What do you eat?

[Squeaky]

What's your tried and true eating plan for long rides? What do you eat the night before, 2 hours before, and during? Bicycling.com has some great tips, and there's the usual dinner of pasta, but I'm wondering if there's anything unique you've discovered?

I seem to crash a lot lately (feels like my blood sugar drops) even tho I've eaten well throughout the day. Somedays, I get about 10 miles and feel like if I don't have something, I'm going to die (well, maybe not die exactly). I don't remember it being this dramatic before beginning thyroid medication, but I could be wrong. Maybe I should just have 1/2 an energy bar before a ride regardless of how hungry I feel?

I'm doing a century in 2 weeks and the last thing I want to do is bonk after only a short distance.

[KnottedYet]

I have a problem with blood sugar crashes, too.

Dinner is usually a small thing for me, so I don't have anything to say about that.

If I eat a huge protein laden breakfast that helps me. I also eat every half hour or so on the bike (generally Clif Shot Blox, which for some reason don't make me do the blood sugar roller coaster) and try to eat half a Larabar at rest stops.

I've also found that if I drink a sugary electrolyte mix (Clif lemonade is my current favorite) instead of water that helps keep me on an even keel.

Seems like it's a matter of experimentation and finding what your body likes. Now that I've found something that works for me, I'm very reluctant to change ANYTHING.

[velocilex]

I usually eat something highly carby the night before a long ride (usually pasta). The morning of the ride I eat a bagel of some sort, a nice big glass of juice and a coffee. I take with me a couple boiled eggs (and a little salt in a baggie) and a pack of peanut butter and cheese crackers. I keep one water bottle with water, the other with Gator-aid. Depending on the weather and the difficulty of the route (lotsa hills or not), I may not even eat all that I bring with me. I *always* keep a packet of Gu in my under-the-seat wedge just in case I really bonk and need a little something to get me to the next rest stop or home. It took me a while to find my food-to-energy balance, but I find I don't need to eat nearly as much/as often as I did when I was just starting out.

[Cassandra_Cain]

I'm one of those, perhaps odd, people who have no problem eating a fair bit before a ride.

Sometimes after I get home from work, I'll readily eat a good 400-600 calories immediately prior to heading out for a ride. It isn't really a factor. On rare instances, I may feel I've eaten too much and then my HR gets a bit higher, but it goes away fairly quickly. Riding without eating enough is definitely a problem for me.

While on the bike for a long ride, I try very hard to anticipate hunger. The moment I even ponder for a second, 'am I hungry?', you know, that time where you aren't sure.....I'll just eat. Usually I take energy bars a la, Luna, Cliff, etc. I just haven't gotten into gels and such, for some people they work great I'm sure.

So the night before a very long ride, I just try to eat a good bit. Lots of carbohydrates and another thing, lots of liquids....even if it means I have to get up at 3 am to pee. Breakfast before, is more of the same, and it usually nets me a good 3 hours before I have to eat anything.

Don't worry too much, just decide what you want to do and keep a record - then if it doesnt work out, you'll know for the future.

Good luck with your century.

[Nanci]

My best dinner the night before is chicken chow mein, so then I can have my favorite breakfast, chicken chow mein. Bland, carbs, protein, lasts a long time into the morning!

Second favorite breakfast is bowtie pasta tossed in butter with capers and sun dried tomatoes. I make it the day before and reheat it. Any flavored milk.

Third favorite breakfast is any flavored milk and sushi.

Fourth favorite breakfast is Egg McMuffin or Breakfast Burritos from McDonalds.

During the ride, I drink Gatorade as thirst dictates. I take electrolyte supplements. I eat about one pack of Jelly Belly Sport Beans every hour- 100 calories. At stops, I usually eat Pringles or Cape Cod Kettle Cooked potato chips. Sometimes Funyums. Often string cheese. Choc milk when it's not hot. Sometimes I carry sushi for lunch. Later in the day I like Coke, Coke Blak, or Coke Icees at my stops. I usually stop every 20-30 miles. But I always have something readily available in my Bento box for when I get that feeling like I'm going to die if I don't eat that second.

I always drink choc milk immediately when done as a recovery drink. I used to drink R4, but choc milk is roughly the same, and easier to get.

Nanci

[mtbdarby]

Squeky, how long have you been on your meds? Are you hypo or hyper? I'd guess hypo since it's more common. It's gonna be a moving target until your thyroid stabilzes because that regulates your metabolism. Too hypo or hyper and you're extremely tired and sluggish.

Get plenty of rest. I found I had more energy in the morning. Nap before, nap after if you have too. Most important is to listen to what your body is telling you. The nutrition advice already given is great so you'll have to find what works for you. You may have to rest more at stops or take little power naps (I used to be able to do that, can't seem to anymore).

Keep checking in with your endo or whoever is regulating your meds. Make sure to keep your own chart on what dosage your at, the lab results and how you feel. The "normal" range is all relative. I'm hyper and feel best at the very high part of the range. Good luck and keep us posted.

[han-grrl]

i ate differently than i did for my 24 hour solo race...

My long rides i bring along - bananas, dried fruit, fig newtons and pop tarts...i bring gels as an emergency. I think gels and specialty bars are too expensive, and IMO real food is better. bars are more convenient i guess....i eat every hour starting after the first hour. i also bring a bottle or two of eload.

during my race i ate snacks every lap (roughly every 1:30): powdered donuts, fig newtons and chips and granola bars (the harvest crunch salty sweet ones). every 3rd lap i ate a meal: plain pasta with oil and cheese, or perogies with chicken bacon. every lap i had a good couple of cups of either eload or this new stuff called exelerate (they had it at the race, i had tried it before, it was quite good for me).

this seemed to work for me. every tummy is different. no fruit for me while i race. of any kind. nerves make fruit in me nasty.



H

[Squeaky]

I'm hypo and have been on the meds for about 6 months. Generally I feel okay except that I always seem hungry, and lower doses bring on the sluggishness and (more than usual) migraines. I guess it'll take some time to get it all dialed in. I need to lose about 15 pounds, so I try to watch what I eat, but I definitely get enough calories. Maybe I'm not getting enough of the "right" calories, i.e., boring food .

[Steph]

I'm hypo too. One problem with that is your adrenal glands which affect endurance. You can read up on what you can do to strenghthen them, but I am trying just sea salt in the morning and vit c. I have also been taking something called Adreset by Metagenics. One other thing is to check your ferritin level. It is your iron stores. If those are low, your energy will suffer for sure. I have been on iron to get mine up.

[Squeaky]

I'm hypo too. One problem with that is your adrenal glands which affect endurance. You can read up on what you can do to strenghthen them, but I am trying just sea salt in the morning and vit c. I have also been taking something called Adreset by Metagenics. One other thing is to check your ferritin level. It is your iron stores. If those are low, your energy will suffer for sure. I have been on iron to get mine up.

So the Synthroid doesn't take care of the effects hypo has on your endurance? Oy, this is news to me. I'll check into the things you've listed. Thanks for the info.

[velogirl]

I had thyca. Pre-surgery I was very, very hypo. I'm now stabilized to a nice hyper level of supression (which is what you do with thyca patients). I've dropped back into hypo a couple of times, but mostly hyper-hyper!!!

When I first became hyper, I realized that I needed many more calories on the bike than I did when I was hypo. I just couldn't seem to get enough calories in me. I also found that the increase in body temp. caused me to sweat like crazy (even when it's freezing cold out) and so I seem to get dehydrated more than I did before.

It's a very fine balance. Be patient. Keep good notes in your journal. If you're hypo and on meds, you're probably actually a bit hyper now (or at least more hyper than you were before). That means your metabolic needs are increased, thus the hunger. However, this can be a double-edged sword. Many hyper folks actually gain weight even though their metabolism is revved, because they feed the hunger instinct.

[Steph]

So the Synthroid doesn't take care of the effects hypo has on your endurance?

In my experience no. I take Armour now. You can read some about it on stopthethyroidmadness.com. If Synthroid is working great for you, I'm not saying you should stop taking it. Just pay attantion to those adrenals and ferritin levels.