I Love Bicycling

I Love Bicycling is a website that is geared towards cycling for beginners with road cycling tips, training articles, nutrition tips, weight loss, how to’s and bike repair articles.

Nutrition

Avoid Holiday Weight Gain With Cycling

by

The holiday season brings family and friends together over meals and as cyclists we love to indulge in copious amounts of food, and treat ourselves to some (or lots) of festive drinks.  However with all the rum and eggnog, and mashed potatoes and gravy it is all to easy to pack on some unwanted weight in a short amount of time.  It is important to maintain some holiday cycling so you can treat yourself to your family’s traditions, but there are some ways to help make sure you aren’t overzealous and end up with weight gain you regret in the new year!

Avoid Holiday Weight Gain

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

It can be easy to let your fitness and exercise regime go by the wayside when company arrives and you have to organize dinners and events.  However there are some tips to help you maintain some of you cycling fitness over the holidays.

Do Something Active Daily

Try to get in 30-60 minutes of activity each day.  This will keep your body used to the exercise stimulus.

Set your bike up on the trainer  downstairs or in a garage where it won’t bother your family and watch an episode of a show, or the news each morning.  That way your holiday cycling is done for the day while everyone else is slowly rising and you can spend the remainder of the day visiting with the family.

Be Flexible

In all reality, you’re probably not going to get in a solid three hours of riding in every day, and that’s okay. Be realistic and flexible with your goals and expectations. Shoveling snow is a great strength workout and good for the upper body and core.  Offer to shovel your street for your neighbors as well!  They will appreciate it and you will get in a strength workout.

index

Go to the Gym or a Class

Hitting the gym is a convenient way to maintain fitness as well as bond with family members. Go as a group and get your sweat on together so you can enjoy the turkey later. Try out a spin class to get your legs  spinning.

Head out for an outdoor ride or commute to satisfy your holiday cycling.  If your town isn’t too covered in snow, it is a good option to commute for errands to maintain some cycling fitness.

Don’t Stress About Holiday Meals

Everything in moderation is usually the way to go at all times of the year, so keep it going through the holidays.  Treat yourself to that piece of pie, a beer and butter and gravy on your potatoes.  You deserve to participate in your family’s feast and not to feel guilty while doing it.

Avoid going for seconds.  Most often loading up the plate multiple times is the pitfall for weight gain.

Enjoy the desserts and rich drinks, but these are calorie dense so bare that in mind when going for drink number 4.

Eat and drink slowly.  This will fill you up, and allow you to properly taste and digest the food.

Enjoy it!  Don’t feel guilty, food is good for you and ultimately will be used for your holiday cycling fuel.

Try to relax and enjoy the holidays. Do not stress if you miss and training ride, or have one too many drinks.  Try to maintain some holiday cycling, and that way you can enjoy all of the delicious treats that come with this festive time of year!

5 Things Definitely Not To Eat On Ride

by

not-to-eat-on-a-ride

There are lots and lots of articles on what you should eat while riding. Some of those articles may even give you an idea of what not to eat on a ride, but with few specifics. Here is your chance to read about five things definitely not to eat on a ride and why they could ruin your day.

The 5 Things Not To Eat On A Ride

Meat

Most of the digestive issues from the foods on this list is about their basic digestibility. If it takes a long time to digest, a food will not provide much benefit during a ride; you will not have access to the macro nutrients by the time your ride is over (unless you are on an epic ride). Meat tops the list as slow to digest. It requires lots of mechanical digestion, hence energy that could be going to your legs, along with the blood powering your stomach. Low carbohydrate content means very little quickly available energy during your ride. Save your meat for post-ride recovery.

Ice Cream

Ice cream has a bit more accessible carbohydrates than meat, but suffers from the same lack of digestibility as meat. What ice cream (and dairy in general) has over meat is its ability to produce greater quantities of flatulence. You do not want that in your chamois. Most people have difficulty with lactose, whether they know it or not, and you may get a surprise grumble after a milky treat.

Gels and High Sugar Drinks

Surprise! Gels and other high sugar sports drinks only serve to dehydrate you, despite the claims on the packaging. Read the fine print on a gel and it says you should consume with a full bottle of water. How are you going to carry that many bottles on a long ride.

What happens is that the sugar in the gel or drink needs to have a lower concentration for your body to absorb it. That additional fluid to dilute the sugar solution comes from the fluid you already have in your body. Blood viscosity goes up and performance goes down.

Stick with solid food that is has a relatively high carbohydrate content. Solid food will rely on mechanical digestion versus dilution of a sugar solution. You will perform much better.

Spicy Food

Avoiding spicy food is pretty simple. You do not want it to repeat while you do your repeats. More powerful than a power meter or heart rate monitor to know if you are going hard enough is the old throw-up-in-your-mouth. It is bad enough to regurgitate; you do not want it to be spicy too.

And spicy food can cause a bit of stomach discomfort, but that is not the main point here.

Raw Veggies

A few carrots sticks or a small salad will be fine during the course of a ride, say on a lunch stop, but it is not going to give you a boost in energy levels. If you do find the most delicious broccoli on your ride, maybe when stopping at a farmers market?, try to avoid gorging on it. It is going to be tough to digest, along with probably giving you an extra blast out of the old jet exhaust. You may also find the blood draining from necessary parts of your body like your legs and head to power the digestion of all that fiber.

So What is Left to Eat?

There are still lots of great options to snack on while riding. Based on the above, you should be able to distill that your food should be solid, digestible and have a high carbohydrate to protein and fat ratio. Eat what you think is delicious and maybe error on the side of bland to avoid the reflux. You will be more likely to enjoy your snacks and stay fueled properly for your ride.

5 Great Muscle Recovery Foods

by

Post-workout recovery has different meanings for every individual. This could include activities such as ice baths, stretching, or just elevating your legs. One of the most important recovery aspects that tends to get neglected is proper nutrition after exercise. What you eat and when you eat can help your body recover quicker and replenish lost energy stores. Eating the closest thing available or what you’re craving is not always the best option but these muscle recovery foods will be sure to have you on the road to feeling great and having a stellar next ride. muscle recovery foods

5 Great Muscle Recovery Foods

Not sure what you should be eating post-workout? Here are 5 great muscle recovery foods to have you feeling great on your next ride.

#1 – Quinoa:

Image result for quinoa

One of the most important energy stores to replace after a ride are carbohydrates. As a general rule of thumb, you should try to begin to replace lost carbohydrates within twenty minutes of your ride. Quinoa is a great substitute to rice because it is highly nutrient dense. It has 6 grams of protein per cup and contains all 9 essential amino acids; something no other carb source can claim. The one amino acid that particularly helps sore muscles is lysine, which quinoa is high in. Quinoa provides carbohydrates, high amounts of protein, and even anti-inflammatory properties so it should be a regular “go-to” for your after workout meals.

#2 – Salmon:

Image result for salmon

In addition to replacing carbohydrate stores, you will want to consume protein. Salmon is a great choice as it contains bio-active peptides; a small protein that has anti-inflammatory properties and helps joint function. Another great benefit of salmon is the amount of omega-3’s found within it, which help with muscle soreness and reduce swelling. In addition, omega-3’s influence the metabolic response of muscles to nutrition as well as the functional response.

#3 – Avocados:

Image result for avocado

These small green fruits sure pack a punch! With twenty-two grams of fat in just one cup, it can be used as a healthy alternative to not-so-healthy traditional toppings like mayonnaise. The fat is also monounsaturated which means it’s the healthy kind that you want more of in your diet. These healthy fats support good heart health, immune system recovery, and vitamin absorption, particularly vitamin C,E,K, and B. With all of these qualities, avocados are also great for brain health and can help improve memory and learning capabilities.

#4 – Berries: Specifically Blueberries and Cherries (if you call them a berry):

Image result for blueberries

Berries in general are high in antioxidants but blueberries and cherries in particular have a high ORAC oxygen radical absorption capacity . This means that they neutralize free radicals which form as a result of exercising. The overall thing, in blueberries in particular, that can help muscle recovery is the phytochemical content which has been studied, albeit with loose benefits found, to see if it helped muscles after a strenuous exercise

#5 – Water:

Image result for glass of water

Drink water after riding is a no-brainer but drinking enough is often an overlooked challenge. Ideally you don’t finish a ride super dehydrated but it does happen. It’s important that the first thing that you start to get back into you is water, be it on its own or through a recovery drink to help get other quick nutrients right after. One of the reasons that being dehydrated can hinder muscle recovery is that it reduces blood plasma volume. This in-turn makes it difficult for energy and nutrients to reach the muscle.

There of course are more than 5 muscle recovery foods but if you include these foods in your diet on a regular basis after your rides, you should feel a difference later in the day as you won’t be exhausted. Additionally, you will have improved energy levels as well as less soreness the following day along with just how good you feel on your next ride. Eat right, feel great!

Cycling Nutrition: Common Mistakes to Avoid

by

Cycling nutrition is about more than just what you’re eating. You have to take into account how much energy you’re spending, and ensuring you are getting the right nutrients at the right times to feed those muscles. Whether your goal is weight loss, or to simply feel better and stronger on and off your bike, there are some mistake you’ll want to avoid.

As we reach the end of January, those New Year’s diets and resolutions may be already slipping into the background. That may not necessarily be a bad thing. When we focus too much on diets or what we can or cannot do and eat, it is easy to fall off the bandwagon. You want to establish a healthy lifestyle, rather than a simple health kick that will come and go before you can experience any real changes.

Here are some of the most common nutrition mistakes that cyclists make.

cycling nutrition

Skipping Breakfast

It doesn’t have to be a full-meal deal, but you want eat at least some breakfast, especially if you are planning on riding later. You have been effectively fasting overnight, so giving your body some fuel first thing will set the tone for your day and get your energy up. Not convinced? Here’s what eating breakfast will do for you:

  • It boosts your metabolism.
  • Keeps your blood sugar levels stable during the day
  • Reduces risk of craving or overeating later.

That being said, don’t go stock up on breakfast cereals. Think smoothies, oatmeal (not the instant kind), fresh fruit, eggs, and whole grain toast.

Waiting too long to eat in between meals

If you don’t eat, then you’ll lose weight, right? No. Not only can that mentality can create the starve-binge eating pattern, but it’s also hard on your body. If you go too long without eating, when you do eat you are more likely to eat too much or eat the wrong things. This surge of insulin sends fat storage into overdrive, which is counterproductive to weight loss.

You should never go more than four hours without eating. Snacking can be your friend! Avoid high sugar snacks that will spike your blood sugar and then lead to a crash, but instead nibble on foods that will sustain your energy levels throughout the day.

Not fueling properly

When you’re just starting out, or are focusing on weight loss, you may think that it’ll speed things up if you don’t eat before, during, or after a ride. However, if you’ve ever experienced undernourished muscles on a hard climb, you know this is not the case. You can get away with gels and bars on shorter rides, but if you are going out for hours at a time, you need to be fueling your body properly. You should also eat a small meal before your ride so you go in with energy to spare. (This does not mean carbo loading! See below…)

Carbo loading

There’s a bit of a misconception when it comes to carbo loading. Despite popular belief, it is not eating as many carbohydrates at a meal the night before a ride or event. That gigantic plate of pasta the night before your big ride is not carbo loading– it’s just a really big dinner. Most athletes do not even need to carbo load. The need arises if you are going to be pushing yourself at moderate to hard efforts for 2+ hours without access to food.

The goal of carbo loading is to ensure that you have maximum glycogen in your body for an an endurance ride or race. Glycogen is the fuel that powers your muscles, but there is an upper limit to how much glycogen a body can store. Recent research has revealed that it is most effective to do a short but intense workout before carb loading. This will make your muscles hungry for carbs so they will grab and store them for the upcoming event.

Post-ride binge

You’ve just finished a hard ride, so you’ve earned that large pizza, right? Not so much. It’s easy to eat just about anything that comes across your path after a ride, so make sure the right things cross your path. Plan a post-ride snack or meal ahead of time to save yourself from temptation.

Eating too late at night

Life gets busy, and it’s not always realistic to be sitting down to eat dinner at 5pm. Especially if you are training after work, you may not get home from the gym or a ride until 8pm. However, eating a big meal right before heading to bed can not only affect your sleep, but it also increases fat storage. The easiest fix is to try have your main meal at lunchtime, then have a small meal in the evening before you go to bed.

Eating too fast

With packed schedules it can be hard to have the time to sit down and eat slowly, but it’s important. Eating too fast results in eating too much. It takes about 20 minutes for your brain to catch up and tell you’re body it’s full, so if you just plow right through you’re going to miss those signals altogether.

Undereating and focusing too much on weight

It may tempting to starve yourself to reach that ideal weight and achieve that lean look in your lycra, but there are much healthier ways to get there. Eating disorders are surprisingly prevalent within the cycling world, and we need to be careful with our habits and our words (and how they may impact those around you). We should replace talk of losing weight with eating healthy and training hard.

HFLC Diet (High Fat Low Carb) for Cycling

by

 

The HFLC diet is another one of the media frenzy approaches to dieting. The high-fat, low-carb diet, or HFLC, basically undermines the authority of the food pyramid that’s been promoted for years. While proponents swear by it, others consider it a recipe for hitting the wall. All you can do is examine the studies, and decide for yourself.

The problem with studies, is that they are typically published to qualify a position while never casting any doubt on it. This type of study correlates with the preconceived outcome in a positive way.

HFLC diet

What is the HFLC diet?

At least part of the issue is compounded by the definition of low-carb, high-fat, high-carb or low-fat. Some experts define a high-fat or fat-adapted diet as having between 20 and 60 grams of carbohydrates per day, while other low-carb diets allow for 100 grams per day.

A typical HFLC meal plan, might take in roughly 50 percent of  calories from fats, 25 from carbs and 25 from protein. The current government recommendation, for comparison, is 30 percent of calories from fat, 50 to 60 percent from carbs, and 10 to 20 from protein.

Does it improve performance?

The fadish diet is actually centered more around low-carb than it is high-fat. Eating a mammoth amount of fats is typically not recommended. Studies done by Joe Friel, one of the godfathers of cycling and author of the Cyclist’s Training Bible, point out that while the HFLC diet does not directly improve performance, but agrees that getting to and staying at race weight without calorie counting or hunger is more doable on the HFLC diet.

A study last year in the Annals of Internal Medicine made one of the most convincing cases yet. Researchers found that men and women who switched to a low-carb diet lost 14 pounds after one year, eight pounds more than those who limited their fat intake instead. The high-fat group also maintained more muscle and trimmed more body fat.

Paleo Diet

The HFLC diet is sometimes compared to the Paleo diet. Paleo is about eating foods that a body is designed to process. The Paleo diet excludes dairy, which is often a key component of a HFLC diet in terms of grass-fed butter, cream, etc.

Traditional Approaches

Bonking is caused when blood glucose or blood sugar drops below normal levels. It’s also known medically as  Hypoglycemia. Glucose, an important source of energy for the body (and mind) comes from food. Carbohydrates are the main source of glucose. Rice and potatoes, as well as bread, muffins, cereal, fruit and sweets are all carbohydrate-rich foods and some cyclist’s favorite fuels.

The most common approach is to ingest carbohydrates to provide more glucose for longer or harder rides. And you bonk if you don’t get the carbs you need. The bonk is that feeling when you have exhausted your glycogen stores by not eating enough carbs to produce more blood glucose and are still riding the bike.

By restricting the amount of carbohydrate in the diet, the body is forced to utilize fat as its main energy source. But not all the carbs though; doing so runs the risk of a massive energy deficit. A small energy deficit is fine and can result in weight loss, but health risks can result from large restrictions of carbs.

Fat Limitations

The theory behind the low-carb, high-fat diet is that, according to studies, it trains your body to utilize fat better. The problem is, despite the fact that you’ve increased the volume or intensity at which you can utilize fat, for at least some of the energy demands, fat metabolism has limitations that prevent it from being able to fuel you at your highest levels.

It appears that adopting a HFLC diet can impair carbohydrate utilization and your top-out, or high-end performance, may decline. Studies have found evidence that training low on carbs for an extended period may hamper your muscles’ ability to utilize carbs eaten before competition.

Going Longer

If you’re focused on distance and not speed though, don’t write off HFCL. It can help you with bonking because your body gets accustomed to using it’s fat reserves more efficiently. It can help delay the onset of fatigue and to go faster for longer.

Another incorrect assumption is that the only advantage of a HFLC diet is purely performance. While some tests may not show a performance improvement, they also don’t show any degradation. However inflammation, stress, and the immune system are all shown to be better on a HFLC diet, improving the cyclist’s ability to train and aids longevity.

But how low do you need to go on carbs? Because of the fairly limited data on the topic and no one-size fits all, there’s no standard level of reduction per day before you start to burn fat.  But most experts agree that the level of carbohydrate restriction needs to be fairly rigorous to achieve changes.

Fat Gain

People often misunderstand the notion of high-fat or fat-adapted,  assuming a high fat diet will cause you to burn more body fat. Even though you may burn more fat, you will have consumed more fat than you can burn, which results in a net fat gain.

Should I try HFLC?

Try the HFLC diet yourself by simply starting one morning ride or training session without consuming carbohydrates. If that’s not an option, or if the feeling of cycling on an empty stomach doesn’t appeal to you, then eat what you like for breakfast and try restricting the consumption of carbohydrates on the same day between training sessions.

Opt for higher-fat foods and protein.  Meals might include fish, eggs, yogurt, red meat and some vegetables. Foods high in fat are olive oil, coconut milk and oil, nuts, avocado, and yes — bacon. You might feel  the intensity of your ride or training session is lower than expected, especially in comparison to one completed in a high carbohydrate state.

The HFLC diet doesn’t exclude all vegetables or fruits. High-starch vegetables are excluded due to the carbs, however, nutrient rich fruit and vegetables such as broccoli and blueberries are all part of the HFLC diet.

It’s up to you

HFLC diets aren’t for everyone. However, it is worth keeping an open mind on the benefits of such a strategy. Research shows that athletes who get about 50-plus percent of their diet from fat produce better average times to exhaustion in exercise tests than those eating typical low-fat, high-carb diets.

No one has the the right to decide what the HFLC diet means to others, or exactly how many carbohydrates can be included or excluded. One has to accept to utilize a HFCL diet in their own way.

Will it work for you? That’s a question that only you can answer. There are too many variables when it comes to the physiology and metabolic systems of individuals. Cyclists should be in both camps. Think of it as a bicycle: Low-carb is your front wheel, and high-fat is your back wheel; is one more important than the other? Test it out and see how it goes and let us know if it worked for you.

How To Stop Cramping Now!

by

Cramping Myths and Hydration Truths

Cramping and fatigue in general are still relatively poorly understood physiological phenomena, but every cyclist has experienced Exercise Induced Cramping, and knows exactly how uncomfortable they can be! There are plenty of myths, anecdotes, and magic cures peddled by companies and fellow riders alike, but what can the Science tell us about cramping?

Stop Cramping Now Cramping Myths and Hydration Truths

What Causes Cramping?

Cramping is not necessarily a sign of poor hydration or electrolyte imbalance. Cramping is not necessarily a sign of poor nutrition, poor warm-up, or poor preparation for race day. Cramping is not necessarily even a sign of poor fitness… but all of those factors may contribute to fatigue and cramping.

Exercise Induced Cramping occurs when you push yourself harder and for longer than your body is used to: ie. a combination of greater volume/duration and greater intensity than your body has adapted for.

The current best theory for Exercise Induced Cramping is related to neuromotor fatigue. Basically, the nerves that carry signals to and from your muscles and your brain get tired just the same as your working muscles. Those nerve signals begin to misfire This neuromotor fatigue can send overlapping, uncontrolled signals to your muscles. This can result in twitching, cramping, complete locking up of your working muscles or the feeling of ‘dead-legs’ and an inability to produce power.

 

Hydration and Electrolytes

When you sweat you lose both fluid and ‘electrolytes’, which refer to a variety of minerals dissolved in the body’s fluids and tissues, and are essential to overall function. Sodium is the most abundant electrolyte lost in sweat, and so ‘salts’ are occasionally used synonymously when talking about replenishing electrolyte balance.

Sweat is hypotonic, that is: the electrolyte concentration of sweat is lower than the electrolyte concentration of your blood. This means that when you sweat you lose more fluid than you lose electrolytes, and therefore fluid loss will be the limiting factor to performance and is more important to replenish during exertion. During activities longer than 90min, and especially endurance events longer than 4 hrs you will lose both fluids and electrolytes to sweat, and both will need to be replenished.

Studies have shown that performance is negatively affected when total body weight loss approaches -2% via fluid loss (although even this finding has conflicting evidence). You should aim to replenish fluids during activity to avoid this extent of fluid loss. A general guideline is to drink at least one bottle – 500-750 ml – of fluid per hour.

 

Can you Drink Too Much?

You may have heard horror stories about athletes over-hydrating during endurance events and suffering from hyponatremia, or severely low electrolyte imbalance. These instances are an extremely low percentage occurrence and most often only seen in extreme ultra-endurance events. Studies found only 0.1-4% of an ultra-endurance population exhibited signs of hyponatremia, compared with 80% occurrence of basic dehydration.

Under-hydration can affect your performance during even short-duration activities and should be a far more significant consideration than over-hydrating. You have to try really hard to give yourself hyponatremia, but dehydration takes effort to avoid.

 

Fluid and Nutrition

Drinking an electrolyte-fluid mix can be effective to maintain performance and avoid cramping and fatigue, but the fluid is certainly more important than the electrolytes in that bottle of mix. Mix offers a more obvious advantage to performance, of course: as a nutritional source of carbohydrates (sugar/glucose). Some electrolyte supplements can be low or zero calorie, but more common is for drink mix to contain both carbohydrates and electrolytes.

Briefly: nutrition is a completely different topic which I won’t tackle here, but suffice it to say that calories from carbohydrates, protein & fats are significantly more important to performance over a multi-hour endurance event than electrolytes. You don’t have to choose one or the other!: carbohydrate + electrolyte mixtures can be a great way to replenish both on the bike! For optimal performance, you probably need to be eating more than you think!

I would suggest that if you find that drinking a carbohydrate/electrolyte mix helps you avoid cramping and boosts your performance, this is more than good enough reason to continue what works! This may be in order of importance; 1) the fluid; 2) the nutritional calories, and finally; 3) the electrolytes.

 

So What Should You Do?

The first thing that needs to be said is don’t worry about changing anything if you know what works best your you! Your body is very good at regulating itself: It will take in whatever you give it with very little fuss. The science indicates it should be unnecessary to supplement salts or electrolytes as long as you eat properly leading into your cycling event. You should get all the salts, minerals and electrolytes you need from a nutritious diet, not to mentioned ensuring optimal performance on the bike. Longer events will require fluid, electrolyte, and calorie replacement and you can get that from any combination of solid foods, gels, or drink mixes.

 

How to Prevent Cramping?

  • Nothing magical, just expose your body to greater duration and intensity of training stimuli. ie. go harder for longer, and next time you won’t cramp as early into your event! Training in the heat will assist acclimatization to the heat, and training in the cold, to the cold. You can experience cramping in any conditions to which your body is poorly acclimatized to.
  • Take care of the low-hanging fruit as part of your pre-event preparation: Ensure you are fresh, well-rested, with sufficient nutrition and hydration in the days leading up to a particularly hard event. Come prepared with sufficient nutrition and hydration for the length & intensity of the event and for the expected conditions on the day. TrainingPeaks has a fantastic guideline for basic pre-, during, and post- race nutrition & hydration planning.
  • There is also a potential genetic predisposition to cramping. so… get different parents? 🙂

How to Relieve Cramps Once They Start?

  • The fastest & most reliable method of temporarily easing cramps is passive stretching. Trying to stretch a cramping hamstring while on the bike is a good way to come to grief, but if you can slow up or even dismount and stretch the affected muscle it can provide much needed relief.
  • Continuing to hydrate remains important when you begin to cramp. Cooling via fluid intake will also help. However by the time cramping is occurring, hydrating and cooling probably won’t have a quick enough effect. You’ll be forced to slow down first, which probably has a more direct benefit.
  • Speaking of slowing down, an obvious (and often unavoidable) way to reduce cramping is simply to reduce your effort. This eases the demand on your working muscles, your heart & lungs, and also your neuromotor system by reducing the amount of voluntary nerve signalling to your muscles. This allows your entire neuromotor system to relax and recover.
  • Finally, recent headlines have highlighted using pickle juice, capsaicin (spicy pepper, chili powder, etc.), vinegar, or mustard as cramp cures. I haven’t explored the evidence in-depth, but the proposed mechanism is not actually the salt in those foods, but rather that the spice/acidity of these foods overpowers the rest of the neurological system and reduces nerve firing activity globally through your body. Similar to how biting your tongue “distracts” you from the pain of your stubbed toe.

Eating Disorders and Cycling

by

Introduction to Eating Disorders in Cycling

“If you lose ten pounds, you could be as fast as me” said a seasoned vet to a new cyclist at a local hill climb. The impressionable cyclist rode home thinking about how much faster they would be if they could only shed a few kilos.

eating disordersEating disorders are prevalent in our sport. We don’t perceive them because the sport is incredibly lean to begin with, but in a culture shrink-wrapped in lycra, it’s only natural to obsess about the excess fat we carry around. Eating disorders in cycling are prevalent for a couple of reasons. Firstly, there is no denying that being lighter makes going uphill easier; weight has a substantial performance impact on the bike. Secondly, the idolized image of a featherweight in their skin-tight kit, floating up the local hill is another contributing factor that puts cyclists at risk.

Who Is At Risk?

Adults

Good news for adults. Studies show that the general population is not at risk. While there are certainly cases of eating disorders, relative to adolescents, there is not much to be concerned about. Cycling boosts confidence, and more frequently than not, logging time on the bike naturally trims the waistline. The chatter at the coffee shop is mostly harmless, and the 50 year old smashing a donut is not likely to be affected by his friend quipping about his belly. As the banter becomes more regular, cyclists begin to casually talk about weight outside of their circle of lyrcra-clad friends. We become desensitized to the impact of our words, especially on the people who look up to us. We need to stop talking about how much weight we need to lose.

Perception of Weight Are Influenced By:

  • Pressure of the sport
  • Coaches
  • Peers
  • Parents

Take note of who influences you, and who you are influencing. There is a good chance that your opinion affects someone you did not realize.

Adolescents and Young Adults

Adolescents and young adults are without a doubt vulnerable to adopting risky weight management methods. Over 15 studies in the past two decades have shown that the population under the age of 25 are significantly at risk of developing unhealthy eating habits. The semantics between peer-reviewed studies can be overwhelming, but the basic distilled facts are jarring.

The Unhealthy Facts of Eating Disorders in Endurance Sports

In two studies conducted in 1994 and 2004, Jorunn Sundgot-Borgen revealed some scary insights into eating disorders in elite athletes:

  • More elite athletes are at risk of sub-clinical and clinical eating disorders than the general public (13.5% vs. 4.5%)
  • Females are significantly more at risk than male athletes
  • 89% of females participating in elite endurance sports were classified as at risk
  • 85% of females participating in elite athletics were dieting
  • 67% of these athletes were instructed to lose weight by a coach or mentor
  • 10% of these athletes dieting were given a plan to achieve the desired weight

With these facts in mind, can we risk imposing our views on weight when the next generation of cyclists attempt to attain these unreasonable expectations? We should replace talk of losing weight with eating healthy and training hard.

Eat Like A Pro (and More Than a Pro)

Phil Gaimon and his dietitian are deliberately hyperbolic when they argue that 80 percent of the training is done in the kitchen, while 20 percent of the work is done on the bike. You don’t actually have to starve like a pro to achieve your desired weight. The plain chicken breasts and kale that Gaimon describes in a few of his books and interviews sounds unappealing (maybe the food is bland to prevent him from overeating), and the smoothie he drinks after every ride leaves something to be desired. But, as long as you are cooking what you are putting in your body, you’re ahead of everybody else. If you bake a cake, guess what? You can eat it. If you make a club sandwich for lunch, go ahead, eat it. The unprocessed, nutrient-rich food that you’re preparing for yourself will set you up for success. Stop talking about the weight that you’re losing, and start talking about the food that you’re cooking!

Drink Like A Pro

Water helps transport nutrients through the body, so that when we are exercising, our body is able to get what it needs to ride. Inadequate hydration will also lead to a drop in blood volume, which will wreak havoc on your body’s ability to access the oxygen it needs. It is difficult to hydrate perfectly on the bike, but as long as you start your ride properly hydrated, hydrate throughout and make a concerted effort to replenishing fluids after a ride, you will give your body the water it needs to operate like a well-oiled machine. The perception of feeling light when dehydrated is actually working against you. Get water in your system so that the hard work you put in on the weekends pays off.

Taking on the KOM & QOM

Weight is the default topic of choice when tackling the local KOM/QOM, but challenge yourself to discuss the tougher topics instead— The ones that we have control over and an incredible knack of ignoring.

Happy eating!

Meal Planning Trumps Your Weight Loss Diet

by

While cyclists talk about dropping kilos, diet and weight loss might not be the answer. Weekly meal plans trump the trendiest weight loss diet. You’ve tried The Paleo, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, and now you’re playing around with The Kytogenics.  The diets all work in the beginning, but they are not really creating healthy habits. You are constantly reminded of what you shouldn’t put in your body, instead of reminding you of what you should be adding to your diet. Weight loss plans remove fat, remove carbs and reduce portion size. The simple concept of adding good quality foods to your diet will help fuel you properly, losing weight in the process.
 Meal Planning Trumps Weight Loss Diet

Weight Loss Diets Aren’t Fueling Your Ride

Cyclists should be focusing on what they can add to their diet to improve energy levels before, during and after rides. The calories and nutrients that you deprive your body of during the week will leave you feeling flat by the time you get to your Saturday morning club ride. Challenge yourself to be more mindful of how your body feels during a ride. Ask yourself:
  • Was I dropped the last time I rode on an empty stomach?
  • Did the salad I substituted for my carb-load-pasta provide me with enough punch for my Saturday club ride?

Replacing Junk Food

We’ve all heard the analogy: “Fueling your body with junk is like putting diesel in a Ferrari.”
  •  Do I feel sluggish after smashing that bacon cheeseburger? 
As you start to add nutrient rich foods, keep asking yourself these types of questions:
  • Did my smoothie bowl fuel me for my ride better than my nutella and toast?
  • Do my legs feel fresher after I substituted corn flakes with a quinoa-fruit bowl? 
 It’s cliche, but true: Everyone’s different, so be mindful of what your body needs.

3 Steps to Supercharge Your Diet

1. Meal Plan

Sit down on Saturday or Sunday night before your weekly grocery run. Start with broad strokes and general meal ideas, having a plan will help keep track of the quality of calories you are adding, as well as a general idea of the quantity of calories. It’s not a fail-safe solution, but seeing fish taco Tuesday is exciting, for one, and two, if you’ve shopped for the ingredients and they are in the fridge already, it’s much harder to order Pad Thai from across the street. The meal plan will take all of 10 minutes, and will help you fuel your work week, and your weekend rides.

2. Grocery Shop

Knowing what you are cooking for the week makes doing a weekly grocery shop easy and possible. Having the bulk of your produce at the beginning of the week allows you to get home and unwind instead of adding the task of picking up groceries on the way home from work. It doesn’t sound like much, but with the food already in the fridge, you can start food prep earlier, and get to the good part! Picking up a couple of missing or forgotten items is more manageable once the bulk has been taken care of.

3. Plan Your Snacks

Snacking is the most dangerous part of your diet. Chips and salsa is great if they accompany Fish Taco Tuesday, but not great if they creep into a nightly routine. Planning your snacks will help. Nuts and dried fruit are a cyclists’ best friend (try dates, figs and apricots they are underrated). Keep these in the pantry so they are easy to grab when a salt or sugar craving springs up. These nutrient-dense snacks can be sweet, salty and fatty but they are also providing your body with valuable resources that corn chips can’t (full disclosure: the author is known to eat a bag of corn chips a week).

Now Go Out and Ride

If you’re trying to lose weight, riding your bike will be the biggest tool at your disposal. Adding volume to your weekly regime will shift your current caloric balance in your favor– Be warned, that adding kilometers will also have you craving more food (pro tip: add good calories)!
Furthermore, if you are training with any kind of intensity, losing weight might be harder than you think. When you train with intensity your body will add muscle while shedding fat. This change in body composition replaces dead weight with functional muscle mass. Paying attention to the quality of the foods you put in your body will allow you to ride more, faster, and more frequently.
Bon Apetit!

Battling the Holiday Weight Gain with Cycling

by

holiday weight gain

The end of the year is a time of revelry, and with that revelry comes indulgence and over-consumption. The weather is turning for the worst too making riding a bit more difficult because of condition and not wanting to suffer through bad weather. Devising some tactics to deal with holiday weight gain can keep you happier and healthier along with maintaining your fitness through this season that is fun and fraught at the same time.

Indulgence and Holiday Weight Gain

There are sweets at work. There is alcohol at the party. There is a feast at your family’s house. It is hard to handle all the indulgence. Find some strategies that work for you to enjoy yourself but also to keep holiday weight gain to a minimum.

  • It is okay to have treats and delicious food. Make sure whatever you are consuming is really worth it and increases your enjoyment of the moment.
  • Before going into a situation, set limits for yourself. An open ended commitment to eating and drinking will not end well.
  • Be honest with yourself when you are full or you have had enough to drink.
  • If there are a lot of options, take small portions so you can get a taste of everything you might enjoy. Then you can make a decision about what you really like and go back for more (if you are not violating the previous point).
  • There is no obligation to force feed yourself. Remember that peer and societal pressure is a thing, even when you are an adult and make a conscious decision to ignore the pressure.
  • Choose to fill up on the healthier options on offer – vegetables, fruit and other non-processed and less calorie-dense foods. It will make you feel fuller without dropping a calorie bomb in your gut.
  • Hydration levels affect your perception of satiety. Make sure you are well hydrated while partying the month away. An additional bonus to good hydration is that it will help you cope better with alcohol in your system.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line to battle holiday weight gain is to keep pedaling or staying active in some way. If you are already riding regularly, find a way that you can continue even as the daylight fades, temperatures drop and precipitation increases. A good set of lights might help to keep you on the road in the dark; nothing beats them to see or be seen. All the high visibility colors and reflectors do nothing compared to active illumination.

When the weather is sure to make you uncomfortable, set up a space indoors that you can ride in on a trainer or rollers that will keep you motivated. You will need a fan and some sort of entertainment. Staring at the wall or your bike computer the whole time sets you up for failure. Music, movies and friends make the time go by much faster.

Prepare a manageable schedule for yourself that you can stick to for your rides. A commitment will keep you on the bike and keep the holiday weight gain at bay. The more you ride, the more you can indulge, within reason of course. If you are lucky enough to have a schedule that allows you to ride more than usual at this time of year, the easier it is to burn off those treats. But beware – those treats do not provide optimal fuel for training.

Other Activity

The winter is also a great time to throw in some other activities to your exercise program to stave off holiday weight gain. Find something that is interesting to you that you may not get to do when it is nice out and you are more committed to riding. Again, make a regular schedule so you can stay fit and keep burning those extra calories you may be eating. The activity could also be a nice mental break from all of the riding; when you come back to riding, it will be fresh and exciting again.

You Already Know

You are already aware of what the end of the year can do to your body. It is hard to handle the indulgence and holiday weight gain if you do not have a plan. Make a plan and try to stick to it. You will be even more committed to the plan if you write it down and tell others about it – this works for anything. This will lead to a happier and healthier season, and that is what it is all about, right?

Holiday Cycling and Eating Your Cookies Too!

by

 cookies
The holiday season brings family and friends together over meals and as cyclists we love to indulge in copious amounts of food, and treat ourselves to some (or lots) of festive drinks.  However with all the rum and eggnog, and mashed potatoes and gravy it is all to easy to pack on some unwanted weight in a short amount of time.  It is important to maintain some holiday cycling so you can treat yourself to your family’s traditions, but there are some ways to help make sure you aren’t overzealous and end up with a muffin top heading into the new year!

Holiday Cycling Plan

It can be easy to let your fitness and exercise regime go by the wayside when company arrives and you have to organize dinners and events.  However there are some tips to help you maintain some of you cycling fitness over the holidays.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Try to get in 30-60 minutes of activity each day.  This will keep your body used to the exercise stimulus.

Set your bike up on the trainer  downstairs or in a garage where it won’t bother your family and watch an episode of a show, or the news each morning.  That way your holiday cycling is done for the day while everyone else is slowly rising and you can spend the remainder of the day visiting with the family.

Shoveling snow is a great strength workout and good for the upper body and core.  Offer to shovel your street for your neighbors as well!  They will appreciate it and you will get in a strength workout.

index

Go to the Gym.  Hitting the gym is a convenient way to maintain fitness as well as bond with family members.  Go as a group and get your sweat on together so you can enjoy the turkey later.

Head out for an outdoor ride or commute to satisfy your holiday cycling.  If your town isn’t too covered in snow, it is a good option to commute for errands to maintain some cycling fitness.

Holiday Eating

Everything in moderation is usually the way to go at all times of the year, so keep it going through the holidays.  Treat yourself to that piece of pie, a beer and butter and gravy on your potatoes.  You deserve to participate in your family’s feast and not to feel guilty while doing it.

index

Avoid going for seconds.  Most often loading up the plate multiple times is the pitfall for weight gain.

Enjoy the desserts and rich drinks, but these are calorie dense so bare that in mind when going for drink 4.

santa_drum_405x400px

Eat and drink slowly.  This will fill you up, and allow you to properly taste and digest the food.

Enjoy it!  Don’t feel guilty, food is good for you and ultimately will be used for your holiday cycling fuel.

Try to relax and enjoy the holidays. Do not stress if you miss and training ride, or have one too many drinks.  Try to maintain some holiday cycling, and that way you can enjoy all of the delicious treats that come with this festive time of year!

Useful Info

Recent Posts

Connect with Us