What to eat and when to eat.....

[ray316]

l suppose what your eating habits are like has a bearing on the energy you have when cycling.
So l would like to ask other forum members what they eat... and when to eat.
First what to eat.. what food is good for the energy/leg muscles needed for cycling.
Or when to eat... is it best to eat after cycling, what food is good for you and will also make you feel full instead of still raiding the fridge which you can do after a good work out.

 

[colinr]

Unless you're training for something, ride the bike and eat what you like. Everything else sorts itself out.

Or the more boring answer: If I was going to do a reasonably hard ride, I'd eat slow carbs the night before (probably pasta), carbs and protein for breakfast (eggs on toast) and take cereal bars / gel bars / jelly babies for the ride. And do cake stops.

 

[Alien8]

Cake - and as often as you can get it.

As Colin says, unless you're going trekking for days on end don't worry too much about.

For day rides just learn what your body needs. I can ride for about 2-hours fairly intensely (avg ~20mph) without needing to take food with me but for longer rides jelly babies/cereal bars etc meet my needs.

Hydration is a different matter.

 

[ray316]

Cake Forgive me for asking but why cake, isn't that fattening and defeating the object of losing calories/fat.
l have no doubt someone will explain the reason why.....

 

[colinr]

If you're cycling a decent amount of miles on a regular basis, why not treat yourself?

Like I said, unless you're training for something, I wouldn't worry about it. Cycling a decent amount of miles on a regular basis will work its magic and affords you guilt free cake, there's no science involved

 

[monnet]

It's a well known fact that cyclists work best when plied with regular cake.

Saturday and Sunday clubruns cannot be completed without intake of cake halfway round. On winter training rides where it is decreed that 'training' means no stops, cake goes in the back pocket and is eaten on the move. On returning home, lunch must be followed by cake. There should probably be time for a coffee and slice of cake in the mid-late afternoon too.

As for the calories argument, on a 70 mile Sunday clubrun, I will typically burn 2300 calories or more. At that rate of calorific burn, I think the calories in cake are a good thing.

 

[johnr]

Cake Forgive me for asking but why cake, isn't that fattening and defeating the object of losing calories/fat.
l have no doubt someone will explain the reason why.....

'cos we're all addicts!

If you're cycling regularly, I think you'll find you're getting proper hungry regularly. Balanced meals in profusion should replenish your energy. If you are going specialist, follow the advice above, but on the whole your body should tell you what it wants once you get used to things. I eat all sorts of things all the time, safe in the knowledge that I'm not going to put on weight. Only alcohol seems to leave occasional problems, unfortunately.

I like mule bars on rides; they're a great mixture of carbs, dried fruits, nuts etc and not to sticky or too dry, so easy to manage whilst you pedal. Gels are great for keeping energy levels high... and make sure you drink plenty.

Cycling Plus has regular nutrition pages if you want to do more scientific research.

Enjoy!

 

[iAmiAdam]

I generally eat normal food, but I no longer eat chocolate or crap, drink coke etc.

I've made no changes to meal times though, they're still all the same, and I'm training for racing.

 

[Camgreen]

Admittedly only based on a 50-60 mile tootle at no great pace, large bowl of porridge, banana & dried fruit and maybe a slice of toast. Banana, maybe a cereal bar or bit of malt bread (sometimes occasional wild berries from the hedgerows

) enroute, seems to be sufficient for me tbh. My advice would always carrying a bit extra, if practical, does no harm or at least the odd bit of small coinage for snack emergencies.

 

[Rouge Penguin]

Toast and eggs if its a morning ride, or eat healthy enough during the day for afternoon evening rides. For 50+ take a banana.

Or ride on a sausage and egg muffin if you're still paying for the night before

 

[HLaB]

What are you doing ray?

Anything under an hour say, don't bother but if you know you are going for several hours its best to eat often. On a hundred miler I like to eat something every 20-25 miles regardless of how I feel.

Off the bike if I've got something coming up (like a Sportive) I'll carbo load (usually pasta meals) but my diet doesn't specifically change.

On the morning of an event, I like a bowl of cereal but then again I have that almost every morning.

After a cycle or even mid cycle you can eat as much sweet things (cake) as you want to without having to worry about calories

 

[ray316]

What are you doing ray?

Anything under an hour say, don't bother but if you know you are going for several hours its best to eat often. On a hundred miler I like to eat something every 20-25 miles regardless of how I feel.

Off the bike if I've got something coming up (like a Sportive) I'll carbo load (usually pasta meals) but my diet doesn't specifically change.

On the morning of an event, I like a bowl of cereal but then again I have that almost every morning.

After a cycle or even mid cycle you can eat as much sweet things (cake) as you want to without having to worry about calories

My rides usually last 1 hour to 90 minutes...
Can you explain why after a cycle or even mid cycle you can eat as much sweet things(cake) as you want without having to worry about Calories just can't get my head around eat cakes and no worry with calories..
Would not want to go cycling and eat cake(s) after a ride knowing the calories l have burnt off l have put back in after eating a cake

 

[bottombracket]

Hi Ray

Hard cycling (racing or training to race) can burn up 1000 calories per hour.

Easy cycling burns 300 calories or more...

If you don't eat enough to fuel your ride, you will feel like crap.

Most people can ride an hour or two on stored glycogen reserves - much longer than that and you need to refuel en-flite.

On long day-rides, I tend to snack every hour or so - flapjack or energy-bar in the jersey pocket.

Once home, you need to eat to promote recovery. Then you will be sorted for doing it all again next day.

You will only gain weight if calories consumed are way less than calories used.
I would guess that you are burning 500-1000 calories on your 60-90min rides.

 

[quassleberry]

My rides usually last 1 hour to 90 minutes...
Can you explain why after a cycle or even mid cycle you can eat as much sweet things(cake) as you want without having to worry about Calories just can't get my head around eat cakes and no worry with calories..
Would not want to go cycling and eat cake(s) after a ride knowing the calories l have burnt off l have put back in after eating a cake

Just get in touch with your female side as the others have done - Cake is good, end of.
Also if you're making it for the children it has no calories when you eat it!

 

[Adasta]

My rides usually last 1 hour to 90 minutes...
Can you explain why after a cycle or even mid cycle you can eat as much sweet things(cake) as you want without having to worry about Calories just can't get my head around eat cakes and no worry with calories..
Would not want to go cycling and eat cake(s) after a ride knowing the calories l have burnt off l have put back in after eating a cake

In general, a man needs 2500 calories a day to maintain the same weight. If you go for a ride and burn 1000 calories there's no problem in eating 4-500 calories-worth of cake; if you were to keep this up, you'd still lose 1lb a week (as long as you kept cycling too!).

Also, cake has a lot of sugar in it which is a simple carbohydrate. This is broken down quickly by the body, causing an insulin spike. While this isn't great if you're in an office stuffing your face with cake and therefore with energy you won't burn off, on a bike it can be very useful. If you take a break from cycling, have a bit of cake and then go out riding again, the sugar you have just ingested will be rapidly burnt off as your body uses up the energy (which is very quickly available to your body) the digestion of the sugar provides to fuel you during the quite physically demanding activity of cycling.

My housemate is/was a semi-pro cyclist. I once asked him what he would eat post-race. His response? "Anything I like."