Sports nutrition- support needed

[Irulan]

your are right, M, let me edit that. Starved for Carbs..... ;-)

p.

[AutumnBreez]

I can say this much....it tastes so good
Had rotissery (?spelling?) chicken today for lunch.
I also had a small slice of brown whole grain bread. Though I don't think that I should have the bread with the meat. Next time I will have chicken with salad.
Also, I am trying to make sure I get enough water in my system. Purhaps I am not hydrated enough when I go on the rides either. Drinking water has never been my strongest suit.

[alison_in_oh]

I can say this much....it tastes so good
Had rotissery (?spelling?) chicken today for lunch.
I also had a small slice of brown whole grain bread. Though I don't think that I should have the bread with the meat. Next time I will have chicken with salad.
Also, I am trying to make sure I get enough water in my system. Purhaps I am not hydrated enough when I go on the rides either. Drinking water has never been my strongest suit.

Yeah, it is a skill worth learning to A) seamlessly take water from your waterbottle cage, and B) drink regularly whether you're really thirsty or not. Remember, by the time you're thirsty you're actually already dehydrated.

Also, I feel good (and my appetite decreases a bit -- it's easy to mistake thirsty for hungry) if I drink a lot of water through the day. I keep a bike bottle at my desk, and if I refill it as necessary I go through like 4 22 oz bottles in a day!

[Irulan]

Yeah, it is a skill worth learning to A) seamlessly take water from your waterbottle cage, and B) drink regularly whether you're really thirsty or not. Remember, by the time you're thirsty you're actually already dehydrated.

Also, I feel good (and my appetite decreases a bit -- it's easy to mistake thirsty for hungry) if I drink a lot of water through the day. I keep a bike bottle at my desk, and if I refill it as necessary I go through like 4 22 oz bottles in a day!

that's why 100 ounce camelbacks were invented.

[Trek420]

This could be posted in the "quality of life low stress job vs. higher stress job that messes with your cycling" thread. I have an easy/dream commute, lots of time off but when I'm at work the job is non stop. It's just call after call after call after...bottom line I just do not have a "normal" job so except for two exactly 15 minute not one second more than that breaks, and an hour lunch I can't really eat, do the good healthy snacks thing throughout the day or it's very hard too.

I'm good about breakfast-coffee of course but maybe whole grain toast or whole grain bagle with peanut butter or if I'm riding oatmeal. But it's downhill from there. I drink a lot of water. But then 11:30 lunch comes along and I'd like to either go to the gym or walk the lake (training for the AIDS ride so I try to get a workout in mid day too) but I'm famished.

If I keep enough healthy snacks at my desk and nibble at 'em plus have some kinda good protein stuff after the gym then I'm fine through the afternoon.
Same thing if I want to ride or workout after. But if I'm off the phone to grab a quick bite to eat I hear about it from my manager so aside from listening to my body, am I hungry, thirsty, what does it want? I can just watch the numbers. If my Average Call Handle time is *good* I know I'm not eating or drinking enough. If I'm *not* in trouble with my manager for being off the line....I'm not eating or drinking enough.

[LBTC]

Eggs- should I only have the whites? I want to have the energy to ride and train.

NO!! The yolks have all of those hard-to-get fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K), and other stuff I know little about! One egg has around 70 calories and is one of the purest proteins around. Keep boiled eggs handy as a snack!!

Do try to find free range or high quality eggs. I judge by the colour of the yolk - the darker the yolk, the more nutrients there are, which of course is determined by the feed the chickens get. I buy a brand called born three and the feed is geared toward providing an egg with high Omega 3, high Vitamin E, and they say they use no by-animal products or antibiotics.

eat eggs! yum!

and I agree with so many of the other girls: dizziness and blurred vision are scary. are you eating things with any artificial sweeteners? those can cause those symptoms in some people. I also agree that your weight loss does sound too fast. And I think it's great that you are slowly reintroducing the foods your body craves back into your diet. I'm sorry about the aversion to green foods, though...weirdly enough that sounds like a symptom of pregnancy! woah! are you sure that's not it?

Good luck!!

Namaste,
~T~

[LBTC]

Trek!!

Can you find another job?? OUCH!! That sounds horrible!! I could not function without eating at my desk, especially if I were to work out at lunch!! I don't know how you can manage that!!! Lunch is my biggest meal of the day, I try to pack as much nutrition into it as I can. I generally workout right after work - and try to have a snack with protein and carbs at about 3:00 to ensure I'm fueled for that. I snack lighter if I'm going to do yoga, or even weights (as I do quite light weights), but heavier if it's kickboxing day or a mountain bike ride.

Good luck!
~T~

[alison_in_oh]

that's why 100 ounce camelbacks were invented.

I'd look mighty funny working at my computer with a camelbak on. I find that a bike bottle is easy to drink from so I'm more likely to take a big swig frequently while burning my eyes out at the computer. The water fountain's just a few feet away for refills.

I've yet to go through more than 2 22oz. bottles on a single ride, which fit just fine in my two cages. However if I start training for a century, I might have to spring for a "hydration system" after all.

[AutumnBreez]

NO!! The yolks have all of those hard-to-get fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K), and other stuff I know little about! One egg has around 70 calories and is one of the purest proteins around. Keep boiled eggs handy as a snack!!

Do try to find free range or high quality eggs. I judge by the colour of the yolk - the darker the yolk, the more nutrients there are, which of course is determined by the feed the chickens get. I buy a brand called born three and the feed is geared toward providing an egg with high Omega 3, high Vitamin E, and they say they use no by-animal products or antibiotics.

eat eggs! yum!

and I agree with so many of the other girls: dizziness and blurred vision are scary. are you eating things with any artificial sweeteners? those can cause those symptoms in some people. I also agree that your weight loss does sound too fast. And I think it's great that you are slowly reintroducing the foods your body craves back into your diet. I'm sorry about the aversion to green foods, though...weirdly enough that sounds like a symptom of pregnancy! woah! are you sure that's not it?

Good luck!!

Namaste,
~T~

I had a tubal ligation 10years ago in which they cauterized besides cutting a section out. No pregnancy...just had my cycle this last week as well. Just too low in carbs and protein as everyone has suspected. I must use up the carbs too quick and the protein available must not be enough. Went to a party this evening for my husbands co worker and did have a spoon of taco layered dip with a few nachos to dip with, had a cup of cranberry juice and refilled cup with water the rest of the time, had about 3 glasses of water...then had a half of a brownie, later some carrot sticks. Earlier today had the chicken. I feel like I have pigged out though. This is all I have had today.

I am trying to preplan my food for tomorrow so that I can be in better control. Morning: I will have a couple of scrambled eggs with onion and green pepper.
Snack on apple or orange, or couple of dates and walnuts. Lunch I think a chicken/or salmon salad. snack later on some brown bread with almond butter. Dinner: Grilled chicken and grilled veggies with side of rice. I plan to ride mountain bike with my son in morning shortly after breakfast is done and cleaned up. Do a load of laundry and go for an couple of hours on the bikes. Come back, shower, and have a salad with the left over chicken from todays. Do little chores around house. Later in the day
maybe go for a road bike loop of 14 miles. Will this be too much food? I plan to eat from a saucer to keep portions smaller.

[alison_in_oh]

Just too low in carbs and protein as everyone has suspected. I must use up the carbs too quick and the protein available must not be enough.

Yeah, I'm with the person who suggested it was related to bonking. I bonked at the end of last summer on a day where I was riding through lunchtime after having had only a piece of fruit for breakfast. I was intentionally trying to stress my body (having a bad body image day and trying to starve myself for calories) but I had no idea it'd react that way! I felt drunk and couldn't move my legs to save my life -- and that was after only 15-20 miles, when I was accustomed to 30-40 at that point!

I am trying to preplan my food for tomorrow so that I can be in better control. Morning: I will have a couple of scrambled eggs with onion and green pepper.
Snack on apple or orange, or couple of dates and walnuts. Lunch I think a chicken/or salmon salad. snack later on some brown bread with almond butter. Dinner: Grilled chicken and grilled veggies with side of rice. I plan to ride mountain bike with my son in morning shortly after breakfast is done and cleaned up. Do a load of laundry and go for an couple of hours on the bikes. Come back, shower, and have a salad with the left over chicken from todays. Do little chores around house. Later in the day
maybe go for a road bike loop of 14 miles. Will this be too much food? I plan to eat from a saucer to keep portions smaller.

Above all, listen to your body. Please, please don't fret about calories or quantities. Eat slowly if that's what it takes to make sure you register fullness before overeating, but otherwise ENJOY your food! Why do you think the French can eat multi-course high-fat meals and still have less obesity than the US? They take their time about it and truly savor what they eat!

But that sounds like a very healthful day of eating. If you're still hungry after your morning snack, feel free to munch again but on something less sugary.

Depending on how easy or strenuous you find your ride, you might want to plan a fairly starchy after-ride snack, too.

[Trek420]

~T~ writes "That sounds horrible!! I could not function without eating at my desk, especially if I were to work out at lunch!! I don't know how you can manage that!!!"

well, I don't know how I do either but I'm working on that. I applied for a transfer to another job in the co earlier this year but then canceled because I'd end up in San Ramon, adding another half hour to the commute.

I may yet transfer, been thnking about testing tech. But all in all it's pretty good where I am. The plus side:

I get more vacation than most people

Benefits are great

We're a union company, I probably earn 3x what non-union folks in my field do (the flip side of that is what I do is waaay more complex than other jobs, it's even harder than what my peers in the same job and same company do)

We're union, if I have issues with my boss I don't have to sweat it, just keep doing a fabulous job and let the steward take care of it.

I have a great manager and we have a group of good managers in my office, some of the best in the company. I'm not messing with that. If i transfered who knows what I'd get.

I'm a few steps away from BART, or if I bike ride....a nice spin around the lake from BART.

[SadieKate]

Autumn, go read up on glycogen. Anyone have links to good articles?

Endurance athletes are dependant on the glycogen stored in their muscles. When that is depleted, that's it. Sayonara. Bonk time. The only way to replenish it? Carbohydrates. There is evidence that replenishment can occur faster with if you eat a little protein with lots of carbs within 30 mins after exercise. You have to have quality carbs during the rest of the day. I have to go check out the recommended Nancy Clark's book, but what has stood me and hubby in excellent stead is Liz Applegate's book, "Eat Smart, Play Hard." She gives pretty good discussions about vegetarian diets, glycogen stores, necessary fat for muscle fuel, you name it, and she targets cyclists. She understands that this isn't a 20 min exercise routine and we have specific nutrition needs. I found her book packed with advice, easily read, understand and remember, total common sense. I think it would help you understand what your body needs for the exercise and weightloss both.

Keep us posted on your progress and how you're feeling.

SK

[AutumnBreez]

Think I am getting the hang of it.... Balance
I had scrambled eggs (2) and then had an orange bit later. 500ml x4 water
Lunch had toasted whole grain bread with breasted turkey, onion, green pepper, tomato, and smidge of hellmanns mayo. Snack later of some museuli
and peanutbutter. Hard boiled egg.
Dinner had a taco salad, used yogurt as sourcream sub. with only a couple of tortilla chips on side for some crunch. Bit of coffee in the evening with husband. Rode MTB yesterday afternoon. Had more water.

Not having the spins and change of vision as I before. And it all tastes sooo good. Yummmm!

[alison_in_oh]

Think I am getting the hang of it.... Balance
I had scrambled eggs (2) and then had an orange bit later. 500ml x4 water
Lunch had toasted whole grain bread with breasted turkey, onion, green pepper, tomato, and smidge of hellmanns mayo. Snack later of some museuli
and peanutbutter. Hard boiled egg.
Dinner had a taco salad, used yogurt as sourcream sub. with only a couple of tortilla chips on side for some crunch. Bit of coffee in the evening with husband. Rode MTB yesterday afternoon. Had more water.

Not having the spins and change of vision as I before. And it all tastes sooo good. Yummmm!

You're doing awesome, keep it up! Sounds so healthy! Balance and moderation indeed.

[SadieKate]

Oh, good! I've been thinking about you and so glad to hear you're doing better.