Nutrition

[Isabella]

This is an area I am definately lacking in ... any thoughts or help on what's good cycling nutrition before/after a ride etc etc
I'm trying to lean out but maintain my muscle and hopefully grow some more muscle but with minimal fat

Maybe someone knows a good link or book for raining / cycling nutrition or supplements ... any help much appreciated

[Chaderotti]

I'm not too fussed to be honest. I just eat what ever (except sugar). On rides I just eat uncle tobies muesli bars and they get me through. Had my longest ride in a fair while after a month off (only 75 km ) got home and ate a handful of Jaffas. Woke up this morning feeling fine.

Hope someone else can answer your question better than I can

[toolonglegs]

This is OK...

I have this on order...

[wombatK]

Maybe someone knows a good link or book for raining / cycling nutrition or supplements ... any help much appreciated

Sports Dietitians Australia are university accredited experts in this area. They have a number of pretty useful fact sheets such as this Eating and Drinking During and After Sport

If you want to build muscle, you need protein and there's good evidence that the maximum benefit from protein comes if you have it within an hour of completing exercise. Just make sure your overall calorie intake is not exceeding your energy expenditure, and you won't lay down fat.

[lethoso]

This is an area I am definately lacking in ... any thoughts or help on what's good cycling nutrition before/after a ride etc etc
I'm trying to lean out but maintain my muscle and hopefully grow some more muscle but with minimal fat

you could buy some whey protein powder & make a shake after exercise. It's pretty cheap if you buy on the internet. I usually make a shake with protein powder, milk, icecream and bananas in it - I figure it's after exercise so I want some carbs too. Whey protein powder is also meant to be more quickly absorbed after exercise, so it's probably better than eating a steak.

*none of this is based on any sort of science.

[Ross]

Good links, wombatK.

[Isabella]

Generally I try and have a dinner with carbs the night before a ride, usually something light before ride, and then yeah protein shake minus the ice cream after cycle. I guess I'm just not sure what I need during the ride ... obviously depends on the length of it etc but I don't know how much to eat ? Or what will best help my muscles. Seems it needs to be a balance or protein and carbs?

[Mulger bill]

Bananas are good, lots of carbs and the magnesium content helps prevent cramping.

[trailgumby]

For post-ride recovery, Joe Friel recommends 600ml of skim milk with a couple of tablespoons of sugar. I prefer Milo, meself.

On the bike I use a 750ml bidon with Powerade powder mixed per instructions (Gatorade is just way too strong on the advised mix ) per hour, or a gel every 45 minutes to half hour, depending on how hard I'm going. Occasionally a Carman's traditional fruit muesli bar at the same frequency as gels, but I find them a bit hard to get down if the intensity is high. A bananana, mandarin or apple at the 30 minute mark amongst the other stuff I eat works for me as well.

For general eating, I'm just careful to eat good lean stuff most of the time, occasionally spoil myself with some nice takeaway (all things in moderation), and I restrict the carbs closely on the evening meal keeping to protein and vegetables unless I have a big ride planned for the following day.

[wombatK]

you could buy some whey protein powder & make a shake after exercise. It's pretty cheap if you buy on the internet. I usually make a shake with protein powder, milk, icecream and bananas in it - I figure it's after exercise so I want some carbs too. Whey protein powder is also meant to be more quickly absorbed after exercise, so it's probably better than eating a steak.

Many body builders learn that the cheapest source of protein is in fact skim milk - seriously cheaper than whey protein. And just as effective.

A starter recipe for a skim milk recovery shake: One cup of low-fat milk, 4 tablespoons or 50g of skim milk powder (even more if you're greedy ), scoop of low-fat ice-cream, half a glass of ice cubes (for extra chill), one banana, and a teaspoon or two of honey if you've got a sweet tooth, throw it in the blender for a minute or so. For a variation, add a teaspoon of cocoa powder (not drinking chocolate, too much sucrose in that) - chocolate + banana == liquid banana split. Other fruit can be substituted for banana - for example, strawberries when cheap enough.

Skim milk powder is about 1/3 protein and just over 1/2 carbohydrate (naff-all or 1% fat), lean fillet steak is about 1/3 protein, no carbs, and 5% fat. Most people could easily devour 100g or even 200g of steak, but getting through 100 or 200 g of skim milk powder might take some getting used to.

Cheers

[orphic]

Pre ride for me is 45 grams of carbohydrates.

During a ride that is longer than 90 minutes, I will take in about 30gm's carbohydrate per hour in the form of bars and maybe gels, sometimes I will throw a sports drink in there. It depends on the intensity of the ride. The more intense, the more fuel you are pulling from glycogen stores and the more you need to replenish.

Post ride 60 grams of carbohydrates with a bit of protein. It doesn't have to be much protein! Having a skim hot chocolate and sourdough or fruit with yoghurt has enough carbs and protein to do me. If it's been a big ride on the weekend I've been told (by a sport dietician) to then take in 60 grams of carbohydrate per hour up until lunch. I am finding this hard to do but assuming the ride finishes ~10am I tend to get one extra lot of food in (after my post-ride meal) before having a late lunch.

Apart from that, eat what you like. See what works for you. Don't take advice from trained cyclists who are able to get away with doing things you would not. For example, I noticed others were talking about skimping on carbs at dinner time - I tried this and it was a BIG mistake. Serious decreased performance and it took me a while to figure out what was going on. As you get fitter you will get better at pulling energy from your fat stores, but since you're just starting out you'll want to be fuelling a bit more than what people around you are. When I started I felt funny about eating on a ride because it seemed like no one else was doing it, but then I learnt that I needed to eat more than them to survive.

This is for a female, btw. When I spoke to the dietician about it was because I was finding I wasn't able to recover very well in order to train or race on consecutive days. Isabella I am pretty sure you would be fine to follow something similar. Knowing all of the training you are doing I don't think you need to be overly concerned with putting on weight.

[MichaelB]

A starter recipe for a skim milk recovery shake: One cup of low-fat milk, 4 tablespoons or 50g of skim milk powder (even more if you're greedy ), scoop of low-fat ice-cream, half a glass of ice cubes (for extra chill), one banana, and a teaspoon or two of honey if you've got a sweet tooth, throw it in the blender for a minute or so. For a variation, add a teaspoon of cocoa powder (not drinking chocolate, too much sucrose in that) - chocolate + banana == liquid banana split. Other fruit can be substituted for banana - for example, strawberries when cheap enough.
Cheers

Interesting. Will start trying that out.


Another Q - I tend to ride in the evening (after work and just before the little one is ready for bed - about 6:30 - 7pm, traffic has died down a bit as well) and have my dinner after that.

Is there an issue with that ? I find that I can't ride with a full stomach.

So if I have the milk/protien shake straight after the ride, have a shower and then dinner, does this sound OK ?

[wombatK]

A starter recipe for a skim milk recovery shake: One cup of low-fat milk, 4 tablespoons or 50g of skim milk powder (even more if you're greedy ), scoop of low-fat ice-cream, half a glass of ice cubes (for extra chill), one banana, and a teaspoon or two of honey if you've got a sweet tooth, throw it in the blender for a minute or so. For a variation, add a teaspoon of cocoa powder (not drinking chocolate, too much sucrose in that) - chocolate + banana == liquid banana split. Other fruit can be substituted for banana - for example, strawberries when cheap enough.
Cheers

Interesting. Will start trying that out.


Another Q - I tend to ride in the evening (after work and just before the little one is ready for bed - about 6:30 - 7pm, traffic has died down a bit as well) and have my dinner after that.

Is there an issue with that ? I find that I can't ride with a full stomach.

So if I have the milk/protien shake straight after the ride, have a shower and then dinner, does this sound OK ?

Sounds good - although a late dinner mightn't be the best way to start a restful nights sleep. You could get all the protein you need via a good steak/meal - and skip the shake.

[the_clydesdale]

For me, porridge... Does wonders, heaps of energy, great source of fibre to keep you regular and during the winter keeps your ribs warm!

[m@]

A starter recipe for a skim milk recovery shake: One cup of low-fat milk, 4 tablespoons or 50g of skim milk powder (even more if you're greedy ), scoop of low-fat ice-cream, half a glass of ice cubes (for extra chill), one banana, and a teaspoon or two of honey if you've got a sweet tooth, throw it in the blender for a minute or so. For a variation, add a teaspoon of cocoa powder (not drinking chocolate, too much sucrose in that) - chocolate + banana == liquid banana split. Other fruit can be substituted for banana - for example, strawberries when cheap enough.
Cheers

Not sure I'm sold on using skim milk but then adding ice cream!

Try skipping the ice-cream but peel and freeze the banana - gives you the same texture as an ice cream thick-shake but without all the bad stuff.

[wombatK]

Cheers

Not sure I'm sold on using skim milk but then adding ice cream!

Try skipping the ice-cream but peel and freeze the banana - gives you the same texture as an ice cream thick-shake but without all the bad stuff. [/quote]
My suggestion was low fat ice cream. Gives it a nice vanilla flavour, and its only 3g of fat per 100g; after a long ride, you deserve and can afford the treat . Nevertheless, your frozen banana sound a promising variation - thanks for the suggestion.

Cheers

[m@]

My suggestion was low fat ice cream.

My brain filters out the words low fat

[mikesbytes]

Your Sista has reviewed this book

[Isabella]

as in she just re iterated whats in the book? Is it good?

Orphic - How did you work out how many carbs you need for a ride etc? Should I just follow what you take on a long ride eg waterfall and see how it goes for me? I'm not too concerned about putting on weight but getting heavier also means getting slower ...

[mikesbytes]

I never saw what she wrote.

If your not pursuing weight loss, then you want a High Gi carb and protein (no fat) within 25 minutes of finishing the exercise. Not easy to achieve.

Apart from larger males, most need some nutrition to do Waterfall. In addition to orphic, you should check out what the other females do - Amy, Camilla, Joanne

[orphic]

as in she just re iterated whats in the book? Is it good?

Orphic - How did you work out how many carbs you need for a ride etc? Should I just follow what you take on a long ride eg waterfall and see how it goes for me? I'm not too concerned about putting on weight but getting heavier also means getting slower ...

That was based on some research and also trial and error. On more intense rides I have less time to eat so I don't end up following the above, and that's when I feel really shagged at the end or run out of juice in the final km's. A bit of a problem for racing. It really is about what works for you. Some of the guys can (and do) ride Waterfall on very little breakfast and often won't eat for the entire duration. If I did that I would die.

This is a good guide to read - http://www.hammernutrition.com/download ... ndbook.pdf

If you ask me, getting heavier means getting slower for trained cyclists who already have the legs to carry them up the hills. Weight on the bike makes more difference... And this colder weather means I'm carrying one bidon as opposed to two so I can afford to carry a couple of extra kg's on me I'm feeling faster now than I was a few months ago, and I am about 2 kg's heavier. If you are talking about more than 10kg's of weight loss then yes it's going to make a difference, but you don't have anywhere near that on you to lose. Worry about feeding yourself to train better and recover for now.