Hi all,
Hope you dont mind me posting, I’ve been trying to search for a while now on how my performance level stack up to others and wanted to ask if anyone can tell if im actually doing ok or not.
Currently 19.2 stone, with an FTP of 230 and im doing 5 workouts a week all between 30 mins and 1 hour. Im 38 with a bit of muscle and a lot of fat lol 
I know im really heavy for a cycling and im trying to get to 100kg. Ive come down to about 122 from 130kg.
My cardio isnt great but is so much better than it was. Ive been on my watt bike now for around 6 months and im at the point when im not loosing much but feel like im gaining muscle.
Sorry for rambling on, i just wanted to cover as much i can. I really appreciate any comments even if its something i dont want to here.
Cheers 
Carry on, especially if you’re enjoying it. The only thing that raised an eyebrow was 5 workouts a week. Don’t underestimate the need for rest and variety. Maybe switch to 3 Zwift and find another activity to replace the other two (some light weights, swimming, …).
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how intense are the workouts?
if the goal is weight loss as well as FTP improvemnt i would try adding in some longer zone 2 type rides.
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If performance is the goal, losing weight slowly will help avoid losing power as you get lighter. If you lost 8kg gradually over 6 months that seems reasonable, but if you lose weight quickly that will usually reduce your performance or reduce your performance gains.
I agree with Gordon that increasing time in zone 2 is a good idea (along with increasing total time on the bike if you can). It also matters whether your goal is endurance performance or racing. For racing you need sufficient threshold power to be with the group and able to sprint at the finish, and you also need the ability to surge to stay with the group (especially on short climbs where your mass relative to other riders will make it challenging to hang on). To improve threshold power you can do more zone 2 hours and possibly also some sweet spot workouts. For handling repeated power surges you will need to do some above-threshold interval workouts.
Good idea Mark and yes the 5 days seems alot but once ive done the workout, an hour later i feel like i can go again.
Im just dying whilst doing the workout.
Well done on your fitness journey so far, and keep up the great work!
Hi Paul,
Really appreciate your reply, ill take on board what you have said and change a few things.
Further down the line i would like to do the racing but for now im really hoping to loose the weight. I really want to get to 100kg. I do feel like 40 minutes may not be quite enough like you have suggested.
I may start lowering the intensity slightly and start increasing my workout to over an hour. Even possibly lowering my ftp so i can finish the planned workouts without giving up because there to difficult.
Cheers Paul
Weight loss is mostly achieved through diet. Exercise helps a bit, but most people can easily consume more than the calories burned in exercise. If the main goal is weight loss it’s easier to just focus on that goal and ride for health and the joy of it. Certainly don’t feel bad about on-bike performance if you are really working on your weight.
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I ride/race because it’s fun. It’s improving my racing that drives me. As a consequence, I burn more calories than intended and now when I’m buying bike-fuel (candy) I select the ones with as much calories and sugar as possible, to prevent my weight loss to go any further. Also changing my binge eating from chips to fruit and popcorn made a huge difference. Might have to go back to chips again 
Been Zwift running for 2.5 years and Zwift cycling for 2 years. I never ride bike before Zwift 
if ur losing fat but gaining muscle, u might not lose weight bcos muscle is denser than fat so weighs more. losing weight is a marathon, not a sprint, there is no “quick fix” - just have to keep plugging away at it. the stronger you get, the longer/faster u can ride = the more calories u burn = the more weight u lose (also increases ur base metabolism, so u burn more calories on rest days too).
if u want to continue to lose weight, gotta continually up ur training capacity from month to month, can’t just do the same thing over and over. either need to increase duration, increase intensity, or decrease calorie intake. 1) or 2) is more preferable. don’t do all 3 at once, or that’s a recipe for disaster!
p.s. look up Zone 2 endurance training - try squeeze in an extended ride at the weekends of 2-3 hrs (watever u have the time/energy for) Zone 2 Training for Cyclists: Where Endurance Training Fits in Your Training Plan - TrainerRoad Blog
if time is more limited, then interval workouts r ur friend!
hard disagree with this - recently watched a video which stated that even with zone 2 cycling - you are burning more calories than you can take in per hr (imagine for higher intensities!). weight loss can be achieved through diet - but equally if you are fuelling your workouts properly and working hard, weight loss can easily be achieved by exercise alone as well (& has other benefits beyond just weight loss alone).
I didn’t watch the video but I can imagine that it is hard to consume enough calories per hour to match the calories burnt whilst zone 2 riding.
However I can see how easy it might be to consume huge amounts of calories in the remaining hours of the day.
I think most people would agree that in the perfect world weight loss should be achieved through a combination of exercise and sensible eating.
That might be quite easy to achieve for those of us who enjoy and get comfort from exercise, probably have a good metabolism and already watch what we eat and drink. I’m not sure that works for those who get comfort and enjoyment from eating and drinking.
IMO if you want to lose weight it’s about exercising at a level you can sustain whilst eating and drinking at a calorie level lower than you currently consume.
First of all, how is your performance. Well you are at 1.8 w/kg for your FTP. This puts you in category D, which is the lowest. However, if you would drop down to 100 kg without losing power, which you probably wouldnt, you would probably gain power in that time, you would be close to category C, which has a cut off of 2.5. So if you raise your FTP to 250 and drop to 100 kg, you would be in C.
As for “fueling for workouts”, I think its totally unnecessary. The ONLY reason to fuel is not to run out of carbs, which people hardly ever do, since the muscles hold at leas 2000 kcal of carbs, and even at vo2max intensity you use about 85-90% carbs and 10-15% fat.
To put it into perspective, if you are able to consume gels during a run, you hardly even have to fuel before running a marathon, since consuming 8 gels will provide you with enough carbs to last the race. When I run a half marathon (in a little under 1 hour and 20 minutes at threshold intensity), I never use any gels and I dont carb load the day before, and I eat a very light breakfast.
So, to sum it up. You only need to card load before workouts if you are going over 100 minutes and at a pretty high intensity. However, you might as well eat bananas during such workout.
Today I did a 125 minute workout, out of which 52 minutes was a little above FTP. I just ate a regular breakfast before and some protein and some carbs after, but I could have done it on an empty stomack as well.