Body image isn\’t what I think of first when I think of cycling. In fact, to be honest, I don\’t think about it much at all; but I\’m sure that there are riders who do.

I\’m not a psychologist, and I\’m not a nutritionist. If you need help with this, please consult the appropriate professional. It\’s just that I began thinking about the subject after I listened to this video; and common sense says that it isn\’t only dancers who can have trouble with body image.

Do riders who have short legs yearn for long legs; and are there long-legged cyclists who wish their legs were shorter? Are broad shoulders a disadvantage for aerodynamics? How many cyclists wish they could wave a magic wand, and change their physiques?

Getting back to legs, how much does leg length matter in cycling? It seems to me that, if the bicycle is correctly fitted to the rider, overall leg length shouldn\’t matter. I\’ve read that a proportionately long thigh provides better leverage; but that\’s all I know.

If I were much younger, and were into serious training, I might well be far more concerned about my body image: my weight;

and my general shape; how I look on the bike; and much more. As things are, I don\’t worry about it; and why waste my energy fretting over it? I\’m not on show, after all!

Weighing In

As to weight, I lost 25-26 pounds between February 2020 and this past June. I was actually borderline overweight in early 2020; and my A1c levels were in the prediabetes range. This provided strong motivation for me to clean up my eating habits. My A1c levels dropped, but to a point barely below prediabetes; so I needed to keep watching my diet — body image or no.

The catch is that I had gotten rather burned out on meal planning, carb-counting, and so on. I got careless for a month or two; and was just starting to work my way back on track when Ida struck. Afterwards, I was away from home for nearly a month; and wasn\’t preparing my own meals.

My A1c levels skyrocketed; and I\’ve been struggling with my diet ever since. It\’s harder to keep on track when I\’m not working from home! When I\’m at work, I can\’t just run to the fridge and grab some hummus; so I wind up eating total junk.