Every time I watch a Chris Froome video that includes anything about his diet, I wonder whether everything we think we know about cycling and nutrition is wrong. The guy seems to hardly eat anything. I think he's 6'2" or taller, weighs 72 kg in the off season, and tries to get to 68-70 kg for competition. A typical boxer (my former sport) his height would usually weigh 80 kg or so in peak condition, and might walk around at 90-100 kg between bouts, without even looking fat.
On a recent video, he bought his entire weekend worth of food before Yom Kippur began in Israel (he's on an Israeli team now), before the shops all closed. His meals for an entire weekend might be one day of food for me.
I mean, I don't each much. Usually one full meal a day, either lunch or dinner. Small breakfast -- oatmeal, maybe with an egg in it. I go through phases of eating too much junk carbs, then quit for awhile, so my weight fluctuates about 10 lbs. I'm 5'11" and 160 lbs now, about 10 lbs over my optimal weight. I *could* get back to 145 lbs if I wanted to -- did so in 2018, although not voluntarily. But after surgery and recovery I kept that weight for several months and did fine, including some of my fastest Strava segments. But I'm not competing so there's no motivation to nitpick my weight.
I'm also not riding 5,000-6,000 miles a year like I did until 2021. After neck pain problems worsened I switched to more jogging. For whatever reason, the same hours exercising and perceived effort running don't equal the same calorie/fat burning as cycling. Other than marathoners and elite level medium distance pro runners, it's less common to see runners as thin as pro cyclists.
Also, I don't eat legumes or even rice if I can avoid them. I can't digest them, even with enzymes, and it's just not worth the bloating and gas. I don't eat many leafy raw vegetables either. I enjoy them, but they don't help my digestion, and it's hard to trust the safety of some US market produce. I do fine eating mostly meat and white potatoes or sweet potatoes, onions, a few veggies for color and flavor in stews and soups, like a little carrot, celery, etc. My diet is far less diverse than it was years ago. I enjoy all kinds of food and kinda miss a varied diet. But I don't miss having constant digestive problems. I get along fine on a simpler, limited diet: some beef, chicken, pork, white and sweet potatoes, onions, bananas, eggs, oatmeal, coffee. I have a bunch more varied food at home, mostly canned, that I used to eat, but don't anymore. I can't even enjoy beer anymore. Makes me bloated and headachy.
I suspect the most successful global hopping cyclists are those who can get along with a varied, even unpredictable diet. That would be a big advantage over folks who have chronic digestive problems.