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Ex-Olympic cyclist Emma Pooley on the pressures of diet
Ex-Olympic cyclist Emma Pooley on the pressures of diet

BBC News

time2 days ago

  • Health
  • BBC News

Ex-Olympic cyclist Emma Pooley on the pressures of diet

Former Olympic cyclist Emma Pooley has spoken about how her relationship with food was coloured by the idea that cyclists should be thin and to her food was not "joyful".Pooley, 42, grew up in Norwich and studied mathematics and engineering at Cambridge University, only coming to cycling in her 20s after a running triple Olympian and five-time world champion, retired from professional road cycling in has released a book telling her story and sharing her favourite recipes, and said: "My point is that enjoyment is a really big part of healthiness." Looking back on her time as a champion cyclist, Pooley said: "At the elite level, the idea that thinner is faster is wrong... and I think it's quite damaging."I had some problems in the sport but.. I'm fine now and I wasn't that bad. "But I know other athletes have had problems and it affects your health long-term, so it is something I'm concerned about." She said she addressed those issues in her book and said it was important that the sport "gives a healthy impression on the viewers as well, so that it should inspire people to cycle".Some of her recipes were meals she "learned to make to support my training, but now I eat as part of a healthy lifestyle". However, she said attitudes had "changed for the better and there was a lot of really well-founded science-based thinking in cycling and other sports about a balanced diet and a healthy body"."Some people are naturally very slim and some aren't and you can't force everybody to look the same," Pooley said."No-one forced calorie restriction upon me, it was because I was told it was better to be thin and I looked around me and saw lots of thin people so I inflicted it upon myself, but I realised... the more I ate the faster I went."Now I realise that I was over-restricting and so a lot of people realise it's not about restriction, it's about healthy fuel."My point is that enjoyment is a really big part of... healthiness." Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

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