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Nutrition

Beets: The Legal Drug

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beets

The latest craze in sports drinks isn’t made in a big sports lab somewhere, it’s a natural red beet. Studies have indicated that beets have improved athletic performance enough for some to refer to it as a legal drug. Also known as beetroot juice, beet, and beetroot, it might be something worth checking out.

The Reputation

Beets have been around for a long time but are not the most exciting food. It could be that you associate them with something you were forced to eat as a child but beets are incredibly good for you. Performance enhancing qualities are only one of the beet benefits. The cardiac-friendly beet also offers protection against coronary disease and stroke, helps keep cholesterol under control, and is thought to have anti-aging effects.

The Link

The real reason beets are in the news today is because of better athletic performance. One study found that drinking beet juice increased blood flow to muscles by 38 percent, particularly to bigger muscles responsible for quick bursts of speed or strength. Another study found that runners who ate beets before a 5K race ran faster. It’s at least partially responsible because beets contain nitrates, which boost endurance and lower blood pressure.

The Nitrate Connection

It’s been studied and well documented that a diet rich in vegetables that contain nitrates can improve cardiovascular health. While most vegetables do contain nitrates, they are more abundant in beets, leafy greens, spinach, celery, endives, fennel, arugula, leeks and parsley. However, beet supplements may just be the most concentrated form of nitrate in nature.

Study Report

Studies done by the University of Exerter’s School of Sport and Health Sciences have confirmed the effects of nitrates on athletic performance. The research team used men aged between 19 and 38 in a series of athletic endurance tests that included cycling. The test was conducted using beet juice, with currant juice as the control or placebo.

Oxygen Uptake

The beet juice group was able to cycle an average of 16 percent longer. The cyclists also had lower resting blood pressure after consuming the beet juice compared to currant juice. The author, Professor Andy Jones, noted that: “Our study is the first to show that nitrate-rich food can increase endurance. We were amazed by the effect of beet juice on oxygen uptake because these effects cannot be achieved by any other known means, including training.”

How it Works

Once eaten, nitrates are converted to nitrites that are in turn converted to nitric oxide. Nitric oxide is a potent vasodilator. The higher nitric oxide production may explain the benefits. According to Jones, nitric oxide has two major effects on an athlete. “The first is that it causes blood vessels to dilate, so you can provide more blood through them,” Jones says. “Simultaneously, it seems to make the mitochondria more efficient, so they are able to create the same energy while consuming less oxygen. So you really have two things happening. Lower oxygen cost because the mitochondria are more efficient and then you have a higher oxygen supply. In terms of performance, that’s a pretty good combination.”

Old-School of Thought

Some may recall that in years past, nitrates and nitrites were thought to be unsafe, and consumers have long been cautioned to avoid excess consumption of hot dogs, bacon etc. It’s true that synthetic nitrates can be bad for you when cooking them to a brown crisp. The fear is that inside the body, nitrates and nitrites combine with meat proteins to form compounds known as nitrosamines, which can be carcinogenic.

Beets Versus Bacon

The truth is, plants create natural nitrates by breaking down nitrogen. Beets have one of the highest nitrate concentrations of all vegetables, and are proven to be beneficial to health. Bacon and other cured meats, with it’s nitrates-to-nitrosamine conversion, is recommended for limited consumption by most health organizations. 

Insulin Link

Natural nitrates help keep blood pressure under control and are believed to help lower blood glucose levels. One reason is because low levels of nitric oxide are associated with insulin resistance.

Nitrate Content

Beetroot tends to be dosed on the nirate content, but juicing 3­ to 5 beets every morning is time consuming and messy, expensive and impractical. Alternatives in the form of powder and concentrated juices are now widely available, but with mixed results as far as performance enhancing. The study done by the University of Exeter used concentrated beet juice. Research has yet to recreate the performance benefits using beet powder. However beetroot extract supplements in pill form are reported by the manufacturers to provide all the benefits of the vegetable in an easy-to-use form. The 500mg pills are taken three times each day.

At Home

There’s no reason why you can’t eat beats to gain benefits, but cooking will significantly reduce the available nitrates in beets. The exception to this is light steaming, which may actually make the nutrients more available to the body. While consuming cooked beets and pills are one way to ingest beets, drinking beet juice remains the preferred method for enhancing athletic performance.

Beets with Benefits

Ancient Romans consumed beets before a big battle, and as a natural Viagra thousands of years ago and there is historical evidence to back this up. A natural aphrodisiac,  beets are used for erectile dysfunction. Nitric oxide is a gas, which widens blood vessels, and aids blood flow to every extremity, including the penis. Beets contain a lot of boron, and in coordination with nitric oxide, can do wonders for your sex life. Boron is a natural mineral that stimulates the production of sexual hormones. It helps the body metabolize and use estrogen in women and increases testosterone levels in men. What more could you ask for.

In Moderation

As with any supplement, use beets in moderation and if you’re unsure about your health going into a supplement program, always consult with a doctor or health professional. The truth is, nothing can replace a healthy riding schedule, eating and sleeping right and there’s no supplement, legal or not, that’s right for everyone.

Supplements Versus Food for Nutrition

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supplements

Nutrition for cycling is a controversial topic. Some cyclists rely on vitamin and nutritional supplements for enhanced performance. Other cyclists don’t understand the need for supplements versus food when vitamins and minerals are so plentiful and easy t0 obtain through good nutrition.

Supplement Pushing

The issue of taking or not taking supplements is compounded by the fact that advertising has encouraged cyclist, and everyone else for that matter, to take supplements for supplementation’s sake. It’s best to take a good hard look at what you really need versus what the supplement say’s you need.

The Quandary

The question is: Does vigorous cycling result in vitamin or mineral deficiencies? Generally speaking, the vitamin and mineral needs of active cyclists are no greater than those of couch potatoes. But because some cyclists have jumped on the supplement bandwagon hoping to avoid any possible deficiency in performance, a self-perceived imbalance might have actually caused a lackluster performance. Studies have indicated that bad performance in this instance is likely because of a psychological dependence on supplements.

Daily Dose

It’s one thing to follow the recommended daily allowance for supplements, or RDA, which is a common practice for many cyclists. But some believe that while one dose is good, more is better — but that’s not the way it works.

The Mega Dose

The mega dose should be regarded as a problem. Mega doses are levels between 5 and 10 times a normal dose. For the most part, a heavy supplement habit flows right out with your urine when your body excretes what it cannot absorb. Mega doses have not been proven to be beneficial, and may cause toxicity problems. There is a monetary cost to be considered, possible side effects or toxicity, as well as decisions as to optimum dosages. A more rational alternative is to review the research and consult with your doctor, before taking more than the recommended daily allowance of supplements.

What Supplements Do

Before using or not using vitamin and mineral supplements, it’s a good idea to take a look at what cyclists really need to stay healthy and perform at optimum levels.

Nutrients

Nutrient is a broad term that refers to proteins, carbohydrates vitamins, minerals, fats, fiber and a host of other substances. The body is a very effective machine. It produces many of the resources it needs to survive. However, vitamins, minerals, fatty acid and amino acids cannot be manufactured in the body. This is where consumption of food is necessary to promote proper health.

Proteins

Proteins are necessary for the synthesis of the body’s skeletal, muscle, skin, as well as hormones and enzymes. Contrary to popular belief, proteins are not the primary source of energy, and can actually produce toxic substances when they are converted to simple sugar needed for the body’s energy demand. Cyclists typically eat enough protein to satisfy their body’s requirement. Studies have shown that increased levels of cycling does not cause a significant increase in the body’s daily protein requirement.

Carbs

Carbohydrates and fats are the body’s primary energy sources. That’s one reasone why the popularity of energy bars has skyrocketed. Carbohydrates are also known as sugars such as fructose, glucose  sucrose and lactose. Other more complex sugars are recognized as
breads and pastas, just to name a few. The brain requires glucose for proper functioning. The sugars are easily broken down to help satisfy energy and brain demands and for this reason they are an ideal food during racing and training.

Fats

Fats represent the body’s other major energy source. Fats are just over twice as dense in calories as carbohydrates and proteins. Fats are either saturated or unsaturated and studies agree that unsaturated, plant-based types are healthier.

What Supplements are Not

Vitamins are compounds that help the body perform metabolic functions, but do not directly supply energy. As such, they are only catalysts that help to convert fats, carbohydrates, and proteins into  energy.

Good Nutrition

Nutrition is a long term proposition meaning the effects of a vitamin or mineral deficiency take weeks to manifest themselves.  What this means is that during a high level of cycling, the primary concern is energy replacement from carbs and fats to avoid hitting the wall.

Feel Good

Because psychological and physiological factors determine performance, most cyclists should eat and drink whatever is proven to make them feel good during a ride. If the vitamin and mineral requirements are being satisfied by the natural intake of healthy food during training, no additional supplements during the performance phase is necessary.

Good Nutrition

Basically, what all this means is that good nutrition is mostly responsible for your cycling performance. Understanding your own  body’s nutrient and energy requirements is important. If you’re eating real food that meets the RDA’s for protein, vitamins and minerals, carbohydrate and fat, then you should be fine to ride, without any supplements.

Daily Requirements

It is not necessary to get 100 percent of the recommended daily allowance for all vitamins and minerals at every meal. It’s fine to  determine which nutritional requirements you wish to satisfy at each meal. Breakfast can be toast and cereal. Make up some of the needs at lunch by eating yogurt, fruit, or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Dinner can be the source of your energy; protein, vitamins and minerals with vegetables, pasta, meat and milk. Between meal snacking is also useful to help meet the body’s requirements.

Play it Safe

If you do get off track, bear in mind that you’re not immune to vitamin or mineral deficiencies and they must be satisfied before you can perform at your best. Remember that problems associated with nutrient deficiencies takes a long time to occur. To play it safe, it’s fine to take a daily multivitamin and mineral supplement tablet which has no adverse affects when administered at prescribed levels.

How Much a Pro Cyclist Eats

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How Much a Pro Cyclist Eats

Pro cyclists ride their bikes a lot and thus burn an absurd amount of calories. For optimal performance these calories must be replaced with optimal nutrients and of sufficient quantity. How much a pro cyclist eats depends on their training and racing load as the more they ride, the more they eat. With the high activity level, metabolism follows suit and even if a professional rider isn’t training as much, their body is still burning ‘hot’ and metabolizing a lot of food. The average cyclist typically isn’t going to come close to the calorie consumption of a professional cyclist but they can try.

How Much a Pro Cyclist Eats For Breakfast

On a big training or racing day, the typical pro road cyclist is going to consume between 1,000 and 2,000 calories to prepare for the task at hand. This is generally going to be an assortment of oats, rice, pasta, eggs, bread, pastries, fruit, and sometimes juice and most of the time coffee; ample coffee. They will eat this number of calories at least three hours before the ride to ensure that it all isn’t just sitting in their stomach when they try and go hard.

How Much a Pro Cyclist Eats While Riding

A pro cyclist eats a lot on the bike as typically the length of races range from three to six hours. Liquid food simply can’t provide someone with enough calories without potentially getting an upset stomach so real food is eaten. Depending upon intensity, a pro rider can burn anywhere from 500 to over 1000 calories per hour and the general goal is to replace half those calories each hour. This is done by eating little pre-made sandwiches typically of ham, sometimes cheese, maybe jelly or Nutella or if you’re in Europe, Eurocrem. Also, rice cakes, bars, and an assortment of cookies will be eaten along with gels and other quick digesting pre-packaged foods toward the end of a race. Because the main energy source is from carbohydrates namely in the form of sugar, things like candy bars and Coke’s are also eaten and drunken in ample quantities.

How Much a Pro Cyclist Eats For Dinner

With a big day of racing or training behind a pro rider, dinner is thoroughly looked forward toward and enjoyed. The breakdown of the body after a hard workout is reparable by eating the proper nutrients; namely protein, carbohydrates, and fat with sufficient vitamins and minerals. The riders who can eat the same as or more of what they burned simply will be able to recover faster and become stronger as the body has what it needs to repair itself. For dinner, meals generally revolve around a main carbohydrate such as rice or pasta depending upon where you are in the world. The exact protein as well as side vegetables depends also on where you are in the world as in Europe there are a lot of different things available than say compared to Asia and cultural differences as say compared to the United States. Quantity wise, many pros will eat three full plates of food to recover and fuel for the next day’s ride or race.

Differences in Consumption During Training and Racing

There are two big differences to what and how much a pro cyclist eats relative to if they are racing or just training. Typically at races the menu is just whatever the hotel or restaurant is serving although a number of the larger teams have their own chefs to ensure their riders are getting exactly what they need. When out racing you can’t always have what you would normally make at home while training where you can make exactly what you want. Also while home training, pros are generally in a constant battle with losing weight. Training is the time to do it so calories are often limited so even though a ride may have burned 5000 calories, they may only replace 4000 of them.

While pro cyclists can eat a lot of food, they can also ride relatively far and fast on very little food and can rely on the efficient conversion of fat to energy. This is also where they differ from the average cyclist. Their bodies are so tuned at being able to eat, digest, and turn large quantities of food into energy that they can also use those energy stores and convert them to energy far after the average cyclist would have bonked and gone home.

The Totals

The grand total of what a pro cyclist eats in a day can range from 3000 calories on a shorter day to upwards of 9 and 10,000 calories on massive race or training days. That’s the equivalent of one and a half to five times what the average person eats in a day. That’s simply a lot of food. When races roll into town, race hotel kitchens are briefed ahead of time as to the quantity of food that is needed otherwise they would simply run out before everyone had their fill. The more you ride the more you eat. To eat as much as a pro cyclist it would not only take a lot of riding but also years of building your metabolism. The more efficiently you can convert a lot of food to helpful things in your body to rebuild muscles, the better cyclist you will be and whether the pro had the natural talent or gained it over the years, they have their eating dialed.

Convenient Calories – What to Eat on a Ride

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Convenient Calories - What to Eat on the Ride

It’s not always possible to eat like a cyclist, but it’s a vital part of your performance on the road. Food is fuel, some work better than others. Some aid your efforts, while others hamper it. Convenience stores, and mom-and-pop grocery stores have become a staple in long distance cycling because they’re everywhere. It’s not that difficult to find nutrition if you know what to reach for.

Lots of Choices

Some cyclists can eat anything they want to, but most cyclists agree that pop-tarts and cookies can cause your blood-sugar to spike and crash, leading you right into the wall. While not everything is edible in a convenience store, there are choices that can fuel your body better than others.

Calorie Rate

The calories burned biking varies per individual and the intensity that they ride; however, a ball park is that an average sized cyclist at a moderate pace will burn anywhere from 500 – 700 calories per hour and serious rides can last between 6 and 8 hours. That much time in the saddle depletes your fuel tank completely. But even if you’re not out there all day, it’s a good idea to consume around 300 calories an hour while riding. It keeps your  performance from dropping, and helps you recover better after the ride.

Cycling Specific Calories

Cycling specific gels and other products are lightweight, and designed for cyclists to carry with them. They provide calories fast and efficiently. The average gel pack typically provides 80 to about 100 calories per serving. They’re perfect for cruising around the countryside, or shorter training rides. But on a century ride, it means that you would have to carry 15 or 20 gel packs or energy bars in your jersey pockets, underseat packs and heaven forbid, a pannier to store enough of them.

Hydration is Heavy

Hydration is another issue. Your fluid intake varies per cyclist, but it’s recommended that you drink one 16-ounce bottle per hour in cool weather, and up to as many as three bottles per hour in extremely hot weather. Your body can only process approximately 1.5 litres of fluid per hour. Can you imagine carrying this much weight, not to mention bulk, for the duration of longer rides.

Convenient Sustenance

It just makes good sense to plan your century or any long distance ride around aid stations in the form of convenience stores. It’s become the norm for long distance cycling. But what’s best? The shelves are filled with products of all kinds. Convenience stores are definitely not cycling specific. They’re geared to high-fat foods with lots of sugar that are more appropriate for truck drivers, travelers with the munchies, or children. With that in mind, what are some of the products that can fuel your ride without making you sick?

What To Eat On a Ride

The Fruit Group

Depending on the convenience store, fruit is sometimes available. Fruit is almost always a good choice if you can find it, but if you’re not accustomed to eating some types of fruit — grapes come to mind — they can actually upset your stomach, or worse, a case of diarrhea, one of the worst conditions a cyclists can suffer when on the road. It’s good to know your own body and how it reacts ahead of time before reaching for some types of fruit.

Bananas

Bananas have always been at the top of the list for cycling cuisine. It’s a no-brainer to grab them if the convenience store has them. The average banana has about 105 calories, 30 grams of carbohydrates, and 422 mg of potassium. They could be the perfect fruit for cycling.

Apples

Apples are great for sustained energy. One medium-sized apple contains about 100 calories and 17 grams of carbs. High in fiber, apples can help to make your empty tank feel full again.

Raisins

A handful of raisins is packed with more vitamins, electrolytes, anti-oxidants, and minerals than almost any other fruit, they’re a great source for energy. A one-ounce box of raisins has about 85 calories and 22 grams of carbohydrates. They also will give you 210 mg of potassium.

The Carb Group

Energy Bars

Lots of convenience stores stock energy bars, and you’ve probably got your favorites. But whatever you choose, make sure to look at the label before you buy it and eat it. Check to see if the product will make you sick, they’re not created equal. Some cyclists have special health plans, and all the additives may no be copacetic with overall health plans. Some of the “health” or “energy” bars are simply glorified candy or pastries, loaded with high fructose corn syrup and more chemicals than you can imagine.

Fig Newtons

Aside from the fact that they contain white flour and high fructose corn syrup, fig newtons are one of the best convenience store choices for cyclists. A 2-ounce package of fig newtons contains about 200 calories with 40 grams of carbohydrates. They also provide 200 mg of sodium, and 2 grams of protein. Fig newtons are not new to cycling, and could be considered the original energy bar.

Beef Jerkey

A one-ounce package of beef jerkey roughly contains about 130 calories, 26 grams of protein and 1470 mg of sodium, yea, it’s salty. But since there is only about 1.5 grams of fat in that same package  it doesn’t typically impact digestion while cycling. Jerky can provide the thing that’s missing from other sweet snacks that don’t satisfy your hunger.

Dairy

If you prefer a high protein snack — doctors orders perhaps — a one-ounce stick of mozzarella has about 80 calories and 7 grams of protein. Milk and chocolate milk are also top choices by some cyclists, but others can’t tolerate lactose-based products on long rides. This is another product you should test before consuming on a long ride.

Vital Hydration

Sports drinks are always a good choice for hydration if you have no health issues prohibiting them. A 20-ounce bottle of sports drink such as Gatorade typically has about 130 calories and 35 grams of carbohydrates. Each bottle also has around 270 mg of sodium and 80 mg of potassium. Most convenience stores stock plenty of choices for hydration — that’s a huge part of their overall profit — and you’ve probably got your favorites. If you’re not sure, water will do just fine. Soda, even though it might be what sounds the best, should be avoided. The bubble action gives you the vapors.

Foods that Help Burn Fat

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Eating certain foods at certain times can, in a round-about way, help you burn fat. Food in itself will never directly result in your body burning fat. Your body simply doesn’t work that way. To reduce fat build up on your body, you need to burn it off.

Certain foods can help by giving you less energy, causing your body to need to burn fat stores to convert to energy. While other foods can increase your metabolism. Also certain foods will help you to feel more full causing you to eat less resulting in less calories being consumed, again resulting in your body to resort to fat stores for energy.

Foods that Help Burn Fat

Fat Faux-Pas

Fat has received a lot of miss-press particularly that of being able to burn it with other food as well as that eating it causes you to get fat. Both of these simply are not true. In fact, not eating fat can help contribute to weight-gain due to you actually eating more food as a result. To burn fat you simply need to consume less calories than you burn along with exercising regularly. Exercise is an important element because it requires more energy to complete and fat can be burned to obtain this energy.

Fat, particularly in the 1990’s, was labeled as causing you to become fat so a lot of foods tried to drop their fat content. This would result in foods tasting bad, so to make them taste good again, sugar would be added which actually can make you pack on the pounds, particularly since these foods are often highly processed. Fat does have a higher calorie content per gram, nine to be exact, whereas carbohydrates and protein each have four calories per gram. The thing with fat however is that it makes you feel more full and satisfied so you don’t have to eat as much. If you were to just eat carbohydrates instead, you would eat more calories because it would take longer to become satisfied.

Foods to Eat to Feel Full

The trick to eating foods that help you lose weight are to eat those that cause you to consume less calories. This can be done in any number of ways, but the best is to eat a diet high in vegetables as there is a lot of bulk with fewer calories, helping you to feel full.

The second is to eat more fat, as fat has high satiety. You don’t just want any type of fat however but rather healthy fats. These can be found in foods such as nuts, olive oil, coconut oil, as well as in meats. Foods like eggs and bacon previously thought of as fat-causing and artery clogging are things of the past. Eating a balanced diet including foods such as these will help you to eat less while still having the energy you need to ride and perform your day to day routines.

According to Health.com – Certain foods have a very high thermogenic effect, so you literally scorch calories as you chew. Other eats contain nutrients and compounds that stoke your metabolic fire. Feed your metabolism with these:

Whole grains
Your body burns twice as many calories breaking down whole foods (especially those rich in fiber such as oatmeal and brown rice) than processed foods.

Chicken Breast
Protein has a high thermogenic effect: You burn about 30% of the calories the food contains during digestion (so a 300-calorie chicken breast requires about 90 calories to break it down).

Low-fat dairy products
Rich in calcium and vitamin D, these help preserve and build muscle mass—essential for maintaining a robust metabolism.

Green tea
Drinking four cups of green tea a day helped people shed more than six pounds in eight weeks, theAmerican Journal of Clinical Nutrition reports. Credit EGCG, a compound in the brew that temporarily speeds metabolism after sipping it. To up your intake, keep a jug of iced tea in the fridge.

Lentils
One cup packs 35% of your daily iron needs—good news, since up to 20% of us are iron deficient. When you lack a nutrient, your metabolism slows because the body’s not getting what it needs to work efficiently, says Tammy Lakatos Shames, RD, co-author of The Secret to Skinny.

Hot peppers
Capsaicin, the compound that gives chili peppers their kick, heats up your body, which makes you melt additional calories. You can get it by eating raw, cooked, dried, or powdered peppers, says Lakatos Shames. “Add as much cayenne or hot sauce as possible to soups, eggs, and meats.”

Tips on Burning Fat

Along with eating the right foods to help you to feel full and eat less, riding and eating in certain ways can also help to spur fat loss. To burn fat more efficiently on the bike, start a ride without much to eat prior and only eat small amounts throughout as needed. Only follow this advice for medium to low intensity rides, if you are going to go for an intense ride make sure to eat enough food (especially carbs) to fuel you through the ride.

Everyone knows the Golden Rule of weight loss: burn more calories than you consume. Most people also know that riding at lower intensity is when you do burn fat and when you ride at higher intensity is when you burn carbs. So most people believe that in order to lose fat cycling they need to ride at lower intensities; unfortunately, this is not the case. Do you remember the Golden Rule? Well, if you ride at higher intensities you will burn more calories, so at the end of the day you will end up burning more fat.

Losing fat off your body isn’t easy and takes time, but with the proper know how you can start tackling your fat issues from the right angle. If you take the wrong approach, you’re not going to have the results you’re looking for.

Eat the right foods to feel full along with less carbohydrates on easy rides. And one thing to watch out for when you eat fat is not to combine it with simple carbohydrates and sugar as your body responds by converting these to fat on your body. These two combinations are not found in nature and release “feel-good” hormones in your body causing you to become addicted to them thus making it harder to get them out of your diet. Eat the right things and with will-power and sufficient riding your fat will burn away like you were eating something to get rid of it.

The Cyclists Diet

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The Cyclists DietA cyclists diet is constantly changing based upon the rides that day, the upcoming rides and races, as well as the time of the year. Despite these changes, one thing that remains centered is that there is always a reason for what we are eating whether it’s for fuel or pleasure. We are human so keeping a regimented diet of only the things that are healthy for us is unrealistic. We have those periods of time where we eat whatever we want but that is balanced with periods of eating precisely for athletic performance. You don’t have to have your diet dialed 100% of the time but knowing what that diet is for you will give you a goal that you can shoot for.

Lifestyle

The diet of a cyclist doesn’t start with what you eat. It starts with your lifestyle. A lifestyle that consists of taking care of yourself and planning what is best for you, for your cycling goals and your life in general. This lifestyle then translates into a way of eating which consists of good, wholesome food that becomes your diet all the time, not just for periods of riding or weight loss. Making a habit of buying foods that are fresh and actually food, not processed, is the first step to a achieving an ideal cyclist’s diet.

With these wholesome foods such as fruits, vegetables, lean meats, dairy, and grains, you can now construct well rounded meals for your lifestyle. If you don’t already have a bit of knowhow on cooking, learn. Knowing a few things in the kitchen can take you a long way where you can quickly and easily make tasty meals that hit all your nutritional needs.

Well Balanced

A cyclist’s diet is always well-rounded and balanced with foods that provide energy, support recovery, as well as make you feel full so you don’t continue to eat past what is ideal. Along with meeting these macro-nutrient needs you also need to meet your bodies micro-nutrient requirements. Micro-nutrients are vitamins and minerals that your body requires but can’t make to complete basic cellular functions. These requirements are met by eating a well-rounded diet consisting of plenty of fruits and vegetables that are constantly changing. This means that you don’t buy the same broccoli, pepper, and onion every time you go to the store. Mix things up and use those skills in the kitchen to create something tasty.

Planning Ahead

Another component of a cyclist’s diet is planning ahead for your eating needs. One of the biggest downfalls in eating well is not having the proper food on hand ready to eat. As a human, you know that you are going to need to eat multiple times a day every day for pretty much every day of your life. Planning ahead and getting the right foods before you run out of them at home is key to never getting behind on having the right foods to eat. With the right food on hand you also need to prepare and cook meals ahead of time for when you know that you won’t have time or have access to the foods you should be eating, say for lunch at work.

Whether you cook extra at dinner the night before or cook a bunch of food a few days ahead of time, say on a Sunday night for the week ahead, having full meals that are transportable and ready to eat quickly will not only save you from having to eat less than ideal foods but will also be nice to your wallet since cooking at home is normally always cheaper than buying out. With all the “real” food you’re buying it can get more expensive than what you were spending previously but savings such as not eating out as much can make up for it.

A cyclist’s diet is more than just a diet of eating this and that. It is a lifestyle that with careful planning and preparation will become an easy habit that will be a part of your everyday life. And just because you have all of this great healthy food doesn’t mean you have to pass up the cookies and pie. Just have it in moderation after you’ve eaten your other amazingly wholesome food. You’ll eat less of it and you won’t feel guilty. You’ve done the work to make great food to enjoy and improve your riding. Eat what you want and enjoy. With a balanced and a thought out approach to food your diet will be precisely what you want it to be.

What to Eat Before Cycling

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What to Eat Before Cycling

Riding a bike requires a lot of energy particularly if you are riding for a longer period of time and/or at high intensity. Your body can do this because it converts the basic building blocks of food, carbohydrates, fat, and protein, into energy that your body can utilize. You need to give your body these energy sources at the right time to digest and convert them to energy so you can cruise comfortably down the road or trail. Any food, more or less, is going to have some sort of energy, or calories in it but not all calories are the same. Eating the right foods at the right times will give you the energy you need to complete a short or long ride with the speed you desire.

What to Eat Before Cycling

In any endurance sport you are going to burn a lot of energy to complete your activity. In cycling a lot of this energy comes in the form of carbohydrates as well as fat. In general at lower intensities of exercise, closer to that of walking, your body is going to burn more fat than carbohydrates.  As you ride harder and harder your body switches over to mainly using carbohydrates for energy as they can be converted to energy more quickly. The point at which this occurs depends on you personally and how you have been training as this point can change over time.

Having both carbohydrates and fat in any pre-ride meal is essential along with having a percentage of protein. In general, the focus should be around having slow burning carbohydrates such as oatmeal, whole grain pasta, or rice. Fat and protein can then be added to these basics to form a complete meal prior to your ride.

Oatmeal

Oatmeal is a great, easy pre-ride meal particularly for breakfast. It is slower burning so it can provide sustained energy. Add nuts or nut butters, seeds like flax seed, and fruit, to get a good ratio of carbs to fat to protein along with a tasty, easy to make breakfast.

Rice

Rice is largely the new “best” source of carbohydrates as gluten-free foods become more and more of a norm. Rice is easy on your stomach and converts quickly to energy, if white rice, and a bit longer if brown. Combining rice with protein options such as eggs or chicken, is a good way to include some protein in your meal. With rice, it tends to be more of a dinner option that is often served with vegetables. For a pre-ride meal, skip the vegetables as they don’t provide very much energy and can be more difficult to digest. Save them for dinner where their nutrient density can best be utilized. To get enough fat, throw in some olive oil or butter. Butter is often looked down upon but it can be a good fat option that is also tasty.

Pasta

Pasta is the tried and true tradition of cycling. When people talk of “carbo-loading” or what cyclists eat, pasta is often the first thing that comes to mind. It is for good reason as pasta is packed with carbohydrates and has a bit of protein. Whole grain pasta is a great lower GI (Glycemic Index) food that provides more sustained energy over time. Like rice, adding a protein option will give a good, well rounded meal including protein and fat as well.

Grains and Seeds

A newer trend that cyclist’s flock towards are grains such as quinoa, farro, spelt, wheat berries, and chia seeds to name a few. These grains and seeds pack a punch of higher nutrient density as well as more protein along with the added benefit of differing taste from that of conventional pasta and rice. These can be made any number of ways and due to their higher protein content, a side of protein such as chicken or eggs can be optional.

When to Eat

Eating the right foods before a ride will help your energy levels but to maximize performance as well as comfort on the bike, timing is important. Cycling is less harsh on your stomach in that you could eat a meal and go ride right after, unlike that of running where the jostling of your stomach would make you uncomfortable pretty quick. However, you still don’t want to eat a large meal right before riding. Right around three hours ahead of time is ideal as it gives your body enough time to digest while not yet being hungry for your next meal.

The Morning Ride

The timing of when you eat prior to a ride can be extra tricky with a morning ride because there simply isn’t enough time to eat far in advance. It is a good idea to eat something to keep you fueled but it needs to be on the lighter side. A small bowl of oats with berries and an egg is a great balanced option. Keep it mainly carbohydrate based also, such as a bagel or toast with nut butter and a side of fruit. With less fuel before your ride, you’ll have to make sure you bring something to eat during the ride to keep you fueled properly. Granola bars are a good easy, to-go option.

Eating the right foods at the right time will help your cycling in that you will be able to ride longer and faster while also feeling full of energy. There is no one food or one solution to fueling properly for cycling. Everyone is different and everyone has different tastes so using the above guidelines along with a bit of trial and error will give you the best foods for you to eat prior to riding.

What do you eat before a ride?

Does Cycling Burn Fat?

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Does Cycling Burn Fat? Does Cycling Burn Belly FatFor many people, the main reason that they start any form of exercise is because they wish to lose a little bit of weight. Whether you want to shed pounds from your frame or just get rid of those pesky love handles, burning fat is often the main aim.

So how can cycling help? In short, cycling is one of the most complete body workouts, which means that you can burn fat from all over your body if you do it right.

How Does Cycling Burn Fat?

Cycling is a form of cardiovascular exercise, which means that as long as you cycle at a quick enough speed or on a steep enough gradient to get your heart beating faster, you will start to burn fat and lose weight.

Furthermore, because you are engaging so many different areas of your body, you will also find that you burn calories a lot quicker than you would with other cardio activities. After all, your legs, arms and entire core are constantly engaged whenever you head out for a ride, a combination that serves you well to burn more calories and help you get leaner.

How Much Fat Can I Burn?

A lot of it depends on the distance that you ride and the speed that you ride at. Furthermore, you will burn more fat riding uphill than you would on a flat or going downhill.

However, assuming a 185 pound rider riding at moderate pace for an hour the rider can burn approximately 654 calories. Upping the speed also ups the lost calorie count, so if that same rider starts to ride faster it is entirely possible to burn as much as 1,000 calories every single hour or higher. That’s not a bad rate for something that’s fun as well as healthy.

Calories Burned Biking and How It Compares To Other Forms of Exercise

Does Cycling Burn Fat?

Of course, there are many different forms of cardio out there, so if you are looking to lose weight quickly it’s only natural that you would attempt to search out the most efficient one. Here we’ll take a look at some other forms or cardiovascular exercise and how they compare against cycling.

Running – Assuming you are a male of about an average weight of 185lbs, you should be able to burn about 800 calories if you run at a constant speed of 6mph for a full hour. Of course, maintaining that kind of speed over such a long distance is taxing, plus those who are carrying a little extra weight may have to be wary about the effect that running can have on their knees in the long term.

Swimming – Heading off for a dip in the pool is often a great idea, as swimming is another form of cardio that requires your whole body to properly execute. If you swim for an hour with a moderately-paced free style stroke, you will find you lose somewhere in the region of 650 calories, with the numbers going up the harder the stroke. Interestingly enough, the temperature of the water will have a lot to do with how many calories you burn, the colder the water the harder your body is going to have to work to stay warm, meaning that you will burn more calories.

So What is Better Cycling, Running or Swimming for Burning Fat?

At the end of the day the best way to burn fat is doing whichever sport is the most fun and the one you are going to do the most! A good mix of the three, taking into account your own current health, is possibly the best recommendation. It is a good idea to mix things up and keep your body guessing.

Does Biking Burn Belly Fat?

Biking does burn belly fat, in fact, it burns fat from your thighs, your butt or anywhere you have it for that matter. As long as you have a calorie deficit fat is going to melt off! Aim to expend 500 more calories than you consume each day, this is a healthy weight loss plan and works out to approximately 1 pound each week. Hopefully that is 1 pound of fat, but remember you may not lose it that fast as you are simultaneously building muscle. But, muscle burns fat faster, so really it is a vicious win/win cycle when you bike to burn fat!

10 Great Snacks For Cyclists

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10 Great Snacks For Cyclists

We all know that the right nutrition is vital for any sporting activity. After all, eating the wrong foods could lead to you failing to get the energy that you need for those big pushes and can even negate the fitness gains that you make from the exercise if taken to extremes.

While everybody has their own ideas about what makes a great eating regimen for a cyclist, those who enjoy rides that cover long distances will know that it is vital to have a few snacks handy to keep yourself fueled at all times. Here we take a look at ten snacks for cyclists that will keep you covered throughout the journey.

  1. Isotonic Sports Drinks

Making sure that you stay properly hydrated is extremely important when you are cycling. Dehydration can catch up to you quickly if you let it, and can cause all sorts of health issues that you should aim to avoid. An Isotonic sports drink not only replenishes your water supplies, but also allows you to retain moisture more effectively.

  1. Bananas

There is a good reason why so many people recommend a banana when you are exercising. It is one of the best snacks for cyclists because it is high in carbohydrates and potassium, allowing your muscles the ability to use fuel more efficiently. This will increase your pedal power in addition to filling the gap. Many proclaim that it is the way to avoid and cure cramping as well.

  1. Cereal Bars

A cereal bar is perfect for if you just want to fill a gap while you are riding. They require no preparation, are fairly healthy and usually taste great as well. Pick a favorite brand and make sure you have a couple handy for long distance cycling.

  1. Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches

If your ride is going to be long enough that you anticipate stopping along the way for a decent break, there are few better snacks to bring along with you than peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The bread makes for a good source of carbohydrates and the peanut butter provides protein and fats, giving you plenty of energy to burn when you get back on the bike.

  1. Energy Gels

Energy gels have become particularly popular in recent years because they can help to refuel you when you are tired without leaving you feeling bloated. Pick a brand that tastes good to you to get the absolute most out of them.

  1. Trail Mix

While it may be a little messier than some of the other snacks on this list, trail mix offers dried fruits and nuts that combine to give you a solid shot of carbohydrates and potassium. Just be aware of any allergy issues before you pack it.

  1. Energy Bars

Much like cereal bars, energy bars make for a quick and efficient snack that you can gobble down while you are riding. However, they usually offer a more concentrated boost in energy, so they are good to eat when you feel your muscles flagging and need that extra little boost to keep going.

  1. Jellied Sweets

Jellied sweets are great to take along on the ride as the sugars will keep your energized, plus they make for a good little snack for cyclists if you only want nibble at something. Keep a pack in your pocket and dip in when you feel the urge or a bonk coming on.

  1. Beef Jerky

If you’re getting a little sick of eating sweeter foods, a good bit of beef jerky offers some fat and protein, so you can have a little more energy to burn when you are riding. Just be aware of the fairly high sodium content before chowing down. These can also be a little more difficult to digest so make sure you don’t eat too much!

  1. Dried Fruits

Dried fruits taste good but they are important for also keeping your body’s sugar levels topped up during the ride. Couple that with the vitamins and minerals that fruits have and you have the perfect snack for cyclists.

What about 10 foods to eat after a long ride?

What Happens to You When You Stop Cycling

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Cycling is one of the best forms of exercise around for boosting your overall fitness and dropping those extra pounds that you have been finding so difficult to shed. It is excellent for your cardiovascular conditioning and the fact that it is a low impact sport means that you don’t need to worry about suffering injuries in the same way that you would with weight training or running.

As the amount of cycling you do increases, your body’s fitness levels improve with it. As such, if you choose to stop cycling regularly you are going to find that everything that you worked so hard to achieve is going to come under threat. Here we look at just a few of the things that will happen to your body if you choose to stop cycling regularly.

What Happens to You When You Stop Cycling

Your Mood Dips

Every time you exercise your brain is improving. In fact, exercise is considered to be a key way of keeping the brain healthy and active even into old age. Exercise also triggers the release of serotonin, which acts as an anti-depressant and generally keeps your mood positive. That great feeling you have after a good workout? That’s the serotonin at play.

Your body becomes used to having this shot of happiness on a regular basis if you are exercising, so if you suddenly stop cycling regularly you are going to find that your mood starts dipping as a result, making you even less likely to start exercising again.

Your Metabolism Drops

Exercise causes your metabolism to speed up, which is one of the key reasons why you can burn so many calories when you are cycling. In fact, it is believed that your metabolism works at five times the speed when you’re on the bike than it normally does. This accounts for about 400 to 500 calories every hour.

If you stop cycling regularly, your metabolism is going to stagnate and you are no longer going to lose weight if your diet remains the same.

Blood Pressure Rises

Cycling is an aerobic exercise, which means that it encourages your body to release hormones that keep your blood vessels in check and ensures that your blood pressure stays at a healthy level. Cycling on a regular basis has been found to lower your blood pressure somewhere between 8 to 10 points every single month, which reduces the risk of heart issues and other ailments caused by high blood pressure.

If you stop cycling regularly you lose all of these advantages very quickly, and you will find that your blood pressure starts rising again. It will start after about a week and in just a few weeks you will find it is back to the level it was at before you started.

You Might Put On Weight

It should go without saying that when you stop cycling regularly you are going to put on weight if every other aspect of your life remains the same. There is a misconception that the gains you have made will last a long time even if you stop.

In fact, that simply isn’t the case. As mentioned previously, your metabolism stagnates when you stop exercising, which means your body’s ability to burn fat is reduced. This means that if you stick to the same diet you are going to start noticing that your body is getting a little softer in areas that used to be lean and trim. Even if you reduce you calorie intake, you are going to notice your tone softening and your waistline increasing. Over time, the effects will only increase, so be sure to keep getting out there and exercising to keep yourself in top shape.

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