"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - Your diet for racing?

Do you have a specific diet during race season (or offseason)?

If so, why do you eat what you eat?

Has a diet plan ever played a part in your success/failure? If so, how?

I don't change anything. I'll eat whatever I or my wife cook.

I'm more motivated to eat a little bit better. For me that means less relying on only-carbohydrate meals (I can get lazy, especially when working, and stick to bread and pasta). More veggies more often - the fresher the better (carrots and uncooked baby spinach). Big meals with whole grains (quinoa and brown rice being favorites), and fruit as my snacks.

I eat ridiculously healthy mon-sat, and then usually do whatever I want on Sunday evenings. I'm carrying a couple of pounds more into this season than I typically do, but I'm going to stay the course and see how it effects my riding before worrying about it. I suppose a big help is never getting more than 5 pounds above my ideal race weight.

I eat whatever I want...... Moderation is the key

As long as I can read the label without having to use a dictionary for chemists, I'm good. But I rather eat raw foods or meals made from scratch with low fat and high fiber content.

But I almost have a ritual that I eat a whole grain toast with almond butter and sliced banana on top with some cinnamon and honey sprinkled over it about 2 hours before the race or the Tuesday nighters start.

Bacon double cheeseburgers and chocolate milkshakes made with heavy cream!

Burritos and beer.

I don't have any specific diet plan, but try to eat healthy stuff. Some meat, lots of veggies, whole grains. I've cut out most snacks and cut down on portions this winter and lost 4-5 lbs.

Burritos and beer.

Actually, that is more like it for me.

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j47/joemowens/Chipotlegrub.jpg

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j47/joemowens/stellaartoisbottle.jpg

50% more calories. also, an extra egg after each ride

Lots of complex carbs (brown and black rice, oatmeal, yams), lean protein, and the occasional slice of triple layer chocolate cake with ice cream...

a lot

I can barely keep myself fed regardless of what I put in there. I don't eat any/much processed food though.

I take eddy's training motto and skew it, "eat lots".

I'm more of a numbers guy, so it's watching calories in vs. calories out and getting the right ratio of carbs/fats/protein.

Presently:

Caloric burn goal each day: 3000
Caloric intake goal each day: 2500
Carbs/Protein/Fat Ratio: 60/20/20

I'm burning off the last bit of excess fat (at 16% BF now, going down to 10-11%); I'm dropping about 1 - 1.25 lbs/week.

Here are some of my staples that I consume:

Egg Beaters
Wheat Toast
Shedd Spread (w/ Calcium)
Grapes
Oranges
Carrots
Turkey and Ham (luncheon meat)
Sugar-Free JELL-O Pudding snacks
Sun Chips (the small 140 cals/bag size)
Fat Free Plain Yogurt
Ground Turkey w/ Whole Wheat Egg Noodles, Tomato sauce, Zucchini, Red Bell Pepper and Onion
Rubio's Fish Tacos
An occasional Big Fat Chicken Taco from Del Taco
Steamed Veggies
Yams

I manage all of this using a BodyBugg (worn 23 hours/day to measure calories burned) and the software that goes with it to track my calories consumed (my food log). My targets are set by my personal trainer.

I'm eating lots of salads, grilled meats, and a healthy supply of fruits, veggies, whole grains (wheat, oats, etc), and nuts, pecans specifically. I have been eating about 1/2lb of pecans a week. I also eat a huge breakfast every morning. Massive bowl of oatmeal with raisins, cinnamon, and pecans. Banana. Glass or two of milk. Not very many things, just giant size portions.

But today, I just went and had a Freebirds Monster burrito. =)

I won't get into details, but I'm more of a numbers guy too. Basically went from 205+ @ 12% bf to 165 @ 7% bf, being fairly strict. This freebirds burrito ranks up at the top of the worst food choices I've had in the last 3 months, so that will give you a clue as to how clean I generally eat.

The weight drop has made a big difference up hills, and my training seems to be more consistent with a better diet, although that may have something to do with the powermeter as well. I'm aiming for 160lbs eventually, but don't think that will be attained till mid season after my volume is able to increase...

I've increased my protein intake by 100%

I am on a pretty strict diet, 2 years agot I my race weight was 167 and I felt good, I am 5'10 with a muscular build. Last season I never got below 175 and stayed about 177 the whole year. It was a stressful time in my life with a new baby at home(2nd) who was sick a lot and some other things going on in my life. I did not get to train as much as I wanted and it showed. I vowed to come into this season in top shape.

I have a friend who is a dietitian and she made me a meal plan to follow. 260g's of carbs, 60g's fat and 100g's protein for a total of 2000 calories a day, except when doing extra long rides. I have followed this pretty strictly since December but usually eat less fat and am down to 165.2 and feel exceptional. I plan to loose a few more lbs but don't want my power to suffer.

I log everything I put in my mouth. What I found helps the most is not over-eating after rides and no snacks at night. I am in the best shape of my life and ready to kick but this season.

No processed foods, no more eating out(except on occasion), no junk food. Lots of fresh veggies and fruits. I don't miss the junk at all.

I log everything I put in my mouth. What I found helps the most is not over-eating after rides and no snacks at night. I am in the best shape of my life and ready to kick but this season.

No processed foods, no more eating out(except on occasion), no junk food. Lots of fresh veggies and fruits. I don't miss the junk at all.

Wise words...It is true for me as well that once I got out of the habits of eating junk food, indulging after rides, and late night snacking that I didn't miss those lapses in judgment one bit.

Wise words...It is true for me as well that once I got out of the habits of eating junk food, indulging after rides, and late night snacking that I didn't miss those lapses in judgment one bit.

:beer:
It amazed me how easy was to drop the weight once I followed my plan. What a difference 12lbs makes on the bike.

My usual day...

Breakfast- pancakes + eggs or cereal
Lunch- half a Freschetta mushroom, garlic, and spinach pizza
After ride- protein powder/chipotle burrito
Dinner- pasta and chicken or salmon, and a beer
After dinner- In n out

I eat chipotle for the high calories and the carbs. I eat In N Out cuz I'm still hungry. I'm losin weight, so I guess it works for me...

I pretty much eat anything I want, all the time. I try to eat healthy so I avoid fast food joints. Thurs-Sat, I'll eat things that I know won't tear apart my stomach right before a race (assuming I am racing that weekend)

Actually, that is more like it for me.

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j47/joemowens/Chipotlegrub.jpg

That ain't a burrito. That's a salad.

You should eat "food" and not junk. I listen to my body and it tells me what it needs.

When in "base" mode I can restrict calories, but when ramping up the intensity I need both carbs and protein. I need them both for recovery and the protein for muscle repair/building.

I eat a lot of cashews on hard training days. I'm not a big meat eater and I love the taste of cashews. They are awesome.

Now that I'm riding outside these days I've recently shifted to 60% donuts (when available), 20% cookies and milk, 10% cereal, 2% vegies and 5.4% pizza, 2.6% other stuff, food mostly. I'm currently in the I'm full but still hungry phase of my training. I'll cope somehow.


the evening before a race I like a good soup, salad, good solid bread (whole grain-good crust), a few slices of manchego cheese.

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j47/joemowens/stellaartoisbottle.jpg


mmmmm Stella

OCShark how can you live in socal and get your taco's at Del Taco? thats wack.
Sushi Joe i think that is a wrap not a burrito...o.k..

This is normally what I take in:

Breakfast: Oatmeal with maple syrup and brown sugar, or 1 cup of whole wheat pancakes with four eggs (1 egg, 3 eggwhites), or cereal or 4 slices of whole wheat toast with 4 eggs (same combo).

Snack 1: Apple with Coffee

Lunch: Tuna fish sandwich with one slice of American cheese and whole wheat bread

Snack 2: Chai Latte (no additional flavoring) and a banana or Clif Bar

Dinner: Usually something with rice and meat

Snack 3: Honey Bunches of Oats.

I'm trying to find better alternatives for the last snack so that I can sleep and wake better. My weight has been holding between 158 and 161, so I suppose that it's working. I have a slight amount of fat around the stomach (I can see my "six-pack," but there still a little bit of jiggly), but I'm not too concerned about that; I'll actually be more discouraged when I lose that and then gain it back next winter.

In reality, it's really about knowing your body and moderating your intake. In fact, I'm going to have a nice ice cream milkshake tonight to celebrate my new bike purchase! Yes!

Honey Bunches of Oats is like a straight IV drip of carbs into your veins, love it to death. I'm a huge fan of eating in three-hour increments, much easier to adjust intake if a ride gets cut short and keeps me feeling spry more often.

What exactly does 'no processed food' mean? No packaged bread, yogurt, deli meat, or even pretzels in a bag? Sounds rough.

OCShark how can you live in socal and get your taco's at Del Taco? thats wack.

That is a good point. :)

I eat about the same (ovo-lacto vegetarian, no sugary or fatty junk food) all year. Each year since I got back into riding I have been better about gaining weight over winter. This winter I only gained about 4 lbs and about 2% bf over my 'A' race numbers. For my A races I get down to race weight by eating slightly less and slightly better.

I find that cutting down on dinner and post dinner snacks is the easiest way to lose that last bit of fat. I can sleep through being hungry but it is harder to go though the day hungry.

Chris Horner's post race meal today (according to Lance, who asked where he'd been after the race):
"Reply - "I was at In and Out Burger". What?? He ordered a double-double (xtra onions), fries, coke, and a strawberry shake."

We're doing it wrong.

A good mix of carbs, protein, and fat all year-round. We buy our fair share of food at the stores, but get all of our meat (beef, buffalo, chicken), all of our eggs, and quite a bit of our produce directly from the farmers and ranchers who produce it, and actually grow much of our produce for summer and fall. All of that stuff is organic, the meat is free range.

I'm no conspiracy theorist, but I believe that the food industry cares much more about profits than about health.

Oh, and I would rather poke a stick into my eyeball than eat fast food. I eat no food that gets passed through a car window.

Chris Horner's post race meal today (according to Lance, who asked where he'd been after the race):
"Reply - "I was at In and Out Burger". What?? He ordered a double-double (xtra onions), fries, coke, and a strawberry shake."

We're doing it wrong.

I guess I'm doing it right? :D