jonovision_man wrote:... there is likely a point where an individual isn't suffering from an eating disorder but finds further weight loss negatively impacts their speed. This has been reported by professional cyclists...
I am hardly skinny but have experienced this.
I spent most of my adult life at 205-210 pounds and am now very happy with my moderate wheels around 175-180, featuring a week of decent eating before races, which is not skinny at all. This seems to be my sweet spot, though with crude high-level calculators it has me just at the low end of the overweight classification, a few pounds abover top-end of the normal range.
I got down to 169 for the 2012 Detroit Marathon, still featuring a bit of a ponch, and it was a nightmare. I was weak. I think I had another less memorable race in the low 170s as well, same feeling.