bigbiker1

Taking some advice from these forums I have not been eating, other than an apple or a banana, on or before my rides. Note that I am way overweight ( I will admit that I was heavier then I admitted to when I started, I am now down to about 350) and I want to lose weight. Now that I am going farther and riding longer though, I am finding it harder. This morning I rode 26 miles and just had a banana before the ride. I had some grapes after, but toward the end of the ride I felt I was getting a little shaky. I am diabetic but I have not been taking any insulin in the morning before I ride even if my reading is a bit high, I don't want to risk a bad low when riding. I would guess I will be completely off insulin by the end of summer as long as I keep riding.

I really want to push for longer rides, I wasn't worn out at the end of my ride today despite riding farther then I ever have before and also doing about 1.5mph faster then I have been averaging (13.5mph vs 12mph) on my rides on the same trail. It was the heat and humidity and sore butt that made me stop. I am just wondering if I would help my chances by eating more before I go, or perhaps at the half way point of the ride? Is is cheating to stop for a meal and rest half way through the ride? Though that really isn't an option now, I don't want to wait around having a real meal while it gets hotter lol, but I could carry my pack and bring something along.

jsigone

IMO anything beyond 90 mins should have a gel pack as minimum.

I won't do a full meal as it's harder to ride your bike after. Your body can only process about 300-500 cals per hour so eating 1200cal lunch will sit for a long time. Plus make you ride slower and give a chance to stomach pains if not used to it and will suck worse on hills.

100-150cals in food per 30min is a good plan that works for me. Everyone is different and must try different foods. It's easy to start on Gel packs since they are about 100 each. As you get a hang of what the body needs, you can mix in a cliff bar (300 cals) or eat half every 30min.

On long rides I stop at the coffee shop and get a latte and a pastry of some sort. Usually the one with the most sugar LOL

My key foods on the bike
Banana 2-3 on weekend rides
Payday candy bars, don't melt and great for 3+ hour rides
Cliff blocks

ChuckD6421 

I'll admit up front that I know little to nothing about managing diabetes, especially about how exercise affects it.
That said, what's worked for me (after managing not to run for snacks close to bedtime, a struggle that continues), plan on being able to go for up to an hour and a half without any pre-ride food. Maybe a banana or healthy energy bar. But anything over 2 hours plan on taking in some kind of carb at around 75 to 90 minutes in. I really like a good quality PB&J on some hearty whole wheat.

Also equally important is to be drinking a weak electrolyte replacement drink. My personal fave is the Skratch Labs hydration mixes at about 1/2 scoop in 20 oz. of water. Find out what the serious athletes like (forget Gatorade and the other crap sold in the health club vending machines. It's soda, ok?). I have no affiliation with Skratch other than liking their products and philosophy. I've found the recommended 1 scoop tastes good standing still, but once out under a hot sun with a 2 mile climb going, I want as close to water as possible. And since I've taken electrolyte replacement more seriously my legs cramps have stopped. Full stop.

After, I like a good quality fruit juice on lots of ice to suppress hunger and replace carbs (a plug here for the V8 Fusion juices). After longer rides, over 2 and a half hours, I'll have a protein drink of some kind and later I succumb to something more substantial and have been found face-planted in a big bowl of chili, beer in hand.

revchuck 

You wrote that you ride in the morning. Do you eat breakfast first, and if so, how long before you ride? What food do you eat for breakfast? This is where we need to start, rather than what you eat right before you head out.

Your body burns fat and carbohydrate at the same time for fuel and these are what's in your body when you start. The proportions change based on how hard you're pushing - going easy it uses mostly fat, while going hard it uses mostly carbs. Even super-skinny Tour de France riders have lots of fat stores, but we're all limited in how much carb stores (glycogen) we have; usually it's 1500-2000 calories' worth. You can burn through that in a couple of hours if you're pushing hard, and if you do you get to meet Mr. Bonk. You get tired, weak and light-headed.

That 1500-2000 calories is the most you can store. You burn through that all day. It doesn't matter whether you're pushing hard on the bike or sitting at your desk at work. If it's been a couple of hours since you've eaten when you get on the bike, you're starting on less than a full tank. If you skip breakfast, you've got less than a half tank of glycogen since your body's been burning it for the last 12 hours or so.

A snack before you head out on the bike can be a good idea, something like a banana, a cup of yogurt or oatmeal, or an energy bar of some kind. It's best to have it about an hour before heading out to give your body time to digest it. If you've just had a meal, there's no need for the snack.

Your body can process about 250-300 calories/hour. Your 26 miles at 13.5 mph was about a two-hour ride. If you wanted to eat something on the ride, I'd recommend something like a Clif bar, eating half of it at ~45 minutes and the other half a half hour later. That would give your body an easy load to digest and a steady source of calories. I recommend against gels, especially for a diabetic. They're basically high-tech sugar syrup and are designed to get into your system really quickly - that's why racers use them. I carry a couple on long rides as emergency anti-bonk medicine. I rarely use them unless I'm racing. Also note that the harder you're pushing, the lower the priority your body puts on digesting what's in your stomach.

Make sure you're drinking enough. Water is fine, though if it's hot adding electrolytes is a good idea. In summertime Louisiana I budget a bottle every 45 minutes. You may need more or less.

Keep doing what you're doing, you're definitely heading in the right direction!

atitagain

wheat is all gmo and spikes blood sugar levels more than processed sugar . look up wheat belly . Dairy is poison slime .meat is not necessary to get enough protein . Go totally raw plant based as much as possible . Check out John rose on youtube .

dagray

I am a type 2 diabetic (my fasting glucose this morning was 154....) I usually eat a banana, or an apple, some coffee and go ride. I plan my routes so that every 10-15 miles I can stop and get a snack (banana or other light food.. sometimes a small sandwich). Drink water (I put hydration tablets in mine or a powder formulated to be used while exercising).

I also carry a few gels if I am going to ride more than 16 miles so that if I start to feel out of energy I can put something in my body.

The key for me is to not eat too much so that I feel like I want to puke when riding.

I have cut my insulin from 80 units per night down to 36 units per night, and my pants are now effected by gravity as when I head north my pants try to head south (unless I have my belt tight).

I have lost over 60 pounds in five years (slow and steady wins the race), and I allow myself treats (pizza, beer, an occasional donut). When riding I often will have a fancy coffee at a rest stop.

For diabetes it is about carbohydrate intake (too few and your body will spike your blood glucose.... too many and your diet will spike your glucose) not calories, but for weight loss it is about calorie intake (take in less than you burn). It is a balancing act, and I have hit a low on the glucose, but that was fixed with a gel (I use Hammer Nutrition, but there are many brands out there).

atitagain

wheat is all gmo and spikes blood sugar levels more than processed sugar . look up wheat belly . Dairy is poison slime .meat is not necessary to get enough protein . Go totally raw plant based as much as possible . Check out John rose on youtube .

DrIsotope

Any foodstuff grown industrially is by definition a GMO. Unless you're growing your own food in your own backyard from seeds you gathered in the wild, your food has been genetically modified.

The rest of it gave me the giggles.

bigbiker1

Thank you for the replies, they will help!

I ride pretty much first thing in the morning when its hot. For example this morning I got up at 4:15am, had a double espresso with just a tad of steamed milk. Got dressed, filled my water bottles with Propel, this is generally what I drink when riding, sometimes its powerade zero or water. Normally I eat a banana or an apple on the way out the door. This morning I forgot my banana so I stopped at a gas station and bought a payday bar and ate about 1/3rd of it. Where I started from this morning is about a 15 minute drive from my house (I go to this one if I am unable to go to the bathroom before I leave, it has a clean bathroom) and I was on the trail at 5:45am. I was only able to get 21 in which was just enough to hit 100 for the week, my a$$ was REALLY sore with the new saddle and it was the deciding factor. I felt like I had a lot left in the tank but my butt didn't care.

So when it's hot I don't eat breakfast first, just a small snack. I am a type 2 diabetic as well, the last month my fasting glucose reading in the morning has been 75-105, with 1-2 outliers in the 140's if I ate something I should not have before bed.

I try to push myself hard twice a week and just do somewhat comfortable but not really leisurely the other 2-3 rides. On the ride I push myself usually 75-100% of the ride shows in the cardio zone with the rest peak according to fitbit, when I ride easier then its usually 40-60% in fat burn zone and the rest cardio.

tinrobot

I've gotten into the habit of riding before breakfast in the morning. I find I can go at least 90 minutes and up to two hours before I get really hungry.

The reason I started doing that is that I've been reading a lot about fat-adapted endurance training and decided to try it. Fat adaptation is where you train your body to burn fat rather than glucose/glycogen. I've found that the regimen does seem to work. I can go quite a while without food. When I do eat, it is because I'm hungry, not because I'm bonking.

That said, even if you're not on the program, don't worry so much about eating before. Maybe a little oatmeal or a banana. Get yourself warmed up and then have a snack on the road. When you do eat, avoid the pure sugar gels and snacks. Get a little bit of fat and protein as well. These will moderate the insulin spikes and crashes that make you want to eat more.

dim

Before a hard ride, I have a bowl of cooked oats, a glass of orange or apple juice, some toast and a poached egg

during the ride, I've stopped using gels as I get a bad aftertaste of aspartame (the gels have maltodextrin) ... What I have been using lately for long rides is organic baby food (the organic ones) ....
The one that I find that works best is the Banana and Coconut:



an instant sugar hit, cheap, easy to carry, can be resealed if you don't use all of it in one go, easy on the stomach, filling and it's healthy ... the other fruit ones are also good (especially the mango one)



for electrolytes, I use the juice of 2 oranges, juice of 2 lemons, a 1/4 teaspoon of rock salt or himilayan salt, a tablespoon of organic maple syrup and a cup of coconut water. Mix well, add to a water bottle and you have a much healthier electrolyte drink than using electrolyte tablets.

Some guys say that V8 vegetable juice is also better than the tablets

copperfind

I usually eat a 1 - 1.5 cups oatmeal with raisins and dried blueberries with a bit of maple syrup or honey for some fructose about 30-60 minutes before I ride... I find on longer rides at around the 50 min mark if I dont refuel (gels or cliff type bar along with electrolyte drink) I am suffering especially if I have any climbs... Cycling burns energy fast and being depleted can put you in a spot of bother, just my opinion... refuel before the legs die and extend your ride time.