Eating Question

I've finally gotten really frustrated with feeling gross after I finish a ride. If I ride for an hour (at for me, a good exercise pace), within 10 minutes of stopping, I feel gross (stomach ache, mostly). But if I keep riding, I feel fine. And if I stop after 2 hours, within ten minutes, I feel gross.

So, I'm guessing I need to eat something, probably about 45 minutes into riding? And every half hour after?

The question is, what does the non-gross feeling trick, is reasonably easy to carry on the bike and eat, doesn't have so many calories that I'll feel bad, and actually tastes good?

(I do drink some chocolate soy milk and usually eat something after I get home, which usually helps, but by that time, I can be feeling pretty gross, so I'd appreciate some yummy suggestions, please!)

Thanks, all :)

not sure what feeling gross means. Are you drinking enough?
how much do you eat before the ride, and how far before the ride do you eat it?

A couple of Fig Newtons? Or find a granola bar you like? A banana?

I too am confused by the term 'gross'. What exactly do you mean? Nausea? Upset stomach, as in cramps? Weakness or faintness? What?

Oops, sorry! Nauseated. I feel like throwing up. But if I keep riding, I feel great. But at some point, I have to stop, alas. I don't feel faint, or crampy, just feel like throwing up.

Fig Newtons are sounding yummy...

I think I drink enough water (a liter or so an hour, in not really hot weather, and not riding a race or anything). And I don't think I'm sweating enough to worry about electrolytes.

Before I ride, I usually have some protein and carbs (like some meat or cheese and some carb thing), but not tons.

Sometimes you can feel nauseous if you are pushing yourself too hard. It actually has to do with taxing your heart. Are you overdoing it perhaps?

Also...have you had your heart checked out? Just to be on the careful side....nausea 'can be' a warning sign of a heart attack, especially in women. Not wanting to scare you, but one of those vital facts to keep in mind.

On short rides you really shouldn't need to eat during the ride (unless you didn't eat before you began) but you should be drinking. If you are getting dehydrated it could explain your feeling sick. If water isn't enough, try an energy drink. I never need more than just water but my husbands sweats so much and gets dehydrated easily so he drinks gatorade and water.

In our bike classes we teach "eat before you are hungry and drink before you are thirsty".

If I'm hungry after a ride, I'm usually only able to eat something light. A granola bar, a piece of fruit (low acidity, preferably banana), some crackers or a handful of nuts. And wash it down with water. Once I've digested that, in about an hour, I'm able to eat a bigger meal.

A liter an hour? That's a LOT of water.

I drink a bottle an hour on mildly hot days (in the low 20s Celcius) and that's about 600 ml. More if it's really hot. Less most of the time (maybe 3/4 of a bottle an hour).

I get nauseated when my sodium is low, tomato juice always fixes that. Maybe you're also bordering on hyponatremic (low sodium - can kill you fast if taken to an extreme)?

Aquila, where are you riding? What type of riding? (mountain, road, hard, easy?)

For me, a liter an hour is nothing when I ride in the mountains or the desert. But here on the east coast, a liter will last a few hours. Everyone is different.

I had this gross feeling actually yesterday. The way I get rid of mine? Simple sugars. Jellybeans, hard candy, anything to get your blood sugar up in a hurry. Energy drinks do the same but over the years I found that when I feel really bad (ie totally depleted) I need sugar. And I can't stand candy any other time (except chocolate) so I got plenty of easter candy still to burn through.

If you can, see a sports medicine person. This was one of the things they told me about when I went to see them for some other things. The last thing I would of eaten was jellybeans. So whatever works...

Yes, everyone is different. I'll sweat out a liter an hour when the temperature is in the high 70s, right here in the East. When it's hot, sweat literally pours off my body.

But a liter an hour is plenty to need to replace electrolytes during a 2 hour ride. I usually need one bottle of electrolyte replacement drink to every 2-3 bottles of water.

Hi again, everyone!

Thanks for the helpful suggestions.

I may be wrong about the liter: I finish a bottle, and I just assumed it was a liter until I read Grog's comment.

I ride in the upper midwest, semi-rural Wisconsin, which has bunny slopes compared to the Sierras and stuff, but I try to ride up them just for the fun of riding down! I ride road, not very fast, but I try to make myself feel good and tired after an hour or so. (18 miles today on the bike trail.)

I tried taking along a luna bar today, and had a bite every five miles, and another after the ride, and I didn't feel gross at all. So maybe it is a lot of water on an empty stomach, or just needing a bite here and there?

(I'm a professor, and just returned from a semester abroad, where I walked lots, but didn't bike at all, so I'm getting back in. I've had the nausea problem after riding before, last year, but it was more noticable now after not riding for nearly six months.)

Thanks for the concern about my heart. I think the heart isn't the problem, but it's good to know that nausea can indicate heart issues. I'm thinking it's not my heart at this point because if I keep riding, I feel fine until a few minutes after I stop. And I'm fairly active and fit, and have regular physicals and stuff which have never found a problem (and good numbers on the bloodwork and stuff).

So, now I've picked up a couple different granola bars and fig newtons to take along and try out for taste and effect. (The luna bars are almost burningly sweet, which is weird.)

Thanks again for all the helpful suggestions, and BIKE ON! :)

You shouldn't really need to eat on an 18 mile ride. I think a lot of people eat way more than they need to on the bike. Human beings have metabolisms, the ability to store energy and utilize energy as needed, we don't need to eat constantly on the bike.

With that being said, I personally drink my calories on a long ride. I use mostly protein shakes. Mine are carb free cuz I have impaired glucose tolerance but my husband uses a protein-carb drink that he likes a lot. I'll also snack on almonds as needed.