I was bounced to this thread from another one about eating enough/properly for biking. I have a very high metabolism myself, and was interested in the topic from the angle of properly and healthily fueling a long-term bike tour (i.e. long periods of intermediate-level exertion). From my reading on this topic, the one major takeaway message that was new to me was this:
You need more fats in the morning, more starches at night.
Upon consideration, it seems completely reasonable, but it's counter to most people's habits. Sugary breakfasts and fatty dinners/desserts are the norm, at least around here. When you train your muscles, they "learn" to make use of (metabolize) fats more effectively. As long as you keep your exertion to a certain level, you don't have to deplete your muscle's "emergency" sugar storage, and can maintain the pace for a long while. Because fats are longer-lasting, they're good to stock up on first thing in the morning to keep you going all day. At night, when your muscles are sedentary, it's principally your brain that needs nourishment--and it can basically only use sugars. Whatever fats you are digesting from that late evening meal will get stored away...as fat.
Obviously this is a gross simplification, but i think the paradigm is an important one to keep in mind. Train your muscles and fuel them with fats--it's much better for your body than using sugars--while keeping a healthy balance of complex sugars (starches) and fiber from whole grains and vegetables. Don't eat heavy meals late in your day, and consume most of the fats in your daily allowance in the first half of the day.
Starches and fats are the fuel macronutrients. Protein is a structural macronutrient--it doesn't make a particularly good fuel source. You don't need any more protein than is required to replace proteins lost (or to build new muscles when you are just starting out). Overindulgence in protein is a tired little fad diet (marketed under various names over the years) that makes you sick and can cause gout. A grown adult that regularly eats the recommended amount of whole grains and dairy and throws in some nuts is getting enough protein.
Originally Posted by
DX Rider
Avoid anything with corn syrup in it. Not all sugars are created equal. Your body metabolizes fructose into glucose, which is burned for energy, more readily than it does sucrose.
Table sugar is pretty bad for a diet too, since it's a dysacharide (sp?).
This is a bit confused.
"High fructose corn syrup" is commonly used instead of table sugar (sucrose) in foods due to its price. Sucrose is a disaccharide consisting of a fructose and a glucose connected together. The process required to break it into the component monosaccharides makes it slightly slower to hit your blood. I believe the term for the overall effect is "glycemic index". For diabetics and people prone to diabetes, consuming foods with lower glycemic index is important.
On the other hand, for someone biking through hundreds of calories an hour, fast-to-blood sugar intake isn't exactly a bad thing. Just remember that, unless you are sprinting, your body can cover the energy costs with fats in a more sustainable and healthy way. Plan your on-bike consumption accordingly.
I munched on chocolate chips on my last ride...