Whether you're heading out on the bike riding just for fun or taking part in a race/competition, it's important to make sure you fuel up correctly before, during & after your ride.
CARB-LOADING is a phrase which is chucked around a lot when people think about what they are eating before heading out for a day in the saddle BUT you don't need to go overboard & consume your body weight in pasta, rice & potatoes!
Instead, keep it simple & focus on getting in good quality, healthy meals throughout the day with a balance of protein, carbohydrates & fats, adding in an extra source of complex carbohydrates at some point during the day to give your glycogen stores a boost. If you start to ingest large quantities of carbohydrates, especially simple & processed varieties, you could find that it causes you intestinal upset due to an unbalancing of water within the gut which is drawn in via osmosis.
Hydration is also massively important so be conscious of ensuring you drink plenty of fluids throughout the day (A good indicator of how hydrated you are is to check the colour of your urine. It should be a pale straw colour).
Evening meals should be consumed at least 2 hours before you head to bed to enable good digestion & a low risk of food related sleep disturbances occurring.
Breakfast Time!
Eating a mountain (No pun intended!) of food at breakfast before you head out for a ride isn't what you want to be doing. Instead you want to be aiming for an easily digestible, slow releasing carbs option such as a bowl of porridge/overnight oats to eat at least 2 hours before you head out. Try adding a handful of nuts & seeds to provide some protein & healthy fats and if you need a little bit of sweetness, top with a small drizzle of honey.
If possible, try to take onboard 300ml- 500ml of liquid at this time too from when you wake up to before you leave - The best options are just water, green tea or decaf tea/coffee. It can also be beneficial to start consuming an electrolyte hydration drink (Always try out these drinks beforehand to check they don't cause you any digestive distress...you don't want to be finding out that they don't suit you whilst out on the trails!!)
Fuelling Whilst Out Riding
If you're going to be heading out for 3 hours+, it's a dead cert that you're going to run out of energy.....that breakfast was great, but it's not magical! So before you berm...I mean burn out (sorry couldn't help myself), it's important to consume some more.
This can be in the form of carbohydrate energy bars/gels (once again, check that your body is happy with the source beforehand), dried fruit & nut trail mix or even sandwiches with a basic filling such as jam, peanut butter or banana.
Ideally if you are going to be out for longer than 3 hours, you should consume some more food/energy drink/gel within the first hour you are out to provide you with the energy you will need for the next couple of hours.....do not leave your eating & drinking until you feel like you have nearly emptied your tank as this is too late!
Remember to stay well hydrated too & depending on the temperature, 500ml -1 Litre per hour is a good amount, taking a break/slowing down every 15-20mins for a drink.
Finished Riding.....What To Eat?
If you've fuelled correctly throughout the day, you should end feeling slightly hungry but not starving & ready to speed off to the nearest fast food restaurant! If you've exerted yourself out riding, you sometimes don't even feel like eating straight after but this time can be a great time to kickstart your recovery in the form of taking on board some muscle aiding protein & carbs as a small snack. One of the best & easiest forms of doing this is simply by drinking some chocolate milk! A great source of getting in roughly the same amounts of protein & carbs as well as fluid to re-hydrate in a quick & tasty way...….and who doesn't like chocolate milk?!
Your evening meal should then just be a healthy, balanced plate of food to aid all areas of your recovery & further hydration so you're ready to get back out hitting the trails once again in the near future
For any further advice & tips on how to improve your riding nutrition & get on top of your performance, drop me a message & find out how we can work together.
Flo, GWTF Nutrition.
Facebook: @GWTFNutrition
Instagram: @gwtfnutrition
gwtfnutrition@gmail.com
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