Nutrition

Beed

Hi,

Quite new to cycling and need some advice regarding nutrition.....what to have before and after rides.

THanks

joey54321

Before is personal, depends how and what you digest well but a bit of toast or a banana would probably be ok.

My routine after a decent ride is a banana smoothie with milk, banana (obviously), a bit of maple syrup, ground up oats, protein powder and a pinch of salt. Sometimes I mix it up a bit with berries, cherry juice, cinnamon etc...

I don't know if it's psychological but after training sessions when I can't or don't have this and have "normal" food (yoghurt and oats for example, or perhaps straight in to dinner) I do feel worse the next day.

Beed

joey54321 wrote:

Before is personal, depends how and what you digest well but a bit of toast or a banana would probably be ok.

My routine after a decent ride is a banana smoothie with milk, banana (obviously), a bit of maple syrup, ground up oats, protein powder and a pinch of salt. Sometimes I mix it up a bit with berries, cherry juice, cinnamon etc...

I don't know if it's psychological but after training sessions when I can't or don't have this and have "normal" food (yoghurt and oats for example, or perhaps straight in to dinner) I do feel worse the next day.

Thanks, i will basically eat anything (none of it good) after a ride, probably why my legs are still aching 2 days later!!

sloppyschleckonds

Before: Melon, Beetroot, Haribo
After: Banana, Milk

surfercyclist

Before porridge and tea, after coffee and whatever takes my fancy.

imposter2.0

Beed wrote:

Hi,

Quite new to cycling and need some advice regarding nutrition.....what to have before and after rides.

THanks

Depends on the time of day, how long the ride is and how hard the ride is. For an hour's ride in the evening, you don't need to be eating porridge beforehand, for instance. But generally speaking, assuming you are already eating a relatively normal balanced diet, just keep on eating that. No need to over-think it.

joey54321

Beed wrote:

joey54321 wrote:

Before is personal, depends how and what you digest well but a bit of toast or a banana would probably be ok.

My routine after a decent ride is a banana smoothie with milk, banana (obviously), a bit of maple syrup, ground up oats, protein powder and a pinch of salt. Sometimes I mix it up a bit with berries, cherry juice, cinnamon etc...

I don't know if it's psychological but after training sessions when I can't or don't have this and have "normal" food (yoghurt and oats for example, or perhaps straight in to dinner) I do feel worse the next day.

Thanks, i will basically eat anything (none of it good) after a ride, probably why my legs are still aching 2 days later!!

This has been an issue for me too. I quite like having a bit of a routine. Easy ride = a bit of fruit, medium ride = banana smoothie, hard ride = banana smoothie + ~50g of raisins or dried dates.

The smoothie helps with rehydration as well as feeling a little full and the routine, in general, helps so I don't end up eating everything in the house. Once I've had my "post-ride food" I get back to my normal diet, as opposed to always thinking "well, I did just do a ride, i'll eat X".

Beed

I'll go out on a Sunday morning, approximately 30-40 miles so will have beans/eggs on toast before i go out and feel ok. It was through using trainer road that brought post ride nutrition to my attention, never thought about it before.

imposter2.0

Beed wrote:

I'll go out on a Sunday morning, approximately 30-40 miles so will have beans/eggs on toast before i go out and feel ok. It was through using trainer road that brought post ride nutrition to my attention, never thought about it before.

Some might disagree with this, but unless you are putting in at least 10-15+ hard training hours per week on a bike, you really don't need to worry about 'post ride nutrition'. You said yourself you are new to cycling, so for a couple of hours on a Saturday morning, just a normal diet will be fine..

Beed

Imposter wrote:

Beed wrote:

I'll go out on a Sunday morning, approximately 30-40 miles so will have beans/eggs on toast before i go out and feel ok. It was through using trainer road that brought post ride nutrition to my attention, never thought about it before.

Some might disagree with this, but unless you are putting in at least 10-15+ hard training hours per week on a bike, you really don't need to worry about 'post ride nutrition'. You said yourself you are new to cycling, so for a couple of hours on a Saturday morning, just a normal diet will be fine..

Thanks - appreciate the advice

joey54321

Imposter wrote:

Beed wrote:

I'll go out on a Sunday morning, approximately 30-40 miles so will have beans/eggs on toast before i go out and feel ok. It was through using trainer road that brought post ride nutrition to my attention, never thought about it before.

Some might disagree with this, but unless you are putting in at least 10-15+ hard training hours per week on a bike, you really don't need to worry about 'post ride nutrition'. You said yourself you are new to cycling, so for a couple of hours on a Saturday morning, just a normal diet will be fine..

I am one of those who disagrees.

Just because the OP's fitness will grow quickly due to being new anyway, why not grow it faster by nailing the nutrition (or at least paying attention to it). The other point is that the body is more ready to utilize food and calories post exercise, since you have to eat during a day, it's a good idea to try and provide these calories while the body is most receptive to them and will do the most 'good'. It's a bit extreme but better to give your body calories while it will use them effectively as opposed to starving it of calories and then providing the body with calories later when you're just sitting around and they'll just be stored as fat. It might be the OP doesn't need to go and buy everything on MyProtein.com, but having a good routine of post ride eating/fueling, for me, is essential and helps stop me over eating later in the day (something the OP has also mentioned).

keef66

Beed wrote:

I'll go out on a Sunday morning, approximately 30-40 miles so will have beans/eggs on toast before i go out and feel ok. It was through using trainer road that brought post ride nutrition to my attention, never thought about it before.

As long as that's not 30-40 miles of flat-out effort or constant hills, and you take enough to drink, I'd agree that a reasonably fit rider shouldn't need anything other than normal food.

If you're really pushing hard and working to improve your fitness, - you mention aching legs 2 days later - as long as you're eating a balanced diet with a mix of carbs, fats and protein your body will have all it needs to repair / build muscles and replenish glycogen.

If you start doing more frequent and / or high intensity workouts, something like a full fat milk / banana smoothie within an hour or so of the exercise is claimed to help with the repair processes.

If I'm planning to be out for more than a couple of hours I'll take things to snack on; fig rolls and jelly babies are my go-to favourites for the back pocket.

imposter2.0

joey54321 wrote:

Imposter wrote:

Beed wrote:

I'll go out on a Sunday morning, approximately 30-40 miles so will have beans/eggs on toast before i go out and feel ok. It was through using trainer road that brought post ride nutrition to my attention, never thought about it before.

Some might disagree with this, but unless you are putting in at least 10-15+ hard training hours per week on a bike, you really don't need to worry about 'post ride nutrition'. You said yourself you are new to cycling, so for a couple of hours on a Saturday morning, just a normal diet will be fine..

I am one of those who disagrees.

Just because the OP's fitness will grow quickly due to being new anyway, why not grow it faster by nailing the nutrition (or at least paying attention to it). The other point is that the body is more ready to utilize food and calories post exercise, since you have to eat during a day, it's a good idea to try and provide these calories while the body is most receptive to them and will do the most 'good'. It's a bit extreme but better to give your body calories while it will use them effectively as opposed to starving it of calories and then providing the body with calories later when you're just sitting around and they'll just be stored as fat. It might be the OP doesn't need to go and buy everything on MyProtein.com, but having a good routine of post ride eating/fueling, for me, is essential and helps stop me over eating later in the day (something the OP has also mentioned).

'Nailing the nutrition' as you put it, could be as simple as eating a normal balanced diet pre/post ride. The OP hasn't actually said what his fitness objectives are, nor has he indicated how often he rides, and at what distance/intensity.

kingstongraham

Don't eat crap.

Midlands Grimpeur

Some might disagree with this, but unless you are putting in at least 10-15+ hard training hours per week on a bike, you really don't need to worry about 'post ride nutrition'.

This has been my experience, once I got up to 10+ hours per week, taking greater care of what I eat and when has helped. I always had a pretty sensible balanced diet before but increased volume and especially intensity has meant planning meals has become more important. I don't go over the top post ride, usually chocolate milk and fruit is enough and making sure I have a main meal of the day fairly soon after a long ride (anything over 3hrs for example). I also found a small snack before bed helps, usually a bowl of cereal! I have also found getting diet right off the bike usually means I don't have to stuff my face whilst riding to keep going.

sloppyschleckonds

SurferCyclist wrote:

Before porridge and tea, after coffee and whatever takes my fancy.

Mmm, porridge for lunch, and sometimes for dinner.

surfercyclist

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

SurferCyclist wrote:

Before porridge and tea, after coffee and whatever takes my fancy.

Mmm, porridge for lunch, and sometimes for dinner.

Nah, just for breakfast.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

~30mins or more before a ride where I plan to climb up to a handful of cat4s as hard as I can, I'll normally have at least a banana. On top of porridge with mixed fruit if it's a morning ride, perhaps a peanut putter/jam/salt reduced yeast extract sandich if it's between lunch and mid afternoon.

During ride, jelly babies and mixed fruit, if I expect to be out longer than ~90mins.

After ride, porridge with mixed fruit and peanuts, and/or a protein fix like a ham "manwich." Plus lots of water to try and re-hydrate!

I learned the hard way last summer, that "starving myself" while on a hard ride will result in me emptying the fridge and cupboards on return home, but something to nibble on in-between climbs will mean I'm far more restrained after the ride.

Beed

THanks for the replies. I'm planning to do the manchester to blackpool ride in July, but going to ride back as well....god help me!!

sloppyschleckonds

Eat as much as you can at the B-B-Q before returning home

mrfpb

Whatever you eat give your stomach time to digest it before putting in a hard effort. A full stomach demands a high blood supply. If your legs are demanding a high blood supply at the same time then you get stomach cramps or, worse, throw up your meal. Either way your food is a hindrance rather than a help.

I've made the mistake many times of overeating at a stop mid-ride and had a terrible second half.

gweeds

Five thousand packets of Jaffa cakes.

mrfpb

Gweeds wrote:

Five thousand packets of Jaffa cakes.

One thousand packs = one portion of fruit?

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Gweeds wrote:

Five thousand packets of Jaffa cakes.

Pre and post ride?
Are you allowed to eat them whole while riding, or do have to separate the cake and marmalade layers like normal?