Diet

SchoolBoyError said:

Any help would be great. I pretty much cycle 20 miles 2 - 3 times during the week then 50ish at the weekend. I'm not eating anything different to what I did before (only got into cycling 6 - 8 weeks ago). The big question is should I change my diet? If so, to what? Thanks

You don't say what your diet is composed of now, so that makes answering the question kinda hard.

One thing is for sure. You can't sustain a healthy regime of exercise and expect performance gains on an unhealthy diet. One could eat 2000 calories a day of butter or 2000 calories a day of healthy food and elicit the same weight gain/loss/maintenance based on their calorie expenditure for the day. BUT, your body is going to use those calories in completely different levels of efficiency when exercising.

For 1-2 hrs of exercise, 3 days per week with a 3 hr day of exercise on the 4th day - you're not going to see a huge need for overall diet change. However, a healthy and balanced diet is going to make a world of difference. Then, when you're on the bike you can sustain your energy stores by eating 250-300 calories per hour with a decent electrolyte replenishment.

Thanks, Ok here goes typical day now:

Breakfast Bowl of Cerael - Rice Krispies or something like that
Lunch - 1 sandwich and some crisps
Dinner - Mash potatoe chicken peas and carrots
(Maybe a bowl of ice cream after dinner)
Supper - 1 sandwich and some crisps

Should I be aiming for small meals and lots of them? I really dont know much about this at all!! When I'm cycling I tend to take some nutri-grain bars with me.

NomadVW said:

You don't say what your diet is composed of now, so that makes answering the question kinda hard.

One thing is for sure. You can't sustain a healthy regime of exercise and expect performance gains on an unhealthy diet. One could eat 2000 calories a day of butter or 2000 calories a day of healthy food and elicit the same weight gain/loss/maintenance based on their calorie expenditure for the day. BUT, your body is going to use those calories in completely different levels of efficiency when exercising.

For 1-2 hrs of exercise, 3 days per week with a 3 hr day of exercise on the 4th day - you're not going to see a huge need for overall diet change. However, a healthy and balanced diet is going to make a world of difference. Then, when you're on the bike you can sustain your energy stores by eating 250-300 calories per hour with a decent electrolyte replenishment.

SchoolBoyError said:

Thanks, Ok here goes typical day now:

Breakfast Bowl of Cerael - Rice Krispies or something like that
Lunch - 1 sandwich and some crisps
Dinner - Mash potatoe chicken peas and carrots
(Maybe a bowl of ice cream after dinner)
Supper - 1 sandwich and some crisps

Should I be aiming for small meals and lots of them? I really dont know much about this at all!! When I'm cycling I tend to take some nutri-grain bars with me.

I'm a "diet" fanatic right now so I'll keep plugging away at this - with the disclaimer that I can tell you what is working for me. And by "diet" fanatic - I don't mean weight loss. For me, weight maintenance has been crucial over the last couple weeks which is harder than weight loss, imo.

My diet is comprised of 60% carbs, 15% protein and 25% fats (by calories).

This equates to a typical daily input of 8 g/kg of carbs, ~2 g/kg protein, and 1.5 g/kg of fats (keeping saturated fats below 10% of my daily caloric intake). This averages out to 4200ish calories per day on a weekly schedule that has me on the bike 16-17 hrs per week. While your amounts will be different based on calorie expenditure, I'd be confident saying the percentages will work for most anyone. But again, it's based on experience and not science.

If I know I have a long ride (5 hrs+) or long race (3-4+ hrs) coming, the day prior I'll reduce the fat intake and up the carb intake. Long race events, I'll "carb load" a day or two further out ( again - caloric intake remains the same, just a readjustment of where the calories are coming from ) - start Thursday-ish for a Saturday event.

It's said that your body has around 2000 calories of glycogen (i think this is the number) available at any time for use. So, on a typical day that will get me around 3 hours of ride time (low intensity) without negative effects on poor ride nutrition. High intensity riding is 2 hrs or less. Once you start to approach that level or certainly beyond it, if you're not replacing about 50% of the calories you're burning - you're going to suffer on the bike. This is why you should start re-nourishing your body about 15 minutes into a ride and then regularly throughout the ride.

How you re-supply your body while riding is going to be very personal. I can eat an energy bar and powergel per hour comfortably, but not all at once. It has taken many many miles to get a comforable re-supply routine for longer rides. Be willing to experiment with these techniques on rides of distances 1 1/2-2 hrs and find things that work. Once you have something that works, don't ever try something new on a long ride. Always try new things on shorter rides.

The best way to really find out what is going to work for you is to become a little anal retentive about your diet and start counting calories and weighing your food. My wife still giggles at me when I toss food on the scale to count calories and it complicates every meal I eat - especially eating out. But after a couple weeks of seeing what you're eating - both calories and nutrients - you'll get a good feel for what everything comes out to.

I recommend the "Diet and Exercise Assistant" ( http://www.keyoe.com/DEA_Desktop.htm ) - it's a companion to a PalmOS software, but it does everything a person watching their diet could want. The calories for cycling tend to be a little over-stated so without using a power meter, I would count calories based on a "40 calories per mile" basis.

Finally, "dieting" is not about losing weight. It can be about gaining weight and even maintaining weight. A healthy lifestyle includes smart exercise AND a smart diet.

I don't think your legs are "burning" because of your diet. They are burning because they aren't used to this workload and they are still adapting.

NomadVW said:

I'm a "diet" fanatic right now so I'll keep plugging away at this - with the disclaimer that I can tell you what is working for me. And by "diet" fanatic - I don't mean weight loss. For me, weight maintenance has been crucial over the last couple weeks which is harder than weight loss, imo.

My diet is comprised of 60% carbs, 15% protein and 25% fats (by calories).

This equates to a typical daily input of 8 g/kg of carbs, ~2 g/kg protein, and 1.5 g/kg of fats (keeping saturated fats below 10% of my daily caloric intake). This averages out to 4200ish calories per day on a weekly schedule that has me on the bike 16-17 hrs per week. While your amounts will be different based on calorie expenditure, I'd be confident saying the percentages will work for most anyone. But again, it's based on experience and not science.

If I know I have a long ride (5 hrs+) or long race (3-4+ hrs) coming, the day prior I'll reduce the fat intake and up the carb intake. Long race events, I'll "carb load" a day or two further out ( again - caloric intake remains the same, just a readjustment of where the calories are coming from ) - start Thursday-ish for a Saturday event.

It's said that your body has around 2000 calories of glycogen (i think this is the number) available at any time for use. So, on a typical day that will get me around 3 hours of ride time (low intensity) without negative effects on poor ride nutrition. High intensity riding is 2 hrs or less. Once you start to approach that level or certainly beyond it, if you're not replacing about 50% of the calories you're burning - you're going to suffer on the bike. This is why you should start re-nourishing your body about 15 minutes into a ride and then regularly throughout the ride.

How you re-supply your body while riding is going to be very personal. I can eat an energy bar and powergel per hour comfortably, but not all at once. It has taken many many miles to get a comforable re-supply routine for longer rides. Be willing to experiment with these techniques on rides of distances 1 1/2-2 hrs and find things that work. Once you have something that works, don't ever try something new on a long ride. Always try new things on shorter rides.

The best way to really find out what is going to work for you is to become a little anal retentive about your diet and start counting calories and weighing your food. My wife still giggles at me when I toss food on the scale to count calories and it complicates every meal I eat - especially eating out. But after a couple weeks of seeing what you're eating - both calories and nutrients - you'll get a good feel for what everything comes out to.

I recommend the "Diet and Exercise Assistant" ( keyoe.comDEA Desktop.htmOpen ↗ ) - it's a companion to a PalmOS software, but it does everything a person watching their diet could want. The calories for cycling tend to be a little over-stated so without using a power meter, I would count calories based on a "40 calories per mile" basis.

Finally, "dieting" is not about losing weight. It can be about gaining weight and even maintaining weight. A healthy lifestyle includes smart exercise AND a smart diet.

Wow! That was a+1 description. Something to mull over while in the saddle on my 50 - 60 mile runs. I'll give my 2¢ on what I've discovered: It works for me....

First, eat. Then eat. Then keep eating to ride as much as your riding. I eat small snacks/ meals all day. People actually joke about it at work. There's food in or around me all day.😄 I never once think about weight gain. I too keep weight maintanance as the goal as I'm not a competitor but a very hard trainer.

My diet is higher in carbs and protein, and low in fat. I'm over 40 and my doctor tells me my cholesterol is a little out of whack. Anyway, I also will eat before and after a ride. In fact after the ride is important for your body to heal the muscles you use. I'm 6'1" and maybe 165 -170 lbs. This has worked well for me for the last year and a half.

Distance and endurance I am finding out is a nutrition game, not so much about all that saddle time. But that helps too. Eat a diet of whole foods, it really does burn more efficiently. 🙂