Riding a Century - TIS question

[Catrin]

I have tried Perpetuam and my stomach/body just doesn't care for it. Accelerade, on the other hand, is an entirely different story. It has more nutrients than Perpetuam and my stomach/body tolerates it just fine

Darcy, that is certain a good thing to keep in mind and makes perfect sense. I use "Lose It" a free app on my iPhone where I keep track of diet and exercise, and looking back over the months I see that my net calories for most days are certainly below 1,200, and on my long ride days are often closer to 500 or below.

I can't say that I haven't been told about this, but forgot about it...Yep, I need more calories....

For example, I just got in from spinning class and after completing my log for today I only wind up with net calories of 507! Well, to be fair, I was already 400 calories below my daily budget before class...

[DarcyInOregon]

Catrin, calorie deficits are what I struggle with because I cycle a lot of miles. It is real hard for me to eat enough calories because I only eat heart healthy, which isn't caloric, not like the average American going through the fast food drive-thru and consuming thousands of calories in one unhealthy meal.

I've learned to use whey powder to add more protein into my diet and that is helping, particularly with rapid muscle recovery. I no longer suffer from leg muscle fatigue. On the days I do longer rides I will use whey protein powder twice, not just once.

Here is an article that is slightly helpful, and which pinpoints the problem about how the calorie deficits affect performance on the bike. You can link to Active:Cycling on Facebook and have their articles show up on your Facebook page.

http://www.active.com/cycling/Articl...tm_medium=feed

[Crankin]

I think the advice about eating enough on the days before a long ride is very sage. This summer, I mistakenly tried to ride on days when I had had not eaten very big meals. Although these were not long rides, it was very hot and I was riding a lot more consecutive days in a row. It just doesn't work for me unless I pay very close attention to how hungry I feel. And this often means that I eat a Luna Bar as soon as I start riding, even though I have had a good breakfast.
It's hard to do this when everyone around me doesn't need to eat as much as I do!