Catrin, calorie deficits are what I struggle with because I cycle a lot of miles. It is real hard for me to eat enough calories because I only eat heart healthy, which isn't caloric, not like the average American going through the fast food drive-thru and consuming thousands of calories in one unhealthy meal.

I've learned to use whey powder to add more protein into my diet and that is helping, particularly with rapid muscle recovery. I no longer suffer from leg muscle fatigue. On the days I do longer rides I will use whey protein powder twice, not just once.

Here is an article that is slightly helpful, and which pinpoints the problem about how the calorie deficits affect performance on the bike. You can link to Active:Cycling on Facebook and have their articles show up on your Facebook page.

http://www.active.com/cycling/Articl...tm_medium=feed