Newbie Nutrition Question
So I've been riding for about three months. Right now my long rides are around 50 miles on Saturdays. I ride with some more experienced riders, and all of them seem convinced that if I don't start consuming things like HammerGel and Accelerade I'm going to turn into a pumpkin. Well, they say I'm going to "bonk". What is at issue is not that I am not consuming calories on the bike, just that I'm not consuming them in "sports nutrition" form.
I just don't see spending my hard-earned money on high tech sports food. I eat a decent meal ahead of time and have been drinking Gatorade (made from powder) and water, and eating fig newtons, bananas, and Clif bars. I suppose according to current "theory" I'm supposed to be consuming some protien too, but there's protien in the clif bar. I also for the most part can't have whey protien unless it's the isolate type because I'm lactose intolerant.
Am I making some terrible mistake? Are these drinks somehow superior to Gatorade? I suppose if my stomach were bothering me or I was unable to actually consume enough, that would be different. At least one of the guys I ride with is of the "expensive is better" school of thought and I get the impression that all their gels and drinks are part of their strange "I'm an athlete" thing. I also have the suspicion that if I could pay for a clinical trial of fig newtons and my homemade soy protien recovery drink, I could "prove" it's 44% better too.
forget the hype, it's just marketing
:) My vote is for simple, easy, non-expensive stuff too. For general training rides (30-50 miles) or endurance rides (60-90 miles), small slabs of dark fruit cake, wrapped in foil for easy unwrapping on the bike, work really well for me. It's packed full of energy that lasts. Drinks are full strength carb / electrolyte formulas (Staminade, with a scoop of Endura Recovery).
For short races (30-40 miles), or crits, I might use just the bidons with the formula, and I'd probably carry a gu or two for a short road race just in case.... and for longer rides both bidons with electrolyte / carb formulas, gus, and maybe banana, fruit cake, or fruit slice things (those ones that are just fruit and sugar in a bar). the harder the ride is going to be, the less solid I need my food to be - and the easier to digest.
After seeing a nutritionist really early on at the start of my first racing season, I found out that on an average eating day, I was barely, if at all, covering the energy used by my body, despite hoovering so much that I had colleagues and friends threaten to buy me a nose bag (like those used for horses) as every time anyone saw me I was eating :p I also found out that I needed to mix my carb / electrolyte formulas at full strength in order to keep my body topped up. Initially they tasted vile (way too strong and sickly), but these days I love them - but only on the bike. Can't even stomach them off the bike. Funny how your body adapts and tells you what you need, hey? Good, too.
When I was just recreational and not as into the whole lifestyle thing required with full on riding / racing, I, like CorsairMac, used to crave fruit after a ride, apples, oranges, bananas, paw paw etc. I've since found out that the reason for this is that fruits contain lots of electrolytes which were being lost during the rides.
These days, post ride, I still like some fruit or fruit juice to kick start recovery, followed immediately by loads of water, and things like creamed rice, home-made high gi goodies like caramel rice bubble slice, pancakes drenched with honey and peanut butter, and yes, even a glass of (no, not chocolate) plain skim milk. An hour or two later I keep going with fresh fruits and vegies, complex carbs, and some proteins, along with loads more water throughout the day.
