Bye bye Clydes............

Nice job!

I will be out of Clydes Jan 1st. since I am below 220lbs...

Nice!

Congrats!  I too just last week dipped to 199.6 for the first time since I can think of.

Im 6'4 and was up to about 255 at my 'worst'.  Training got me down to 230s, occasionally getting down to 225 at my 'best'.  1 year ago I was 223, hit 215 over the summer, then dropped the last 15 in the last few months.

Biggest change for me was cycling a LOT.  Like 10hrs a week, I can't get enough of it.  Lots of track cycling too.  Also not using a workout as an excuse to eat everything in sight, and paying attention to what I eat with my head, not my mouth/eyes.

Goal is 190s this year and hit 3.5w/kg on a 60min TT.

Just bumping this to let those that are trying to get below the (old) clyde weight of 200 - or lose any weight, for that matter - to keep on keepin on.  Weighed in this morning at 187, never dreamed I'd be racing at this weight.  I have to say it takes a HUGE amount of pounding off the body and makes running so much easier it's ridiculous. 

I still identify as a clydesdale in my mind though

Whether they make the cutoff 220 or kept it 200, I think what's needed is consistent validation of the athletes in these categories..

Last season I took third in the clydes division of a local race (I'm still a clyde @ 225) and the winner could not have been 200 pounds soaking wet....I expected the MC to ask him if he was picking up the award for a friend because he was so small....Nope, nothing said and the guy kissed the trophy and raised it up like he was world champ...

Rant over...I may get below the new clyde limit this year but congrats to you for getting below the old standard which for me will be darn near impossible to hit...

I won a Duathlon as a clyde.

Though I looked sinny, at 6'6" I was over 200lbs.

Even now-a-days I am between 195 and 198 and most perceive me as skinny :-O

I agree that the category is a good thing.  But this thread is not about keeping clydes as a category or not, or saying that the category is a bad thing.  That's been hashed out a number of times, and there are plenty of threads to argue about that.  But there are people, including me, that raced clydes but wished to be lighter, and if that meant no longer being a clyde, then so be it.  Losing weight is healthier and better for me.  Simple as that.  I have less health issues and less chronic injuries than I had 40# (and much more, I topped out at 275) ago. 

I raced clydes in 2012 and every race I entered I podium'd at 205.  If you were to look at me, you would not think I was 200+, as I carry my weight well.  But I was.  Every time I told someone my weight they were surprised.  So you can't necessarily look at someone and know their weight in all cases

Last, I am just going to say I too always thought it would impossible for me to get below 220, and for me to be  "normal" BMI I would look like an anorexic.  I was just a big guy, and I've always been a big guy.  I was 176# as a 14 year old (mostly I was just taller than everyone, I wasn't fat).  In photos of me and my brother, I was always just "thick."  So I identified as the big guy. 

Turns out, that was not true, and it was just the way my head worked, my own personal demons as it were.  This is just my experience, and does not reflect the reality for anyone else.  However, it is offered to mayve show an example of where what someone (me) thinks is not necessarily rooted in reality.  At the end of the day I was not happy being the "big guy," and finally realized that I was the only one that had the power to do a single thing about it. So I did.

I don't disagree with anything you said....I also don't think I said anything to suggest doing away with the category, endorsing more categories etc..

Just a personal observation on the execution of the category in races..

I agree you can't weigh a person by sight but I can tell if a 5'8" guy is over 200 pounds or not...I probably shouldn't have brought it up, I just wanted to give an example of what I experienced and have yet to ever see a scale at packet pickup despite several races that mention it...

I come from big people and a weightlifting background...I believe I could get under 200 pounds and maybe someday I will however I'm not so sure it's worth the effort for me personally....My BMI is high but that's an inaccurate measurement as it ignores muscle and bodyfat %'s...

I don't want to turn this into a debate, it's your thread and you are right to be proud of your accomplishment..

I'm right behind you. Started this endurance sports journey at a max of 283, I was 213.0 this morning, my lowest in my adult life. Some friends and I are planning on doing our first 70.3 at Augusta, I'm hoping to be right around 200 lbs. My wife is pregnant with our first child, due within the next 3 weeks, I promised myself to be in the best shape of my life when he made his arrival. I'm there. I graduated HS at 184, left bootcamp/A School at 220, I never looked back.....until now.