What is maximum ride you would do without food/energy drink?

carlstone

Hi all

I've been going out in the morning before work to do a few miles as its the only free time I get. I get up and go straight out with just a water bottle filled with water. I'm getting up to around 25 miles a morning but the problem is some days I'm starting to feel drained at about 20 miles.

Heres the problem. I'm doing this to try to loose weight so I am following the good old weightwatchers diet as well as cycling so I don't really want to start gobbling energy bars when out on the bike.

Would you suggest reducing my mileage, eating or drinking energy products or sticking with it until I get fitter so 25 miles without food won't be a problem?

Cheers

Carl.

Evoke

I do the same. Up at 5 and do 40 miles every morning. No food or drink. I am 'dieting' and have my main meal around 2 - 3pm and a bit of fruit after that. I've found that taking it a bit easier than you normally would is ok. I generally ride in a gear lower than normal.

bahzob

My experience is that its best to stay focused in terms of goals. I started cycling to lose weight and did much same as you, early morning exercise with no sport drinks just water.

Once I had got to target weight I found I was fitter (almost as a by product) and so started to concentrate on more cycling specific goals of distance/speed. For this needed train at higher intensity so need to eat right to ride/recover well.

So my advice would be if you are achieving your main goal and losing weight with the regime you are following stick with it until you hit your target.

carlstone

Thanks a lot guys.

This dieting lark is hard work. I tend to get the will power to do it about once every 4 years. 4 years ago I was 18 stone, I got down to 13 1/2 in about a year, but then it has krept back on until at 15st 11lb I new I had to do something again. Now 14st 8lb and want to not be 'teen stone something (i.e. less than 12st 13lb). This I believe is achievable and any encouragement is gratefully received.

Cheers again.

Carl.



Ps. Not been less than 13 stone since I was about 13 years old! :shock:

Bronzie

Probably 50 miles at steady pace would be the max I'd ride without eating - would still need a bottle with just squash in though, especially if it's hot.

Eurostar

Apologies if this is a frustratingly impractical suggestion, but my advice is to go on a touring holiday. I was 2 stone overweight, had done no cycling for 17 years, went to Norway and lost an inch a week from my waist for 5 weeks, tho I was eating non stop. I took a tape measure just to help motivate myself! I also bought very nice Assos kit in the size I was aspiring to, and eventually it fitted me. Looking at myself in the mirror, wearing only bibshorts, was perhaps the most powerful motivator of all. :shock:

Bronzie

Last time I went touring I put half-a-stone on! I suspect it was the Guiness.

hammerite

I take it you do have breakfast before you go out?

Not sure how it would fit in with the diet but you could experimenting with what you eat the evenings before you ride. You'll probably find eating some things the night before will leave you feeling less drained for your ride than others.

Could you carry a banana or something like that to eat? I'm not sure it would impact too much on your diet.

I lost a stone from April - May just by cutting out (or eating the less fattening, calorie intensive alternatives) or coke, crisps and chocolate. I also added 80 mpw cycling on top of my 25 miles a week running (I was already doing that).

The 80mpw is made up of 2 x commutes to and from work per week (40 mile round trip). I have breakfast before I leave home, but then feel quite hungry when I get to work. So I would just eat satsumas and bananas instead of a pastie and bar of chocolate when the sandwich van came round!

keith57

You do need some energy to ride the bike. If you are running out of power towards the end then it's your body telling you that your carbohydrate stores are getting low. My understanding is that this isn't too much of a good thing! I combat this on my regular 30 mile rides by using an energy drink - the powdered stuff I add to my water bottle. To get leaner I tend not to skimp on 'refuelling' when on the bike, but am more watchful when not riding.

On longer rides I tend to stop at cafes rather than carry food, but some of my bike buddies hate to stop and nibble on things when moving. Whatever I'm doing I try and take in plenty of fluids.

Another 'option' is to try and promote the use of body fat as a fuel - all sorts of stuff can help with this - from strong coffee, green tea to Acetyl L Carnitine.

hammerite

Do you feel like you are running out of steam or just hungry?

Sometimes you feel hungry because you are actually thirsty, so you may need to drink more anyway (always a good thing to try when on a diet).

snakehips

I find it depends on the type of riding that I do.
A flattish 50 on just water has given no problems , but a more vigorous 20ish round Richmond Park (again only on water) had me flagging in the third lap.

Snake

carlstone

To answer some of the questions.

I don't have breakfast before I go out, only a glass of water with my prescription pills (100mg atenalol which is a beta blocker and 75mg asprin to thin blood). These preclude the use of some of the fat burning pills suggested as these tend to increase blood pressure.

I am not fit and have built up to about 120 miles per week (monday to friday mornings to work, only 2 mile commute home).

I don't feel hungry, just drained of 'zip' for want of a better word.

It seems to work like this:

First 20 minutes I am waking up so take it easy.

Next hour I am going strong and enjoying it.

Last bit (depending on length of ride) after 1hr 20 mins is a slog.

I have done 70 miles in the past but with museli bars, energy drink and not felt this lethargic feeling, which leads me to believe it is because I am not getting enough food, but I worry that as my goal is to loose weight, eating or drinking calories is defeating the object.

I have a feeling that this is just a phase I am going to have to endure before I get to my goal weight.

I like Eurostars suggestion of promising myself some nice kit when I reach my goal. The only problem is do they do Assos in the same colours as Aldi kit so SWMBO doesn't notice

Crapaud

I seem to remember reading that going out without eating anything was a bad idea. Something about the body thinking that there was a famine, then, when the dieting/exercising stops or reduces it goes into a manic 'store' mode and the weight just piles back on. Can't remember where I read it though, so it might be rubbish.

There's an interesting article here...

http://www.bikeradar.com/fitness/articl ... etter-1065

...that talks about fasted cycling and fat burning.

FWIW I did much the same as Hammerite and cut out fatty foods and sweet things and lost a stone in a month and a half, doing about half the mileage that you're doing.
At the end of the day it's a calories in / calories out thing - as long as you're using more calories than you're eating the weight will drop off steadily.

hammerite

Carl, this may sound harsh but get it into your head........... if you can manage 120 miles per week, you are fit!

Granted, there are guys on here who do 120+ miles a day often and avarage 400 mile weeks. But against the general population 120 miles per week is some achievement.

Crapaud is right about your body going into shock so you no longer burn fat but start to store it. I would say breakfast is a must before you ride. I think it would pretty much stop you going through a rough patch before you finish.

Rezillo

Having gone from 17.5 stone to 13.5 stone a couple of years ago through dieting and biking, I would always make sure that I had enough food beforehand and during a bike ride to make it a pleasant experience.

I now do around three to five 20 to 30 mile rides a week. If I have nothing to eat beforehand, some of the buzz goes out of the process and the ride becomes more of a chore than a pleasure. If that happens, then the motivation you need to carry on with any weightloss regime is badly affected. Provided you don't eat so much that it outweighs what you burn off, you should be ok.

For me, a banana, fruit drink and perhaps a yogurt beforehand is ok, and if I go over 25 miles, two or three fig rolls halfway round stop the last few miles dragging on and on. I also try to go out in the evening before my main evening meal. If you have a meal beforehand, which will be three to four times the calories of any prepatory snack, you will want another one when you get back!

People do get by with no food beforehand but we're all different and your body will let you know if you have a problem. There's no way that I could do more than 30 miles on just an energy drink, for example, but many do.

John

fossyant

Get some oats in for breakfast before you hit the road (I have milk on mine)

The old saying, breakfast like a king, dine like a pauper - just don't eat loads at night.

I'd highly recommend some breakie then go out with water - I too am cutting down the weight, but my problem was snacking at work plus lunches - just seeded bread sandwiches and fruit all day.

I train in the evening, but hoping to get a job which will allow bike commuting (my current one is/was too far away - 25 miles one side of manchester to the other through the centre - no way).

SteveR_100Milers

If you want to ride without eating suggest you keep the intensity low (less than 60% MHR if you sue a HRM) so that you mostly burn fat reserves and not your glycogen stores. Above 60-65% and alhtough you burn more fat, you suddenly start using a much higher proportion of glycogen, which will only last you an hour. I agree with other posters about touring: many hours at a steady pace will burn 3-4000 kcals a day easily, and you can easily recover overnight and do it again, and again. I'm not sure about this body going into shock and not burning fat: its a pretty sophisticted machine that uses only 3 sources of energy: glycogen, fat and protein. All have to be converted into glucose in order for the metabolic process to happen, glycogen is the quickest (has the lowest activation energy) and I think fat is next, though it is a much slower process and has a much higher activiation energy. Starve yourself of carbs and protein, and you will waste away your precious muscles tissue, so if you ride without eating, make sure you stuff your face full of proteins afterwards. Milk and peanut butter sarnies do ok.

To anwer your OP, the max I would ride without refuelling is an hour or a 25 TT at max effort. I could last 50 miles at a lower intensity, and although both might have similar benefits on your weight, you can easily ride 50 miles every day, whereas riding a 25 TT is not realy on without at least 24 hours ir not more between.

knedlicky

I can easily manage 20-30 miles in the morning if I really need to go without breakfast, but I don’t think it should be how one behaves, so I usually don’t.
How far you feel comfortable with depends partly on how you’ve dined in the previous 12-36 hours, both food and drink. So maybe take note of what you’ve had the day before compared to how you manage each ride.
I doubt if no-breakfast-then-cycling is the most effective way to lose weight, as appears your aim, but if you want to persist with no breakfast, not even a slice of bread and a glass of orange juice, I suggest you take not water but some sort of isotonic drink with you - maybe hydration is the problem.

carlstone

Thanks very much for all of your suggestions and encouragement.

Heres what I am doing this week to see if the problem goes away:

1. Drinking a large glass of water 10 minutes before I set out.
2. Making sure I drink while out (water)
3. Taking a museli bar out with me for if I feel the onset of lethargy.

If all that doesn't solve it next week I will add:

1. Museli bar before I set off with water
2. Isotonic drink in water bottle instead of plain water.

Cheers.

Carl.

morrisje

120 miles a week is a good distance. You may feel tired because you are just that, tired. getting up early each morning and cycling every day can wear you out. It may be time to take it easy for a week to get your strength back. I find that sometimes that I just feel a bit washed out and need to rest.

carlstone

Good point Morrisje,

I'm on holiday in two weeks, so will have 2 weeks of excess with little exercise (unless you include walking to and from the bar ). So will have plenty of rest.

The thing is I'm not tired every day, it's just on the longer runs. I only did 15 miles this morning and was perfectly OK all the way round, thats why I thought it may be a food or hydration (due to previous suggestions) problem.

Cheers.

Carl.