Home » Community » Forums » Open Discussion

Nutrition for Cyclists

Submitted by otterit on Sat, 05/23/2009 - 21:57.
I started riding religiously during the winter. (Yep. I was out there in the teens.) I am also trying to lose weight at a healthy rate. With the nicer weather, I have found myself going on long, more challenging rides and improving my stamina. Unfortunately, the extra miles on the bike have made my weight loss plateau. I find myself EXTREMELY hungry the rest of the day and I pack in the calories to make-up for the ride. (I could eat a large pizza for every 35 mile ride.) I understand it is important to keep the engine (me) fueled properly before and after a ride. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can keep myself full throughout the day without packing in the calories after a hard ride? Thanks!!
‹ RE Lance Armstrong Goes for 8 - Video Job Opportunity ›
»

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.

Thanks!!

Submitted by otterit on Thu, 06/11/2009 - 16:52.
Great response. I agree with the longer ride theory. I find myself enjoying the extra miles, but find myself being challenged only a few times on the route. I believe I am going to try an incorporate more hill rides and more strenuous stretches that are less miles but more intense. My goal will be to keep my heart-rate up for a longer period of time and challenge myself that way. HOPEFULLY my body will not crave as much food than the longer ride. Side note: I'm also doing weightwatchers and I can easily see where I am "failing". The problem I feel drained if I don't refuel after the longer ride. Have a great weekend. Stay dry!
»

PPTC website articles

Submitted by currie on Thu, 06/11/2009 - 07:06.

You can also read three articles in the "Feature" section of this website:

»

Riding and Weight loss

Submitted by GeoCMoore on Mon, 06/01/2009 - 08:59.
What you mention is a common problem. I weighed 40-50 lbs more than I do now in the early 90s and tried to lose it riding. It didn't work. By 2003, I weighed 80 pounds more than I do now, and lost most of that weight over a 9 months period.

I found that the best formula for weight loss was to carefully balance a calorie budget (intake - basal metabolism - exercise burn). I also found that burning only about 500C per day during the weight loss period, but doing that 5-6 days per week, made it easier to manage intake.

Key factoids:
  • It takes a defiit of 3500 C to loose 1 pound.
  • If you ride fairly "hard" you probably burn > 500C per hour, but if you ride "easy" you may burn < 250. You need to know how much you're burning to achieve the right balance of intake and burn. Solution = Heart rate monitor.
  • To have enough energy to ride long (100-250 miles) you only need to replace about 1/3 of the C you burn after the first hour. (Plus you need to eat regular meals if the ride is long enough for that to matter).
  • For a ride that burns less than 1000C, or lasts less than 90 minutes, you probably don't need to eat anything extra to avoid bonking.

IMO, long rides tend to have the effect you describe -- they can encourage weight gain, rather than loss. Each of the last four years, as I build up to my longer rides, I put on weight, which I then have to take off over the winter. In winter I do shorter, more regular rides.

I also have a theory that hunger (in addition to being purely psychological), can come from dietary deficiencies other than calories. Wouldn't it make sense that if your body were short of some key nutrient, that it would tell you to eat more? So making sure you are getting healthy food with all the right nutrients may help, IMO. But, I've not seen any research on this.

Here are some resources that you might find useful:

  • www.dietpower.com has software to help track overall nutrient and calorie balance.
  • Eat, Drink and Be Healthy is a book by Willett (Harvard School of Public Health) with really sound advice of why and how to control weight AND get good nutrition. This is my favorite book for eating for weight control.
  • The Cyclist's Food Guide by Clark and Hegmann is recommended by the Ultra Marathon Cycling Association, and has a chapter on "how to loose weight and have the energy to ride".
  • I find Endurance Sports Nutrition by Eberle to be my favorite book for understanding how to manage all aspects of eating for riding (to avoid the "bonk"), including eating before, during and after the ride.
»

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.