In her recent post on Instagram, Puck Moonen, former professional with Lotto Soudal Ladies and a social media celebrity, takes on the taboo of body-shaming and insane diets, something that (sadly) goes in hand in hand with highly competitive sport where every pound matters, such as cycling is.
"Cycling is a sport where everyone obsesses over W/kg and numbers on the scale often get wrongfully judged, even within professional teams (putting young athletes on a scale and telling them they need to lose 3kg is... scary!). Everybody is built differently, and what is ideal and healthy for me to perform at my best may not be ideal for someone else."
"I've put my unhealthy relationship with food behind me only a few years ago. Restricting and then binging and feeling guilty is not the way. It's not like I am never insecure; but overall I'm doing alright compared. I enjoy food. I eat about 80-90% healthy and fresh, the rest is comfortfood and snacks (which I now enjoy a lot more than before!). It's called balance," she concludes.