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  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Scotland!
    Posts
    66
    Right, I have ready everyone's replies and I am very grateful for all your help!

    I guess I will need to pay greater attention to my eating and drinking habits. I did not think at this stage I would need to! But it's clear that I need to start. Perhaps some form of sports drink is the way to go.

    Here's a question though, I'm very annoyed that I haven't lost any weight since I started cycling (in fact, I'm gaining). So if I'm not losing weight, but I'm not fuelling enough, what do I do? Surely any extra calories I take in is going to result in a greater weight gain?

    I have been thinking recently I need to cut down my calories to enable me to lose weight. How do I balance this with fuelling my rides?

    I think the side stitch could be a result of not warming up. Now I think about it this problem has only occurred after I changed my route, which has a large hill right at the start. I guess I could be exerting myself too much too soon.

    Another technical question, my bike feels very inefficient. I would like the change the tyres for skinner, slicker ones. This was always my plan. I currently have 700c x 40 tyres on there and they're really knobbly. They feel like hard work. Can anyone explain to me what size I could go down to (so 700c x 28 or whatever) and if slicks would be recommended on a hybrid? Every day I regret not getting a road bike lol I am constantly being overtaken by them!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    South Central Indiana
    Posts
    624
    First of all, good for you for getting out there and DO NOT worry about your time. There are days when just getting home in one piece is a triumph!

    Second, you can put slicker tires on your bike. They do make slicker ones for bikes like yours. I don't know about how much you can change the width, though. I am still a newbie with that sort of thing!

    Third, definitely drink and eat before a ride. Everyone is different. I love to eat a BIG meal before, but I don't want to eat a lot afterwards. If I will be riding for an hour or more, I bring a snack. If not, I probably won't.

    Fourth, the weight question is one people ask a lot. I have lost weight, but gained a LOT more muscle while riding. You may not see weight loss and you may gain weight, after all as muscle weighs more. However, you will tone up and be healthier for doing so.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Seattle, WA
    Posts
    252
    Quote Originally Posted by Lesley_x View Post
    I have been thinking recently I need to cut down my calories to enable me to lose weight. How do I balance this with fuelling my rides?
    Well, if you fuel your rides a little differently, you'll be able to ride much longer and stronger. Eating a 200 calorie snack along your route could enable you to ride for an extra hour - which burns FAR more calories than the food you took in! How on earth would that work?!? Simple - the fuel in your muscles needs replenishing, and it's a long slow process to do that by converting fat into fuel. Replenishing your fuel with food works quickly, though.

    It's a tough balance - it's easy to eat too much without even realizing it. It takes some experimentation, but finding that perfect balance of just enough fuel and no extra is the key. As everyone else has said, it's extremely individual and will take some trial and error as to how much and what you'll need to eat and drink on your rides.
    Aperte mala cm est mulier, tum demum est bona. -- Syrus, Maxims
    (When a woman is openly bad, she is at last good.)

    Edepol nunc nos tempus est malas peioris fieri. -- Plautus, Miles Gloriosus
    (Now is the time for bad girls to become worse still.)

 

 

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