Mountain Biking Diets.

quakeroathead

Interesting post, Ive heard that some of the elite xc athletes and road boy towt the benefits of a vegan diet when racing? Im personally vegetarian and my main intake on the trails is cake from a very good bakery in peaslake, uk!

TheEnglishman

The Northern Monkey wrote:

...
Downhill riders tend to be larger and more muscular. A larger body weight may result in greater speeds due to gravitational effects. ...

I'm fairly sure some famous Italian dropped a pile of stuff off the (not so when he did it) Leaning Tower of Pisa to prove heavy things and light things fall at the same rate. Then that Einstein bloke came along and said 'Well actually , heavy things fall faster, if you're in a vacuum'. Although falling a bit quicker is the least of your worries if you happen to be in a vacuum...

Which possibly adds more weight to that old adage 'Built for comfort not for speed'

:P

YeehaaMcgee

TheEnglishman wrote:

The Northern Monkey wrote:

...
Downhill riders tend to be larger and more muscular. A larger body weight may result in greater speeds due to gravitational effects. ...

I'm fairly sure some famous Italian dropped a pile of stuff off the (not so when he did it) Leaning Tower of Pisa to prove heavy things and light things fall at the same rate. Then that Einstein bloke came along and said 'Well actually , heavy things fall faster, if you're in a vacuum'. Although falling a bit quicker is the least of your worries if you happen to be in a vacuum...

Which possibly adds more weight to that old adage 'Built for comfort not for speed'

:P

Whoa there. Completely wrong.
Dropping a very light thing, and a heavy thing from a tower will result in the heavy one hitting the ground first. This is because it's mass and inertia allow it to overcome the negligible air resistance - whereas the light object is impeeded greatly by air resistance.
But in a VACUM, or on the moon, say, they will both fall at exactly the same speed. They actually did this on the moon as a little demonstration piece to camera, using a hammer and a feather, I believe.

jakjtb

yeehaamcgee is correct...it was on QI and as everyone knows. thou shalt not question stephen fry.

marco10

I personally suggest to get a lot of proteins before biking (for instance eggs) and I agree not to drink tea. It's better an orange juice!

pilch

There's a lot to this nutrition thing... you really need to see a sports nutritionist to get your personal balance right, I had an assessment and have an 'eating plan' which he produced for me going forward for next years race season... if you are serious about your diet and your goal is to improve your endurance & fitness and/or loose weight this is the way to go.

I doesn't cost a fortune and if you start now it will make a huge difference to how you perform next summer.

mmacavity

About 14 minutes in:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01rlrzj

fuzzysb

gowerpower wrote:

After an intensive ride regardless of length, I find I suffer from uncomfortable hungry pains in the following mornings until around lunch time/ mid afternoon, this can last for a couple of days after a ride. I tend to follow the majority of the above recommendations, but an starting to think my body is suffering form a deficiency in a particular food group.

My general diet on the day of a ride is below, if anyone has any ideas what might cause the hungry pains I would be please to try it out.

- Breakfast: Wheat based cerial with bit of sugar, cup of decaf tea, toast and jam, with an orange juice and couple of glasses of water.
- 1 hours riding medium intensity, constantly drinking water.
- Snack: Flatjack or nut based cereal bar
- 1 hours riding medium intensity, constantly drinking water.
- Post ride snack: Flatjack or nut based cereal bar
- Lunch: Jacket potateo with tuna or beans and cheese, or pasta and chicken with roasted veg plus a couple of pints of fruit squash.
- I then tend to have mid afternoon snacks like a sandwich or crisps or some cake, with continuous drinking.
- Evening meal, not super health steamed veg but not a takeaway.

Cheer

Wow is it just me or are you just overloading on slow burning carbs. wheres your fruit? ive heard of five a day but you are doing it with oats and potato carbs instead

felix.london

This is my morning breakfast shake Monday to Friday;

http://thehairyrider.com/2013/02/20/the-hairy-breakfast/


Weekends;
Saturday - poached eggs with lentils, raw onion, raw peppers and various sprouty things (and plenty of olive oil)


Sunday - same as Saturday but fried eggs instead of poached and normally add some feta-like sheeps cheese into the mix

...and repeat

coulddobetter

As a qualified nurse with 30 years experience can I just point out the potential dangers of messing around with making your own electrolyte drinks. I have worked in coronary care , most people don't die of a hear t attack , , it's due to dangerous heart rhythms. Out of range sodium potassium and to a lesser extent calcium and magnesium are the main problems.

If in doubt drink water. I myself was found to have an elevated potassium level on a routine blood test ( gp said avoid banana and ttomatoes which are also high in it. )

This is not having a go at the op but more making people aware of potential pitfalls.

BigAirNig

I can recommend reading - The art and science of low carbohydrate performance [on Amazon about £8]

Will change how you think about what is the best fuel for your body.

We can only store about 3000 max calories by carb loading, as glycogen in our muscles - I think it said. So, no wonder most people have to carry gels etc with them on long rides.....

If you use a ketogenic diet your body burns fat for fuel (well fat is converted to ketones by the liver and ketones are used for fuel) instead of carbs. Even a relatively lean person with 15% body fat carries almost 100,000 calories with them, but normally the body cannot tap in to that whilst relying on carbs for fuel.

Nutritional ketosis will mean no more 'energy bonk' on longer rides and weight loss for those that want to.

Another related book is - Why we get fat and what to do about it - by Gary Taubes.

Peter Attia - also has some good lectures on-line about his experiences in endurance performance whilst eating in this way. Cycling is now his main sport.

Interesting stuff!

:P

mmacavity

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01lqqw5

Gut Microbiota

"The human gut has around 100 trillion bacterial cells from up to 1,000 different species. Every person's microbiota (the body's bacterial make-up) is different as a result of the effects of diet and lifestyle, and the childhood source of bacteria. What is it about the microbes in our guts that can have such an impact on our lives?

Scientists are learning more and more about the importance of these bacteria, as well as the viruses, fungi and other microbes that live in our gastrointestinal tracts. Without them, our digestion, immune system and overall health would be compromised.

Adam Hart talks to researchers who are discovering how important a balanced and robust gut microflora is for our health. And he asks how this can be maintained and what happens when things go wrong."

mmacavity

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24621394

mmacavity

http://www.nhs.uk/LIVEWELL/5aday/Pages/5ADAYhome.aspx

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20858809

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOuMaOGrnxU

D4V1D

Could anyone help me understand this statement please.
" However, the long hours of training they undertake suggests they should target intakes similar to those recommended for other elite endurance athletes (7-12 g/kg body mass/day) to promote optimal performance and recovery."

If I weigh 90 Kg how many g's should I eat as per the equation above.

njee20

630-1080g of whatever that statement refers to.

what's the context though, are you actually undertaking a similar amount of training to an elite athlete?

D4V1D

It was taken from the OP link. I was just reading though & got a bit confused/unsure of the amount they were referring to, as they said it might be unachievable.
As to training like an elite athlete, hell no those days have old since passed.

Jonesinamilion

Lowering the tone slightly; before my weekend outing I consumed...
Bacon, cheese & tomato sarnie.
2 cups of tea
Half pint of milk.

During...
Litre squash
Energy gel
Mars bar

Upon my return...
Cup of tea
Roast beef dinner
Tripple chocolate trifle
X4 cans lager to aid my recovery.

Sharonshery

Hi colintrav, your youtube link doesn't working

JodyP

Sharonshery wrote:

Hi colintrav, your youtube link doesn't working

ColinTrav - Last active: Wed Mar 17, 2010 4:15 pm

Ed_P

Jonesinamilion wrote:

Lowering the tone slightly; before my weekend outing I consumed...
Bacon, cheese & tomato sarnie.
2 cups of tea
Half pint of milk.

During...
Litre squash
Energy gel
Mars bar

Upon my return...
Cup of tea
Roast beef dinner
Tripple chocolate trifle
X4 cans lager to aid my recovery.

Sounds like a good day!!

chrisdouglas

Ed_P wrote:

Sounds like a good day!!

Honestly I often find it incomprehensible to drink beer after a ride! I have a 2 hour drive home usually after a ride but even with the time after a ride I still have no ambition what so ever to have a beer

As for diets what do people do for rides?

I have read a load of material, the problem is most of it is aimed at athletes and racers. I'm neither. I tried taking some mixed dried fruit and nuts this weekend on a ride and eating a handful every hour but truthfully after the first couple of hours I found I struggled to eat anything. I don't really want to carry around energy gels and stuff, would a bottle of something like Lucozade Sport be a good idea for later on in rides? Most of my rides aren't that long (usually a couple of hours) but for those days when I spend longer out on the bike I'd love to know what might help if anyone can advise?

Briggo

For me, just carry water with some High5 electrolyte tablets in it. For those who discount them, I drink just water and I cramp up, with the high5 tablets I don't.

For food I eat Nutrigrain breakfast bakes (read in a WMB article that they were one of the best sources of energy that isnt a "sport food", love em), around 1 every 1 to 1.5hrs depending on intensity of ride, topped up with jelly babies in the event of severe bonkage onset.

Now I've started to hit high mileage and ascent (around West Yorkshire, so a little bit hilly) and started to train for endurance races I'm going to experiment with gels and the likes.

FishFish

I think that cramp is the involuntary tensing of muscles. Muscles are meant to go in to tension when they are required to. The involuntary issue relates to nerve signals 'going down' the spinal cord and triggering the wrong muscle or holding it in tension. This can be because the conductivity is affected because of lack of water or lack of electrolyte (eg sodium or potassium) - which is why the advice given on water and bananas is good. Other Sodium based electrolytes (salts) like salt - Sodium Chloride - are good but Sodium Chlorate and Potassium Cyanide are best left to the roadies.

Because it is the spinal chord that is doing all of this it is usually the lower legs or feet that get affected - the heart has its own protective mechanism because you don't really want cramp in the heart muscle. Sometimes you get cramp in the muscles in the jaw line which can be painful.

It is unusual for you to get cramp in someone elses muscles which belies the concept of them being '...a pain in the arrse'.

rideibiza

I'm not a vegetarian but my main consumption is vegetarian meals.. on the occasion meat and fish.. I like meat but after dating a vegan for a year I noticed how good i feel and my power levels on the bike are possibly better. Eggs for breakfast are acidic I like to eat last nights dinner veggies for breakie.. All animal products are acid. Also start your day with a warm water and squeezed lemon juice.

Marisol

I would say instead focus on eating normal, healthy meals and pay particular attention to your hydration.Try to sip on at least 500ml of water.If possible, aim to have finished your breakfast at least two hours before your ride. Take the nuts and seeds adding some healthy protein and fat. Try to finish your evening meal a few hours before you go to bed, helping to avoid any disturbances to your sleep.

javanman123

Most my friends take a shot of espresso or chug coffee before a ride, however I only feel terrible when I do that. I prefer to just drink water pre ride and have a light meal on my stomach, granola bar, banana, and maybe some beef jerky.