Training & Nutrition - not eating after my rides...

I haven't been cycling long. Just this season I'm getting serious. I've been eating cleanly and my weight is dropping. Here are my stats. 5,7 168 down from 175 the first of May I'm not as heavy as I sound. I have alot of muscle from years of weight training. My BF is about 16%. I'm shooting for 13% by the end of the summer. I'm riding a mountain bike with slicks around our local lake. I'm doing 20 miles 3 times a week, 2 of the rides are after work and one is on the weekend. I use a heart monitor and I "think" I've found my LT at 170. That is where I've been trying to stay during my rides. MHR is 200. After my rides I have a chocolate milk. My question is I find that I'm just not hungry on my rides after work. I'm not sick or anything I just have no hunger. I may eat a salad or nothing at all. I feel good and feel very health overall. Is anyone else like this? Where has my hunger gone?

What you're experiencing is exercise-induced appetite suppression. If you have a enough carbohydrate during your ride - and you replenish it after - you won't feel hungry, and you won't really need to refresh the fat that you burnt off.

This happens to me quite a bit. Though I drink an energy drink during my 2 to 3 hour group rides, the amount I eat after that is less than I'd normally drink.

Two thoughts for you:

1) As you push up the distance you should get some carbs while you ride. At 20 miles, you're okay, but if you push it up to 30 miles, you could easily bonk.

2) Your HR may be a little high for maximum aerobic benefit, but if it's working for you, you don't necessarily have to mess with it. It may not work with longer rides.

So basically I'm ok until I lose more weight. At some point I'm going to have a problem with not having enough reservers to keep me going at this level. Is that right?

I have the same syndrome. The harder I work out, the more suppressed my appetite gets.

What are your vital stats?

If you don't maintain your glycogen stores your body will catabolize (break down) some of your lean body tissue (muscles) to do so.

So am I correct that as long as I'm overweight I'm ok?

I don't think anyone bonks at 30 miles, BTW. Maybe 60. I've gone 60 with very minimal food on the journey.

That said, if you REALLY deplete your carb stores, body fat/muscle isn't going to help. You WILL bonk, and you'll feel half-dead. Our bodies don't like running out of carbs, and punish us for allowing it to happen.

If you don't maintain your glycogen stores your body will catabolize (break down) some of your lean body tissue (muscles) to do so.


What this means is the weight you are loosing may be muscle instead of fat.........

So am I correct that as long as I'm overweight I'm ok?

No. As the intensity of the activity approaches and exceeds lactate threshold (LT) the preferred energy substrate is glycogen stored in muscles and the liver. Lipolysis peaks, but levels out once you've exceeded LT.

If you 'bonk' (deplete your glycogen stores - which is more time and intensity dependent than mileage dependent which is also dependent on your level of fitness and how well you repleted your glycogen stores) then your body slows you down so that you can utilize fat for fuel, but there is up to about a 10% contribution from lean body mass as well.

No matter what, some lean body mass contributes to supplying energy, but it is much less a contribution if you supply carbohydrate.

No. As the intensity of the activity approaches and exceeds lactate threshold (LT) the preferred energy substrate is glycogen stored in muscles and the liver. Lipolysis peaks, but levels out once you've exceeded LT.

If you 'bonk' (deplete your glycogen stores - which is more time and intensity dependent than mileage dependent which is also dependent on your level of fitness and how well you repleted your glycogen stores) then your body slows you down so that you can utilize fat for fuel, but there is up to about a 10% contribution from lean body mass as well.

No matter what, some lean body mass contributes to supplying energy, but it is much less a contribution if you supply carbohydrate.

good post NoRacer - I "think" I've identified my LT @170. That may be a little high right now. It seemed accurate early in the year when it was cold. I seemed to be able to sustain 170bpm for 20 miles without burning. With the temperatures in the high 90's to 100 I'm finding it alot harder to get to 170 without burning. Today I'm going to back my HR down to 160 and see if I'm riding without burn. My goal for this year is to ride just below my LT for about 20 miles 3 times a week. So far I'm doing pretty well. the weight is coming off pretty fast.

I find that time is also a factor if I'm hungry or not. Most rides under an hour, not really hungry. Go to 1 1/2 and I'm usually pretty hungry, 2-3 hour rides and it seems like I'm hungry for 2 days after.