biking on a full stomach

cycle-one said:

Of course it's best to let a heavy meal digest before strenuous exercise.
But either than a little gastric discomfort would there be anything
unhealthful in doing so?

As a rider who could be sitting on your wheel and downwind of your
improperly digesting meal I'd say Yes.

Of course not. The better shape you are in the more you can eat and
the sooner after eating you can exercise. It causes no physical harm
except side aches.

cycle-one said:

Of course it's best to let a heavy meal digest before strenuous exercise.
But either than a little gastric discomfort would there be anything
unhealthful in doing so?

I've found that riding really hard on a big meal gives me stomach cramps
and makes me feel like throwing up.

--
Home page: http://members.westnet.com.au/mvw

It takes all your circulatory capacity to ride hard and if part of
it is diverted to digesting food, both functions will be dimished.
That's what your mother or your coach would tell you. I suppose if you
were on the verge of having some major physiological breakdown, riding
soon after a big meal could push you over the edge. Most everyone else
wouldn't suffer more than a few cramps and an unpleasant feeling.

Back before someone told me you weren't supposed to work out just
after eating, I did it all the time and noticed no ill effects. At age
17, I won a cross-country run in gym class, just 30 minutes after
finishing my usual 3,000 calorie lunch. Nowadays, I don't have a hard
workout until 6 hours have passed after eating. Most of the necessity
for this is probably only in my head.

I would think that a full belly would make it harder to assume a
full racing crouch on a bike. I doubt if cavemen gave any consideration
to this issue. After gorging on the carcase of a wild boar, they were
probably off and running again.

Steve McDonald

cycle-one said:

Of course it's best to let a heavy meal digest before strenuous exercise.
But either than a little gastric discomfort would there be anything
unhealthful in doing so?

For mellow rides, it doesn't seem to matter for me, but if I'm going to
do a high-intensity workout, I never do well if I eat within ~2 hours
of the workout.

-JR

cycle-one said:

Of course it's best to let a heavy meal digest before strenuous
exercise. But either than a little gastric discomfort would there be
anything unhealthful in doing so?

You could puke or pass out, if you tackle a big enough hill with a heavy
enough meal in your stomach.

OughtFour said:

cycle-one said:

Of course it's best to let a heavy meal digest before strenuous
exercise. But either than a little gastric discomfort would there be
anything unhealthful in doing so?

You could puke or pass out, if you tackle a big enough hill with a heavy
enough meal in your stomach.

Mind you many of us could do that even without having eaten. 🙂
John Kane, Kingston ON Canada

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

Quoted message said:

It takes all your circulatory capacity to ride hard and if part of
it is diverted to digesting food, both functions will be dimished.
That's what your mother or your coach would tell you. I suppose if you
were on the verge of having some major physiological breakdown, riding
soon after a big meal could push you over the edge. Most everyone else
wouldn't suffer more than a few cramps and an unpleasant feeling.

I don't _think_ I'm near the edge :-O

Really all I've ever felt is a little bloated stomach churn - not even
cramps. Usually it's worked through in 40 minutes or so.

Actually I've noticed more of an issue doing something that requires more
upper body effort, say swimming. Cycling on a full stomach is little more
than a minor discomfort.

"OughtFour" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:Sfuwf.8931$rG5.977@trndny02...

Quoted message said:

cycle-one said:

Of course it's best to let a heavy meal digest before strenuous
exercise. But either than a little gastric discomfort would there be
anything unhealthful in doing so?

You could puke or pass out, if you tackle a big enough hill with a heavy
enough meal in your stomach.

Never puked. Never passed out. Never went beyond mild discomfort. Of course
I think the self-preservation instinct would kick in and if I did that feel
that bad I'd get off the bike.

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

Quoted message said:

I doubt if cavemen gave any consideration
to this issue. After gorging on the carcase of a wild boar, they were
probably off and running again.

I would think the obvious. Unless chased by sabertooth tigers or other
Alley Oops Joe Caveman would lounge on the savannah digesting his meal after
gorging on pig.