One of my biggest problems with training is not eating enough. I train a decent amount and try to eat a reasonable diet, but every few weeks it catches up to me and I have a day where I’m knocked on my ass. I’ve been doing some reading about how to eat enough food to sustain energy requirements but to also not stuff my face with high calorie foods. Along the way I’ve picked up some great shake recipes that are great with breakfast but it seems that there’s still something missing. So I have a few questions that you guys might be able to help me with…
How many calories do you take in before a workout? One of the guys on my team suggested having a Boost Plus or an Ensure (meal replacement/weight gain/supplement drinks with ~400 calories per serving) with breakfast if I’m going to be working out in the morning. On group rides, if I bonk, it’s usually around mile 50, and this is also true for long brick workouts. About 2-2.5 hours in I crack. It’s not muscular, and it’s not cardio, it’s just running out of fuel. This could also be because I’m not eating enough during the workout. My main concern is not eating so much that I’m sluggish during the workout. I’ve noticed some of the Cat-1 guys on our team eat and eat and eat while they’re riding. It’s like every time I look over they’re eating something.
What types of foods are good post workout? I usually have a protein shake and a granola bar, or a PB&J. This does well for about an hour or so, then I feel like a train hit me.
What to do if you do get that “train wreck” feeling? Drink a Gatorade? Eat a sandwich? I used to fall into the trap of eating tons of junk food and it not really getting any better.
i try to time my workouts a few hours after a decent meal (for me lunch is between 11 and 2 depending on classes for the day), and then my big workout for the day starts between 2-5 in the afternoon. so my big workout for the day is 3-4 hours after a decent meal. this works well for me, and if i wait a little too long i’ll have a quick snack while i am getting ready, somehting like a half a PB&J or ceral or something.
post workout for me is usauly dinner, rice, chicken, veggies, stuff like that. smaller workouts are fit in when i can, not based on meals.
triain wreck feeling for me means something is wrong. when i am training a lot i feel somewhat beat up all the time, so that is normal.
a couple hundred. A cliff bar, a yogurt, a glass of chocolate soymilk.
see above, I usually eat the same stuff for a snack and then get breakfast (etc) - you want mostly carbs with a little protein. During/RIGHT after a workout, the glycogen receptors in your muscles are nearer the cell membrane. That means that the quicker post workout you eat, the more glycogen gets replenished = faster recovery. Fat/protein digest slower so if the goal is to get glycogen in your muscles, carbs carbs carbs.
just eat more good stuff. fruit and cottage cheese or yogurt, another pbj or different type of sandwich… agreed that eating junk doesn’t make you feel any better.
One potential problem with having breakfast before an early morning workout. If the breakfast is simple sugar heavy and about an hour before your workout then it can actually drain your energy level for the entire duration of the workout. If it’s a ride or run I usually wait until I’m 15+ minutes into it before eating anything. At 15min I’ll eat a GU. Then every 45 minutes I’ll have another one. This has been working well for me and every time I have tried to improve on it I’ve failed.
you mileage may vary, so why not try writing down what you did and how you felt?
I’m still experimenting to find what works best for me pre workout but so far my body seems to prefer protein in the morning maybe a hundred cal. say a glass of milk. or some toast with some meat on it. definitely snack sized.
post workout I’ve grown to love chocolate milk. If I don’t have choc milk then oatmeal with fruit and sugar. If I don’t have either then I stop at a deli and get cooked food… some combination of pancakes eggs sausage potatoes. I know sausage & home fries are all fat but I’ve found that after a hard workout it actually works to control my hunger until lunch where lots of carbs just leave me hungry 5 minutes later. Also if I have the chance to read labels then I try to get about a 4-1 ratio of carbs to protein. I try to do all of this within an hour of completing the workout.
Long workout mornings, I have a bowl of raisin bran with banana, and a bagel with butter and jam before the workout, which means a bike/run. I can handle a big breakfast while cycling and it digests before I start my run. That seems to keep me from bonking. If the workout is more than 3 hours, I’ll also have a Clif Bar en route, and maybe a gel if I need it before transitioning to the run part of the brick.
You want to put away about 300 cals/hour if you’re working out beyond 90 minutes, and be sure to have something in the tank before starting!
Post-workout, I second the vote for chocolate milk as a great recovery drink. Ever had a PowerBar Recovery Drink? That’s basically what it is. Hey, if those guys are packing chocolate milk as a recovery drink, it must be good, and there are several threads over the past two years about the virtues of it as a good recovery drink. Sugar, protein, etc.
Simple bowl of oatmeal about 30 minutes before my morning workout. In fact, that’s what I’m doing now while reading ST. Leaving for a 1.5 hour run in about 20 minutes. Recovery drink afterwards.
For lunchtime workouts (usually a swim) and evening workouts (usually a trainer ride) I’ll have something small about 20 to 30 minutes out (granola bar, fruit, maybe some crackers).