Newbie Nutrition Question

[SimpleCycle]

So I've been riding for about three months. Right now my long rides are around 50 miles on Saturdays. I ride with some more experienced riders, and all of them seem convinced that if I don't start consuming things like HammerGel and Accelerade I'm going to turn into a pumpkin. Well, they say I'm going to "bonk". What is at issue is not that I am not consuming calories on the bike, just that I'm not consuming them in "sports nutrition" form.

I just don't see spending my hard-earned money on high tech sports food. I eat a decent meal ahead of time and have been drinking Gatorade (made from powder) and water, and eating fig newtons, bananas, and Clif bars. I suppose according to current "theory" I'm supposed to be consuming some protien too, but there's protien in the clif bar. I also for the most part can't have whey protien unless it's the isolate type because I'm lactose intolerant.

Am I making some terrible mistake? Are these drinks somehow superior to Gatorade? I suppose if my stomach were bothering me or I was unable to actually consume enough, that would be different. At least one of the guys I ride with is of the "expensive is better" school of thought and I get the impression that all their gels and drinks are part of their strange "I'm an athlete" thing. I also have the suspicion that if I could pay for a clinical trial of fig newtons and my homemade soy protien recovery drink, I could "prove" it's 44% better too.

[DeniseGoldberg]

The important thing is that you eat and drink - and that the food & drink that you choose supports your activity. I do not believe that means you need to use sport-specific foods or gels. And your choice of Gatorade, bananas, fig newtons, and Clif bars sounds fine to me.

On the liquid front - I used to drink just water, but I switched to Gatorade a few years back and I find that works better for me. If I'm on a long ride - one that will last for at least several hours - I often have Gatorade in my water bottles and water in a Camelbak. Food? I tend to carry bars of some sort with me just because they are easy to carry. The bars I currently eat are Pria and Luna Bars. Bananas are great, but not so easy to carry without getting them bruised.

From your description of your pre-ride food and your snacks on the bike, it seems that you are doing just fine!

--- Denise

[Dogmama]

Your riding food sounds good to me! Fig newtons are a good source of simple sugar & the fig part adds a little fiber so some of the carbs should last you awhile. I carry Clif bars & use them as well. I know a guy who rides many miles who carries raisins and peanuts. Everybody's body is different. Check out the thread on bonking for more info.

[RoadRaven]

This house spends no money on flash energy bars at all.

We have some muesli bars which we have found with an apple and blackberry mush inside... and with maybe a half can of creamed rice before the ride, they are all that is needed. Sometimes a can of V or Mountain Dew before the race too.

We do spend money on stuff like LEPIN and CARBOSHOTZ which my partner uses in serious endurance races, and we have sports recovery powders to have after a hard ride.

But those energy bars are too difficult to eat.

I agree with the majority - your nutrition scheme sounds fine.

Eat well either side of the ride, and just take with you on the ride what you are comfortable eating - your body knows what it can cope with- or if whatever you have chosen isn't enough. Listen to what it says and you'll be fine.

[alison_in_oh]

Well, I'll tell you, I just got back from a 3.5 hour 62 mile ride, drank only water and ate a Clif bar and a peanutbutter sandwich. My post-ride recovery drink was a tall glass of chocolate soymilk.

My sweetie's way more experienced than I, and he has one of his bottles with Gatorade for longer rides and races, and will do a Gu in a race, but otherwise his ride nutrition is pretty much the same -- I think I eat more often, as is appropriate for a woman cyclist!

[RoadRaven]

LOL... I often want chocolate milk when I finish a ride too... I wonder how many choc milk fans there are here?

[Dogmama]

Chocolate soymilk with a scoop of chocolate whey protein post ride for me...

[emily_in_nc]

LOL... I often want chocolate milk when I finish a ride too... I wonder how many choc milk fans there are here?

<Raises hand>

I have been known to buy a chocolate milk on a ride and drink it at a rest stop! The dairy doesn't bother me, and the fat/protein seem to help me go longer. And I always enjoy endulging my inner child.

Emily

[brok]

Post ride drink for me is a chocolate shake. Yummy!! Or just give me a beer Decisions, decisions

[Technotart]

MMMmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!! Chocolate Milk - especially when its the really thick syrypy kind!!!!!!

[Pedal Wench]

Does a YooHoo count?

[CorsairMac]

ROFL - I guess I really am the odd one - I seem to want an apple after a long ride. we can't figure out what it is that an apple would have that my body seems to want.....but I want a glass of cold water and an apple.

[MomOnBike]

Tonight it was a chocolate malt in the middle of the ride for DH & me. Did wonders for my energy.

[Dogmama]

Apples are a good source of quercitin (sp?) a natural anti-inflammatory. Listen to your bod!

[alison_in_oh]

Studies have shown that chocolate milk is a very good recovery drink! Since it's sweetened, it's got a better protein-carbo ratio than regular milk. We go with soy because cow milk doesn't treat our tummies too well.

Since starting this routine, I come home, slam about a cup of chocolate milk, have a salty snack, replace a little water, and THEN have my cold post-ride beer.