Monthly ABC Third Thursday Get Together
Fueling your Ride
Cook along with Tina McDermott and LJ Reiter as they prepare a delicious night-before ride meal!
Tina is professional Certified Personal Trainer/Nutritional Consultant who will show ABC members how to prepare a night-before ride meal from her business kitchen. Tina's Zoom cameras will show different views and she has multiple items on the menu tailored for cyclists:
Baked broccoli & pumpkin
Dark chocolate oranges
Sizzling salmon
Sweet potato fries
All the details are down below. Click if you are joining in. Social begins at 6:15 with the cooking demo striating at 6:30.
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Meeting ID: 938 8971 4143
Passcode: 787420
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Meeting ID: 938 8971 4143
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Fueling Your Ride
Do you want to enjoy high energy and endurance during your ride? Prevent fatigue during your workout and have fresh legs for tomorrow’s ride as well. Athletes are sometimes confused as to what is the best food to eat before, during and after their ride. I would like to clear up some of that confusion and offer some answers.
Pre-Ride Fuel
Eat a well-balanced meal the night before including slow burning carbohydrates such as whole grains and beans and a ton of fresh or lightly steamed vegetables with 4 to 6 oz of organic meat or wild caught fish of your choice. Be sure to bake, grill or steam your meats. Remember to also include a good fat such as olive oil with your meal.
The morning of the ride, eat a good breakfast, at least 2 hours prior. Choose foods that are easy to digest which varies from person to person. Some ideas are:
- plain, unsweetened full-fat yogurt with granola, walnuts and blueberries. Yes, you need the fat.
- a whole grain bagel with almond butter and an apple or ½ a banana
- a shake using a high quality whey or rice protein powder blended with fruit and flax seed oil. Be careful, the protein shouldn’t have much in it other than the protein. Many of them added artificial sugars and synthetic vitamins that do more damage than good.
An hour prior to the ride, you may want to eat another piece of fruit or drink some juice. This will fuel your ride and increase your endurance. You may want to try diluting ¼ fresh juice and ¾ water in your water bottle for during the ride as well.
Remember to eat foods that are based on the way that Mother Nature intended for you to eat them. The more processed a food is, the worse it is for you.
Be aware of processed flours, high-sugar drinks, artificial sugars of all types and hydrogenated fats. These are some of the things that decrease performance significantly. Look for products that have five ingredients or less and if you can’t pronounce it then don’t eat it.
During exercise Fuel
It is important to take in calories during your ride so that you don’t run out of energy. I’m sure you’ve either experienced or have heard the term “Bonking”. Well, bonking happens when you either go too hard too fast or you don’t eat enough during the ride, or a combination of both. It is NOT FUN, so eat and drink during your ride!
There are many powders out there that claim to have everything you need in them to fuel your ride. Some give you a belly ache and cramping but hey, it works right? Remember that the more processed a food is, the worse it is for you and belly cramping is a sign that it isn’t good for you. Many of those powders contain either high fructose corn syrup or artificial sugars which lower your performance. Instead try simply using water mixed with some fresh juice and raw honey for during your ride and even adding electrolyte drops to the water.
Drink, at least, one water bottle per hour of riding.
Eat easy to digest foods such as dried fruit and nuts. Make your own trail mix with the types of things you love. I make sure mine is full of dark chocolate pieces. Try a raw energy bar such as Lara Bar. Look for bars that have raw ingredients which are the healthiest and easiest to digest. Remember, five ingredients or less.
Bananas and other fruit are perfect for during a ride. Apples are my favorite which I eat with the nut and chocolate mix. Yum!
Another idea is to make a sandwich with whole grain bread (make sure it is not the light and airy kind but full of grains that you can see) spread with almond butter and thin slices of apple or other fruit.
If you run out of food and drink and find yourself at a convenience store starving and craving sugar, go for the Vfusion drinks, they are full of fruit and veggies and will power your ride for 20 to 30 miles. Be careful, some juices contain high fructose corn syrup and artificial sugars which are detrimental to your health. Also look for fresh fruit and maybe even nuts.
Post Ride Fuel
After a short or even long ride your body has been depleted of glucose, the fuel your body runs on, and must be replaced within an hour, if not immediately. This is when your cells are ready for sugars and this is the best time to indulge in a glass of fresh juice, not watered down. Your body is craving the natural sugars in the juice. This helps in the recovery process and fuels your muscles so they won’t be sore the next day.
Within an hour of finishing your ride, be sure to sit down at a table, relax and eat a complete well-balanced meal. For example, 4 to 6 oz of chicken breast, brown rice and a bowl of fresh or steamed veggies with olive oil on top. Follow the meal with a piece of fruit and your meal is complete. Relax and take a nap. You deserve it.
Conclusion
- Drink lots of pure water before, during and after riding
- Eat lots of fruits and vegetables whole or juiced
- Pack your own healthy snacks for the ride or bug Bob, he now always has nuts in his pocket
- Watch out for processed foods and sugary powdered drink mixes
- Eat a good meal the night before a ride
- Eat breakfast before a ride
- Eat healthy snacks during the ride
- Eat or drink something with natural sugar in it like fruit immediately after a ride for recovery
- Eat a well-balanced meal within an hour of a ride to help with recovery.
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