"In my time as a pro, I never had a healthy relationship with food and training" - Puck Moonen reveals nutritioning struggles of a pro

Puck Moonen has struggled with her eating behavior for a while. The cyclist, who is very popular on social media, says this in a candid post on Instagram. The way she was busy with her nutrition did not make her happy.

"My eating behavior around workouts was largely a result of fear," Moonen begins. "Fear of doing less than others, fear of failure, fear of not burning the calories I took in to train. In my time riding for pro teams, I never had a healthy relationship with food and training. I only became fully aware of that afterwards."

"Looking back, it was not a very happy time. Putting my mental health first over the past year has given me many answers about why certain things didn't work out or only temporarily. I've been thinking about this a lot lately. Also about how I can use my experience to have a positive impact on others, and learn more about myself while working on a better return."

In the past, 27-year-old Moonen rode for Lotto Soudal Ladies, among others. She was also still under contract with Chevalmeire Cycling Team. Nowadays she is mainly active in the gravel circuit. For example, she rode the gravel World Championships in Italy last year, where she finished 24th. Recently, Moonen also revealed that she had a difficult time because she was a victim of stalking.