ok to eat junk food?

Minimize the junk food.

Eat lots of fruit. Eat lots of vegetables. Eat potatos and whole grains for carbs. Eat beans and
oatmeal for fiber. Eat fish and poultry for protein unless you are vegetarian. If you are
vegetarian, I can't tell you specifics, but I know many people live long happy lives as vegetarians.

Exercise at least thirty minutes three times per week. Cycling is wonderful exercise.

I know I'll get flamed, or at least this will become a long tortured thread. But the more I read
about nutrition, the more ideas converge into the simple advice above.

And I enjoy the occasional bag of Cheetos or Fritos.

"wle" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

say you ride, oh, 26 miles a day.

according to some calculations, that would be roughly 1300 calories needed just to power the bike.

is it ok to eat what would normally be considered junk food, to get these calories?

(wle) said:

say you ride, oh, 26 miles a day.

according to some calculations, that would be roughly 1300 calories needed just to power the bike.

Sounds high. I weigh 210 lbs (oops, 215 thanks to not having been able to get any exercise for the
past month due to various things) and I estimate 25-30 calories per mile. So I'd estimate 650 to 780
calories, less if you're a 120 pound climber. More if it's 26 miles uphill.

"wle" <[email hidden]> wrote:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

is it ok to eat what would normally be considered junk food,

<snip>

Are you old and decrepit?

A human beings natural lifespan is about 40 years. That's why you start to fall apart after that and
need more attention to stay alive, like an increasing dependency on drugs.

If you're over 40 and supposed to be dead, then you're on borrowed time and eating junk food is
pushing it.

In all seriousness ... why don't you go get a check up and ask your doctor? If you are old then it
wouldn't surprise me if the doctor found significant health reasons why you should start watching
your diet and avoiding certain foods.

Junk food is just that ... junk. I can see some very similar parallels to say, the bikes they sell
at Wal Mart. Tastes / looks good but has no substance, skimps on quality for taste / looks. Cheep
because it's mass produced and mass marketed, and only the bottom line matters. Eating junk food
fills your stomach but that's about it. Riding a Wal Mart bike gets you from point A to point B, but
that's about it.

Well, that's my $.02. If you're old, eat right and ride a decent bike.

... sorry, the closer we get the Xmas the more misanthropic I feel (c:

C.Q.C.

wle said:

say you ride, oh, 26 miles a day.

according to some calculations, that would be roughly 1300 calories needed just to power the bike.

is it ok to eat what would normally be considered junk food, to get these calories?

assume the daily requirements of vitamins, proteins, minerals, etc are met by other, decent food.
and assume you don;t want or need to lose any weight.

i mean, don;t the muscles run on sugar? what would be wrong with getting the extra calories right
from sugar?

what about fat?

just wondering, wle.

The people in my club that do the Randonneur thing ( Ultra long distances) eat almost nothing but
junkfood on their rides.

I believe it has to do with when you are eating the junkfood. On your ride and immediately after it
your body can handle sugar bombs without raising the insulin level. Between rides we should eat what
is normally considered healthy food.

As for riding 26 miles a day you don't really need to eat or drink anything extra, since you have
enough stored carbs for that ride and you can drink water before and after your ride, unless
exceptionally hot ofcourse.

--
Perre

You have to be smarter than a robot to reply.

I agree - it IS high unless it's all uphill.

"Tim McNamara" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

(wle) said:

say you ride, oh, 26 miles a day.

according to some calculations, that would be roughly 1300 calories needed just to power
the bike.

Sounds high. I weigh 210 lbs (oops, 215 thanks to not having been able to get any exercise for the
past month due to various things) and I estimate 25-30 calories per mile. So I'd estimate 650 to
780 calories, less if you're a 120 pound climber. More if it's 26 miles uphill.

Wouldn't it also depend on speed? As you go faster, air resistance is higher leading to more
calories per mile?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

according to some calculations, that would be roughly 1300 calories needed just to power
the bike.

Sounds high. I weigh 210 lbs (oops, 215 thanks to not having been able to get any exercise for the
past month due to various things) and I estimate 25-30 calories per mile. So I'd estimate 650 to
780 calories, less if you're a 120 pound climber. More if it's 26 miles uphill.

Tim McNamara <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

(wle) said:

say you ride, oh, 26 miles a day.

according to some calculations, that would be roughly 1300 calories needed just to power
the bike.

Sounds high. I weigh 210 lbs (oops, 215 thanks to not having been able to get any exercise for the
past month due to various things) and I estimate 25-30 calories per mile. So I'd estimate 650 to
780 calories, less if you're a 120 pound climber. More if it's 26 miles uphill.

Hi, here is a website that I find helpful, for determining calories used: global-global-Open ↗
fitness.com/Calc.html?GHF_Session=d26063d01902e2cec7f422a6134309cf

The reason that I like this one, is that it takes your weight into consideration. I'm sure that none
of these, is totally accurate, but as a tool it is helpful. Life is Good! Jeff

(wle) may have said:

say you ride, oh, 26 miles a day.

according to some calculations, that would be roughly 1300 calories needed just to power the bike.

is it ok to eat what would normally be considered junk food, to get these calories?

My advice: I'd avoid most of it. Not because the calories are unclean in some way, but because the
average junk food has [censored] in it which, if you really understood what it was and what it did, would
*not* be in your diet.

There are plenty of ways to get calories. Sugar, by itself, is not something I avoid. Even cola
still isn't on my no-go list. Mountain Dew and its ilk, however, with their propylene glycol (added
to provide body) and other such miracles of modern chemistry, are right out.

My approach: in general, f the list of ingredients contains anything I don't cook with, I don't buy
it. (OK, I make an exception for phosphoric acid, which I don't actually use in cooking....but which
I keep around for many other purposes.)

Some bottle cages provide enough space for a 20oz soft drink bottle in a koozie; if you retain and
re-use a few such soda bottles, you can fill them with whatever you like, even freezing them
(upright) if they're not filled past the lower radius of the top shoulder. I find that this neatly
eliminates the need to stop at convenience stores or vending machines, as well as providing better
refreshments at a much lower cost.

(For those who are believers in one or more of the various performance drinks or who drink water
only; to each his own, you may have different needs than I do. This post is provided solely as a
source of ideas, not a proclamation of The One True Way.)

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
Yes, I have a killfile. If I don't respond to something,
it's also possible that I'm busy.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

Q.' LostVideos-AT-hotmail.com said:

A human beings natural lifespan is about 40 years.

And on what do you base this astonishing revelation?

Per Elmsäter said:

The people in my club that do the Randonneur thing ( Ultra long distances) eat almost nothing but
junkfood on their rides.

I found in the brevet series and at PBP this year that junk food did not work well at all, in fact
it harmed my performance. Some of this may be acclimation- as my wife worked for 14 years at a
natural foods co-op and now works in promoting sustainable agriculture, my diet tends to consist of
whole grain/vegetable based/organic/yadda yadda stuff.

Apart from generally tasting better and being more satisfying to eat, I find that junk food doesn't
sit well in my stomach. The brevet series I completed used convenience stores as "controles" and
thus tended to encourage eating that stuff. My stomach felt awful. I had to start being very careful
about what I bought there and packing Odwalla bars in my saddlebag. My ride times improved and my
stomach was much happier.

There's some evidence that whole grain high fiber foods tend to produce a less rapid up-and-down
blood sugar levels. This would be good for most endurance athletes, but people doing ultramarathon
type things in particular.

"Per Elmsäter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The people in my club that do the Randonneur thing ( Ultra long distances) eat almost nothing but
junkfood on their rides.

Me, too. One of the reasons for eating junk food is that it's all that's available on the road. Some
rides allow you to send a bag to a checkpoint ahead, many of us pack non-junk food just to get a
break from it. When your body needs just energy, junk food often isn't bad, because it's calory-
dense. French fries are a good example. Potatoes have a high glycemic index, meaning they raise
blood sugar fast, the fat provides denser calories and slower release (provided you can digest it
under physical stress), and the salt replaces your major electrolyte.

Quoted message said:

As for riding 26 miles a day you don't really need to eat or drink anything extra, since you have
enough stored carbs for that ride and you can drink water before and after your ride, unless
exceptionally hot ofcourse.

Many people "carbo load" after a relatively short (30-40 mile) club ride. A ride like that, even at
a fairly high intensity, won't burn all your reserves.

Jeff Starr <[email hidden]> wrote:
: Hi, here is a website that I find helpful, for determining calories used: global-global-Open ↗
: fitness.com/Calc.html?GHF_Session=d26063d01902e2cec7f422a61343 09cf

too bad they see it as impossible to bike at more than a moderate effort of
15.9mph.

this site needs to try harder.

anyway, i know from the relatively controlled environment of touring that i'm burning about 1,000
kcals per 20 miles at my usual effort which is fairly hard in terms of heartbeat. fast is good.
--
david reuteler [email hidden]

(wle) said:

say you ride, oh, 26 miles a day.

according to some calculations, that would be roughly 1300 calories needed just to power the bike.

The number of miles is almost meaningless regarding your nutritional requirments. I'll digress to
walking. Stroll for 5 miles with a friend and you don't need hardly any additional calories. Walk
the 5 miles at a pace of less than an hour and you need more food. Jog and do the same 5 miles in 40
minutes and you need still more calories. If you are into heart rates, at less than 50% of MaxHr,
you don't need much. At 60%+ more food and at 70+% at double that.

As your condition improves, you use fewer calories for the same exertion. Stated another way, if you
keep the same speed, you'll need less fuel. Or, exert the same and go faster.

For a 26 mile ride at a more than casual pace, you need to have enough fuel in your body before you
start and little during the ride. After the ride, a small amount of a high glycemic index food, i.e.
orange juice or candy and some other carbohydrate will get you recovered. Actually, after the ride,
the source of calories is not that important.

Another school has the average rider using 350 calorie/hr. At 26 miles, that might be a total of 500
calories. A bagel and soda would be enough.

(wle) said:

say you ride, oh, 26 miles a day. according to some calculations, that would be roughly 1300
calories needed just to power the bike. is it ok to eat what would normally be considered junk
food, to get these calories?

That's fine. Eat what you like. Experiment. Find out what fuels you best, find out what knocks
you out, etc.

Quoted message said:

assume the daily requirements of vitamins, proteins, minerals, etc are met by other, decent food.
and assume you don;t want or need to lose any weight. i mean, don;t the muscles run on sugar? what
would be wrong with getting the extra calories right from sugar?

I am no expert, and some details may be wrong, but I think I've got the concepts right, here:
"sugar" can mean a whole lot of different things. Muscles, IIRC, run on glycogen. Glycogen is made
out of sugars more easily than fats/protein/whatever. Within the confines of "sugars", glycogen is
made more easily out of some than others. Google for glycemic index.

Quoted message said:

what about fat?

I guess it depends when you eat it. For a 26 mile ride, you probably won't need to eat during the
ride; fat is fine. As far as your weight is concerned, X amount of calories is X amount of calories
regardless of it's source. If you're eating mid-ride to avoid bonking (running out of fuel), fat
will _cause_ you to bonk even worse (just ask me on many of my failed century attempts).

Find your "power food" and stick with it. Resist the urge to eat something else. Rice krispies with
whole milk (in mass quantities) seems to be the only fuel that works for me; if I'd remember to eat
it for my mid-ride meal, I could finally achieve a full century.

Quoted message said:

just wondering, wle.

--
Rick "Too damn cold for a century now" Onanian

On Sat, 13 Dec 2003 05:24:18 GMT, "Jeff" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

And I enjoy the occasional bag of Cheetos or Fritos.

In addition to nutrition being my business since '74, I'm somewhat of a nutrition nut. There are
many normal foods that I do not eat. I refer to those foods as toxic waste and ingesting them as
treating your body like a toxic waste dump. My taunt at organized ride rest stops about the
selection of food is, "you're killing the riders". It is really in jest coming from a rider that
thinks that jelly beans are the best fuel and doesn't like putting food into water bottles.

Certainly, Cheetos or Fritos are not really that harmful but, then again, neither would a cigarette
be that harmful after a ride. What you ingest is secondary healthwise to how well you exercise.

<caltriplecrown.comFame.htmOpen ↗

This is good advice. While an occasional foray into snacks and desserts is great, meeting your
caloric needs with junk food is bad for your body. And I notice that a number of people on this
thread have written something like "junk food tastes good, but it's not the right thing to eat."
Junk food only tastes good if you train yourself to eat it everyday, anyway. When I eat at a fast
food place now that I'm pretty much committed to a mucb more healthy diet, the food is so
disappointing, which is a bummer when you're trying to have fun biking. I think the problem is many
people aren't experienced enough with cooking healthy foods for it to taste great, and the options
available at restaurants are, in general, uninspired.

I think cyclists can take a lesson from the backpacking world: GORP is great for your caloric
requirements during strenuous exercise. Nuts and dried fruit are tasty, dense in calories, cheap,
and healthy (just don't get that $.99 processed [censored]). DC

Jeff said:

Minimize the junk food.

Eat lots of fruit. Eat lots of vegetables. Eat potatos and whole grains for carbs. Eat beans and
oatmeal for fiber. Eat fish and poultry for protein unless you are vegetarian. If you are
vegetarian, I can't tell you specifics, but I know many people live long happy lives as
vegetarians.

Exercise at least thirty minutes three times per week. Cycling is wonderful exercise.

I know I'll get flamed, or at least this will become a long tortured thread. But the more I read
about nutrition, the more ideas converge into the simple advice above.

And I enjoy the occasional bag of Cheetos or Fritos.

"wle" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

say you ride, oh, 26 miles a day.

according to some calculations, that would be roughly 1300 calories needed just to power
the bike.

is it ok to eat what would normally be considered junk food, to get these calories?

Per Elmsäter said:

wle said:

say you ride, oh, 26 miles a day.

according to some calculations, that would be roughly 1300 calories needed just to power
the bike.

is it ok to eat what would normally be considered junk food, to get these calories?

assume the daily requirements of vitamins, proteins, minerals, etc are met by other, decent food.
and assume you don;t want or need to lose any weight.

i mean, don;t the muscles run on sugar? what would be wrong with getting the extra calories right
from sugar?

what about fat?

just wondering, wle.

The people in my club that do the Randonneur thing ( Ultra long distances) eat almost nothing but
junkfood on their rides.

I believe it has to do with when you are eating the junkfood. On your ride and immediately after
it your body can handle sugar bombs without raising the insulin level. Between rides we should eat
what is normally considered healthy food.

As for riding 26 miles a day you don't really need to eat or drink anything extra, since you have
enough stored carbs for that ride and you can drink water before and after your ride, unless
exceptionally hot ofcourse.

I forgot to mention. Maybe we define junkfood differently on this side of the atlantic. For me
junkfood on a ride would be like a chocolate bar instead of a powerbar, maybe fruitcake and coffee
at a stop. Fritos and all that other [censored] is pretty much unheard of on this side of the pond. I'll
have sandwiches made out of white bread during a ride and sandwiches made out of whole wheat and
other heavier meals when not riding.

--
Perre

You have to be smarter than a robot to reply.

Tim McNamara said:

Per Elmsäter said:

The people in my club that do the Randonneur thing ( Ultra long distances) eat almost nothing but
junkfood on their rides.

I found in the brevet series and at PBP this year that junk food did not work well at all, in fact
it harmed my performance. Some of this may be acclimation- as my wife worked for 14 years at a
natural foods co-op and now works in promoting sustainable agriculture, my diet tends to consist
of whole grain/vegetable based/organic/yadda yadda stuff.

Apart from generally tasting better and being more satisfying to eat, I find that junk food
doesn't sit well in my stomach.

All right, I don't like responding to my own posts but I have to correct this statement as it was
terribly written. Junk food doesn't taste as good to me nor is it as satisfying to eat as, say, a
baked sweet potato. The latter is a bit difficult to manage on a bike, though, I must admit. Real
food tastes better, IMHO. Junk food tastes like what it is.

Tim McNamara said:

Q.' LostVideos-AT-hotmail.com said:

A human beings natural lifespan is about 40 years.

And on what do you base this astonishing revelation?

His key word was "natural". That is, wild (not domesticated) [censored] sapiens in their natural (not
modern) environment.

In some places, it's even less than 40. Take a look at this:
en.wikipedia.orgDemographics of ZambiaOpen ↗

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 35.25 years male: 35.25 years female: 35.25 years (2003 est.)

total population:37.24 years male:37.08 years female:37.41 years (2000 est.)

It's going down! They're living SHORTER there. Pretty soon, nobody there will survive childhood.
--
Rick Onanian