replenish glycogen vs. eating late

[KnottedYet]

It sounds like you are running on too little energy, so your metabolism has slowed down. Then when you do eat a big meal (like when you and dh go out) your body stores all that meal rather than burning it. Your body thinks you are in a food crisis, so it is saving every calorie it can!

I'm not kidding that 700 calories is barely my breakfast. I'm also not kidding that I've lost 50 lbs by eating LOTS. Trek420 can vouch for me! My body doesn't think it's starving, so it's happy to burn everything I eat.

Here's what I'm having for b'fast right now: two scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese. Mushrooms sauteed in olive oil. Two slices of chicken breast. Tortilla chips. Coffee.

My mid-morning snack will probably be: tea, sunflower seeds, a square or two of chocolate.

My lunch will be: a V8, chicken breast nachos, a banana, chocolate

Mid-afternoon snack will probably be: a Lara bar and coffee.

Dinner: probably steamed veges, some chicken or a sausage.

My cholesterol is lower than it's ever been, I'm wearing the same size clothes I wore in college, and I've got pretty nice looking legs and abs.

EATING IS IMPORTANT.

You won't lose weight if your body thinks it needs to save every calorie just to survive.

(somebody correct me, but isn't the minimum for base metabolism something like 1200 calories?)

(BTW, once upon a time I read about how your body likes to eat it's biggest meal in the morning and then taper down for the rest of the day. That's pretty much how I eat. Works great!)

PS: you "have no willpower" when you go out with dh because your body thinks you are STARVING. It's instinctive to eat, so you will eat then. It's not a willpower issue, it's survival, it's instinct. Don't kick yourself over it.

[li10up]

Thanks Knotted, and everyone. But it's hard for me to believe it's a lack of calories. Oh, I also have about half a cup of choc. milk in the am. to take my multivitamin...so that's another 100 cal. So that's 800 plus the 100 cal gel, plus the 100 cal Gatorade that's a total of 1000. Then add the cup of choc. milk when I get home and that's already 1200.

If I do eat when I get home then it triggers something in me and then I start to eat anything and everything in the house. So if I don't eat will I have enough energy to ride the next day at 5:30pm? I just don't want the dead legs feeling the next day.

[indigoiis]

Thanks Knotted, and everyone. But it's hard for me to believe it's a lack of calories. Oh, I also have about half a cup of choc. milk in the am. to take my multivitamin...so that's another 100 cal. So that's 800 plus the 100 cal gel, plus the 100 cal Gatorade that's a total of 1000. Then add the cup of choc. milk when I get home and that's already 1200.

If I do eat when I get home then it triggers something in me and then I start to eat anything and everything in the house. So if I don't eat will I have enough energy to ride the next day at 5:30pm? I just don't want the dead legs feeling the next day.

If you have a lot of weight to lose, you need to eat more.

Especially if you are burning cals through cycling.

I am 5'6 and I consume 1900-2100 cals a day, burn between 200-500 cals a day cycling, running, and some weight lifting, with one day "off" a week, where I eat over maintenance and don't exercize. I have lost 15 lbs since March. That may not sound like a lot in a short period of time - it's NOT - it's purposefully slow so that it stays off.

You need to go up and down with calorie intake to keep your body from slowing the metabolism. It's okay to eat before bedtime.

Calculate your REQUIRED MAINTENANCE by multiplying your body weight x 15. For example, if you weigh 155, you would need 2325 cals per day JUST to maintain that weight, without exercize. To lose fat, you need only reduce 10-15% of maintenance. That would mean you would eat AT MINIMUM about 1900 cals per day - MORE if you are exercizing!

You need to fuel the body - fuel the fat loss. Otherwise your body runs out of gas. You won't lose weight.

For more info here is a good site and post on a similar question:

http://weight-loss.fitness.com/harsh...-come-off.html

Hope that helps. Please eat something.

Indy

[nicole309]

I too have started riding at night. I used to ride in the morning, but it just wasn't working for longer rides. Lately, I get in between 9 and 10 and I find that I am just not hungry after 3 to 4 hours of riding. At first I was forcing myself to eat something and I was having trouble sleeping then. Lately, like many of you I will just grab an 8oz. carton of chocolate milk on the way home, maybe a banana and that will be all I have until morning. I have noticed no ill effects in my riding the next day. I know this is not what anyone would recommend, but it works for me.
I guess what I am saying is everyone is different and you need to feel out what works for you. Many of us are not used to listening to what our bodies tell us. I would say to give it a try, if your riding or overall energy level is depleted the next day, try something different!

[Torrilin]

Basic guideline is that a healthy, active adult will need between 2000 and 2200 calories a day to maintain their weight. Since you're eating at most 800-1000 calories a day, your body is panicking. The not being hungry you're experiencing is anorexia (loss of appetite). If you keep eating at the levels you are, you may qualify for an anorexia nervosa diagnosis. Don't do that! You can lose bone density from that disease, you'll get sick more easily, and all manner of other stuff will come and bite you in the *** later.

Please eat. You need food.

[li10up]

Basic guideline is that a healthy, active adult will need between 2000 and 2200 calories a day to maintain their weight. Since you're eating at most 800-1000 calories a day, your body is panicking. The not being hungry you're experiencing is anorexia (loss of appetite). If you keep eating at the levels you are, you may qualify for an anorexia nervosa diagnosis. Don't do that! You can lose bone density from that disease, you'll get sick more easily, and all manner of other stuff will come and bite you in the *** later.

Please eat. You need food.

This made me smile. A 170 pound anorexic.

I think most everyone is missing some of what I'm saying. Currently I DO eat when I get home. So after my recovery drink of choc. milk I'm at 1200 cal. for the day SO FAR. Then I decided to eat something small. Some toast with peanut butter. The next thing I know I'm sitting down with a bag of chips...even though they are "light" it's still chips. Once I start eating it's like I can't stop. Plus with all the eating out, about 4 times a week, I'm afraid I'm never going to drop any of this weight. That's why I'm wondering if not eating at all when I get home would be better. But I don't want to have dead legs or no energy for my ride the next evening. So eat or don't eat?

[indigoiis]

Basically, it doesn't matter when you eat.
It matters what you eat, and the amount you eat.
Considering you have 6-8 hours a night of non-eating, I recommend you eat so that you can fill that last portion of your caloric day. Plan your day in advance.

Use fitday.com to plan out a 2000 calorie day for the days that you ride. For the days that you don't ride, plan for the restaurant meal (let's say, 600 calories max?) with little tiny meals leading up to it.

So you could stagger your calories like this, for example, for weight loss:

Sunday: ride 15+ miles, eat 2100 cals
Monday: jog 5 miles, eat 1800 cals
Tuesday: weights or yoga, eat 1750 cals (restaurant night)
Wednesday: ride 10-15 miles, eat 2000 cals
Thursday: walk fast pace 3 miles, eat 1700 cals (restaurant night)
Friday: ride 20-30 miles, eat 2200 cals
Saturday: day off - eat 2400 (more or less) cals, relax.

Trust me, when you eat more, you will actually lose weight. I know it sounds counter-intuitive but you have to re-feed to get back your metabolism before you can expect your weight to get out of the plateau it is in.

Try it for a week or two, see if you don't have more energy, and see if you don't start shedding the weight, before you post that you can't believe it.

[KnottedYet]

This made me smile. A 170 pound anorexic.

Anorexia is a behaviour, not a weight.

The ones we hear about on the news are the ones who get so emaciated that they make a sensational story.

Knot-formerly-anorexic-then-fat-now-healthy-and-planning-to-stay-that-way

[Kano]

I think most everyone is missing some of what I'm saying. Currently I DO eat when I get home. So after my recovery drink of choc. milk I'm at 1200 cal. for the day SO FAR. Then I decided to eat something small. Some toast with peanut butter. The next thing I know I'm sitting down with a bag of chips...even though they are "light" it's still chips. Once I start eating it's like I can't stop.

I know what you're talking about. On days when I don't eat enough during the day, when I start eating, that slice of bread with a proper serving of peanut butter on it is the tip of an iceberg. That "triggers something" you mentioned earlier is self preservation. Whatever food you've allowed yourself during the day has had to do -- it's all there was available. Now you're home, and the pantry is there, and your inner animal has found food and MUST feed itself. Since it hasn't had enough food, it insists on extra cuz who knows how long til you find more!

On days more like today, I eat plenty during the day, and didn't NEED to eat a burger AND fries in the evening. Now, of course, I DID, and pretty much always do eat those fries, cuz they're there. And I eat every single one of them, cuz they're there. THAT is the behavior I want to change most.

It's sort of a balance thing -- if we spread those evening calories out during the day, say you're more at 1800 for the day after the chocolate milk, then perhaps the toast and peanut butter will do it for you! (and I don't mean eat a bag of chips during the day....)

Oooh, something else I noticed about balance.

V8 juice -- carbs
nonfat yogurt -- high carbs
coffee -- nothing in it, unless you're putting cream/sugar
rice bowl -- LOTS of carbs. (the ones I recently changed my mind about have 78g. carbohydrate, about the same calories you mentioned)
gel -- carbs
chocolate milk -- carbs.

There's a bit of protein in the rice bowl, depending on the other ingredients, and some in the milk. Might be a little bit of fat in the rice bowl and depending on the type of milk you make the chocolate milk out of...

You NEED fats and proteins along with those carbs, girl: muscle isn't built of carb, it just burns it.

Hey! I know this stuff! It's in my head! Why the heck am I so inept at applying it???

Karen in Boise

[han-grrl]

One option is to track your eating, activity, sleep and energy levels for a week or two. See what happens when you eat, when you ride, how the rides go etc etc. Then you can fine tune. Everybody IS different and you need to find what works for you

If you find that weight loss isn't happening, then you might be able to see why with your diary. Or at least show it to a dietician who might be able to help.

Good luck!
Han

Thanks Knotted, and everyone. But it's hard for me to believe it's a lack of calories. Oh, I also have about half a cup of choc. milk in the am. to take my multivitamin...so that's another 100 cal. So that's 800 plus the 100 cal gel, plus the 100 cal Gatorade that's a total of 1000. Then add the cup of choc. milk when I get home and that's already 1200.

If I do eat when I get home then it triggers something in me and then I start to eat anything and everything in the house. So if I don't eat will I have enough energy to ride the next day at 5:30pm? I just don't want the dead legs feeling the next day.

[amymisk]

Knotted, I don't know the minimum but around 1200 sounds right. BTW, I love your signature!

700 calories is not enough and everyone is correct, your body thinks it is starving and hording all the calories you give it.

Eat More, Weigh Less. It works if you are working.