Need hydration advice

[ace]

Great advice, thanks everyone! I actually have some elete, but have never tried it. I probably should. See, when I'm riding, I really don't like eating. Drinking my calories is a lot easier.

I just did something that scared me. I looked at the body fat analysis I had done last year (I got tanked), and they worked up my caloric analysis for various activities. Based on that, I am burning 760 calories per hour if I'm biking 12-13.9 mph. So for three hours or so of riding, I burn 2300ish calories. Combining breakfast, my GU2O, and the GU I ate during the ride, I only took in 700 calories. Maybe just eating more will fix this.....I had no clue I was eating at such a deficit, because I don't get very hungry, and I don't feel tired. Just the headache.

[DarcyInOregon]

I just did something that scared me. I looked at the body fat analysis I had done last year (I got tanked), and they worked up my caloric analysis for various activities. Based on that, I am burning 760 calories per hour if I'm biking 12-13.9 mph. So for three hours or so of riding, I burn 2300ish calories. Combining breakfast, my GU2O, and the GU I ate during the ride, I only took in 700 calories. Maybe just eating more will fix this.....I had no clue I was eating at such a deficit, because I don't get very hungry, and I don't feel tired. Just the headache.

Ace, I hope you are doing solo rides to train and figure this kind of thing out, and not just doing weekend group rides. All of the cycling literature will tell you that a cyclist needs around 300 calories an hour, give or take, on top of the fluids. When you get out and bike, it is more than just pedaling the miles. You need to figure out how many calories an hour is best for you, and the calorie amount is different for shorter rides than it is for longer rides. You also need to figure out what to eat, because everyone is different, and what is perfect for one cyclist may not be perfect for you. And of course you need to figure out how much to drink and what to drink.

Yesterday Suzie and I did a metric century, 62 miles, into a strong wind, with some hills. We burned about 2800 calories, which is an estimate from our heart rate monitors. Going into the ride, we both knew that we would burn a lot of calories because we both cycle solo throughout the week, and it is something we think about all the time on our training rides. Eating breakfast and drinking before the ride, drinking right before the ride, eating and drinking during the ride, then eating and drinking after the ride - it is all critically important.

One thing to watch out for is that cycling for some of us reduces our appetite. But you have to think about how to fuel your body to be an effective cyclist, and you eat and drink because it needs to be done. You don't think, "Oh goody I don't feel hungry and I am not eating and so maybe I will lose some weight." It doesn't work like that at all. It is critically important to eat and drink at the right times, in the right amounts, and the right stuff.

Darcy

[ace]

Hi Darcy- I feel sort of attacked by the tone of your post, although I'm sure you are just trying to be helpful. Honestly, I wouldn't have posted this if I didn't want to do a better job hydrating/feeding myself on rides. I don't restrict my calories on a ride at all (or at least not on purpose), and I know it's not about eating/drinking when hungry/thirsty, but part of a thought-out plan. I obviously just haven't been too smart about eating enough- I was completely focused on drinking enough because I got so sick last year.

I don't have the luxury of doing other similar rides on my own during the week right now. I'm under doctor's orders that I can only do one longish ride a week (25-30 miles), then at most 1/2 an hour rides 3 other times a week. This is because my knee injury flares up if I do any more than that. So I get one shot a week to figure it out.

Just know I'm doing the best I can at the moment.

[DarcyInOregon]

Hi Darcy- I feel sort of attacked by the tone of your post, although I'm sure you are just trying to be helpful. Honestly, I wouldn't have posted this if I didn't want to do a better job hydrating/feeding myself on rides. I don't restrict my calories on a ride at all (or at least not on purpose), and I know it's not about eating/drinking when hungry/thirsty, but part of a thought-out plan. I obviously just haven't been too smart about eating enough- I was completely focused on drinking enough because I got so sick last year.

Sorry Ace. No that wasn't my intent to make you feel bad, for whatever reason. I just want you to be able to reach your goals. I am usually pretty specific in my language and don't have any underlying tones, at least I don't think so.

If you are only doing weekend rides, that might be part of your problem. Maybe others can address the situation. I know you are recovering from the knee problem, and that has limited you. But in cycling, to build our bodies, we need to cycle more than once a week. Perhaps it is the stress of doing a ride without the necessary training to lead up to it that is giving you problems? I am not saying this in a mean way, but as a way to help you analyze your specific situation.

Darcy

[ace]

Gotcha Darcy, no problem. I'm pretty direct myself, so just wanted to let you know how I felt. I appreciate your help

I don't think the one longish ride a week is the problem, but who knows. I am doing other things- four days of 1/2 hour rides, walking an hour a day a few days, and strength training 3 days. So I should be strong enough to do 35 miles once a week, I think. I'm under close supervision by both my chiropractor (who is an avid cyclist and is chiropractor to a couple of women's athletic teams at UC Berkeley) and my physical therapist (who's also a cycling coach), so I'll talk to them about it. I have the feeling, based on what I've read in this thread, that they'll just say "duh, you're not eating enough."

Based on what Kit said, I've already done some reading about the ineffectiveness of mixing hydration and nutrition, so I will try another path...

[mimitabby]

heck, now I'm confused.
how can we not mix nutrition and hydration?
that is, besides an IV?

[Jenn]

heck, now I'm confused.
how can we not mix nutrition and hydration?
that is, besides an IV?

You could mount a triple post to the handlebar, with a drip in the forearm and ride til your heart's content.!