Originally Posted by jimallen
Tom,
I guess I am dense. How many calories should I be replenishing? If I burn ~750 cals on a ride, I shouldnt eat 750 cals right? How do you lose weight that way?
Nope, not 750 calories, you can consume and absorb a max of 250 cals an hr, so if you burn 750 and consume 500 over the 2 hrs, that gives you a net deficit of 250 cals. 3500 cals = 1 pound of fat, by the way.
Also, what you consume during that 2 hr window will go directly toward restocking glycogen and not store to fat. If you are only riding for an hr, then during ride nutrition isn't necessary, just a tad afterward. Then I'd only take in around 250 cals to take the edge off. The trick is to hold your intake down to around 500 calories below your daily activity total. If you cut too far, your weight loss slows down, and if you don't cut enough your weight loss slows. The general idea is to stay in the deficit only far enough to stimulate maximum fat burning and supplement protein to prevent as much muscle mass loss as possible.
Keep a food journal, also, as it'll surprise you how much you really do eat, and what you are eating. That way you have a real data baseline as to your current intake and keep track of how much activity you do as well. There is a website somewhere, I'll have to search for it, that tracks the caloric burn of normal daily activities as well.