daily scale weight bounces 1-2kg from glycogen, hydration, and food in your gut. Daily weigh-ins create emotional spikes that lead to poor decisions. Weigh once a week if at all, track body composition every 6-8 weeks, and judge progress on monthly trend — not yesterday's number.

CASE STUDY

WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE IN PRACTICE

THE RIDER

CHRIS O'CONNOR

Started at 84kg with 20% body fat. Average wattage was modest. Wanted real body composition change but had been burned by years of diet-and-rebound cycles.

THE OUTCOME

From 84kg to 68kg. Body fat 20% to 7%. Average wattage doubled. Weekly 100km+ rides became the norm. Done through fuelling, training, and a complete reframe of the food relationship — not through restriction.

Anthony is a visionary, an educator, a mentor, a coach. He set me on a dietary, mental and physical journey of true discovery. Average wattage doubled and now weekly 100km+ rides are the norm.

CHRIS O'CONNOR

IS THIS COACHING RIGHT FOR YOU?

YES, IF YOU...

  • Want sustainable body composition change through training and proper nutrition
  • Have been stuck in diet-and-rebound cycles you want to end
  • Are willing to fuel rides properly, including in-ride carbs
  • Want strength training as part of the protocol, not a side note
  • Understand body composition is measured in months, not weeks
  • Want power and body composition to improve together, not in conflict

NOT IF YOU...

  • ×Want a crash diet or quick-fix protocol
  • ×Aren't willing to fuel training properly
  • ×Have an active eating disorder (please work with a clinical specialist first)

COMMON QUESTIONS

CAN I LOSE WEIGHT THROUGH CYCLING WITHOUT DIETING?

Yes — and it's the protocol that actually works long-term. Anthony lost 7kg in 12 weeks while eating more food than he had in years. Chris went from 84kg to 68kg with body fat dropping from 20% to 7% — power doubled at the same time. The framework is fuel performance properly, train consistently, hit protein adequacy, and let body composition follow. No tracking, no restriction.

HOW IS THIS DIFFERENT FROM CALORIE TRACKING?

Calorie tracking treats food as math. The protocol we coach treats food as fuel and recovery. The shift sounds subtle but the difference is enormous: tracking creates an adversarial relationship with food that almost always rebounds; fuelling for performance teaches you what your body actually needs and changes the relationship permanently.

SHOULD I DO FASTED RIDES FOR FAT LOSS?

No. Fasted rides bonk training quality, don't accelerate meaningful fat loss, and reinforce a restriction mindset that makes long-term progress harder. Fuel rides over 60 minutes properly. Body composition change comes from consistent, well-fuelled training and protein adequacy — not from training hungry.

HOW FAST WILL I LOSE WEIGHT?

Sustainably, 0.5-1% of body weight per week is a healthy target — and even that's faster than most cyclists need. The bigger question is whether the fat stays off, and whether power holds. Aggressive weight loss usually means lost muscle, lost power, and a rebound within 6 months. The slower, fuelled approach typically produces 6-12kg of fat loss over 6-12 months that stays off.

WILL I LOSE POWER IF I LOSE WEIGHT?

Done badly, yes — restriction kills power. Done properly, the opposite. Chris doubled his wattage while losing 16kg. Brian gained 15% FTP while training less. The protocol that works for body composition is the same protocol that works for performance: fuel training, hit protein, train consistently, sleep well. They're not in conflict — they're the same equation.

YOUR COACHING STARTS HERE.

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