No Carbs After Five

[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

[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??

[caligurl]

I'm one of those a calorie is a calorie people.

me, too..... i divide my calories out so i CAN eat a snack around 7:30 or 8:00 p.m.... it's all about calories in/calories burned....

[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!!

[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!

[equus123]

hahaha nice

[HappyAnika]

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.

I can relate to this. Last year was my first year cycling and I was hoping it would help me drop some weight, even though I was already in pretty good shape. I gained 7 pounds. After a 4 hour ride I felt I could justify eating a huge plate of greasy mexican food. I remember the day I first rode 50 miles and "rewarded" myself with a plate of fettuccine alfredo, one of my most favorite things to eat, which I hadn't had in years because of the guilt factor. I was eating way too much to compensate for what I was burning.

On the other hand I agree with RR that if you say "I will never eat x", then you crave and obsess about it. At least I do. (Mmmm, cake). So I managed to avoid the fettuccine alfredo for about 6 years, which is surprising. It just would have been a good thing if I didn't eat the entire plate when I let myself have it.

I'll be purchasing a heart rate monitor within the next couple of months to get a better idea of how many calories I'm actually burning. Calorie/food tracking helped me get a handle on how many calories I'm consuming. And at 1500 - 1700 calories a day with all the excerise I get, I must have the world's lowest base metabolic rate. I like to say I defy the laws of thermodynamics.

[GLC1968]

And at 1500 - 1700 calories a day with all the excerise I get, I must have the world's lowest base metabolic rate. I like to say I defy the laws of thermodynamics.

You and me both! While I know that I've been eating too much since I picked up biking...that wasn't always the case.

Before I started riding, I was working out an average of 500 vigorous minutes a week (70% of max HR, not including warm-ups and cool-downs), eating about 1400 - 1600 calories a day of GOOD quality real food, and not losing weight. That would be a little easier to understand if I were VERY close to goal (or already very lean) but I still had plenty of fat to lose. I was even careful to do plenty of heavy weight lifting (30% strength, 70% cardio) and even after 8 weeks or so...nothing. It sucked!

I think that's why I can't 'buckle down' now. I'm afraid of seeing that again. I think now, my twisted brain is figuring that if I don't try...I can't fail.

[caligurl]

OK... i'm happy now!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i thought i was the only one that GAINED weight after taking up cycling!

phew... it's NOT just me!

*doing the happy dance*

uh..... no offense ladies... but misery loves company!!!!!

[HappyAnika]

GLC, I'm glad I'm not the only one who eats well, exercises, but still can't drop weight. Sometimes it certainly feels like I'm the only one. DH can add just a tiny bit to his workout routine and drop pounds instantly. I guess I have genetics to blame. But its frustrating that I have to put so much effort in just to maintain and it seems impossible to lose. Although I did manage to lose 6 of those 7 pounds when we went into the off season. So right now I'm not riding, nor am I overeating to "compensate" for the extra exercise. I'm back to my aerobics/jogging/stair climbing/weight lifting routine. So I plan to have the HR monitor before March or April when I hit the roads again.

(Did I mention our trainer is in our unheated, detached garage? I refuse to go ride the trainer when its 9 degrees outside like its been lately. Will this snow ever melt? ).

[MomOnBike]

I'm another one who rides long slow distances (the fat-burning rides, I'm told), thinks she is controlling what she is putting in her mouth, and still can't drop an ounce.

"Oh, but it's muscle weight!" I hear. Humph! Muscle, fat or bags of gold are still weight that slows me down on hills. Gravity doesn't care. Though, come to think of it, that bag of gold could prove useful...

Yes, I'm frustrated.

My thought on no carbs after 5:00, or whatever, is that you are just eating less, which would make the difference.

Having watched my mother on all her fad diets over the years, I have a very skeptical view of diet plans. So far as I can tell, they just don't work - at least none of them did for her for any significant amount of time - and following them can do some strange things to your shopping. (Remembering the lamb-chop incident... )

[RoadRaven]

So far as I can tell, they just don't work - at least none of them did for her for any significant amount of time - and following them can do some strange things to your shopping. (Remembering the lamb-chop incident... )

The lambchop incident???

[Tuckervill]

- 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 just have to say that life would not be worth living if I looked at food this way.

Oh yes, sometimes food has to be just what's available and makes sense, but it should always taste good. If it doesn't taste good, why eat it?

As far as the topic, I've heard Bob Greene say to stop eating 2-3 hours before bedtime, which has to do with not needing the instant energy you get from a meal during sleep (your body just sends it to fat for later, instead). If you go to bed at 7:30, then the 5:00 thing might make sense. But if you go to bed at 10:00, eat by 6:30 or so and you should be fine--according to Bob Greene (and other places I've read that, too).

It sounds like the "no carbs after 5" idea is resting on the same principle, that the quick energy that carbs provide are not needed when you are resting or sedentary, so don't consume them. Five o'clock seems rather arbitrary, though.

Karen

[CycleChic06]

I just have to say that life would not be worth living if I looked at food this way.

Oh yes, sometimes food has to be just what's available and makes sense, but it should always taste good. If it doesn't taste good, why eat it?

I think it's all perspective. Sure, I don't want to eat gruel for the rest of my life even if it would mean I would lose 20lbs. But if I think of food as purely fuel I need to survive, I will eat only what I need, or at least less. It's a mindset.