Training & Nutrition - Bonking even when not riding?

At least, I think that's what it is.

I'm a big guy. 6'0", started at 300 lbs a year ago, have been hovering around 250 since October. Been riding club rides on weekends since September. Started riding on my own over Christmas break, and I've made explosive growth in my pace. Stopped losing weight, have gained a lot of leg muscle mass (but still lots of fat around the torso) From 14-ish mph average I'm hovering around 17, and my cruising pace is about 19 up from 16. So I moved up to the next level group within my club. It's a good time to make a transition, since all the groups are riding slower than their normal, I figure I'll ease right into them.

But without fail, I bonk at somewhere between 1.5 hrs and 2 hrs of ride time. My legs are feeling strong, heart doing good, hydration as good as it can be (I know I lose a lot lot of salt and water, and drink a lot of gatorade to compensate) but at around 20-25 miles my brain runs out of fuel. So I started carrying clif bars on the rides, it's helping somewhat. Even still, when I come back, I am starving. So I keep bagels, more clif bars, pb&j in the car, and eat a nice big lunch when I get home. But the hunger goes on. and on.

School started back again two weeks ago. And I've noticed, that same ravenous hunger comes up pretty much every day, even when I'm not riding, despite eating regular filling meals (home-cooked, with a good amount of fresh veggies). The lightheadedness comes too. So now I've got granola bars and fruit in my bag.

I'm not sure what I should do. I've got another 50 lbs to lose to be in a safe weight range. As it stands, my weight has actually increased some. Should I just ride out the 'bonk' or whatever it is that's happening, get my body used to burning fat? Should I feed the hunger, and just hope that the weight loss comes eventually further down the line?

3 separate issues here:
- bonking in a ride at 1.5-2 hours is normal for your experience level. It takes time to train the body to store enough energy in the liver and muscles to last longer than that. Until then, if you plan to go longer, start on an energy drink when you start the ride. Any bike shop will have lots of choices, but basically you follow the instructions and target to drink about 300 calories an hour (along with a lot of water).
- immediately after a ride, take in some more healthy carbs. Juice, bread, pasta, stuff like that is ok in this time frame. The body is still ramped up from exercise and ready to absorb nutrients. But don't over-eat - keep track of the calories and make sure they're wholesome and not just sugar. Throw in some protein too - I like PBJ's and chocolate milk.
- the hunger means your metabolism is in gear, and frankly you're gonna have to have some self discipline. One tip is to have a little bit of fat - whether from milk, or PB, or olive oil on your pasta, or butter on toast, or a handful of almonds, to satiate that urge. But not too much. Remember if you're in weight loss mode, it's best not to eat for several hours before a workout. And maybe once a week or so, do a light to medium workout (leave something in the tank) and don't eat afterward. It takes discipline but will melt the fat.

drink a lot of gatorade to compensate.

Gatorade is mostly simple sugar it will give you a boost, but you will quickly crash. Better to use a higher quality sports drink. Your LBS should have some good choices for you.

At least, I think that's what it is.

I'm a big guy. 6'0", started at 300 lbs a year ago, have been hovering around 250 since October. Been riding club rides on weekends since September. Started riding on my own over Christmas break, and I've made explosive growth in my pace. Stopped losing weight, have gained a lot of leg muscle mass (but still lots of fat around the torso) From 14-ish mph average I'm hovering around 17, and my cruising pace is about 19 up from 16. So I moved up to the next level group within my club. It's a good time to make a transition, since all the groups are riding slower than their normal, I figure I'll ease right into them.

But without fail, I bonk at somewhere between 1.5 hrs and 2 hrs of ride time. My legs are feeling strong, heart doing good, hydration as good as it can be (I know I lose a lot lot of salt and water, and drink a lot of gatorade to compensate) but at around 20-25 miles my brain runs out of fuel. So I started carrying clif bars on the rides, it's helping somewhat. Even still, when I come back, I am starving. So I keep bagels, more clif bars, pb&j in the car, and eat a nice big lunch when I get home. But the hunger goes on. and on.

School started back again two weeks ago. And I've noticed, that same ravenous hunger comes up pretty much every day, even when I'm not riding, despite eating regular filling meals (home-cooked, with a good amount of fresh veggies). The lightheadedness comes too. So now I've got granola bars and fruit in my bag.

I'm not sure what I should do. I've got another 50 lbs to lose to be in a safe weight range. As it stands, my weight has actually increased some. Should I just ride out the 'bonk' or whatever it is that's happening, get my body used to burning fat? Should I feed the hunger, and just hope that the weight loss comes eventually further down the line?

It's not clear to me what you mean by "my brain runs out of fuel". Generally, if you get a true bonk, you would not describe it as "legs feel good", you'd describe it as "could barely turn legs over", or "I just wanted to get off the bike and lie down". It's possible that you would run out of liver glycogen before muscle glycogen, but I'd still expect your performance to go way down.

My thoughts:

First, you may just be working too hard. If your body isn't used to a fast pace, you can burn yourself out pretty quickly. I recommend that you ride with the slower group but aim to ride much farther. You will rapidly plateau on the fast stuff and it's not the best way to lose weight.

Second, gatorade isn't a good hydration drink. The premixed kind is especially bad because of the fructose, which can cause lots of GI upset, or just make you feel weird overall. I'd recommend a real hydration drink.

Third, you have to get a recovery meal/drink asap when you finish - within 30 minutes is the best, and the quicker the better. I like endurox, but fat-free chocolate milk is also good if you tolerate it well (for both hydration and recovery drinks, you need to find one that works for you). That will help with the post-ride hunger considerably.

Note that you are shooting for 200-300 cal/hour maximum, and start right away when you start riding.

And, you have to eat quality food the rest of the time. And make sure you're eating enough.

Finally, you might consider buying cyclo-fuel. You can find a few stories on Graeme's site about people who were working really hard but didn't lose any weight.

**** Go to the Dr. and get tested for diabetes now! ****

Bonking when you are not exercising is also called hypoglycemia, which is basically the opposite of diabetes, but it can also be associated with diabetes.

Meanwhile, while you are waiting for the results, stay away from simple sugars (i.e. gatorade, chocolate bars, candy, certain types of cookies, puddings ... etc. etc. etc.

Focus more on eating complex carbs and proteins. Have a look at recommended diabetic diets, from reputable websites. Those are the diets we should all be on anyway ... they're ideal.

Thank you everyone for the replies. I will try out different during-ride drinks and post-ride recovery food/drinks and see how that goes.


**** Go to the Dr. and get tested for diabetes now! ****

Bonking when you are not exercising is also called hypoglycemia, which is basically the opposite of diabetes, but it can also be associated with diabetes. Hmm, this is something I hadn't considered. I get my bloodwork done every few months, last had it done in November. My mother is type-2 diabetic, and I used to be insulin resistant. I used to take metformin (generic glucofage) for insulin resistance. Since losing 50 lbs, starting cycling, and getting my last blood test, I've been off it. Even still, I follow a diabetic-friendly diet, with low-GI carbs, no simple sugars, except when working out. I'll get tested again and see if anything's changed.


It's not clear to me what you mean by "my brain runs out of fuel". I start feeling dizzy, and I get severe food craving, though my legs aren't fatigued and I can maintain cadence.


I'd recommend a real hydration drink.Do you or any others have recommendations? I don't mind ordering things online... not a lot of health/nutrition stores around here, and my LBS only stocks gels, not sports drink mixes. As it was I had to ask someone to find me gatorade powder since I couldn't find it at my local stores.

Even still, I follow a diabetic-friendly diet, with low-GI carbs, no simple sugars, except when working out. I'll get tested again and see if anything's changed.

Do you or any others have recommendations? I don't mind ordering things online... not a lot of health/nutrition stores around here, and my LBS only stocks gels, not sports drink mixes. As it was I had to ask someone to find me gatorade powder since I couldn't find it at my local stores.

Follow the diabetic-friendly diet when you're working out too ... you especially need it then.

And look for HEED. Gyms sometimes carry it, or you can order it from Hammer Nutrition.

I've experienced similar. You're getting low blood sugar. This shouldn't happen when you're riding. The exercise should defend you against it. But it's not, so something is screwed up. Try more protein and fat. Before you ride, try eating eggs and milk with a piece or two of toast. You'll have to experiment. Get a kit and try testing your blood sugar during a ride.

A 1.5-2 hour ride shouldn't deplete you much. So that means that what you're eating during the ride is blowing your blood sugar away. That's the reason your legs are fine, but your brain goes dead. Get rid of the gatorade! Try Hammer Nutrition's Sustained Energy. It's got protein in it, which may help. Try a big protein hit after a ride. Instead of lots of carbs, have a little carbs, but also protein and a little fat.

When you are not riding you are experiencing episodes of low blood sugar.
Some people with insulin resistance need to eat 4-6 small meals per day to manage their blood sugar.
I get the low blood sugar thing randomly, typically a couple of hours after eating a meal that contains higher GI-carbs than usual, or way less fiber than I usually eat.

Try a small snack containing some combination of protein, fat, and fiber. If there is a pattern to when the low blood sugar occurs when you're not riding, try to eat this snack like 1 hour before your blood sugar crash.

My sister and I have both been through the insulin resistance diagnosis, added exercise and diet changes, and gotten off metformin. We both sometimes get low blood sugar episodes. I tend to keep small quantities of peanuts or almonds at work to treat one of these.

Also, diabetics have more trouble controlling their blood sugar when they are sick. I know you are not diabetic, but your metabolism has some of the same features. Sometimes the low blood sugar thing can accompany a cold or the flu.

The hours of hunger may be telling you that you need to consume the same number of calories (roughly), but space them out into smaller calorie meals, and shorter intervals between meals.

Mine seem to be job-related somehow. I am between jobs right now, and have not had one of these episodes during my job search.

I am motivated to keep out of the insulin resistance zone - I never want to have another glucose tolerance test during my life.

See if your health plan will pay for a consultation with a nutritionist or dietitian.

[QUOTE=Crast;6150103]Thank you everyone for the replies. I will try out different during-ride drinks and post-ride recovery food/drinks and see how that goes.

Hmm, this is something I hadn't considered. I get my bloodwork done every few months, last had it done in November. My mother is type-2 diabetic, and I used to be insulin resistant. I used to take metformin (generic glucophage) for insulin resistance. Since losing 50 lbs, starting cycling, and getting my last blood test, I've been off it. Even still, I follow a diabetic-friendly diet, with low-GI carbs, no simple sugars, except when working out. I'll get tested again and see if anything's changed.