Weight loss for active cyclist

August 11, 2006 10:32 AM

Mother of all nutrition questions: Trying to do the smaller-meals-more-frequently thing but I'm stuck in a cube and I also need to EAT for 3+ hour bike rides.

My road bike riding will benefit from my dropping a few pounds. I've been re-evaluating my eating habits and have been stuck in the 2-or-3 squares for the last few years.

Maybe the fact that I eat a healthy-but-big lunch and then sit for a few hours at said cube is a problem.

I think my body is used to all of the riding (about 100 miles a week, mostly about 80-85% MHR) and I seem stuck at my current body weight. I ride pretty well, can climb ok but want to take things further. I'm realizing that nutrition is what's holding me back. I'm not a junk-food-eater/soda drinker by any means. I try and eat things that are relatively natural, easy to digest, and give me enough carbs/protein to ride.

Ok enough background. I'd like to hear some ideas of what constitutes a smaller meal. And what constitutes frequent.

Also, lets hear what types of 'meals' I can keep at a cube with access to a fridge and a microwave.

Now here's the kicker-my rides require food. The last time I tried to vary my eating patterns, I bonked miserably at a group ride. However, that was probably due to stupidity, I ate a big breakfast (9am), was too full to eat anything else, and then just died an hour into the 5:30pm ride.

Will eating 'smaller' meals give me enough fuel to power me up canyons and through 3+ hours of 18-20mph?

I guess the short version of this question is that I'm looking for help finding the delicate balance of eating little(or properly) enough to lose weight but eating enough to ride for hours.

I'm also starting to track my eating on my treo-any suggestions for that would be terrific. I'm already tracking my cycling on the FPP-deserving motionbased.com - link goes to my profile.

posted by neilkod to health (8 comments total)

Eat (more) during your ride, of course. (You are already doing that, right?) You're probably burning 800-1000 calories per hour (or even more) during an intense group ride but you can sustain yourself for a 3 hour ride by taking in about 300 (maybe 400) calories per hour. You're still losing in the net. Personally, I find if I take in about 300 calories an hour, I can do a fast century on a breakfast of cereal, a bagel, and a banana.

This is exactly why there is an idea out there that slower rides can be a better weight-burning tool as long as you have a lot of time for them. You can sustain low-intensity riding without taking in a lot of fast calories as you go. But you have to ride a lot longer. It's a wash, really.
posted by Wolfdog at 10:41 AM on August 11, 2006

Wolfdog, with respects to eating on the bike, are all calories equal? Do I need to worry about protein/carbohydrate/fat balances while I'm on the bike, or should I just try and eat n calories/hour.

in other words, does it matter if I'm eating clif bars/gels/bananas or whatever*, as long as I'm getting my calories?

*whatever is easily-storable, bike-friendly food.
posted by neilkod at 10:48 AM on August 11, 2006

I used to love making a few hummus and sprouts sandwiches and halving them, and eating them at the desk whenever. It's a pretty neat sandwich if you squish the sprouts into the hummus. Plus a nice protein/fat/vitamin balance. I also like tuna though some people consider this very gross, especially to let sit for a few hours.

I work (brain and brawn both) best when I eat about 5 times a day. At first you feel hungry at the end of the meal, but this is just because you're used to eating more. For me adding roughage helps (this also makes all the meals pretty cheap).
posted by shownomercy at 11:50 AM on August 11, 2006

Every two hours works best for me, but every 3 is the minimum.

Eating frequently keeps your metabolism stable and prevents/reduces muscle loss from catabolism, especially if you are eating protein every 2 hours or so.

Lastly, you need to eat while exercising. That's all there is to it. Nothing can substitute for that. Protein + Carbs in a beverage.

To lose weight while continuing heavy cardio is a math problem. I suggest setting a baseline of 1.4 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass. Then, add in calories until you get to whatever you are eating now, including some kind of protein/carb drink that you will consume during 3 hour bike rides. Once you are eating this like clock work for two weeks, then start subtracting 500 calories a week.
posted by ewkpates at 11:50 AM on August 11, 2006

I swim (hard) five times a week and work in a cube all day, so I appreciate this problem. My favorite food solutions are instant oatmeal and popcorn: easy, reasonably good for you, fast, cube friendly.

As for a schedule, I eat before I go to work (about 7.30); at 10; at 12; at 3; and then a big dinner after practice (8-10 depending), plus gatorade during and recovery drink after. I eat enough that I am not still starving and little enough that I am hungry when it's time to eat again. Meals include yogurt + granola, fruit, 2 packets of instant oatmeal, a whole bag of the popcorn. Lunch is a little bigger. I've been slowly losing weight, but then again I still eat a lot of cake. But that's me: you'll have to experiment to find the right quantitites for you, obviously.
posted by dame at 12:09 PM on August 11, 2006

girl, workout but by no means athelte answering.

Small meals are usually in the 200-300 calorie range. I eat at my cube, here is a typical day

7 bran muffin 150 cal
8:30 apple 50 calories
10:00 apple, light string cheese 110
11:30 nutrisytem meal 200
2:00 light string cheese, soy crisps 200
4:00 all bran 110
6:00 dinner 450
8:00 apple, low fat cheese and toast 125

This equals out to about 1500 calories, which is perfect for me for losing weight, you need considerably more to keep your metabolism up. As far as energy for rides, carbs are most easily converted into sugar for energy. Protein is your fuel for long term situations and for building muscle. So eat fruits and granolas and stuff when you ride.

go to spark people.com and enter your information as far as how much you exercsie and what not and it will tell you how much to eat to lose weight
posted by stormygrey at 12:53 PM on August 11, 2006

I used to eat a relatively large lunch then have to battle the crash a few hours after. Since on some days I sit at a desk all day and on other days I have to move lots of heavy things for hours on end I sometimes need the extra calories and sometimes I don't.

Now instead of eating a big lunch I just eat my lunch throughout the entire day. Maybe I'll have a few almonds around 10am that will get me through to my sandwich and yogurt at noon, then some carrots and even a powerbar type thing in the afternoon if I need it. The weekends are more difficult to do the staggared eating thing. When eating out I still can't say no to the beer and honestly I'm not even trying to but I do now take the salad option over the french fry option. I also stop myself when I'm half done with the entree and take the rest home to eat several hours later.

I've recently started getting more and more into cycling and have been riding between 40 and 50 miles every saturday or sunday in addition to my commute which is only 7 miles round trip. Leading up to the long ride I try to do the same kind of staggared eating over time of what I normally would eat at one time.

The first few times I did 40+ miles I only drank water and was pretty exhausted afterwards and though I didn't bonk I suspect that was where I was headed. Now in addition to water I also take along one bottle of accelerade and bring something to eat half-way through. Drinking that throughout the entire ride left me far less exhausted after doing a longer than usual ride. I am new to all this too but from what I've read anything with the 4:1 carb:protein ratio should do the trick. It did make a big difference for me.

For the cycling side of your diet you should read and post at www.bikeforums.net as those folks have a great deal of combined knowledge.
posted by J-Garr at 12:59 PM on August 11, 2006

If you can afford them and don't mind sugar alcohols, Met-RX protein plus bars are great. ~30 g of protein in each one for 320 calories.
posted by callmejay at 8:49 AM on August 12, 2006