Developing a healthy lifestyle through cycling

How Closely Do You Monitor Your Nutrition?

Posted by Bryan on Apr 9th, 2009 in Nutrition | View Comments

I’ll admit it. I know virtually nothing about nutrition. Unless you let me count the fact I know that the more I eat the bigger I get. Over the past week I’ve been trying to remedy this problem by reading quite a few articles on cycling nutrition and trying to develop some kind of plan to help me reduce my tonnage. Call it good timing but a couple of days ago I received in the mail the May 2009 issue of Bicycling. I read with interest the article on Big Fat Lies.

After reading this article I’m convinced my diet is totally wacked. Not skewed or slightly off-kilter but totally wacked. I’m pretty sure I’ve been eating the wrong kinds of carbs (high starch) for years and it’s probably a direct contributor to my current size. That and no self-motivation to take care of my body.

Carbohydrate
Image via Wikipedia

I began my research by going over about 20 or 30 articles on Bicycling.com that dealt with nutrition. I copied down thumbrules I found as well as any good recipes. When I return to Dallas next week I’ll be using FitDay to track my daily food consumption in an effort to have a better balanced caloric intake.

As is usually the case, I’ve come up with more questions than answers and am going to post some here in an effort to generate some responses from some of the more experienced cyclists and nutritionists that read my blog (both of them….actually, they might be the same person which would be only them). Here goes:

    1. How closely do you monitor the exact portion sizes? My gut feeling is that if you want to be accurate you have to measure good.

    2. Do you prepare meals in advance? Tips would be awesome.

    3. Where do you get your recipes? Are there any good cookbooks for cyclists or that follow the article in Bicycling? I may look at the one they talk about in the article entitled Flat Belly Dietby Cynthia Sass.

    4. What balance of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats are you shooting for?

    5. Do you have to take a supplement to make sure you get enough protein?

Over the years I tried to make light of my weight. I even had a saying that went like this, “I can’t stay fat and sloppy unless I eat.” How bad is that? I’m trying to make an effort to turn this around and would appreciate any info you can provide.


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  • jaxgtr
    I'm no expert....and you've seen me, lol, but I must say, I have gotten better. Since I am losing my job soon, I have been thinking about using some of the benefit education money I am going to get to take a few classes at FCCJ to help learn more. I know lately, better nutrition and watching my caloric breakdown between Carbs\Fats and Protein has really helped my weight loss and cycling.
  • Brian, sorry to hear about the job. I hope you find something quick to take its place. Taking a nutrition class sounds interesting. Let us know how it goes if you do decided to do that.
  • Ray
    I think most cyclists are interested in nutrition, even if they don't do much about it, like me. I am most concerned about not bonking on rides, so I eat a good breakfast before I head out. Like Mike, my portions are somewhat smaller than they used to be. My wife has dropped 40 pounds over the last couple of years by cooking mostly from various Weight Watchers' cookbooks -- good food, too. But we still tend to eat out more than we should. After a round of golf today, I opted for a cheeseburger and fries, instead of doing what I knew I should do, and go through the buffet line, where halibut was the entree. Still, my weight is down 10 pounds since the beginning of the year, so I think I'm doing fine.
  • I think your right about being concerned about our nutrition but not giving it the attention it deserves. It takes hard work and a commitment to do it right.
  • I don't keep careful track of portions. I do weigh myself every day and use that to fine-tune my portion control.

    I tend to eat a fairly healthy diet on my own, although adding more veggies seems to have made it even healthier. No multi-vitamins or other supplements. I make up my own recipes, usually by cooking for the whole week over the weekend.

    The normal American diet contains about twice as much protein as you need, so I don't worry about it too much. Although a glass of chocolate milk after a ride has been shown more effective than a manufactured recovery drink... and based on my experience, that seems to hold true.
  • I have weight scales. If I have one I feel compelled to weigh myself everyday and that's not good for me. I do take a multi-vitamin everyday though. I really need to concentrate on eating more veggies though.
  • Here's a tip, eat some nuts (almonds or walnuts) 30 to 45 minutes before a meal. This will help fill you up and keep you from over eating.

    I have read Carmichael's Food for Fitness and it is one I'd recommend.

    I'm not a portion tracking freak, in fact I don't track my food all that much. I did for a bit to get an idea of what I was consuming. I can tell you my portion sizes have decreased drastically in the past few years. My goal is to walk away able to go for a hard ride. Mind you I hardly ever ride after dinner, but I try to gauge my fullness so I would be able to go for a ride. If I feel to full for a hard ride then I ate too much.

    I think it's a good idea to track your food when you are starting out. It will be an eye opener when you start adding everything up.

    The biggest thing you can do, DON'T EAT OUT. Like you found out the other day even though you thought you were doing ok with a tuna you wound up with 1,000+ calories, that's 1/2 of what I consume in a day (I shoot for 2100). Plus the temptation of a soda and chips..

    Planning, my wife puts together a shopping list based on what we plan for the week. We get new recipes from Mens Health, Bicycle Mag, and some of her cooking magazines she subscribes to.

    Supplements: All I do on a daily basis is Fish Oil and Calcium. After long or hard workouts I'll do a recovery smoothie (Hammer Heed & Whey Protien).

    Another place you might want to check out, I get a lot of good info from is the Hammer Nutrition Endurance List: http://www.hammernutrition.com/za/HNT?PAGE=COMM...
  • Great stuff. I am curbing the eating out and soft drinks. As you suggest, when I start this, I'm going to keep very close track of what I'm eating.


    According to a calorie calculator I found, I have to eat 3400 calories a day to maintain my current weight. I about died when I saw that. My plan is to cut it to right at 2,000 to start cutting the weight.


    I forgot about Men's Health mag. I don't read it much anymore because it got a little too advertisy and concentrated stuff I'm just not interested in. Here at the hospital I start flipping through Prevention Magazine and have found some good articles/recipes on nutrition.
  • Al
    (In no particular order):

    To your last point about making light of your weight; I used to be in that boat as well. I made fun of the fact that I would consume everything in front of me if given the chance. I would take pride in how much I could throw down, as if it were a point of pride to be envied.

    Now of course, I abhor that attitude and try to feel good about what I eat. I am by no means perfect, but I definitely think about everything I eat in a larger context. There are occasional treats that I know aren’t the best things to have, but are infrequent enough not to stress over. Then there are the blatantly bad choices I wish I could take back. It’s a constant balancing act, but keeping it in the front of your thoughts is key.

    As for good recipes, I’ve heard good things (haven’t read it myself) about “Food For Fitness” by Chris Carmichael. I get the Trainright nutrition newsletter, and they base a lot of what they do on solid science, not some Guru of the moment’s grand theories and testimonials.

    I will say to point #5 – all I take is a multivitamin with breakfast to fill in the gaps. If you’re competing regularly, maybe you need more help, but I don’t think you or I fall into that category.

    To point #1 – lots of studies have shown that people will eat more if the portion is bigger. I know I’ve done it even if I feel full before I’m done – and regret it every time. Portions are important, but find a size that will satisfy your hunger, not your eyes.

    To point #2 – during the workday, I have a fairly regimented menu and time of eating. I have the same stuff Monday through Friday for Breakfast, snack, lunch and afternoon snack. While boring to most, the routine allows me to avoid making bad choices. YMMV.

    Maybe I should blog about this. I think I have enough for a post, no? ;)
  • I'll have to check out Food for Fitness and the newsletter.


    Not sure what YMMV is.



    Yes, you have enough for a good post. Can't wait to see it.
  • Al
    Sorry, reading too much FARK.com lately. YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary
  • Ok. I am no expert at all at nutrition. My doctor told me to lose weight and my thyroid has also crapped out so despite meds my metabolism is a little extra slow at the moment.

    This isn't cycling nutrition but it's just what I have had luck with so far.
    1. My digital food scale is broken right now but getting one is really really helpful in monitoring portions sizes. It takes the guesswork out and leaves less room for rationalization or cooking your own nutritional books so to speak.

    2. I usually prep my breakfast and lunch in advance--before I go to bed. If you're measuring and making your food when you're not hungry, you're less likely to throw on another piece of ham. Dinner I play more by ear. I try not to get a huge portion. I try not to take seconds. I try not to snack after dinner and have a cup of hot tea instead. I try to stick to salads, oatmeal, cereal, and mostly unsweetened yogurt for breakfast and lunches. That usually doesn't cut it for my bike ride home from work. I've calculated that at between 300 - 500 calories depending on my route. So I try to have a granola bar or some dried fruit and nuts/seeds 30 minutes before I leave. I usually eat about half the calories I expect to burn and keep some extra in case I bonk.

    I have to admit that I have this problem. When I bike I get hungry. REally hungry afterwards. My body wants mega starch. I have to really struggle not to eat twice the calories I just burned on my ride.

    I'd be curious if you've read any tactics on defeating that workout hunger.

    Also, I use nutritiondata.com. It has some pretty cool charts and graphs to evaluate your foods. I try to focus on the glycemic index mostly because someone I know is losing his vision and almost his foot to diabetes and it scares the crap out of me.

    Anyway, sorry for writing so much. I'll be interested to read what other folks have to say.
  • I'm glad you wrote that much. That's exactly what I'm looking for. Thanks for taking the time to post.


    Digital scale. Didn't think about that. Good idea. As is prepping breakfast and lunch the night before.



    I get very hungry after riding as well. I'm guessing that means I need to have something prepared, that's good for me, that I can get right away afterwards. Maybe something that I can even have in the car after I stow my bike.
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