Post-ride weight loss?

ElPerro said:

Did my longest ride ever on Saturday, 83 miles and could have gone the "other" 17 if I'd had another hour or so (considering that I bought the road bike in October and could barely get it around the block, I'm kind of pleased with the progress....) In any case, it was a hot, very humid, day and I lost ten pounds on that ONE ride. I'm normally 170, so that's quite a bit. Five of the ten pounds were back by Sunday night, and the other five are back now.

I'm gonna guess that was water loss, but I did drink enough water (and a couple of Cokes too), so that I was never really thirsty. Is that normal? Other than being tired (duh), I felt fine after the ride. Seems kind of strange. I don't know if it's happened on any other longer rides, I just happened to step on the scale this time.

If you know your average speed and time you could figure it out. 10 pounds sounds high, but I guess its possible. What kinda bike you riding? Congrats on your new record.

ElPerro said:

Did my longest ride ever on Saturday, 83 miles and could have gone the "other" 17 if I'd had another hour or so (considering that I bought the road bike in October and could barely get it around the block, I'm kind of pleased with the progress....) In any case, it was a hot, very humid, day and I lost ten pounds on that ONE ride. I'm normally 170, so that's quite a bit. Five of the ten pounds were back by Sunday night, and the other five are back now.

I'm gonna guess that was water loss, but I did drink enough water (and a couple of Cokes too), so that I was never really thirsty. Is that normal? Other than being tired (duh), I felt fine after the ride. Seems kind of strange. I don't know if it's happened on any other longer rides, I just happened to step on the scale this time.

Here's an interesting topic that should give you more detail on this:

http://www.cyclingforums.com/t168136.html

IMO you need to hydrate better. When I was younger, I used to lose tons of weight on centuries, and the next day I would feel as if I'd been in a train wreck. I finally figured out that I wasn't drinking (or even eating) enough on long rides, so I made a concerted effort to drink more. My weight loss went down, my speed went up, and I felt a LOT better the next day.

So true, cydewaze, I've had similar experiences in hockey regarding hydration and feeling shot the next day. Remember those head pounding dehydration headaches? I used to suffer very badly before I figured out it was hydration. Doh!

KakenBetaal said:

So true, cydewaze, I've had similar experiences in hockey regarding hydration and feeling shot the next day. Remember those head pounding dehydration headaches? I used to suffer very badly before I figured out it was hydration. Doh!

that usually happens to me after logn races and over 100 mile training rides...but 10 pounds is alot!
was the last time you weighed yourself in the morning? because u are usally 2-4lbs lighter then..
also make sure your scale is not on carpet...
either way congrats no the long ride and weight loss!

Not me - ElPerro!

KakenBetaal said:

So true, cydewaze, I've had similar experiences in hockey regarding hydration and feeling shot the next day. Remember those head pounding dehydration headaches? I used to suffer very badly before I figured out it was hydration. Doh!

I remember those headaches well, but what really used to own me were the cramps. I remember one ride where I lost my seat pack (where my food and money resided before I started using my jersey pockets for such things) and I didn't realize it until I was over 50 miles out! By the time I got home, I was totally wasted. I recall laying on the carpet, muscles on the verge of cramping, and afraid to move because I was certain my body would tie itself in a knot. I couldn't stretch one muscle without the opposing muscle cramping, so I just laid there on my back, trying to convince my muscles not to cramp. That was hell.

As far as eating goes, on my last regular Saturday ride (68 miles) I added up all my Gu, Gel, and Power bar wrappers, and I had eaten 1000-1200 calories (not counting those in the Gatorade) and I was still STARVING after the ride. Riding consumed serious calories, that's for sure 😉

Oh wow, those cramps must really suck. I'm very lucky in that I hardly ever get them. I would have been stuffed if I'd not brought food on a ride like that since I'm diabetic, would have had a severe hypo.

On a hot/humid century training ride I would lose close to 10 pounds, and I was in the 170-175 range as well. I usually felt okay the next day, but I know I should have been drinking more. It is just hard when you are by yourself. You can only carry so much, and I hate stopping during a ride unless it is an absolute must ......

As an aside ....... on one ride, I definitely didn't bring enough food/liquid/money. I made it t seven miles from home and just bonked, I couldn't even do 10 mph on the flats ..........

I pulled over, fell on the grass and sat there for about ten minutes. Then I thumbed a ride from someone who had a car rack back to my neighborhood. But I still had to ride the mile home from the entrance.

Talk about brutal!!! I walked in the house and flopped on the couch. Didn't even take my shoes off .......... I had my brother get the phone and my wallet and I ordered a large Dominos right away. He paid for it when it came, and I (with a literal huge effort on my part) sat up to eat it. I ate the whole thing in about 10 minutes ..............

The next day I was sore, but not too bad.

Pizza - the ultimate recovery food. 😎

ElPerro said:

Did my longest ride ever on Saturday, 83 miles and could have gone the "other" 17 if I'd had another hour or so (considering that I bought the road bike in October and could barely get it around the block, I'm kind of pleased with the progress....) In any case, it was a hot, very humid, day and I lost ten pounds on that ONE ride. I'm normally 170, so that's quite a bit. Five of the ten pounds were back by Sunday night, and the other five are back now.

Sounds excessive. Either your measuring with some inaccuracies included or
you are failing to adequately hydrate, contrary to how you might feel.

In Oz, I prefer later starts so I end up riding in 40degC+ heat (in the shade)
and I rarely lose as much as you did. On the occasions that I have failed to
drink enough and lose 5kg after, say, 100k's.. I am VERY sorry about it. I get
the worst dehydration headaches.. they last the rest of the day and even
the next day I often don't feel too good. Drink more. 1L/hour in hot weather
at LEAST.

hippy

ElPerro said:

Did my longest ride ever on Saturday, 83 miles and could have gone the "other" 17 if I'd had another hour or so (considering that I bought the road bike in October and could barely get it around the block, I'm kind of pleased with the progress....) In any case, it was a hot, very humid, day and I lost ten pounds on that ONE ride. I'm normally 170, so that's quite a bit. Five of the ten pounds were back by Sunday night, and the other five are back now.

I'm gonna guess that was water loss, but I did drink enough water (and a couple of Cokes too), so that I was never really thirsty. Is that normal? Other than being tired (duh), I felt fine after the ride. Seems kind of strange. I don't know if it's happened on any other longer rides, I just happened to step on the scale this time.

You guys have to remember that it isn't only water weight that you lose on long rides... by the time you get finished with a long ride, your glycogen stores are seriously depleted.

your muscles and liver store quite a bit of glycogen, so the depletion + the water loss could easily add up to 10lbs if you don't eat and drink a ton on a long ride.

Thanks for all the good information. The glycogen is interesting, that probably explains why I craved the Cokes and sucked those things right down. I've pretty much chosen a route for my first century, which I'll do within the next couple of weeks, so I'll drink more Cokes and stop somewhere for something to eat.

Funny thing is that the 83 miles wasn't really that big of a deal, I felt far worse the first time I went 30 miles, and I don't think 100 miles will really be a big deal either. If ten months ago somebody had told me I'd be doing this, I'd have told them they were absolutely nuts.

Bike is a 2003 Lemond Buenos Aires and it has performed perfectly, couldn't be more pleased. I've put 2,500 miles on it and, other than a new set of tires, it's needed nothing. Great paint job as well, still looks new.

ElPerro said:

Thanks for all the good information. The glycogen is interesting, that probably explains why I craved the Cokes and sucked those things right down. I've pretty much chosen a route for my first century, which I'll do within the next couple of weeks, so I'll drink more Cokes and stop somewhere for something to eat.

Funny thing is that the 83 miles wasn't really that big of a deal, I felt far worse the first time I went 30 miles, and I don't think 100 miles will really be a big deal either. If ten months ago somebody had told me I'd be doing this, I'd have told them they were absolutely nuts.

Bike is a 2003 Lemond Buenos Aires and it has performed perfectly, couldn't be more pleased. I've put 2,500 miles on it and, other than a new set of tires, it's needed nothing. Great paint job as well, still looks new.

You probably don't want to drink coke... definitely not an optimal source for rehydration. The caffiene in coke won't be doing you any good whatsoever.

I would suggest something more along the lines of Gatorade + Water + Powerbars for your first century. I usually try to eat 1/2 a powerbar per hour on long rides... but that is just me.

What harm will caffeine be doing you?

KakenBetaal said:

What harm will caffeine be doing you?

Caffiene is a diuretic (it makes you pee) so it tends to dehydrate you. Consuming it during a ride won't hurt at all, but it's not an optimum source of pre or post ride hydration. That said, iced tea has lots of caffiene, and drinking it the day before a long ride doesn't seem to bother me personally, because it just makes me drink more. But I think that being aware of the dehydration effects is the key. I know what it does, so I deliberately drink more to compensate.