Originally Posted by donoman
Today I went for my first ride in 8 years on my new bicycle. I am trying to get back into shape by riding. I don't care how much weight I lose (currently 6'1 240lbs) but I do want to feel healthier. I drink about a pitcher of beer every week <- I don't think I can stop that habit.
Anyway today I went riding up the hill, where I used to ride when I rode with my school team. I made it to the top, passed another guy (he was skinny, and I'm a fatty--- hee hee), but I feel that I did it with the help of my Clif bar which I had in my back pocket and I ate when I felt pretty desperate and like I was going to die.
So here's the question...
Since I'm trying to get in shape, are these shots of whatever they are... carbs/calories/sugar... Gu/Clif/PowerBars ... are they going to slow my increase in health condition? Or does eating a shot of Gu set me back another beer's worth? I felt an immediate increase in energy by eating my Clif bar today... almost within minutes. Could it have been a mental boost? Yes I ate breakfast (and I rode before lunchtime). How can something "boost" me so quickly and not be detrimental to my health?
I wonder what a pack of Skittles would do for me in a jam...
Okay, I want to lose about 20lbs in an ideal world.
Probably will not make much difference, the mechanism, is that unused calories are converted to fat, that's a well known fact. Energy is stored 3 ways, glycogen in the muscles, glycogen in the liver, and fat. This is all designed for the ancient person, who, when he wanted meat for the barbecue, didn't go to the supermarket and buy it, he picked up his spear, and went out hunting, he had to catch it first. Then run from the lions, tigers and bears that wanted to relieve him of it. Fat is intended for dry seasons when
Muscle glycogen is used for the beginning of a sprint, liver glycogen is then released into the blood to supplement the muscle glycogen, it can also be supplemented with sugar intake at the right time. What you want to lose fat, is to burn fat stores, but they don't burn quickly, so you want a slower burn rate, so your burning fat, instead of glycogen. This means that 40km at 20km/h works better for weight loss, then 20km at 40km/h which just burns glycogen, and makes you super hungry. I think road riding works better for weight loss then mountain biking, which tends to be minutes of power sprints followed by seconds of inactivity, at least around here, you go along 4 mile hill, with 5000' of climb, followed by 10' of downhill with 3" of descent, followed by 4 mile hill again, never been able to figure out how that works
As for the beer, forget it, it's basically water and carbs, and a pitcher of beer takes about 3 hours of riding to counteract.....