Originally Posted by
Null66
Studies showed that long duration (> 4 hours) sub (some low level of effort) burned a lot of visceral fat...
Also supported interval like training as highly effective at reducing visceral fat.
Same group of studies showed the usual and customary steady state (you know the 30 minutes on machine you see at gym) did little. Burned calories, yes... Then other studies showed that compensatory eating response to steady state was higher than calories burned.
The compensatory eating is something I had to get under control. What I ended up doing is make sure that my on the bike and immediate post-bike nutrition was appropriate and then my actual hunger was taken care of by bulkier items like a salad, etc. The benefit I noticed was immediate when I did it the first time.
Basically for longer rides I try not to over-prepare in the first place... I think that is part of it. Fear of the distance would make me eat the day before and morning of way more than needed. I was ok with that at first because completing the ride was more important. Now that my distances don't scare me I just watch that I'm eating the right type of food the day before and the morning before. During the ride I make sure I use my hydration products (awesome) to keep my electrolytes and such replenished. I keep some extra to mix in as needed when I refill my water. For food I have a variety of things with me but I don't do the standard mixes with M&M's, etc. I'll eat that because I'm a pig and overdo it.
I've only done one 100 miler but what I'm doing now for 75 miles and below is working great. I'm not over-compensating and I realize the benefits over the next few days. I know I can improve at that even more but I know I'm on a good path.