Please, ladies, if you are worried about your ability to process glucose have a glucose tolerance test done by a medical professional who has accurate equipment and the expertise to interpret the results. There are so many variables, meter accuracy, digestion, etc. etc. etc.

I don't know *anyone* that doesn't have a reaction to a lot of refined carbs and it isn't necessarily an indication of a glucose tolerance problem; The sugar crash will happen to most people as we have evolved to eat a wide variety of foods over a very long time and refined sugars are a very recent addition to that mix. I can feel absolutely exhausted after too much refined sugar and have a BG reading of 90 mg/dl...

But low-carb diets are not an ideal solution, especially for an active person.

According to the numbers zen posted (which are geared to rides > 4 hours but seem similar to rates I've seen for endurance activity in general) I, at 130 lbs, need 41.3 g of carbs per hour of riding. That seems about right to me, a gel/honey(or carb equivalent) and diluted sports drink an hour works well for me. Sundial, in what you posted I see 27g from the carboom and ??? from the honey (a honey stinger packet has 29g), so for me that would be too little. Sounds like your body told you the same thing.

Then, after exercise, zen's numbers give me 70-88.5 g of carbs *an hour* (with protein) for 4-5 hours following endurance exercise. Again, that's for a longer ride but reflects my needs pretty accurately after a 60+ mile ride.

If you aren't getting the energy you need your body will panic and 1) have less energy when you ride and 2) have a hard time losing weight because your body will horde any energy you give it.

my two cents...

Anne