Fifty Plus (50+) - Question on eating/drinking/weight loss etc.

Before today's 26 miler in 84 degrees (with 14 mph winds), I weighed myself. During the ride, I ate one breakfast bar, drank 12 ounces of water and purchased and drank 32 ounces of delicious, ice cold orange juice. I felt fine throughout the ride.

When I got home, I weighed in and I'd "lost" 1.5 pounds. Does this mean I didn't eat/drink enough for the ride? After weighing in, I drank another 24 ounces of orange juice and a while later a large glass of ice tea, and I feel (and felt) fine. I'm sure I've "gained" back all the weight.

But should I have eaten or drank more on the ride, given the temps? I thought I'd heard that if you weigh the same before and after, you've hydrated/eaten properly.

When I got home, I weighed in and I'd "lost" 1.5 pounds. Does this mean I didn't eat/drink enough for the ride? After weighing in, I drank another 24 ounces of orange juice and a while later a large glass of ice tea, and I feel (and felt) fine. I'm sure I've "gained" back all the weight.

But should I have eaten or drank more on the ride, given the temps? I thought I'd heard that if you weigh the same before and after, you've hydrated/eaten properly.

Two ways of looking at it- Either you did not eat/drink enough or you put a lot of effort in and burnt off the calories. I would prefer to think you did not find enough cafes. Either that or it is time you got a road bike to make your rides easier.

Liquid loss is always a problem and a good way to judge if you are taking enough on a ride is if you feel thirsty. If you really feel that you are thirsty- then it is too late and you have to rehydrate and slow down. Sipping all the time with a good long slurp occasionally is the best way to go. Then on top of that the orange juice and iced tea will have passed through the body fairly quickly so you probably did lose some weight on the ride.

Incidentally- that road bike I have just got- It is easier to ride- I can go further and faster than on the trails on the MTB so I have to do double the milage to get the same workout. Only thinking of you and the Century ride we have planned for you later in the year.

Under those circumstances, 12 oz. of water would not even be close to enough for me, that maybe the difference in your weight. For me, I would have drank closer to a half gallon or more, of water.

How long did it take?

Under those circumstances, 12 oz. of water would not even be close to enough for me, that maybe the difference in your weight. For me, I would have drank closer to a half gallon or more, of water.

How long did it take?

Two hours, 38 minutes or so. But remember, I drank 12 oz. water AND about 32 oz. of orange juice on the ride.

Then again, I did feel thirsty from time to time.

1.5 pounds? I wouldn't worry, you hit it about right. Now if you had lost 5 -10 pounds..... You only mis-gudged your fluid intake by about a pint or so. See? you should have stopped for a beer. :D

DG,
Rather than be concerned over 1.5 lbs just one day-- after all, weight normally varies during the day anyway-- why not keep track of it for several days, note the temperature and perceived exertion...and see if there's a pattern. If harder rides generally have you coming back measurably weighing less, then increase your water intake. 1.5 lbs may not be significant for just one day. Also note how you "feel".

It gets to be 100+ here in the bone dry central Valley and foothills. To come back from a long ride at the near the same weight , I have to drink with real regularity and frequency. 60 miles would mean 4 large bottles plus hydrating before I left and more when I returned. Admittedly, some of that goes on top of the head rather than down the throat. I find I can only drink so much before I start to feel "tanked" on the bike.

Digital G:

My wife & I did our longest ride to date this morning: 28+ miles in just under 2 hours. Brazos Valley temps were 75 when we started and 82 when we finished with cloudy skies & humidity hovering in the 80 % range. My Camelbak was almost empty when I got home & I've drunk a liter & 1/2 of water since then and feel pretty good. My HRM showed me burning 1100 calories during the ride, whatever that may mean.

I read that bit about weighing the same before & after a ride & can't quite imagine how to accomplish that cuz I'd be drinking something all the time - I sweat too much to drink enough. Joe Friel's Cycling After 50 has some interesting analyses of eating & drinking post-ride and the recovery time but I don't remember any mention of this purported weight balance before & after. But I've quit weighing myself after rides because the difference is pretty much all water loss from perspiration & I know I just need to drink steadily the rest of day. Texas heat in the summer is brutal and with our humidity I can lose 3 or 4 pounds during a ride easily.

Good suggestions, ideas and advice.

I've notice that as of 4:03 p.m. I've yet to eat ANYTHING other than that breakfast bar this morning. I'm not particularly hungry, either. OTOH, I've polished off the orange juice, had a glass of iced tea, and now a sugar free Fresca. Thirsty I am, hungry I'm not. I don't have an air conditioner (rarely need one!) but today it's really humid.

Gary:

When I read my wife (the physical therapist) the bit in Friel's book about the 'magic' 2-hour window for restoring body fluids/fuel post-ride, she immediately related it to the diabetics she treats in pulmonary rehab. Evidently the blood glucose levels for diabetics can be 'tipped' out of balance during their rehab exercise so the clinic does glucose tests BEFORE exercises & starts feeding them if their glucose is getting low. If the 2-hour window is 'missed', according to Friel, the recovery time can extend 12 hours or more cuz the body's ability to metabolize is most efficient immediately following the exercise period.

Better eat sump'n, too...

Tom

Try weighing yourself before and after breakfast!

I normally vary up to 3 pounds on a strenuous ride. Even though I may drink a lot, it doesn't seem to cover the lost sweat. I wish that 3 lbs was fat!

Water is 8 pounds per gallon. 1 pint (2 cups) is 1 pound. Drink another water bottle!

Gary:

When I read my wife (the physical therapist) the bit in Friel's book about the 'magic' 2-hour window for restoring body fluids/fuel post-ride, she immediately related it to the diabetics she treats in pulmonary rehab. Evidently the blood glucose levels for diabetics can be 'tipped' out of balance during their rehab exercise so the clinic does glucose tests BEFORE exercises & starts feeding them if their glucose is getting low. If the 2-hour window is 'missed', according to Friel, the recovery time can extend 12 hours or more cuz the body's ability to metabolize is most efficient immediately following the exercise period.

Better eat sump'n, too...

Tom

Yep...went and had a chicken sandwich. Was hungry once I started eating it.

If I lost 1.5 pounds, I wouldn't be asking any questions.

I would think that most of the weight loss would be water weight. The problem is that if you are working hard and sweat a considerable amount, you can easily sweat more than your gut can absorb.

What I do in that situation is just drink water for awhile after the ride until I "catch up".

I doubt very much if the loss was the result of burning calories. It takes 3500 calories to burn a lb of fat. I figure to burn a lb of fat, I have to ride about 70 miles. Also in order to burn the lb of fat, I can not take in any extra calories as a consequence of my exercising (which just is not going to happen). I have lost weight by exercising long and hard but it is more difficult than one would think. One has to exercise quite a bit and one has to be restrained on the food intake side of the equation also.

In your case, I suspect the 32 oz of orange juice more than made up for the calories you burned during teh ride. Orange juice tends to be loaded with sugar.

On short rides like that, fluids are a much bigger factor than foods - best key to see if you are drinking enough is if you are peeing. On long rides I like to be drinking enough so that I have to pee about once an hour. On the one ride where I did get myself dehydrated (80 miles, across VT (hilly) in august (hot)) I was told to drink gatorade until I started peeing - I drank a little over a gallon before it started to come back out!
That would be about 8 lbs of fluid.

Probably just water weight. On a 2-2.5 hour ride I will loose between 2-4lbs in water weight depending on heat/humidity. I bring 48oz of water and drink it all. When I get back at about 10:00a I will drink about 1/2gal of liquid and I will probably use the restroom for the first time around 1:00p. I sweat a lot.

1.5 lbs? That's nothing! Despite having to eat a whole lot of crow on my ride this morning, I lost at least eight pounds of ego when a guy 10 years my senior smoked me on every climb.

I typically lose about 1 to 2 pounds of water weight on any ride over 1.5 hours, despite how much I drink on the ride. Usually by the next morning my weight has returned to where it should be.

If you drink orange juice, you aren't going to lose weight. Giving it up will be step one. bk

In the last 2 1/2 years I've gon from 285 to 230 lbs. I went to a calorie calculator online and figured out how many calories would 'maintain' 230. Then I started eating that much. I also calculated how many calories my bike rides used up. On ride days, I add 3/4 of the ride calories to that days diet. It came off slow, and has stayed off. Next move; calculate what it takes to maintain 210....... One thing I learned on the way; sodas and orange juice are so high in sugar, that they trigger sugar cravings after the sugar rush wears off. Drink water, and lots of it. Another big help was to work some low cal snacks into the picture. good luck, bk

You should have had a piece of blueberry pie before you left.

My wife is always at me to eat more, especially after a long (for me, 30-35 miles). I'm 6'0" and have a hard time seeing 138-140lbs. I have very little appetite after exercising.