REAL WAYS TO LOSE WEIGHT FOR CYCLISTS | Ask a Cycling Coach Podcast 573
Thu Feb 05 2026
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// TOPICS COVERED
(00:00:00) Welcome & Why Recovery Between Hard Workouts Matters More Than You Think
(00:02:00) How Training Timing and Recovery Windows Affect Performance
(00:06:25) Listener Question: Why Am I Struggling With Body Composition Despite Training?
(00:07:55) The Biggest Reason Athletes Don’t See Nutrition Results: Inconsistency
(00:11:40) When Underfueling and Hormonal Stress Stall Fat Loss
(00:13:20) Why Daily Weight Fluctuations Can Derail Progress
(00:15:30) Practical Nutrition Habits That Actually Work Long-Term
(00:17:10) Building “Minimal Effort” Meals for Busy Training Weeks
(00:20:55) How Meal Prep and Portion Awareness Prevent Missed Fueling
(00:23:05) Managing Hidden Calories From Oils, Fats, and Cooking Methods
(00:27:55) Fueling Workouts to Control Hunger and Improve Body Composition
(00:31:10) Why Carbs During Training Improve Both Performance and Recovery
(00:36:30) How to Support Friends Working on Nutrition and Weight Goals
(00:44:05) The High-Carb Fueling Debate: Is 90–120g per Hour Safe?
(00:49:00) Individual Carb Tolerance and Why Fueling Isn’t One-Size-Fits-All
(00:57:20) Jonathan’s Leadville Weight, Power, and Nutrition Strategy Breakdown
(01:08:45) Making Nutrition Sustainable Without Perfect Meal Prep
(01:18:10) Setting Calories, Protein, and Macros Without Chronic Hunger
(01:24:35) Final Takeaways: Performance First, Weight Follows
In this episode, Alex Larsen and Coach Jonathan focus on fueling, recovery, and consistency as the real drivers of endurance performance and body composition. They explain why underfueling, poor carbohydrate intake, and not allowing enough recovery time leave athletes feeling flat, and how high-carb fueling, smarter meal planning, and simple, repeatable nutrition habits improve workout quality and long-term progress. The discussion covers weight management without obsession, scale fluctuations, busy-athlete nutrition strategies, and how to fuel training and racing properly so workouts feel sustainable, productive, and repeatable. At the end they go over Jonathan’s Leadville plan and what he’ll need to do from a nutrition front to make his goal of 7hrs.
// RESOURCES MENTIONED
- Alex’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexlarsonnutrition
- Alex’s Nutrition Coaching Services: https://alexlarsonnutrition.com
- Sign up for TrainerRoad! https://trainerroad.cc/GetFaster
- Follow TrainerRoad on Instagram 📸 https://www.instagram.com/TrainerRoad
- Join the TrainerRoad Zwift Club 🚴 https://trainerroad.cc/trzwiftclub
// TRY TRAINERROAD RISK FREE FOR 30 DAYS!
https://trainerroad.cc/GetFaster TrainerRoad is the #1 cycling training app. No other cycling app is more effective. Over 17,000 positive reviews, a 4.9 star App Store rating.
// HELPFUL LINKS
- Have a question for the podcast? Ask here: https://www.TrainerRoad.com/podcast
- TrainerRoad on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trainerroad/
- TrainerRoad Forum: https://trainerroad.cc/3uHvLnE
- TrainerRoad on Strava: https://www.strava.com/clubs/trainerroad
- TrainerRoad on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TrainerRd
- TrainerRoad on X: https://www.x.com/TrainerRoad
- Learn more about TrainerRoad: https://trainerroad.cc/3LBb5Ur
- Listen to the Successful Athletes Podcast: https://trainerroad.cc/3JmKrN5
- Listen to the Science of Getting Faster Podcast: https://trainerroad.cc/3LpuIhP
- Training Blog: https://trainerroad.cc/3gCdNdN
More
🚀Try TrainerRoad risk-free! 👉 www.TrainerRoad.com 🤝Join the TrainerRoad Zwift Club 🚴 https://trainerroad.cc/TRzwiftclub // SHARE AND RATE THE PODCAST! iTunes: https://trainerroad.cc/apple2 Spotify: https://trainerroad.cc/spotify2 Google Podcasts: https://trainerroad.cc/google // TOPICS COVERED (00:00:00) Welcome & Why Recovery Between Hard Workouts Matters More Than You Think (00:02:00) How Training Timing and Recovery Windows Affect Performance (00:06:25) Listener Question: Why Am I Struggling With Body Composition Despite Training? (00:07:55) The Biggest Reason Athletes Don’t See Nutrition Results: Inconsistency (00:11:40) When Underfueling and Hormonal Stress Stall Fat Loss (00:13:20) Why Daily Weight Fluctuations Can Derail Progress (00:15:30) Practical Nutrition Habits That Actually Work Long-Term (00:17:10) Building “Minimal Effort” Meals for Busy Training Weeks (00:20:55) How Meal Prep and Portion Awareness Prevent Missed Fueling (00:23:05) Managing Hidden Calories From Oils, Fats, and Cooking Methods (00:27:55) Fueling Workouts to Control Hunger and Improve Body Composition (00:31:10) Why Carbs During Training Improve Both Performance and Recovery (00:36:30) How to Support Friends Working on Nutrition and Weight Goals (00:44:05) The High-Carb Fueling Debate: Is 90–120g per Hour Safe? (00:49:00) Individual Carb Tolerance and Why Fueling Isn’t One-Size-Fits-All (00:57:20) Jonathan’s Leadville Weight, Power, and Nutrition Strategy Breakdown (01:08:45) Making Nutrition Sustainable Without Perfect Meal Prep (01:18:10) Setting Calories, Protein, and Macros Without Chronic Hunger (01:24:35) Final Takeaways: Performance First, Weight Follows In this episode, Alex Larsen and Coach Jonathan focus on fueling, recovery, and consistency as the real drivers of endurance performance and body composition. They explain why underfueling, poor carbohydrate intake, and not allowing enough recovery time leave athletes feeling flat, and how high-carb fueling, smarter meal planning, and simple, repeatable nutrition habits improve workout quality and long-term progress. The discussion covers weight management without obsession, scale fluctuations, busy-athlete nutrition strategies, and how to fuel training and racing properly so workouts feel sustainable, productive, and repeatable. At the end they go over Jonathan’s Leadville plan and what he’ll need to do from a nutrition front to make his goal of 7hrs. // RESOURCES MENTIONED - Alex’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexlarsonnutrition - Alex’s Nutrition Coaching Services: https://alexlarsonnutrition.com - Sign up for TrainerRoad! https://trainerroad.cc/GetFaster - Follow TrainerRoad on Instagram 📸 https://www.instagram.com/TrainerRoad - Join the TrainerRoad Zwift Club 🚴 https://trainerroad.cc/trzwiftclub // TRY TRAINERROAD RISK FREE FOR 30 DAYS! https://trainerroad.cc/GetFaster TrainerRoad is the #1 cycling training app. No other cycling app is more effective. Over 17,000 positive reviews, a 4.9 star App Store rating. // HELPFUL LINKS - Have a question for the podcast? Ask here: https://www.TrainerRoad.com/podcast - TrainerRoad on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trainerroad/ - TrainerRoad Forum: https://trainerroad.cc/3uHvLnE - TrainerRoad on Strava: https://www.strava.com/clubs/trainerroad - TrainerRoad on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TrainerRd - TrainerRoad on X: https://www.x.com/TrainerRoad - Learn more about TrainerRoad: https://trainerroad.cc/3LBb5Ur - Listen to the Successful Athletes Podcast: https://trainerroad.cc/3JmKrN5 - Listen to the Science of Getting Faster Podcast: https://trainerroad.cc/3LpuIhP - Training Blog: https://trainerroad.cc/3gCdNdN