Health and Nutrition | Kits Energy Training

Nutrition on the bike

Blog, Cycling, Fitness and Training, Health and Nutrition

When exercising your body converts both glycogen (aka sugar) and fat into energy. Converting glycogen is quick and easy so these sources are used for high-intensity efforts such as short sprints and hill climbs. Converting fat takes longer so it is used more for lower intensity efforts like steady long training rides.

But this doesn’t mean that you can fuel up on nuts and fat for your long rides. Unless you have trained your body, by strictly following a Keto Diet, your brain only survives on sugar/glycogen of which we have a limited supply. So when you suddenly feel tired, dizzy, lightheaded, short-tempered, or sick during a ride, this is usually because you don’t have enough sugar going to your brain.

We call this lack of glycogen, “bonking”. You may have already experienced this so you will know that it is an extremely difficult state to reverse.

To avoid BONKING, always stay one step ahead of what your body needs.

Whether you feel like eating or not, following a predetermined schedule will ensure that you avoid “the bonk”. Set a timer on your watch to remind you.

Normally we count calories so that we don’t overeat. Now I’m teaching you to count calories so that you eat enough. The time to diet is not on the bike.

The timing of when you eat and the number of calories you eat at each interval are the keys to having a great ride.

If you eat too much at one time, you will upset your stomach. As you are working hard, your blood is in your muscles trying to do work – not in your stomach digesting food.

Everyone is unique in regards to how much they can digest comfortably. But 200-300 calories/hour is what is usually recommended. If you can eat while still pedaling, it is best to eat little bites of food every 10-15mins instead of the whole 200/300 calories at once.

It is your job to find out which types of foods and combinations of carb, protein, and fat percentages work best for you and your type of riding.

The following is a guideline to get you started. Add or subtract calories as your stomach insists or your energy demands require.

Always start a ride well hydrated and with enough fuel (inside of you) to last 60-90 minutes. You should NOT need to eat for a ride less than 90minutes.

Your pre-ride meal should be eaten within 1-3 hours before the ride, and consist of mainly carbohydrates. Fat and protein take 2-3hrs to digest so don’t eat them right before a hard workout. Avoid foods with high fiber as they also slow down digestion and may break up your ride with too many bathroom stops. As fat and protein digest slower, you can eat more of them before longer rides as you will use this stored energy later in the ride.
Examples: toast with peanut/almond butter and banana, yogurt and granola and fruit, fruit smoothie, oatmeal with honey, eggs and toast, bagel and cream cheese, muffin

During the ride eat small bites but eat often.
Eat your first snack 45-60minutes into the ride. Your snack should contain 200-300 calories of mainly simple carbs with very little fat and protein. Generally speaking the smaller you are, the less you need to eat, however, there are exceptions to every rule.

Examples: fruit bars, gels, boiled potatoes, bananas, fig newtons, sesame snaps, shot bloks, cliff bars, dates, homemade granola bars or cookies, sharkies, or a drink with calories in it like pure maltodextrin, Scratch, Vega Sport, Eload, etc.

It is best to have a variety of food with you so you can change the balance of carbs, protein, and fat throughout the ride. DO NOT BRING ONLY SUGAR and AVOID CAFFEINE until closer to the end of the ride.

Don’t put your body into a state of extreme highs and lows by overloading the body with pure sugar and caffeine. Consuming ONLY pure sugar will place you on an insulin roller coaster and will quickly make your stomach rebel. The exception to this rule would be an intense race where you are pushing a hard effort for the whole ride or the event is less than 2.5 hours.

Foods to avoid before or during a ride:
– apples, berries, prunes (too much fibre)
– nuts or high fat foods (a few are ok at the start of the ride)
– large amounts of meat or protein including high protein bars (too long to digest)
– salad or only veggies (you need calories not vitamins right now)

Hydration
Use the rule of a minimum of one full water bottle of water (with added electrolytes or salt and lemon depending on how much you sweat) for every hour on the bike.

When to eat on the bike

Blog, Cycling, Health and Nutrition

Some of you are moving away from being casual riders to cyclists training for an event. One of the most important things you will need to learn, practice, and eventually master is the art of eating during long rides and during your event. I’m not talking about eating while pedalling, although eventually you may be ready for that, I’m talking about eating at regular times during your ride to keep up your energy throughout your event.

When you are riding, your muscles use sugar and fat to do the work. The process of converting fat into energy is more difficult and time consuming so the majority of your energy will come from sugar or glycogen. Your body will use most of your available glycogen stores within the first hour. Unfortunately your brain only survives on sugar. So when you feel dizzy, light headed, confused, short tempered or faint this is because you don’t have enough sugar going to your brain. You may have already experienced this on a ride but if you haven’t you never want to get to this point. Once you are there, it is extremely hard to reverse.

You want to stay one step ahead of what our body needs which is why I teach all my athletes to eat on a schedule – whether they feel like eating or not. Normally in life you are counting calories so that you don’t over eat. Now I’m teaching you to count calories so that you eat enough. The timing of when you eat and the amount of calories you eat at each interval are the keys to having a great ride.

Use the following guideline to start with and then add or subtract calories as your stomach insists or your energy demands require.

Breakfast one hour before your ride of mainly carbohydrates with only a little bit of fat and protein as these both take too much time to digest (2-3 hours).
examples: toast with pb and banana, yogurt with granola and fruit, fruit smoothie, oatmeal
drink one glass of water and an extra glass of water for every cup of coffee so you are well hydrated

First snack at 45minutes into the ride: 200-250 calories for women, 300-350 calories for men of mainly simple SUGARS (very little fat or protein)
NOTE: The range of calories are a guideline for you to start with and through experience you will know if you need more or less.
examples: fruit bars, gels, white potatoes, bananas, fig newtons, sesame snaps, shot bloks, cliff bars, sharkies or a drink with calories in it like Vega Sport, Gatorade, Eload, etc
Bring a wide range of food choices as you may not “feel” like eating something but you MUST.
Drink 3/4 to a full water bottle or water with electrolytes in it if you are a heavy sweater.

If your ride is less than 2 hours, then you don’t necessarily need to eat again on the ride but you MUST eat another 250-350 calories as soon as you get home to replace the lost sugar during the last hour. If you miss this 30min window after exercise, your glycogen stores will have a difficult time rebuilding which means that your next ride is going to hurt. AFTER you eat your post ride snack, eat a regular healthy lunch/meal complete with carbs, fat and protein to repair your muscles.

If you are riding for longer, you will repeat the above schedule EVERY 45 minutes. Set your watch to an alarm if you have to. The same “after ride eating schedule” applies to the long ride.