during rides of say 120 minutes I have been trying not to eat anything because I’d still like to loose 10 pounds. the problem is that i find myself hardly able to “go” after 90 minutes. perhaps my thinking is wrong and I need to eat a little something despite the 10 pound goal?
seriously i find myself going from 17-20 mph down to literally 10-14 and exhausted. it must be a nutrition issue.
BTW, I have cut drinking almost completely out. minus a friday night happy hour, which I’ll limit to 2 or 3 drinks. this is quite a change considering the volume of wine my husband and I were going through–it was alot, at least 6 bottles of wine a week between the two of us.
Sort out the calorific expenditure of the planned session and eat that amount prior to training. Then you can stay with isotonic hydration fluids that will replace the lost fluid with minimal calories. Also, take gels as “emergency measures” in case you find yourself a little short.
I am conacntly fighting the scales but find that it gets harder not to eat if you have had a crap training session (emotional eating, etc), so this way a good session correctly fueled is the answer alround.
Kitty, this sort of “crash” nutrition is NEVER a good idea, even if you aren’t training…your body begins to interpret a lack of calories as a problem and goes into preservation mode…slowing down metabolism to conserve what it does have (remember that cold, sluggish, lazy feeling you get when you haven’t eaten all day?) …and counteracting what you are trying to do… When you are training, you use up your glycogen stores, particularly if you get up on Saturday, don’t eat, and try to get that 120 minute ride in…
Its far better to keep the fuel up, with just a small restriction in calories, and keep the body’s fires burning…
A pound a week, with the 3500 calories (rough estimate of the calorie reduction required to lose 1 lb) drawn off from several smaller meals per day, rather than cutting out an entire meal (or not eating during training) is the surest (and maybe fastest?) way to drop that 10 lbs in a safe way while still having the energy to train well… After all, what good is it to lose that 10 lbs, if you can’t finish a 2 hour ride without bonking? You aren’t going to be improving fitness that way…
Check out books by Monique Ryan and/or Ellen Coleman to find out more about weight management strategies for endurance athletes.
90 minutes is about my limit as well without eating, otherwise I get the dreaded “bonk”…that feeling that you just can’t go. Better to eat a little, and continue exercising, thus burning more calories. I find a gel pack every 45 minutes or so will keep me going indefinitely. As to the drinking…I know exactly what you mean…a couple of beers after coming home from work, and maybe a glass or two of wine with dinner…a lot of calories if you add them up over the week. My solution was to just not even have it in the house…if its there, I’m gonna drink it.
last night I cooked for two of my girlfriends plus my husband. every “15 and under” (15 dollars or less) wine I had i popped the cork and they drank them up (it was like 4 bottles, which made for a nice flight). all I have cellared now are the 40 dollar and up…those will not get popped unless a very special occasion. for me I can hang on to the more expensive wines, but if it’s 20 dollars or less that’s where I get into trouble. so, like you, i won’t be buying anything like that for awhile.
In my very “non-professional” opinion, I just think that 120 minute cycling session at 17-20 mph, is beyond the “exercising for weight loss” category. There’s no way I could do it without taking in adequate carbs/fluid.
I don’t think, however, that solid food is absolutely necessary for this type of workout. Do you use gels? For me, 40 oz. of Gatorade and one gel packet sounds about right for this length/intensity ride.
And how are you getting by without the wine? There’s no way I’d survive!
Kittycat you are completely depleting your glycogen supplies, that is why you are running on fumes by the end of the ride. Remember that in order to burn fat you require carbohydrate. Without the presence of carbohydrate fat metabolism slows dramatically.
I would suggest having a gel packet or two at the midway point of your ride. That way you will be able to maintain your average speed for the length of the ride and actually end up burning more calories than if you didnt eat anything.
i bought some cliff bars yesterday so maybe I can eat like half of one or a couple of bites plus a sports drink>typically I wasn’t using any drink like this unless super hot. plus i can pick up some gels, etc.
you know not drinking wine is a little difficult because I like to make every dinner a celebration. plus I was getting into oregon and a couple of other new regions and experimenting with pairing new wines with grilled foods. my husband and I don’t have children and both of us are fun personalities. it was getting really too easy to sit on the patio, light up the torches, and hang out all night with the Reds on the radio or some good music. it is alot of fun doing this sort of thing, but it won’t help my waistline or climbing hills if i dropped 10 pounds I know my performance would increase and I would be pleased. so it’s worth it. if not drinking wine actually equates to weight loss, that is…lol.
In order to keep from “bonking” on a 2 hour ride you don’t have to actually take in during your ride the same number of calories you are burning. You just have to take in enough to keep your glycogen up. You could probably get that last 30 minutes in at speed by eating 1 or maybe 2 gels during your ride. So – if you are burning 400-600 cals per hour, by eating 100 - 200 cals of gel during the ride, at minimum you’d be calorie neutral and you may even get a net increase in calories burned since you are extending your ride.
Even if weight loss is your primary goal, it is better to eat enough so you can complete a long ride than to fast and end up cutting the ride short because you bonk.
Another approach would be to ride after you eat one of your daily meals so you are not starting on an “empty tank.”
I cut 2 cliff bars in 1/4 and bring em with me. Pop em in your mouth (like the chef’s salty balls) and down some water should keep you from scraping bottom. That and an aforementioned emergency gel pack and you should be good.
if i dropped 10 pounds I know my performance would increase and I would be pleased. so it’s worth it. if not drinking wine actually equates to weight loss, that is…lol.