No Carbs After Five

[Offthegrid]

This seems a bit silly to me. What's the difference in having a carb at 4:30 p.m. versus 5:30 p.m.?

Besides, if you're like me, you do some workouts at night. I can't imagine denying myself carbs are a spinning class or jogging intervals.

I'm not a dietitian, so take this for what it's worth, but I think aiming for a healthy balance of carbs, protein and fat is a better choice. Some swear by 40-30-30. I personally shoot for 50-55 carbs-25 (fat)-20 protein.

Also if you want to lose weight, I'm a big believer in tracking calories. I keep track of every bite (and drink) that goes in my mouth.

Best of luck!

[equus123]

here's my knowledge on the situation...

reducing carbohydrate intake while being an indurance athlete is very risky. please be careful or you will harm your system more than anything else you're doing.

if you're trying to lose weight, changing your mentality, i think, is 50 % of the equation. this is what i do every time i look at a piece of food or drink:

- Food is fuel for the body. Pure and simple, that's it.
- Is this food something I deserve to eat? Have I worked out to afford these calories or the extra calories in candy/chips/snacks/etc?
- How many calories are in it? If my resting metabolism is 1350 calories a day + # burned training = Total # calories I should eat to maintain current body weight. If you're trying to lose weight, take the Total # and subtract 500 calories and that's the healthy way to lose weight.
- Food is fuel. It doesn't have to be indulgent, it doesn't have to taste good, it doesn't have to fill you up, it doesn't have to be pretty. I actually prefer food that doesn't taste delicious because it's way easier to back off when I start to get full and prevents me from craving more when I've eaten the proper serving size for me.

I guess I'm doing something right if I've been able to maintain the same body weight +/- 1 pound over the last year. It's all in your head. If you think you're hungry, you're going to make yourself hungry. If you think that you've had enough based on the numbers - then force yourself that you've had enough.

[RoadRaven]

Thanks so much for all the responses.
I really appreciate it.

han-grrl... yes, eating regularly and often is something I try to do. I think my metabolism is more efficient now that I am eating only when hungry which has effectively meant smaller but more frequent "meals".

CycleChic... oh absolutely, I'm sure alot of my hunger last night was mental. My son had cooked a big lot of delish pasta... *Raven drools* (I did have a bit this morning after I got back from my early ride.

Veronica... I have tried cutting portions at night, and not eating dessert except for very occasionally... but eating smaller evening portions seems to be keeping me at a steady weight but no longer helping me lose it.

koala... I appreciate your story. Its a very valid one and good reminder for anyone who is altering their food habits. I am aware that we do need them though. I am not increasing my training volume at the moment - just the type of training I will be doing. I have every intention of eating carbs the evening before a race... I figure I want every advantage and if "no carbs after five" works for me, then one evening before a high energy/power output race the next day should not interfere.
Thankyou also for your feedback on my racing. I have certainly improved alot - comparing this year's efforts to a year ago, I am so much faster and stronger. But at 5'10" and weighing in at 100kg, I still can afford to drop some weight.

Offthegrid... yup, my thoughts too when I first heard about this - why 5pm? why not 4? or 6:45? But I think the idea is that many people (and I fall into this group) do not exercise in the evening. I prefer morning rides, and if I have to start later, I like to be all done no later than about 4 in the afternoon.
So, what happens is people come home from work/whatever, have a big meal of potatoes or pasta and then watch telly and then go to bed. All those carbs are converted and stored as fat.

And equus... I absolutely agree... food is fuel. Although this is something I have always known, it took this forum to truly help me see that food was not my enemy - something to hide from or to crave or to be guilty about. It is fuel, and I need to feed/refuel efficiently and effectively and sensibly... This is such a good summary of this idea, thank you for posting it so well, equus.

[equus123]

you're welcome i'm glad i could help

[CycleChic06]

- Is this food something I deserve to eat? Have I worked out to afford these calories or the extra calories in candy/chips/snacks/etc?
.

This is an idea that caught my eye. Everyone looks at dieting or eating right their own way, but I think looking at food like you "deserve" to eat it because you worked out today is the wrong way of looking at it. There have been lots of articles recently showing that people who excersize more tend to take in more calories than those who just eat healthy. As in, I ran an extra 2 miles today, I'm allowed to eat that cookie. There have also been discussions here about how many cyclists (or bike riders...whatever) tend to overestimate the number of calories they burn during a ride.

We need to move away from thinking of food as something we deserve and, as many women do, as a way to comfort ourselves, and more in the direction of what we need to sustain a healthy living style. Does this make sense? I'm not sure I'm explaining myself well.

[equus123]

to clarify my point of view - my perspective comes from maintaining my current weight. i'm as low as i want to go and i just want to keep it. if i do have a hard or long ride one day i will tend to eat bigger meals that may have some yummier stuff (yummier usually means less healthy) instead of being as strict as i usually am because i now feel like i deserve to eat these kinds of food - i worked my *** off that day and i'm gonna eat what i want dammit. that's what i mean by "deserving".

[RoadRaven]

CycleChic and equus... I see both your perspectives... and here's my "take" on it.

If you are limiting your food intake in order to lose weight, then it is inevitable that some of the things you want you will not be able to have.

However, in order to stick to a tough regimen, I think it is also important to give yourself permission to have a "treat" every now and again - whether its a pizza or its double choc-chip extra creamy icecream. If you never allow it, you will crave that thing.

So I think its just word-smithing... yes, limiting our food intake is part of what needs to happen if we are to change shape or lose weight... but eliminating fave foods forever is not achievable.

I have a moro bar waiting in the fridge for me... I got it in my "pack" at the Sunday race. At the moment I don't feel like it, and part of me doesn't want to eat it regardless. It is there for when I want to eat it. A couple of years ago I would have eaten it within the hour of receiving it, and then felt guilty about it for days (possibly weeks). Now I know I will savour and enjoy it when I do eat it, and know also that I "deserve" it because not only have I listened to my body, I have done loads of cycling and been eating sensibly as well.

[equus123]

yes

[CycleChic06]

to clarify my point of view - my perspective comes from maintaining my current weight. i'm as low as i want to go and i just want to keep it. if i do have a hard or long ride one day i will tend to eat bigger meals that may have some yummier stuff (yummier usually means less healthy) instead of being as strict as i usually am because i now feel like i deserve to eat these kinds of food - i worked my *** off that day and i'm gonna eat what i want dammit. that's what i mean by "deserving".

I was just trying to open up what I find an interesting area of debate related to road raven's question.

[equus123]

gotchya...

[GLC1968]

This is an idea that caught my eye. Everyone looks at dieting or eating right their own way, but I think looking at food like you "deserve" to eat it because you worked out today is the wrong way of looking at it. There have been lots of articles recently showing that people who excersize more tend to take in more calories than those who just eat healthy. As in, I ran an extra 2 miles today, I'm allowed to eat that cookie. There have also been discussions here about how many cyclists (or bike riders...whatever) tend to overestimate the number of calories they burn during a ride.

We need to move away from thinking of food as something we deserve and, as many women do, as a way to comfort ourselves, and more in the direction of what we need to sustain a healthy living style. Does this make sense? I'm not sure I'm explaining myself well.

I agree 100%. 'Deserve' is a word I am trying to eliminate from my nutritional vocabularly! As an example... When I started riding, I was already in very good shape. I wanted to lose about 8-10 lbs to get lean (down to 17% BF), but I was still quite fit. I have been riding for 2 years now and instead of losing weight, I've gained it. I'm now 15 lbs over where I started and 99% of it is because of this mental game I started playing with myself. "I just burned 2000 calories today...I deserve to eat what I want". Wrong. Whether or not my calorie burn is accurate is irrelevant when I am eating 3 times what I am burning because I've told myself I deserve it. It's a vicious cycle that I need to break.

Anyway, just my 0.02.

I do whole heartedly agree that you should tailor your intake to your activity levels. On days you burn more, eat more. On days you rest, eat less. By being smart about where in your training that you consume your calories, you can avoid severe hunger pains, killer cravings and most importantly, bonking. (Now I just need to take my own advice! )

[lph]

you can avoid severe hunger pains, killer cravings and most importantly, bonking.

Hee-hee... ok, I have a dirty mind...

Did you know that "bonking" in England is slang for, well, what I thought offthegrid was talking about when she said "some of us do workouts at night".

To get back on topic - I'm a huge fan of the idea that food is fuel. Tank up often, with small amounts of quality fuel, and your body will be happy

[RoadRaven]

Hee-hee... ok, I have a dirty mind...

Did you know that "bonking" in England is slang for, well, what I thought offthegrid was talking about when she said "some of us do workouts at night".

LOL, lph.
That was the funniest thing when we came ( can I say that???) to cycling to!
Everybody was obsessed with talking about boking and how to avoid it.

In NZ, lots of people say "hit the wall", but I am hearing bonking more and more from many!!

[equus123]

I have been riding for 2 years now and instead of losing weight, I've gained it. I'm now 15 lbs over where I started and 99% of it is because of this mental game I started playing with myself.

did you wear a HR monitor or something to measure calories burned so you could get a better gage??

[GLC1968]

did you wear a HR monitor or something to measure calories burned so you could get a better gage??

Yep, always. It's a mental thing for me. I know what I burn (within reason), and I know when I'm overeating and yet I do it anyway. DH thinks it's the 'fat girl' in me that I have not yet quite beaten into submission with broccoli and frozen chicken breasts!