Originally Posted by
Laminarman
Confusion here. If I want to lose my fat (more in the belly) I was under the assumption if I just ate less I would burn more calories and lose all over. But if I do that I may burn the muscle that I worked for years to build? So you're saying that the recovery drink/meal is the most important or you tear down your muscle? I'd assume you want a reasonably sized recovery meal, nothing gluttonous?
For most people, it's hard to lose weight on diets and keep it off. If they add in exercise, they have better success. It's not uncommon for people to lose muscle as well, which, of course, drops their calorie burn and makes it easier to put weight back on.
I think the recovery meal is the most important, but it's only a few hundred calories, and it's only really important if you get above 90 minutes of length for moderate intensities. A good recovery meal will mean you don't get as hungry a few hours after the exercise, which is the point.
I'm getting ready for a ride tonight, so I had a cliff bar (200 calories). On the ride, I'll have about 300 calories of accelerade, and after I'll have some endurox (about 250 calories). Then I'll have a small snack, perhaps another 500 calories, and then go to bed. I'm probably a few calories over what I'll eat on a normal night, but I'll burn around 1200 calories during the ride, so I probably have a 500 calorie deficit for the night.
Generally, the longer the ride the better. If you can ride for 4 hours, you can keep a 400 cal/hour deficit if you take in 200 cal/hour, and I'm generally not very hungry after such rides.