Weight / Fat loss

Umm, I'd be happy to settle for dropping a dress size and being able to climb hills a bit faster, don't really want to get "ripped". Really not sure I exercise at anything like high enough intensity to worrying about overtraining, I think the problem is more that these last 8lbs are the hardest to shift as I'm already 'slim', so getting down to 'lean enough to be competitive on a bike' is the challenge.

but at the level most of us cycle at a bit of extra here and there isn't going to make much of a difference. turning those 40miles into 80 will do more than losing 8lbs.

the women who are racing locally all look to be various shapes and not kelly holmes ripped. you certainly wouldn't judge their results on their body shape or how lean they look.