When and what to eat

[Jo-n-NY]

Let me begin to say that I have been reading all of your threads for months, finally got the nerve to register a few weeks ago, just posted the getting to know you and now for my question. I have learned a wealth of cycling info from all of you and pass it along to my cycling friends. All of you seem to be a real nice, down to earth group. It is my pleasure to be here.

My question, My husband and I basically do recreational riding up until a year ago. Now along with a couple of other friends we want to step up the notch and go for a century this year. There is so much said about when to eat protein, carbs. Our favorite bars are the Balance Gold and usually have that mid ride. But take last night, we went on our trainers at about 8:00 ending after 9:00. Am I suppose to replenishing with protein at that hour? I guess I consider us in training and want to nourish the body the best we can. What are some of your bars of choice, when you eat them and maybe if you have any kind of eating routine.

Thanks much for any light you can shead on this dilemma ~ Jo

[Veronica]

I don't eat when I'm on the trainer. If I ride first thing in the morning I'll drink just water. If it's the afternoon I'll have Gatorade. No matter how long the workout. Spinervals has come out with a 3 HOUR DVD. I've done the 90 minute one. Don't know about three hours. I'd eat on the three hour one though.

Same thing if I'm riding outside and doing 20 miles or less. I don't eat anything, but drink Gatorade.

Longer rides I bring bananas, bars, Carboom. All kinds of stuff. Peanut butter cookies.

Veronica

[slinkedog]

Hi Jo! Welcome to TE!

When my husband was cycling competetively and training to try to make the Olympic team in 1996, his coach and a lot of reading helped him with diet. He thinks you should definitely replenish protein after every endurance workout. In fact, he said that if you eat some protein at that time after your workout, it will facilitate the fat buning process while you sleep, as well and help your muscles rebuild.

Hope that helps!!! I know there are a lot of books out there about eating to train.

[Veronica]

What makes a ride an endurance ride? I don't consider anything less than 90 minutes to be an endurance ride. Especially when you consider that at any given moment you are walking around with about 2000 calories in your bloodstream waiting to be put to use. A cyclist burns between 500 - 1000 calories an hour. It's a huge variation based on wattage and VO2 max. The average person already has in their body what they need to fuel them for a short workout.

A century is of course a different matter. This is going to be anywhere from a 5 to ten hour event for most people - depending on terrain and fitness level.
Personal experience tells me that if I plan on riding more than two hours I need to eat and I can't wait until the two hour mark to eat. I have figured based on my calorie burn I need to eat a fig newton every 10 minutes to sustain enough calories in my blood stream. I don't like fig newtons. For me it's 50 calories every ten minutes.

Veronica

[LBTC]

My winter cross-training this year is kickboxing. Great workout, almost as intense as a mountain bike ride, about one hour in length. I need to eat something with potatoes in it about 2-3 hours before the workout (I do the same thing before a ride). a couple of perogies does the trick. It doesn't have to be much. Other people find pasta works for them, but it just makes my tummy feel full

I've noticed that after kickboxing I'm pretty wired and it takes me several hours to realize that I'm actually kind of hungry. I usually crave protein, but the thought of eating meat at 10:00 at night doesn't really thrill me. Tonight I'm trying something different, something I would do after a mountain bike race or a 1 1/2 hour or longer ride....I'm going to drink the recovery drink Endurox. It's got protein and I don't know what else in it. I'm hoping that if I drink that right after kickboxing (about 7:30 pm) - on the drive home even - that I won't have any desire to eat dinner. That would be my ideal world.

Everyone here has good ideas. My thoughts are that you need to try to see what works for you. If you do a long ride and don't fuel up enough before during and/or after, you might not notice it right away, but just be very tired the next day. A training ride is different from a fun ride. During the summer our wednesday night rides usually last 3 hours or longer. I carry water and really watered down gaterade. I always have some kind of bar, usually just a snack bar, not an actual energy bar, and rarely have more than half on a ride of that length, sometimes nothing at all. but those rides are just fun and end up at the bar with a platter of fattening snacks (love those potato skins with bacon!! mmmmmm) and jugs of beer! not exactly training fuel!! On a training ride I'll have a before drink (we've got accelerade) drink water and gaterade on the ride, and, if it's more than an hour ride, have either a snack or a gel pack (I have to practice using those things - they're great in races, but they're not a lot of help if I fall over when trying to suck one back!!) every 20-40 minutes. At the end of the ride I'll drink the recovery drink while I"m doing my stretching. Seems to work quite well for me!

Best of luck on the century!!

namaste,
~T~

[slinkedog]

Eating protein after a workout isn't about calories, it's about providing your body with the stuff it needs to rebuild muscles. (In fact, eating carbs at that hour is not a good idea.) Any strenuous activity is going to tear down your muscles, at least somewhat, and protein (a hard boiled egg, lean red meat or chicken are all good) will help your muscles accomplish the rebuilding process.

I agree that you don't need to eat for an hour ride. When I ride first thing in the morning, I usually just have a little juice or else my stomach gets upset. But if you pump up the resistance on your trainer at all, your muscles will benefit from a little boost of protein to help them recover.

[Veronica]

Most Americans get more protein than they need already. Any discussion of
nutrition and exercise needs to take into account the stated goals of the
individual. There was nothing in the original post to indicate that she
was looking to work out at an intensity that would require additional
protein in her diet. Athletes training at the Olympic level obviously
have far different needs than the typical cyclist.

But like LBTC said - everybody is different and Jo would probably best be served by experimenting. Thom likes to have Endurox after a longer ride. I can't stand the stuff. I drink Gatorade while riding, it gives him stomach trouble. We're all individuals. (Someone needs to stand up and shout...)


Veronica

[slinkedog]

I hope I didn't offend... that wasn't my intention at all. I just felt from the conversation that we needed to clarify the difference between eating to fuel and eating to help rebuild. That's all.

[Veronica]

Nope, not offended at all. That's the beauty of this board I think. You can carry on a rational conversation and have differences of opinion without resorting to insults.

So when are you going to join us for a ride?

V.

[Jo-n-NY]

Thank you slinkdog, Veronica, & LBTC for your responces. I think we pretty much have been doing the right thing when riding during the day. It was these night rides that we do a few times a week (carmichael climbing dvd) that puts me at a loss because I have always tried to not eat anything after 9:00 needless to say protein. But if that type of workout warrents anything, the hard boiled egg sounds ok or the recovery drink or maybe even a few wheat crackers with peanut butter.

I feel the same way LBTC. I am also wired and not very hungrey right after a ride and I don't really feel like a meat protein at that hour. Now ice cream could be a different story

Now we are on the search for good tasting bars to bring with us in the summer that don't have chocolate as they will for sure melt and trailmix bars get sticky.

[slinkedog]

Hey Veronica... I would like to try the Diablo ride you're setting up, but I can't do Sundays. If you ever arrange one for a Saturday, let me know!

I'm probably not quite ready to do Diablo yet, anyway, but like Jobob said about Hamilton, I'll never make it up unless I start riding!!

[CorsairMac]

Jo - you could also try and apple with peanut butter. I used to eat those in the evenings to help me get through the night without waking up starving! Now I'm allergic to peanuts to that got scratched. I also keep Clif Bars/Luna Bars around - the Luna Bars are lighter in carbs, same protein and tasty. Not too much for an evening snack. A protein drink would probably work better for you if you're trying to avoid "eating" after dinner. But like everyone said - its really truly personal: what works for you may not work for someone else!

[MightyMitre]

Hi Jo - you ask about what you can eat after training at that time of night, but I'd be interested to know what time you go to bed.

I'm a total night owl, completely useless in the morning. In fact I really envy those who can get up a couple of hours early and ride before work. I'd love just to be able to get up a couple of hours early!

I find I can't train/do a hard work out after 8 pm. It just wakes me up way too much and I have to stay up till I'm ready to sleep. How does it work for you training in the evening?
OR
does anyone have any hints for speeding up the 'come down' process as some times when I've got back late from work I've skipped training as it would mean I'd be finishing too late on.

[slinkedog]

Mighty:

"does anyone have any hints for speeding up the 'come down' process as some times when I've got back late from work I've skipped training as it would mean I'd be finishing too late on."

Yeah... a big glass of Merlot.

No, really... how about a bubble bath by candlelight with lavendar scented bubbles? Lavendar really helps me relax.

[LBTC]

MM
I bet the glass of merlot isn't a bad thing...heh

sometimes I teach night courses and come home at 10:30 pm very wired. since wakeup is 6:00 am I need to wind down fast. my fix is licorice tea. it's very soothing to my digestional tract (which is usually pretty weird during teaching), and, it turns out, it's pretty relaxing too. I buy the Stash brand Licorice Spice.

I wouldn't be surprised if doing some light stretches and taking 1000mg of calcium (works best with magnesium and zinc) might help relax you, too.

I know what you mean about not being a morning person, though. whew! I need 8 hours sleep and usually get 7. good thing I dye my hair blonde to make up for the early morning stupids!

namaste,
~T~