Nutrition advice

mark_ed

As my rides have now become longer 50+ miles and my weight loss has been steady I could do with some advice around fuel when riding but still keeping my weight loss steady till i hit my target.

What, and how often should i eat on rides of 3 Hours or more to maintain energy levels but still with the weight loss being maintained.

smidsy

If you know how much you use you can fuel to make sure you do not over eat.

Cycling burns calories at a certain rate depending on your weight and amount of effort, as long as you do not take on board more than you burn you will not put on weight.

People on here seem to range between energy gels and natural food depending on personal preference.

Proper food recommendations include: bananas, malt loaf, fig rolls, honey/jam sandwiches, dried apricots, flapjack etc.

Your looking for something that provides carbs and protein and does not just include sugar (as that gives quick but short energy).

Drinking also very important and again people range from plain water to complex additives/specialist drinks.

Gels are good as an emergency if you BONK but you should aim to eat every 30/40 mins to stop that happening. Jelly babies are a good alternative for a post bonk pick me up.

Eating / hydrating well before a ride is also mportant. Pasta the night before and porridge or other oaty breakfast an hour or so prior to riding are generally considered helpful as they have slow release energy properties.

I would state that I am no expert and new to this myself - the above is what I think I have learned from my time trawling this forum.

I like plain water (or maybe juice added) and real food myself and am currently experimenting with the above type of approach.

For rides under 2 hours I would generally not take food (except emergency jelly babies) and about 500ml of drink, depending on weather and pre ride state.

mark_ed

Cheers smidsy,

realise everyone is different i just didnt want to fuel too much and undo all the effort of the exercise thats given me an idea on how often i should be eating.

MartinB2444

Chocolate chilli fudgecake at the Hathersage Deli, or, millionaires shortbread at the Courtyard Cafe, Hope. Works a treat for me

Martin

Pross

At a moderate effort for a fairly average weight person you would probably burn about 600 to 700 calories per hour. Using a heart rate monitor with a computer that records your weight will give you a reasonable approximation of actual calories burned. A deficit of around 500 calories per day will maintain weight loss of about 1lb per week so check the calories of what you take with you on the bike and eat accordingly (I would take a bit extra with you for emergencies). Don't forget to include the calories in energy drinks. As for what to eat - well, as above you can either go for specialist gels and energy bars or use more natural products with a high level of carbs.