This isn’t supposed to come across as some sort of vain post, but rather an “if I can do it, so can you” sort of thing.  But by the time you’re done reading this post, I want you to have an overbearing sense of confidence that you can have the body you desire no matter what age you may be.  Yep, this picture below is of me on my 42nd birthday, and I’m here to tell you that you can have the body you want no matter what age you are.

Wait a minute….that first paragraph kind of makes this sound like some sort of infomercial or something, doesn’t it?  Sorry about that, but I do get excited when I think about people making the commitment to have the body of their dreams.

Let me tell you some complete and honest truth.  I wasn’t born with one of those natural lean and mean bodies, or am blessed with gifted metabolic genetics.  In fact, I can still remember back to fifth grade when a diet of chips and pop combined with a pretty sedentary lifestyle led to fair bit of pudge on this frame of mine. It was around eleventh grade when I adopted a healthy lifestyle, but it was focused more on building muscle and not so much on aerobic capacity.  Then came my addiction to cycling about ten years ago, and this has been the catalyst in obtaining the body I have today.

So here I am, 42 years old….and I swear that my body is in better shape and I have a healthier heart than I did when I was 24.  The coolest part is that I have cycling to thank for it.  Yes, lucky for me I found a form of exercise that I am totally passionate about, and this love for the bike has helped me to have abs at 42. But let me tell you this…..cycling has been a huge factor, but I wouldn’t have this body without a focus on clean and smart eating as well.  I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again….“You can bike your butt off, but if you’re eating like crap it’s still going to show on your body”.

There have been many times over the years where my fitness level has been as strong as ever, but due to slacking in the clean eating department my body wasn’t able to show it.  Like I said, I wasn’t born with lean body genetics so I’ve had to work hard and watch what I eat to make it happen.  All it takes is slight deviation from this and my body responds in a less than favorable fashion.

So how do you do it?

If having the body you desire doesn’t come easily, let me tell you that I understand….but it doesn’t mean you can’t get there.  In my opinion, it comes down to two things: Eating clean and kick-starting your metabolism.

When I say “eat clean” I mean live a lifestyle where you pay close attention to what goes into your body. Don’t diet…those are short-term solutions.  Instead, make clean eating a lifestyle and something that just comes naturally.  Clean food equates to natural choices like lean proteins, fruits, vegetables, and minimal carbs.  Because there are so many quality methods of eating right, I won’t get into telling you what is best…but find out what is best for you.  But eating good clean, raw, natural food is definitely key.

The other key factor is jacking up that metabolism of yours.  I love cycling and it’s allowed me to knock out a bunch of miles every week, and in turn I burn off a whole whack of calories.  Best of all, it cranks up my “inner furnace” and gets my metabolism burning strong throughout the day.  If cycling is your thing, then use it to your advantage.  Enjoy Your Ride, but also use cycling (or any fitness) as a way to boost your metabolism and burn baby burn.

I’m passionate about cycling, but I’m also passionate about people living out their dreams….if you want to chat about this, just let me know.  My ears are open and I’ll provide you with all the advice and options that I can, so you can see your abs at……

Note: I’m not a nutritionist, so we leave that sort of thing up to Kelli.  Be sure to write in with your “Ask the Sports Nutritionist” questions for her at any time.  I’m also going to be giving you my thoughts on how vegetarianism and cycling can be a nice match in the near future as well.  Watch for it.

How many of you are using cycling to help achieve your ideal weight?  How many would like to obtain this through cycling?  We all ride a bike for different reasons, but health and fitness is definitely a common theme that runs through a lot of us recreational cyclists.

But how do you get there?  How can you use cycling to lose weight?  Sometimes just jumping on the bike isn’t enough.  It takes the right level of cycling….and the right type of fuel to make it happen. To be honest, the nutrition side is probably the most important. I know from my own experience that I can cycling, and cycle, and cycle my butt off….but if I’m eating like crap my body doesn’t stay looking like I want it to.

So here it is.  I’ve joined forces with my teammate Kelli and we’ve put together the “Cycling for Optimal Weight” plan.  This mini e-book is totally free and we’re not even using it as a trick to capture all your e-mail addresses.  Yeah, I’m totally going against the grain on smart blogging tactics….oh well.  If you’d like to be included in the LTB mailing list feel free to send in your e-mail right here.

Either click the e-book image above, or download the book at:

http://lovingthebike.com/cycling-for-optimal-weight.pdf

 The nutrition side of this plan includes excerpts from Kelli’s great new e-book called “Fuel Right: The Endurance Athlete’s Guide Daily Nutrition, Training Nutrition, and Achieving an Optimal Weight”.  She is a fitness nutrition genius and has packed it all into this incredible book.  As part of the Loving the Bike “Cycling for Optimal Weight” plan, she’s included what you need to get you started.

We’re giving away 4 of her complete e-book’s to lucky readers who leave a comment letting us know why you need this incredible tool. For those of you who’d like the book, but don’t win one….she is offering all Loving the Bike readers a 25% discount off the $19.99 price tag.

Either way, we’re giving you enough right here in this post to get you well on your way to optimal heath.  Go on….check out the plan and get started.  We’re 100% confident that following this plan will take you where you want to go…and we want to be there with you along the way.  If you decide to go on the plan (and we hope you do), we’d like to track your progress and watch as you achieve your “Optimal Weight”.  Please contact us and let us know that you are on board.