Here's another calorie question - I'm trying to figure out how much I can/need to eat and still continue to lose weight during the cycling season.

I am 5'0" and weigh about 120 lbs. My goal weight is 110 (100 would probably have me looking better, but I am not sure how realistic that is.) Last August I had gotten up to a very unhappy 140 lbs and hired a trainer to help me lose weight. It took 8 months to lose 20 lbs, during which time I was working out at the gym (I don't like riding when it's cold) 6x week (6x cardio/4x weights) and following as best I could a 1500 calorie eating plan. I cut out the junk food (honest!) and am eating really great quality food every day.

Now it's summer, glorious summer, and so back to the bike. I joined a cycling coaching program, and I'm riding 100+ miles a week. My 1500 calorie plan has gone out the window. I think I must be eating closer to 2000 calories (all good stuff, but I'm really hungry).

I don't want to eat all my exercise calories. I'm not sure what I should be doing, but I feel a vague sense of failure every time I blow my calorie budget. I am barely losing weight - which is par for the course for me, but I was hoping to see faster weight loss when I picked up riding again. My coach has told me to use recovery drinks, but I hate the idea of drinking 200-300 calories when I have such a small calorie budget to begin with. (Do I sound whiny? I don't mean to be...I'm just a hungry girl.) I intend to err on the side of healthy, not skinny, but I'd like to be both eventually!

My BMR is only 1165 - I track cycling calories burned on my Forerunner, but I'm not sure how accurate that is. 2-3x a week I do a 90 min cycling workout (burns 500-800 cal), and 1 or 2 days a week I do a longer ride. I hit the gym for weights once a week now if I'm not too tired from cycling.

I'd love to hear from some other shorties like me - how much do you eat? Do you have trouble losing weight during peak cycling season? I know the "rules" are different for endurance athletes, but I'm just not sure what to do now re eating. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!