I have been trying to keep my calories at a certain limit to lose a few pounds but sometimes i feel sluggish, should i be fueling most of my calories back from a ride and what about on rest days, should we always be fueling for the next days riding.
ex ill eat a date and some granola cereal around 300 cals but then burn it off riding so am i really fueling myself. Sorry if this is another thread on fueling, i read a few but still confused.
thanks
Your workouts and rides will likely suffer if you don’t fuel them properly, depending also on their intensity and duration. Also, after a hard workout (I do it every workout though) a recovery drink is generally recommended. You’ll have to decide what your primary goal is. Top performance and weight loss are typically at odds with each other. Fuel and recover properly to nail your workouts or cut calories to loose weight. They CAN be done at the same time but it’s a delicate balance that needs to be done gradually over months. This will also depend where you are in your training. You can get away with cutting calories more so during Base than the Build phase.
Thanks for the reply, i have been off the bike for about 5-6 months but started riding again on the trainer in January. I did my ramp test with a 152 ftp, im 45, weigh 178, in good shape but i want better. I also try to stay lean to fit into my leathers for motorcycle track days. Im going to start the sweet spot base this week, i also mtn bike when the weather cooperates and do 20-30 minutes of weights and rowing every other day.
The short of it is just add a lot of vegetables to your current diet to start. If you want something more specific for high volume training, check this out:
Thanks for this link.
thank you
If weight loss is your number one priority, then I’d recommend sticking to ~500 calorie deficit while doing SSB. You can do a lot of SSB without putting too much stress on your system. You are dieting so that adds to your bodily stress and you’ll need to manage that with your other workouts (lifting and rowing).
The suggestuon from @BMAC615 is spot on, add a lot of veggies to your diet to help you feel full. Doing a low calorie density diet (think really large salads or giant bowls of broth based soups packed with vegetables) combined with SSB is how I lost ~8lbs in 9 weeks this winter (even while indulging in the normal holidays treats). Also take into account your nutrient timing, I workout first thing in the morning so for my harder rides I would make sure to have a more carb centric dinner the night before and then take on some easy to digest calories pre-ride, and have breakfast (oatmeal) afterwards so I’m refueled and not starving all day.
To add to @Vision646, if you are a family man and do’t want to eat a different meal than the rest of the family, you can still eat healthy without requesting special meals. For example, my wife buys bags of broccoli that are four cups per bag, when she makes a calorie rich meal, like a creamy or cheesy type cassarole, dump the whole bag in and mix it in. She also makes chili and I just chop up a whole head of lettuce and put the chili over the lettuce. Last one is a whole head of romaine lettuce, just make a massive Caesar salad as a side for whatever meal she cooks. Flip the portions and make the vegetable the main portion with the high calorie items the sides. You’ll feel so full all the time, you won’t go to the freezer for ice cream or the pantry for cookies.