Cycling Nutrition
If you plan on riding longer and faster, you need to learn about nutrition. If you’re a serious cyclist, then you should always be serious about what you eat and drink. If you’ve come to that part of your training where you can’t go any faster and cannot ride any longer, then you should consider changing your diet. You’ll be amazed on how much your diet influences your cycling.
First thing, your body needs fats. We have been brainwashed by the media that fats are bad and we will gain weight if we eat fats. Some fats are bad, but many of them are healthy and needed. You need fat to lose fat. If your body doesn’t get the right amounts of fat, your body will begin to store fat to compensate. You want to stay away from saturated fats and trans fats. Saturated fats will raise your cholesterol and raises the risks of heart disease. Saturated fats are usually found mainly in fatty meats and dairy products. As for trans fats, they are found in hydrogenated vegetable oils, or are also found in margarine, deep fat frying oils, processed foods and fast food. Trans fats raise cholesterol levels and lowers HDL particles in your blood. Small amounts of trans fats can increase the risk of heart attacks. The fats that are needed are unsaturated fats. These kinds of fats lower the risk of heart disease and also help lower cholesterol. You can find unsaturated fats in nuts, unprocessed nut butters, olives, avocados, and seeds.
As for having a low carb diet, carbohydrates are the main foundation to having a healthy diet. Carbs provide glucose, which provides fuel to the brain and the nervous system. Also, many carbohydrate foods consist of fiber to keep you regular. Carbohydrates also help in preventing heart disease and cancer. As a cyclist, carbs should make up half of your calories everyday. There are two different types of carbohydrates, simple and complex. Simple carbs are found in candy and pasta. Simple carbs that are found in sugars can help before, in the middle, and after a long ride. The carbs that you want are the complex carbs. Complex carbs are found in whole wheat bread, pasta, fruit, vegetables, nuts, and oatmeal.
The most important thing to have in your diet is protein. Protein is a part of muscles, bones, and make up of close to 50% of the body. But the amount of protein that is needed is much less than what people may eat.
To find out how much protein you need, take your current weight and multiply it by the number below.
Average adult’s number is 0.4, an active adult is 0.4-0.6, a person training is 0.6-0.9 and an adult building mass is 0.6-0.9.
Don’t rely on supplements. Supplements tend to lack other nutrients that are found in meat and grains. Healthy protein can be found in fish, black beans, peanuts, eggs, and almonds.