Triathletes and multisporters used to carry potatoes and kumara baked with some salt wrapped in tinfoil in the dark old days 
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The early gels were ghastly, I think Iād have preferred to carry a spud too.
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I do think one thing missing from the fuel every ride discussion is how often youāre riding.
I actually do follow a pretty similar path to you for nutrition, but will fuel most rides to a point. I ride most days though, and I think a lot of the idea of āfuel every rideā is bouncing back fast.
I like cereal too much so have to always balance my carb intake on the bike to allow for that though 
I have no idea what a bottle of squash is, and it doesnāt sound good, but I like the idea of stuffing real food into bottles or flasks. Iām going on a 6 hour ride this weekend. Made Apple Pie last night, do I need a blender to stuff it in a flask? And yes Iām with you on the eat real food and avoid guzzling sugar water on the bike.
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Iām not calling you out. Iām just saying for some people it helps to not finish their ride at a defecit.
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waist circumference.
just be consistent with your technique.
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Thanks for the tip on the scale. Ill look into them. Ill keep messing with it. Im trying to eat more than I have in a long time, so I should expect some changes, and some adaptation. Ive been eating around 1800 calories on my rest days, but maybe I should bump it a little on those days too. Today was odd cause I felt like I nailed my diet, but 30 minutes into my zone 2 ride felt like I needed to stop for dinner. I wish this subject matter came easier to me.
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Id bet waist circumference is growing. Pants are feeling tighter.
If it is, and you arenāt lifting weights, you are probably just getting fatter.
Are you measuring your food to the gram? If you arenāt, you could be off either way by hundreds of calories per day.
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Im not getting super specific on my calorie counts. I know Im off by a bit. Not really lifting weights. My other side hobby right now is archery target shooting, and with my cycling noodle arms I dont have the strength for archery league if I lift weights. Im shooting 2-3 days a week. I guess that is kind of like lifting weights:)
I donāt think thereās a way to do it optimally without counting. I started doing it 2 months ago. Itās not that hard unless you eat out a lot or you eat stuff thatās difficult to estimate.
Im doing my best to estimate it, but havent been too crazy. I dont eat out much, and I tend to eat similar things, but Im not weighing it. Sometimes I eat more green beans than others, and every now and then I have a few extra pieces of chocolate.
Well, Iād say we found the most likely culprit why you are gaining weight. Calories can quickly add up and a few pieces of chocolate or a handful of nuts can be the tipping point between maintaining and gaining weight. Just weigh everything you eat for a week and see where you are.
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My pants also feel tighter when my leg muscles grow across the season. Just be careful when attributing body changes to fat gain.
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@Jonathan has a good approach that heās mentioned a few times on the podcast I believe. Every 3-4 months or so heāll have a check-in/accountability month where he counts calories to make sure whatās heās eating is still in line with his goals. I personally think thatās the way to go, because itās easy to let portions and amounts go.
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Agree. Itās slightly depressing how fast a sizeable deficit turns into maintenance or a surplus, even when youāre doing an hour or more of exercise a day.
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When i Want to loose weight i just go by feel and eat less. Try to feeling hungry all the Time. Dont count kcal.
When i Want to perform and Train a lot i count kcal to know how Much i have to eat for This. Hitting 10g Carbs per day is Harder to estimate.
That works.
And i Dont weight myself everyday.
2 weeks to Check and the Rest is looking in the mirrorā¦
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Nothing like a thread full of non experts giving expert advice.
Talk to a professional - find one who specializes in endurance sports. Everyone here is providing N = 1 āmy fasted training is why Iām so fast and thinā. āI eat 60 gummy bears every rideā.
You need to find what works for you @gibsonval . Talk to a professional and/or trial and error.
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