BULKING UP before I become serious about biking...

pedal-pony

Hey fellow cyclists and bike mad mateys!

Im in a bit of a pickle:

Have recently become very enthused by MTBiking and cycling. I want to buy an entry level Hard-Trail MTB and have received some very useful advice and helpful tips on the 'GENERAL MTB' forum.

However, my problem is not so much entering the extreme sport - my main concern is my health and fitness.

I am a 20 something female, reasonably fit and very active (horse, bike riding every most days). However I am 5.4ft and only weigh 6 stone. This is very underweight for my height and I have been advised to gain weight by my doctor.

But:

I really enjoy biking, sometimes I cycle (moderately) 3-4 miles per day and would like to increase the distance and type of terrain I ride on (off-road, trails, hills). At the same time, I do not wish to lose any weight - which I believe I might do - if I cycle like I am.

My main query is:

How much energy am I burning / how much do I need to replace (2-3 miles per day - moderate cycling)?

My diet is fairly healthy,

(breakfast) shredded wheat, half tin of fruit and bowl of cocopops

(lunch) ham sandwich, apple, muller light yogurt

(dinner) white/lean low fat meat, turkey, normally potatoes, rice, 2-3 veg

(snacks) 1 chocolate bar or slice of cake (usually a cereal bar as well)

(drinks) 3-4 cups green tea and approx 300-400 mls of semi-skimmed milk and 2-3 cups of water


I watched the 'MARK BEAUMONT' documentary on BBC - he consumed 6000 calories per day - however, he was riding 100 + miles per day (which I am obviously not covering that type of distance or burning that amount of energy).

Maybe a keen cyclist / biker or someone in a similar position as myself can offer a little advice,

any tips/information will be greatly received, thanks......
and

keep peddling!!!

PEDAL-PONY.

Not Another Hill

I commute to work each day on the bike (pushing fairly hard) a round trip of just under 8 miles. According to my HR monitor that is burning up about 300 calories a day. That is about 2 energy bars worth of Kcals to maintain the calories I would have expended. Given you are riding slightly less distance and probably less exertion you would not be expending quite that much.

I would advise getting a heart rate monitor that will give you an idea of how many calories you are burning whilst riding although I'm not sure how accurate they are. Has your Doctor advised you to consume a certain number of calories each day or eat more of a certain food group? Your diet seems healthy enough and would be fine for moderate cycling even with more distance. You would need to look to eat whilst riding (energy bars/gels, carb drinks, jam sandwiches, fig rolls etc) if you are going to ride over an hour. Your Doctor should be able to advise with more certainty. You may, like me, have a high metabolism or genetic factors which account for your weight. I'm 41 and still wear 30" jeans like when I was 18 and weigh about the same. I eat healthily but my weight remains largely unaffected by what I eat or how much or little exercise i do. Lucky, I know.

John Stevenson

The relatively short distances you're talking about are not going to make a huge difference to your food needs.

If Beaumont was doing 100+ miles/day and consuming 4000 Calories over the usual 2000/day recommended for adult males, then 5 miles a day needs 200 extra Calories. That's a couple of small bananas.

You might find that cycling, along with a sensible increase in food intake, helps you put on weight because you'll build leg muscle.

ut_och_cykla

200-500 kcal a day is what youäll need to maintain weight at a GUESS! Make this up with some 'dense' food - an extra sarnie after you get to work?
And perhaps get off the light products for a while - don't go mad - but full fat yoghurt (without a hold load of sugar in it) is quite healthy compared to pizza and pies!! Chocolate milk would also be ok!
Just keep a good balance and eat a tiny bit more regularly.Try to get a bit more protein in too, especially at the beginning of the period so your body can build some more muscle - which will help your weight without making you look 'blobby!

cougie

3 miles of cycling is bugger all basically. Do you have an eating disorder and thats why you have a list of the food you eat ? Isnt your question more about not wanting to put on extra weight rather than making sure you eat enough ?

mr-ed

Everybody burns off what they take on differently so I don't think you can say exactly what you need to eat. If you got a HRM it would tell you round about how many calories you are burning during you ride. For somebody of your height you should be between 8 to 10 stone I'd guess maybe more if your muscular. It takes about 50,000 extra calories to put on a stone. So get eating and get riding. The more you ride the more muscle you'll put on and unless you want to be a pro I wouldn't worry if you chucked some fat on too!

LeighB

Sounds like you would make an excellent hill climber. I find I can eat what I like and not gain weight; more miles = more food. At the weekend I go out in the morning and do anything from 25 to 100 miles, before I go out I eat a large bowl of cerial/museli; when I get back my daughter laughs at the amount of toast I eat.

McBain_v1

I'm with Cougie on this one. Your metabolic rate can't be so high as to turn you into skin & bone if you fail to eat. Maybe you should speak to some body builders instead of cyclists and go to the gym with a few. After a few months on a competition body builder's diet you will defintely have bulked up (chicken breast and pasta for breakfast anyone?).

idaviesmoore

McBain_v1 wrote:

I'm with Cougie on this one. Your metabolic rate can't be so high as to turn you into skin & bone if you fail to eat. Maybe you should speak to some body builders instead of cyclists and go to the gym with a few. After a few months on a competition body builder's diet you will defintely have bulked up (chicken breast and pasta for breakfast anyone?).

Oh, and don't forget all the drugs boby builders take

pedal-pony

hahaha - thanks for the advice and tips everyone.....

I guestimate that I consume approximately 1700-1800 calories per day.... not a great deal anyway.

I only weigh about 6ish stone so I think I can afford to munch away happily and bulk up my muscles (not to mention fat reserves).

All the help is appreciated.
Im not sure how much others eat - but I definately need to take food/go bars/maltloaf on the road with me... even if I only bike 2-3 miles to work.... it cant hurt.

Cheers.
pony.

andrewjoseph

pedal-pony wrote:

...
Im not sure how much others eat - but I definately need to take food/go bars/maltloaf on the road with me... even if I only bike 2-3 miles to work.... it cant hurt.

Cheers.
pony.

You don't need to eat anything during a 3-4 mile commute, by the time you unwrap the cakebar you will be at your destination! however you need to eat enough on longer rides so that you are fuelling the effort of riding and not burning into your reserves all the time.

A small mouthfull or two every 30 mins or so, will help to keep you topped up. if you are working hard you may need to eat more. Energy gels are good as are energy drinks, they allow you to take on more calories and also keep you hydrated.

Muscle is heavier than fat so you can allow yourself to gain weight without worrying about your figure.

With your current weight I'd suggest you eat more, before, during and especially, after, long rides. You can't afford to lose any more weight or you will start getting serious problems.