bfloyd6969

Hello everyone. After an intense ride (usually an hour to an hour and a half with alot of climbing) I normally eat either a bagel, egg, and cheese sandwich or a bagel, turkey, and cheese sandwich - which I figure I get the simple sugars from the bagel and a little protein from the egg or turkey. This usually makes me feel refreshed. Now, I am curious as what to eat say two to three hours from this. Should I not worry about the simple sugars at this time and concentrate more on protein and perhaps complex sugars? Thanks.

gregf83 

For a 1 to 1 1/2 hr ride you don't need any special recovery nutrition. Just eat at your normal times and you should be fine. You'll need to eat more than normal to compensate for the calories burned during exercise unless you're looking to lose weight.

waynesworld

After I ride, I drink a big glass of Ovaltine in fat free milk. It's supposed to be a good recovery drink (beats me), and it tastes great. I don't eat anything special, and the Ovaltine seems to help me get to my next regular meal if I am hungry.

Chaco

If I go longer than 90 minutes at a good pace, I try to get in a smoothie with 20g of protein within a half hour of quitting. I read about this in Paleo Diet for Athletes. A recent study also supports the idea that getting protein back into your body is important, especially for us older folks.

surreycrv 

Without the ingestion of protein, the body will cannibalise lean muscle.

gregf83 

Maybe if you're weightlifting. That's not really applicable to cycling which is primarily an aerobic sport. The protein in a normal balanced diet is sufficient without supplementing.

bfloyd6969

Thanks for the replies and links everyone!

surreycrv 

my post related to the OP comment about alot of climbing. The spent muscles will want to replenish from new protein.