carbs:protein:fat - what should the numbers be?

vermooten

Hi,

Can anyone point me to a resource on the interweb which describes what his ratio shoudl be for a healthy person who does a lot of cycling? I've just started using FitDay which is great but it tells me that 50-75% of my intake is carbohydrate which seems high despite a low-ish calorie intake, and might help to explain this bulging gut I take with me everywhere i go.

Cheers,
Andy

Alex_Simmons/RST

60% CHP is pretty typical for aerobic endurance cyclists. However it is far better to look for guidance in terms of grams of CHO, fats & protein per kg of body mass, than to use percentages. The g/kg guidelines vary depending on the nature and volume of training you do.

CHO can be anywhere from 5-10 g/kg body mass per day (depending on how much training you do).
Protein ~ 1g/kg BM/day (but more for sustained hard training racing)
Fat no real restriction but say ~ 1g/kg BM/day

Scientific evidence consistently shows that a moderately high carbohydrate diet, with moderate amounts of protein and fat is best for enhancing athletic performance.

In general, the athletic requirement of protein, and fat is easily supplied by a normal, mixed diet. This is true for athletes who eat meat (omnivores), as well as most vegetarians (however, vegans may have to supplement with both protein, and certain minerals and vitamins).

vermooten

Thanks Alex that gives me loads do work with!

Cheers
Andy

steve palmer

I am reading a book by Anita Bean called 'The complete guide to sports nutrition' that covers this and many other relevant topics such as supplements etc. Its not a cycling specific guide but refers to cycling a lot in the test cases and explanations. You don't need a medical degree to understand it either. Might be worth a look.

DaveyL

+1 on that book - very helpful, interesting and informative.

vermooten

My copy is on its way from amazon! Thanks!